My head is ablaze with excitement after learning that a Black woman has won not one, but two world records for possessing the greatest collection of LCD and playable gaming systems.
According to the numbers, Linda Guillory’s two world records are made up of 1,599 LCD gaming systems and 2,430 playable gaming systems, virtually a variety of games that can only be found in a top online casino. Guinness World Records reported today that Guillory of Richardson, Texas, has won both awards for her huge collection of thousands of portable, tabletop, and even watch-based gaming systems.
These aren’t gaming systems in the traditional sense of consoles and handhelds; instead, they’re more akin to the Tiger Electronic handhelds of the past. Traditional video games are also included in Guillory’s library. Guillory shows off a large cabinet of vintage video games in Guinness’ profile video, claiming to own every Nintendo game produced in North America.
Guillory began collecting games when she was eight years old, after discovering a damaged 1979 Red Conic basketball game, according to Guinness. She said in the video that she dismantled the handheld and repaired it herself so she could play again. She accumulated a little collection of games until some of them were destroyed in a home fire. She later decided to search up some of the old games she used to own to see if any were still available following a discussion with her brother over who was the better player. She found and acquired her favorite Pac-Man tabletop machine, and her collection grew from there.
“I wanted to see if I still could beat my high score. As I searched, I saw dozens of games I always wanted as a child but never had.” Guillory told Guinness.
Guillory told Guinness, “I wanted to test whether I could still top my high score.” “As I looked, I came across hundreds of games that I had always desired but never had as a kid.”
When I was invited over to a friend’s house on rare occasions, I would push my face against their Nintendo 64 consoles in amazement of something that was out of my grasp. I’d be envious of their game collections, knowing that I could only have one or two for the systems I was allowed to have. I lost out on a lot of the games that today’s gamers would consider “mandatory playing,” so when I read Guillory talking about the games she didn’t get to play but wished she had, my heart sank with sadness.
The fact that she is also a Black woman just adds to my admiration for her. Because of the relatively recent movement for increased diversity and inclusion, black women in gaming are frequently viewed as a novelty. We are ecstatic when “new” Black women join the space because we are so scarce, but we have little knowledge of those who came before us. The few video gaming “elders” I had were men, as is true for many Black female gamers (and female gamers of a particular age in general).
I am a 33-year-old woman. I only know one other Black woman my age who enjoys video gaming. I’m sure there are others. I just don’t know who they are. Finding Ms. Guillory is like finding a lost treasure, something that has been sought for a long time yet is rarely discovered. I’d like to learn more about her background.
Guillory, an electrical engineer, wants to share her love of gaming with kids and teach them how to build their own gaming systems. She also wishes to have her collection preserved in a museum.
