In 1981 an arcade cabinet began popping up all over the Portland area called Polybius…or at least…that’s the claim. Released by a company called Sinneslöschen, the game used a graphics rendering technology that was impossibly ahead of its time. Kids that played reported having migraines, hallucinations, and memory loss while others became vehemently anti-arcade. But, just as quickly as the machines appeared, those same men in black soon took them away. No one has seen one since.

What is the truth behind Polybius? A military recruitment program? East German video game technology? Mere urban legend? In part one of this two-part episode, Jack LaRoche guides us through the background and usenet-sourced tales of this legendary arcade cabinet.

Jack LaRoche

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Produced by Liv Agar and Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (instagram.com/theyylivve / sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (pedrocorrea.com)

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QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.