# A Visit to Delaware's #1 Pinball Location - The Delaware Pinball Collective

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-06-20  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/a-visit-to-delaware-s-1-pinball-location-the-delaware-pinball-collective

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## Analysis

Knapp Arcade founder visits Delaware Pinball Collective, a newly opened members-only pinball social club in Wilmington, Delaware featuring 50+ machines in excellent condition with a rotating lineup of classic and rare titles. The venue represents a significant development for pinball availability in Delaware, which the author had previously joked was a 'pinball-less wasteland.' The location features well-maintained machines including rare titles like Williams No Good Gophers 2.0 and classic Stern Electronics machines, with active restoration projects in progress.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Delaware Pinball Collective is Delaware's first dedicated pinball arcade location — _Author's long-standing joke about Delaware being a 'pinball-less wasteland' and the opening of this club as a transformative event for the state_
- [HIGH] The venue contains 50+ pinball machines with 100% uptime during the author's visit — _Direct observation: 'Out of the more than 50 games on the floor when I was there not a single one was down. That's almost unheard of for a large pinball arcade.'_
- [HIGH] The Delaware Collective rotates its machine lineup regularly to keep the collection fresh — _Author notes discrepancies between Pinball Map listing and actual current lineup, attributing this to deliberate rotation strategy_
- [HIGH] Many Stern machines at the venue are customized with official toppers, shooter rods, and Insider Connected upgrades — _Direct observation: 'Many of the Stern games were Blinged-out with the official topper, shooter rod, Insider Connected, you name it.'_
- [HIGH] The venue stocks rare machines not commonly seen in arcades, including Williams No Good Gophers 2.0 and classic Stern Electronics machines — _Author's direct observation and specific machine citations_

### Notable Quotes

> "Delaware is no longer a pinball-less wasteland. It is now a pinball paradise thanks to the recent opening of a members-only Pinball Social Club located in Wilmington, Delaware"
> — **Knapp Arcade author**, Opening section
> _Establishes the transformative impact of Delaware Pinball Collective's opening on regional pinball availability_

> "Out of the more than 50 games on the floor when I was there not a single one was down. That's almost unheard of for a large pinball arcade."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**, Mid-article
> _Highlights exceptional operational quality and maintenance standards compared to typical arcade venues_

> "If you are a fan of pinball and find yourself anywhere near Delaware you have to check out or better yet join the Delaware Pinball Collective."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**, Conclusion
> _Strong endorsement of the venue as a destination worth visiting or joining as a member_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Delaware Pinball Collective | organization | Members-only pinball social club in Wilmington, Delaware; recently opened; features 50+ machines with rotating lineup; located at 1100 First State Blvd, Second Floor |
| Knapp Arcade | person | Arcade enthusiast and content creator who visits and reviews arcade venues; author of the article; has two sons who play lacrosse |
| Chad Hastings | person | Friend of Knapp Arcade; involved with Delaware Pinball Collective; connected author to the venue |
| Joe Fox | person | Member on duty at Delaware Pinball Collective during author's visit; provided venue information and played against author |
| Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; multiple games referenced in Delaware Collective's lineup (Aerosmith, Beatles, Godzilla, etc.) |
| Williams | company | Classic pinball manufacturer; multiple games in Delaware Collective's collection (No Good Gofers 2.0, Indiana Jones, etc.) |
| Bally | company | Classic pinball manufacturer; numerous machines in Delaware Collective's lineup |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Modern pinball manufacturer; Dialed In! (LE) present in Delaware Collective's lineup |
| Chicago Gaming | company | Pinball manufacturer; Attack From Mars Remake LE present at Delaware Collective |
| Pinball Map | organization | Community-driven pinball location database; provides machine listings for Delaware Collective (though author notes it's not always current) |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Regional pinball venue development, Members-only pinball clubs and social venues, Machine maintenance and operational excellence, Rare and classic pinball machine availability
- **Secondary:** Stern Pinball customization and upgrades, Machine rotation and collection management

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Strongly favorable review emphasizing operational excellence, game quality, rarity of collection, community atmosphere, and regional significance. Author expresses clear enthusiasm and recommendation without notable criticisms.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Active machine acquisition and restoration pipeline supporting continued collection growth (confidence: medium) — Author observes 'queue of games waiting to be restored in the collective's storage space'
- **[event_signal]** Delaware Pinball Collective opening represents significant expansion of pinball venue availability in Mid-Atlantic region (confidence: high) — Author's long-running joke about Delaware being 'pinball-less wasteland' and description of venue as 'pinball paradise' for the state
- **[market_signal]** Emergence of members-only pinball social clubs as business model for dedicated enthusiast communities (confidence: medium) — Delaware Collective explicitly positioned as members-only facility with structured membership model
- **[product_strategy]** Delaware Collective differentiates through machine quality, rarity of collection, and operational excellence (100% uptime, custom upgrades) (confidence: high) — Author notes exceptional uptime, custom Stern configurations, and presence of rare machines like Williams No Good Gophers 2.0

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## Transcript

Those of you who have read my pages over the years know that my two boys play a lot of sports. One of the sports that they play is lacrosse. Club lacrosse is played during the summer and often requires road trips to tournaments up and down the East Coast.  Over the years my family and I have used these trips to visit tons of arcades in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S.  For years, I've had a running joke that involves Delaware.  Nothing against the state itself, it's awesome, but all these years when it came to arcades, Delaware has been a "pinball-less wasteland" to use my traditional quote.  Well, I am happy to report that Delaware is no longer a pinball-less wasteland.  It is now a pinball paradise thanks to the recent opening of a members-only Pinball Social Club located in Wilmington, Delaware...the Delaware Pinball Collective.

