# Episode 114

**Source:** Poor Man's Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-03-05  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://poormanspinballpodcast.libsyn.com/episode-114

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## Analysis

Drew from Poor Man's Pinball Podcast discusses Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity from Multimorphic, noting the sold-out Limited Edition and praising the game's design and appeal to diverse audiences. He also details his Sorcerer restoration project, responds to listener mailbag questions about entering the hobby and finding affordable used games, and reflects on licensing strategy for future Multimorphic titles.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity Limited Edition versions sold out within a week of release — _Host Drew states: 'the Limited Edition versions are sold out, which is very cool' and 'I'm not going to spend too much more time on this today just because I am going to be having Stephen Cameron Silver on the show'_
- [MEDIUM] Multimorphic P3 machines do not hold value well compared to other pinball games—used ones sell for $7,000-$8,000 after $12,000 initial investment — _Drew states: 'I think people have been selling used ones for, you know, seven, eight thousand maybe after they invested twelve' but admits 'I could be wrong. I haven't really looked lately'_
- [HIGH] New Multimorphic P3 modules cost $2,800-$3,000 — _Drew states: 'you're going to buy new modules for $2,800 or $3,000'_
- [HIGH] Stephen Cameron Silver is Multimorphic's new creative director — _Drew states in opening: 'Stephen Cameron Silver, he's a tribe member. He is their new creative director' and mentions having him on the show_
- [LOW] Weird Al licensing is likely cheaper than other major IP like He-Man or Sonic the Hedgehog — _Drew speculates: 'I would have to think that Weird Al is much less expensive than even He-Man or Sonic the Hedgehog or whatever the case may be'_
- [HIGH] Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity has nine shots and two ramps based on visible playfield layout — _Drew describes: 'There are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Count the upper flipper. It looks like you have nine shots, which is very cool. Very packed. You have, looks like two ramps.'_
- [HIGH] A used Heist module with Multimorphic P3 was listed for $15,500 on Pinside marketplace — _Drew states: 'I took a quick little break and I went to Pinside. I looked at Heist on the marketplace and lo and behold, there is someone trying to sell one for $15,500' and notes the original Heist module was 'eleven-ish, eleven thousand'_
- [HIGH] Sorcerer restoration completed in approximately 10 hours of work on bottom side assembly — _Drew states: 'I probably only have ten hours into the assembly of the bottom side' after about a week of part-time work_
- [MEDIUM] Early 1980s solid-state games like Firepower, Laser Quest, and Earthshaker remain affordable used purchases under $3,000 — _Drew recommends: 'start with your eighties solid state games' and notes Firepower at 'around two thousand, twenty-two hundred' and Earthshaker at 'twenty, yeah, twenty-eight hundred, three thousand bucks'_
- [HIGH] Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity features a Harvey the Hamster center shot, UHF camera reference, and 'Just Eat It' standup targets — _Drew describes: 'You have the cool hamster wheel center right. You have the UHF camera' and 'up top they have the little Hungry One Cafe with the Just Eat It standup targets'_

### Notable Quotes

> "the Limited Edition versions are sold out, which is very cool. Hats off to Jerry, Stephen Cameron Silver, and team."
> — **Drew (Poor Man's Pinball Podcast)**, ~3:30
> _Confirms strong early sales for Weird Al title and success of Multimorphic's new creative director_

> "I just think that they're not holding their value like some of the other games out there... all my other games have either held their value incredibly well or even gone up in value."
> — **Drew**, ~8:00
> _Key concern about P3 platform investment potential, major buying decision factor for collectors_

> "I probably poo-pooed on this a little bit in the past, and I'm not going to do that anymore because I have a lot of respect for it and what it is. And I think it is real pinball."
> — **Drew**, ~17:30
> _Sentiment shift toward Multimorphic P3 and digital-hybrid pinball as legitimate form_

> "it was working correctly before I tore it apart... I don't know what happened. It's really bizarre. You know, magic fuckery, whatever you want to call it."
> — **Drew**, ~28:00
> _Illustrates common restoration challenges and the troubleshooting process in pinball maintenance_

> "He-Man in animated form would be so kick-ass on Multimorphic P3, it would easily be a runaway smash hit and sell a lot more units than Weird Al."
> — **Scott Ian Haberman (via email)**, ~65:00
> _Industry observer's assessment of licensing strategy and sales potential for future Multimorphic titles_

> "get to know your local community. You need to befriend people that can help you, you know, even just to ask questions. And most importantly, you can't be afraid to get your hands dirty."
> — **Drew**, ~44:00
> _Advice to new players about building social and technical skills in the pinball community_

> "any System 11. I mean, there's thirty plus of them. Most of them are not rare, and most of them are four thousand or less."
> — **Drew**, ~50:00
> _Guidance on affordable entry-level games for new collectors_

