# Straight Down The Middle: a pinball show Episode 5: Dialed In! Review

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2017-03-06  
**Duration:** 42m 27s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8viqO4kDE

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## Analysis

Zach Sharpe and Greg review Jersey Jack Pinball's Dialed In! at a 2017 Louisville arcade expo. The game is praised for its art, smooth shot layout, innovative toy integration (magnets, phone, Quantum Theater), and solid code quality (95% complete). Both reviewers give it high marks across most categories, with Jack himself making an unexpected cameo. The original, unlicensed theme initially concerned reviewers but won them over upon extended play.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Dialed In! is approximately 95% software complete at time of demo — _Jack Danger directly stated to hosts: 'I would say it's about 95% software complete.'_
- [HIGH] Jersey Jack Pinball expected Dialed In! to ship in second quarter (early 2017 reference) — _Jack Danger told hosts: 'I would think, like I said at Pinball Expo, second quarter.' Hosts noted 'So we're in May.'_
- [MEDIUM] Art was designed by John Yeskey, a classic artist who frequently collaborates with Pat Lawlor — _Greg stated this during art review segment; not independently verified in content._
- [HIGH] The third flipper ramp is one of the smoothest ramps in modern pinball with no bounce-back rejection — _Zach: 'The ramp off the third flipper is one of the smoothest ramps I've ever hit in all of pinball.'_
- [HIGH] Dialed In! code at 95% completion quality exceeds games that have been on market for years — _Greg: 'it's coming home to somebody's house, and it's already coded better than 95% to 98% of the games that have been on the market for a year, five years, 20 years'_
- [HIGH] Pat Lawlor designed the entire story and universe from scratch since it's not a licensed IP — _Zach: 'With creating The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz, you had boundaries... But with Dialed In!, it's original. There was no boundaries.'_
- [HIGH] The game features multiple magnets throughout playfield and under playfield similar to Addams Family — _Greg: 'There's magnets everywhere... It's like the power on Addams Family.'_
- [HIGH] Initial skepticism about Dialed In! theme at Pinball Expo was dispelled upon extended play — _Zach: 'before we put a ton of games on it... we probably thought theme's going to be the killer on this game... when you play the game you don't care about the theme'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Everything is new... you have footage, you have items, you have moments in the film. You know the limits. With Dialed In!, there was no boundaries."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~45:00
> _Explains Pat Lawlor's creative freedom with original IP vs licensed titles_

> "I dare you to play this game and not have fun. And it's not because of the music. It sure as hell not because of the theme. It's because of toys and Shots and Layouts."
> — **Greg**, ~60:00
> _Core thesis of game's appeal, identifies mechanics over theme as primary strength_

> "The ramp off the third flipper is one of the smoothest ramps I've ever hit in all of pinball."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~58:00
> _Praises specific mechanical design element as standout feature_

> "It's 95% software complete... Everything. Everything [was difficult about this process]. Look at it. It's loaded."
> — **Jack Danger**, ~35:00
> _Designer's own assessment of completion status and development challenges_

> "If it's good enough to release it to the public, and we're spending $8,000, $9,000, $10,000 on a game, we're going to review it."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~5:00
> _Establishes review show philosophy: early assessment of new releases_

> "It's actually refreshing that it's something new and that it's not. You don't have to rely on that history... You create your own story with it."
> — **Greg**, ~75:00
> _Defends original IP approach as consumer positive vs franchise fatigue_

> "I made the comment to Jack. I said, what's so weird is that you've got The Wizard of Oz sitting here. You've got Dialed In!, and then you've got The Hobbit... Completely different spectrums. But they look cohesive."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~48:00
> _Notes visual aesthetic coherence across Jersey Jack's diverse portfolio_

> "it's coming home to somebody's house, and it's already coded better than 95% to 98% of the games that have been on the market for a year, five years, 20 years"
> — **Greg**, ~63:00
> _Emphasizes pre-release code quality benchmark compared to historical releases_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Co-host of Straight Down The Middle pinball show; primary reviewer and commentator |
| Greg | person | Co-host of Straight Down The Middle; secondary reviewer; home pinball collector |
| Jack Danger | person | Jersey Jack Pinball designer of Dialed In!; made unexpected cameo during recording; confirmed 95% software completion |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Game designer credited with Dialed In!; created original story/universe and playfield design |
| John Yeskey | person | Artist credited with Dialed In! back glass and artwork; noted classic artist frequently collaborating with Pat Lawlor |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Dialed In!; established manufacturer in modern pinball market |
| Straight Down The Middle: a pinball show | organization | YouTube/podcast series by Zach Sharpe and Greg; focuses on in-depth pinball machine reviews and gameplay |
| Dialed In! | game | Jersey Jack Pinball 2017 title; original IP theme about urban disasters; Pat Lawlor design; reviewed in this episode |
| Louisville Arcade Pinball Expo | event | 2017 pinball exposition in Louisville-area Kentucky where Dialed In! prototype was demoed; hosts attended and recorded review content |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | organization | Arcade/location operated by Larry where hosts played extended sessions of Dialed In! prototype |
| Quantum Theater | product | Holographic display feature on Dialed In! playfield; praised for visual integration and clear visibility |
