Demolition Derby

Demolition Derby Arcade Game

There were two arcade games released under this name, a 1977 black and white game by Chicago Coin, which we have no memory of playing, and the Bally Midway version released in 1984 that was at the local mall for a few seasons.  Both versions had two steering wheels and allowed to users to play simultaneously on the standup version, and four on the cocktail version.

Demolition Derby Arcade Game Cabinet

Gameplay was relatively simply.  The idea was to be the last car standing, so to speak, by running into and disabling other cars.  The radiator was the most vulnerable part of the cars, and ramming the radiator several times would cause a car to explode.  A player could collect tools to repair themselves, collect car keys for bonus points, and run over loose tires that would fly up and damage other cars.  Driving a car in reverse was the best strategy for minimizing radiator exposure.