# Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-04-07  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/blog/update-on-american-pinball-yukon-yeti-at-pintastic-new-england-tons-of-stern-games-at-or-approaching-10

---

## Analysis

American Pinball has undergone significant leadership and operational changes under new owner Brian Vincent, with Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel from The Electric Playground joining the team. The company is actively producing multiple titles including Houdini, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition, with a Cirqus Voltaire reimagined edition planned for later in 2026. Additionally, multiple Stern Pinball games (Dungeons & Dragons, John Wick) have reached code 1.0, while others are nearing completion, and Turner Pinball is making its East Coast debut at Pintastic New England.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel from Electric Playground have officially joined American Pinball, with Rob handling project management and go-to-market strategy, and Nick designing a new game based on a previously acquired license — _Knapp Arcade citing Episode 33 of 'In Before the Lock' podcast with Rob Rath and Davey of Stumblor_
- [HIGH] Brian Vincent is the new owner of American Pinball, having acquired it from Aimtron — _Knapp Arcade citing 'In Before the Lock' podcast_
- [HIGH] American Pinball is currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition — _Rob Rath statement in 'In Before the Lock' podcast_
- [HIGH] Cirqus Voltaire 'reimagined' edition is coming later in 2026 with the Electric Playground topper included — _Rob Rath in 'In Before the Lock' podcast_
- [HIGH] Dungeons & Dragons reached code 1.0 with a new Challenge Mode, and designer Brian Eddy confirmed this is the second of three planned major code updates — _Knapp Arcade citing Brian Eddy and Stern Pinball streams_
- [HIGH] John Wick pinball has reached code 1.0 — _Knapp Arcade citing Stern Pinball official information_
- [HIGH] Star Wars: Fall of the Empire is at code v0.92, Walking Dead Remastered at v0.90, and King Kong: Myth of Terror Island at v0.95 — _Knapp Arcade citing Stern Pinball code version updates_
- [MEDIUM] One of American Pinball newly acquired licenses is based on a movie and another is a music band — _Knapp Arcade reporting from unspecified source ('I have heard that')_
- [HIGH] Rob and Nick from Electric Playground are based four hours from American Pinball's Palatine, IL facility and visit a couple times a month — _Rob Rath in 'In Before the Lock' podcast_
- [HIGH] Turner Pinball (designed by Dennis Nordman) is making its first East Coast appearance at Pintastic New England — _Knapp Arcade reporting on Pintastic New England event_

### Notable Quotes

> "The partnership actually originated last year when Brian saw The Electric Playground topper at Amusement Expo."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, N/A
> _Explains the origin of the Electric Playground-American Pinball partnership_

> "Rob noted the existing American Pinball team was more robust than people assumed — they're currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, N/A
> _Indicates American Pinball's actual production capacity is higher than perceived_

> "According to designer Brian Eddy, this update is the second of three major code updates planned for the game, so there's even more to come."
> — **Brian Eddy**, N/A
> _Confirms future code roadmap for Dungeons & Dragons beyond 1.0_

