# Final Round Pinball Podcast Ep 50: The Legend of Lyman **Source:** The Pinball Network **Type:** video **Published:** 2022-02-24 **Duration:** 32m 11s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPS7BRQdbR0 --- ## Analysis Final Round Pinball Podcast Episode 50 is a special tribute to legendary pinball code designer Lyman Sheets, who recently passed away by suicide. Hosts Jeff Teolis and Marty Robbins reflect on Lyman's profound impact on pinball games, his competitive achievements, and his character, while discussing mental health, suicide prevention, and the importance of community support. The episode includes personal stories from both hosts about their own experiences with mental illness and loss, and emphasizes remembering Lyman's life and legacy rather than his death. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Lyman Sheets won four major pinball championships: three PAPA championships and one EPC — _Only five people in the world have won two different majors; Lyman won three Papa championships and the EPC in Finland_ - [HIGH] Lyman's code revitalization of The Walking Dead transformed it from a disliked game into a masterpiece through improved player communication — _Marty describes playing original code at Pinfest and State Championships and disliking it; Lyman's updates made the game enjoyable by improving how it communicated with players_ - [HIGH] Metallica is considered by Jeff to be the best Stern machine ever made, with Lyman's code being fundamental to that achievement — _Jeff states 'Metallica is still to this day...the standard for me as the best Stern machine ever made' and credits Lyman's code_ - [HIGH] Chicago Gaming Company remade the first three games that were Lyman designs: Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness, and likely another title — _The ones everyone talks about are AFM, Attack from Mars, and Medieval Madness...the first three games chicago gaming company remade were lyman games_ - [HIGH] An additional Cactus Canyon code update from Lyman will be released posthumously and will be purchased by most owners — _Josh [Sharpe] confirmed that even after Lyman's passing there will be additional code available for Cactus Canyon_ ### Notable Quotes > "You can't find a bad word about Lyman Sheets. And the other would be, of course, Roger Sharp, who was very close to Lyman." > — **Jeff Teolis**, early > _Establishes Lyman's universally loved status in the community alongside Roger Sharp_ > "His 60% is better than everyone else. I'm not slagging anyone in the business right now, but really, there was Lyman, and there was everyone else." > — **Marty Robbins**, mid > _Emphasizes the exceptional quality differential between Lyman's work and other pinball designers_ > "He knew. He knew the magic to communicate to the player to make them feel good. And so that's what was missing from the game in the early code." > — **Jeff Teolis**, mid > _Explains Lyman's core design philosophy: making players feel rewarded through effective communication_ > "The purpose of pinball is to play one more game. That is the absolute goal of pinball, is to make you want to play it more." > — **Marty Robbins**, mid > _Core principle that guided Lyman's design approach to code and rule sets_ > "If you like football, you're not catching passes from Tom Brady. If you're a golfer, you're not playing in a foursome with Tiger Woods. But in pinball, any of these events, you can talk to some of the greats." > — **Jeff Teolis**, late > _Expresses gratitude for the accessibility of pinball's legendary players to the community_ > "First of all, he was so chill...Second of all, he was so, so easy to talk to. He just had no ego whatsoever, was just happy to talk to anybody that would talk to him." > — **Marty Robbins**, late > _Personal anecdote characterizing Lyman's humble and approachable demeanor_ > "Remember his life. Don't remember his death. His death was one horrible day, one bad day. We all have bad days...Remember the greatness and remember the good times of Lyman." > — **Jeff Teolis**, end > _Core message of the tribute: honoring Lyman's legacy and life rather than the circumstances of his death_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Lyman Sheets | person | Legendary pinball code designer and competitive player; passed away by suicide; won multiple major championships including three PAPA and one EPC; designed or enhanced code for Walking Dead, Metallica, Monster Bash, Iron Man, Batman, Elvira, AFM, Medieval Madness, and Cactus Canyon | | Jeff Teolis | person | Co-host of Final Round Pinball Podcast; podcast host of Pinball Profile; shares personal experience with suicidal ideation at age 16-17 in Toronto; interviewed Lyman multiple times; expresses deep gratitude for Lyman's influence on his career | | Marty Robbins | person | Co-host of Final Round Pinball Podcast; met Lyman at Pinberg tournament; witnessed Lyman's gameplay firsthand; lost his uncle Jeffrey Douglas McLeish in 2014 to suicide; shares perspective on mental health and community response | | Roger Sharp | person | Close friend of Lyman Sheets; legendary pinball figure who witnessed Lyman's championship wins; spoke at Lyman's funeral; described Lyman's discipline as unparalleled | | Penny | person | Lyman Sheets' spouse; shared anecdotes at funeral about their courtship and competitive play against each other | | Mike Vinacore | person | Stern Pinball