# PNP- 658 Top 5 MOST Rad Pins Of 2025 RANKED

**Source:** Poor Man's Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-11-25  
**Duration:** 59m 52s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://poormanspinballpodcast.libsyn.com/pnp-658-top-5-most-rad-pins-of-2025-ranked

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## Analysis

Josh Roop and Scott Larson of Loser Kid Pinball Podcast discuss their top 5 favorite pinball releases of 2025, focusing heavily on Walking Dead Remastered and Beetlejuice. They defend licensing constraints on art design, explain Spooky Pinball's limited production strategy (999 units for Beetlejuice) as deliberate market management rather than a quality excuse, and anticipate rule set improvements for Walking Dead. The hosts contextualize complaints about limited availability and pricing within industry manufacturing realities.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Walking Dead Remastered was only produced in 500 LE units and Stern has not sold out to distributors yet — _Josh states 'they only did 500 limited editions as far as I'm aware. Stern hasn't even sold out from them to their distributors.'_
- [HIGH] Walking Dead licenser approved and directed the art package, limiting Stern's creative freedom — _Scott explains 'the licenser may have a direction for their license' and notes the licenser has 'ultimate responsibility to approve the art package'_
- [HIGH] Metallica was successful because the licenser gave Stern freedom to do whatever they wanted with the art — _Scott references Metallica and Dirty Donnie art: 'they basically said, Do whatever you want'_
- [HIGH] Beetlejuice limited to 999 units as deliberate strategy to maintain secondary market value, not due to production capacity limits — _Scott explains demand economics: 'if I have a thousand that I'm trying to sell how many do I want demand for? You basically want one person out there who cannot get the product'_
- [HIGH] Spooky's previous games (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo) with limited runs remain available for purchase on Spooky's website — _Scott states 'You can still get all those games through Spooky on their website today as it sits'_
- [MEDIUM] Walking Dead has a Lyman Sheets rule set, similar to Metallica, designed to reward elite/competitive players — _Josh notes 'It's a hard layout and it also has a Lyman rule set and so it rewards the elite players'_
- [HIGH] Evil Dead (Spooky) sold out approximately 3 months after reveal, at Texas Pinball Festival — _Scott states 'Evil Dead... didn't sell out till Texas Pinball Festival. That was 3 months after reveal'_
- [HIGH] Flippin' Out Pinball (Zach Minney) offers interest list sign-up for future pinball titles as customer service feature — _Josh mentions 'Zach Mini takes interested lists for titles' and praises this as 'customer service at its best'_

### Notable Quotes

> "when you have a licenser that allows that, great. And if you look at it, even historically, The Walking Dead, there were limitations on The Walking Dead where it was almost like a zombie. It was like a zombie game that had the Walking Dead logo on it."
> — **Scott Larson**, ~10:30
> _Explains how licensing constraints shape game design across eras; contextualizes 2025 Walking Dead complaints within historical licensing patterns_

> "You want a 101? You basically want one person out there who cannot get the product. Because that is exactly where you want to be."
> — **Scott Larson**, ~28:00
> _Core economic rationale for Spooky's limited production strategy; articulates demand/scarcity relationship in collectible market_

> "They didn't sell out on Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They didn't sell out on Looney Tunes. They didn't sell out on Scooby-Doo. You can still get all those games through Spooky on their website today as it sits."
> — **Scott Larson**, ~31:00
> _Factual refutation of claim that Spooky undershoots demand; shows limited runs don't always sell out immediately_

> "It absolutely does [affect quality control]. Anybody knows scalability is the hardest thing in manufacturing"
> — **Josh Roop**, ~38:00
> _Pushes back on claim that production volume shouldn't affect quality; argues manufacturing scalability is inherently difficult_

> "Having this model where they just have a new game every year is actually really good for a small company."
> — **Scott Larson**, ~40:00
> _Defends Spooky's annual release cadence as strategic rather than reactive; contrasts with Guns N Roses extended production harming JJP perception_

> "I want to see what they think of it because when you have an elite rule set already, I want to see how it is appreciated, especially by the elite players."
> — **Josh Roop**, ~20:00
> _Indicates hosts intend to interview competitive players (Tom Graff, Travis Murie, etc.) on Walking Dead's competitive viability; positions game as elite/tournament-focused_

> "Walking Dead isn't revered as a casuals game. And so it gets a lot of slack for the fact that like everything else has to be on point."
> — **Josh Roop**, ~16:30
> _Argues competitive/tournament games face higher artistic standards from community; suggests Walking Dead Remastered unfairly criticized_

> "Hey, I just want to follow up. Make sure I'm not glossing over you. Do you still want Medieval Madness now that they've announced it?"
> — **Zach Minney (quoted by Josh Roop)**, ~45:00
> _Example of proactive customer service at Flippin' Out Pinball; demonstrates retailer engagement with pre-order interest lists_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Josh Roop | person | Co-host of Loser Kid Pinball Podcast; content creator; pinball enthusiast and player |
| Scott Larson | person | Co-host of Loser Kid Pinball Podcast; pinball collector and player; engages in detailed analysis of design and manufacturing |
| Walking Dead Remastered | game | Stern Pinball 2025 release; redesign/remake of 2014 Walking Dead game; 500 LE units produced; features new art package, improved mechanics (barn door, bicycle ramp, Well Walker scope), Expression Lighting; John Borg designer |
| Beetlejuice | game | Spooky Pinball 2025 release; limited to 999 units at $9,999 MSRP; based on 1988 Tim Burton film; recently released; themes centered on supernatural/horror integration |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; known for limited production runs (999 units for Beetlejuice); annual release cadence; games include Halloween, Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rick and Morty, Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes |
| Stern Pinball | company | Large pinball manufacturer; produces Walking Dead Remastered, Metallica, and other licensed titles; subject of discussion regarding licensing constraints and art direction |
| Zach Minney | person | Owner/operator of Flippin' Out Pinball distributor and retailer; known for proactive customer service including interest list management; helped secure Beetlejuice allocations |
| John Borg | person | Designer of original Walking Dead (2014) and Walking Dead Remastered (2025); received criticism regarding art package choices |
| Lyman Sheets | person | Rule set designer; created rule sets for Metallica and Walking Dead; known for elite/competitive game design |
| Bug | person | Co-owner/creative director of Spooky Pinball; appeared on Beetlejuice episode discussing quality control and market strategy |
| Metallica | game | Stern Pinball game with Dirty Donnie art package; cited as example of successful licensing partnership where licenser granted creative freedom |
| Evil Dead | game | Spooky Pinball 2024/2025 release; sold out approximately 3 months post-reveal at Texas Pinball Festival; skyrocketed in secondary market value |
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre | game | Spooky Pinball game; limited production run; remains available on Spooky website; discussed as example of limited release strategy |
| Medieval Madness | game | Chicago Gaming Company remake; announced early 2023, released 2024; discussed in context of interest list sales strategy by Flippin' Out Pinball |
| Tom Graff | person | Elite/tournament-level pinball player; Josh intends to interview regarding Walking Dead competitive viability |
| Loser Kid Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast hosted by Josh Roop and Scott Larson; content includes game reviews, rules analysis, and community interviews; sponsored by Flippin' Out Pinball (Zach Minney) |
| Kerry Hardy | person | Content creator; featured clip comparing Walking Dead art with blues/greens removed vs. reds/oranges/blacks/grays on Facebook |
| Rick and Morty | game | Spooky Pinball game; cited as example of retaining secondary market value around $10k |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball retailer/distributor owned by Zach Minney; offers interest list sign-up for upcoming titles; podcast sponsor |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Industry event where Evil Dead (Spooky) sold out approximately 3 months post-reveal |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Walking Dead Remastered art design and community reception, Licensing constraints and how they shape game design choices, Spooky Pinball's limited production strategy and market positioning, Beetlejuice 2025 release and 999-unit availability
- **Secondary:** Walking Dead Remastered competitive/tournament game design and rule sets, Manufacturing scalability and quality control tradeoffs, Flippin' Out Pinball customer service and interest list strategy
- **Mentioned:** Secondary market value preservation through limited runs