| Addams Family | game | Referenced for magnet mechanics comparison to Dialed In! |
| The Wizard of Oz | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; referenced in comparison to Dialed In! visual cohesion |
| The Hobbit | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; referenced in comparison to Dialed In! visual cohesion and artistic style |
| Ghostbusters | game | Referenced for Ecto-goggles mechanic comparison to Quantum Theater on Dialed In! |
| Star Trek | game | Referenced for smooth ramp gameplay comparison to Dialed In! |
| Batman 66 | game | Previously reviewed by hosts; defended as worthy of early-stage review despite incomplete code |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Game mechanics and shot layout design, Code maturity and software completion quality, Original IP vs licensed theme approach, Toy integration and magnet mechanics, Playfield art and visual design
- **Secondary:** Early access review philosophy, Music and callout integration, Pinball game production complexity

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Both reviewers are highly enthusiastic about Dialed In!, praising nearly every aspect from layout to code quality. Initial theme skepticism is explicitly overcome. Ratings are predominantly A/A+ across categories. Minor critiques (music differentiation, theme novelty) are vastly outweighed by praise for execution and playability. Hosts express genuine excitement and hint at intent to own the game themselves.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Jack Danger actively present at demos making unexpected cameos; demonstrates designer accessibility and promotion approach for new title (confidence: high) — Host surprised by Jack's unannounced appearance during filming; Jack stayed for gameplay
- **[sentiment_shift]** Theme skepticism from Pinball Expo reveal was reversed after extended play; community concern about original IP viability unfounded (confidence: high) — Zach: 'when it was unveiled... I was disappointed... when you play the game you don't care about the theme'
- **[community_signal]** Review show format aims to provide early access gameplay/impressions for consumers lacking direct machine access; positioned as purchasing guidance tool (confidence: high) — Hosts defend early review strategy: 'we want to give you some gameplay if we can get a hold of it... we want to give you our experience with that game'
- **[competitive_signal]** Hosts note playfield flow smoothness as rare achievement; compare favorably to Star Trek while avoiding its rejection issues; positions Dialed In! as mechanically superior (confidence: medium) — Zach praised third flipper ramp as 'one of the smoothest ramps I've ever hit'; Greg noted no clunkiness or excessive stop-and-go
- **[design_philosophy]** Toy integration approach prioritizes cohesive playfield flow over standalone toy prominence; magnets/phone/theater incorporated as mechanic elements not attractions (confidence: high) — Greg: 'Nothing stands out... because it's incorporated so well... The phone is fantastic... but you don't pay attention to it'
- **[design_philosophy]** Pat Lawlor emphasizes original IP freedom in game design — Dialed In! created entire story/universe without licensed boundaries unlike Wizard of Oz/Hobbit (confidence: high) — Zach explained Lawlor's unrestricted creative approach vs constraints of licensed properties
- **[event_signal]** Louisville Arcade Pinball Expo 2017 featured Jersey Jack Pinball's Dialed In! showcase with public prototype playable machines (confidence: high) — Hosts recorded at venue; Jack confirmed unveiling at Pinball Expo with five units
- **[market_signal]** Pinball machines in 2017 market positioned at $8,000-$10,000+ retail price point; frames investment level for review content (confidence: high) — Zach: 'we're spending $8,000, $9,000, $10,000 on a game'
- **[personnel_signal]** Jack Danger publicly engaged in designer/promoter role at trade shows; directly demonstrates manufacturer engagement with enthusiast community (confidence: high) — Unexpected cameo appearance; interactive engagement with hosts and players at expo
- **[announcement]** Dialed In! officially announced as 95% software complete with second quarter 2017 ship target; Jersey Jack manufacturing expanding production (confidence: high) — Jack Danger directly confirmed status to hosts in video cameo
- **[product_concern]** Hosts note code quality disparity: Dialed In! at 95% completion significantly outperforms many released games from prior years still in market (confidence: high) — Greg stated game 'already coded better than 95% to 98% of the games that have been on the market for a year, five years, 20 years'
- **[technology_signal]** Dialed In! employs extensive magnet mechanics throughout playfield and under field, comparable to classic Addams Family design philosophy (confidence: high) — Greg noted multiple magnet locations; planned to lift playfield to inspect under-field magnets

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## Transcript

 You hit it off with a bumper, now you're straight down the middle again You had a fling with a slingshot, you're rolling out the alley again I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain Baby, baby, baby, why are you doing me wrong? Do me wrong Don't you remember the good days when we used to get along? We'd make those four reels spin all night, then we'd be singing our song. We'd be singing our song. You said life was getting white, so you brought two friends in. Two friends in. But I can hardly keep up, you guys are making my head spin. I bless you all, you're winning my dang old. What's happening, everybody? It's Zach and Greg with Straight Down the Middle Pinball. We're here at Cassaday Gregory's house here in Louisville-ish area, right? Yes, yes, yes. So these are Greg's threads here, his digs, where he lives. Yep, the basement. You know, I've only got the two pens right now, but I'm building the collection slowly. I'm a budget-friendly kind of guy. A budget-friendly. And I think I can... You have two pinball machines. It's cool. I like it. I've been in a short time, you know. Johnny Mnemonic and Lost World. It's getting there. So here's what we're doing today, guys. We're