programmer; close to Lyman; spoke at Lyman's funeral about Lyman's role in helping him secure employment in pinball | | John Borg | person | Designer of The Walking Dead pinball playfield layout; credited with creating a 'brutal layout' that Lyman's code helped improve | | Bowen Kerins | person | Prominent pinball player and mentor; grouped with Lyman at Pinberg; one of only five people to win multiple major championships | | Joshua Sharpe | person | Stern Pinball representative; confirmed posthumous release of additional Cactus Canyon code from Lyman | | Final Round Pinball Podcast | organization | Long-running pinball podcast hosted by Jeff Teolis and Marty Robbins; Episode 50 dedicated to Lyman Sheets memorial | | Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of many games that Lyman designed code for; games include Metallica, Batman, Elvira, Iron Man, The Walking Dead | | Chicago Gaming Company | company | Remade the first three games of Lyman's designs: Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness, and one other title | | Attack from Mars | game | Classic Lyman Sheets-coded game; one of the most-played arcade games of Jeff's arcade days; remade by Chicago Gaming Company | | Medieval Madness | game | Classic Lyman Sheets-coded game; one of the most-played arcade games of Jeff's arcade days; remade by Chicago Gaming Company | | Metallica | game | Stern Pinball machine with Lyman Sheets code; considered by Jeff to be the best Stern machine ever made; still holds standard for game design quality | | The Walking Dead | game | Stern Pinball game originally considered poor; Lyman's code revitalization transformed it into a masterpiece through improved player communication | | Monster Bash | game | Lyman Sheets-coded game; praised for simplicity and fun factor; demonstrates Lyman's ability to make games communicative and rewarding | | Cactus Canyon | game | Game with Lyman Sheets code; posthumous code update will be released as paid add-on; first game Jeff owned in 2015 | | National Alliance on Mental Illness | organization | NAMI.org; recommended charity for donations in Lyman's memory; promoted as resource for mental health support | | PAPA | event | Professional/amateur pinball tournament; Lyman won three PAPA championships; Jeff met Lyman and other world champions at PAPA 2016 | | EPC | event | European Pinball Championship held in Finland; Lyman won this championship; one of his four major titles | | Pinberg | event | Pinball tournament where Marty met Lyman; witnessed Lyman's exceptional gameplay on Creature from the Black Lagoon | | Special When Lit | product | | ### Topics - **Primary:** Lyman Sheets' legacy in pinball code design, Mental health awareness and suicide prevention, Game design philosophy: player communication and reward mechanics, Lyman Sheets' competitive achievements and tournament wins, Personal stories of hosts' experiences with mental illness and loss - **Secondary:** Specific games improved by Lyman's code work, Community tributes and funeral service reflections, Accessibility of legendary pinball players to community ### Sentiment **Negative** (-0.75) — Episode is fundamentally a memorial to Lyman Sheets' suicide. While hosts express profound respect, love, and gratitude for Lyman's contributions, the overwhelming emotional context is grief, loss, and sadness. Interspersed with positive reflections on Lyman's character and achievements, but the foundational tone is mourning and the difficulty of processing community tragedy. ### Signals - **[event_signal]** Lyman Sheets' funeral service held with attendance from pinball community figures including Roger Sharp, Penny (spouse), Mike Vinacore, and family members; event served as major community gathering (confidence: high) — Both hosts reference watching funeral service; Marty describes difficulty watching Roger Sharp's emotional tribute; multiple speakers quoted from service - **[sentiment_shift]** Pinball community experiencing profound collective grief over Lyman's suicide; universal characterization as one of two most-beloved figures in community (alongside Roger Sharp) (confidence: high) — Jeff states 'you can't find a bad word about Lyman Sheets...You can't find a bad word about Lyman Sheets' and comparison to Roger Sharp as equally universally loved; hosts describe difficulty speaking about loss; multiple podcast tributes referenced - **[community_signal]** Pinball community organizing around mental health awareness and suicide prevention in Lyman's memory; National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) promoted as official charity resource (confidence: high) — Episode explicitly directs listeners to NAMI.org for donations; hosts emphasize being voice for people struggling with mental illness; positioning mental health awareness as way to honor Lyman's legacy - **[competitive_signal]** Lyman Sheets positioned as arguably the greatest pinball designer/coder in industry history with unparalleled standard-setting impact (confidence: high) — Hosts state 'His 60% is better than everyone else...there was Lyman, and there was everyone else'; multiple games cited as masterpieces; Chicago Gaming Company's remake strategy focused on Lyman designs - **[design_philosophy]** Lyman's core design principle: games must communicate effectively with players through breadcrumbs of feedback (lights, sounds, DMD) rather than obvious or obscure mechanics; goal