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◆ Did you have this?
👍 I had this💔 I wanted this1970s · board games
Space Invaders Mini Arcade
Row after row of pixel aliens marching down while you hide behind shields. The simplest shooter plot with the loudest iconography.
- Era
- 70s
- Released
- 1978
- Category
- board games
- Availability checked
- 7/16/2026
From the archive
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The pitch
Space Invaders! Pew pew pew! Shoot the descending alien army before they reach the bottom! The game that started the arcade revolution, now in a mini cabinet for your shelf.
Why people remember it
- The alien shapes are still used in retro design everywhere.
- Increasing speed made panic real.
- Mini cabinets let you play during TV commercials.
Did you know?
- Tomohiro Nishikado designed Space Invaders for Taito and it caused a yen shortage in Japan from coin hoarding.
- The increasing speed of the last alien created tension that defined arcade game design.
- Atari's home version for the 2600 sold over 2 million copies.
- Mini arcade replicas capture the black and white alien sprites with color overlay strips.
How people search for it
“alien shooter mini arcade”, “space invaders handheld”, “retro pixel alien game”
Tags
Questions people ask
- Can you buy Space Invaders mini arcades?
- Licensed mini cabs include it, often bundled with other Taito titles.
- Was it the first shooter?
- One of the defining early ones. The mini keeps the legend alive on desks.
