# SDTM Episode 50: This Or That? Road Trip!!! (Houdini or Dialed In! & more pinball)

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2018-02-18  
**Duration:** 40m 22s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apUjB5LlBXY

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## Analysis

Greg and Zach Sharpe from Straight Down the Middle host a road trip episode to Chicago, playing a "This or That" game where listeners submit pinball machine comparisons. The episode features discussions comparing modern games like Dialed In! and Houdini Master of Mystery against classics like Twilight Zone and Addams Family, with pricing, playability, code quality, and theme integration all factoring into their choices.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Dialed In! has award-winning code and is a complete, finished game as of the recording date — _Zach and Greg discussing Dialed In! vs Houdini Master of Mystery; Zach states 'Dialed In! is complete. It's ready to go.'_
- [HIGH] Houdini Master of Mystery had bugs in code as of February 2018 — _Greg stating 'But there's still some bugs in the code as of February 2018' when comparing Houdini to Dialed In!_
- [HIGH] Houdini Master of Mystery keeps players coming back for more games compared to Dialed In! — _Greg: 'Houdini Master of Mystery keeps me coming back for more. It's a one more game more than Dialed In! for me'_
- [HIGH] Guardians of the Galaxy costs $1,500 less than Houdini Master of Mystery — _Zach discussing the Guardians vs Houdini matchup: 'Guardians of the Galaxy is $1,500 less than Houdini Master of Mystery'_
- [HIGH] Jersey Jack Pinball's Pirates of the Caribbean costs approximately $9,500 vs Stern Pirates at around $4,500 — _Discussion of Pirates matchup: 'Spend the $9,500 to get you a Jersey Jack Pinball Pirates of the Caribbean' vs Stern option_
- [MEDIUM] Twilight Zone is one of the only high-priced pins that justifies its price — _Greg stating 'I think it's the only one that justifies a $7,000 price' when discussing Twilight Zone vs other classics_
- [HIGH] Zach owns Lost World and has considered selling all other machines to focus on fewer pins — _Zach: 'Like, literally after Pinball Expo, again, I'll say it a hundred times every time I'm on video. Like, I literally contemplated on selling everything besides Lost World.'_
- [MEDIUM] Game of Thrones Premium Edition has circuit control board components in Stern Spike hardware that are repairable — _Zach discussing hardware concerns: 'You have circuit control board components in Stern Spike hardware that manage LED and power distribution or repairable boards'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Dialed In! is complete. It's ready to go."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, N/A
> _Establishes Dialed In! as a finished product vs Houdini which still had code issues_

> "Houdini Master of Mystery keeps me coming back for more. It's a one more game more than Dialed In! for me."
> — **Greg**, N/A
> _Indicates superior long-term replayability and engagement despite Dialed In!'s technical completion_

> "I would let you have $1,500 just to get a Houdini Master of Mystery over Guardians."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, N/A
> _Strong endorsement of Houdini's superiority despite significant price difference_

> "I think Twilight Zone is one of the only high-priced pins that justifies its price."
> — **Greg**, N/A
> _Validates premium pricing for certain classics based on gameplay and design quality_

> "You only live once. Spend the $9,500 to get you a Jersey Jack Pinball Pirates of the Caribbean."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, N/A
> _Preference for JJP Pirates over Stern despite substantial cost premium_

> "I literally contemplated on selling everything besides Lost World."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, N/A
> _Indicates Lost World's exceptional personal value and potential market positioning_

> "Pat Lawlor's always in the rules. Pat Lawlor's always in the magic."
> — **Greg**, N/A
> _Designer philosophy preference: rules depth and thematic integration over speed/flow_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Greg | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle podcast, pinball player and enthusiast |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle podcast, pinball collector and operator, on road trip to Chicago |
| Eric Menyer | person | Pinball enthusiast being visited during the hosts' Chicago road trip |
| Dialed In! | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game frequently compared in this episode; award-winning code and theme integration |
| Houdini Master of Mystery | game | American Pinball game; strong theme integration and replayability; had code bugs as of Feb 2018 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | game | Stern Pinball game; $1,500 cheaper than Houdini; older code; still owned by Zach |
| Pirates of the Caribbean (Jersey Jack) | game | JJP machine priced around $9,500; preferred over Stern Pirates despite premium pricing |
| Pirates of the Caribbean (Stern) | game | Stern machine priced around $4,500; $5,000 cheaper than JJP version |
| Twilight Zone | game | Classic high-priced pin (~$7,000); Greg considers it justified in pricing; hosts' preferred classic in several matchups |
| Addams Family | game | Classic Pinball machine compared against Twilight Zone; considered valuable but less preferred than TZ |
| Game of Thrones Premium Edition | game | Stern Pinball with Spike hardware; discussed for hardware reliability; preferred over standard edition |
| Scared Stiff | game | Classic pinball machine; frequently chosen in matchups for fun factor despite shallow rules |
