One of the most anticipated shopping events in Second Life is The Arcade Gacha festival. It’s held quarterly, and the hype builds as sneak previews of items start appearing in SL blog feeds. It boasts some of the most creative designers and builders in Second Life and it can take days of frustrating attempts just to get in. But thousands keep trying until they are finally able to rez in and spend their hard-earned (or purchased) Lindens on what is basically, a crap shoot!

For those unfamiliar with a Gacha machine, it’s a scripted object that is loaded with a variety of prizes that you pay to receive a random item. There are often Rare items mixed in with the Commons, tempting one to keep spending money until the sought-after prize is won. There is no guarantee that you won’t receive duplicates, nor is there a promise that, even if you spend all of your cash, you will receive the item you desire. Prices at The Arcade range from 25L to 100L – so keeping an eye on your bank balance is imperative when you are in a full-on, fever-pitched frenzy to obtain that cherished prize!

Fortunately, Gacha prizes are transferable, so if you win items you don’t want or multiples of the same one, you can give them away, trade them or even sell them at one of the many Arcade Yard Sales now springing up around the grid.

I actually made it into The Arcade tonight on my third attempt. I crashed twice while I was there, but was fortunate to be able to log back in to my former location in both instances. Had I been locked out, I think I would have cried. There were so many fun and whimsical items that I wanted!

I was extremely fortunate this time to win several Rares. Some I was excited about, others I was happy to receive, but they were won on a first attempt and I would have been pleased with any of the items available. But I DID win the one prize that I set out to win, no matter the cost – and it wasn’t even a Rare! (And yes, it DID cost…I won’t say how many attempts I made to win this prized item, but it was more than one…maybe even more than five…or six…or… 😉 )

That item: The Happy Poo Skirt from Sea Hole. Drinkinstein Sorbet, a talented designer I have purchased from frequently, rose above all others, in my estimation, with this silly, fun little skirt. The fact that it is well-made is just icing on the cake – or flies on the poo, if you will 😀 . I laughed out loud when I saw the display for the first time, and I was giggling as I shot these photos. For this one item I braved the lag, the boots, the re-rezzing when returning to the event, and the anxiety as I watched my Lindens float away in that frustrating machine…

These are NOT fashion shots. They’re not even GOOD shots. But I wanted to showcase just a few of my favourite wins from this tantalizingly addictive event 🙂

The Arcade Gacha Items:

The Sea Hole – (Happy Poo Mesh Skirt)
Gizza – (Epaulette – Brown)
Fanatik – (Logo Bracelet – Sexy)
Glam Affair – (Slice of Paradise Antlers – Tan)
Nardcotix – (Puss Pillows Huggable – White)
Zigana – (Gypsy Caravan – Supergirl RARE)
Conspiracy Theory – (Animal Slippers – Teddy Bear)
BCC – (i do cloak hood – Red RARE)