going to review another machine. the responses that you guys have had toward these videos and especially towards the machine review have been overwhelming we're totally psyched about it ecstatic we're excited we loved it so really really from the bottom of our hearts without getting too corny we appreciate especially all the subscribers the subscribers like people who actually follow us and commenting like we've got a few people that comment literally on almost every video and it's fantastic and if you haven't subscribed right now go ahead go ahead, press it. We're setting goals. We're setting goals. We're going places with this damn pinball, little bitty pinball show. All right, so we're still working on audio a little bit. Hopefully this sounds a little bit better than the echo chamber at my place. Yeah. That's okay. So today we're going to review another machine. We're super excited about this machine review because it hasn't really even came out yet, has it? Not very many people's played it. So we're reviewing Jersey Jack's Dialed In. 2017, he showed it at Expo, and you could flip it compared to the Batman 66, so you could flip it. Code wasn't there a lot. There wasn't a lot of code at that point. There was good code. It was good code. It was good code. It wasn't bad. Better than some games. Yeah. And the cool thing was that Jack himself at Expo brought, I think, five of them, unveiled them, had a big unveiling. It was really awesome, really cool. So we're going to review that today. We're going to review it. You'll see it here in a minute. We went to Louisville Arcade Expo for 2017. It's going on this weekend. It was a great time. Some pretty good pins and stuff there. If you guys have never been, you're close to the region, it's definitely worth checking out. It's not the largest, but it's really growing. It is growing a lot. It's really good for this area. Show support for those, especially if you guys do live close. Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, anywhere around that. You've got to come out, man, and check it out. It's good stuff. Really good. So we went out there, we recorded, you'll see in a bit, we've recorded kind of like what we did for Batman. We go through the shot layouts, the different artworks and stuff like that. So as a recap, some of the categories that we're going to be reviewing today include art, number one, shots and layout, rules, toys, innovation, music, callouts, and themes. Six categories. Greg and I are going to rate each on a grading rubric. and then we're going to compile our scores and last, we've been getting some feedback. Everybody says, why aren't you guys different? So the first one, we were very similar, right? We were very similar, yeah. That hand we agreed on quite a bit. That's right, that's right. This one, I think we're going to probably be similar but for a good reason. Yeah. So there's plenty of games that Greg likes that are shit games. That's right. So we're going to review, no, that one's good. That one's good. Enough. So we're going to, bear with us, we're going to review some games that he likes and I don't like and vice versa probably. You like every damn pinball. I do like it. As long as it flips, I play it. I'm getting over a cold, so I apologize. So before we get into it, a lot of people asked, not a lot of people, a couple people said, why did you guys decide to review Batman 66? The damn thing just came out. The code's not complete and everything. There's still codes still in the infancy. Why not wait until the code gets done? Here's the thing. For us, our show is going to be a little bit different than a lot of other people out there, for better or for worse. But our thought is, if Stern, Jersey Jack, Highway Pinball, if they're going to release a game to the public, and we're spending $8,000, $9,000, $10,000 on a game, we're going to review it. If it's good enough to release it to the public, we're going to review it. Agreed. And we want to be able to give you some of the first looks at those games. because a lot of you might not have access to those games. You might not be able to see them. So we really want to give you some gameplay if we can get a hold of it. We want to at least get you photos, and we want to give you our experience with that game. I think it helps you to kind of make a decision, and we don't want to influence you too much. Sure we do. Why don't we? I don't know. I want to influence people. Maybe. But I want you to keep an open mind. Keep an open mind if you want, but we kind of know what's going on. And we're pretty good. No, I mean, honestly, though, Batman 66, we had a lot of people. I felt agreed with that. I felt that we were pretty spot on with that. You're not going to agree with everything we do. But we're pretty biased. There's not one manufacturer that we lean towards. I don't care about that. No, no, man. I want good games. We want a good game, yeah. So we're going to rate it in that fashion. So as they're coming out, we're going to review them. And in a year from now, if things change substantially, we'll revisit it. Yeah, and we won't be afraid to come back and say, hey, you know what? I was wrong about that game. That game wasn't a turd. It didn't suck. I actually fell in love with this game after I played it. I'm wrong all the time. Yeah, it happens. So with that being said, what we're going to do, we're going to cut to the video of us reviewing the game. And you guys are going to love it because we have a little cameo that was no BS, totally unexpected by us. It's really cool. Check it out. Let's go to the game and then we'll come back and we'll start rating this thing How's it going pinball people again, we're here at the 2017 pinball. What is this Louisville arcade and pinball Expo? extravaganza We're here with this awesome ass machine. This is dialed in by Jersey Jack 2017 machine This thing is really pretty we're gonna review this machine This is actually a prototype, but it flips really well and it has a lot of coat already on it and it hasn't even left Jersey Jack doors yet. So what we're gonna do right now is we're gonna go through all of the basic shots. I'll talk about all of the interesting things going on and I'll probably miss a whole hell of a lot as well because this game is