If you launch MAME from the command line, use the -ror or -rol options to rotate the screen clockwise (to the right) or counterclockwise (to the left), respectively.

If you prefer a frontend (see [Hack #11] ), you may have options to control monitor rotation. For example, in Mame32, use the Options → Default Options menu. In the lower-left corner, you’ll see monitor rotation and flipping options. Choose your orientation, apply the changes, and play!

Several of the Japanese generic minicabinets, such as the Taito Egret, can rotate their monitors fairly easily via large mounted wheels without any disassembly. Unfortunately, this is much less often the case with the larger American arcade machines that often come from a specific manufacturer for one specific game.

There’s a small slideshow of this momentous Taito Egret rotation occasion on the Solvalou page (http://www.solvalou.com/arcade_egret.php), in which the author claims that “Rotating a 29-inch monitor might not sound very easy, or safe, thing to do, but with Egret it’s actually quite simple.” He also makes the important point that you should definitely degauss your monitor (in this case, by pressing a red button inside the coin door) after the rotation.

If you don’t have an Egret, you can modify your cabinet to allow for rotation. Your two biggest difficulties will be heat dissipation and the physical modification. Mark Jenison’s Mark 13 cabinet (http://users.rcn.com/jenison/mars/) is a good example of an existing cabinet that has been modified. He and Rich Schieve mounted the monitor on a wheel-of-fortune device that allows the monitor to swivel. Build Your Own Arcade Controls has a fuller write-up (http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_jenison.shtml).