Expendable.

If anything goes wrong they are the ones left holding the bag.

Bagman was a classic arcade game that enjoyed some popularity during the Golden age of video games. In this particular title you maneuver an escaped convict through a vertical maze of mine shafts. The object of the game is to grab all the gold in the mineshafts, and escape with the loot, while avoiding the police officers who are looking for you.

I have played this game fairly extensively and found it to be incredibly difficult. I could almost never even make it past the first stage. The difficulty level of this game is probably the main reason that this title is largely forgotten, while games like Ms. Pac-Man live on. I got a chance to play this game in its dedicated cabinet at an arcade auction in 2001, and one of the best things about the game is the comic strip on the side that explains how to play.

You probably won't run into any Bagman machines anytime soon, I have only ever seen a single unit in the 7 years I have been involved in classic arcade games, but you can play the game using the MAME emulator, perhaps you will be a little better at it than I am.

Bag"man (?), n.; pl. Bagmen ().

A commercial traveler; one employed to solicit orders for manufacturers and tradesmen.

Thackeray.

© Webster 1913.