I have been talking with my friend Chad Hastings about visiting the Delaware Collective since before it even opened but for some reason my sons didn't have any tournaments in Delaware last year.  This year we have two in the First State. The first thing that I did after my son's games were over was hightail it over there. I was not disappointed. Located a short drive from southern New Jersey and fairly close to Maryland and Pennsylvania, the Delaware Collective contains a constantly rotating collection of 50+ pinball machines.  The club is located on the second floor of a very nice building in a newer industrial park.

Upon entering I met up with the member who was on duty that day, Joe Fox.  I had an amazing time hanging out, talking about the location and getting my ass kicked by him at game after game. Out of the more than 50 games on the floor when I was there not a single one was down.  That's almost unheard of for a large pinball arcade. Not only were the games all up, but they played great. Many of the Stern games were Blinged-out with the official topper, shooter rod, Insider Connected, you name it. They had the usual suspects of games, but they also had a lot of rarer machines that you normally don't see in arcades, such as Williams No Good Gophers 2.0, a TON of the classic Stern Electronics machines, Banzai Run, Playmatics, etc... And judging by the queue of games waiting to be restored in the collective's storage space many more awesome machines to come.

Here's a list of the Collective's recent lineup of games, courtesy of Pinball Map.  Pinball Map is usually fairly accurate, but I was just there on Saturday and I know for a fact that its current lineup is significantly different than this, but it will give you an idea of what it's like there.  The differences are actually a good thing because it means that they keep the lineup fresh:

Aerosmith (Premium) (Stern, 2017)

Attack From Mars (Remake LE) (Chicago Gaming, 2017)

Avengers: Infinity Quest (Premium) (Stern, 2020)

Bank Shot (Gottlieb, 1976)

Banzai Run (Williams, 1988)

Baywatch (Sega, 1995)

Beatles (Stern, 2018)

Black Jack (Bally, 1977)

Black Rose (Bally, 1992)

Bobby Orr's Power Play (Bally, 1977)

Centaur II (Bally, 1983)

The Champion Pub (Bally, 1998)

Cirqus Voltaire (Bally, 1997)

Comet (Williams, 1985)

Dialed In! (LE) (Jersey Jack, 2017)

Eight Ball (Bally, 1977)

Flight 2000 (Stern, 1980)

The Flintstones (Williams, 1994)

Future Spa (Bally, 1979)

Game of Thrones (Pro) (Stern, 2015)

The Getaway: High Speed II (Williams, 1992)

Godzilla (Premium) (Stern, 2021)

Grand Lizard (Williams, 1986)

Grand Prix (Williams, 1976)

Guardians of the Galaxy (Pro) (Stern, 2017)

Hot Hand (Stern, 1979)

Indiana Hilton Jones: The Pinball Adventure (Williams, 1993)

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast (Pro) (Stern, 2018)

Iron Man (Vault Edition) (Stern, 2014)

Joker Poker (Gottlieb, 1978)

Jurassic Park (Pro) (Stern, 2019)

Laser War (Data East, 1987)

Lectronamo (Stern, 1978)

Meteor (Stern, 1979)

Monster Bash (Williams, 1998)

New World (Playmatic, 1976)

Night Moves (Gottlieb, 1989)

Nine Ball (Stern, 1980)

Nitro Ground Shaker (Bally, 1978)

No Good Gofers (Williams, 1997)

Pro-Football (Gottlieb, 1973)

Rollergames (Williams, 1990)

Rush (Pro) (Stern, 2022)

Safe Cracker (Bally, 1996)

Scared Stiff (Bally, 1996)

Space Shuttle (Williams, 1984)

Star Trek (Pro) (Stern, 2013)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Williams, 1993)

Star Wars (Comic Art Pro) (Stern, 2019)

TRON: Legacy (Stern, 2011)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Pro) (Stern, 2020)

Theatre of Magic (Bally, 1995)

Twilight Zone (Bally, 1993)

The Walking Dead (Pro) (Stern, 2014)

Wild Fyre (Stern, 1978)

World Cup Soccer (Bally, 1994)

Wrestlemania (Stern, 2015)

If you are a fan of pinball and find yourself anywhere near Delaware you have to check out or better yet join the Delaware Pinball Collective. If I lived a little closer, I'd join up and be there all the time.  It's such a nice bunch of people in a friendly atmosphere with amazing pinball machines.

Delaware Pinball Collective

1100 First State Blvd, Second Floor, Wilmington DE 19804

https://www.delawarepinballcollective.com/ 

membership@delawarepinballcollective.com 

(302) 492-5055

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 69685181-ffbb-4f59-b782-561cf3c31702*