# Episode 331: Stephanie Lesser – 101 Pinball Puzzles author

**Source:** Pinball Profile  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-01-20  
**Duration:** 8m 59s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballprofile.com/episode-331-stephanie-lesser-101-pinball-puzzles-author/

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## Analysis

Pinball Profile Episode 331 features Stephanie Lesser, author of '101 Pinball Puzzles,' discussing her new book that combines her professional puzzle-construction expertise with her passion for pinball. Lesser, a crossword puzzle contributor to major publications (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times), created a puzzle book featuring cryptograms based on pinball machine titles, word searches with player and designer names, mazes, and Easter egg matchups designed to educate readers about the pinball community.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] 101 Pinball Puzzles contains puzzles ranging from Monday/Tuesday difficulty (fairly easy) to more challenging cryptograms based on pinball machine titles and call-out phrases — _Lesser directly describes puzzle difficulty levels and mentions cryptograms use 'long pinball machine titles and call-out phrases' with hints provided_
- [HIGH] The book features approximately a couple of hundred people and locations between players, designers, artists, and programmers featured in word searches and themed puzzles — _Lesser states: 'Yeah, there's probably a couple of hundred between people and locations, probably'_
- [HIGH] Lesser's crosswords have been published in the New York Times, LA Times, and Wall Street Journal — _Host directly states: 'Your crosswords have been published in the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Wall Street Journal'_
- [HIGH] Newspaper crossword puzzles increase in difficulty from Monday (easiest) through Friday, with Sunday typically being the largest and most difficult puzzle — _Lesser explains: 'Monday is always the easiest... it gets harder Monday through Friday... Sunday is always the hardest'_
- [HIGH] Lesser regularly competes in pinball tournaments in Florida, including at the Pinball Asylum, Free Play, Delray Silver Ball Museum, and Pinball Dudes in Jupiter — _Lesser confirms tournament participation: 'I do play a lot at the Pinball Asylum... I also play at the Delray Silver Ball Museum, the Pinball Dudes in Jupiter'_

### Notable Quotes

> "It just takes you away from everything and into the game mode. And also the community, the people in pinball, super, super good people."
> — **Stephanie Lesser**, ~3:30
> _Explains Lesser's core motivation for combining pinball and puzzles: therapeutic gameplay and community appreciation_

> "The Asylum is just one of my favorite places to play. The people are fabulous. The games are wonderful. There are so many different games from different eras. And everything's spread out. I actually get lost when I play."
> — **Stephanie Lesser**, ~5:00
> _Describes the Pinball Asylum as a family-like community hub with diverse game collection_

> "I put a lot of names in for the word searches... I did a lot of titles because they're fun. And I also did a lot of people because it's good to know who's who in pinball... I incorporated those into the word searches, too. So you can kind of learn a little bit about pinball while you're doing the puzzles."
> — **Stephanie Lesser**, ~11:30
> _Explains educational intent: the book serves as both entertainment and community knowledge resource_

> "You do not have to be a pinball wizard to get through this book. In fact... you don't need to know any pinball to do about half of the activities in the book."
> — **Stephanie Lesser**, ~10:15
> _Establishes accessibility: puzzles appeal to both pinball enthusiasts and general puzzle enthusiasts_

> "I used long pinball machine titles and call-out phrases for my cryptogram. So I did provide you with the first letter. I already decoded the first and last letter of each cryptogram, and then I also have two additional sets of hints."
> — **Stephanie Lesser**, ~9:00
> _Details cryptogram design: themed with pinball content but includes assistance for solvers_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stephanie Lesser | person | Pinball player, puzzle author, crossword puzzle contributor to major publications, competitive tournament player in Florida |
| 101 Pinball Puzzles | product | Newly published puzzle book combining crosswords, word searches, cryptograms, mazes, and Easter egg matchups with pinball themes; available on Amazon |
| Stephen Bowden | person | Guest host for Pinball Profile Episode 331, founder/owner of American Pinball, runs funwithbonus.com |
| American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Stephen Bowden is associated with the company |
| Pinball Asylum | organization | Florida-based pinball venue hosting IFPA 17 Championships in May; run by Norma Jennings; features diverse game collection across eras |
| Pinball Profile | media | Long-running pinball interview podcast series hosted by Jeff Teolis; features designers, players, and industry figures |
| Free Play Florida | event | Pinball tournament/expo event in Florida (November edition mentioned); Lesser participated |
| Delray Silver Ball Museum | organization | Florida-based pinball arcade venue where Lesser plays |
| Pinball Dudes | organization | Pinball arcade in Jupiter, Florida where Lesser plays |
| New York Times | company | Major publication where Lesser's crossword puzzles have been published |
| LA Times | company | Major publication where Lesser's crossword puzzles have been published |
| Wall Street Journal | company | Major publication where Lesser's crossword puzzles have been published |
| IFPA 17 Championships | event | Competitive pinball championship event scheduled for May at Pinball Asylum |
| Norma Jennings | person | Runs events at Pinball Asylum in Florida |
| Jeff Teolis | person | Host and founder of Pinball Profile podcast |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball community and culture, Puzzle design and construction, Crossword puzzle publication
- **Secondary:** Florida pinball venues and tournament scene, Game design difficulty progression, Pinball player profiles and recognition
- **Mentioned:** Game accessibility for casual and experienced players