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Hosts are generally positive about both 2025 releases despite acknowledging design criticisms. Scott defends Walking Dead's art constraints as licenser-driven and praises Spooky's strategy. Both hosts appreciate the games' competitive depth and market positioning. Criticism is framed as constructive rather than dismissive. Positive sentiment regarding retailer Zach Minney and customer service.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Community commentary suggests frustration with Spooky's limited production strategy and wishes for higher unit counts to ensure availability (confidence: medium) — Josh reads comment: 'Limiting Beetlejuice to such a low number to me reads like an excuse not to be overwhelmed with orders' and 'I will most likely never own any of their games with those limited numbers.' Josh counters that other Spooky limited-run games remain available.
- **[community_signal]** Loser Kid Pinball given advance access to Beetlejuice day-of-release footage and trusted by Spooky Pinball for early content creation (confidence: high) — Josh states 'I feel very honored that we were trusted by Spooky Pinball to come in and work with them on doing day of release on this and them sending us footage that we could use on our podcast.'
- **[competitive_signal]** Walking Dead Remastered positioned as elite/tournament-focused game with difficult layout and Lyman Sheets rule set; not intended as casual/family game (confidence: high) — Josh states game 'rewards the elite players' and 'is not a casual game' and 'not novice player friendly.' Hosts plan to interview top competitive players (Tom Graff, Travis Murie, Carl D'Angelos) for rule set appreciation.
- **[design_philosophy]** Walking Dead Remastered art package received polarized community reception; colors/palette criticized as not matching TV series tone despite being licenser-approved (confidence: high) — Josh did first impressions video and 'warmed up to it' but 'not a fan of the art.' Scott notes Kerry Hardy showed color-adjusted version (reds/oranges only) that 'looked really good.' Hosts acknowledge art is 'subjective' but defend licenser's direction.
- **[licensing_signal]** Walking Dead Remastered art package directed by licenser, not Stern; Stern had creative constraints that limited design freedom (confidence: high) — Scott states licenser has 'ultimate responsibility to approve the art package' and 'this is what the licenser wants.' Original 2014 Walking Dead also had licensing limitations.
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Manufacturing scalability directly impacts quality control; higher production volume creates new operational challenges independent of standard quality thresholds (confidence: high) — Josh argues 'It absolutely does [affect quality]. Anybody knows scalability is the hardest thing in manufacturing' and cites pinball sensitivity: 'if it's just something simple that's unrelated and it's maybe a one-off thing... when it's a 16th of an inch, it can affect the game itself.'
- **[market_signal]** Beetlejuice 999-unit run created secondary market scarcity; some consumers unable to secure units despite 6-month advance notice from podcast discussions (confidence: high) — Josh notes thumbnail mentioned Beetlejuice 3 months before Star Wars announcement; recommends joining interest lists. Zach Minney received calls during hot tub and allocated limited units to Josh and friend; hosts were 'one of the last ones.'
- **[personnel_signal]** Ryan White (CGC representative) handled Medieval Madness pre-order interest list in 2023; showed proactive customer engagement model now adopted by retailers like Zach Minney (confidence: medium) — Josh credits Ryan White with announcing Medieval Madness at beginning of 2023, later Zach Minney contacted him from interest list. Josh frames this as model of customer service: 'This is customer service at its best.'
- **[market_signal]** Walking Dead Remastered 500 LE units at $12,999 not fully sold to distributors; stock available in market (confidence: high) — Josh reports 'Stern hasn't even sold out from them to their distributors. So obviously there's still a lot of them there.' Stock may remain for 'a minute or two.'
- **[product_strategy]** Spooky Pinball deliberately limits production runs (999 for Beetlejuice) as market strategy to maintain scarcity/demand, not capacity constraint (confidence: high) — Scott articulates demand economics: 'You basically want one person out there who cannot get the product. Because that is exactly where you want to be.' Notes Evil Dead sold out ~3 months post-reveal; other limited-run Spooky games remain available.
- **[technology_signal]** Josh expresses uncertainty about Beetlejuice's actual gameplay feel; most Spooky games play longer/easier with playfield geometry favoring flippers and forward flow (confidence: medium) — Josh states 'I'm intrigued. I don't know how this spooky is going to play' and notes 'Most spookies usually play short... longer, sorry. And I feel like they're a little easier... With everything being 2/3 or forward towards the flippers, I feel like this is going to be a faster game.'