loaded. It is a standard body, but as As you can see, this thing is loaded down. It's so, so much fun to play. All right, let's start with, let's go left to right here. So, left orbit. Left orbit is a nice open shot, as you guys can see. What I love about this, look at the colors of this. I mean, it just pops. This is Bob's, I guess, left orbit. But when you shoot it over there it comes around and actually hops down a little bit Into the rest of and comes out that right orbit If you look at this left ramp shot right now, it's blocked a little bit by the Quantum Electric Company Mascot, but this thing is not like Mick on Mick on a stick. This thing is a three-dimensional Sculpture piece really nice. It doesn't feel like you're gonna break it. It's got a target right there there and he'll go back and forth left to right to block the shots and he can sometimes block that that left ramp shot but the left ramp goes up comes around and it's going to do one of two things either it's going to continue on the habit trail all the way back down to your left flipper or if this diverter uh if this diverter is used she will actually pull her arm down and it will stop this ball and make it go up here over the pops. There's a little hole right there. It can actually, if you can see right there, it can go through back to the pop bumpers. And it's got even bumpers up here, which is really cool. And again, this thing is built. Nice thick piece of plexi. That thing's never going to break. All right. As you see right in the middle here, the Quantum Reality Theater. this is similar to Ecto goggles on Ghostbusters but it really is nice it will display different things that you can hit different awards that you can get it's a nice piece that you shoot right up there nice satisfying shot there we'll get let's see if you can whip around here there's a couple really cool shots here we've got the third flipper you guys can see there it is third flipper so third flipper is going to hit one of my favorite shots in this entire game is it's the SIM card shot it's almost like a hideaway hole but you can you can hit it right in there or you can hit the ramp and this is to lock your balls lock is lit you hit it up this ramp it'll whip right around here and this is a physical ball lock into the station number three and it'll hold your ball right there until you get three balls multi balls and then it'll let it down right through there let's see there's a big bang target up there as well all right pop bumpers typical pop bumpers here and then what everybody is talking about this telephone and again the theme of this is it called dialed in it doesn have much to do with a cell it has a lot to do with a cell phone but not just a cell phone This is basically just a communication device for the individual I don know what the character name is but he can control different space invasions acid rain all kinds of cool stuff the right orbit. Right orbit shot is actually unique on this because instead of going all the way back around to the left orbit, it shoots around here and actually hits this ramp. So it's a right orbit to ramp. It comes through this habit trail and it'll wind down here through the drones and these drones actually work too. It's really neat. It'll come down to your right flipper. So already we've covered a crap load of shots, but it's not done there. Next thing you have, you've got all kinds of skill shots here. And I don't know enough about the actual skill shots, but there's a hold spider, there's a hold bonus, there's a hold transit, hold bumpers, hold drones, big points, a lot of stuff going on here. All right, what else we got? One of my favorite parts of pinball is magnets. And this game has some magnets. So there are magnets over here. There's one right here, as you can see, right under the drones. And these signify different locking mechanisms or magnet mechanisms. But you hit it over here, and this will regularly, there will be a lot of activity right here, which is really cool. And we'll have to look under the play field, but I could swear whenever I play this game, it feels like there's magnets under this play field, like the power on the Addams Family. Or even Last Action Hero, I guess, just for Greg. But there's magnets everywhere here. What else we have? So we'll look over the game. I'll stop yak and now you can look over the game. It's a Pat Lawler design game. Oh, you're looking at? That's right. Look at this here. How's it going, man? Going really well. It's Jack himself. I'm talking up your game right now, brother. I love it. I didn't think you were getting into that. I'm here. That's all. That's very awesome. We're getting ready to review your game. Very good. I love it. I love it. Very good. I love it. I love when people review our game. That's right. And this game is pretty far along. It's about, I would say it's about 95% software complete. 95%. Very good. We're getting ready to build games soon. When are you going to, is this second quarter or first and third quarter? What are we looking at? I would think, like I said at Expo, second quarter. So we're in May. That's exciting. It is. It's great. What was the what was the most difficult part about this whole process on dial down? Everything. Everything. Look at it. It's loaded. Everything. I heard it's not easy to build pinball machines. That's what they say anyway. Are you going to play this game? We're going to play it. We're going to do some gameplay. I'll put the lock bar back on. We're going to do some gameplay. Leave the glass off. This is the invisible glass. That's right. The 3D digital computer. You have the invisible glass. What else do we need to know about this machine? Just push the button and it will open. What else do we need to know about this machine? Just push the button and get started and have fun. That's all. That's all for me. Shoot the flashing lights. Very good. Very good. Thanks again to the man himself, Jack. This is Zach with Straight Down the Middle Pinball. We're going to play a little game play, and then we're going to sit down. Greg and I will review the game. We'll talk about the art. We'll talk about the shots. We'll talk about the code on it. And then we'll get a grade at the end. And no spoilers here, but I don't think we're going to have a problem rating this bad boy pretty high. Greg and I love this game. We'll probably both own it at some point, as well as the rest of the country and the rest of the world. So let's get to some gameplay, guys. All right, ball one. I don't even know basic strategy, really, guys. We're just going to try to keep it flipping. How about that? I believe you hit the... Where's my ball save? I think you hit the phone to start a mode. Or a disaster. We'll play a couple games here. Uh-oh. Woo! I thought it was stuck. There we go. Now we're going to call a person. Oh, boy. We got a major hole in the street. Bulldozer. That's going to be a problem. So we got sinkholes now that we've got to deal with. Number two. Oh, get up there. I suck. All one block. Battery frenzy. Crazy. Hello. I'm calling from dialed in electronics. We have detected a problem with your phone. Multiball. Jet fire. Major cannon attack approaching. 