524: Confessions of a Pirate BBS SysOp: The Arcadia Story - The Retro Hour EP524

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Beast of Quartex, discussing the underground world of 90s dial-up piracy and the operation of the Arcadia BBS.

Step back into the underground world of 90s dial-up piracy as we’re joined by Beast of Quartex, SysOp of Arcadia, once the largest pirate bulletin board system in the UK. From trading disks in the post to running a five-line elite BBS packed with the latest cracked Amiga games, Beast shares how the scene really worked: the hierarchy, the rivalries, and the race to release first. Plus, the secret world of crackers and couriers, and the moment it all came crashing down when FAST raided his operation. Contents: 00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories 50:08 – Beast of Quartex Interview Please visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show: Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.com Go to https://surfshark.com/retrohour or use code RETROHOUR at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Play Expo Blackpool: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/ Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needs We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/retrohour Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 Website…

People in this episode

Host: The Retro Hour

Guest: Beast of Quartex

Topics covered

• 90s dial-up piracy
• BBS systems
• Amiga games
• crackers
• pirate bulletin board
• retro gaming

Keywords

• dial-up piracy
• BBS
• Amiga
• crackers
• retro news
• gaming history

Sponsors

Bitmap Books, Surfshark, Play Expo Blackpool, PCBWay

More episodes of The Retro Hour (Retro Gaming Podcast)

• 535: The Game That Took 37 Years to Finish: Ocean Software's Colin Porch - The Retro Hour EP535 · June 11, 2026 · 1h 50m
• 534: How Games Like Wipeout and Tony Hawk Changed the Music Industry - The Retro Hour EP534 · June 5, 2026 · 1h 40m
• 533: cyber.cafe: The 90s TV Show That Exposed the Internet's Wild Side - The Retro Hour EP533 · May 29, 2026 · 1h 47m
• 532: Elite Systems: Inside the 80s Arcade Conversion Powerhouse - The Retro Hour EP532 · May 22, 2026 · 1h 55m
• 531: Inside Psygnosis: WipEout, PlayStation and the Rave Generation - The Retro Hour EP531 · May 15, 2026 · 1h 46m
• 530: Inside Gargoyle Games: Stuart Cox on Light Force, Scooby-Doo and ThunderCats - The Retro Hour EP530 · May 8, 2026 · 1h 47m