> "It's essentially the dungeon crawl but you play until your party dies or you drain. The layout resets weekly."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, N/A
> _Details the new Challenge Mode feature in D&D 1.0 code_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| American Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer undergoing ownership and leadership transition; currently producing multiple titles |
| Rob Rath | person | Co-founder of The Electric Playground; now project manager and go-to-market strategy lead at American Pinball |
| Nick Neitzel | person | Co-founder of The Electric Playground; now game designer at American Pinball |
| Brian Vincent | person | New owner of American Pinball, acquired it from Aimtron |
| Electric Playground | company | Custom pinball topper and parts manufacturer; co-founders Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel have joined American Pinball |
| The Electric Playground | company | Same as Electric Playground; custom pinball modifier and accessory company |
| Davey | person | Associated with Stumblor pinball mods; co-host of 'In Before the Lock' podcast |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; multiple games approaching or at 1.0 code status |
| Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye | game | Stern Pinball game that reached code v1.0 with new Challenge Mode; designed by Brian Eddy |
| John Wick | game | Stern Pinball game that reached code v1.0 |
| Star Wars: Fall of the Empire | game | Stern Pinball game at code v0.92 |
| The Walking Dead Remastered | game | Stern Pinball remaster at code v0.90 |
| King Kong: Myth of Terror Island | game | Stern Pinball game at code v0.95 |
| Yukon Yeti | game | Turner Pinball game designed by Dennis Nordman; making East Coast debut at Pintastic New England |
| Turner Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; producer of Yukon Yeti |
| Dennis Nordman | person | Pinball game designer; designed Yukon Yeti for Turner Pinball |
| Brian Eddy | person | Designer at Stern Pinball; designer of Dungeons & Dragons |
| Houdini | game | American Pinball title currently in production |
| Galactic Tank Force | game | American Pinball title currently in production |
| Hot Wheels | game | American Pinball game; new edition currently in production |
| Cirqus Voltaire | game | American Pinball reimagined edition planned for later in 2026 |
| Pintastic New England | event | Pinball show where Turner Pinball's Yukon Yeti is making East Coast debut |
| Aimtron | company | Previous owner of American Pinball; no longer associated after sale to Brian Vincent |
| Knapp Arcade | person | Author of this news update article |
| Pokémon | game | Stern Pinball game; factory tour coverage shown on production line at Stern Elk Grove Village facility |

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** American Pinball undergoes ownership transition from Aimtron to Brian Vincent, with new leadership team from Electric Playground (Rob Rath, Nick Neitzel) joining (confidence: high) — Official announcement in 'In Before the Lock' podcast; partnership originated at Amusement Expo when Brian Vincent observed Electric Playground's work
- **[business_signal]** Electric Playground founders integrated into American Pinball operations with defined roles in project management and game design (confidence: high) — Rob Rath handling project management and go-to-market; Nick Neitzel designing new game
- **[manufacturing_signal]** American Pinball has more robust production capacity than commonly perceived, simultaneously building multiple titles (confidence: high) — Rob Rath noted existing team is producing Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and new Hot Wheels edition while planning Circus Voltaire reimagined
- **[code_update]** Multiple Stern Pinball games reaching or approaching code 1.0 within short timeframe (confidence: high) — Dungeons & Dragons and John Wick at v1.0; Star Wars at v0.92, Walking Dead at v0.90, King Kong at v0.95
- **[product_launch]** Circus Voltaire reimagined edition scheduled for later in 2026 with Electric Playground topper included (confidence: high) — Rob Rath statement in podcast
- **[machine_intel]** American Pinball has acquired new licenses including one movie-based and one music-band-based IP (confidence: medium) — Knapp Arcade reporting 'I have heard' that licenses are movie and band-based; Nick Neitzel designing game based on one of these licenses
- **[event_signal]** Pintastic New England featuring first East Coast appearance of Turner Pinball's Yukon Yeti and debut of Cardona Pinball 2.0 Kit (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade reporting live event coverage from Pintastic New England
- **[design_innovation]** Dungeons & Dragons 1.0 introduces Challenge Mode with weekly layout resets and party death mechanic (confidence: high) — Brian Eddy confirmed this is second of three planned major updates; feature described in detail
- **[content_signal]** 'In Before the Lock' podcast Episode 33 featuring Rob Rath provides insider view of American Pinball restructuring (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade cites podcast as source for American Pinball updates
- **[personnel_signal]** Key figures from custom modifier community (Electric Playground) integrating into established manufacturer operations (confidence: high) — Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel transition from Electric Playground to American Pinball roles
- **[market_signal]** American Pinball expanding production diversity across multiple game themes and license types under new ownership (confidence: high) — Simultaneous production of Houdini, Galactic Tank Force, Hot Wheels edition, plus new licensed titles planned
- **[product_concern]** Stern games showing extended code development timeline with multiple games in 0.90-0.95 range suggesting iterative refinement phase (confidence: medium) — Multiple games still in pre-1.0 phase; D&D confirmed as second of three planned major updates indicates extended roadmap