> "This theme really lends itself well to pinball... I think this whole package looks really cool. I think it's fun. I think it's going to translate well to pinball."
> — **Drew**, ~5:30
> _Positive assessment of Weird Al theme fit for pinball gameplay_

> "you buy one of these things and this is like a used car where instantly it will—well, present day excluded—because yes, you buy a used car today or a new car today and it seems to be worth less the next year."
> — **Drew**, ~7:45
> _Depreciation concern specific to Multimorphic P3 platform vs. other pinball investments_

> "I know Stephen Cameron Silver will crush it. Lastly, you can't have such a touchy-feely show and then at the end say, send me your hate mail."
> — **Scott Ian Haberman**, ~68:00
> _Community figure praise for new creative director and humorous meta-commentary on show tone_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Drew | person | Host of Poor Man's Pinball Podcast, pinball collector and restorer |
| Stephen Cameron Silver | person | New creative director at Multimorphic, designer of Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity |
| Jerry | person | Appears to be senior leadership at Multimorphic (likely Jerry Willams, founder); referenced as driving force behind P3 platform vision |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Owner/operator of Flippin' Out Pinball (distribution company), podcast sponsor |
| Nicole | person | Associate at Flippin' Out Pinball |
| Doc Finlay | person | Creator of pinballprices.com, podcast sponsor and tribe member |
| Daryl Van den Light | person | Pinball repair community member who helped Drew troubleshoot Sorcerer coil issue |
| Dave Brennan | person | Employee at American Pinball, YouTube channel creator (Dave's Arcade) specializing in pinball tech education |
| Scott Ian Haberman | person | Original Poor Man's Pinball Podcast host, submitted mailbag letter discussing Weird Al licensing and He-Man potential |
| TJ | person | New pinball hobbyist listener with Godzilla on order, submitted mailbag questions about getting into the hobby |
| Multimorphic | company | Pinball manufacturer producing P3 digital-hybrid platform; recently released Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball distribution and rental company owned by Zach Sharpe; primary sponsor of Poor Man's Pinball Podcast |
| American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Dave Brennan is employee there |
| Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity | game | New Multimorphic P3 title released with sold-out Limited Edition; features Weird Al Yankovic theme |
| Sorcerer | game | Early 1980s solid-state pinball machine being restored by Drew; purchased for ~$1,600-$1,700 |
| Poor Man's Pinball Podcast | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Drew, covering industry news, reviews, and community discussion |
| Godzilla | game | Recent Stern release; listener TJ has one on order as first machine |
| Heist | game | Multimorphic P3 module; used example listed for $15,500 on Pinside marketplace |
| Kaneda's Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast where Chris (host) discussed Weird Al theme criticism vs. other IP options |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Upcoming event where Drew plans to play Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity and potentially meet Stephen Cameron Silver |
| Pinside | organization | Online pinball marketplace and community platform used for buying/selling used machines and tracking prices |
| IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association; referenced in context of competitive pinball community |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity review and reception, Multimorphic P3 platform value retention and depreciation concerns, Sorcerer restoration project and troubleshooting process, New player guidance: getting into the hobby and affordable game recommendations
- **Secondary:** Stephen Cameron Silver as new creative director at Multimorphic, Pinball IP licensing strategy and future Multimorphic titles, Early 1980s solid-state games as affordable collectible options, DIY maintenance and repair skills for pinball collectors

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Drew is enthusiastic about Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity despite pricing concerns, shows growing respect for Multimorphic P3 platform, and is excited about his restoration projects. Some criticism of Weird Al theme choice and P3 value retention, but overall tone is supportive of the platform's creative direction and Stephen Cameron Silver's involvement. Community engagement through mailbag is warm and encouraging.