3, 2, 1, impact. It's my flip. Once these lasers come down, you can't hold the ball. There's a magnet going. Freeze. Energy pulse still on travel. Whoa. Oh, thank you, Magnet. I blew it. I love this game. It's so much fun. So you guys got to see an overview of the different shots, the different art, different layout. And you even met Jack himself. That was really unexpected. It was. It was pretty awesome. It was. He just hopped in there. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I was like, what the hell? Yeah. It was like perfect timing, too. Here we are overviewing the machine in Pop's Jack. So it was really fun. I'm glad he did that. Terrific guy. Yeah, he's really cool. Very nice, very nice. Down to earth, really good guy. So, let's start with art. Number one, art. What did you think about your art, Greg? I liked the art. I gave it an A, especially the play field. An A, okay. Yeah, cabinet art looked good. Play field was fantastic, though, man. How awesome is that thing? It was, and even the back glass was neat. It had something different about it. There was detail. There was detail. That's John Yelsey. Really? Yeah. See, I didn't know that. He's a classic artist. He oftentimes teams up with Pat Lawler. And it was different. It was a different art than what you've seen in a long time, I feel. Don't you think? It's original. It is. It is. Here's the thing, guys. For Dialed In, what makes it so unique, a lot of people gripe about the theme, and we'll get to that. But everything is new. That's what Jack was telling us. It's not like you have a theme. It's not like he was using his own game, Wizard of Oz. You weren't bound. Yeah, you have footage. You have items. You have moments in the film. You know the limits. With creating The Hobbit and Wizard of Oz, you had boundaries that you knew that you were working within. That's right. And this game... This game's original. There was no boundaries. So he had to create, that is Pat Lawler, had to create an entire story, a universe if you will, a comic-esque type of story to create a pinball machine on. Let's get into it more in time. Wait until we get to the theme, and then we'll get more into it. It's beautiful. I love it. What'd you give it? Play field. I gave it an A. Easy. It's Johnny Ousey. I mean, come on. He hand draws everything. I love the woman on the back glass. And I think, where else does she make an appearance? She makes an appearance somewhere else where she's like screaming, and then the aliens. It's almost like the, what is it? The attack of the 50-foot, or whatever. It's like some of the old 50s things where the girls scream it like that. That's exactly what it was. Now, the guy with the jeans on, he looks a little bit like Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell. He does. But it works. It does work. It works. Colors are beautiful. There's blues and oranges and reds. It's so nice. And I do have to say something about this while we're talking about that. I made the comment to Jack. I said, what's so weird is that you've got Wizard of Oz sitting here. You've got Dialed In, and then you've got The Hobbit. Yeah. Completely different spectrums. Oh, yeah. But they look cohesive. They look great together. They fit together like no other. It is so weird that that would work, but they're beautiful in a lineup, and they just mash very well together. I can't explain it. Even the cabinet, nice, beautiful. I think it's predominantly oranges and blues, which I think is great. On the side of the head cabinet, you guys saw it where it's the big cell phone. He's holding a big cell phone. I don't know. It's just so clean looking. and so adventuristic. I agree. I mean, it pulls you in and you want to have fun playing that game. I agree. The art, we're both an A. A. Yeah. Okay so now we at shots and layouts What did you think about shots and layouts It my favorite part of the game Yeah Well it close to my favorite part of the game Shots and Layouts I dare you to play this game and not have fun And it's not because of the music. It sure as hell not because of the theme. It's because of toys, we'll get into that in a minute, and Shots and Layouts. This thing is as smooth as butter. We were talking in our last videos, I want a game to be smooth. This thing is so smooth. The ramp off the third flipper is one of the smoothest ramps I've ever hit in all of pinball. That's right. It's unexpected because you think it's going to be something like Star Trek, which, again, we both love. Very smooth. But it doesn't have the rejection like Star Trek does all the time. It cruises right at that point. Yeah, you think, oh, my God, my ball's going to bounce back at me. But it's sailing away up a ramp. And it's neat, too, because if you're thinking about the shots and layout, you think left orbit goes to right orbit. Right orbit goes to left orbit. Back and forth. Not this game. Left orbit will come to right orbit. But hit that right orbit and it goes up a ramp. Yeah. That's really cool. And the thing, you know, about that third flipper, sorry, that I think is kind of surprising too is you, correct me if I'm wrong, you really can't see that ramp from where you're playing. Not really because you've got the guy that is toggling back and forth. And the start of the ramp is a little set back. And so when you hit that flipper, it's almost a surprise