is to make player feel rewarded and want to 'play one more game' (confidence: high) — Jeff explains 'breadcrumbs...enough breadcrumbs for you to know at any stage what you needed to do'; Marty articulates principle of creating desire through slight difficulty rather than immediate gratification; discussion of Walking Dead code improvements focusing on communication - **[market_signal]** Chicago Gaming Company strategic focus on remaking Lyman Sheets-designed games (AFM, Medieval Madness, and others) as first remake releases, validating design longevity and market demand (confidence: high) — Hosts note 'the first three games chicago gaming company remade were lyman games'; Jeff mentions these games generated more arcade revenue than any other machines combined during his arcade days - **[community_signal]** Lyman Sheets was perfectionist coder who struggled with self-acceptance; difficulty in accepting compliments attributed to internal pressure to exceed his own standards (confidence: high) — Jeff notes from interviews 'there was a difficulty in him accepting those compliments because he really reflected on the things he would have liked to do better'; hosts discuss perfectionism as double-edged sword; mention of lengthy code development times interpreted as perfectionism rather than recognizing underlying struggle - **[personnel_signal]** Lyman Sheets confirmed as legendary pinball code designer whose work fundamentally shaped modern pinball design philosophy across multiple manufacturers (confidence: high) — Extensive discussion of his code work on Walking Dead, Metallica, Monster Bash, Iron Man, Batman, Elvira, AFM, Medieval Madness; hosts attribute game quality primarily to his code contributions - **[product_strategy]** Posthumous Cactus Canyon code release planned; additional Lyman code content will be available as paid upgrade after his passing (confidence: high) — Josh Sharpe confirmed additional code will be available; hosts note everyone will purchase this code as part of Lyman's legacy; code was already in development before his passing - **[technology_signal]** Lyman's influence on modern pinball extends to game communication strategies: modes, challenges, wizard mode withholding (exemplified in Jurassic Park's Escape Noobler challenge system) designed to maintain player desire rather than provide complete information (confidence: medium) — Discussion of Stern's challenge mode strategy; Jurassic Park example of intentionally not showing final wizard mode to maintain desire; Lyman's influence cited as foundational to understanding this design principle --- ## Transcript Hi there, my name is Geoff Teolis. My name is Martin Robbins, and I guess welcome to a special episode of the Final Round Pinball Podcast. Yeah, kind of no fanfare, no shenanigans, no joking. This is obviously the time for us to reflect on the life of Lyman Sheets, and in fact, we tried to record this a few weeks ago and just really couldn't. We couldn't do it. For two people that speak for a living, we just couldn't get the words, and it's still close, in fact. Yeah, it does still hurt. It hurts because we've lost somebody that was really important to all of us, especially the pinball community, was really close to you. I'd met him once, so I'm not even going to pretend that I'm close to him compared to a lot of people. The loss was still very profound for me. I guess it's one of those things where, you know, when we hear about famous people passing away, I sort of feel a sense of loss. This is the first time for me, I really, really felt a major sense of loss that affected me. I think you and everybody who knew of his work certainly has that sense of loss and the outgoing admiration we have for the things he gave this community, how he made so many games better, and just they're the top of the Pinside 100, and they're fan favorites. And it doesn't matter whether you met him or not. I think you certainly have an affection for what he has meant to this community. And, you know, the times I talked to him were very, very special. And as we're seeing a lot of wonderful tributes, and I hope every, and I think every podcast has certainly paid their respects to Lyman and, of course, the people left behind, whether it's Penny, his family, his friends. Those are the people really we should be focusing on right now. But as we remember the life of Lyman, I can only think of really two people that are genuinely loved throughout the entire pinball community. And I mean loved. You can't find a bad word about Lyman Sheets. And the other would be, of course, Roger Sharp, who was very close to Lyman. And for those of us that watched the funeral service, I choked up. I was crying when I saw how difficult it was for Roger and other people. Of course, Penny and Mike Vinikour and some of his family and friends, when they spoke, it was just a real – it tugged at the heartstrings. And his loss is going to be felt for a long time. Marty, I think you and I have both dealt with people with mental illness and the ultimate in suicide. I don't know what you were thinking when you found out what happened. I think I was thinking the same thing as a lot of people, which is, I wish I could have done something. It's a logical and it's an emotional thought to have, but it's not necessarily on us. And it's not something that we should feel responsible for doing. It is just a really unfortunate thing that