| Attack from Mars Remake | game | Remake game with customization options available; compared against Medieval Madness Remake |
| Medieval Madness Remake | game | Remake game with art enhancements available; compared in multiple matchups |
| Lord of the Rings | game | Considered deep game suitable for long-term ownership; strong theme integration; preferred for five-year ownership scenario |
| Lost World | game | Game owned by Zach Sharpe; has significant personal value; only machine he contemplated keeping if downsizing |
| Space Shuttle | game | Classic credited with revitalizing/saving pinball; features Louis toy and multiball mechanics |
| Space Station | game | Compared against Space Shuttle; considered to have more gameplay elements |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer; hosts prefer his focus on rules depth and thematic magic over pure flow |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer; known for fast, flowy games that can become flat/stale over time per hosts |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Greg and Zach Sharpe; road trip episode format |
| American Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer of Houdini Master of Mystery |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Dialed In! and Pirates of the Caribbean |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer of multiple games discussed; makes Guardians of the Galaxy, Game of Thrones, Spike-based machines |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Game comparison methodology (cost vs quality vs replayability), Modern boutique vs classic pinball preferences, Code quality and game completion as purchasing factors, Theme integration and artistic design impact on game value, Long-term game ownership and replayability
- **Secondary:** Pricing premium for JJP vs Stern machines, Hardware reliability concerns (Spike board components, lead content), Designer philosophy differences (Lawlor vs Ritchie)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Hosts are enthusiastic about pinball and enjoy debating game merits. Generally favorable discussions of games, with constructive criticism balanced against appreciation. Some light frustration with unclear submissions but overall tone is upbeat and collaborative.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Listener-submitted 'This or That' game matchups indicating active engaged community participation with the podcast (confidence: high) — Multiple listener submissions throughout episode (Vivid Psychosis, Houdin, Mattson M.W., James David Moore, Colin McCarthy, etc.) with specific game comparisons
- **[competitive_signal]** Long-term game selection criteria increasingly emphasizing depth and replayability for committed players (confidence: medium) — Discussion of 'five year ownership' scenario prioritizing games like Lord of the Rings and Dialed In! for depth vs shallow but fun classics
- **[design_philosophy]** Preference for Pat Lawlor's rules depth and thematic integration vs Steve Ritchie's fast, flowy but potentially shallow designs (confidence: medium) — Greg: 'Pat Lawlor's always in the rules. Pat Lawlor's always in the magic' vs Zach noting some Ritchie games 'get a little stale' and 'get a little more flat'
- **[market_signal]** Collector sentiment showing Twilight Zone justifies premium $7,000 pricing vs other classics; no other high-priced classic achieves similar consensus value (confidence: medium) — Greg: 'I think it's the only one that justifies a $7,000 price' when comparing Twilight Zone, Addams Family, and other expensive classics
- **[market_signal]** Significant price premium for JJP machines over Stern equivalents; JJP Pirates $5,000 more than Stern Pirates (~$9,500 vs ~$4,500) (confidence: high) — Zach: '$5,000 difference' and 'Spend the $9,500 to get you a Jersey Jack Pinball Pirates of the Caribbean' vs Stern option
- **[product_concern]** Houdini Master of Mystery's code quality was incomplete as of February 2018 despite strong gameplay and theme (confidence: high) — Greg: 'But there's still some bugs in the code as of February 2018' and 'Dialed In! is complete. It's ready to go.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community appreciation for theme integration in modern games; Dialed In! winning Twippies award for theme integration despite being newer than classic titles (confidence: medium) — Discussion of Dialed In! 'theme integration' awards and hosts acknowledging JJP 'has taken Dialed In! and made it its own theme and its own entity'
- **[technology_signal]** Game of Thrones Premium Edition discussion reveals Stern Spike hardware concerns including lead content and component repairability as purchasing consideration (confidence: medium) — Extended discussion of circuit board components, lead/no-lead options, and coil dust in new Stern Spike machines during Game of Thrones comparison

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## Transcript

