# ARCADE REPORT: Roanoke Pinball Museum - Roanoke, VA (July 2021) **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2021-08-21 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/arcade-report-roanoke-pinball-museum-roanoke-va-july-2021 --- ## Analysis A visit report to the Roanoke Pinball Museum in Roanoke, VA, documenting the venue's collection, admission pricing, and location details. The museum features a diverse range of machines from electromechanical through modern DMD era, with particular highlights including rare titles and well-maintained equipment. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Roanoke Pinball Museum is located in Market Square building alongside other paid attractions — _Direct observation during museum visit_ - [HIGH] Museum admission is $11 per person, combo ticket with Starcade is $18 — _Stated pricing from visit experience_ - [MEDIUM] Museum contains more electromechanical machines than typically found at arcades — _Comparative observation by visitor; subjective assessment_ - [HIGH] All enabled games were set to free play — _Direct observation during visit_ - [MEDIUM] A significant number of pinball machines at the museum were turned off, likely awaiting repair — _Visitor observation; specific number not provided_ ### Notable Quotes > "The museum contains a great variety of machines. It has more electromechanical aka EM machines than one would normally see at an arcade, which is a really fun change of pace." > — **Knapp Arcade (author)** > _Describes the museum's distinctive collection mix and appeal_ > "One of our personal favorites was the amazing and uncommon Banzai Run with its vertical playfield in the head. So cool." > — **Knapp Arcade (author)** > _Highlights rare/unusual machine that resonated with visitors_ > "All of the games that were turned on were in fantastic working order, though I was a little surprised by the number of pins that were turned off likely awaiting repair." > — **Knapp Arcade (author)** > _Notes operational quality contrast with maintenance concerns_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Roanoke Pinball Museum | organization | Pinball arcade venue in Roanoke, VA featuring diverse collection of EM and solid state machines | | Market Square | organization | Building complex in Roanoke housing Roanoke Pinball Museum and other paid attractions | | Starcade | organization | Arcade venue located in Market Square building; available as combo ticket with Pinball Museum | | Knapp Arcade | person | Content creator documenting arcade visits and road trip; author of this venue report | | James Madison University | organization | Location visited during road trip where some pinball machines were found | | Virginia Tech | organization | Destination school on road trip itinerary | | The Addams Family | game | Early DMD era pinball machine at museum | | Creature from the Black Lagoon | game | Early DMD era pinball machine at museum | | Lord of the Rings | game | Modern Stern pinball machine at museum with Color DMD | | Star Trek | game | Modern Stern pinball machine at museum, described as gorgeous | | Banzai Run | game | Uncommon Williams machine with vertical playfield in head; visitor favorite | | Paragon | game | Less common solid state pinball machine at museum; visitor stated they love it | | Bally Medusa | game | Solid state pinball machine at museum noted for amazing art | | Ringer | game | Williams horseshoe tossing game at museum that people go wild for | | Doodle Bug | game | EM pinball machine at museum described as neat | ### Topics - **Primary:** Venue visit and review, Pinball machine collection diversity - **Secondary:** Arcade admission pricing, Electromechanical pinball machines, Machine maintenance and operational status ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Author expresses enthusiasm for the venue, collection diversity, and specific machines. Some concern noted about number of machines needing repair, but overall tone is favorable and recommends visiting. ### Signals - **[event_signal]** Roanoke Pinball Museum operates as a paid venue with free-play machines and diverse collection spanning EM to modern DMD era (confidence: high) — Museum admission $11/person, all enabled games on free play, diverse machine collection documented --- ## Transcript The next stop of the college road trip lead us to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. I did manage to find a few pins there that I can talk about later, but nothing major. So on the way to the next school, Virginia Tech, we stopped off at the renowned Roanoke Pinball Museum, which resides in the city with the same name. The museum is located in a really cool building called Market Square, which contains several other paid attractions. To go to the pinball museum, you buy a ticket(s) in a main lobby that houses all sorts of amazing fish tanks. We’re huge fans of aquariums so we got a kick out of that. With your paid ticket, you walk up a set of stairs to the pinball entrance. The museum contains a great variety of machines. It has more electromechanical aka EM machines than one would normally see at an arcade, which is a really fun change of pace. There’s also a number of less common solid state pins, such as Paragon (which I love) and Bally Medusa, with its amazing art. Next up were heavy hitters from the early DMD era, such as The Addams Family and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Finally a number of modern Sterns, including a beautiful Lord of the Rings with a Color DMD and a gorgeous Star Trek. One of our personal favorites was the amazing and uncommon Banzai Run with its vertical playfield in the head. So cool. There was two other Williams games at the museum that people go wild for, the horseshoe tossing game Ringer and the neat EM pin Doodle Bug. All of the games that were turned on were in fantastic working order, though I was a little surprised by the number of pins that were turned off likely awaiting repair. All of the games were set to free play. Admission to the museum was $11/person. We actually bought a combo ticket to the Pinball Museum and a place that I had never heard of but wanted to check out called Starcade that resides in the same building for $18. The city of Roanoke had a number of great restaurants that you can hit on your visit to make a fun day of it 🎶 “In my mind I'm going to Carolina” 🎶 for the next leg of our trip. Stay tuned and thanks for reading. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: e5cae446-c618-4955-8ccc-6a28677e966d*