happened. But the one thing I do want to say about this, and this is a story that I recounted with you, not about Lyman, but about somebody that was very, very close to me that I was responsible for, and they took their own life. And that's what I want to say to people because, you know, often people say, you know, if you're feeling something, just reach out and talk. I want to take that a bit further because, yes, talking is great. But when you're offering somebody that, say, give me a call to talk because there's probably something I can do to help you. Talking is one thing, but also giving people the sense that you can actually do something to make their life better and move them away from that point, I think is a better way to approach it. Because I think to myself, and this is exactly what I said to you when we were talking about Lyman and also about the person that I knew, is I wonder to myself, what state does that person get into mentally where they think that is the only choice? That's the only choice they have in their life to end it. Me personally, I could never, ever come to that point. So if you think about somebody that has, what really can you do to get them away from that point? obviously be there, but do something for them. I'll share this. In my youth, age 16, 17, somewhere around there, I felt it. I felt this was my last day. And I was living in Toronto. I thought, I'm going to just step in front of that subway today and just end whatever pain I thought I had at the time. I can say this like it's a different person now because I'm not that person anymore. And it's been 35 years since I felt anything remotely like that. But as I reflect of feeling down and depressed and thinking, when am I going to wake up and this is going to get better? Someone saved my life. And it was talking to someone. It was. And I still use this practice today and I've never even been close to that, but it is a good reminder. And I told this person everything I was going through, which in hindsight, I'm embarrassed that it was nothing. But to me at 16 or 17, it was my world. And they said, boy, you think everything's down. Well, there's a couple of ways to look at it. One, if you think this is the bottom, doesn't that mean everything else gets better? If you think you've hit bottom, things are going to get better. That's true. It's hard to put yourself in that mindset at that point. but the other thing he said and i do this and this is why i feel so blessed in every aspect of my life is that he said why don't you do yourself a favor and write down just you have to actually write it down don't just think about it write it down so you can see it on paper all the good things that happen in your life during the day and it could be anything it could be a beautiful sunshine it could be a great meal you had a good conversation you had with a friend however big however small it is, write it down and you look at that paper and you'll say, well, you know, life's pretty good. And some of the other things might not matter, but if you focus on the positivity, it makes it a lot easier. And that 100% saved my life. So my experiences with people like you had with your friend in 2014 was a very tough year for me. My name is Jeff Douglas Teolas. My uncle is Jeff Douglas McLeish, three years older than me, lived across the street, basically my big brother. I'm the oldest child and he was the youngest brother of my mom who had eight brothers and sisters. So, I mean, I'm named after him. We are a brother. He looked after me in school. We played baseball together. And in 2014, after some addiction problems and other struggles, he ended his life. And that just, the most painful day I've ever had, that includes losing my father 12 years ago. That was tough. And what I was thinking at the time was, boy, he's really hurting. And selfishly, I was thinking, but you're actually hurting so many more people than yourself because we're the ones left behind. And that includes family, children and all that stuff. That's selfish of me to think, but how much pain would that person have had to be in to go through that? And then a few weeks later, a friend of my best friend, college roommate, was going through a divorce and I kept talking to him like, it's going to be fine. I'm with Ann now and Ann's my second wife. And I went through a divorce and I tried to explain to Julie and I said you know what Things get better Trust me They do You think they going to be bad Yes There money there kids and all that stuff but you can make the best of it and you get through it He kind of asked me He said, are you calling me every day just to make sure I'm okay because of what happened to your uncle? I said, well, yes, and because I love you. There's nothing I can do to make him feel better. His favorite band was Deep Purple. I took him front row center to see Deep Purple at a concert, and then days later, that was it for Julian. and I still think about these people every day as everyone who's close to Lyman is definitely going to think about them. Every time you play one of those wonderful machines, you're going to think of Lyman. But I ask myself, and sorry to be long-winded, I ask myself, is there anything more I could have done? And the answer is no, just be there for them as much as possible. But you can't be there 24-7, and that's the difficult thing. And if it's talking to somebody, if it's a professional, if