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Let's kick this shit. I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain. It was all in vain. Hello, straight down the middle. This is Greg. This is Zach. And we are on a road trip to Chicago, and what better thing to do on a road trip to Chicago than to play a fantastic game called This or That. That was pretty good. That was terrible. That was good. It was nice and corny. This or That. Was that good or did that suck ass? I say it sucked ass So First There's them windmills again Yeah I like the windmills What are they windmills? Turbines We gotta record through the turbines I like turbines They're kicking the dick too Damn it Okay so First of all from Vid Psychosis Vid Vivid Psychosis Vivid Psychosis Yes He said Dialed in or Houdini Dialed in or The the Twippy game of the year or a new game from a new manufacturer. That's a tough one. That is a tough one. Why don't we start out with that one? I still, I still got to go with dialed in. I still, I really love Houdini and I really like it a lot, but I like the, I like the shots a little better on dialed in. It's a little easier. It's got an award-winning layout. Yes. Code. Code. It's got award-winning code, too. Code is really fantastic. There are different kinds of code, but I still think that I'd have to go with dialed in. I like the art a little less. Houdini, I think, beats it in the art department easily. Okay. What about last stability? Even on it, like, man. I still think, I don't know. I think they're almost comparable on last ability, honestly. I do too. I just think that kind of some of the shots and layouts and toys are a little more satisfying and neat on dialed in. I was just going to say how long you can go before you stop. This is one of those ones, remember last time I got stumped when they said pirates or dialed in. And I didn't choose. Then choose. You just look that way. You don't have to look at me. I know you're talking to me. We're the only two fucking people in this car. You can just look that way. And then I didn't choose. So, I think I'm going to go dialed in as well. Surprising. Because, I'll tell you why. See, I own a Houdini, though. I don't, I no longer own a dialed in. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You got rid of Dialed In pretty fast. Man, this is a tough one. I'm going to go Dialed In just because it's a full game right now. It's a full game. There's no Houdini. I'm in love with it. Every night I go out and give it sweet smooches. Kisses. Bugs. Yeah. But there's still some bugs in the code as of February 2018. Oh, you can't just base it on that. I think that's a weak-ass answer. No, it's true, though. It is true. Yeah. And there's really, I mean, Dialed In is complete. It's ready to go. Yeah. Which one do I like looking at better? Houdini. Dialed In just has more flow and it's a little smoother. That's kind of my main thing. Dialed In is so much fun to shoot. I think Houdini's got really good shots. But Houdini, I'll tell you this, Houdini keeps me coming back for more. It's a one more game more than Dialed In for me. I will agree with that. I'll agree with that, too. I'll agree with that, too. Because I love Houdini. I can't get off of him. Yeah. No, I agree with that. Because I'm like, well, that was a shit game because I keep missing my shots. I agree with that. But once you get those shots dialed in, there's nothing like that. And then you're going, you're starting, I feel like the modes are comparable, too. Almost, some of them almost better. Like, some of the film modes, like the, what is that? Oh, that's what I'm saying. I think Kodi. Yeah, Kodi. From Beyond or something where the GI goes out. Yeah, I don't think you can beat some of that. That's really cool. It's very comparable, if not better. What about toys between the two? Which one's got better toys? Oh, that one's a tough one, too. I still think kind of dialed in. I don't know. The camera? I don't know why. The camera's pretty cool. The camera, the magnets, the theater. I still like the theater. The drones. The drones are okay. I mean, they're just static. They're static. I never really count the drones as much as toys. Houdini's got the ball throw. The ball throw is fantastic. He's got the magnets. Yes, all the magnets are on that game. It's got the sculpted models. It's got chains. It's got locks. Yeah. It's got a nice LCD screen. They're very comparable. Isn't that crazy that we're talking that this Twippy award-winning dialed-in that ran away with it is comparable to Houdini? Yeah, but I think until the mindset gets away with it. Which thing is better? Houdini. How close is that? I don't think, theme-wise, very close. but I don't know I say that but then at the same time at the same time I think that JJP has taken dialed in and made it it's own theme and it's own entity I think that it's sunken in enough now that it feels like didn't it win best theme integration? or was it TNA? no it was dialed in yeah and so like there's something about it that has I think theme integration It's made itself a theme. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, the catastrophes and stuff like that. I love it. But I think Houdini integrates the theme better. It gives you history. It gives you the different modes that are well integrated. Yeah. So I'm going to go dialed in. Yeah, I do too. That was a tough one. And this next one, I don't know. This will be kind of maybe tough. We went 10 minutes on that one. Maybe tough for you. So Houdin, our good friend Houdin. Houdin! He's a shit stirrer on Pinside. Yeah? He is. We love him. But he's really nice to us. Heck yeah, he's our buddy. Yeah, so I like Houdet. Houdet. But Houdet's got Guardians of the Galaxy Pro or Houdini. Ew. Guardians of the Galaxy Pro is $1,500 less than Houdini. We're on this or that. We're taking that into account. Well, you got to, yeah. Yeah. So I, because of the money and I really. Are you really going to pick Guardians over Houdini right here? You're out of your mind. If this is what you're about to say, I'm going to stop you. Honestly, man, think about that. Once the code gets fixed, if it gets fixed. You still know what the code's going to be. On Guardians. There's no surprises. How did they change it up, though, and somebody comes in and kind of reformats it? I like Guardians. I don't mind it. No, I love it. I think it shoots nice. But it's not in the same league as Houdini. I