The oppressive summer heat is officially upon us, and JUEGOS RANCHEROS is here to bring you in to the cool! So join us Thursday, July 6, at 7:00PM at Austin’s North Door — as we present a mix of just-released and recently-remastered games!

[ RSVP FOR THIS EVENT AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE! ]

Previously featured in early 2016 and now making its triumphant return in its final form will be Super Russian Roulette, a brand new game for the original 8-bit NES from NYC-based hardware hacker Andrew Reitano.

The game lets up to three players play russian roulette against an on-screen cowboy using the NES Zapper light gun. (Remember Duck Hunt?) And, thanks to backers of his successful Kickstarter campaign, Super Russian Roulette has just been released on a limited run of real NES cartridges!

Also appearing will be Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective, a newly-remastered version of the Arcane Kids game we recommended all the way back in 2013, which turned out to be one of the tongue-in-cheek funniest and most interesting games of the year.

No relation to the newly announced revival of the classic (?) Bubsy franchise, Bubsy 3D lets players visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to learn more about the work of contemporary light artist James Turrell, and… so much more that’s best left for you to explore yourself.

Finally, we’ll be bringing Boa Retina — the game produced for our latest artist residency program — from Austin’s own Jennifer Raye, for all those that weren’t able to make it to our opening night show.

The game “dives deep into messy gender uncertainty,” says Raye, through “an uncomfortable blend of abstract golden-age arcade design, retro computer aesthetic, the unhealthy ways my gender feelings manifested before coming out, and external conflicts from things trying to keep life in order.”

The exhibition will begin Thursday, July 6, at 7:00PM at North Door, 501 Brushy Street, Austin, TX 78702, with a short introduction at 8:00PM. The show is free, all ages, and open to all the public, so come join us as we drink, play and meet the people changing the way we think about games!

You’re invited to join us Sunday, June 18th at 7:00 PM at the Museum of Human Achievement for the opening exhibition of Boa Retina, created by our Spring 2017 resident artist, Jennifer Raye.

[ RSVP FOR THIS EVENT AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE! ]

Boa Retina is a physical, multi-device game that “dives deep into messy gender uncertainty,” through “an uncomfortable blend of abstract golden-age arcade design, retro computer aesthetic, the unhealthy ways my gender feelings manifested before coming out, and external conflicts from things trying to keep life in order.”

Following the exhibition, a digital version of the game will be publicly released on June 30th on itch.io.

If you’d like to get an early preview, Raye will be exhibiting a segment of Boa Retina at the Museum of Human Achievement this Friday, June 9th, at 7pm, alongside the work of MOHA’s own resident artist, Matthew Keff.

The full arcade of anything event, however, will kick off at 7:00 PM at the Museum of Human Achievement in Austin, TX. Admission is free, but donations–which help fund this and other JUEGOS RANCHEROS programming–are warmly accepted.

[Created in partnership with the Museum of Human Achievement, the arcade of anything artist residency encourages its participants to push into experimental and unexplored territory within digital arts. More information on our residency program can be found here.]

It’s only been a few months since Nintendo released the Switch into the world, but already there’s a little bit of Texas in it! Join us Thursday, June 1st, at 7:00PM at Austin’s North Door to play it for the first time, as JUEGOS RANCHEROS presents Wild Rooster’s Astro Duel Deluxe, the first Austin game to land on the new console.

[ RSVP FOR THIS EVENT AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE! ]

First released for Windows, Mac, iPad and Apple TV, the new Switch version of the game (ported and published by Austin’s own Panic Button) will be released on May 30th, and now supports up to six players. The new Deluxe version also includes the ability to play anywhere, with multiple controller types, multiple game modes, the ability to choose pilots, instant replay, new music, touch-mode play, CPU opponents, powerups, dynamic arenas and Game Modifiers.

Wild Rooster developer Rusty Moyher will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about making games for brand new hardware, and we’ll have more games & surprises at the event, as well!

The show will begin at 7:00PM on Thursday, June 1st, at North Door, 501 Brushy Street, Austin, TX 78702, with a short introduction at 8:00PM. The event is free, all ages, and open to all the public, so come join us as we drink, play and meet the people changing the way we think about games!