that it shoots up a ramp. And it just goes up. It loops around. Yeah, it goes up and then it goes through the bowl. Yeah, there's no clunkiness. It is quiet. You don't hear any clunk. No. It's just, oh, shit, the ball's there. And the other thing with the shots and layouts that's really cool is that instead of just having that ramp, that side ramp for the third flipper, not only that, but to the left of it, I believe, they have a scoop. Yes. It's like a little hideout. A hidden scoop. Bam. That's a little harder to hit. I had a lot more hard time hitting that than what I did. That's really cool. Pops are really cool. The layout. I just love the layout. I do too. That left ramp is nice. Yes. The left ramp is nice because you can hit it over and over, but the diverter, her arm, and again, integration. It's not just a metal diverter. It's her actual arm. Yeah. It comes down, blocks the ball, and then it drops into the pops and different things like that. But you even get a lot of balls falling out of the pops, like off of that plexi over the pops. Yes. You get them through the ball lock, and it literally falls on the play field, but you don't hear it. No. You don't feel it. No. It is all cohesive. It is a very, very high flow game. Yes. But it's still stop and go. Like Pat Lawler does the different modes and stuff. But it's not a killer stop and go. It doesn't ruin the game at all. It's a needed break. If you guys have played this, you know exactly what we're talking about. If you haven't, find out where it's at. Play it. It's just so much freaking fun. All right. On to rules. What did you give? What did you give? Shots and layout. Did I not? No. No. We didn't get to A+. I gave an A+, as well. A+. This is what we said. We know what you wanted us to differ and be able to argue on some of these games, and there will be games. But there's just some games that we can't. We hit our scores and stuff like that. Yeah. It's an A+, and you guys will know why. It's really cool. Yeah. So, moving to rules. We don't have it in our basement. So, take this with we can't. And there's no rule sheet out yet. Yeah. So we just play a hell of a lot of games on it, thanks to Larry flipping out pinballs. We played a crap load of games on it. We tried to pick up on the little nuances and what the tasks were. What I like about the rules is that it's not overwhelming. Jersey Jacks are typically, Keith P. Johnson stuff, very, very deep rules. But it's approachable. You know how to get your multiball or your locks lit. You know how to start mode. It's really nice. There's a big freaking phone there. You hit the phone, you start a mode. Each mode is a catastrophe. You try to hit the shots to fix or end the mode. Really nice, but you can stack stuff. Stuff can be stacked. The theater can be started. And then you can start bobs. I really like the rules. I like the rules. And for it not being out of the factory yet, Jack said it's what, 95%? 95% is what he said, yeah. And that's huge compared to a lot of games coming out now with unfinished code. and I'm sure they're going to release some updates soon and stuff's going to happen. But, man, 95% of the time it's good. It didn't seem, there wasn't any shots that you hit that didn't register right. There wasn't any that didn't start. It was complete. I'm not going to name names of past games that have come out and I'm like, what the hell? I don't know what to do because every time I start something, nothing happens. Yeah. Was there really anything that you started that you thought? No, no. Everything? No, I didn't pay enough attention to the, we played a crap load of games on that thing, but the skill shot. There's a complex skill shot system where it's like hard plunged. Seven or eight different options there, but I think those are getting coded as well. So overall codes, where are you putting it at? Or rules? Rules, I went at a B+. And I probably could have rated it higher, but like you said, I don't own it. I didn't have enough, you know, we had a lot of games on it, but again, thanks to Larry at Flip N Out Pinball. But I didn't get as much, so I probably could have rated it higher. I gave it an A, and this is why. I rated it an A because it's coming home to somebody's house, and it's already coded better than 95% to 98% of the games that have been on the market for a year, five years, 20 years, etc. Simple. That's very true. It's an A. Let's move to toys and innovation. I'm going to get all freaking giddy here. Yeah. All right. What do you think, Greg? Toys, you know, nothing. This is where I think it's unique. Nothing stands out to me, per se, like a Bash toy or something else. I don't think. Because you're blind. Or something like Johnny with the glove. Nothing stands out to you? It stands out, but it's incorporated so well that it's not just a weird carved figure that you hit sitting there. The phone. The phone is absolutely fantastic. That is amazing. Does it bother you? It doesn't bother you? No, it doesn't bother me at all. That's what I'm saying. I didn't pay attention to it. It is great, but you don't pay attention to it. It's not worth it. Yes, it's integrated. But when you hit it, it's superb. Same thing with the Quantum Theater. The Quantum Theater, the hologram stuff. And it's a large one, too. Yes, it is. Yeah, it's not a little disc or anything. It is beautiful. It is easy to see. Yeah. It's phenomenal. One example of the Quantum Theater that was really cool is when you start, One of the modes is like a volcano is emerging or erupting, and it shows the entire volcano as it's spewing up through that thing. It's easy to see. It's not anything that you're trying to struggle to look for or anything else. Yeah. My favorite part of Toys and Innovation, magnets, magnets, magnets. Yeah. Man, I love the magnets. I don't know how many damn magnets are in that game, but you've got one to the right. It's on a little corner. Then you've got some under the play field. Then you have one that is up in the theater. You've got a magnet up there. So there's magnets everywhere. We were going to lift the play field, and we never did. We were too excited about messing with it. Jack showed up. Yeah, that's right. It threw me off. Yeah, it threw it all off. It threw me off. But we were going to