mean, if I had $7,000 to throw around, I would obviously go with Houdini. I would let you have $1,500 just to get a Houdini over Guardians. You're lying. He lies because I'm about to take him up on it. He lies because he didn't bounce that over. That's the stupidest shit ever. His cup of the runneth over of shit. No. I love Guardians artwork. I love the music. I love the lights. I love the artwork. I love the lights. I love the artwork. I love the layout. No, I love it. I like the way it shoots. I love all that. That's why I still own it. Because I think that it has a... The code's getting stale. The code kind of sucks. But at the same time, it holds my interest a bit because there's still so many shots you have to make to complete a mode. It's still a challenge to me. I own both of them. It's not closed, guys. No, I didn't say it was closed. I think Houdini's a lot better game. For sure. But, you know what? I would spend... I would rather spend $8,000 on a Houdini than I would a regular Guardians pro. Absolutely. I think that game's kind of a steal at seven. He got the money. Me, I have no money. He got the money. Did you say me, I have no money? I have nothing. Yeah, so. Yeah, you do. I don't have enough for that, so I'm. We're about to die, though. I know. He was throwing shit all over us here We got red gold diced tomatoes and green chilies Yeah freaking kicking up rocks and debris all over the place Queso ready And then he just like he a prick You can't say that. He's a prick. I'm going to beep that out. He's a prick. So now we're going to go to Mattson M.W. I love him breathing. Mattson M.W. He's got Pirates of the Caribbean Stern versus JJP. You can't. Well, think about the money. Yeah, but you were just thinking about the money on the last one. Yeah, but that is a vast difference. $5,000 difference. Let's call it Stern plus 5K. Man, I don't know. Your choice of another Stern pro. I like Pirates, and I've thought about buying Stern Pirates. I do like Stern Pirates, too. It's not bad. No, it's actually a good game. But to me, now that's almost one that you have to wait on. Versus a mental bullshit. And save your money. What do you mean wait on? Just doing the red gold tomato. Look at this. You don't need to know. I know who you're talking to. Hey, look at you once and I'm not driving. Explain, though, what you mean by you have to wait on it. I'd only wait to get the other five grand to... To what? Get the J.J.P. Pirates. Okay. So you're going JJP Pirates? I think so. You only live once. Spend the $9,500 to get you a JJP Pirates of the Caribbean. I think I have to. Don't turn around. Like, literally after Expo, again, I'll say it a hundred times every time I'm on video. Like, I literally contemplated on selling everything besides Lost World. But selling everything, saving, and just having two minutes. And after heading up here where we're heading right now. It's probably going to reinforce it. Who are you going to visit? Dreams. We're going to visit our buddy Eric. Bet you can't say his last name. I don't know what's right. It's Menyer. I think I say it right, but I don't know. It's our boy Eric Meunier. Joe Katz. Keith P. Johnson. So it's probably going to make me have sweet, sweet dreams for the next week. You're going to have a big chub on the way home after playing this thing. I know. That's just so much money for me. You know what? We should steal one. We should. I had straps in my truck. Put it in the back of the Lincoln here. Hanging out. I've seen pens hauled like that in truck cars. Hey, I'd try it. Literally, if they said, you guys can take one of these home. If we can get a home. We would 100% try to get that son of a bitch in the trunk. We'd say it's happening. Yeah, something's going to go right. All right, so yeah, without a doubt. Because for Stern's Pirates of the Caribbean, you can get another pen that's a little better for $4,500. I agree. I agree. What do we got? So our next one, we got from John Krause. Oh, John Krause. Krause. That's our favorite. Junk House. And we've got a Junk. From Mars. Yeah. Remake. Remake. And we got or a regular Medieval Madness. Oh, no. It's Medieval Madness Remake. Okay. Or. Either ors or both? Well, okay. No, it's okay. We got Attack from Mars Remake or Medieval Madness Remake and Medieval Madness Remake or Dialed in Ellie and Alien. Oh, that's easy to me. Ooh. Jeez, that's so easy. But Simple Who? No, it's not that easy. Yeah, it is that easy. Is it? No, it is not that easy. It started off really easy, I thought. It started off easy. Yeah, I thought. So, say it again. Attack from Mars remake. And a Medieval Madness remake. Yeah, that's a good one. Or Dialed In and Alien. Or Dialed In LE. Yes. And Alien. So, that's... I'm going to go Dialed In and Alien, because Dialed In is the best game out of all of them. Alien might fall apart on you, but it's still fun. And with Attack from Mars and Medieval Madness, you're bashing center shot all day, and I'd get tired of that. I agree, especially with Medieval Madness. Attack from Mars would probably hold me a little better, but I agree. I'll tell you what, though. I've been looking at those Attack from Mars LEs. They're loaded, man. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's gorgeous, but you're still the same coach. It's still going to happen. I think it's gorgeous. And a nice plug for our boy, JoJo. Ooh, and his new head. Light up head. So he's already loaded down Attack from Mars with the head decals that light up, the translight that lights up, the inside decals that light up, or the art blades now. He's doing Medieval Madness. Yeah, the swords. Tell him that SDTM sent you. You guys, if you guys own that game, you're going to want that. I like the swords better than what I even do. I like the Medieval Madness. I like that a lot, dude. That's going to stand out and be sick. Okay. So, yeah, okay, we're both in agreeance on that. We're doing good. We're agreeing a lot here. Yeah, that's an odd thing. Did we agree on everything so far? You were going to try to take Guardians of the Galaxy. He always tries to trick me. He's like, what? What? And he goes with it. Okay, what do you got? Like, what? James Moore says Space Station. Hey, James. Or Space Shuttle. Ooh. I'm going Space Station. I haven't got to play a lot of Space Station. I like the looks of it. Space Station, I feel like, has a little more going on than Space Shuttle. I'll go Space Shuttle. But don't space stations break down quite a bit? Isn't that one of those finicky? I don't think so. I don't know. I might be wrong. Let us know. I like the ball locks on Space Shuttle. Yeah. I like the ramp up center with the toy that Space Shuttle, it's like the first toy in pinball. It's the pinball machine they say that revitalized or saved pinball. You don't like both hands off the wheel and talking to you. So, yeah, I'll go Space Shuttle. It's cool. I like the payoff for Multiball. I don't necessarily want to own either one of them. I don't care. I'd probably own a Space Station. I like it. I don't mind the art on it. On Space Station? Yeah. I don't think it's terrible. Good one. Thanks for submitting. Colin McCarthy. Colin's a big fan. Hi, Colin McCarthy. Okay, now this is a bunch of shit that I don't even know what's going on here. Mr. McCarthy. We got Funhaus. Okay. Oh, this is the Pat Lawler. Yeah. Yeah. What's a yes? Earthshaker. Okay, so we got Funhaus. Funhaus. Earthshaker. Earthshaker. And what's WW? Whirlwind? I think he's going Whirlwind, yeah. Okay, so we got Funhaus. The early Pet Lawless. Earthshaker and Whirlwind. Okay. Or Twilight Zone and Addams Family. Woo! Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! I'm going Twilight Zone and Addams Family. I think those pins are fantastic. What's your favorite pin in the whole bunch? Twilight Zone. Me too. Playing-wise, what do I want to own more? I'd rather own Addams. I don't know. I don't need a Funhaus and a Whirlwind. I just need one of the... I'm not a fan of Funhaus at all. What? No. I don't like it. I can't get into it. Creepy-ass roomie. Wow. No good for me! Wow. Twilight Zone has become one of my favorite fans. You like Funhaus? I think Twilight Zone is one of the only high-priced pens that calls for its price. I don't know what that means. What does that mean? That has that justifiable price on it. That's bullshit. Toten? No, I think it's better than Toten. Circus Voltaire? I think it's better. Oh, bullshit. I think it's better. What? Is it better? Yeah. Man, I don't know. I think it's the only one that justifies a $7,000 price tag. I don't want to say it justifies it, but out of the bunch. Indiana Jones? Yeah. Yeah, Indiana Jones I would. I don't... Man. Twilight Zone and what else? Adam's Family. See, that's the problem. I don't care about Adam's Family. Yeah, but Twilight Zone, that throws it off. I mean, what... I mean... Price-wise, you're getting a better deal for the Twilight Zone and the Atoms because they're worth more than the other three. But you're paying more, too. Good point. You could have all three of the first ones for fairly close to what you'd get a really nice Twilight Zone. No, still more than the Twilight Zone. Yeah, a couple thousand more. Oh, that much more? Yeah. Really? How about this? Here's my answer. I get the Twilight Zone. I get the Atoms. I sell the Atoms. And I buy me a Whirlwind. That's not how it works. That's not how it works. Hey, John Crow. Who was it? Who did that one? It was Colin. Colin. Colin McCarthy. Here's what you do, mate. You go... Mate. You go... Just go Twilight Zone and Whirlwind. That's the best combo. Boom. Done. What's up? Yeah, I would agree with that. I would agree with that. Save yourself a little money. Yeah, that's where you go. Okay, so... that or that over there. But I'm sticking to your original question, Colin, so I'm going with Twilight Zone. I will too, just because I like Twilight Zone. So now we're back to James Moore. James Moore. That sounds like a, uh, no, James Moore sounds like an insurance guy or like a cane food. James Moore. Go grab the, uh, James Moore beans. I think it sounds like a liquor. Oh, it does. What, what, what kind of liquor would a James Moore be? I think it's like a gin or whiskey. Yeah, I agree. Or bourbon. Maybe a bourbon. James Moore. Yeah, because it could be. Yeah, James Moore. I can see that. I can go with that. So we've got Getaway and Earthshaker or Lord of the Rings. Oh, Lord of the Rings. That one's easy. No discussion needed. Getaway kind of, it's not that good. This is from Badcaller111. I think he an indie boy This is a bunch of shit These are indie buddies we got uh what SS Starship Troopers You such a second guy He hears SS and he thinks Starship Troopers It not even an SS And you still go to second Oh my god, it's how you feel every evening when you and your wife go to bed. It's scared stiff! Okay, we got Scared Stiff, Medieval Madness, Whirlwind. I think that is Whitewater. Okay, Whitewater. I think he messed up. So we got Scared Stiff, Medieval Madness, Whitewater. The classics. And Circus Voltaire. Damn. Or. Damn. What's BBB? It's Big Bang Bar. Oh, I was thinking of something. Big Bang Bar. Isn't that the kind of videos you watch online? Those BBB videos? What's TBL? What? Oh, the Big Lebowski. I got one for that one too, but I can't say it on camera. I'm like a trucker version of pinball. I know. All these acronyms. Or the airline