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## Transcript

[music] Thanks for tuning in to the Loser Kip Pitball podcast. I am [music] Josh RP with me my co- captain Scott Larson and it's another beautiful day. Thanksgiving is upon us. I actually had my first Thanksgiving meal of uh three [laughter] that started today. So I'm I'm I'm already stuffed with turkey and I'm ready for more turkey the rest of the week. You look like you're about 18 weeks pregnant. So, maybe you'll be full term by the end of the third meal. Well, I've been doing calorie counting and the funny part is is like I did all my calories after I ate for Thanksgiving meal today. I'm like, well, I ate everything at lunch today. [laughter] All 2600 calories. I was a champ. So, well, I sent you the f I sent you the fries that I had that were fried in beef tallow for dinner. That's what I had. So, well, and then when I'm hungry, I just drink frescas because they're zero calories. I'm like, well, this is what I get for the rest of the day. So, or zero Mountain Dew, man. But the caffeine's too late. It's It's 9:00 here. Yeah, we're recording. We're recording late. So, uh, you know what? I want to talk about our favorite people in the world, Zach and Nicole. Many support us here at Loser Kid Pinball Podcast. They've got some amazing product and even better customer service. Uh, Scott, you just recently bought from them. What did you get? Well, actually, I just ordered a Jaws 50. It's for my friend who's uh who's moving and he's moving in and he and I said, "Hey, they have a spot for the Jaws 50. Uh, this is the last last run." So he's like, "Yeah, hook me up." So they just talked about they're unveiling, we've both of us have already used it, but they're unveiling a new uh shipping thing that they're doing. I used Foo Fighters. I shipped it back to Zach. So the way it works is they ship you this this giant pod with like all the shipping blankets, all the the everything you'll need, the tape, everything. And you essentially take your new game out. So, I took out King Kong and then I opened up King Kong, put it in place, and then I folded up Foo Fighters and put it back in, put the PL packing blankets around it. It's literally just a big wooden box. The the door opens up, sides come off, you put the sides back on, you slap the door back on. I found it was amazing. How about you, Scott? I I thought it was great. I actually I ultimately never never decided to use one of my games and so I shipped it back and I uh I used that credit toward buying my Merlin edition of Medieval Madness. So it it just it's super easy. My biggest hangup I'm a pin hoarder because I hate selling. So it was just a good deal. Um just being able to ship it out um let him deal with all that stuff and if you want a low hassle way of doing it, it's a good way of trading up for a game. So again, Zach Nicole Manny flipping out pinball. All right, Josh. Awesome. What do we got on store for them tonight? So, let's talk about There has been two releases since we last spoke. Uh I guess the last episode you and I have done together was was Expo, wasn't it? Back in August. Yeah. The A Winchester and we did uh we did Beetlejuice. So, um yeah, it's been a minute. Yeah. [gasps] And since then, we had Walking Dead revealed by John Borg, uh the remake, and and we've had obviously partially we still don't know everything about that. So, we're going to talk about that, but we still don't know all of the details. Yes, there there's a lot of mystery surrounding it. Granted, I haven't went to the website and downloaded the PDF fact sheet and went through that cuz put it on a video so I can watch it. [laughter] I don't know. You know what I'm saying? Um, so let's talk about Walking Dead first. That came out first. that came out uh 3 weeks ago. Um first impressions, I did a first impressions video here on the channel. I have warmed up to it. I will say that it I'm not a fan of the art, but there was there was a clip that Carrie Hardy had put on his Facebook where they took out the blues and the greens and it was solely just reds and oranges and then that black and gray and I felt like that looked really really good. Okay, that's art. Whoopdedoo. Get it out of the way. We've all heard it. Okay, I I'm gonna jump in on this though, too. Okay. Um, the R was polarizing. However, Josh, do you remember the games that I sent you right when it was released? Okay. I sent you Halloween. I I sent you uh The Evil Dead. Yep. I I sent you um you know what? I I can't remember what the other one was. And I looked at him like it was Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And I said, "Yeah, these are vibrant color palettes." Yes. And Beetlejuice, too. I sent Beetlejuice, too. And I said, "These are these are not subtle color palettes." And we were fine with with that art. Um, I will al also remind people that who has the ultimate responsibility to approve the art package, the licenser. The licenser. And who did this art package? The licenser. Okay. So if there's anything that you don't prefer about it, that's that's okay. I'm not saying you have to like everything, but you have to realize that Stern is playing in a world where they are working with with a licenser and this is the direction the licenser wanted to go. And so I I I have looked at the R package and I okay, I think it's fine. I I I like it. I I think there could be different things, but there's a reason why we need to understand that there are limitations on what they can they can present because this is what the licenser wants. And and so I I'm just going to I will say from the art, I'll just I'll just appreciate that Stern may have had some direction from the people who own the license. And so just leave it at that cuz everybody said, "Why why don't we do a black and white?" It's like, okay, but you want to stand out, too. But what the thing with me, though, is is like I actually do enjoy some of the art. Like, I feel like it's it's that kind of photo realalistic. It's not like franchalistic, but it's still going down that avenue. And all those games you mentioned, so like Beetlejuice and Evil Dead, I feel like their color palettes matched the tone or the actual colors from the movies. So, like I just don't feel like The Walking Dead matches the tone or the vibes of the TV series because obviously they've went the TV route, right? But honestly, the art looks really good in terms of like actual drawing and artistic design. The color palette just isn't for me. And I do find it funny like someone did point out like the same zombie is drawn on like the left part of the apron, the right part of the apron, and like smacked out between the flippers. Yeah. I don't get why someone did that. I don't know. I don't know why it wasn't caught in quality control, yada yada. I don't know. Do you remember Do you remember Wonka? Yeah, that's why I'm like Wonka dialed in. I There was Yeah, but again, who made that decision? It's a licenser thing. It was the licenser. And so, yeah. Okay. You can look at that and say, "Wow." Okay. There's a reason why with Metallica, Metallica was such a a successful game, especially the Dirty Donnie art package because they basically said, "Do whatever you want." And by the way, the new one with it's Joseph, who was it? Joseph Reese. Did I am I get that right? Sure. Yeah. Okay. Sorry. We'll uh we'll correct that. But, you know, the new art package, they basically had the freedom to do what they wanted. And so, when you have a licenser that allows that, great. And if you look at it, even historically, The Walking Dead, there were limitations on The Walking Dead where it was almost like a zombie. It was like a zombie game that had the Walking Dead logo on it. Remember that? Yeah. No, the original art was was rough. Yeah. the the and so I again I'm going to allow for the understanding that the licenser may have a direction for their license and I'm just going to let let it go. I agree and that's why I'm like the the sound like the the art itself is subjective whether you like it or not. You know what I'm saying? It did make me chuckle. We had a couple complaints on on the the comments and one of them was like, "There's not enough blood." And I was like, "I hope this is sarcastic cuz I can't read your tone." You know what I'm saying? Cuz I'm like, you've got Michonne chopping a zombie's head off. You got uh Daryl shooting a crossbow through a zombie's head and like the the back glass is literally a bloody X across it. So, I'm like, "You've got to be joking me." But like I don't know. Like [clears throat] it's weird to me. We've got a remake game. Granted, I feel like the game wasn't in high demand. This is definitely a game that is geared more towards competition play. And it is it is a is a harder game to play, right? Like it is is not a familyfriendly uh is not like a a novice player friendly game. And so I want to know about more about the gameplay, what they've done to to make it a little more accessible. And uh I just I feel like we're blowing past all that for the artwork. Wouldn't you say? Yeah. I I the Okay. And do you also remember anytime an art package comes out, it's amazing how strong people feel about it. And it's I think it's totally unfair. We know what the games are. Okay. The Spider-Man versus the Ultimate Spider-Man. Do you remember that that thing where people are like, "Why is there a big why is there a big talking bubble on the back list?" I'm like, "Because it's a com it's a comic book edition." Like, "So what?" Yeah. And how often do you Okay. I get that art. That's what we see first, right? That's the hook on the game. But how often do you actually look at the side of the game? The only game that I see the side of is Metallica because when I walk in your basement, that's the that's my end game. Okay. Do you want to ask me how many times I've looked at the side of Beatles? Like it's How many times? None. [laughter] I mean, you slide it in. Yeah. I It's the back. It's the backlash. That's really what you see. Uh or the translator or whatever you want to call it. So, it's okay. Art is it it's it's one of those things where you know your favorite book, Josh, and then you hear they're going to make a movie of it. How many times do you love the movie version of the book? H depends on the book. Okay. [laughter] Okay. But usually you're disappointed because Scott Pilgrim Versus the World was ripped off. It should have had more It should have had more to the series than just the one movie. It's totally