it's medication, whatever gets you through the day, please, please, please do whatever is needed. And that's, I don't know what else to do. I don't know what else we could do. You're a smarter man than I am, Martin. What do you think? Here's what I take from it, right? So a lot of people, a lot of people were affected by it, right? This is the most confronting, I think, that I've seen the pinball community have to go through, right? So, and for those people saying, what could I have done? the answer really is you're not trained really to do anything but you can just be there for people like you said so i think really the the take out from this is we are now much more aware of mental illness and the impact of it because i think for a lot of people you hear about it but you don't really know about it well now we know about it so i think the best thing that you can do right now is keep being more aware about mental illness and about what people go through so you are better equipped for people that are going through it. Because I think I know certainly in people community here and also just in my circle of friends, there are some people that I know that are suffering from mental illness and a lot of people just don't know how to deal with it, so they avoid it. So I think really the best thing that we can do right now is just keep learning, keep understanding. So if the situation arises, you can do something about it rather than avoiding it. That's my suggestion. Yeah. I want to learn more about what are some of the signs. Yeah. There are obvious ones, whether it's health issues, financial issues, marital issues, things like that. I mean, you can see when people are struggling or have some depression, but I didn't see it with someone like Lyman. I wasn't as close to him as others. But you kind of look back and you see whether it was the head-to-head interview, whether it was slam tilt, whether it was me talking to him on Pinball Profile, whatever it was. When you hear some of these interviews and you compliment him and it seemed like there was a difficulty in him accepting those compliments because he really reflected on the things he would have liked to do better. And it's a shame because, my God, he just made masterpiece after masterpiece. Yep. No doubt. And this is a double-edged sword because I think a lot of people looked at it and went, oh, you know what? He's so hard on himself because he's a perfectionist. And if you look at the games that come out, they're pretty perfect. And you look at it and you go, wow, that's just Lyman. You don't realize that the struggle to get there is probably way more of an impact on him overall than we ever thought. We joked about how long it took for the code to come out. We thought, oh, well, that's the perfectionist in him. But really, he knew his name was on it, and he wanted the absolute best. And the funny thing is, really, his 60% is better than everyone else. I'm not slagging anyone in the business right now, but really, there was Lyman, and there was everyone else. And there are some great coders out there. We're going to see some people. You're doing it. I mean, I can only imagine you and others have been inspired by, okay, that is the bar that has been set. And that's where we're going to try to get to. And maybe some of us will. But, wow, what a great guidance. What a great leader and someone who can show us this is what is possible in pinball. Yeah, I mean, just I guess thank you for adding additional pressure not to make light of it. But what I do think of it is how can you write a set of rules that just has that magic, that X factor that he brought to it? And yet, look, I would say that he's my favorite coder. I would also say that there are other coders that are on that same level but for different reasons. But the thing that he did was he made something really complicated really accessible whilst making it really complicated for those people that like complicated rule sets, if that makes sense. You have a list of his games and let's talk about what the code really did to those games. Well, look, let's talk about, I want to start with what I think is the game that was absolutely resurrected because of Lyman. It's got to be The Walking Dead. It's got to be The Walking Dead. It really is that quintessential example of the lineman sprinkling his magic on something. Because if I think back to when I first played The Walking Dead, I remember it was Pinfest in Newcastle. AMD had bought one down, which was nice of them. And I played it and I just didn't like it. I then played it in a tournament. I came second. Thank you. State Championships. and I just, I really didn't like it. And then when Lyman got a hold of it, it's not like he really changed the rules, the fundamental rules that much. The framework was still the same. Somehow it became enjoyable. How did he do that, Jeff? I never played the old code, so I've only ever played what is the Masterpiece, which is one of my favorite games, but everyone talks about how it was just resurrected. So I don't know what that old code was like. Okay, so what he really did was he made, because it wasn't just about the rules framework, it was how the game communicated to you. That is the most important thing that I feel that I'm trying to do with my code is how does the game make you feel? How does it communicate to you? How does it tell you what to do either by sounds