# New Video of Magic Girl Pinball Machine from Pinball Expo

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-10-25  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/new-video-of-magic-girl-pinball-machine-from-pinball-expo

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## Analysis

A working Magic Girl pinball machine—the controversial John Popadiuk design that was never completed by original manufacturers—was displayed at Pinball Expo after Dutch enthusiasts restored it. Jeremy from Pinball Mayhem uploaded gameplay footage to YouTube.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Magic Girl was the rarest game to appear at Pinball Expo — _Article states 'Perhaps the rarest game to appear at the show was an actual working version of the controversial John Popadiuk game Magic Girl.'_
- [HIGH] Dutch enthusiasts restored the Magic Girl machine to working condition — _Article: 'A group of Dutch gentlemen took Popadiuk's never completed game and magically made it work, OK it wasn't magic but rather a lot of hard work.'_
- [HIGH] Magic Girl was never completed by its original designer/manufacturer — _Article references 'Popadiuk's never completed game' and the restoration effort required_
- [HIGH] Jeremy from Pinball Mayhem uploaded gameplay footage of Magic Girl to YouTube — _Article: 'Jeremy at Pinball Mayhem reached out to me this morning to let us all know that he recently uploaded footage of Magic Girl in action to his YouTube channel.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Perhaps the rarest game to appear at the show was an actual working version of the controversial John Popadiuk game Magic Girl."
> — **Knapp Arcade**
> _Establishes Magic Girl's rarity and notoriety at the event_

> "A group of Dutch gentlemen took Popadiuk's never completed game and magically made it work, OK it wasn't magic but rather a lot of hard work."
> — **Knapp Arcade**
> _Explains the restoration effort behind the Magic Girl display_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Magic Girl | game | Controversial John Popadiuk pinball design that was never completed; recently restored by Dutch enthusiasts and displayed at Pinball Expo |
| John Popadiuk | person | Pinball designer who created Magic Girl; original game remained incomplete |
| Pinball Expo | event | Chicago pinball show where Magic Girl restoration was displayed alongside James Bond and Queen pinball machines |
| Pinball Mayhem | organization | YouTube channel operated by Jeremy that uploaded gameplay footage of Magic Girl |
| Jeremy | person | Operator of Pinball Mayhem YouTube channel; uploaded Magic Girl gameplay footage |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of James Bond pinball machine displayed at Expo |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Manufacturer of Queen pinball machine displayed at Expo |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Implied affiliation with the Dutch enthusiasts who restored Magic Girl (contextual inference) |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Source of article; published coverage of Magic Girl restoration |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Magic Girl restoration, Pinball Expo 2024/2025
- **Secondary:** Pinball machine preservation and hobby restoration, John Popadiuk design legacy, YouTube pinball content creation

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Article celebrates the rare restoration achievement and public display of Magic Girl, using appreciative language ('magically made it work,' 'Enjoy!')

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Magic Girl restoration display at Pinball Expo served as rare public showcase of historically significant but commercially failed design (confidence: high) — Article reports the restored machine 'made its way to this year's Expo' and was 'the rarest game to appear at the show'
- **[product_strategy]** Dutch enthusiasts successfully restored an incomplete John Popadiuk Magic Girl machine to working condition, demonstrating community capability to revive failed commercial projects (confidence: high) — Article explicitly states Dutch group 'took Popadiuk's never completed game and magically made it work' through 'a lot of hard work'

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## Transcript

Last week's Pinball Expo in Chicago featured a lot of cool games, such as the first ever chance for the public to play Stern Pinball's James Bond and Pinball Brothers' Queen machines. Perhaps the rarest game to appear at the show was an actual working version of the controversial John Popadiuk game Magic Girl. A group of Dutch gentlemen took Popadiuk's never completed game and magically made it work, OK it wasn't magic but rather a lot of hard work. One of the games that these individuals fixed made its way to this year's Expo.

Jeremy at Pinball Mayhem reached out to me this morning to let us all know that he recently uploaded footage of Magic Girl in action to his YouTube channel. So here is footage of the very rare machine being played at the event. Enjoy!

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8d35f3e3-0a77-4f45-84e2-602e41d3f771*