pilots. Or. Yeah. So, Big Bang Bar and the Big Lebowski. Yeah, and Cactus Candy. Yes. or so that's basically the collector versus the classics well I don't give two shits about Big Bang Bar I don't either it's not that great of a game to me Big Lebowski is okay but I want one is it ever gonna what's gonna ever happen with that Cactus Canyon's pretty fun and I can't decide on how I feel about the way the game looks it actually doesn't look bad but it's not great looking either so I'm mixed on that I like all those classics I like all those I'd love to have a Scared Stiff or a Whitewater Yeah, I think that's fairly easy, Bad Collar. You've got to go with that first set. Who cares about that stuff? So definitely going with Scared Stiff, Medieval Madness, Whitewater, and Circus Voltaire. Oh, I love Circus Voltaire. So we're at Scared Stiff. This is from John Sample. Johnny Boy. We got Scared Stiff or Game of Thrones Premium. That's actually a good one. That is really good, actually. Wow. we've got super basic and classic versus like i like scared stuff a lot but i actually think the game of thrones premium is so beautiful versus yeah it is so heavy heavy rule so i'm gonna throw this out there too you got node boards or repairable boards um no i still that that that That's a big deal to me. You got lead? No lead. You got lead or no lead. It's a toss up. That's pretty big to me too. So coil dust? No coil dust. They all got the coil dust. Not the new ones. No? It's new in box. Let's say it's new in box. Yeah, but they'll have a coil. I'm talking about the cabin. I'm just worried about that lead. Oh, this guy's coming up hot. All right. I'm going Scared Stiff, my friend. Yeah. I love playing Game of Thrones Premium, and if I'm going Game of Thrones, I do go Premium or LE over Pro. I know. Sorry, Chuck Ward. But, oh, he's coming in hot, man. That Toyota Corolla is on me. Man, this one. I got a bogey. This one really got me. Scared Stiff is just so much fun to play. Because, yeah. It's a great shooter. I love that. I love the theme. But it's not that deep. yeah that's what I'm saying I'm almost going to have to go against you I'll go Scare Stiff it's a classic it's a beauty still completing that spider multiball is damn near impossible Scare Stiff Game of Thrones I don't know why sheer beauty of it so we got from pinbot76 what's up pinbot Hercules or Varkon what is Varkon what is Is that a game that I've not played? Neither have I, so we really can't answer that. Yeah, sure we can. This is our show. Is Hercules, is he talking about like the big Hercules? I think he's talking about the big one. So, just by default alone, I hate that. Pinbot, I'm sure that I'd love you, man, but that's some wretched shit right there. Yeah. I just don't even know. What about the name of Pinbot? I think he's just an old school kind of guy. Hercules is kind of neat. I do have to give it that. It's neat. No. I don't want to call him that. The only thing Hercules is good for is holding all the shit in my game room while I'm working on other pins. Oh, I think it's going to be. It's a table. I think it's going to be. I've got to look that up before I can answer that. Hercules blows. And I can't believe he's not more prepped on that one, but whatever. Varkon. I just haven't played it. So we're going to go for a... Varkon for the win. Okay. We're going to go Jason Walsh. Oh, he sounds British. He's Aussie, I think. Oh, Walsh is... Yeah. I think so. Yeah. Walshy. We got Judge Dredd or Fishtails. That's simple freaking for me. I'm going Judge Dredd. You hate Fishtails. I don't like Fishtails. I don't like them. Judge Dredd all the way. Judge Dredd, but the ball times are so freaking long. I don't mind long ball times. I do when that music. Here goes your mother. I like it. Dredd for the win. So where are you going with it? I'll go Dredd. That's a nice one. I like that one. That one's good. That one's good. Because it was easy. And thanks, buddy. Thanks for tuning in. Try Hard Atheist. What's up, Try Hard Atheist? One pin, five years. Do you have to try hard to be an atheist? No. Try Hard Atheist. I don't think so. I don't know where that name comes from. What do you think it comes from? Try Hard Atheist. Is it like a command? I don't want to elaborate. Try Hard Atheist. Oh, yeah. I don't know. Or is it? Reach out to us. Let us know where your name comes from. Okay. What did you say? One pin, five years. so you only can own one pin for five years what's it gonna be is that really this or that i don't know we're doing it you can own one pin for five years there's spark lost world you've owned it for five years and it was your only pin for a long time yeah yeah i mean that's a good answer It literally can keep me, yeah. That's just got to be my honest answer because that's easy because I can't think of anything else that I would continuously go back to or that I would enjoy looking at sitting in my house than that. And I know that that's definitely no one else's answer to the world. Maybe it's Darskot's. It could be. Darskot's. He might be tired of it by now. Okay, now I'll actually give an educated answer. you know it's going to have to be deep if I'm going to mess with it for five years so we rule out 90% of the games so we've got things like Dialed In I think is deep enough Lord of the Rings these are some of the things I'm thinking what I would want for five years I'd even throw in Houdini probably because that's definitely a death I think Lord of the Rings is your best bet. Simpsons Pinball Party. Oh, this is kind of boring. Yeah. I mean, for five years you could set a goal and try to get to Valinor. But the problem is, sometimes it's longer ball times. And when you have a