look under there at the magnets because we were excited about it. There's magnets under there. It's like the power on Adam's family. Yeah. That's why I gave Toys and Innovation an A+. I gave an A-. A-freaking-plus. What is there an A- about? I don't know. Just you didn't have your big essential toy. Yeah, it kind of threw me. Okay. I mean, but it wasn't bad. It was, I actually preferred the way this was. Okay. But, I mean, I'm ripping the A- as well as the score. Yeah, it's so good. A- for me. All right, let's move on to music and call-outs. Music and call-outs, man, I thought they were good. It was super integrated. the chick on the phone that shows up that calls and talks to you was fantastic everything on the LCD was fantastic I enjoyed the call the train was fantastic the train goes by and your shaker motor goes off and it feels like it's going past you it is timed perfect I even had to turn around and say did you feel that have you had that happen it was great I remember this side note When Greg first hit that, he hit the left orbit to the third flipper right up that ramp. And he just turned around. I almost lost this freaking ball. I turned around and was like, okay, that was awesome. The first few games, I couldn't even play. I was like, did that happen to you? Did you do it? And Schmitty, our camera sound guy, I was like, how did that happen to you? Did you feel that? Everything. I was just so ecstatic about it. And talked to him about it. So for the music itself, this is where I would say it fits well to the game because, again, it's not a film. So the different modes are going to have these different – I think it could use a little bit more differentiation of music. Yeah, I agree. Callouts are fine. There's different voices. There's the phone ringing. It doesn't get on people's nerves. I don't know what the hell people are talking about. No, it didn't. But there's not much different music. It is a city. You're in a city. It's the hustle and bustle of the city. City sounds. Cities have. Is what it is. So you don't get a whole lot of music. And for that, that's why I rated it a B+. I gave it an A. I enjoyed it. I liked the incorporation of the voices and everything and the people. I was at a B+. Nothing thrilled me, but it felt very integrated. And nothing got on my nerves, which is a feat for some pinball machines you can play. So it was fine. And moving on, last but not least, theme. Right? Theme. Theme. This, whenever, before we reviewed this, before we put a ton of games on it, we probably thought, theme's going to be the killer on this game. Especially when it was unveiled at Expo. It's not licensed. Yeah, everybody's freaking out at Expo. What? What are we going to do with this theme? The city thing with all the disasters. Yeah. And, you know, I'll have to say when it was unveiled at Expo in Chicago, I was disappointed. What did I tell you, though? I didn't know what to think about. Yes. I told you it makes sense man Just give it time Agreed Wait until you get the actual back story and different things And when you see the game you play the game you don care about the theme No. You don't think anything of it. It's actually refreshing that it's something new and that it's not. You don't have to rely on that history that you have of Jurassic Park. You create your own story with it. and it is so refreshing for it to be its own entity. That's true. For it to be what it is. And you literally, I went from when it was unveiled to not really understanding. I was like, I don't know if I'd still want that in my house. But now I buy that game in a heartbeat. It is fantastic. And the theme, the game is so good, it's so beautiful. The theme, the fact that it's not licensed actually adds to it. It makes it better. I think it does. It's kind of cool. How brave of a company to say, you know what, we don't need, actually, let's hire somebody who is just world known for being one of the best pinball designers ever. Twilight Zone, Adam's Family, No Good Gophers, Whirlwind. Pat Lawler is the man, so let's not get in his way. Let's let him do what Pat Lawler does. It was a throwback. Yeah. Almost in a sense. Because, you know, it's sort of what Jack said. What were pinball machines back, you know, before, what was Pac-Man 20 years ago? That's not a theme. Donkey Kong. That's not a theme. Yep. They were all original things that people come up with in their classics, their hits. They're huge. And that's what he was striving for was that throwback, that old stuff I feel. That's not words from his mouth, but that's what I feel he was going for. And I think he over-succeeded. Yeah. The theme is very, very good. Yeah. It really is. It was very, very good. It really is. It makes sense when you're there. And honestly, when you're playing the game, for me, when I'm playing the game, I'm thinking, what disaster is going to happen next? Yeah. And who am I going to talk to to try to fix that disaster? It's all about different disasters in Quantum City. Yes. It's nothing like SimCity. I've heard some people refer to it like it was like SimCity on your computer and stuff like when we were growing up. It's nothing like that. It doesn't have that feel. It has a little feel to me. It looks like it a little bit on some of the LCD. It looks like it to me. But to me, I didn't get that vibe at all. I'm like you. I was just, what disaster is going to come next? What do I have to assault? Yeah. What do I have to hit? Oh, crap. Did you see the magnet do that? Yes, yes. It was just, it blows you away, man. If you feel theme is a problem with this, play the game. I will almost guarantee you. The only reason the phone is used, it's like the tool. Like a medieval man is a sword. Yeah. It's not out of place. It doesn't seem odd. It's just fantastic. All right, so theme for me, I was at a B+. I was at a B+, as well, too. So it's not, like, theme we've talked in the past. Theme is really important to us. I love The Walking Dead show, so that's really important. I love Jurassic Park. You love Jurassic Park. I love Game of Thrones. These kind of things resonate with me because I watch them every week, and I binge watch them and different things like that. So I can't give the theme an A because it doesn't resonate in me. I'm fine with it down in