true. I've never seen it. Um, okay. But it because in your mind, you have already told the story. And so you've imagined this is what the character is supposed to look like. This is this is the way it's supposed to go. This is going to be the tone of that. And so when you read a book, your imagination is part of it. So if you wa even if you watch a show, you can say, "Oh, I wish they had done this. I wish they had done that." So having an adaptation of it, I think it's pretty hard to get something where you're like, "Oh, that is exactly what I was thinking." Yeah. There are sometimes when that does happen, when the secret sauce is in there, like when you get something like Halloween, Halloween sold 1,250 off the art package alone. And by the way, go look at that art package. It's super vibrant. So, okay. So sometimes they they hit that ven diagram of your expectations versus the product, but a lot of times it's it's just what people think. And with with The Walking Dead, you have the comic books which are black and white. You have the you know, you have the series which, you know, it kind of eventually petered out after, you know, it it started off strong, was strong for a while, then kind of petered out. So people have their own version of what should be included. So, I'm just going to let let it lie. There are things that are packages where I wish it were different, but I appreciate that. Hey, that's that's what they want. So, I like I'm so over the heart thing. Like, I feel like it's just the weirdest catchall for this. And it's unfair. It is. And I feel like so here's the thing, too. I think so, too. And I and here's the other thing too is as I agree with you like once you slide it into a lineup nine times out of 10 you really don't miss like notice the side art like you can kind of see Jaws behind me but you can't really get a good idea of it. It just it's the goofiest thing cuz I feel like there's there's two distinctive type of pinball players, right? Mhm. There's the person that plays pinball for pinball. They want to know the rules. They want to know the technique. They want to know how to blow up the score. They want to know everything about her. Right. Mhm. And then there is the other person is and and these kind of intermingle. It's not it's not exclusive from each other, but the other one is a moment's person, right? It's the fine dining. It's the the art has to match the feeling of the game, which has to match the sound of the game, which has to like it has to have this perfect just from from appetizer to dessert, everything has to be on point. Everything's fantastic, right? And a lot of these people are people that are looking for specific themes tailored to their taste that feel like it does justice to that theme. I think the pinball player doesn't really care about like they they enjoy the theme. Like there's some of them just won't there specific themes they just won't have in their house. But I think the moments person is looking for more of specific themes to come into their collection cuz that's all they're looking for. They might not necessarily care about score. They might not care about how the game plays and the geometry and how it feels. They just want a good immersive game that does justice to the theme. And I I think overall that's kind of what everyone's looking for. But I think you're either one camp or the other. And there's a little meshing in the middle. But I think that's where The Walking Dead comes in, right? Like The Walking Dead isn't revered as a casuals game. And so it gets a lot of slack for the fact that like everything else has to be on point. And I just don't feel like Walking Dead has a major ravid fan base in the fact that like Kiss has a ravid fan base. Like they will buy almost anything. I They got coffins for sale, right? Like they're obviously got a fan base that's going to buy anything. I feel like people love Walking Dead. They felt like it was a c a cultural touchstone, but they just don't tie into that theme into their life like they would maybe kiss or something like that. Um I just I don't think it's fair. I don't think it's fair to Borg that he's he's gotten a lot of heat for this game when it's I think a lot of people have just looked at the art and passed on it. And granted, like I agree, like I'm not a fan of the the greens and the blues in it, but it doesn't affect the rest of the game for me, but I enjoy playing the game because I love playing pinball to explore and dive deep into pinball and the rule set and stuff like that. I I'm looking forward to the rule set and seeing how it evolves because what they did with Metallica was great. Like they they took a rule set and as we know it was a Lyman rule set. Okay, what makes Walking Dead great? It's a hard layout and it also has a Lyman rule set and so it rewards the elite players. So the people who are really good and they want to to sharpen their skills and a complete rule set and an elevated rule set really will help that out. I'm really looking forward to what the rule set has because they they really haven't explained much about what the extra features are in this. So, I I'm looking forward to seeing what who they actually have augment the rule set, what the actual result is. And then I want to talk to the elite players, not not the Scott and Josh's out there. We're talking like the Tom Grass. We're talking the Travis Murie. We're talking the Carl D'Angelos of the world. Yeah. And we want to see and and Joel. Uh Angel. And by the way, I'm wearing my triple t uh uh triple drain t-shirt uh today. So, uh shout out, guys. Um, so I I want to see what they think of it because when you have an elite rule set already, I want to see how it is appreciated, especially by the elite players. Now, we we know that Stern doesn't have to have a Godzilla every release. They They just need to make a certain amount and they're going to take risks on certain games. This could be one of those games where they thought, "Hey, we have a tournament game that is well respected. let's see what we can do because as we know we there are different different consumers out there. And so having a game that is even, you know, geared more toward the competitive scene, I don't think that's a bad thing. No, I agree. And um the other thing I find interesting about this, they only did 500 limited editions as far as I'm aware. Stern hasn't even sold out from them to their distributors. So obviously there's still a lotment there. Um, so if you want one of these less, they're floating around. Uh, I don't and they might be floating around for a minute or two. Um, I I still think Walking Dead is a great game. I would love to get some time in on this. I'm I'm excited to play it. I don't have interest in owning it. Um, or moving something out. You know what I'm saying? Like in the right circumstance, I would own it, but I just this isn't a day one new and box purchase for me. You know what I'm saying? Okay. I'm actually gonna shock you. I amum I'm actually kind of interested in it. I I'm I'm interested. I'm interested because as something that would help level up my pinball skills, having a game like this would be great in my lineup. And when I'm doing my expansion, I I don't have room for it right now, but I am looking at expanding my game room. And I wouldn't mind sliding this thing in because I think I don't disagree with you. It would be a really good game to elevate my skills. And you need, you know, you need a um, you know, what are those knife sharpeners in your drawer? You need to be able to to get better at pinball. And this is an excellent game to do that. I think so, too. All right. You might have convinced me. I don't know if I'm still buying new inbox, but I might get one later. Okay. Let's find out. Let's find out when they announce the extra code stuff because we still don't know. That's a black box. Yeah. All right. Um, let's let's move on to the other reveal. Uh, you and I were ground we got in on this before a lot of people got to see it. It was really I like I feel very honored that we were trusted by Spooky Pinball to come in and work with them on doing day of release on this and them sending us footage that we could use on our podcast. Uh, if you watched on our YouTube, you got to watch and check out the stuff we were talking about. As we were talking about it, I got to say, Beetlejuice is pretty fantastic. Um, I am still concerned with I I've been playing pinball long enough to understand usually how a game's going to play. I'm intrigued. I don't know how this spooky is going to play. Most spookies usually play short um longer, sorry. And I feel like they're a little easier to the the pinball player uh because they want to for you to explore the game, right? With everything being pretty much 2/3 or forward towards the flippers, I feel like this is going to be a faster game outside of like maybe the couch, the waiting room area. Um so I'm I'm really intrigued to see how this plays. Uh what do you think, Scott? You know what? It looks great. I it spooky spooky definitely capitalizes on theme integration and spooky they know who they are. They know who their audience is. They know who their fan base is and I'm excited for this. There there are going to be people who are like why did they only do 999 or you know and I will argue that remember when you're selling a supply Josh if I have a thousand that I'm trying to sell how many do I want demand for $9.99. Thanks Josh Sharp. Nope. You want a 101? Oh you never mind. I see. Okay. You I you see what I was saying though. Yeah. I you basically want one person out there who cannot get the product. Yeah. Because that is exactly where you want to be. So if for all the people out there it's like they could have sold 10,000 Beatles. No, they couldn't. No, they're they know who they are. They they shot a little high on um on Halloween and Ultram Man and all those things. And I think it hurt longterm. Uh, so having like a limited run, striking while the iron's hot, and they they definitely hit it with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they hit it with Evil Dead and Beetlejuice. They know what the audience is and what the market will demand for their game. So I feel I feel like there's a little goldfish memory loss here, right? Like you talk about Halloween. So they had Halloween and Ultrammen together, right? So it was 1750 total. Yep. And there was issues there. There was a lot of quality issues and Bug had stated that in our Beetlejuice episode. Yeah. And