### Signals

- **[product_launch]** Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity released with sold-out Limited Edition within first week (confidence: high) — Drew states: 'the Limited Edition versions are sold out' and discusses Limited Edition being sold out 'to the distributors, from my understanding'
- **[personnel_signal]** Stephen Cameron Silver confirmed as new creative director at Multimorphic (confidence: high) — Drew announces: 'Stephen Cameron Silver, he's a tribe member. He is their new creative director' and mentions having him on show next week
- **[collector_signal]** Secondary market pricing for Multimorphic P3 machines showing mixed signals—Heist listed at $15,500 (premium) but general depreciation remains concern (confidence: high) — Heist listed at $15,500 on Pinside (original ~$11,000) but Drew notes P3s generally sell used for $7,000-$8,000 after $12,000 investment
- **[design_philosophy]** Multimorphic's intent to create hybrid digital-physical pinball with family/non-enthusiast appeal (confidence: high) — Drew states: 'I know that's what Jerry's been going for. I know that's been the dream all along' regarding blending video game vibe with physical pinball
- **[market_signal]** Shift in Drew's assessment: growing acceptance of P3 platform as 'real pinball' despite previous skepticism (confidence: high) — Drew: 'I probably poo-pooed on this a little bit in the past, and I'm not going to do that anymore because I have a lot of respect for it and what it is. And I think it is real pinball.'
- **[licensing_signal]** Speculation that Weird Al licensing was chosen for cost advantage over major IP like He-Man, Sonic, Transformers (confidence: medium) — Drew speculates: 'I would have to think that Weird Al is much less expensive than even He-Man or Sonic the Hedgehog' and notes Weird Al is 'the type of guy who probably thought it was a great idea'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community sentiment shift toward Weird Al theme acceptance despite initial reservations about IP choice (confidence: medium) — Drew references Chris from Kaneda's Pinball Podcast criticizing theme, but Drew counters: 'it still holds nostalgic magic' and game 'going to really really appeal to people who maybe aren't into pinball'
- **[design_innovation]** Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity features novel playfield layout with 9 shots, Harvey hamster wheel center, and integrated UHF movie camera reference (confidence: high) — Drew describes: '9 shots, which is very cool. Very packed. You have, looks like two ramps. You have the cool hamster wheel center right. You have the UHF camera'
- **[community_signal]** Mailbag segment revival and community engagement through listener questions about hobby entry and game recommendations (confidence: high) — Drew launches mailbag segment with two listener submissions (TJ and Scott Ian) requesting hobby guidance and game recommendations
- **[restoration_signal]** Drew's Sorcerer restoration demonstrates efficient troubleshooting process and playfield swap expertise development (confidence: high) — Drew completes bottom-side assembly in ~10 hours, documents with hundreds of photos, uses Facebook repair community for diagnosis, swaps coil wires per Daryl's suggestion
- **[rumor_hype]** Strong speculation about future Multimorphic P3 titles and licensing strategy—He-Man, Transformers, Ren & Stimpy, Beavis and Butthead discussed as potential licenses (confidence: low) — Drew and Scott Ian speculate: 'He-Man... would be so kick-ass' and 'Transformers or G.I. Joe, just one of those great 80s cartoons, Scooby-Doo... or maybe even... Beavis and Butthead or Ren and Stimpy'
- **[market_signal]** 1980s solid-state games remain affordable entry point for new collectors ($1,500-$3,500 range) (confidence: high) — Drew recommends System 11 games at '$4,000 or less', cites Firepower at '$2,000-$2,200', Earthshaker at '$2,800-$3,000', F-14 Tomcat approaching '$3,000'

