Obviously this site focuses on Japanese arcade gaming and culture, but I thought this may be of interest to some of you.
I had pretty much done with PCB collecting, managing to get all the games on my 'want' list. And then I started visiting some old UK Ops. My main reason initially was for preservation, to get old boards back out there in the collecting community rather than sitting there in an old store room, at risk of being skipped. One Op gave me a bundle of boards, including Splatterhouse and X-Multiply and wouldn't take a penny. I waved some notes in his direction, and he said he was thankful I was saving him a trip to the tip! Admittedly this was a one off.
However these 'Raids' have far exceeded my expectations, and I've managed to pick up some games I'd never have imagined I'd see, especially over here in the UK, in 2020. Visiting an old Op, not knowing what to expect and finding some gems is a real buzz. So much so that we've sometimes based our holiday location on Op visits. This has taken us to some awesome places we wouldn't have even thought about going to otherwise. It's also proved a great way of discovering new titles I hadn't heard of before, such as D.D. Crew, Dark Edge, Nitro Ball, Regulus and Zip Zip Zing.
My best board pick ups so far include Bubble Bobble, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Darius, Ghosts'N Goblins, Juno First, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, Nemesis, Ninja Spirit, R-Type, Rainbow Islands, Salamander, Shadow Dancer, Slap Fight, Splatterhouse and The Newzealand Story to name a few, as well loads of MVS carts and a near complete set of Sega Mega Play cartridges in near new condition. I've also picked up more Football Champs, Golfing Greats and World Cup '90's than I care to mention.

Sadly though I haven't come across any Cave stuff, but then I only really saw Cave games over here in Casino arcade, London, and I think those boards were on loan from collectors.
I've posted some of my write ups on my Blog. Quite a few of you may have boards from these places!
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2018 ... -2018.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2018 ... rcade.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... -raid.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... -raid.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... art-2.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... -sent.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... art-2.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... art-1.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... -part.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... art_6.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... rt_13.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2019 ... eyond.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2020 ... s-pcb.html
http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/2020 ... cb_29.html
So my question for you guys, has anyone else managed to pick up anything interesting from arcades or old Operators?