so I feel like they did talk about like protecting the market on this the secondary value market and whatnot, which I guess you can kind of argue like Rick and Morty has retained its value for the most part. It's it's questionable. Like it's it's still around 10 grand, so it is what it is. TNA has TNA. It's still basically what it was. Yep. And then Evil Dead. Evil Dead has skyrocketed and that's been within the last year. But here's the thing. So, since Halloween, they've cut back numbers. I feel like quality's gotten back under control. Um, there are still issues here and there, but point me to the company that doesn't have any issues. This is the one thing that bothers me. Everyone harps on like everyone harps on the like quality issue, Achilles Hill, and I get it. Like, if it's consistently issue after issue after issue, there's a problem. But like when it's just something simple that's unrelated and it's maybe a one-off thing or it's only happened to a handful of people, it just it bugs me because like Spooky has better control over it because it knows the people that work on their factory line and they can work with them and say, "Hey, this is how it needs to be." And it's similar in Stern situation, but Stern's situation is there's a lot of people coming in and out on that factory line. So it's it's a new learning curve, right? And we've learned in pinball if anything's even off like a 16th of an inch, it can affect the game itself. And so anyh who, back to the point. So the quality trolls controls getting better and under control. And what's upsetting me is is we're seeing that, sorry, I apologize. What what upsets me is we're seeing that people are complaining about the limited number of runs with Beetlejuice and they're like they should have known to make more than 999 because it would have been a guaranteed sellout. Well, they didn't sell out on Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They didn't sell out on Looney Tunes. They didn't sell out on Scooby-Doo. You can still get all those games through Spooky on their website today as it sits. Yeah. So, how did they know that Evil Like, they didn't know Evil Dead was going to sell out and it didn't sell out till Texas Pinball Festival. That was 3 months after reveal. Yeah. Texas Chain Chainsaw Pinball Festival. Absolutely. Yeah. And so, and that so like the fact that everyone's like, "Well, they should have known better and and [clears throat] Bug said it in our episode like Yeah. They want to protect the secondary market, but I'd rather be the quality control. I don't want to have issues with my game, right? Like, so here here's I shared this comment with you this past week. We've we've gotten a ridiculous amount of comments on Spooky and how they handled Beetlejuice. You know what? I think you guys handled Beetlejuice just fine. You're a small company. I don't know what you could have done different outside of maybe tell your distributor not to say I'm you can buy it now when they hadn't even done a teaser trailer. You know what I'm saying? I think that's the only thing out of the like get your you work with your distributor to not like it's spring spring a leak or whatever. Okay. But it's it's been about as good of a release as you could expect for Spooky. Like Spooky is ecstatic with this. Yeah. Oh yeah. And I don't blame them for them. It's guaranteed work for the next year and it keeps their people fed like they can now focus on the next game like still they can still focus on Beetlejuice stress free and focus on the next game not worrying about the next year. It's amazing. It's brilliant in my opinion. I saw Let me read this comment to you. This is what I sent you. Okay. Yeah. Loser kid pinball. The number of games made should not affect their quality control. It should be set a set standard that they meet regardless of scale. Limiting Beetlejuice to such a low number to me reads like an excuse not to be overwhelmed with orders for machines. This is where they suffer from being a small company. I do understand that. I love what they're doing, but I will most likely not never own any their those games with those limited numbers. Well, guess what? You can still buy Scooby-Doo. You can still buy Texas Chainsaw Master. You could still buy Looney Tunes. These are all limited number games. You could own one today, my good sir or ma'am. Why aren't you? You know what I'm saying? Like I I don't get this argument. And I think it's very ridiculous that you say the number of a game should not affect your quality control. They make games once a year. They make the same game for a full year. Whether they make 999 or 10,000, it shouldn't affect their quality control. Excuse me. It it it absolutely does. uh anybody knows scalability is the hardest thing in manufacturing and as we know back in the Williams days like they still needed to keep the line moving they did they didn't keep yeah there were some outliers you know Twilight Zone Adams family but for the most part they wanted to stay relevant and so they kept announcing new things so they could so I I would actually argue that Guns and Roses may have hurt JJP a little bit. Yeah, because they produced that for so long. They there was nothing new coming out for a while and I I think they kind of fell out of like a oh that like what else are they doing? Oh, it's that game they already have. So having this model where they just have a new game every year is actually really good for a small company. No, I agree. So I think I think Spooky's killing it outside of like some people didn't get a Beetlejuice. I'm sorry that stinks for you guys. Like, you knew this was coming. Like, this we we talked about Beetlejuice three months ago. I want people to understand that it the thumbnail is Beetlejuice versus Star Wars. This is before Star Wars announced and Beetlejuice was announced. Did you know Zach Mini takes interested lists for titles? Just in case you're like, "Hey, I may have an you know what, I have a like Hello Kitty Island Adventure. I may be interested in that theme if it ever comes out. So why don't you put your name on a list? This is how good he This is customer service at its best. Let me tell you this. When Ryan White still worked for CGC and he announced that they were coming out with Medieval Madness. Yeah. In 2023 and they said it'd be at the end of the year. He announced at the beginning of 2023 and then finally it rolls around to this year and Medival Madness starts getting announced this year. Zach hit me up. I forgot I was on the list. And he said, "Hey Josh, I just want to follow up. Make sure I'm not glossing over you. Do you still want Medieval Madness now that they've announced it?" Excuse me. [laughter] I think I was like fourth on the list cuz I was like one of the first one. Yeah. If you knew Beetlejuice was coming 6 months ago, you should have got on the list. And and like that's the thing, too. It again like I got the call. I was sitting in the hot tub. I got the call. Zach's like, "Hey, do you want one?" And I said, "Yeah, because I I'm probably going to put it in my place in St. George." And then I texted back, "Hey, my buddy also wants one. Can you get one?" And he's like, "Let me see. I may be out." And we were like one of the last ones. Like, okay, I got you two. So, I got one. My buddy got one for each location. We paid for them, but Absolutely. So, it's I'd be upset if you didn't pay for them. Where's my deal? I want free medieval madness. Zack, you got to hook me up. You got a fun [clears throat] house behind you. Okay. Um, what are you talking about? That was not free. I paid for that. Okay. All right. [laughter] Don't you be misleading our people listening to here. And that's the last thing I need on my comments. [laughter] That was paid for. Okay. All right. Oh. Anyh who. Okay. I want to get to our next segment. I think this has been really great discussion. I think to wrap it up, I think both Walking Dead, Beetleju, both you and I agree, have been shortchanged in very weird ways, but I think they've uh Walking Dead needs to be given a chance. And I think Beetlejuice needs the heat taken off of like, guys, it looks like a great game. No one's played it yet. Well, let's let's let the room breathe for a second. I'm assuming the first time you'll be able to play these at at a public convention is going to be probably TPF. Get out there and play them. Oh. Oh, that's the other thing. So, shh. Can I let you guys, everyone listening to Loser Kid, I'm going to let you in on a secret. You ready for this? Go ahead. They're all sold out. Except for did you know Spooky makes extra games for shows. So, if you really really want a Beetlejuice, like this is I've got to have a Beetlejuice. Go to Texas Pinball Festival. Figure out where Spooky's going to be. They usually have extra games there that are not sold to the general public. These are show games. I know it's kind of weird. I know that we say there's 999, but they are actually extra games. And I could be I could be corrected, but that is how I understand cuz obviously they're all bought and sold, you know, so why would they? Cuz they don't want to take them home. Well, not only that, you volunteered. Hey, I know your game's coming in a week, but we have Texas Pinball Festival. Do you mind if we take it and people jam on it for like a full weekend and then we ship it to you? Yeah. Spooky don't do that. So, yeah, that's not it. So yeah, get your tickets to Texas Pinball Festival. I don't know if they'll be at Pinball at the beach. I don't know where they'll be at, but if you want a Beetlejuice, you might want to get your ticket to one of those. Drive your car down there and show up first thing Thursday morning, whenever they open. Maybe try to get them before they open. Say, "Hey, I want to go check this out and I want to put my name on it if this is what I want." You know what I'm saying? So, hey, you would know. So, if that is the case, you can always message Bug and see what's going on. Yep. And maybe I'm, you know. Yeah. So, uh, and I'm going to get a message from Spooky. I'm gonna have to redact all that. So, no, we'll see. [laughter] All righty. Uh, let's move on to It's been a fantastic year, 2025. I know it's not done. We're at the end of November. We still have a month to go. As I foresee it, I could be wrong. This would not be the first time that I'm wrong. I'll eat crow. As I foresee it, all the games have been released for 2025. I don't foresee anything in December. Best case scenario is a teaser trailer. Worst