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## Transcript

 This episode of the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast is brought to you by Flip N Out Pinball. Zach and Nicole are the greatest distributors on planet Earth. If you want a new pinball game, you call them. If you want a used pinball game, you call them. You want accessories, you call them. Raw thrills, you call them. You want an Escalera, call somebody else. I'm still waiting on my fucking Escalera. definitely call them for your escalera finally finally finally my escalera is coming in a couple of weeks i got communication from the company themselves and it will be here by the end of march so thank you so much zach and nicole you guys are amazing friends of the show we love you guys so much thank you for everything that you do we are also brought to you by pinballprices.com Doc Finlay, I love you too man I love everything you do a friend of the show, tribe member of the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast, Doc Finlay he keeps you up to date on all the newest pinball insanity that's out there these prices are going nuts he is tracking all these sales and he is keeping it up to date pinballprices.com, one of our premier sponsors for the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast, thank you so much for what you do Doc, we are not sponsored by P3 Multimorphic, but I want to give them a special shout-out. They have a new game this week, Weird Al's Natural Museum of Hilarity. Stephen Silver, he's a tribe member. He is their new creative director. We love Stephen Silver. We love P3 Multimorphic. I'm excited to see what they can do. Welcome, boys and girls, to the Poor Man's Pinball Podcast, episode 114. It is Saturday morning, and I thought I would do a quick little episode here. uh we're gonna talk a little bit about my reaction to weird al's natural museum of hilarity oh let me try that again we're gonna talk about weird al's museum of natural hilarity from multimorphic went on sale last week believe all the le's are sold out which is very cool hats off to jerry stephen silver and team i'm gonna have to learn more of the people there you know stephen silver one of our tribe members. I've met Jerry once or twice, and I'm sure there's other people working there doing great things. But yeah, I just wanted to kind of talk a little bit about what I thought about the game after kind of seeing it and taking a look at the shots and the layout and what it has to offer. So here we go. The first thing I notice about it is the module itself. There are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Count the upper flipper. It looks like you have nine shots, which is very cool. Very packed. You got, looks like two ramps. You got the cool hamster wheel center right. You got the UHF camera, which I thought was a nice little nod. And it looks like it's an integral part of the game, which is very, very cool. Got some standup targets. Um, what else? You got the little hamster, Harvey the hamster. Um, you got, um, yeah, some, some inserts and some different things, but all in all it looks, uh, very cool. Looks like there's some fun in there and I really can't wait to see, um, some of the animations and stuff. But, um, up top they got the little hungry one cafe with the just eat it, um, stand up targets, which I thought is also kind of cool. what else do we have here so they got it close if you go to multimorphic.com you can see these pictures that I'm looking at right now but just you know some neat little things and I think this theme really lends itself well to pinball so for all the naysayers out there yeah I just think that this is going to be a really fun game and once again it's just a little too expensive for my taste. Um, you know, what you get versus what it is. It's, it's close, Jerry. I'm getting there, man. Um, you know, I might own one someday, but the other problem I have too, and this might change now, but especially if they keep getting better and better games, which they have been. So hats off to you guys, but, uh, man, you, you buy one of these things and this is like a used car where instantly it will, well, present day excluded because yes, you buy a used car today or a new car today and it seems to be worth more the next year, but, um, but that's not usual. And, um, unfortunately the P3 system has not been that way as well. Um, I think people have been selling used ones for, you know, seven, $8,000 maybe after they invested 12. Um, I could be wrong. I haven't really looked lately. So someone please send me a message 414-828-3739 if I am wrong. But I just think that they're not holding their value like some of the other games out there. And once again, that might change and that might be great. And it's not that's not the only reason I would buy one or not buy one. But it is just something to consider, you know, because All my other games have either held their value incredibly well or even gone up in value. So I just think that that is something to consider. But if you're going to keep this a long time and you're going to buy new modules for $2,800 or $3,000, you might really be on to something. So once again, keep bringing out the good themes, and I'll keep considering it. And who knows, maybe the next one that comes out in a year or two, maybe I'll jump on it. But right now I'm just going to sit on the sidelines. Hopefully I'll get to play some at Texas. And who knows, that might change my mind as well, because I'm looking at some of these animations. They've got the pictures of the animations on their site, and they look pretty intriguing. So I'm interested to see what it's like, and I'm sure I'll get to play one at Texas. So TPF, get ready. Drew is on his way. I stand corrected, ladies and gentlemen. I took a quick little break and I went to Pinside. I looked at Heist on the marketplace and lo and behold, there is someone trying to sell one for $15,500, Oboe. Um, so, um, I don't know if he's going to get that, but, uh, you know, he's certainly asking quite a bit of money. Cause I think the heists, uh, module with the P3 was 11, you know, 11 ish, 11,000. So, um, this person is certainly trying to cash in and, you know, they might get it, might not, but you know, maybe we, we are going to see these prices probably start creeping up on the secondhand market, which is, you know, great for Jerry. and great for team, and they can continue to churn out great titles. So anyways, but let's get back to what we were looking at here. They also have pictures of the art packages on there, which I do want to point out because there are actually some pretty cool things. The standard game, so they have a standard and an LE model. Once again, the