---

## Transcript

News Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0 k knapparcade April 7, 2026 Davey of Stumblor pinball mods and Rob Rath from The Electric Playground and now American Pinball just published Episode 33 of their regular "In Before the Lock" pinball podcast. In it we got a little new information about American Pinball. As previously announced, Rob and his fellow Electric Playground person Nick Neitzel have officially joined the American Pinball team, working with new owner Brian Vincent. The partnership actually originated last year when Brian saw The Electric Playground's Circus Voltaire topper at Amusement Expo. After seeing it, he reached out to Rob and Nick to talk about his impending acquisition of American from Aimtron. In their new roles with the company, Rob is handling project management, go-to-market strategy, and team building. Nick is already designing a new game for American — it's a license Brian had previously acquired (not the whitewood they were working on independently). On a related note, though not from this podcast, I have heard that one of the licenses that AP has acquired is based on a movie and the other is a band - it's actually been a while since we've had a new music pin so that should be interesting. They are based about four hours from American's facility in Palatine, IL (near Stern), visiting a couple times a month. Rob noted the existing American Pinball team was more robust than people assumed — they're currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition. The Circus Voltaire "reimagined" edition is coming later this year, with the Electric Playground topper included. Rob will be at Pintastic this week representing American. I can't embed the video here, so below is a link for anyone who wants to listen to the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\fjLuxgpKc8&t=246s Speaking of the Pintastic New England pinball show, I will be there on Friday and Saturday of this week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there. As I mentioned previously, we will get our first look at the new Cardona Pinball 2.0 Kit at the show. We also will see the first East Coast appearance of Turner Pinball's newest game, the Dennis Nordman designed Yukon Yeti at the event. I will continue to provide updates on the show throughout with lots of pictures and videos. On to Stern Pinball... !Advertisement First up I have a cool look at Pokémon pinball on the production line at Stern's Elk Grove Village factory, courtesy of the news outlet Nintendo Wire. We Went Inside a Pokémon Pinball Factory at Stern! - Factory Tour Teaser #pokemon #pinball - YouTube Tap to unmute Nintendo Wire Nintendo Wire Speaking of Stern, the company's coders have been hard at work, with both Dungeons and Dragons and John Wick now hitting code version 1.0 and Star Wars: Fall of the Empire (V 0.92), The Walking Dead Remastered (V 0.90) and King Kong: Myth of Terror Island (V 0.95) all almost at 1.0. New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement. Contact knapparcade@gmail.com today As an owner of the game, I personally was particularly excited to see Dungeons and Dragons hit 1.0. According to designer Brian Eddy, this update is the second of three major code updates planned for the game, so there's even more to come. This latest code introduces a new Challenge Mode to the game. It's essentially the dungeon crawl but you play until your party dies or you drain. The layout resets weekly. Stern has streamed the latest versions of code for all of these games over the past couple of weeks. I have included them below: 1.0 Dungeons & Dragons Code! - YouTube Tap to unmute 1.0 Dungeons & Dragons Code! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 1.0 John Wick Code! - YouTube Tap to unmute 1.0 John Wick Code! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 0.95 KING KONG Code! - YouTube Tap to unmute 0.95 KING KONG Code! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 0.92 STAR WARS CODE GAMEPLAY! - YouTube Tap to unmute 0.92 STAR WARS CODE GAMEPLAY! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball 0.90 THE WALKING DEAD CODE! - YouTube Tap to unmute 0.90 THE WALKING DEAD CODE! Stern Pinball Stern Pinball * Last up, I have another factory tour for everyone. This one isn't for a pinball manufacturer though, it's for the arcade game manufacturer Alan-1. Ever wondered where Alan-1 games come to life? From concept to cabinet — this is where the magic happens. 👾 Every game counts._ Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Download the video instead. Posted 8 minutes ago k About knapparcade Site administrator Comments (0) Please sign in to join the conversation. No comments yet Be the first to share your thoughts on this post! Related Articles Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0 8 minutes ago New Pinball to be Revealed at Pintastic New England; That Blueprint is NOT Pinball Brothers' Next Game; Info on Multimorphic's Next Game 6 days ago Last Day to Buy Predator Pinball; New Lost in Space Classic Pinball Machine; Details on TNMT Home Pin 7 days ago Subscribe to Updates Get the latest pinball news, blog posts, and event announcements delivered to your inbox Subscribe !Advertisement New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v4)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: 6377196d-bd99-4d3e-ac1a-59a6d29754e7*