case scenario, nothing. Announced, not released. There there's no way any games are going to get released. No. So, Scott and I have put our lists down and we are going to talk about the top five pinball machines of 2025. You ready for this? Okay. Josh, do you want to recap for the listening audience so they know exactly and so they can start making their list for themselves? Yes. So, anything produced in 2025. Sorry. Yes. Anything produced and shipped in 2025. So, honorable mention will be Beetlejuice because it was shown this year. It will not ship till 2026. So, we has Has Walking Dead shipped yet? It has. Walking Dead has shipped and it has been at conventions. So, Walking Dead is actually out the door. So, we have we're we're going in chronological order. I do apologize if we missed anything, but we went through this. Evil Dead, Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, and Winchester. So, that hits everything that has been released and shipped this year or is shipping. The I think it we're kind of going by the TWI standards, right? One machine has left their door to go out to location. You did say Dune, right? I was I was I did say Dune. I said Dune in between King Kong and Portal, I want to say. All right. Oh, Merlin's Arcade and King Kong. So, that is the list. Uh that is Did you count how many games? There's got to be like 12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Hey, look at that. I know. So enthralling here. We're so professional. So yeah, I I count them on all my 12 fingers. We've distilled it down to five games for the whole year. We're going to go from five to one. Uh starting with number five. Do you want to go first or you want me to get my number five? You know what? I want you to get your number five cuz I forgot what my number five was. My number five is Spooky's Evil Dead. I think this game was one of those games I was not expecting to enjoy. It was just another theme that I think was a cult classic, a cult following. So, I was like, "Well, it is what it is." And it came out and I was like, "Dang, this is this is really good. This looks really really good." Um, I got to play one of these. And we finally got our hands on one expo and I enjoyed it. Um, it it [snorts] played really well. I thought the geometry was was good. I'd give it probably about a eight out of 10. Uh there was a couple spots I felt were like I don't get the whole flipper inside the uh sling thing. So that does dock it a little bit for me. But other than that, man, this game is awesome. This game is awesome for the fact of the theme immersion. They took a theme and they drew you into that world. They didn't print they didn't pull Evil Dead into Spooky's world. They Spooky got pulled into Evil's Dead world just like they did with the the Book of the Dead, right? They just h this game is so cool. And the fact that it's retained its value and actually went up in value over the year is insane to me. But it's so cool to see that Spooky is just getting better and better with releases and they are taking what they know and refining it and distilling it down and putting it into their games as they move forward. So for number five, I present to you Evil Dead. What do you got, Scott? I'm mixing it up a little bit. Oh, and I am going to say this understanding that there were there are going to be people who disagree with me. Okay. Well, this isn't a gospel this isn't a gospel list. It's all subjective. It's me and you. Okay. I'm going to put King Kong at five. Oh, wow. Why so low? Okay. So this is now this is the problem of other people really stepping up this year and I I love Elwin games. I am a huge fan of Keith Elellwin. Uh I would say hands down most bankable designer out there right now. Okay. And this is a great game and I love it. I want it. I will buy it when I have the space. I will also say that there are so many excellent games that he has that I'm okay waiting a little bit on this one. And so if I'm going to say, "Hey, I love this game." And I do, there are other Elwin games that I think are so good and I can still scratch that itch. And I I have this is no criticism on Lwin at all or King Kong because I truly love this game. I It is actually a It is a recognition that other manufacturers have really stepped up this year. Yes. And so I this this is suffering under the weight of consistent expectations. And so I love King Kong. I'm still going to put it at number five because there's a few games on here that give me a different vibe and I'm interested in and I I think that it's it's the flavor that they brought this year. Okay. No, that's that's reasonable to me. I think that's that's very reasonable. Um let's have you go next. Let's you do your number four. Okay. Number four. Portal. I'm putting Portal as number four. This is the first P3 game that legit could have felt like a standalone game like and I I like the P3 options of saying, "Hey, buying this and now you can slide in different things." This is the first one when I played where it felt like it it didn't feel like a cartridge in the back of the machine, which by the way is not a is is not a knock on it. It is a different vibe. Like I I love what they're trying to do is saying, "Hey, we have a lot of options back there." And if you look at it, it is a huge bang for the buck because you can get Portal and you can buy the extended kit and it is really close to a full pinball machine. You can also you can get Princess Bride in there for cheap. You can get Weird Owl in there for cheap. Uh you can get um uh oh, I'm sorry, the Scott Denise one in there for [laughter] uh final final resistance. Yes, that one. Uh, and so there are so many options that you can get. This is the perfect gateway into P3. And if you, even if you're like, you know, I don't have the money to buy all of the game modules, you will be satisfied with Portal. And my own son said, "Dad, this is a great game. We should buy it." And if you can impress a 15year-old, that is that's that's a high mark. Okay. Yep. So, and again, this is this is me saying that P3 has really stepped up and this is the the most impressive release that they've had so far. Yep. I agree. All right. My number four, [sighs] I I I'm I'm really wrestling with myself, but I I really think this is number four for me. Harry Potter. Um, this game is amazing. When we played at Expo, it had that warm feel um to it. It was fast. It was It was good. Like it was a really fun game. Um for me, Wyatt reaches into number four. Um compared to everything else, I just I'm going based solely off if I slide it in my connection or into my collection. And this is where it is at the list. I just there are other games that have come out this year. I think you've alluded to it, Scott. This has been such an insane year for pinball and I feel like Harry Potter any other year would have just dominated, but I just I I don't know, man. Like I I I want this game. Like I don't I don't know what to do. There's so like from here up I want all these games and so I'm just like I just I don't know. But with Harry Potter, I just it was a really great game. I think the artwork was fine. I I don't get the whole AI stuff. Like I get like the Derpy Dragon was back. I will I will not give that a pass. Like that was that was rough. But other than that, like this game has really stood up against the other Jersey Jack games. And I felt like Elton John was the turn of it. And now we're starting to see like this like everyone's it's like the secret sauce, right? Like people are starting to figure out this dynamic layout. the fact that like you want mechs that change the direction of the ball and stuff like that and Harry Potter gives you all that and even like the Quidditch field's really really cool just a simple upper play field that's slightly you know it's repeatable whatnot I don't know man like it's a great game um I need more time on it to tell you what where it falls short because I've only played a handful of games but for me number four is Harry Potter and since I made you go back to back I will go back to back my next one. Your number four is my number three. Portal. Okay. Portal I was more than impressed with at Pinball Expo. The insanely cool ball launching mechs, the different portals to different areas, the cos the the companion cube, how it's portaling from portal or from side to side. Just the immersion to this game. And it fits so perfectly on a P3. like the technology it just it it's like this game was meant to be on P3. I don't think like any other company could have done justice to it like it like P3 and Multimorphic did. And it's one of those games that I I need to sell something to get it. Um and so like I'm debating because my collection's pretty packed at the moment, but I'm just And I again it's a P3. Like it's not a space thing anyho. Uh yeah. Okay. But it's still a money thing. I mean, come on, man. It's a money thing. This isn't these these things cost money, you know. So, so it's you you still have have to budget for it. So, I totally understand it. It is less of a space issue, but yes, you still I went with my P3 P3 for the fact Portal the rumor of Portal was coming and I wanted to be prepared for it and so I wanted to get more time on a P3 for our listener because there's a lot of there's actually a lot of questions about like is about P3s and so I wanted to learn more about it because there's not even one in the state of Utah outside of what I have that I know of. And so but overall portal like it's coming into my house at one point in time or other. It's It's a guaranteed set. So, okay. What's your What's your number three? My number three is Winchester. Um Winchester definitely came out of the blue. We heard that that there was something new coming from a highlevel player and we didn't know anything about it. And then we're like, "Oh, it's Winchester." And I was like, "Okay, in Winchester." And I was like, "Okay, what is that?" They tell the theme. I'm like, "Okay." I I remember hearing something about a a spooky haunted house. Um the lady felt like she was had to keep building or confused the ghost or I I still don't totally understand the story, but like, "Okay, this is interesting." And then when I went to play it, it if Carl D'Angelo is not an elite pinball designer within the next 5 years, I will quit loser kid and definitely retire from pinball forever because because Carl understands pinball way more than 99.9% of people out there. He understands the the what makes games flow, what makes them