LEs are sold out. You could probably maybe call a couple distributors that there might be one or two still left because they sold out to the distributors, from my understanding. But anyways, the standard has Weird Al on the back glass with an accordion, you know, his signature instrument, which is kind of cool. And then on the side, it has him outside the museum with one of the velvet rope stands. And it looks like he's using it as a microphone. That's kind of cool. It's Weird Al. But the LE package, this is where it's at, because on the back glass they have Weird Al riding a large Harvey the Hamster, which is super funny, super cool. They have the side art has Weird Al in his Rambo fatigues from, what is that, UHF, I think, yeah, in the movie. He's dressed like Rambo with these huge muscles and kicking ass. So very cool. But then what's really, really awesome about this, it has the topper. and Jerry said he was not going to sell these toppers as a one-off and I think it's a huge disservice. It's got Weird Al behind his accordion and it's not super fancy, but it's just a nice little touch and really adds, I think, to the whole experience for the game. So if you haven't, once again, go to Multimorphic.com and check out the different pictures and you can see what I'm talking about here. But yeah I think all in all this package looks really cool I think it fun I think it going to translate well to pinball as I said before But most importantly I think this is going to be one of those games that kind of appeals to a lot of people Because you're going to have the diehard Weird Al fans, which there are a lot. I think he still sells out large, large venues. So there's that. then you know i think it's going to definitely appeal to some pinheads because it looks like like i said it has some shots it has some things going on you know but it's also going to really really appeal to people who maybe aren't into pinball and you know you have a family and you purchase one of these um you know maybe no one in the family has ever played pinball before i could really see somebody who was in that boat or maybe maybe dad played pinball in college or something, but you buy this thing and I think the kids are going to love it because it's kind of got that video game vibe along with the physical stuff. And I know that's what Jerry's been going for. I know that's been the dream all along, but once again, I just think with the non-licensed themes, that's been a tough sell, but as they keep getting better, even the animations, Way to Go Stephen Silver and everything keep improving, I really think this becomes more and more attractive. And let's be honest, I'm sure it's fun. You know, it is pinball. It is fun. You know, there's a steel ball bouncing around. There's stuff that you're shooting for on the screen. There's stuff you're shooting for in the back half. So, you know, I've probably poo-pooed on this a little bit in the past, and I'm not going to do that anymore because I have a lot of respect for it and what it is. And I think it is real pinball. And I think there's more and more people coming around every day. And I'm one of them. So, you know, I think a couple of, like, larger themes might be in order. And maybe that's what they're working towards. I would really encourage Jerry, because, you know, I'm a marketing genius, to get some even bigger themes as you go along. Weird Al is an awesome start. To me, it's kind of akin to American Pinball's Hot Wheels, which, once again, I thought that was a fun theme, but it definitely wasn't my top ten. Much like Weird Al, I played with Hot Wheels as a kid, but as an adult, yeah, I probably would want something a little better. But I think for families, this is just absolutely amazing, and it's going to continue to do well and continue to grow the platform. So this was my second show in a row where we're talking about Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity. Did I get that right? I got to check every time. See, that's the thing. You guys should have made it a little shorter on the title for people like me. Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity. so I'm not going to spend too much more time on this today just because I am going to be having Stephen Silver on the show and we're going to talk more about it and he can obviously talk more in depth I'm sure by then we'll have seen more and maybe there is more I'm going to watch some videos and really see hopefully before TPF we will get Stephen Silver on here to discuss what he's been doing so we're hoping to do that I think next week so you guys can look forward to that so I'm going to kind of change gears here and get off of P3 for a moment. And we are going to talk about Sorcerer because I have been really kicking ass with this restore and I'm really excited about it. And it has been quite a learning experience. So within about a week's time, I got that play field put back together on the bottom side, which I thought was pretty good because I wasn't working on it for hours on end. I would spend like an hour or two a day. So I probably only have 10 hours into the assembly of the bottom side. So I think that's pretty good. And anyone who's ever done any sort of extensive work on a pinball machine knows weird stuff can happen. Let me explain. So I had this thing working a hundred percent before I tore it down because I didn't want to make that mistake. I was excited to do it, but I didn't want to just like tear it down and not have it working and then, you know, put it back together and then figure out the issues. So I spent, you know, quite a bit of time before I even took out the original play field and started tinkering with it. I just wanted to make sure the game worked. So when it came to me, it had a few small issues. I was ironing them out. I repinned some connectors. I won't bore you with all the technical details. If you want to email me, poor man's pinball at gmail.com. I'll be happy to talk to you about it, but I know a lot of our audience doesn't care about the technical stuff. You guys just care about the shit that Drew screws up and, uh, the funny antics that, and the swearing and the drinking that ensues while I'm doing it, which there was plenty of, of both of those. So anyways, I get this thing working. I'm feeling really good about myself and I'm like, all right, we are going to tear this thing down. That goes just fine. Then I cleaned it up. I get the new play field. I put it all back together. Like I said, in about a week, I'm feeling great. I I'm going to, so now the whole bottom side is put together. I put it into the machine. I plug it in. It lights up. I'm really excited. I got a couple bulbs that are out, but that's not a big