Minigolf Course: “Arcade”

Remember, back in the day when you’d spend hours and hours in the dark womb of the Arcade? Round kicking your day away, dodging ghosts while eating magic pills, and saving the world from inevitable asteroid destruction. Sandwiched between two fluorescent lit store fronts in almost every strip mall across America is that thrilling murky area offering hours of entertainment to idle teenagers and nostalgia-seeking adults alike. At first it is just the sounds seeping into the spacious corridor that draw you in, but then the lights, smells, and the sounds of defeat and victory tighten their grip until you enter…

Out of dozens of submissions, FIGMENT selected 8 all new, and one returning, amazingly creative minigolf hole designs that, pending funding, will find a temporary home on Governors Island. On the 2012 FIGMENT Minigolf Course, prepare yourself to simply be sucked into the vortex of the arcade. Our fifth FIGMENT Minigolf Course will be open and FREE for the public to enjoy while the island is open on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays from June 9 through September 23, 2012.

Please help us realize our Minigolf Course this summer by making a donation to FIGMENT.

Click on an image to find the high-res version!

#1 Insert Coins by Vanessa Khouri

Inside the arcade, your eyes search the room for your favorite game, or just one that is momentarily vacant, and land on the one in the corner peaking above tousled hair-dos that for mere quarters you know will bring that wanted surge of adrenaline. Coolly shuffling between occupants and their belongings across the matted industrial carpet, you arrive at the console that eventually swallows the quarters that weighed down your pockets; and, for a few minutes or hours, offers you excitement that can only be felt at the arcade.

#2 Princess’ Castle by Aaron Williamson

This hole features the familiar elements (castle, pipe, mushrooms!) from the classic Super Mario games. There are two routes to the hole: a narrow bridge straight through the castle (and into the hole), and a wider but more circuitous path around the hills and larger mushroom. A successful bridge shot increases the player’s chance of a hole-in-one but also risks a “water hazard” (which has a sloped bank to allow unlucky players to get out of the “water”). The other path is safer, but also likelier to result in a higher score.

#3 Rules of the Game/RU Game by Maggie Ens and Ian Klapper with City & Country School

Players maneuver their golf balls through historical spans of time, past obstacles based on City & Country School’s Social Studies scope. Using cultures, histories and geographies, students’ hands-on learning experiences are represented as arcade aspects of the piece, combining the non-sequential pinball game format and the school’s experiential hands-on learning philosophy. Not unlike the unpredictable game-play of a pinball game, education’s most relevant challenges allow us to build consensus around the defining principles of nurturing and supporting students’ natural curiosity and innate desire to win with life-long learning.

#4 Golfenor’s Island by Michael Mastroianni

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golfenor’s Island is a tribute to Governors Island, the home of FIGMENT since its inception in 2007. The game pays special attention to the unique urban ecosystem that Governors Island offers, with hand-painted vignettes of the many non-humans residing there. Players can track their ball’s progress through the island’s land, air, and sea life, winding between its many buildings and landmarks on a pinball-machine-shaped 1:1000-scale model of the island. If this model was life-sized, a golf ball would be over 60 feet high! Pick any one of four holes, including a psychedelic Fort Jay, to end your wild journey!

#5 A Very Fly Swatter by Jason Lucas, Bob Scott, Bob Seetin, Lilah Amon-Lucas

Both an over-sized icon of pest-ridding technology and a contraption large enough to be turned against the player, A Very Fly Swatter contemplates the artillery and strategy present in traditional arcade games. What happens when our weapons grow beyond of our control? What will your strategy be for sinking this putt?

#6 Hit The Clown by Keith Griffiths

We all have had many fun experiences at the carnival, stumbling upon the ever-so-difficult “Whack-A-Clown”, where we must throw a ball to knock down stuffed clowns for a rewarding prize. The game sounds easy, but is nearly impossible to win when faced up against it. For this minigolf hole, the player must hit their golf ball past one of the clowns in order to get to the end hole. Hitting a desired clown does not necessarily mean a win; it is a total game of chance. After hitting a clown, the ball rolls onto the putting green.

#7 Asteroids•Turf by Samuel Sherman and Jacquelyn Strycker

Asteroids•Turf takes as its inspiration both the Atari arcade game “Asteroids” and space junk, the collection of man-made objects, including defunct satellites, rocket dust, astronaut apparel, and even a camera that orbits the earth. The player enters a circular asteroid belt. Aiming for the center hole, the minigolfer must avoid obstacles including spaceships, asteroids, and other miscellaneous debris.

#8 Pachinko Kablam-o by Blue School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Designed by Blue School 2nd Grade Class (facilitated by Jess Hooks, Mahayana Landowne, and Lauren Monaco), Pachinko Kablam-o is a pegboard with various brightly colored obstacles: pegs, volcanoes, wheels, tubes, holes, and flippers. Pachinko is a game played throughout the world in arcades. By using gravity the ball bounces around the obstacles until it lands on the putting green. Special thanks to Brett Renari, Ashley Hughes, and Chris Niederer.

#9 Enter Your Initials by Yung Oh Le Page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best of arcade adventures end with you leaving a mark: you have a chance, if you do well enough, to put your initials on the high score board. Only three letters to let everyone know that you were there, and you rocked that game. Sometimes those three letters are cheeky, but for the most part they are unique and personal. You keep an eye on them, and if need be, you will defend them if they move from their ranking. But at all times they are a reminder telling everyone that you were there.

Please help us realize our Minigolf Course this summer by making a donation to FIGMENT.

The FIGMENT 2012 Season Long Minigolf Course was curated by Jacquie Stryker, with help from a 7-person jury, and the entire FIGMENT NY team.