fun, and he also understands rule sets. If you want to learn how to play a game, the first thing you do is Google tutorial. And if you find a Carl D'Angelo tutorial, that's a pretty solid one to look at. Yeah, the game is awesome. And I only ranked it as number three because I'm super disappointed that there's not going to be a so far there's not going to be a standard version that I can buy because the limited edition sold out. So, uh, just the way that Winchester played and everything was so good about that. I also 100% believe that this surprised Barrels of Fun because Barrels of Fun, they had no idea. They had a grand a walk-off grand slam in their hands because they didn't know Carl's this is his first game and and they were like, "Hey, we took we're like, hey, they have like three different elements. You have a theme, you have a limited quantity, you have a new designer. Hopefully some of those will resonate with buyers and when people went and played it, they're like, "Dang, this is a really good game." So, I I didn't even play it until it was already sold out. That's how that's how quickly it went. So, I I love everything about this and I I really probably will just pay a premium uh for a few hund uh few hundred thousand few for a few thousand more sticker price and I will probably have this in my house. Yeah. So, my number two, that was your number two, right? No. Number three. Okay. So, that's your number three. So, have you done number three yet? You you did number three. Yeah, but I did portal. Okay. So, so let's alternate now cuz Okay. So, you give me your number two. I think I think Winchester, you want Okay. Okay. Yeah, I'll do my number two. I'll do my number two. Okay. Number two for me is King Kong. I have a pro behind me. This game, the ball paths on it are insane. Like, the the code is still maturing, right? Like that's it's been out since May. Yeah. Uh, the thing about Ellen that I appreciate is I feel like his code out of the gate nine times out of 10 is pretty well fleshed out for a novice player. So, it gives me a good idea of the direction it's heading and I can usually get to the wizard mode at at L1's early early code or not wizard mode. I can get to the endish. But with this game, man, I I I know I went with a pro because I felt like the King Kong mech really didn't do much. Like it was like it's cool. Don't get me wrong. It's very very cool. It doesn't interact with the ball in a way that I felt was meaningful. That's just me. That's my personal preference. And the subway was cool, but it's just a ball lock. And so like ball locks can be cool. I just didn't feel like it justified upgrading from a proto premium. Right. You set all those drop targets with the cool Gary Stern golden idol hidden behind them with that little upper flipper plus the river that comes down. This is a game I turn on my collection and I just play just day after day when I'm in a pinball mood. I come to King Kong first. It just it is so unique. I don't think I have played a game any other pinball game like King Kong. And that's what kind of frustrates me is people dog on it and I just don't get where the hate's coming from. I get if you feel like mechanically it's not as sound as other Keith Ellen games. Um but I feel like a lot of the fixes like the the vertical upkicker it's an angle bracket you can buy for like two bucks off of Amazon. I just the pro to me I feel like it's very very solid and I haven't had any issues with it and man it is just such a good game. I am not sorry I traded my Foo Fighters Pro to get my King Kong Pro. If you haven't played one, what are you doing? Get out there and try it. So, what's your number two, Scott? So, my number two is Dune. like it. Barrels of fun have have figured out how to take the secret sauce that Eric did with Guns and Roses and to sprinkle it into Dune to have a complete themactic immersion because this game when you from the plunge, it has a continuous soundtrack going on it. It has the light show. It has all the molds in it that make the pass. And I thought the past were awesome. I thought they were fun. They were they were innovative. And I loved the Okay, I still haven't seen Dune. But when you're when you have like the sand worm that you're trying to like, you know, it has that little mechanism that's banging up and down to like to summon the sandworm. Okay. That feels awesome because your hands are on the machine and you're feeling the vibration of the of the speaker and you're feeling the pounding. You're seeing the the um the the total projection in the back. It's the the LCD in the back panel. And it is just so good that Okay, what makes a great pinball machine? They don't all have to be like Godzilla level like shooters. They don't. They have to be fun. And this is this was fun, challenging. It had easy shots. It had hard shots. It had that awesome sandworm that that telescopes up and eats the ball. And it's just it is so good. And Dune, I really hope they continue making this because it is such a great game. I definitely want it. I just don't have space right now. But I I love the game. And there's Okay. There's a reason why Joel's wife played it and said, "This is a cool game." Yeah. Like she nailed it. She's like, "You want to be in this environment?" And then you have the the pain box thing. I mean, come on. like it it's so good that I I I really want this game. Yeah, it really is. It's uh it's something special. And I think I remember being at Expo when they revealed Labyrinth and I was like, "This is really cool. I'm not a huge Labyrinth fan, but like what they're doing is very intriguing." And then when Dune came out, I was like, "This isn't just like a fluke thing. This is this is legit." And then when you and I played it at Expo, I was like, "Dang, this this is awesome." Like this is this is like validity to me that they are more than a legit company, right? Like they are they are taking it to the next level. And yeah, so that's your number two, right? That's my number two. All right. So that we're down to our number ones. Do you want to do honorable mentions before we reveal our number ones? Yes. So my honorable mention uh is going to be Dune. It did not make my top five list. I know some people are booing. I agree with you, Scott. Like everything you said, I agree. I just I felt like there were five other games before it that I would that I would prefer to have in my collection. Um I don't know. Honestly, it's a fight for fifth between Evil Dead and Dune. I really really enjoyed Dune. Like it was it was a really good game, but I've already made my bed so I'm going to lay in it. So Dune remains on my honorable mentions. How about you? And and well, okay, Evil Dead was my own mention. And again, it suffers a little bit just because of the the niche attitude. Like it it you can't it for me to have like a a top five appeal, it really has to be like a hey, this can go anywhere to anybody at any time. And it's there is definitely a focused group for evil debt. Now again, that group loved it and bought it and it is is perfect that way, but it's uh there were five that I I would rank higher on my own ability list. Yeah. So I that that's really when I'm thinking of a top five, I'm thinking of top five games I would have in my collection. Yeah. I same here. So so so that is nothing about Spooky and and that because it is it's a great game. I we really had an embarrassment of riches this year. Yep. We really did. Like 2025 was a rough year for like for competition. It was all solid, right? Like it just it was rough in the fact that like for your wallet it took a pounding. Yeah. Or you just had to say my space. My space. I don't have space. Yeah. I could have easily doubled my collection this year easily. And I don't feel that about every I don't know if I felt about that for pinball for a while now. You know what I'm saying? Last year there was Jaws and there was um which I obviously got and then there [clears throat] was um Metallica which you got. Um Evil Dead was awesome, but that didn't reveal to the end of the year. I'm trying to think. Labyrinth wasn't my cup of tea. So Okay. Again, Labyrinth suffers from not and that was from 2023. Yeah. So, I'm just like I'm just trying to think like last year like I wasn't a fan of X-Men. Like I don't know. We can get to that later. Okay. We're doing our top ones. Okay. All right. Uh Scott, give us the honors of your number one. Let's see. Let's hear this. Number one, no question. Hands down. Harry Potter. I knew it. Knew it. It is so good. Josh, I I I the way that Eric designed this game, it is so great. It flows so good. It has possibly one of the best upper playfields ever invented because your Quidditch battle, you not only have an upper an upper loop that you can repeat, but it also has a wire form that you can shoot and it has a 180. It is super challenging. It's but but it is it is achievable which is you know there's a lot of games where it's like you know it's kind of like that side that stupid flipper in Led Zeppelin like that the only person that can shoot that side shot is J is Joel. But um it it has so much in there. It is so packed. the staircase mechanism, the diverter that causes so many different options there. It is a baptism into the Harry Potter world. And given there are eight films and seven books. The way that you are just liquid poured into this game is unbelievable. The art, by the way, is awesome. I don't care what anyone says. Okay, you can talk about that. you know, distracted distractable things such as, oh, they may have used AR. Okay, whatever. It looks so good in person, you would never know any of this stuff. And the collector's edition looks so good with the, you know, the Okay, Marilina. I I'm I know I'm not saying that. Mima Lima. Yeah. Mim Lima. Mima Lima. Yeah. And it's the it's basically the art that feels like you're reading the book. And then you have the wizard the wizard edition that has like all of the movie assets and it looks so great on the on the side. And then you also have the option of getting an arcade edition. Yes. Okay. I get it. It's $10,000 or $99999. But this is something that will make money. I guarantee if Harry Potter were downstairs in my collection, that is 100% the first game anybody will go to hands down because it is so good. And so, Eric, 100% I bow to you. You totally nailed this one. And yeah, 100%. Best game of the year. It is a pretty wonderful That's why I had a really hard time with this list because it's Yeah. Yeah. Okay. My number