deal. Um, and it starts a game with asterisk air quotes. So when it starts the game, the right sling starts firing. And then when I push the sling switch, then the ball shoots out of the shooter ejector into the shooter lane. so anyways i'm i'm looking at the wires i'm you know i'm checking the pins i'm like why are these crossed i check the diodes on the coil to make sure it's not back feeding into the other one and everything checks out and i cannot figure this out for the life of me so i put my plea for help on the pinball repair help site or help group on facebook and my buddy daryl daryl van dan light I think I said it right this time. Did I get it right, Daryl? I'm sorry. Van Dan Light. So Daryl chimed in and said, hey, why don't you switch the wires on the coils? And I said, because the coils were the correct coils. Like, you know, the one was on the shooter lane, which it should have been, and one was on the sling, and those were the correct coils. So for everyone out there screaming at their mics right now saying, Drew, you're a dumbass, and you swapped the coils. No, no, no, that's not what happened. Like I said, those were the coils. I had literally 1,000 pictures. I mean, every time I did something with this, I was taking like 10 or 12 pictures. So I have hundreds and hundreds of photos. So that wasn't it. But what was really strange, and I didn't unsolder any coils during this whole process. So it's not like I was putting on new coils or something like that, and that could have got screwed up. Plus I had them all, um, taped with a blue, um, painter's tape. So everything was marked. Um, like I said, I had pictures. So what was really bizarre about this whole thing is he, yeah, he, Daryl, congrats, man, you were right, but it was working correctly before I tore it apart. So I don't know what happened. I don't know how it happened. Um, um it really bizarre i you know black magic fuckery whatever you want to call it you know it it's probably just i did something stupid i mean you know there's a lot of parts and a lot of different things but it's just one of those things it just bugs me because like i said it was it was working fine and i just feel like it yeah it's just just magic i i don't know it really bizarre so anyways i swapped those wires that's working um i have some adjustments to make now I'm having a couple of similar issues that I had before I took it apart, so that's not scaring me because I kind of had the issues and I ironed them out. There's a switch matrix thing that's causing tilts, like errant tilts, when you push the switch and you get a tilt warning. And obviously that shouldn't happen. So, you know, now I just got to, you know, the pops are working great, the drops are working great, the switches are all working. like I said I got a few lamps out so now it's just a matter of I'm going to iron out these couple of issues I'm going to put the top side together and I'm going to have a working sorcerer so I am super excited I'm going to do a little touch up paint on the cabinet like the front of the backbox there's some marks maybe the insides I think I'm just going to put mirror blades on the insides those probably look cool on there but anyways so i am i'm almost home uh i'm super super excited about this and it has been a fun journey i'm i'm ready for my next one like this is this is so much fun i'm gonna get this one 100 i'm gonna keep it i'm gonna play it i'm gonna enjoy it um but i'm looking for my next project because uh it keeps me busy keeps my mind going um it problem solving puzzle solving puzzle solving I got time every day even though I super busy with my real estate I don't have to work 12 or 16 hours anymore like I used to. So I'm really enjoying this extra time that I have. And I'm filling it with more pinball friends, which is awesome. And I'm filling it with you know, these, these restores and just, just tinkering with games. And now, you know, and I'm enjoying some of these old games and guess what guys, I'm not paying a ton for these games. So that's the best thing. And right now I'm looking for a Globetrotters. If anyone knows, send them to me. I'm looking for a Harlem Globetrotters. I'm also looking for a space shuttle, which is another system nine. That one's been on my list literally since the beginning. Ever since I got into this hobby, I just, I was drawn. I played it a couple of times and I was really drawn to that game. So Space Shuttle, Harlem Globetrotters, and Swords of Fury. Those are the three older games that are on my hit list right now, so send me what you got. So with that, it segues me into our final segment of the day, which is something that we are bringing back, and that is Mailbag. Mailbag! Mailbag! I have two very, very awesome pieces for Mailbag today, so thank you once again, guys. It's poormanspinball at gmail.com. We will be starting up some of this fun stuff we used to do, one of them being mailbag. So we're going to get into it. I have a new listener, new to the hobby. His name is TJ. We'll just leave it at that. I don't know if he wants his last name revealed, but TJ, thank you so much for the email. And it reads as such. Hey, I stumbled upon your podcast and just wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying it. I'm very new into the hobby, like a lot of people out here. and I've just been trying to be a sponge to all the good content I can find. How to be a better player, tips on buying a used game, what games to look for. I am fortunate enough to have a Godzilla on order. He doesn't say pro or premium, but man, way to go, TJ. What a great first game, right? And I'm very excited about that, and you should be. You should be creaming your drawers, man. That game is fantastic. to get to my points I wanted to see if on your upcoming podcast you could give some newcomers some tips on just coming into the hobby things to know and things you wish you knew in the beginning we will be doing that TJ actually in a minute here also aside from my Godzilla I feel I had to pay the rights to my firstborn to obtain you ain't kidding brother I'd like to hear a list of your games that are out there on the used market that you look for that are fun games in your last show I heard you talk about Earthshaker and being a $3,000 game. Even last, I saw a couple for $2,700 this week. All these games are brand new to me, and so are the prices, so a list of first-timer games to get into the hobby that maybe aren't brand new or higher prices would be fun. I get that a fun game can be subjective. Anyway, that's all I had, and again, thank you for the great content. I look forward to the next one. Well, first of all, TJ, thank you once again so much for taking the time to write in. Thank you for