While we were throwing quarters into Spy Hunter or Robotron 2084, our counterparts in the Soviet Union were slipping Kopecks into Obgon and Autorally. Seems that Soviet military factories procured a few Japanese games and reverse engineered over 70 Soviet versions. These games were then officially distributed for the purposes of entertainment, and developing visual estimating ability. A couple of guys at Moscow State University have started collecting and restoring these digital-mechanical monuments to active leisure before the games were converted into wheelbarrows or similar oblivion. The game shown here is called Magistral, which translates as Superhighway. While competition for high score was discouraged, free plays were awarded for great achievement. Soviet-era driving games also featured a distinct lack of gas or brake pedals.
[Thanks to Retro Thing for the tip]
The Lost Arcade Games of the Soviet Union [wired.com]
Related:
In Soviet Russia, Pobeda Customizes You!; Rocket to Russia: Moskvitch 410H [Internal]