good game, you're kind of done. You almost need a good mixture. Or if you get Hobbit. Hobbit's another one that needs to be thrown in there. Um, damn, man. I like that my life is so simple and I don't have to overthink things so much. Right now I'm either between Lord of the Rings or Dialed In. That's honestly where I'm at. Maybe Wizard of Oz. No, Wizard of Oz. I would go Dialed In just because it's newer and it's better looking. If I was going to decide for you. Five years. I would go with Dialed In. Crazy! Hold up, hold up. Just chill. Go to the next one. Okay, so we're going... Because he gets stomped. He sucks. This is from Colin Urban. That's a country music singer. Colin Urban. My name is Colin Urban. I'll be singing a little song for you. We rely down here in Nashville. That's right. What if he really does live in Nashville? Steve Ritchie or Pat Lawler? Oh, damn. That's sacrilegious to pick against those two. I like hanging out with Steve Ritchie. But I like Pat Lawler. Poor Pat Lawler. I like Pat. I don't hang up Pat, so I don't know. But I kind of like Pat Lawler's games. No question. You guys are going to be pissed off. Pat Lawler all the way. Yeah. He makes fun games. He does. Richie makes some brutal fun games. Yeah, they're fun. Fast and flowy. But Pat Lawler's always got the rules. Pat Lawler's always got the magic. Man, I don't know. I don't know. No, not even close. I don't know. and I mean, you know and the other one the other one I think I'm going to go Lord of the Rings the only reason with Richie is some of his games will get a little stale, I actually like his games better, but his games get a little more flat on me, does that make sense? faster they don't have as much character some of his older stuff does, I'm going to go Lord of the Rings over dialed in for my only pin because the theme is four times better to me than dialed in. So I'll go Lord of the Rings. I'd get tired of it in five years, but I'd go Lord of the Rings. We really got to do this next one? I put them all on there for a reason. Who submitted it? James Moore. James. Hey. The whiskey again. You overloading it James especially with this one What did say James James James James ask Yeah Buffalo Buffalo like the city No Buffalo the pinball personalities Okay Our good friends in Buffalo. I got you. Kevin and Nick. Or. Make sure to turn to Martha. dead flip jay or dead flip or dead flip so dead flip or buffalo pinball that's freaking easy yes it is definitely yeah i mean without a doubt i mean i think it's easy oh my god so simple one's this and one's that who do you love who do you love oh my god that was the easiest one of all this thing buffalo or dead flip you know what the answer is what is it uh neither because i like a little of this You put it together, you got yourself Straight down the middle I agree, I like both guys There's attributes that I like of both I watch too much of both and I listen too much of both Yep, I agree I have subscribed to both James, you know we ain't going to pick that I have thrown bits at both I have drank with both You're at the pinball stripper club Just throwing bits out And you know what? In typical pinball stripper fashion He throws out like five bits at a time damn straight it's all singles it's like a nickel you got the people it's like 200 bits and one little thing just says boom nope nope i want to fill that screen up all makes me happy buffalo or dead flip that was a good one you almost got us yeah yeah and then we got from pbu pbu oh pinball undesirable this trolls us all the time he's one guy that i love But I freaking hate that guy. We've got a stout. Yeah. Which Stephen typed wrong. And Zach doesn't know his beers. So Zach's in the south. It's S-O-U-T. I was like, what the hell is a stout? We got the south. Or the IPA. A German dish or something. I'd have the south. Over an IPA, I don't like a super hoppy beer. Like, I think that. Feeling froggy. I think with some IPAs. Bad jokes. that people got me okay um now if I were to sneeze in this closed contained environment your head would be we did have some disinfectant we don't let's get back to this so I think some of these damn I know it's a sound or an IPA. Which one? IPA. You're right. I'm surprised you didn't. So we've got a Sout or an IPA. I think the hoppy beer things became this whole fixation of micro breweries. And I think that there was a lot of some emo hipster people that really felt like, you know what, if I'm drinking this IPA. Wait a minute. An emo hipster? I'd hate to see one of them. an emo and a hipster what are the other like you take one or the other what's sort of that emo or hipster Halloween costume 2018 I'm an emo hipster and you're the hillbilly pirate but it's perfect it won't take me much to dress up like I like to be social but I still like having hair in my face they uh like I think that they just jumped on there like if I'm gonna be cool then I'm drinking this IPA but I think a stout is a much better a much better beer can you give me the brands of some of these because I don't know what the difference is You ain't going to know a brand. Okay. So which one are you going? I'm going stout. The stout? Yeah, I'm going stout. Okay. If I were to guess, I would say a Guinness is a lager, a stout lager. Is that right? There's a stout. There's a Guinness stout. Okay. What's a lager? I'd like a lager. Like your red stripe. You'd like a red stripe instead. A lager would be more your pick, but that's not what we're picking. You definitely aren't going to like an IPA. Your IPA is going to be more like what we drink in Chicago. What's that zombie dust gumball bubble head? What's that shit? I don't know what zombie dust is. Zombie dust is good, but