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Episode is celebratory and promotional in tone. Lesser expresses genuine love for pinball community and gratitude for the opportunity. Host enthusiastically endorses the book, has purchased three copies. No criticism or controversy present. Warm, friendly conversation focused on Lesser's accomplishments and community contributions.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Stephanie Lesser's book '101 Pinball Puzzles' represents formal community appreciation and educational effort, featuring hundreds of pinball players, designers, artists, and locations to educate readers about the pinball scene (confidence: high) — Lesser states book includes 'a couple of hundred between people and locations' and explains intent: 'it's good to know who's who in pinball, kind of. Nice to know the names of the top players and the top designers and artists, programmers'
- **[community_signal]** Host Stephen Bowden's purchase of three copies (one to complete, one to keep as collectible, one to give away) demonstrates community member willingness to support pinball-related educational products (confidence: high) — Bowden states: 'I've purchased three copies of this book already' and explains reasons: 'one to complete the puzzles, one to keep for myself as like a keepsake collectible... another to give away'

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## Transcript

 it's time for another pinball profile i'm your guest host Steven Bowden from american pinball and funwithbonus.com you can find everything on pinballprofile.com past episodes, subscriptions, and more. We're on Twitter and Instagram, at Pinball Profile. Check out the Facebook group, and you can email pinballprofile at gmail.com. I'm thinking of a six-letter word for something that provides hours of fun, makes you use your brain, and it's just a great way to relax. It starts with P. The answer is... Puzzle. How did you do? Did you get that one right? Well, our guest today is not only a pinball player, but also someone who regularly creates all kinds of puzzles in the form of crosswords, word searches, mazes, and more. In fact, she has a new book dedicated to pinball-related puzzles. Say hello to Stephanie Lesser from Florida. Hi, Stephanie. How are you? Hi, Steve. I'm great. Thank you. How are you doing? I'm doing well. I'm glad that you could join us for this episode of Pinball Profile. Now, this book called 101 Pinball Puzzles is perfect for pinball enthusiasts. To make a book so specific, you must love pinball. What is it about pinball that gives you so much joy and happiness? Wow, there are quite a few things. I do love pinball, and I do love word games and word puzzles. So I decided to combine them and pay tribute to all the things I love about pinball, which is, first of all, the game therapy aspect of it. It just takes you away from everything and into the game mode. And also the community, the people in pinball, super, super good people. And I feel like when I started competing and meeting a lot of other people that play pinball I wanted to just do something to help promote the sport and thank the community I tell you you really preaching to the choir with that And now speaking of tournaments you frequent a lot of tournaments in Florida You were at Free Play in November. Yes. And you play a lot at the Pinball Asylum where Norma Jennings runs some events there. So tell us about the home of the IFPA 17 this May, the Pinball Asylum. Oh, wow. The Asylum is an amazing place to play. And there are a lot of great places in Florida. I also play at the Delray Silver Ball Museum, the Pinball Dudes in Jupiter. And the Asylum is just one of my favorite places to play. The people are fabulous. The games are wonderful. There are so many different games from different eras. And everything's spread out. I actually get lost when I play. walk around in there. Sometimes I forget where I left my bag or my drink, but it's okay because we're all friends there. It's like a family. Well, I'll tell you, I am certainly looking forward to visiting the Pinball Asylum later this year for the IFPA Championships. So your passion for pinball made you combine your love for your hobby with another skill of yours, constructing crosswords. Your new book, 101 Pinball Puzzles, is available now, and I really want to congratulate you on that. Thank you so much. And thank you for bringing it to my attention as well. Your crosswords have been published in the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Wall Street Journal. Now, these are some serious, potentially intimidating publications in which we can find your puzzles. How difficult are these puzzles? Well, the puzzles in the book are not that