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Gamers' Donations Put a London Arcade Back in Business After Burglary

In just over a day, Heart of Gaming fans scrambled to crowdfund the cost of stolen equipment.

When the UK grassroots retro amusement arcade Heart of Gaming (HoG) experienced the theft of over £5,000 ($7,740) worth of consoles and games, staff were devastated. But not to be defeated, they started a crowdfund campaign, and after little over one day they've smashed their target.

WE DID IT! 5K *flails* April~ pic.twitter.com/zws97lc4Sb
— The Heart Of Gaming (@TheHOGuk) July 24, 2015

"We're receiving donations from all over the word—from our community members, friends, family, people who love gaming, and people who have never been here. Twitter and Facebook shares have helped so much," April Perreira-Finn, a member of HoG, told me over email. "We honestly didn't think we'd reach our target—people are still donating right now!"

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The Heart of Gaming, based in west London, is headed up by Mark Starkey, who made it his mission to build a retro arcade from scratch in 2013. HoG's mission is to blend "the gaming scene of yesteryear, with the games of the past, present and future," and to to allow game fans to play together in a more social environment. The venue hosts everything from dance machines to old arcade machines with titles such as Donkey Kong and Street Fighter.

Amusement arcades were most popular during the 1970s and 80s. But they started to die out with the rise of home consoles and the decline of British seaside holidays (many amusement arcades were found in seaside resorts). The closing of the Funland—one of Europe's most popular arcade venues—in London's Trocadero in 2011 also signalled an end to a once popular past time.

But proving that there's always some room for retro gaming fun, HoG relies mainly on the goodwill of the community and donations from gaming fans worldwide to stay on its feet. They'd just saved up to buy some next-generation consoles when their recent theft disaster hit.

"We live in very sad times. Last night the Heart of Gaming was broken into and burgled," wrote Starkey on his crowdfunding page. "We struggled to put the money aside to move to the next generation of consoles, and just like that, it has all been taken away."

Though the police are continuing to investigate, so far HoG has rallied the support of game fans worldwide. HoG is also open for school trips and families coming on educational visits. "We'd hoped the families would be able to come over the holiday period and experience real Japanese arcade machines or the newer consoles they might not have at home," said Perreira-Finn, who brought in her own consoles from home so that HoG could stay open.

Hannah Flynn, who donated £10 on HoG's Iwata tribute wall wrote: "Communal gaming spaces are really important. Hope you get back on your feet and keep the spirit alive!"