Chuck E. Cheese's Sketch Book

Chuck E. Cheese's Sketch Book is a photo booth attraction developed by ICE⁽¹⁾ exclusively for Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 2002. This game doesn't award any tickets, but instead gives the user a printed copy of a photo that the machine takes. This game is a branded version of the generic game, Sketch Express manufactured by the same company.⁽²⁾

Gameplay

Upon activation, the machine will greet you and ask the user to choose a portrait or self photo by pressing one of the buttons in front of the user. Upon selection of either of these options, the machine will start a countdown from 10. Upon reaching 0, the machine asks the user to 'Smile for Chuck E!'. Once this process is done, it will thank you for using it and informs you that your picture is being printed and will be prepared in less than a minute. Music plays for about 1 minute while your photo is printing, and after around 10 - 15 seconds, the user's picture will be dispensed from a cubbyhole at the bottom of the machine.

History

The earliest known Chuck E. Cheese's Sketch Book cabinet was sighted at Huntsville, AL (1220 Jordan Lane) in November 2002, coinciding nearly a year before the concept remodels for the 2003 'Cool Chuck' Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative began installation.⁽³⁾ It was part of a standard game package rolled out to stores that year that included other CEC branded games such as Country Acres and Chuck E. Cheese's Kiddie Coaster. Chuck E. Cheese's Sketch Book has prevailed as one of the oldest games still actively supported by Chuck E. Cheese and SPT Parts Department. As of 2023, ICE still produces new parts for machines and new/refurbished units continue to be installed in new locations to this day.

Upgrade Patch

A store-bought floppy disk was discovered at the Lancaster, PA (2020 Fruitville Pike) location containing a patch to the Sketch Book software. The files are dated July 29th, 2002, and November 4th, 2002. It is unclear what was fixed in the patch. The patch was likely manually downloaded off of a website by store employees onto a blank disk, though there is still the possibility it was sent by CEC themselves. It is possible the July 29th files were the original dates for the software when it was sent to manufactures, being what was shipped to stores initially. The November 4th files are likely the date the patch was incorporated. Neither directly confirm that the arcades made it to stores in 2002 however.

Technical

Many parts from the unit can be purchased from Ice's Website, including all decals. The CEC Sketch Book Manual (2003)|CEC Sketch Book Manual is also provided with the unit.