or light shows or visuals on the DMD, which is what Walking Dead had, obviously, at the time. We've gone to LCD since. That's what he was able to do. But he didn't make things too obvious and he didn't make them too obscure. He just gave you breadcrumbs, enough breadcrumbs for you to know at any stage what you needed to do. And then when you did that thing, the fanfare was there for you to know you had done something great. He knew. He knew the magic to communicate to the player to make them feel good. And so that's what was missing from the game in the early code. Framework was still there. You still had to do, you know, Prison multiball that way and World Walker multiball that way. And Bloodbath was there as well. But you just didn't feel a sense of achievement. And you've got to remember, Walking Dead is a brutal layout. Thanks, John Borg. He gave us a brutal layout, particularly the pop bumpers of Doom on the right-hand side. They were just awful. But that what it meant You had a tough layout with a rule set that wasn so enjoyable And so when you got the two things of those together it feels like you got a bad game When you then have a game that tells you how to navigate a difficult play field better, that's what makes the magic happen. I remember listening on the head-to-head interview, which I loved. It really made me feel good to listen to that after Lyman passed, just to hear him laugh. And as the show went on, by the way, It's something to hear him really loosening up. You know, I felt there was always something guarded about him talking about code or certainly any kind of new designs. But by the end of that episode, I mean, you guys were just peas in a pod. It was wonderful. But he did talk about exactly what you were describing in letting the player know something is happening. And he talked about not so much looking up at the DMD or now LCD displays, but just on the play field. Is there something to let you know this is what's needed? This is what you should be going for while you've just done something. And he even mentioned it would have been nice to have maybe another insert here and there for certain things, but that's where lights and sounds kind of come in to direct the player. And you're right. You're absolutely right. And, yeah, there were the Easter eggs in there. Another game we can talk about is Metallica, which to me is still to this day, and maybe Godzilla will pass it one day, but Metallica is still the standard for me as the best Stern machine ever made. You know I think that, don't you? Well, I think we've talked, and I don't own it, I still think it's the best game. I can't find a flaw in that game, and that is really a lot to do with Lyman's Code. Even though I whine and complain, like, how do you add a ball? You do. We now know, but that's kind of the Easter egg there. That's kind of finding things out. And he does let you know, sure, you hit the picks. They're flashing. when you're in multiball, and then the snake flashes when you've hit all four. So that tells you something's going on there. And then you hit it and you find out what it is. So here's the interesting thing. So we obviously have a lot of conversations internally at Haggis about rules and design and all that kind of stuff. And here's what I've said a number of times is, if you give somebody something easily, then they have it. I know that sounds so basic. But if you put something just slightly out of reach, then you create desire. Okay? So your thoughts about, well, I wish they could make addable so much easier. You make it easy, therefore you get it, therefore you lose the desire. Easier to find out, though. I'm talking about easier to find out, not easier to get. No, no, no. Same thing. Yeah, you're right. Same thing because if you, as a player, work something out, how good do you feel when you yourself discover that yourself as opposed to just being told. It's one thing to be able to do something, but when you discover that thing that you need to do yourself, you feel massively rewarded. And the purpose of pinball, oh my God, here it is, right? The purpose of pinball is to play one more game. That is the absolute goal of pinball, is to make you want to play it more. So if you give somebody everything they need, why would they need to play it again? It's kind of like watching a movie and knowing what the ending is. Yep. So, you know, a pinball is a story and you want to find out what's going on and you might have to go back a chapter just to figure out what happened there or maybe figure out who the characters are or where this is going and then you progress. You're right. So it's like what a Stern... You know how they've now put in those challenge modes, like Jurassic Park has Escape Noobler? What they do is they give you a mode that you're not likely to see all the time, but it's just slightly out of reach. But they don't give you the final wizard mode. They don't do that because they don't want to give you that thing that will stop you desiring to get to that thing. So remember, this is the purpose of layouts, rules, sounds, lights. Every bit of ingredient that goes into pinball is to, if you think about historically, is for you to put more money into that machine. But now that there's a lot of home users, it's still there to give you that one more go feeling. That's what it is. That's what Lyman Sheets absolutely knew how to do. Give me two more games