I don't know what it is. I don't like that shit. Gumball bubble heads. I think it might be an IPA. Or dog face. Dog fish. Dog fish. All that shit. If I can't pronounce it, I don't like it. I was going to make a really derogatory comment, but I couldn't. Thank you. But yeah, so I'm going to go with a stout PBU. And I'm not a huge stout person, but I'd go with a stout over an IPA for sure. Fantastic. Those were good. Some of them were tough. Ice cold Pepsi for me. No, you wouldn't. Ice cold Pepsi or my... Sparkling water. He was sparkling freaking water. I know he'd go for it. My kids laugh every time we go to the grocery store and they see the giant rack of flavored water. They're like, oh, there's that favorite drink. He's such a pansy. That's all right. I like it. So a stout or an IPA? I'm just joking. The stouts or the IPA? The stouts are yummy. Yeah, I don't know. I just don't like the skunky taste of beer. Yeah, you like Heineken. Oh, man, I like Heineken. If I'm going to go with a mass-produced beer, Stella is my go-to. Stella! I can drink Stella. Heineken might be second to that. Oh, my God, I hate Heineken. My mass-produced beers. I like a Yingling. Yingling is really good, too. I do like a Yingling. That's a lager. Okay. See, maybe I'm a watered-down American lager. I like lager. I like red stripes. I like a lager on a normal daily basis quite a bit. On a normal daily, you know, three, four times a day, I'm going to go lager. No, I mean, I drink one time a day, but... It's for an extended period of time. For an extended period. I think that closes us out on this week's This or That. Thanks for tuning in. Check us out on, where at, Facebook? Facebook. We're on Twitch. Chuck Wirt, due to his work schedule, because he's crazy busy, is transferred to Sunday evenings. And, yeah, you know, I'm still just randomly doing whatever I do. We've got a couple cool things coming up stream-wise. Yes. We do. We've got some shows to go to. Okay. We're reaching out to a couple streamers maybe to add to the SDTM stream team. Yes, we have somebody really good on our radar that we really like, but we don't know if we'll pick him up. And if you guys have any interest streaming and you want to be part of the SDTM team, reach out to us. We'd love to talk to you about the possibility of doing that. What else? YouTube. Subscribe. Throw us some bitties. Subscribe on Twitch. Yeah, Twitch is fun. Buy a t-shirt. Enjoy Twitter. Yeah, we got our new shirts. Buy a pinball machine from Larry. Our pre-orders have been... I mean, you still order a shirt, so when I say pre-orders, just making sure you get exactly what you want. By the time this is out, we'll probably be close to shipping. Yeah, we should be close to shipping. Yeah, we're printers. So order your shirt. Say hello to us at a show. We love you guys. Yep. This is Greg and Zach. Don't forget about Louisville. We've got Louisville Arcade Expo coming up in two weeks, man. Still a great show, especially if you like pens. There's a good mixture, 50-50, of pens and arcades. Zach hates arcades. I like arcades, so it's a fantastic show for me. I like arcades, but I play in my living room. It's called a PlayStation 4. Somebody compared it kind of to the Midwest Gaming Classic, and I sort of think that it has that feel, too. There's a lot of consoles. What are you even talking about? Louisville Arcade Expo. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I like it a lot. So that's coming up here as the very first of March. You know what's worse than an arcade? You? That's a good one. No, a pinball machine that thinks it's, or an arcade that thinks it's a pinball machine. So you're making fun of Baby Pac-Man? Of course. I hope Chuck Wirt flamed you. Of course I'm making fun of Baby Pac-Man. I'm talking about virtual pins. Yeah. I like virtual pins. An arcade that can't figure out its own identity. I like virtual pins. here in just a few days. It's in transition. We're probably actually in this. I'm going to be playing me some Jurassic Park, Virtual Kid, and Lost World. I don't know what all they're releasing. They're releasing three tables, so. Boring. I'm excited about it. Fuck. It's closed-minded. Closed-minded? This or that. Closed-minded? Open-minded. Closed-minded? Open-minded. Closed-minded? Open-minded. It's either an arcade or it's a pinball machine. It's not both. It could be all of the above. I can't. But thank you guys for tuning in. Love you guys. You hit it off with a bumper now you're straight down the middle again. Middle again. You had a fling with a fling shot you're rolling out the island again. So we're meeting Greg here at Lowe's and he's inside right? He didn't know I'm here yet. So when he comes out we're going to try to scare him. Instead of parking where I'm supposed to park by his truck I know that he's inside. Look here we go. Get him! Oh he's running! Look at him! He's running! Look at him! He's running! He's like a T-Rex! Dude that old guy about freaked out. Like I was thinking about you coming for him. for him. He meant stout. I don't think there is a south. What's the difference between a stout and an IPA? It's south. That's what he put. That's what he put. Well, I think he missed the T. That's on him. He's the beer man. But it was just a message. I don't think there's a south. Why'd he put south then? Because he just missed the T. No, he's supposed to know so much about beer, he don't think he typed it right. No, I miss shit all the Sometimes cat might have two T's on mine. Double hits. You're bad with your prepositions. Bad with everything. I'm bad with nuclear. You know what a sound is.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0414b5c6-0eb4-4b09-a954-3283daf313f8*