difficult. There may be a Monday or Tuesday level. There might be one or two that are harder than that. So you're thinking I might have a chance. I'm sure you'll have a chance. I'm sure. And, you know, I think it's a fun way to, well, we'll see when you get it. You'll have to let me know how you do at it. Yes, I'm looking forward to getting mine. Yes, I'm looking forward to see if I can take them down. Yeah. Even professionally, I'm not up to the end of the week. I only been in the early weekdays of the newspapers too And in the newspapers the puzzles get harder as the week goes on So a Monday Tuesday puzzle is a fairly easy puzzle It's harder than what you might see in a local newspaper, but it's not impossible. I'm sure you'll do them. Now, that's something I just learned today, that the difficulty of the puzzles increase through the week. So say the Friday puzzle will be more difficult than Monday? Yes. Saturday is an exception, but Sunday is always the hardest. Monday is always the easiest. And so it gets harder Monday through Friday. And I'm not so sure it's always harder on a Saturday for some reason. But Sunday is always a bigger, usually a larger and more difficult puzzle than the rest of the week. Well, this book has a variety of puzzles. For instance, if word searches are like checkers and crosswords are more like chess, What do we call those cryptograms? What level would that be? The cryptograms, they're a little tough, but cryptograms typically work with long or well-known phrases, and that's not what I did. I used long pinball machine titles and call-out phrases for my cryptogram. So I did provide you with the first letter. I already decoded the first and last letter of each cryptogram. and then I also have two additional sets of hints. So you can look up in the back of the book, the second letter or the second to last letter. And between those four hints, I think you'll be able to do most of them. Well, I like how you're not giving it totally away anywhere. You still got to do the work. That's good. Now you mentioned the call-outs puzzles, which I really appreciate because I love pinball call-outs. So I'm going to expect to do well in that, I hope. I hope on that one. And then you have manufacturer matchups, which I am intimately involved with one. So that'll help there. And you even have Easter egg matchups. You have to love pinball to solve these, let alone create them, right? I think so. I mean, the searches and mazes, of course, can give you a break. If you don't need to know any pinball to do about half of the activities in the book. Right. Now that key Yes I want everyone to hear that is that you do not have to be a pinball wizard to get through this book No in fact one of the fun things is that one reason I put a lot of names in for the word searches I did a lot of titles because they're fun. And I also did a lot of people because it's good to know who's who in pinball, kind of. Nice to know the names of the top players and the top designers and artists, programmers. So I incorporated those into the word searches, too. so you can kind of learn a little bit about pinball while you're doing the puzzles. As you have highlighted, so many pinball players, machines, and events in your book. Have you ever figured out how many players and machines are featured? I imagine it's going to be like hundreds, right? Yeah, there's probably a couple of hundred between people and locations, probably. So people who get this book are really going to have a nice education on the pinball scene, which I really like. So thank you very much for that. Thank you. Where can people get your book, 101 Fun-Centric Pinball Puzzles? It's available on Amazon. Love it. Now, full disclosure, I've purchased three copies of this book already. I'm really looking forward to getting them. Now, why three? Well, I got one to complete the puzzles to do them, one to keep for myself as like a keepsake collectible, right? And another to give away to someone else. That's so nice. Now, I'm not saying that's what you, the listener, should do, but it would be really cool if you did. OK, thanks. Thanks so much, Stephanie, for coming on the show. I wish you nothing but success. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, Steve. Thank you, Jeff. And until next time, this has been your pinball profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com plus Twitter and Instagram at pinball profile. You can email pinballprofile at gmail.com and check us out on Facebook. I'm Steven Bowden from American Pinball and funlessbonus.com. And remember, as long as you have control of the ball, you have a chance to win. See you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: c0345f51-250e-480b-af1b-d8be2ca97f5e*