that stand out for you for Lyman for really shaping it. For me, one of them still, I know it seems simple and I don't know, maybe this is the simplicity that I love. I'm a huge Monster Bash fan. I know we can talk about AFM and Medieval Madness, but there's something about Monster Bash that's just fun. Is it the deepest code ever? No, but he makes it fun. It is absolutely fun. And remember, with Monster Bash, again, it's because the game is giving you sensations back to tell you that you're having fun. You know you're having fun because the machine is making sure that you're having fun, and that's what he did. You know how I feel about Elvira, House of Horrors. I find it one of the easiest layouts ever. But do I admit it's a great game? Yes. Why? It's Lyman's Code. There's a lot of great assets in there and call-outs. And he was really particular on making sure that, you know, there was that fun aspect, too, and the story being told. And you can definitely say that in Elvira. You've got a popular personality in Cassandra Peterson and what she does. And Lyman kind of tied it all together. Look at the effort he put into Batman. Oh my goodness. I know. Add those minor villains and just having all those assets and really not taking any for granted. Whether you like the game or not, that is a deep, wonderful game that is a different time every time you play it. Okay. Funny you should mention that because if you think about Elvira and Batman, I kind of put those together in they're the really complicated but accessible games that Lyman did. but let me tell you what i believe to be the first time he ever demonstrated us or you know figuratively said to us i'm giving you a complicated rule set but i'm going to make sure that you understand how to get through this complicated rule set what do you reckon it was what do you think i think was the first game that demonstrated that i don't know iron man maybe a c d c oh okay Think about it. It's a long game, and it's fairly – the standard of complexity has gone up since then. But think about that game. When it came out, it was kind of next level when it came to a rule set. Yeah. And that was Lyman. And remember, he still wasn't happy with it. Ridiculous. My first new in-box game, which I got, I think, in 2015. That isn't leaving my house. I'm telling you right now. I've modded it up and seven years later, I still play it to this day, still enjoy it. And 100% it's Lyman's Code. But, you know, the ones everyone talks about are AFM, Attack from Mars, and Medieval Madness, which I think if I look back into my arcade days, I have put more money into those machines than any other games combined. Why? Something kept bringing you back. There was fun. You knew what to do. You knew how to progress. It wasn't easy. It got harder as it went on. but the rewards were so i mean it just felt good to blow up the spaceship to blow up the castle and it's not a coincidence that the first three games chicago gaming company remade were lyman games yeah and that's that's interesting because you know a lot of people put put it down to Brian Eddy saying you know it's a Brian Eddy game therefore that's why they're successful and you know what they are Brian Eddy games like we always talk about whoever designed the layout is the designer. But we're talking about it now. Really the coder or the person that comes up with the rules framework or actually codes the game I think probably needs to have a greater level of responsibility or kudos that it's given to the game. And you're right. Lyman is also what made those games great. Last thing I'd say about coding too is when Cactus Canyon revisited, I guess they call it now, the new one that's come out, you're going to be able to buy an additional code. we've heard from josh that there will be that josh lyman even after his passing there'll still be that code will be available a lot of things were already put in place so i think that's i didn't like the model of how they they sold it i wish it came with the game but i'll tell you this everyone who owns a cactus canyon game is going to be buying that code you're going to want last code of course yeah you need it you need it in your life because it's it's his legacy now It helped that he was such an incredible player too. We talk about him being a coder, but there are only five people in the world that have ever won two different majors. There are people that have won the IFPA championship or Pinburgh or Papa or the EPC, but only five of them have won more than one. Of course, now there's the Open, and he won three Papa championships, and he also won the EPC, which is just incredible. I think it was in Finland, and that's no small task to win four majors like Lyman did. An incredible player, and that probably helped him with code too, but I know when we watched the funeral service, there were just so many touching moments, and it wasn't really so much about the coder or the player. It was really about the man. When Penny was joking about them courting and dating and all that kind of fun stuff, and they were playing each other, and they had to figure out, okay, what's going to happen? And I think she said something to the effect of, so what's going to happen if you win? And his reaction was like, if? If? Which was, I love that comedic cockiness and just, I mean, of course he won, but he's spectacular. And Mike Vinikour, very touching about, Lyman was