# Episode 290 - Nantucket Nickel's Second Effort

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-12-26  
**Duration:** 9m 20s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-290-nantucket-nickels-second-effort

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## Analysis

This is a humorous fictional episode of a pinball history podcast that spins an entirely fabricated tale about "Nantucket Nickel," a fictional early pinball manufacturer, and their second game "Land of Plenty." The host (Fake Nick Baldridge) narrates an absurdist story about founder Eustachius Cobblebottom's second machine featuring 15 flippers (including a proprietary "waggleflip" design) and exceptional artwork by artist Andy Thompson. The episode is pure creative fiction with no factual pinball industry content.

### Key Claims

- [LOW] Nantucket Nickel was an early East Coast pinball manufacturer founded by Eustachius Cobblebottom — _Host (Fake Nick Baldridge) - fictional narrative framing_
- [LOW] Land of Plenty was Nantucket Nickel's second production title, produced two years before Gottlieb Spot Bowler — _Host - fictional narrative, explicitly presented as historical fiction_
- [LOW] Land of Plenty featured 15 flippers including a proprietary 'waggleflip' center flipper design — _Host - fictional machine specifications_
- [LOW] Andy Thompson was Nantucket Nickel's exclusive artist who created an 18-color silkscreen integrated art package — _Host - fictional artist and technical details_

### Notable Quotes

> "I would sooner sell his real estate holdings on the mainland of Massachusetts, the original source of his fortune, before he would give up the only provider of his patented high grade cobblewood"
> — **Eustachius Cobblebottom (fictional character, narrated by Fake Nick Baldridge)**, ~3:30
> _Establishes the fictional founder's commitment to quality materials_

> "Land of Plenty was an aesthetic masterpiece an absolute joy to behold but as one might expect from a 15 flipper game design an abomination to play"
> — **Fake Nick Baldridge (host)**, ~9:45
> _Core comedic thesis: beautiful but unplayable machine_

> "sooner sell his real estate holdings on the mainland of Massachusetts"
> — **Eustachius Cobblebottom (fictional)**, ~4:00
> _Character-building detail about fictional founder's values_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Fake Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, creator of this fictional narrative |
| Eustachius Cobblebottom | person | Fictional founder, principal engineer, CFO, and lead designer of fictional Nantucket Nickel pinball company |
| Andy Thompson | person | Fictional exclusive artist for Nantucket Nickel, responsible for artwork on Land of Plenty |
| Nantucket Nickel | company | Fictional early pinball manufacturer based on island, owned by Cobblebottom, produced Terminal Velocity and Land of Plenty |
| Land of Plenty | game | Fictional second production title from Nantucket Nickel, featuring 15 flippers and integrated artwork |
| Terminal Velocity | game | Fictional first production title from Nantucket Nickel (covered in previous episode) |
| Gottlieb | company | Historical pinball manufacturer referenced as competitor to fictional Nantucket Nickel |
| Spot Bowler | game | Historical Gottlieb pinball game referenced as having traditional flipper arrangement |
| Wayne Nyhan | person | Historical figure (likely Wayne Ney or variant), attributed as designer of Gottlieb Spot Bowler |
| For Amusement Only | organization | Pinball podcast focused on EM and bingo machines |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Fictional pinball history narrative, Early flipper design innovation, Pinball cabinet artwork and silkscreen printing
- **Secondary:** Playfield design and balance, Manufacturing operations and quality control
- **Mentioned:** Historical pinball manufacturers (Gottlieb)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Host presents the fictional narrative with affectionate humor and creative storytelling. The tone is lighthearted and celebratory of the fictional machine's aesthetic beauty, with gentle mockery of its unplayability. The podcast maintains a warm, community-oriented closing.

### Signals

- **[design_philosophy]** The fictional Cobblebottom's design philosophy prioritizes visual integration and material quality ('cobblewood') over playability, leading to overfeaturization (15 flippers) as a response to competitive pressure (confidence: high) — Quote: 'Cobblebottom went with a more is more approach' and multiple references to his commitment to quality materials despite commercial pressure
- **[design_innovation]** The 'waggleflip' is presented as Nantucket Nickel's proprietary center flipper innovation—a vertically-oriented flipper that 'waves about uncontrollably' when flipper buttons are activated (confidence: high) — Detailed mechanical description of waggleflip design and patenting by company
- **[content_signal]** Host uses historical fiction/storytelling format to discuss early pinball design evolution, blending real historical references (Gottlieb, Wayne Nyhan) with entirely fictional manufacturer and machines (confidence: high) — Entire episode structure presents fictional account as humorous alternative history
- **[product_concern]** The fictional Land of Plenty exemplifies a design failure where exceptional visual integration and artwork quality could not overcome severe playability issues caused by overfeaturization (15 flippers) (confidence: high) — Host: 'Land of Plenty was an aesthetic masterpiece an absolute joy to behold but as one might expect from a 15 flipper game design an abomination to play'