listening, welcome to the hobby, brother. So I'd like to address these in a couple different points here. So let's just start with the first one. Things to know. You know, and I did respond back to him already in an email, but, you know, I think people get into this hobby, it can be intimidating, just like any new hobby. And especially with pinball, because there's so many moving parts, no pun intended, you know, in the games and, and, and games break as we know. So, you know, whenever I'm talking to people about pinball or, you know, cause I've been asked this question several times and it's get to know your local community. Um, you need to, um, befriend people that can help you, um, you know, even just to ask questions. Um, and most importantly, you can't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Um, you know, there, There's a lot of things that seem intimidating. And once again, I'm not a super handy dude, but, you know, it helps that I like tinkering with stuff. But just the knowledge that I've come across in the last five or six years has been amazing. And like I said, you know, I'm doing play field swaps. And six years ago, like, I didn't even know how to transport a game. So these are the things you learn. Some things are just necessary that you learn. you have to at least have a basic understanding how a pinball machine works. You know, getting switch adjustment tools, which costs, you know, $7 or $8, $10, whatever it is, just learning how to adjust a switch, you know, how to change a fuse, how to, you know, maybe just get a multimeter so you can check a couple of things. You know, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on tools, and you don't need to learn how to restore a game from, you know, 100%. But there are some things that you can do. You know, and by the way, shout out to Dave Jeff Brenner, tribe member and employee at American Pinball. He has started a YouTube channel called Dave's Arcade. So check that out. He's got, I think he's even selling merchandise already. So Dave's Arcade, you know, Dave does all those great tech videos and he really knows how to explain it like you're five. I mean, every time I talk to Dave, he dumbs it down for me, and he needs to. Those are the kind of people that you need to meet. So that's thing one. And then thing two, here are a list of games that are out there in the used market that are fun games. Well, there's quite a few, and some of them will not break the bank, believe it or not. So what I'd recommend for games, especially ones that won't break the bank, You know, start with your 80s solid state games. I've owned a handful of them that were amazing. Laser Q is amazing. That one's a little more rare, so you might not be able to find that one. But Firepower, a lot of them were made. Even now, they're only around $2,000, $2,200. So, yeah, they might have, quote, unquote, doubled in price, but it's still affordable because now $2,000 is not too bad. What else do I got here? Um, Demoman, if you're looking for a DMD, you can usually get those for around four, maybe even a little less. Um, what else? Earthshaker. I've mentioned that. Earthshaker is one of the best System 11 games in my opinion. And it's, you know, it's 20, yeah, 2,800, 3,000 bucks. So Earthshaker is a great one. Um, really any, and that's, that's why I told him, you know, this, uh, TJ in any System 11. I mean, there's 30 plus of them. Most of them are not rare, and most of them are $4,000 or less. Swords of Fury, it's on my hit list. That one used to be $2,500. Now it's $3,500. What else? Yeah, the space games that we talked about, like Space Shuttle, Space Station, Black, what is it? Not Black Hole. Blackout. But, you know, my Sorcerer, I paid, you know, remember, guys, this was working. And I paid like, what did I pay, $1,600, $1,700? And the play field wasn't that bad. I just wanted to do a swap because I've never done one. And plus the art's amazing on there. But, yeah, that Sorcerer's a fun game. Mousing Around, I own that one. You can find those for about $4,000 now. I might be selling mine. So if someone's interested, Mousing Around's a great game. What else do we got here? So what I'm doing, guys, is I'm looking at the pinball, sorry, pin side top 100, and I'm on page two. You know, 101 through 200 on the list. And, you know, some of these games are rare. Some of them are more expensive. But, you know, at the end of the day, a lot of these can be had. I'm eyeing up a Jungle Lord right now. Jungle Lord, about $2,500. bucks. Um, another solid, um, multi-level solid state game, um, Stargate. They call that the, the poor man's, uh, Simpsons pinball party. Cause it's got a similar layout. Um, I don't know the price on those on pin side. It has the median asking price at 2,800. So I'm guessing they're probably around 4,000 these days, but, um, it's a lot of game for not a lot of money. Um, what else, what else, what else, um, F-14 Tomcat, everyone's owned one, it's a fast game, it's a fun game, they used to be $1,500 all day, now they're getting close to that $3,000, but F-14 Tomcat is a game that I do believe everyone should own for a period, it's just, it's fun, it's fast, it's brutal, um, I think about it sometimes, I did have a lot of fun with that one, um, but, you know it's a one trick pony like a lot of games from that era so so oh lethal weapon three that's also on my list some some people absolutely hate it but the people that love it they absolutely i mean they really love it you know from data east it's oh god what are they twenty eight hundred dollars even today maybe three so um you know pick you up a lethal weapon three and i know i'm gonna get poo-pooed for that but um it's it's a fun game harlem globetrotters i talked about it i want one Cool theme cool game You got the spinners It just it great So I really hoping to pick one of those up soon Meteor same thing There been a million of them made and you can find them They out there and they So Feral is another one. That one's a little more rare, but I just happen to like that game. It's cool art, cool stuff going on. But yeah, check out those early 80s solid states. Well, I think that's it. So TJ, I hope that helps. I'm really glad that you wrote in. And, you know, thanks for letting me prattle on for a while about games because that's what this is about. You know, and that's what I always really enjoy talking about. It's not the sexy current news of the day. It's not a new game being released. I love talking about that stuff too. But, you know, just talking about games and stuff from the past and cool artwork and cool shots. One more very special treat for the mailbag from none other than the original poor man himself, Ian Haberman. So Ian writes, Dear