# ARCADE REPORT: Penn Skate - Allentown, PA (August 2021)

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2021-08-30  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/arcade-report-penn-skate-allentown-pa-august-2021

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## Analysis

Knapp Arcade visits Penn Skate in Allentown, PA, a hidden gem location with 30+ pinball machines featuring an eclectic mix of vintage and modern games. Owner Chris Budinetz has curated a diverse collection including American Pinball titles, themed games (skate/bike), and classic Stern/Williams/Bally machines. The venue offers free-play for $10 and hosts a regular pinball league, with expansion plans underway to accommodate up to 40 machines.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Penn Skate has one of the most diverse pinball collections at a location venue — _Author visited and catalogued 30+ working machines with eclectic theme/era diversity_
- [HIGH] Penn Skate charges $10 for unlimited free-play on all machines — _Author explicitly states pricing and confirms all games are set to free-play_
- [HIGH] Penn Skate is planning an expansion that could accommodate up to 40 pinball machines total — _Author spoke with owner Chris Budinetz who mentioned expansion in progress_
- [HIGH] Almost all machines at Penn Skate were in working condition (all but one) — _Author explicitly states maintenance quality during visit_
- [HIGH] Penn Skate hosts a regular, well-attended pinball league with competitive play — _Author directly states venue hosts regular league and recommends checking it out_

### Notable Quotes

> "Unless you were specifically looking for it, you might never know that behind this nondescript door to a skate park lies one of the most diverse collections of pinball out there."
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Establishes Penn Skate as a hidden gem location with exceptional curation_

> "No cookie cutter lineup here folks."
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Contrasts Penn Skate's curation against typical location venue standardization_

> "Ten bucks. That's it! All of the games are set to Free Play and you can play as long as you want for only ten bucks. Crazy."
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Highlights exceptional pricing model and value proposition for location play_

> "Could you imagine that? They could have enough space for as many as 40 pins!"
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Indicates significant expansion potential and operator confidence in venue growth_

> "My son and I had an absolute blast there yesterday."
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**
> _Personal endorsement of venue experience quality and appeal_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Penn Skate | organization | Pinball arcade and skate park venue in Allentown, PA owned by Chris Budinetz; features 30+ pinball machines with diverse collection |
| Chris Budinetz | person | Owner of Penn Skate; curator of diverse pinball collection; planning venue expansion |
| Allentown, PA | location | Location of Penn Skate arcade; approximately 1.5 hours from author's home |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Content creator/author documenting arcade venues and pinball collections; maintains Pindigo list and Instagram account |
| Ghostbusters Premium | game | Stern 2016 pinball machine available at Penn Skate |
| Metallica Premium | game | Stern 2013 pinball machine available at Penn Skate |
| Houdini: Master of Mystery | game | American Pinball 2017 title available at Penn Skate |
| Oktoberfest | game | American Pinball 2018 title available at Penn Skate |
| Monster Bash | game | Williams 1998 pinball machine available at Penn Skate |
| Banzai Run | game | Williams 1988 pinball machine; newest game on Penn Skate floor at time of visit |
| Pindigo | product | Pinball tracking/scoring application used by author; author has 341 games on list as of article publication |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Location pinball venues and curation, Pinball machine collections and variety
- **Secondary:** Arcade venue economics and pricing models, Pinball league play and competitive community
- **Mentioned:** American Pinball manufacturer product availability

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Author expresses enthusiasm and approval throughout; uses superlatives ('hidden gem,' 'awesome,' 'eclectic,' 'cool'); positive experience with family and venue quality; only minor criticism is implied about mediocre personal scores (self-deprecating humor)