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## Transcript

JJP Tri Simply fai refunding for some January Well it was selfida but for fisht jeggg dhxknad, thank you pingball Photo gesture Go salutations friendly listener as I produce this wax drum recording later to be converted to the pesky digitized files most modern folk prefer by my eldest-offspring Ava we are smack-dab the middle of the holiday season so first allow me to wish you all a merry day end a happy new pause I'd like to start by talking about traditions. Here in the Fake Baldridge household on Christmas Day, presents are only awarded for successful bingo play. In mere moments, when my young sprouts and wife awaken on this Christmas morn, we'll all shuffle into the bingo parlor or as Fake Miss Baldridge calls it, the garage, where stocking stuffers can be claimed for four-in-line wins and traditional presents may be redeemed for achieving a five in line hit. After a designated time period, all unclaimed presents become the property of Bingos for Tots, a charitable organization formed by an unnamed philanthropist in the Greater Richmond area, which aims to provide children in need with pre-wrapped goodies and unexpected pauses. When last we spoke, we covered the origins of East Coast First Entrepreneur Eustacious Cobblebottoms upstart pinball manufacturing company Nantucket Nickel and their first production title Terminal Velocity Today I like to outline the second machine released from Nantucket Nickel Following the early production halt on their first title company founder and self principal engineer CFO man about town and lead designer Eustachius Cobblebottom was in a pinch He was under tremendous pressure from investors to produce a hit for their next title and knew that even his own fortune wasn't enough to keep the struggling company afloat through many more missteps. The Nantucket Nickel Board of Trustees were urging Cobblebottom to liquidate his island milling company he established to supply his own brand of high-grade plywood for the cabinets and playfields on all Nantucket Nickel pinball titles. Insistent on the highest level of quality for all aspects of his games, Cobblebottom dismissed the idea completely and replied that he would, quote, sooner sell his real estate holdings on the mainland of Massachusetts, the original source of his fortune, before he would give up the only provider of his patented high grade cobblewood. With Eustachius Cobblebottom still the primary stakeholder in Nantucket Nickel, his vote could outweigh all other committee members combined, leaving the board in a state of stunned pause. For his second attempt, he looked to his greatest competitor for inspiration. Cobblebottom went with a more is more approach and figured if the Gottlieb fairytale titles proved that six flippers were good, more must be better. Not one to be easily outdone, he engineered his next title with fifteen flippers, including one in the center of the two lower flippers, a feature Nantucket Nickel went so far as to patent, calling it their proprietary waggleflip design. The waggleflip was a vertically-oriented flipper disguised as a lane guide placed inconspicuously above the drain, However, when either right or left flipper button was activated, it would wave about uncontrollably for a moment before coming to rest, only to repeat the flailing wiper motion each time the flipper button was struck. The remaining fourteen flippers were scattered about the playfield from top to bottom, many of which were scarcely out of striking distance of other flippers or shot paths. Cobblebottom was certain the poor reception of his first title was due to the public's unwillingness to accept the edgy name he bestowed upon it. So for his second effort he took a cue from the kinder gentler cultural attitude of the late 40s and named his second production effort Land of Plenty In later years Cobblebottom would cite Land of Plenty as having the first traditionally flipper arrangement as it was produced two years before Gottlieb spot bowler Wayne Nyhan effort that historians customarily point to as the origin of the traditional flipper orientation However, when reporters would question Cobblebottom about traditional flipper placements lacking a waggle flip in the middle of the two traditionally positioned flippers, his response was frequently a stern pause. Nantucket Nickel's exclusive artist, Andy Thompson, once again knocked the art package out of the proverbial park, deftly weaving the thematic imagery in and out of the bevy of flippers littering the playfield. Thompson even went so far as to allow the artwork from Land of Plenty to spill out over the playfield and seemingly ooze onto the cabinet and backglass utilizing Nantucket Nickel's unique 18-color silkscreen hub to its full potential, creating a truly integrated art package with a dozen and a half screen-printed colors on both sides of the cabinet wood, playfield rails, and backbox. Despite being produced in completely separate processes, the player occasionally had difficulty discerning where playfield or plastics stopped and where the cabinet or backglass began. Thompson was a stickler for color matching across all printing substrates, be it plywood for the cabinet, the plexiglass of the plastics, or even the backglass itself, and because all printing was produced in-house at the Nantucket Nickel Factory, mere steps away from Thompson's studio and residence, Andy's meticulous eye for detail could oversee such artistic integration. When the production machine hit the streets with its truly, fully integrated art package, it was enough to make a passerby want to stop and pause. At least, that's what Cobblebottom was banking on. Thankfully, his bet on Thompson paid off. Land of Plenty was an aesthetic masterpiece an absolute joy to behold but as one might expect from a 15 flipper game design an abomination to play Production on Land of Plenty began two short months after the production halt on Terminal Velocity Under Cobblebottom vigilant eye the factory was retooled and ready for his second title production in relatively short order the dismal reviews of Nantucket Nickel first title orders for Land of Plenty were modest to start Artistic mastery, interest among players began to peak. Orders increased in subsequent weeks, but as players got their hands on Land of Plenty, the return plays began to diminish, money was being fed into competitors' coin chutes once again, and orders for Land of Plenty tapered significantly. Enough to wrap production on the title in two and a half months time. A longer run than Terminal Velocity to be sure, but still only a blip on the radar of an industry-wide production numbers of the time leading Nantucket Nickel's figurehead to pensate before moving forward with his third production title via a lengthy pause. As for the third Nantucket Nickel title, well, that will have to wait for another episode. That's all for this time around. Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas. My name again is FakeNickBaldridge. You can reach me any time of the year at foramusementonly podcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's 724 bingos 1 that's 724 stodgy. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Cast, via RSS, on Facebook or on Twitter at bingopodcast. You can follow us on InstaStereoscope at bingopodcast, find me on Pinside at bingopodcast, bet on my Greyhound bingopodcast to win it big or you can listen to me on my website foramusementonly dot ly dot Libsyn dot com. Until next time, support your local malt shop.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: dfcfaeef-a175-4996-80a4-4781f883fb6b*