Drew, Long time listener, first time emailer. You and Chris are both partially correct with your assessment on Weird Al's pinball game. Kaneda was right to say it's not the best theme. You were right to say it still holds nostalgic magic. However, it comes down to one thing, selling units. He-Man in animated form would be so kick-ass on P3, it would easily be a runaway smash hit and sell a lot more units than Weird Al. It's not even a question. With that being said, I'm super proud of the Multimorphic team. First licenses can be tricky, and overall it's a fun choice. I know Stephen Silver will crush it. Lastly, you can't have such a touchy-feely show and then at the end say, send me your hate mail. What? Did I miss something? I thought for a second Bob Ross came back from the dead and started a pinball podcast. Lay off the gummies, you hippie. Love you and love the show. Keep it up. Poor man, Ian. Aw, thanks, Ian. So let's dissect this here a little bit. So once again, we all miss Ian here on the podcast. It was really nice for him to send in this mailbag, though, and it resurrected the second segment. So that's cool. Thanks, Ian. I've said that. Chris Kaneda was right that, you know, it's not the best theme. And I said that. Even though I'm a big Weird Al fan, it's not the best theme they could have got. But I think from a price standpoint, once again, not knowing anything about licensing, I would have to think that Weird Al is much less expensive than even He-Man or Sonic or whatever the case may be. Weird Al just seems like the type of guy who probably thought it was a great idea. Hey, give me X number of dollars and we can do this. I'll help you with whatever you need. So I'm just guessing that's the type of guy he is. And I said, yeah, it still holds nostalgic magic, which I believe it does. Because like I said, a lot of people from my generation listen to Weird Al. And like I said, he was relevant then. I'd still argue he's relevant today. Once again, I'm not really actively looking for his songs. But every time I hear one, it just makes me smile and reminds me of being a teenager listening to stupid Weird Al. So good stuff. He-Man in animated form, he says, would be kick-ass, and I agree. I think something like He-Man or Transformers or G.I. Joe, just one of those great 80s cartoons, Scooby-Doo, any one of those 80s cartoons, or maybe even a more adult theme. If they did Beavis and Butthead or Ron and Stimpy on P3, I could see that really going over well. so I think getting an animated show on the platform is something that needs to be I'm not going to say a top priority but it needs to be on the list somewhere because we all know I'm biased I love cartoons, I'm a grown man child but I just think that that platform lends itself really well to an animated show of any South Park, you name it that license might be a little too big But I think there's a lot of potential there. So what else? He's super proud of the Multimorphic team, which he should be. Stephen Silver, once again, great job. Great job with rolling out Weird Al. Like I said, at the end of the day, it's a fine choice, and you guys are going to sell some units, and that's what really matters. When I said send me your hate mail, well, you know, occasionally I piss people off. It's not often. I'm such a lovable scamp, but, you know, occasionally it happens, so I just had to do that. And laying off the gummies, Ian, that's not happening. I love me some gummies. So, anyways, thanks again for writing in, buddy, and we hope to have you on the show soon. And that's really all for me today. We're really trying to keep these in 30-minute segments because they don't drone on, and they seem to be getting some good traction, some good feedback. So remember, guys, send your feedback, poormanspinball at gmail.com. Text me, 414-828-3739. I'm happy to. I've been trying to respond to everybody. There actually has been a lot more, like I said, traction because we're doing more episodes. Poor Man's Pinball Network is up and running. We haven't done an official crazy launch, and we might not even do that. in poor man's style. We just, um, you know, we just do stuff and, and see what sticks, but, um, but I'm really proud of it. I'm proud of all the people that are on it. Um, Rachel and Tim, Tribe Multiball, Tribe member number two, listener number 15, Martin with his pinball junk drawer, some great episodes, some great interviews with people like Dirty Donnie and Gary Stern. So just, just check out the poor man's pinball page. You will find all kinds of great stuff. There's more content being added literally every day. So we're really trying. I have a goal of getting to five or six episodes per month because I'm doing the shorter ones. I'm doing them in my house. That's great. If you guys, much like TJ, if you want to send me what you think I should talk about on the show, because I'm starved for content because I'm not Kaneda. I'm not as charismatic. and I can't just, I can talk forever, but most of it isn't entertaining. So I want to keep them short. I want good content so I can be entertaining for you guys. And I hope that they're getting better. I'm feeling better with these every week. So it's kind of cool doing them by myself. As much as I like doing them with guests, this is just quick and easy because it's literally 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning. So I could never do that with a guest, right? No one's going to get up at 8 o'clock to talk pinball with this guy. So anyways, poormanspinballgmail.com. This has been episode 114. I will talk to you guys soon. Go Johnny, go, go, go, Johnny, go, go, Johnny B. Go. There she was, just a-walkin' down the street, singin' doo-wah-dee-dee-dee-dee-dum-dee-dee-doo. Slappin' her fingers and jumpin' her feet, singin' doo-wah-dee-dee-dee-dee-dum-dee-dee-doo. She looked good, she looked fine, she looked good, she looked fine, and I nearly lost my mind. I love that curly water. Oh, Boston, you're my home. Yeah. It's the home. It's home, woman. Give me, give me, give me the home, you don't lose. All right. one bye Pam Oh Rudy, oh Rudy, oh Rudy, oh Rudy, oh Rudy Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Girl, I want to be with you all of the time All day and all of the night All day and all of the night All day and all of the night This indecision bugger me If you don't want me, set me free Exactly whom I'm supposed to be Which clothes even fit me Come on and let me know Never get me scared to see you You're like cool little sugar blow Never get me scared to see you Let me go on Like a blister in the sun Let me go on Big hands, I know you're the one

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 11b77923-eb02-46c6-863c-2d03b1d9f828*