my game room but it's so fantastic that you can't you have to give it it's credit for what it is there are some things out there that just turn me off that I hate this isn't even close to that this is a cool different throwback and high tech so I'm going to B plus so let's combine them my friends so let's run down mine first Art, I had an A. Shots and Layout, A+. Rules, A. Toys and Innovation, A+. You get the theme here, don't you? Music and Callouts, B+. Theme, B+. Greg? On my end, I had Art as an A. Shots and Layouts as an A+. Rules, I had a B+. Toys, I had an A-, Callouts, and A. That's crazy. Don't just mess with me, man. Sorry. I could have probably rated it a little higher, but I didn't. Callouts an A. Theme a B+. So for an overall tally on my end, I would end up with A-. And I know you wanted us to differ. You wanted us to argue more. But it was such a damn good game that we could not differ. We loved it. It was just, you couldn't, man. And we were thinking about, we even discussed after we talked about it, we thought, what the hell is an A game then? What's an A-plus game? And the way our rubric comes out, you almost have to have an A, A-plus. Because it's like a school grading scale. Yeah. And 4.0, you've got to get A's and everything. And the thing is, is an A and an A-plus are both 4.0s on there. So there's no. We differentiate, though. We say, to me, an A-plus is better. Yes. It might score the same, but A-plus is better. Yeah. So you have to look at the actual letter grades that we give. So I think for any game going forward for us to rate an A, it's going to be just phenomenal. Yeah, and this was pretty phenomenal. I want this game. I want this freaking game. This is the best game I've played in a long time. I'm okay with that. I'll have to say that. I'm okay with that. I want this game. I want it too. Do you want this game more or less than Wizard of Oz? I want it more than Wizard of Oz. Really? Yeah, I hate to say that. Because I think, okay, here's the thing. Okay, so Wizard of Oz, it beats my ass. Every time. I cannot play it on location because it just... Because you'll be broke. Hobbit has good ball times if you're good. They're fairly long. Long ball times. Dialed in false in the middle. Because when I first played it, I had an amazing ball. And another time I played it, I didn't have a very good game. And so what I thought was, okay, this game I got good long ball times. I didn't have good ball times on another game. It is a nice mixture, isn't it? It is a very nice mixture. It's a very in-between The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz. And as much as what I love Wizard of Oz, and I love the theme, and I love the look of it. That's right. This game felt so good in my hands. It did. It did. It felt so good. It's fun. It was such a fun game. It's a beautiful woman, is what that machine is. It is like a beautiful woman. It is like a beautiful woman. That's where we're going to end it. You can take her home to mom. A beautiful woman. Oh, let's talk real quick about, so we've talked about this. The beautiful woman. You want to hear about the beautiful woman? I don't want to know what you're doing with this machine. She's beautiful. All right, pros and cons, we talked about that. Let's talk about price. Is there any cons, really? There's not. The price, of course, nobody wants to drop 8, 9, and 12. All prices are high right now with new pens. But for the prices that are being asked for pens, I feel like you get your money's worth. Isn't that so hard to say? You get your $12,500. It's hard. But in the scheme of prices in pinball, at least this is jam-packed. Wow. Do you not agree with that? How many damn dollars? You'd have to play 12,500 games. But I understand that might not have been the best word. All right. So what's the best version? I'm saying in the scheme of things. The price is a pimple. What's out there? This is a bang for your buck. This is a bang for your buck? Compared to what else you could buy. Oh, boy. I think this is a bang for your buck. Let's talk about price. The standard is $8,000. The limited edition is $9,000. And the collector's edition is $12,500. You can get the standard for $8,000. My suggestion would be to get the limited edition. Yeah. Unless you're just really big into Pat Lawler, Jersey Jack, then go with the collectors. But the LE, the standard does take some stuff off that is substantial. Your Invisiglass goes off. Your ramp lights go off. Your back, it's like a. It's pretty, man. It looks good. Yeah. So $9,000. I think it's not a good price. I don't want to spend $9,000. No, nothing's a good price. I don't want to spend that. You see my game. I'm on a budget. True. But for what's being produced, here's the way I'll put it. It's a beautiful woman. All right. If I'm going to spend $9,000 on a pinball machine, I will be more than happy to dump all $9,000 into the dial-in. I would, too. Honestly, I wouldn't give the Jersey Jacks. If I had the cash. Or here's an even better way to look at it. If I'm going to dump $5,500 on a Stern Pro or $6,900, $7,000 on a Stern Premium or $8,000, $9,000 on a dialed in, watch out. Because this dialed in, that's where it's going to be unless you get a Stern machine that knocks it out of the park. Or a highway pinball that knocks it out of the park. But if I'm going to spend $9,000, I will happily spend it on Dialed In. Yeah, yeah. And smile the whole time. I agree. And whenever you go to play this thing, you guys watch other people play it. It's a blast just because it is very much like Adam's Family. Adam's Family, for me, every time I watch somebody play that, they're smiling the entire time. Same with Star Trek, Stern Star Trek. Yep. They're smiling every time they play it. Same with Dialed In. It's a beautiful game. It's one of the funnest games there is out there. go check it out for yourselves A- we love the game let's see if there's a machine here soon that bumps it off the top spot but for right now from straight down the middle pinball dialed in is a freaking awesome game fantastic beautiful woman see you guys With my flipper, it was all in vain. It was all in vain. Baby, baby, baby, why are you doing me wrong?

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 46465489-b613-4e1c-ab95-07aaea6e4b99*