really important to push hard to get Mike employed into pinball. And we've seen what he's done. his sister's comments just about how he dropped everything for her and just a loving brother very touching roger oh hey you know you and i know we've we've talked a lot with roger and uh you know he never saw anything like him he just uh was in awe and you think of all the things roger's seen but when that first championship happened and he saw what lyman could do it was It was something, his discipline was unlike anything he'd ever seen. And Roger himself is a pretty darn good player, but just a loving tribute. And I have to thank Lyman, honestly, because any podcasts I've ever done, whether it's this, whether it's Pinball Profile, it was me being at Papa in 2016 and sitting beside Bo and Karens and Lyman Sheets and just thinking, holy cow, I'm able to play these world champions. I'm able to sit beside them and talk. And what other hobby sport can you do that in? If you like football, you're not catching passes from Tom Brady. If you're a golfer, you're not playing in a foursome with Tiger Woods. But in pinball, any of these events, you can talk to some of the greats. And to be able to talk to Lyman and Bowen at that moment, I thought, wow, maybe I can use my broadcasting skills and interviewing and make something out of it and some of these pinball profiles. So I have to thank Lyman for that. Yeah, well, I guess I'll tell you the story about the only time I met Lyman because I'm going to go back a bit because the first, I think a lot of people knew about Lyman was the special When Lit movie that came out. And in fact, I tried to watch it just after he passed away and I couldn't get through the Lyman part. It was just too much. But I just remember that was the first time I knew of a pinball celebrity. When everyone, they were talking about who's the greatest player, everyone just kept saying, Lyman Sheets, Lyman Sheets, Lyman Sheets, Lyman Sheets, right? It was just, this is the guy. So he's the first real celebrity slash hero slash person out of reach that I knew. And when I finally got to meet him, which was at Pinberg, when I was grouped up with him, and I was like, oh, my God, that's Lyman Sheets. Two things happened. Three things actually happened. First of all, he was so chill. We were always going, where's Lyman? Where's Lyman? And he would just turn up with a beer going, yeah, I'm ready. It's like, okay, cool. That's him. That's how chill he is. Second of all, he was so, so easy to talk to. He just had no ego whatsoever, was just happy to talk to anybody that would talk to him. Sign of a true gentleman. The third thing that happened, which for me is just the highlight of what was one of the highlights of pinberg but certainly just was it for lyman i got to watch him play first of all i got to watch him play pinball i got to watch him decimate creature from the black lagoon in that stance that play style get through to a level of this game that no one that i'd never seen and he was playing it in such a risky way like he was doing a strat that people just wouldn't normally do but that was just him he was just like well that that's how i play i go go big or go home and just so casual and it was just such a joy to watch that level of expertise that i'd known about and i'd seen on many streams but to see it in person was just golden we're gonna miss lyman we are grateful to have his wonderful games for years to come they will always be some of the greatest games ever you've set the Bar, you're a wonderful man. We miss you dearly. And it's difficult for us to speak. There aren't enough words to describe how wonderful he is. But we do want to thank him. And you certainly can honor him by helping out the National Alliance on Mental Illness. That is N-A-M-I dot O-R-G. And if you can donate, that's wonderful. If you can be a voice for somebody, that is also invaluable. The effects of this person just can't be overstated enough. And we miss him now. And I don't think we'll ever stop missing him. I think we've lost a real pillar of the pinball industry. My only thing I would suggest to those that are hurting, that loved Lyman, that were close to Lyman, remember his life. Don't remember his death. His death was one horrible day, one bad day. We all have bad days. This is obviously the ultimate bad day. But really, remember the greatness and remember the good times of Lyman. It will help you in your mourning. I know with people that I've lost, and very close people, I never ever think of the anniversary of their death. I couldn't. In fact, somebody, the day we found out Lyman passed, somebody sent me a note and said, I'm thinking of your father. When we found out on January 21st, I had forgotten that was the day my father passed away years ago. I don't remember his death date. I remember his birth date. I celebrate that. I remember the life and I would like you to try to remember the life of Lyman sheets. It won't be hard because he was such a wonderful man and he gave pinball so much. So that's all we have to say for this. Thank you for listening. It's a, it hasn't been easy. Marty, thanks for uh uh helping me and uh and uh and others and we're gonna be back and we'll be back this week and on final round and uh until then we'll say so long thanks everyone for listening _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 99073977-bd57-4898-a9e7-59b4c6ff1a34*