Just weeks after its release, David OReilly’s existential reality simulator Everything is already a verifiable critical hit. But did you know a good chunk of it was born and raised right here in Austin? Join us Thursday, May 4th, at 7:00PM at Austin’s North Door, to find out more!

[ RSVP FOR THIS EVENT AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE! ]

Known best for his multiple-award-winning & frankly sort of essential-viewing animations Please Say Something & The External World, David OReilly first dipped a toe into videogames with the 2014 release of Mountain (then featured as one of our standalone-iest Fantastic Arcade cabinets).

Co-developed with Austin’s own Damien Di Fede (also part of SUPERHYPERCUBE developers Polytron), the two again joined forces for Everything, which also features Eduardo Ortiz Frau on sound design.

The devs describe Everything as “an interactive experience where everything you see is a thing you can be, from animals to planets to galaxies and beyond,” and if you were present at last year’s Fantastic Arcade to see one of our most chilled-out sessions of all time, you know that is no exaggeration.

For our exhibition, we’ll have Damien & Eduardo on hand, who can answer (nearly) any burning questions you might have about how you make a game about, well, pretty much literally everything.

The show will begin at 7:00PM on Thursday, May 4th, at North Door, 501 Brushy Street, Austin, TX 78702, with a short introduction & developer chat at 8:00PM. The event is free, all ages, and open to all the public, so come join us as we drink, play and meet the people changing the way we think about games!

Spring has sprung, and JUEGOS RANCHEROS has returned! So join us Thursday, April 6, at 7:00PM at Austin’s North Door — as JUEGOS RANCHEROS presents a mix of new & never before seen games, including Vignettes.

[ RSVP FOR THIS EVENT AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE! ]

Not seen since the 2015 installment of Fantastic Arcade, Vignettes is a delightful puzzle-box of a game and, says the developers, a “kaleidoscope of different moods and settings”, which is officially due to be released soon on iOS and Android. Fans of GNOG and the work of Vectorpark (like his previously-showcased Metamorphabet) will not want to miss this one!

Short preview of what @dkanaga has been working on recently 🎶🎵☎️🎶 https://t.co/gf1Y85ygb2 pic.twitter.com/NtCSOYCPOP

— ♥Armel Gibson♥ (@Gib) March 16, 2017

Vignettes is being created by Klondike members Pol Clarissou (who you’ll remember from last year’s Orchids to Dusk) and Armel Gibson (who also brought Oases to Fantastic Arcade), with help from Loot Rascal‘s Pat Ashe and music by none less than David Kanaga — Proteus musician and creator of one of Fantastic Arcade 2016’s most unforgettable games/performances: the five-act dog opera, Oikospiel Book I.

In addition to Vignettes — its first showing in near-final form! — we’ll be assembling even more games to be revealed at the show, and our usual “indie alley” lineup of games made by local developers!

The exhibition will begin Thursday, April 6, at 7:00PM at North Door, 501 Brushy Street, Austin, TX 78702, with a short introduction at 8:00PM. The show is free, all ages, and open to all the public, so come join us as we drink, play and meet the people changing the way we think about games!

Excited to play the sequel to Messhof‘s long-standing JUEGOS RANCHEROS favorite? Then you will absolutely not want our next meetup — Thursday, February 2nd, at 7:00PM at Austin’s North Door — as JUEGOS RANCHEROS presents Nidhogg 2.

[ RSVP FOR THIS EVENT AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE! ]

The original Nidhogg has been a JUEGOS RANCHEROS mainstay since our original inception in 2011 — with frequent meetup & Fantastic Arcade appearances — and all signs point to the sequel carrying on that tradition.

Featuring all of the same “fast-paced hilarious stabby action”, but now with a much larger array of new weapons, new stages and new music from Daedelus, Dose One, Mux Mool & more, our Austin debut of Nidhogg 2 stands to be one of 2017’s best shows.

The exhibition will begin Thursday, February 2nd, at 7:00PM at North Door, 501 Brushy Street, Austin, TX 78702, with a short introduction at 8:00PM. The show is free, all ages, and open to all the public, so come join us as we drink, play and meet the people changing the way we think about games!