# Homepin Confirms Expo Reveal of “Pinball For Non-Pinball People”

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-09-28  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/homepin-confirms-expo-reveal-of-pinball-for-non-pinball-people

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## Analysis

Homepin confirmed an upcoming licensed pinball game reveal at Chicago Pinball Expo, described by founder Mike Kalinowski as "pinball for non-pinball people" targeting the mancave market at under $5,000. The game is based on an extremely famous movie license. Separately, Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited was shown at Australia's Pinfest with significantly expanded code depth compared to their Fathom remake.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Homepin's new game is based on an 'extremely well-known license' targeting a lower-cost, mancave-friendly market segment — _Direct quote from Mike Kalinowski in Aussie Pinball Podcast interview_
- [HIGH] The new Homepin game will be revealed at Chicago Pinball Expo (assumed 2023 October show) — _Mike Kalinowski stated 'Absolutely' to Dr. John's question about taking the game to Chicago_
- [HIGH] Homepin's game is positioned as 'pinball for non-pinball people' — _Direct quote from Mike Kalinowski describing his new game_
- [HIGH] Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited has code approximately four times deeper than their Fathom remake — _Direct statement from Damian Hartin in Aussie Pinball Podcast interview_
- [HIGH] The new Homepin game will be priced under $5,000 — _Referenced from June article mentioned in this piece and Kalinowski's 'mancave friendly' positioning_

### Notable Quotes

> "and you're going to be taking that to Chicago"
> — **Dr. John (Aussie Pinball Podcast host)**, 24:30 mark
> _Confirmation of Expo reveal plans_

> "Absolutely"
> — **Mike Kalinowski (Homepin founder)**, ~24:30-25:00 mark
> _Direct confirmation of Chicago Expo reveal_

> "pinball for non-pinball people"
> — **Mike Kalinowski (Homepin founder)**, ~24:30 mark
> _Key market positioning statement for new game_

> "the new expanded code for Centaur Revisited is almost four times deeper than the expanded code the Company put in its first remake, Fathom"
> — **Damian Hartin (Haggis Pinball)**, ~1:00:00 mark
> _Significant code depth improvement for sequel remake_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Homepin | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer preparing sub-$5k licensed game reveal for Chicago Expo |
| Mike Kalinowski | person | Founder/owner of Homepin; paid license deposit for new game; positioning it as mancave-friendly, non-pinball-people targeted |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Australian pinball manufacturer; showing Centaur Revisited at Pinfest with significantly expanded code |
| Damian Hartin | person | Owner/representative of Haggis Pinball; discussed Centaur Revisited code development |
| Dr. John | person | Host of Aussie Pinball Podcast; conducted interviews at Pinfest |
| Aussie Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast on The Pinball Network covering Australian pinball community; Episode 17 featured Pinfest coverage |
| Chicago Pinball Expo | event | Upcoming pinball trade show where Homepin will reveal new licensed game; presumed October 2023 |
| Pinfest | event | Recent pinball show in Newcastle, Australia; featured Stern, Haggis, Homepin, and Jersey Jack games |
| Homepin Spinal Tap Pinball | game | Homepin's new game shown at Pinfest; identity as the 'pinball for non-pinball people' game previously unconfirmed but now implied |
| Haggis Centaur Revisited | game | Haggis Pinball remake with expanded code; shown publicly at Pinfest for first time |
| Fathom | game | Haggis Pinball's first remake; Centaur Revisited code is ~4x deeper |
| Gary Stern | person | Attended Pinfest; part of Australia's 'big 5' of pinball manufacturing |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer showcasing Godfather at Pinfest |
| Stern Pinball | company | Showed Venom Pro and Premium models at Pinfest |

### Topics

- **Primary:** New game announcements and leaks, Homepin product roadmap and market positioning, Chicago Pinball Expo 2023 reveals
- **Secondary:** Licensed IP for pinball games, Price segmentation and mancave market, Code depth and rules complexity in remakes
- **Mentioned:** Australian pinball community and Pinfest

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Enthusiasm for new announcements and reveals; positive framing of Homepin's market strategy and Haggis's code improvements; celebratory tone about multiple new game showcases at Pinfest

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Pinfest Newcastle confirmed as major showcase event featuring Australia's top pinball manufacturers and 100+ machines (confidence: high) — Event attended by Gary Stern, Jack Guarnieri, Damien Hartin, Mike Kalinowski, and David Hankin with 98+ additional games displayed
- **[market_signal]** Homepin targeting mancave-friendly, sub-$5,000 price point positioning game toward non-enthusiast players (confidence: high) — Kalinowski described game as 'mancave friendly machine' targeting lower-cost segment with positioning as 'pinball for non-pinball people'
- **[announcement]** Homepin officially confirmed new licensed game under $5,000 for Chicago Pinball Expo reveal (confidence: high) — Mike Kalinowski confirmed to Dr. John on Aussie Pinball Podcast that new game will be shown at Chicago Expo and described as 'pinball for non-pinball people'
- **[product_strategy]** Haggis Pinball significantly expanded code complexity for Centaur Revisited remake vs. Fathom predecessor (confidence: high) — Damian Hartin stated 'the new expanded code for Centaur Revisited is almost four times deeper than the expanded code' for Fathom
- **[licensing_signal]** Homepin secured an 'extremely well-known' movie license for new game (confidence: high) — Kalinowski stated he 'just paid the deposit for the license' which is described as 'extremely well-known' and for a 'lower cost machine'

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## Transcript

Well, we have our first official new game reveal for the upcoming Chicago Pinnall Expo...

Yesterday a new episode of the Aussie Pinball Podcast dropped on The Pinball Network. The latest episode featured talk about the recent Pinfest pinball show that took place in Newcastle Australia.

The podcast's host Dr. John included a number of great interviews in the episode. One of the first interviews (24:30 mark) was with Homepin's Mike Kalinowski, during which Mike stated that he has just paid the deposit for the license for his next pinball machine. It is an extremely well-known license that Homepin will use in a lower cost "mancave friendly machine."

During the interview Dr. John stated to Mike about the new game "and you're going to be taking that to Chicago" to which Mike replied "Absolutely." I assume that they were talking about the upcoming 2023 Expo show in October and not the 2024 show. Mike went on to describe the game as "pinball for non-pinball people."

Back in June I wrote an article here that contains more info on Homepin's upcoming third game:

Homepin Working on New Sub-$5,000 Licensed Game Based on "Extremely Famous" Movie

https://www.knapparcade.org/post/homepin-plans-to-reveal-sub-5-000-licensed-game-based-on-extremely-

Later on in the episode, right around the one hour mark, Dr. John spoke with Damian Hartin about his company Haggis Pinball's first ever public showing of its next game Centaur Revisited.

During the Haggis interview Damian stated that the new expanded code for Centaur Revisited is almost four times deeper than the expanded code the Company put in its first remake, Fathom.

Below is a link to the great show for those of you who want to check it out:

This episode I’m joined by Jessy Jay after we attended Australia’s largest and longest running pinball show. We caught up with Gary Stern, Jach Guarnieri, Damien, Mike and David Hankin – Australia’s big 5 of pinball manufacturing!

We experienced the new Stern Venom Pro and Premium, the new Haggis Centaur, the new Homepin This is Spinal Tap Pinball, the new Godfather by Jersey Jack and 98 other games!

L to R: David Hankin, Gary Stern, Mike Kalinowski, Damian Hartin, Jack Guarnieri.

Aussie Pinball Podcast – Episode 17: Pinfest - LIVE From Newcastle

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9hxq7-14b76af

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ab74996c-2808-4cd0-bfde-9ebf1b8a4f66*