# THE STRONG NATIONAL MUSEUM OF PLAY **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2018-04-17 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2018/04/17/the-strong-national-museum-of-play --- ## Analysis A April 2018 museum visit report to The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY, documenting their pinball collection including a permanent 'Pinball Playfields' exhibit. The article describes the museum's arcade machines, design sketches, display pieces, and a rotating selection of 30+ playable pinball machines spanning multiple eras and manufacturers. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The Strong National Museum of Play has the world's most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video games, and play-related historical materials — _Direct statement in museum description section_ - [HIGH] The 'Pinball Playfields' permanent exhibit was created because the museum had too many machines for their arcade to display — _Explicit statement about exhibit origin_ - [HIGH] All machines in the arcade use tokens at five for $1.00, with one token per game — _Pricing information section_ - [HIGH] The pinball exhibit houses original design sketches by Mark Ritchie for Williams' Indiana Jones, donated by Williams — _Exhibit display description with designer attribution_ - [HIGH] All machines observed were in excellent condition and played well despite heavy use by children, with low tilt sensitivity allowing liberal use of English — _Visitor observation and assessment section_ ### Notable Quotes > "The Strong's museum is dedicated to play of all kinds and has the world's most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, books, documents, and other historical materials related to play." > — **Article author (describing museum mission)**, N/A > _Establishes the museum's scope and significance as a comprehensive play history institution_ > "Pinball Playfields is a permanent exhibit that arose because the museum had too many machines for their arcade to display." > — **Article author**, N/A > _Explains the origin and practical context of the dedicated pinball exhibit_ > "The pinball exhibit is on the first floor; it's best to ask for directions for it's not easy to find." > — **Article author (visitor observation)**, N/A > _Practical visitor advice indicating the exhibit's location and accessibility challenges_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | The Strong National Museum of Play | organization | Major museum in Rochester, NY dedicated to comprehensive play history collection including world's largest pinball archive and exhibits | | Rochester, NY | location | Location of The Strong museum at 3941 Manhattan Square Dr, significant pinball community hub | | Pinball Playfields | event | Permanent exhibit at The Strong documenting pinball evolution with displays and playable machines | | Mark Ritchie | person | Designer of Williams' Indiana Jones pinball; original sketches displayed at museum | | George Gomez | person | Designer whose Lord of the Rings Stern whitewood is featured in museum collection | | Stern Pinball | company | Modern manufacturer; multiple machines in collection including Iron Man (arcade), Wizard of Oz LE, Game of Thrones LE, Avengers Premium, Ghost Busters, Spider-Man, Metallica Premium, Star Trek Pro, Transformers Pro, Star Wars | | Williams | company | Historic manufacturer; donated design sketches; machines in collection include Indiana Jones, Funhouse, Monster Bash, Black Knight, Star Trek TNG | | Bally | company | Historic manufacturer; machines in collection include Fireball, The Addams Family, Revenge from Mars | | Gottlieb | company | Historic manufacturer; machines in collection include Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Haunted House, Challenger, Super Mario Bros Mushroom World | | Data East | company | Manufacturer; Star Wars machine in collection | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Modern boutique manufacturer; Wizard of Oz Emerald City LE in collection | | Sega | company | Manufacturer; Starship Troopers in collection | | Atari | company | Manufacturer; Hercules, Superman, Video Pinball in collection | | Iron Man | game | Stern pinball machine in arcade second floor display | | Indiana Jones | game | Williams pinball with original design sketches by Mark Ritchie on display at museum | | The Lord of the Rings | game | Stern pinball by George Gomez; whitewood displayed at museum | | Whiffle | game | Historic pinball machine on display at museum (display piece, not playable) | | World's Fair Jigsaw | game | Historic pinball machine on display at museum (display piece, not playable) | | Humpty Dumpty | game | Historic pinball machine on display at museum (display piece, not playable) | | The Wizard of Oz | game | Jersey Jack Pinball machine; Emerald City LE version in playable collection at museum | | Game of Thrones | game | Stern pinball; LE version in playable collection at museum | ### Topics - **Primary:** Museum collections and cultural preservation, Pinball machine history and design evolution, Historic pinball manufacturers and games - **Secondary:** Museum visitor experience and accessibility, Pinball machine maintenance and playfield condition ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Visitor expressed satisfaction with museum experience, machine condition, and accessibility; no critical complaints; focused on documenting collection comprehensively and visitor experience quality --- ## Transcript **Date:** April 2018 **Location:** 3941, 1 Manhattan Square Dr, Rochester, NY 14607, USA My trip took me to The Strong’s National Museum of Play located in Rochester NY. The Strong’s museum is dedicated to play of all kinds and has the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, books, documents, and other historical materials related to play. *Pinball Playfields* is a permanent exhibit that arose because the museum had too many machines for their arcade to display. [![The Pinball Playfields exhibit](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/01-stong-museum-of-play-1024x806.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/01-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) The Pinball Playfields exhibit Admission to the museum is $15. The arcade and pinball exhibit’s playable machines use tokens, which are five for $1.00. All the machines are one token per game. I first found my way to the arcade which is on the second floor, there were two machines amongst the video games. Stern’s *Iron Man* and Gottlieb’s *The Amazing Spider-Man*. The pinball exhibit is on the first floor; it’s best to ask for directions for it’s not easy to find. Along with the pinball machines is an interesting display of sketches for William’s *Indiana Hilton Jones* game, designed by Mark Ritchie. It is one of many original sketches donated to the museum by Williams. [![The playfield drawing for Indiana Hilton Jones](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/07-stong-museum-of-play-649x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/07-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) The playfield drawing for Indiana Hilton Jones Next to the drawings are three machine for display purposes; *Whiffle*, *World’s Fair Jigsaw*, and *Humpty Dumpty*. [![Illustrating pinball's evolution](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/02-stong-museum-of-play-1024x758.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/02-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Illustrating pinball’s evolution Also of interest is George Gomez’s whitewood of *The Lord of The Rings* by Stern. [![Whitewood of The Lord of the Rings](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/03-stong-museum-of-play-768x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/03-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Whitewood of The Lord of the Rings My research shows the selection of machines they have for play rotates. On my visit they had: | | | | --- | --- | | *Fireball* (Bally) *The Incredible Hulk* (Gottlieb) *Flight 2000* (Stern) *Funhouse* (Williams) *Haunted House* (Gottlieb) *The Addams Family* (Bally) *Monster Bash* (Williams) *Starship Troopers* (Sega) *Star Wars* (Data East) *The Wizard of Oz, Emerald City LE* (Jersey Jack) *Revenge From Mars* (Bally) *Game of Thrones, LE* (Stern) *The Avengers, Premium* (Stern) | *Black Knight* (Williams) *Challenger* (Gottlieb) *Ghost Busters* (Stern) *Spider-Man* (Stern) *Hercules* (Atari) *Metallica, Premium* (Stern) *Star Trek, Pro* (Stern) *Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World* (Gottlieb) *Superman* (Atari) *Transformers, Pro* (Stern) *Video Pinball* (Atari) *Star Wars* (Stern) *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (Williams) | | | | [![Pinballs in the play area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/05-stong-museum-of-play-768x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/05-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Pinballs in the play area [![The Stern collection](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/06-stong-museum-of-play.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/06-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) The Stern collection [![Challenger, Black Knight 2000 and Revenge from Mars](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/04-stong-museum-of-play.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/04-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Challenger, Black Knight 2000 and Revenge from Mars I found all the machines to be in excellent condition and played well despite the abuse they received from all the kids. I also found all the machines to have a low tilt level which allowed liberal use of English. [![Games available to play](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/09-stong-museum-of-play-716x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/09-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Games available to play [![Hercules pinball](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/08-stong-museum-of-play-744x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/08-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Hercules pinball My visit was on a week day, I found it not too crowded and was able to play all the games at my leisure. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: b38a9246-5ce3-49de-aa19-ba947abca97e*