# Is Pinball Random? **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2018-08-25 **Duration:** 6m 37s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEPoVjONiDU --- ## Analysis Cary Hardy discusses pinball as a game of skill rather than chance, using a personal anecdote about teaching his stepson to play and referencing a Vox video featuring Roger Sharp. He emphasizes how understanding game rules and objectives transforms the player experience, and recommends Total Nuclear Annihilation as an accessible cooperative title. ### Key Claims - [MEDIUM] Pinball was considered a gambling machine from the 1920s until 1942 — _Historical claim about pinball regulation; speaker notes legal status changed over decades_ - [HIGH] Roger Sharp kept pinball from being completely banned in New York City in 1976 by demonstrating it as a skill game — _Documented historical event; referenced in Vox video featuring Sharp_ - [MEDIUM] Pinball was illegal for players under 18 in Nashville until 2004 — _Specific regional legal restriction cited as example of pinball's historical legal challenges_ - [HIGH] Most casual players don't enjoy pinball because they don't understand it's a skill game with learnable rule sets — _Core thesis illustrated through stepson anecdote; speaker's personal observation_ - [HIGH] Total Nuclear Annihilation features cooperative play and is a beatable game — _Direct recommendation; speaker describes specific gameplay features_ - [MEDIUM] Pinballs and arcades are on the rise in public locations like bars and arcades — _Industry observation; not deeply sourced but presented as established trend_ ### Notable Quotes > "I believe a majority of people that don't really enjoy pinball is that they don't understand that it's a game of skill and that each game is different and has a different rule set" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~0:45 > _Core thesis about casual player engagement barriers_ > "once he started to understand the rules of the game he was calling shots that I needed to make later on. He was getting excited and getting really into it because he understood it" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~1:15 > _Demonstrates transformative effect of rule comprehension on engagement_ > "back in like you know the 20s all the way up until like 42 pinball was considered a gambling machine" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:00 > _Historical context on pinball's regulatory evolution_ > "he basically kept pinball from being like completely banned and back in 1976 in new york city by playing in front of the committee and calling his shots and showing them that hey this is not a game or gambling this is a game of skill" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:15 > _References Roger Sharp's pivotal role in pinball legality_ > "the most frustrating thing for us players is that when we know what we supposed to hit but we just can seem to hit it" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~3:45 > _Captures experienced player frustration—skill vs execution gap_ > "whatever is lighting up, try to hit for that. Once you learn how to play the particular game, you will find it much more entertaining to play" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~4:30 > _Direct player guidance on how to learn and enjoy pinball_ > "There's nothing more aggravating than me setting a high score on one of my machines and then me just sitting here in front of my computer and all of a sudden I hear the knocker go off a couple of times for one of my machines to see that she beat my score" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~5:15 > _Illustrates competitive/social engagement dimension of home pinball ownership_ > "I guarantee you that you will probably enjoy the game called Total Nuclear Annihilation... it is a game that you can beat yes you can beat it" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~5:45 > _Game recommendation emphasizing beatable/cooperative mechanics for casual players_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Cary Hardy | person | Content creator and pinball enthusiast; home pinball owner discussing skill-based gameplay and community engagement | | Roger Sharp | person | Pinball legend credited with preventing pinball ban in New York City in 1976 by demonstrating skill-based gameplay to regulatory committee | | Vox | organization | YouTube content creator that produced video 'Pinball Isn't As Random As It Seems' featuring Roger Sharp | | Total Nuclear Annihilation | game | Spooky Pinball game; described as featuring cooperative play mode, beatable objective, and strong soundtrack; recommended for casual/competitive players | | Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Total Nuclear Annihilation | | New York City | event | Location of 1976 pinball regulatory challenge resolved by Roger Sharp's skill demonstration | | Nashville | event | City where pinball was illegal for players under age 18 until 2004 | ### Topics - **Primary:** Pinball as skill game vs casual perception, Player onboarding and rule comprehension - **Secondary:** Pinball history and legality, Cooperative/competitive gameplay modes, Home pinball ownership experience, Community engagement around pinball - **Mentioned:** Public pinball availability and arcade industry growth, Total Nuclear Annihilation game features ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Enthusiastic tone promoting pinball's appeal and skill-based nature; positive personal anecdote about stepson's engagement; constructive recommendations; minor frustration about personal gameplay variance doesn't undermine overall optimistic framing ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Content creator actively involved in community onboarding; discussing plans to bring pinball machines to local business to improve public accessibility (confidence: high) — 'I am in talks with the new business that is coming into town about putting machines in their place' - **[sentiment_shift]** Casual players lack engagement with pinball due to misunderstanding it as random/luck-based rather than skill-driven; comprehending rule sets transforms experience (confidence: high) — Stepson anecdote showing immediate engagement shift upon learning objectives; broader observation about non-players' misconceptions - **[market_signal]** Pinballs and arcades reported as rising in public locations (bars, arcades), suggesting growing market accessibility (confidence: medium) — 'Since pinballs and arcades