one. What do we have? We have 12 games. Uh, okay. You're slowing it. I already know what it is. I already know. I I want to see. Oh, you just guess it. Let's see you guess it. You're going to say Winchester. It's Winchester. And I'm going to tell you why. Boom. Yep. I'm going to tell you why. Okay. Winchester. It's not the fact that I get shocked. It's not like there this drop. I like spooky things. I'm not a fan of the Winchester house. It's not like it's like I have Winchester merchandise. What a You know, here's the thing. You have that tattoo. I do have that tattoo of the ghost on my butt. Yes, that is true. [laughter] Here's the thing about Winchester. When I played it at Expo, Mhm. it plays so smooth. And this is one thing we talked about with Carl D'Angelo on the podcast when we had him on. It's that years of tweaking games, fixing games, just knowing where the geometry is at. I feel like between the Pepper's ghost, between that crazy cool spinning wheel, the turntable with the different paths and how quickly it it reacts to where it needs to be. The ramps themselves, it's a hard playing game. Like, it's it's a tougher playing game. I didn't feel like it was like really hard. the fact that like you can you can like go to different rooms and keys and like you can explore the game or you like you can kind of shortcut to certain areas, but you're still exploring the game. Like if you just want to enjoy the game for what it is, you can. This game hits on so many different levels. I feel bad for the other companies cuz I feel like Carl D'Angelo said this is what pinball should be. Mhm. This is, you know, this is pinball. And I totally agree. And I I know Scott, you consider yourself a lower tier player. I would consider myself on the upper side. I'm not top 10,00 or top 100. I think if I really had the time and the means and whatnot and I really wanted to dedicate my life to competition pinball, I feel like I could be in the top 1,00. Uh, another reason like I say this too is like if you have insider connected, go look at your high scores and it will compare you to other people on Insider Connected to their high scores. every game I played except for like three, I'm in the top 1%. So, I feel like coming from a person that understands the geometry of pinball and how a game feels, Winchester just feels so good. The sound from Jeff Dodson at Dirty Pin pin Dirty Pool Pinball just hits on so many levels. It just it's so good. The artwork, Brad Albbright, tied this all together. This game, in my opinion, is the perfect package for this year and it scores high on my list. And the only thing I am upset about with this game is I asked Zach, "Do you have Winchester?" And he said, "Yes." And I said, "I I'm going to Expo." I asked him on Tuesday. No. Yeah. Monday. What day were revealed? I'm going to Expo on Wednesday. It should be set up Thursday. I'm going to play it and I'll get back to you. I missed out because I had to play the game first, which I don't think anything wrong with. No one No one expected for this to sell out. I I agree with you. [sighs] Like, it's one of those games I'm going to set and see how it does, okay? I'm not I'm not to the point where I'm about to sell two games or whatever it is to move one Winchester into my collection because let's be realistic. It's 116 and we don't know what the used market's going to do on it, right? But this game is just so good and it's just it's it's when something it's it's a perfect storm in my opinion and it just makes me excited even more for Barrels of Fun moving forward in the future and seeing now that they have Carl D'Angelo like it's literally the Clash of the Titans in my opinion between D'Angelo and Keith Elwin. And the nice part about Ellen is at least all of his games will be available. And I don't have to stress because a pro is half of almost half of what a Winchester is, right? So moving forward, I guess that's just one thing I got to keep an eye on. But for me, winner of 2025, Winchester without a doubt. So yeah, if you guys agree, let us know. If you disagree, let us in the comments, all that stuff. Okay. So I'll recap my top five. So Harry Potter number one. Yep. Dune number two, Winchester number three, Portal number four, Kong number five. Okay, by the way, which one of those games would you not want to own? Yeah, [gasps] all of them. All of them. You would want to own all of them? And when's the last time we had a a a year? And by the way, I would put Evil Dead my my honorable mention just because like if you're looking at the uh the aggregate market out there that you would definitely put that in there. And so, okay, so all major companies have made a showing and okay, I'm not going to throw the Merlin edition or the the Chicago Gaming on that. All the major companies have had a major show this year. And I will even add I did get Oh, so I got the upgrade kit for Cactus Canyon. So even like Chicago Gaming is making some some big strides. And by the way, opening that kit, it looks amazing. I'm going to be installing it this week. But okay, when is the last time that we have had five or six major companies have a big hit in one year? Um, I can't remember. I really It It's been at least 30 years. I mean, come on. One week. Oh, sorry. Yeah. [laughter] Okay. So, Josh, recap your top five. My top five. Number one, Winchester. Number two, King Kong. Number three, Portal. Number four, Harry Potter. And number five, Evil Dead. And I feel like the the list itself and and five Evil Dead/Dune. I feel like the list is very like I I could be persuaded one way or the other. Okay. We have the same six, but if you noticed, we prioritize them differently. Yeah. But all of those games are great games. Yep. So that that gives you options. It's not like the year where it's like, well, there's only one game that you can really put in there. So yeah. How lucky are we this year? I like I said, I can't remember. We've been doing this podcast coming up on seven years here in January. And all the years that we've been doing this, I don't remember a year where it's been like, "Holy crap, I've got to own all these games from all these companies. I've just, [sighs] yeah, I want to play them, but I just haven't been like, I've got to own these games." And I I seriously am like, how am I going to get these five games, these four games? My personal Yeah, these five games I actually because of my life situation right now, I actually think I would bump Evil Dead down to six and do it up to five because of my family situation. Okay. I I would say your your ranking is correct. Now, there's a big difference between a ranking list and a personal purchase list. Yeah, there is. So, so even that's still on your top five. I would say 2021 was the last year that was uh I mean Cactus Canyon Remake, Godzilla, Rush, which I don't have much heartburn over not owning, but you love that, so that's why I'm throwing that in here. Weird Owl, which I thought was amazing. Yeah. Toy Story. You can argue on it whether you like it or not. I thought it was a great thing for my fun enough. I think it's fun enough. [clears throat] And that's the year that Spooky also did Total Nuclear Annihilation brought back for a second round. Okay. That was a pretty good year. Yeah. So 2020 year 2021 I I will give that year and that's stretching it in my opinion. Yeah. It's like five. It's not the same as this year. Yeah. It's not it's not having barrels of fun in there and they they had two games in my top five. Yeah. They had two and three. I mean, come on. They're they're a big player. Like they're they're coming to play. They and I I don't think they're afraid of um I I'm interested to see what they do with quality numbers or quality quantity numbers moving forward. Right. So um that pretty much wraps it up for the episode. Um we do have a couple notes here at the end that we just want to hit really really quick. Um we do have a new shirt on silverballswag.com. It is similar to Did Stern steal our idea? We have the loser kit that's kind of similar to this flag. Haha. Ha. Um, so go check it out. Uh, I will give some shout outs. Um, I I don't want this person to be flooded with requests, but just so you know, I I got some banners. I got a Metallica banner and I got I actually bought the uh the old school Metallica banner. So, if you're watching, you can see both of them. And my secret Santa also got this awesome ball lock, which is from CSI. So, I'm holding up a skull. So, this is great. Thank you so much. You know who you are. I don't want you getting flooded with a lot of requests, but your um your generous help is greatly appreciated. The visual content of this show, we're starting to rotate some banners behind me and I think Josh may be considering doing something like that, but it's just a nice way of getting people to see uh some of the things we're talking about. Yep. If we've [snorts] been talking about Portal. We talked about how amazing Portal is. Princess Bride. I love Princess Bride. I'm enjoying my Word. My kids like Word more. I like Princess Bride more. It's a fight. It is what it is. $1,000 off. That is still that is cuz I got a P3. It's part of the referral program. So, if you don't know anyone that owns a P3, but you still want that $1,000 off, email us here at loserkidpinballpodcast@gmail.com. We will get you in touch with Jerry and Sarah and we will get that $1,000 off of that new Portal game or Princess Bride or Final Resistance, whatever it may be. There are little terms and conditions. We can talk about that if you email us. Do that. Or if you're looking for a fun house, doesn't matter if it's the the standard edition or if it is the Ellie, we can get you $500 off there as well. Please email us at loserkidpinballpodcast@gmail.com. Other than that, if you want to get a hold of us, all the socials at loserkidpinballpodcast, uh, gmail.com, [laughter] loserkidpinball, Facebook, Instagram, all that jazz. So, uh, we appreciate all the Patreon support because it does help buy these little things that make it fun for you to watch and listen to. And so, we [music] really appreciate everybody who has signed up. And we want to wish everybody a merry Thanksgiving and merry holidays for whatever your holiday plans are. We have a year-end wrap-up show coming up and we do have a special guest planned. So, we're excited on that. Um, okay. Let's give us the last word. Give you the last word. Uh, [music] play pinball and happy holidays everyone.

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