Tapper from 1983 is one of the posterior games of the so-called "Golden era of the arcade games" by Bally Midway.

Like many Arcade games back then, the principle is quite simple: one gets to play a barkeeper who needs to provide the arriving customers with Budweiser before they reach out and drag you over the bar which ends the gams. The design of the arace cabinet matches its content, the joysticks looks like a beer tap and the spot near the control panel locks like a bar.

The game itself was a huge success in the US, the cabinets were available in many penny arcades and bars. As time went by, some parents suspected the game of seducing kids to drinking alcohol.

In 1984, an altered version of the arcade game without the logo of the Budweiser Brewery was released. That logo has been replaced by the made-up "Root Bear" logo. The thing is, Root Bear does not have anything in common with the classic beer, it is considered a non-alcoholic substitute - similar to malt beer.

Compared are the Original Arcade Version from 1983 and the Root Beer Version from 1984.

Title of the Root Beer Version:	Original Title:

P.S. An incredibly rare version of the arcade game has the logo of the Japanese brewery "Suntory". Allegedly, it has been programmed by Sega but Sega has denied any involvement.

Scene from the Suntory Tapper:

As for the portings for game consoles and PCs, there are at least two further versions. The most common one has the "Mountain Dew" logo (Atari 2600, Apple II, Commodore 64) and at least one has the "Pepsi" logo (ZX Spectrum).

As already stated in the intro, every single Budweiser logo has been removed in every version except the original one.

There are further small alterations though: The inscription on the glass at the left side of the screen does not read "BAR" anymore. Instead, it reads "SODA" now. The character does not wear a blue vest and a red bow tie. Instead, the character has a shirt with red/white stripes now and a cap. The beverage in the glasses is distinctly darker in order to illustrate the alteration from Budweiser to Root Bear. The beer cans in the mini game do not have the Budweiser colors anymore either.

Root Beer Version:	Original Version: