# Episode 383 - Interview with Phil Bogema 11-06-16

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2016-11-17  
**Duration:** 16m 38s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-383-interview-with-phil-bogema-11-06-16

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge interviews Phil Bogema, who traveled from Denver to Richmond to visit Nick's collection and play the MultiBingo machine. Phil, an enthusiast coder and collector, discusses his experience with the MultiBingo project, shares observations about EM and bingo game mechanics, and describes his recent acquisitions including a Parade machine. The conversation covers gameplay techniques, bingo machine design implementations, and Phil's plans for future restorations.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Phil Bogema has been learning to code for a long time and examined the MultiBingo codebase during his visit, finding the implementation impressive and well-structured. — _Phil directly states he learned to code a long time ago, examined Nick's code, and discusses the implementation details of the MultiBingo hardware and software._
- [HIGH] The MultiBingo machine uses real pinball playfield hardware, not a video screen, and runs on a fast computer with graphics implementation that Phil helped provide files for. — _Phil confirms: 'There's not a video screen that you're playing on...You're playing on a real play field.' Nick mentions Phil offered to send graphics files to help with processor speed issues._
- [HIGH] Phil owns multiple bingo machines including Bikini, Silver Sails, and Gay Time, and has recently acquired Parade, Touchdown, and Carnival Queen machines for restoration. — _Phil states: 'I own a bikini, and I own the Silver Sails' and discusses picking up 'Parade, a touchdown, and a carnival queen' machines last summer._
- [HIGH] Phil is out of space in his collection and would have to sell a machine before acquiring another one. — _Phil tells Nick: 'Yeah. So I don't know what that would be. If you got another game, which game would it let go?'_
- [HIGH] Nick's MultiBingo has helped him play bingo games he's never encountered before and explore variations in game rules through code implementation. — _Phil says: 'I played games that I've never played before and it's just like you're playing the game.' Nick confirms the idea was to allow playing different games on one machine._
- [HIGH] Phil uses an aggressive, distinctive body English technique when playing pinball/bingo machines, pulling the machine toward him and hitting it with force rather than using side rails. — _Phil states: 'I just bang the crap out of the games. And that's the way I learned how to do it.' Nick confirms: 'I've never seen anybody play quite the way that you do.'_
- [MEDIUM] The Caravan bingo machine is too easy and wasn't played much in operation because it 'basically hands you a five and a line.' — _Phil and Nick discuss Caravan: 'I guess we decided it's too easy and that's why they didn't run them too much... There's so many ways to win.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I walked in here and I'm like, wow, this is great. I mean, a lot of bingo machines on one wall, more on another one."
> — **Phil Bogema**, early in interview
> _Shows Phil's enthusiasm upon seeing Nick's collection for the first time_

> "I came out here specifically to see what was going on with that multi... I can't imagine it, but it's amazing."
> — **Phil Bogema**, ~3:00
> _Expresses why Phil made the trip and his initial amazement at MultiBingo_

> "It's amazing that I haven't hit anything so far that has completely stopped me in my tracks... sometimes there's a couple things that I have to dig into for a couple days and really think about but most of the basic stuff seems to have ported very well from game to game."
> — **Phil Bogema**, ~5:00
> _Technical assessment of the MultiBingo codebase's portability across different games_

> "I just bang the crap out of the games. And that's the way I learned how to do it."
> — **Phil Bogema**, ~11:00
> _Describes his distinctive aggressive playing style_

> "I've never seen anybody play quite the way that you do. But it's pretty effective. I've got to say."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~11:30
> _Acknowledges Phil's unique and apparently effective playing technique_

> "I can tell you guys listening that Nick has put an amazing amount of work into this thing... just looking at the implementation of the hardware and all the software that... it's just it's wild."
> — **Phil Bogema**, ~25:00
> _Public recognition of Nick's labor-intensive work on MultiBingo_

> "The multi right now is kind of stating that need for new games because I build a new one in and then sure and then you can play it it's pretty fun finding bugs is always challenging though."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~30:00
> _Describes MultiBingo as a beta-testing platform for game code_

> "There's nothing that beats owning one getting in the back of one tinkering figuring out how they function."
> — **Phil Bogema**, ~32:00
> _Emphasizes hands-on restoration and tinkering as essential to understanding machine mechanics_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Phil Bogema | person | EM/bingo machine enthusiast and collector from Denver, Colorado; casual programmer; restorer of classic bingo machines; visited Nick Baldridge to examine MultiBingo project |
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of 'For Amusement Only' podcast; creator of MultiBingo homebrew machine; collector of EM and bingo games in Richmond, Virginia |
| Steve | person | Local Richmond-area player/collector who owns bingo machines including Bikini and Golden Gate; visited by Phil and Nick during the interview week |
| Ava | person | Daughter of another local collector; helped restore or worked on a one-ball turf game that Phil played during his visit |
| MultiBingo | game | Homebrew multi-game bingo pinball machine built by Nick Baldridge featuring 70+ bingo games in a real cabinet with physical playfield; uses custom code and specialized hardware; Phil came specifically to see this machine |
| Parade | game | Vintage bingo machine recently acquired by Phil Bogema for restoration; picked up last summer; includes extra lines feature; Phil was interested in restoring this after touchdown and carnival queen |
| Golden Gate | game | Bingo machine owned by Steve in Richmond; has gate feature but scoring limitations that Phil discussed; rolled/beaten during Phil's visit |
| Bikini | game | Bingo machine owned by both Phil Bogema and mentioned at Steve's location; similar to Silver Sails; has Futurity scoring feature but scoring limitations |
| Silver Sails | game | Bingo machine owned by Phil Bogema; similar mechanics to Golden Gate; serves as comparison point for scoring and features |
| Gay Time | game | Bingo machine still owned by Phil Bogema, located in his basement; previously owned/sold nightclub and double up machines |
| Caravan | game | United bingo game in Nick's collection; played and discussed during Phil's visit; assessed as 'too easy' with basic winning conditions, explanation for limited operational history |
| Nightclub | game | Bingo machine previously owned by Phil; sold to a barber shop owner for repair work; associated with Phil's early gaming interest |
| Bounty | game | Bingo machine owned by Phil; game he enjoyed and won money on when younger; has in his collection |
| Ticker Tape | game | Bingo machine in Nick's collection; Phil played it during visit but was not impressed; never played before visiting |
| Double Up | game | Bingo machine previously owned by Phil; sold; referenced in discussion of his collection history |
| Touchdown | game | Vintage bingo machine acquired by Phil last summer for restoration; one of three machines he prioritized for restoration work |
| Carnival Queen | game | Vintage bingo machine acquired by Phil last summer; one of three machines he most interested in restoring |
| For Amusement Only | organization | EM and bingo pinball podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge; distributes on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and website |
| Denver | location | Phil Bogema's home city in Colorado |
| Richmond | location | Virginia city where Nick Baldridge and his studio/collection are located; where Phil stayed during his multi-day visit |

### Topics

- **Primary:** MultiBingo Project Development, EM and Bingo Machine Restoration, Bingo Game Mechanics and Rules, Custom Hardware and Code Implementation
- **Secondary:** Machine Collection and Curation, Playing Technique and Body English, Homebrew Pinball Community

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0)

### Signals

- **[design_innovation]** MultiBingo demonstrates novel approach to hosting 70+ bingo games on real playfield hardware using custom code and processor, allowing players to experience classic games they've never seen before (confidence: high) — Phil: 'I played games that I've never played before and it's just like you're playing the game.' Nick: 'That was the idea.' Hardware uses fast computer with graphics implementation that required optimization
- **[community_signal]** Phil Bogema traveled from Denver to Richmond specifically to examine Nick's MultiBingo project in person and provide technical input on code and graphics optimization (confidence: high) — Phil states he came 'specifically to see what was going on with that multi' and examined Nick's code in detail, offering to send graphics files to help with processor speed issues
- **[restoration_signal]** Phil recently acquired multiple vintage bingo machines (Parade, Touchdown, Carnival Queen) for restoration and has specific prioritization for which to restore next (confidence: high) — Phil: 'I picked up all those machines last summer, and the parade, a touchdown, and a carnival queen were probably three of the ones that I was most interested in restoring... Nick talked me into doing the parade next'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Caravan bingo machine identified as overly easy with too many winning conditions, which correlates with limited operational prevalence in commercial settings (confidence: medium) — Phil and Nick discuss Caravan: 'it basically hands you a five and a line... there's so many ways to win... I guess we decided it's too easy and that's why they didn't run them too much'
- **[content_signal]** Episode 383 documents in-person interview between Nick Baldridge (podcast host/collector) and Phil Bogema (collector/enthusiast), providing long-form discussion of homebrew pinball and restoration topics (confidence: high) — Formal interview structure with guest introduction, machine discussions, technical deep-dives, and closing credits with podcast distribution information
- **[design_philosophy]** Nick emphasizes playtesting and real player feedback as essential to ensuring MultiBingo plays authentically like original games, with Phil providing hands-on testing and bug discovery (confidence: high) — Nick: 'I'm always interested in being a player's views on it because I want to make sure that it plays like the real thing and if it doesn't, then I need to tweak it.' Phil acknowledges beta testing: 'that's just beta... beta testing exactly'
- **[community_signal]** Phil, with programming experience, examined MultiBingo codebase and offered technical assistance with graphics optimization, demonstrating collaborative knowledge-sharing within homebrew community (confidence: high) — Phil: 'I told you that I'd help you send you some files that I have with some of the graphics.' Phil examined and praised the code implementation: 'most of the basic stuff seems to have ported very well from game to game'
- **[collector_signal]** Phil faces physical space limitations that prevent further machine acquisitions without divesting existing collection, affecting his ability to expand (confidence: high) — Phil: 'Yeah. So I don't know what that would be. If you got another game, which game would it let go?... what it usually comes down to is do I want it more than any of these yeah generally no'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Phil demonstrates distinctive aggressive body English technique (pulling machine toward body, heavy impact) that differs from conventional playing style but proves effective (confidence: high) — Phil: 'I just bang the crap out of the games.' Nick: 'I've never seen anybody play quite the way that you do. But it's pretty effective.'

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## Transcript

 what's that sound it's for amusement only the em and bingo pinball podcast welcome back to for amusement only this is Nicholas Baldridge and with me in person phil bogoma how's it going phil good how are you nick doing well good i'm in your studio here yeah you made a long trip all the way from denver to virginia well i appreciate you coming this way and uh Beaten on my machines a little bit? Yeah, it's been great. I walked in here and I'm like, wow, this is great. I mean, a lot of bingo machines on one wall, more on another one. Got a one ball, some flipper games here and back glasses and playfields. And it's awesome. Well, thank you. Yep. So out of the games that I have, what's been the one that you preferred playing the most? well I mean I came out here specifically to see what was going on with that multi I I had a business trip to DC area and so I decided well as long as I was close enough I'd drive over to Richmond and bother you guys for a few days I got in Friday and now it's Sunday and I've had a fantastic time and that was the one that I even told you one before I came here that I wanted to see it because I can't imagine it, but it's amazing. It's amazing. Thank you. It's been a lot of work. Yeah. Well, and I told Nick, I sort of like to code. Of course, I'm really not a professional or anything, but I learned to code a long time. And I didn't understand how the whole thing was going to be implemented and what kind of code you were using. And I talked to you about that. So one of the things I wanted to see when I came out here is the actual code that you'd written. And that's, I got to dig into it and look at it and figure out what's going on there. But it's really neat. I agree. It's really neat. Yeah. I really like it a lot. And I've been impressed that I haven't hit anything so far that has completely stopped me in my tracks, you know. Yeah. sometimes there's a couple things that I have to dig into for a couple days and really think about but most of the basic stuff seems to have ported very well from game to game which I'm pleased with otherwise it wouldn't work well and it was kind of interesting finding out about the implementation what kind of hardware was back there, what kind of computer you're using how fast the computer runs, the capabilities of it why you're using what you're using and also how the graphics are being implemented. It's just great. I mean, it's like you can go into this game and you can play all these games and they keep adding more and more and more. So I played games that I've never played before and it's just like you're playing the game. Yeah. That was the idea. Yeah. And the fact that it's in an actual bingo cabinet. That's the topper, isn't it? Right. So it's not a phony deal. Right. Yeah. There's not a video screen that you're playing on. Exactly. You're playing on a real play field. Yeah, I get to pound the machine just like I pound the other machines. Exactly. Well, thank you for letting me do that, too. No, absolutely. I will say, I've never seen, and Steve corroborated this, I've never seen anybody play quite the way that you do. No. But it's pretty effective. I've got to say. Well, I told you. I told you. I just bang the crap out of the games. And that's the way I learned how to do it. I was telling Steve, I don't know. I think I was teaching you, you know, no, no, no, no. You're not putting your fingers in the right place. You got to pull that machine back towards you and then hit it. And don leave your fingers off the top It won work And luckily I was able to demonstrate some of that Yeah well it very interesting and you know I started kind of mixing it up a little. Normally I grab the side rails but I've been trying to edge back down to the lockdown bar. Yeah that's the way I learned how to do it and I was never any good if I grabbed those side rails like that or you know crouch over the machine or I can't do that. But that's how I learned. You know, sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. You have some of these. Let me tell you something, guys. Nick, if he would have been an operator, you would have had problems because the tilts are set easy. Some of the machines are tight. But I guess it's just like real life. Yeah. Yeah. And then we went to Steve's last night, and Steve has his game set up. so I think anybody could beat those games. Got that game in a track mode there. It's talking. There it is. But, yeah, that was funny. We rolled Steve's Golden Gate last night. Yes. After a little effort, but it got there. Yeah. But his games are beautiful, aren't they? They are. They're really nice, and there's just the two games down there, and I guess he's got flipper games, but we didn't go, I don't care about that. Who needs them? No, no. There's bingos to play. Yeah, and the bikini and the Golden Gate. I own a bikini, and I own the Silver Sails, and the Golden Gate's the same thing. So it was an enjoyable play on both of them. They both have their pluses and their minuses. The Golden Gate, you know, it has the gate feature, but you can't get the okay when you gate. And I told you that. I don't like that. The bikini, if you get the thing all the way up to 12 and you play the Futurity, you can't get 600 everywhere. So I don't like that. So, you know, nothing has everything. Right. Right. But you can implement everything on that. Yep. All I have to do is let you know what I want you to do and you can do it for me. And then I'll grumble about it. Yeah. Just like I did with Steve. Yeah. Yeah. You need to fix that for him by the way. Yeah, that's true. I'm sure I'll be over there soon enough but yeah I've had a great time with you over here I'm really glad you made the trip yeah I am too I hope I make it again sometime soon I do have business out here sometimes and I'm coming out next summer to Washington D.C. again but this was for a trip with my family so I don't think I'm going to be able to get here I don't know why Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I'm, you know, I'm just really impressed here. This is the nicest guys I've met, you know, so I can't tell you how happy I am. I come out here, I'm a little nervous about, you know, well, it's a long trip, and I've got to drive a long way, and you don't know who you're going to run into or what's going to happen. I mean, you know, we've been talking for a long time, but anyway, it's great to meet you in person. Same here, same here. Yep. So I'm really pleased you made the trip because I don't know when the next time we'll be out that way. No, you should try. Yeah. I got to see that parade. Okay. That's what's going to draw me out there. Yeah. I got a parade that I've got set up in the queue in my garage now to put together. I picked up all those machines last summer, and the parade, a touchdown, and a carnival queen were probably three of the ones that I was most interested in restoring. So I think Nick talked me into doing the parade next, so I'll work on that one. Because I've been looking for that game for a long time, and I just ran it. I've never seen another one. It's a cool machine. Yeah. I think those extra lines depending on how it implemented and I haven dug into it yet I never played one I just brought it home That's cool. And I opened it up and I looked inside and everything looks great. It looks fine. So I'm sure it's going to be restorable. Excellent. Well, very good. And what's your next most favorite regular machine that you got to play? Well, of the regular ones, I like the bounty. I told you I like the bounty. I had a nightclub. I like nightclub, but the bounty's the game that I used to win money on when I was younger a lot. The double up I had, I owned a double up, and I sold that one. I sold the nightclub. I guess that was the one that I had the guy in the barber shop I fixed for. The gay time, I still have the gay time on my basement, so I don't know. we've got some overlap here that's for sure i never played a ticker tape and i gotta tell you i wasn't thrilled with that one i never played a united game at all i never seen a united game running and so nick has a caravan here and uh i don't know it's i guess we decided it's too easy and that's why they they didn't run them too much i have a feeling yeah there's so many ways to win It basically hands you a five and a line. I managed to miss it that last time. I had all the letters lit in the name except for N, which is the final one. And I had gotten the special pocket feature, which gives you eight balls automatically. I still managed to miss it. Oh, well. Yeah, you did get something. So I got to hear the special way it counts the replays, which is a one-tooth thunk, one-tooth thunk, kind of interesting. It's very resonant compared to the ballet. And what did you think of Ava's beautiful turf game? Oh, that's a great game. I'd never played a one-ball game before, and so I got a little tutelage in that, and his daughter Ava was showing me kind of what she did and telling me how she worked on it, and I had a lot of fun playing it, but I don't see how anybody could ever win any money on those things. Which is the point, obviously, behind these games. It's not for fun. At least it wasn't back when they were running. I was going to say, for amusement only. Right on. Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot. You might have to squint and bend down. But, yeah. But yeah, well, so anything that you'd like to see me implement in the multi next? Well, I just would like to see you keep going with what you're doing. I mean, it looks like a chronological order that you're working on. And, you know, there were a few issues we were talking about trying to figure out how to make those graphics a little better with the speed of the processor. and I'm interested to see how you're going to do that. I told you that I'd help you send you some files that I have with some of the graphics. That'll be a big help. I'll clean it up a little bit because I've got some of that stuff on my computer. And I don't know. I just think you're doing the right thing. I mean, it's a lot of work. I can tell you. I mean, I can tell you guys listening that Nick has put an amazing amount of work into this thing. just looking at you know the implementation of the hardware and all the software that uh and the code he's written i mean it's just it's wild i'm glad i got to see it and play it i'm glad as well yeah you know yeah i'm uh i've said it before but i'm always interested in being a player's yeah uh views on it because i want to make sure that it plays like the real thing and if it doesn't, then I need to tweak it. Right. And so, yeah, it's obviously a labor of love. Yes. And I really interested to see how some of these games play that I haven played before Uh So this is kind of my way to do that since I out of space Yeah no more space in here Yeah. You told me that if you get another one, you've got to let one go. Yeah. So I don't know what that would be. If you got another game, which game would it be, and which one would you let go? That's a perennial question. what it usually comes down to is do I want it more than any of these yeah generally no so yeah we'll see but the multi right now is kind of stating that need for new games because I build a new one in and then sure and then you can play it it's pretty fun finding bugs is always challenging though so I appreciate you guys finding bugs too yeah well that's just beta what do they call it beta beta testing exactly yeah so the screen games are pretty new and um you know there's there's some commonality between them and probably some bugs between them so yeah um it's helpful to just to have hands on the game and figure out where the bugs are right like where's my extra ball yeah i got an extra ball that's what i'm talking about you're one of those operators you know disable the extra step or get it it's one or the other it's always disabled always I give you that I wonder if people understand what they're talking about probably I guess if you listen to all 300 and whatever you'll get there right but yeah there's nothing that beats owning one getting in the back of one tinkering figuring out how they function yeah and well that's one thing i wish you know i could have done but it's it's a little cramped in here so you have to pull one of these things out to to look at we decided how the mixers how much movement there is in the mixers to implement that in the code. And then I want to look in the back of that United game, but I don't want to crawl underneath. My back is not good right now. I don't know why. Yeah. It's not fun if there's a problem. So I try to keep things mostly working. And then I don't have to. Yeah. so and it's like I was kind of curious to see the studio you have here too I mean it's kind of I'm looking at the waveforms of the voice it's like a regular radio studio you got here just a lot cheaper a lot cheaper yeah yeah all it takes is microphone and a computer uh huh okay that's it cool so well Phil thank you again for coming all the way out here thank you and for trying my games yeah I've enjoyed it. I've got one more night here in Richmond, so I think I'm going to go try to eat some crab cake. The Broncos play tonight, so I'll watch a football game, and then I drive back and catch a plane in Dulles in Washington and back to Denver tomorrow. Good vacation. Excellent. Okay. Well, thank you, and I'll see you soon, hopefully. I hope so. At some point. I hope so. Thanks, Nick. Thanks, Bill. Okay. Thank you again to my special guest, Phil Bogoma, who made the trip all the way from Colorado over to Richmond just to check out the game. And thank you very much for listening. My name again is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, or you can call me on the bingos line at 724-BINGOS1, 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at Bingo Podcast. you can follow me on Instagram also at bingo podcast or you can listen to us on our website which is for amusement only dot libsyn dot com thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: bed73513-d0d6-4518-bc92-72681f86551b*