Chapter Two
Twin Galaxies

"Once upon a time, we were just an arcade."
The Arkansas Gazette, (February 20, 1983)

Twin Galaxies' ascent into fame was steep. It was not yet one year old when LIFE magazine arrived to immortalize Ottumwa, IA, (its hometown) as the "video game capital of the world."

However, for the first three months of its existence, Twin Galaxies was just another arcade, enjoying quiet anonymity in a small sleepy midwestern town. Twin Galaxies, however, was destined to become a major figure in the video game story. And it all began in Houston, TX.

Being an oil broker in Texas in 1980 was boring. I constantly felt an urgent need to find more adventure. Or maybe I was getting antsy because I wasn't getting rich fast enough from the oil trade.

In my office at Rofheart Oil was Jon Bloch, an old-time friend who had been my partner in a comedy routine we had performed at a major hotel in the Catskills during the mid-'70s. Being one of America's greatest comedians, Jon kept me in good humor, though boredom was setting in. (Coincidentally, Jon would later become my partner in Twin Galaxies.)

To remedy my quest for excitement, I convinced a fellow oil scion, Rodger D. Beaton, to join me in a get-rich-quick scheme and publish a Who's Who directory on the petroleum industry. 

With my idea in hand, Rodger put up the money and we set to work. Rodger, however, had a secret vice that surfaced early in the partnership: He liked video games.

I had heard of video games, but had never donated a quarter to one of the beasts. I remember playing Pong in 1972 and finding it uncomfortably difficult. Rodger, however, was in deep -- hopelessly addicted to Space Invaders.

"I can't work another moment," he said one night after grueling hours of focusing on executive biographies. "I have to play Space Invaders."

I was speechless, of course, having no clue as to the nature of Space Invaders.