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Expansion from ~30 to potentially 40 machines indicates strong location performance and operator confidence in growth trajectory (confidence: high) — Chris Budinetz confirmed expansion in progress; author's enthusiasm about growth potential suggests operator optimism
- **[community_signal]** Allentown, PA established as location with strong pinball infrastructure (Penn Skate hosting regular league, diverse machine availability, operator investment in expansion) (confidence: high) — Penn Skate hosts well-attended pinball league; owner investing in expansion; 30+ machine collection maintained in working order
- **[market_signal]** Location venue pricing model ($10 unlimited free-play) represents exceptional value relative to typical quarter-per-play models; indicates operator confidence in volume/throughput and margin model (confidence: high) — Author explicitly notes $10 pricing is 'Crazy' and unusual; contrasts with implied standard pricing elsewhere

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## Transcript

My wife and oldest son had plans on Saturday, so once again my youngest and I found ourselves with some free time on our hands. What better way to spend it than hitting up an arcade that we haven’t been to in a while? So we hopped in the car and made the hour and a half trek to one of the biggest hidden gems in location pinball…Allentown’s Penn Skate.

Unless you were specifically looking for it, you might never know that behind this nondescript door to a skate park lies one of the most diverse collections of pinball out there. Owner Chris Budinetz has put together an absolutely awesome, eclectic collection of games. No cookie cutter lineup here folks. From the newest game on the floor, Banzai Run, to every skate and bike-themed 🛹 🚴 game imaginable to American Pinball and on and on. Check out this lineup:

Banzai Run (Williams, 1988)

BMX (Bally, 1982)

Bad Cats (Williams, 1989)

Cybernaut (Bally, 1985)

Dirty Harry (Williams, 1995)

Earthshaker (Williams, 1989)

Elvira and the Party Monsters (Bally, 1989)

Elvis (Stern, 2004)

F-14 Tomcat (Williams, 1987)

Ghostbusters (Premium) (Stern, 2016)

High Speed (Williams, 1986)

Hook (Data East, 1992)

Houdini: Master of Mystery (American, 2017)

Junk Yard (Williams, 1996)

Last Action Hero (Data East, 1993)

Metallica (Premium) (Stern, 2013)

Monster Bash (Williams, 1998)

Motordome (Bally, 1986)

Mousin' Around! (Bally, 1989)

Oktoberfest (American, 2018)

Pirates of the Caribbean (Stern, 2006)

Pool Sharks (Bally, 1990)

Radical! (Bally, 1990)

Rollergames (Williams, 1990)

Skateball (Bally, 1980)

The Sopranos (Stern, 2005)

Special Force (Bally, 1986)

Spy Hunter (Bally, 1984)

Transporter the Rescue (Bally, 1989)

So many new games to add to my Pindigo list (which stands at 341 now). Such variety. All of the aforementioned games were working but one. Impressive. So, what did we play? My son and I had to start off on Transporter the Rescue. That’s one that I’ve been interested in playing for years but have never come across. And it didn’t disappoint. What a unique layout. From there we moved on to Stern Electronics Magic and Bally Radical! We played a TON of pinball in the several hours that we were there and we didn’t even come close to playing all of the pins. Not only that, but in speaking with Chris I learned that Penn Skate is in the midst of constructing an expansion to its pinball room. Could you imagine that? They could have enough space for as many as 40 pins!

Ok so the collection is on point, but how much does it cost to play? Ready for this? Ten bucks. That’s it! All of the games are set to Free Play and you can play as long as you want for only ten bucks. Crazy.

Even the vibe of Penn Skate is cool. The shop that you walk through to get to the pins contains all sorts of bikes and skateboards. The skate park is full of ramps, jumps and neat graffiti art.

Penn Skate hosts a regular pinball league that is well attended. If competitive pinball is your thing, you should definitely check it out. My son and I had an absolute blast there yesterday. With the expansion in the queue and a large collection beyond what’s on the floor to draw from, I can’t wait to go back in a few months so that I can put up even more mediocre scores for new games on Pindigo 🙂

If you’re looking for more pictures and write ups of cool arcades, make sure to check out my archives on the new KnappArcade.org website. I also share daily pictures of rare games on the Knapp Arcade Instagram account. Thanks a bunch for reading!

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: def59ca3-6f81-44a0-a554-7831cd81918c*