# Mystery Playfield Makes Appearance in Stern Factory Friday Video

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-08-17  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/mystery-playfield-makes-appearance-in-stern-factory-friday-video

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## Analysis

A Pinside community member discovered an unidentified pinball playfield in the background of Stern's Factory Friday video featuring Star Wars machines. The mystery playfield shows at least two subways and a bank of five drop targets. Community speculation suggests the drop target arrangement could spell V-E-N-O-M, indicating a possible Venom machine.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] A Pinside member named 'DiabloRush' spotted an unidentified playfield at 15 seconds into Stern's Factory Friday video showing Star Wars machines — _Knapp Arcade article citing Pinside community discovery_
- [HIGH] The playfield appears to have at least two subways and a bank of five drop targets — _Visual observation described in article_
- [MEDIUM] Facebook commenters suggested the five drop targets could spell V-E-N-O-M — _Community speculation mentioned in article update_
- [HIGH] Earlier this year someone identified Rush cabinet side art in a Factory Friday video before official release — _Historical precedent cited in article_

### Notable Quotes

> "I always enjoy it when the eagle-eyes pinball community dissects the videos that manufacturers share on social media."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**
> _Sets up the context of community pattern of finding hidden details in manufacturer videos_

> "The playfield appears to have at least two subways and a bank of five drop targets. Can anyone identify this game? As of this moment, no one has been able to."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**
> _Central claim about the mystery playfield discovery_

> "Some people on Facebook have pointed out that a bank of 5 drop targets could be used to spell out V-E-N-O-M"
> — **Facebook community members (via Knapp Arcade)**
> _Key speculation linking the mystery playfield to a possible Venom machine_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer whose Factory Friday video contained the mystery playfield |
| DiabloRush | person | Pinside community member who discovered the mystery playfield in the video |
| Factory Friday | event | Stern Pinball's recurring social media video series |
| Star Wars | game | The featured machine in the Factory Friday video where the mystery playfield was spotted |
| Rush | game | Stern machine whose cabinet art was previously identified in a Factory Friday video before official release |
| Venom | game | Speculated identity of the mystery playfield based on drop target arrangement spelling V-E-N-O-M |
| Pinside | organization | Pinball community forum where discovery was made and discussed |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Source reporting on the community discovery |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Community detective work / hidden details in manufacturer content, Upcoming/unannounced machine speculation, Venom pinball machine possibility
- **Secondary:** Stern Factory Friday video series

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.5) — Article is factual reporting on a community discovery with speculative but engaged community commentary. No negative or positive editorial slant.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Community pattern of identifying unreleased game details through careful analysis of manufacturer social media content (confidence: high) — Article notes previous successful identification of Rush cabinet art in Factory Friday video; current discovery follows same pattern
- **[leak_detection]** Unannounced pinball machine playfield visible in background of official Stern Factory Friday video (confidence: high) — Mystery playfield spotted by community member at 15 seconds into Star Wars-focused Factory Friday video with distinctive playfield features (two subways, five drop targets)

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## Transcript

I always enjoy it when the eagle-eyes pinball community dissects the videos that manufacturers share on social media. Earlier this year someone figured out what we could see a glimpse of Stern Pinball’s Rush machine’s cabinet side art before the game was out.

Recently, a Pinside member named “DiabloRush” caught a glimpse of a try to be identified pinball playfield fifteen seconds into Stern’s always enjoyable Factory Friday video showing Star Wars machines on the line. The playfield appears to have at least two subways and a bank of five drop targets. Can anyone identify this game? As of this moment, no one has been able to.

UPDATE: I added a couple of enhanced photos to the bottom of this post. This is the best that I can do using my phone until I get home this afternoon. Some people on Facebook have pointed out that a bank of 5 drop targets could be used to spell out V-E-N-O-M

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 07819dea-ea32-4f02-bcc1-4216175e8faf*