are definitely on the rise when it comes to where you're going to see them in public places' - **[product_strategy]** Total Nuclear Annihilation positioned as accessible cooperative/beatable alternative for casual and competitive players; distinct from traditional competitive-only machines (confidence: high) — Game recommended specifically for non-competitive players; praised for beatable objective and cooperative mechanics --- ## Transcript Whoa. You're telling me that pinball is not just about keeping the ball up and not letting it go down the middle of the drain? It's about skill? Madness! So I was gonna make a video recently about something due to the event that took place at my home but someone beat me to the punch I'm kind of glad they did because they did a better job than I think I was going to do anyways so what happened is that my stepson was visiting for a weekend and I wanted him to play the new machine that I got so I told him come on let's play a multiplayer game but he's kind of always been like really not into pinball and I was like come on come on play the game and so it turns out and how it is but I believe a majority of people that don't really enjoy pinball is that they don't understand that it's a game of skill and that each game is different and has a different rule set but once you learn the game you find it much more entertaining to play it becomes a game so at first he was very you know not interested and once i showed him that hey the reason why this light is lighting up is because this is the ramp that you need to hit, this is the alley that you need to go through, this is the orbit that you need to run through, stuff like that, and once he started to understand the rules of the game he was calling shots that I needed to make later on He was getting excited and getting really into it because he understood it There was skill involved So anyways this video gets posted that is entitled Pinball Isn't As Random As It Seems. Now, this is posted by the YouTube channel called Vox. I will put a link down in the description below. I highly recommend that you give it a watch. In the video, we have a cameo with Roger Sharp. He is actually one of the pinball legends that a lot of us that are in this hobby are much aware of due to the fact that he basically kept pinball from being like completely banned and back in 1976 in new york city by playing in front of the committee and calling his shots and showing them that hey this is not a game or gambling this is a game of skill that's the thing guys is that back in like you know the 20s all the way up until like 42 pinball was considered a gambling machine. I mean that's just what it was and it wasn't you know put on all locations in every city because certain cities had already banned those machines and it wasn't until like I say like you know 76 where it got implemented that pinball was a game of skill that they started becoming more and more common to see around. I mean hell even all the way until 2004 in Nashville it was illegal for you to play pinball until you were the age of 18. But this is why the hobby is a lot more interesting to people that are in it rather than those that don't know anything about it. It's because when we play these machines guys, most of the time we know what we supposed to hit we know which ramp that we supposed to shoot for and the most frustrating thing for us players is that when we know what we supposed to hit but we just can seem to hit it Don't drop it down the center. Don't you fucking do it. You're gonna do it. You son of a bitch. There are many times where I play a game of pinball and I literally play like three or four games and I'm just I'm not in it. My head's not in it or I'm just not playing very well. I'll threaten to sell the damn machine and I turn the damn thing off. Didn't even break 400k. Bullshit! We have our bad days. But the point is, guys, it is about skill. So I challenge you to play a game of pinball and actually learn how to play it. Actually see what the machine is telling you to do. And it will tell you. Basically, whatever is lighting up, try to hit for that. Once you learn how to play the particular game, you will find it much more entertaining to play, guys. And since pinballs and arcades are definitely on the rise when it comes to where you're going to see them in public places, whether it be at arcades or bars or whatever, then the chances of you being able to play a game and learn how to play it are much higher. And what makes pinball even more entertaining is whenever you've got someone to play alongside. A little bit of a competition, you know, that's the whole point of it, is to get a higher score than somebody else. There's nothing more aggravating than me setting a high score on one of my machines and then me just sitting here in front of my computer and all of a sudden I hear the knocker go off a couple of times for one of my machines to see that she beat my score. That's not cool. But if competitive play is not your thing then I guarantee you that you will probably enjoy the game called Total Nuclear Annihilation This game is not as common to see out in public but when you do get a chance to play this game there is an option for cooperative play and it actually a game that you can beat yes you can beat it it is not like something that a lay person can just do with ease even the pros have some challenges on it but it's still a game that you and your friends can cooperatively play against all the tasks at hand to beat the actual game not to mention the soundtrack to that game is so awesome. You know what, that's going to be it guys. I just wanted to post a short video to link you to another video that you should watch. You know, I can't exactly just steal their content and just put it all up here for you to watch, so I will direct you to that video for you to give it a shot. For all of those that live around my area, yes, pinballs are not that often to see in public, but But if you know me well enough, then feel free to come over and I can show you how to play machines that I've got. But I am in talks with the new business that is coming into town about putting machines in their place. So hopefully in the future, whenever that business is finished, we will have some public machines in the vicinity that we don't have to drive 20, 30 minutes out to play. That's it for this video guys. Peace out. We'll see you next time. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3561e8d4-ae77-4fc3-9cef-4d1529f91a2c*