# Episode 1238: "The Shocking Next Move From Barrels of Fun...Can They Pull It Off?"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2026-07-16  
**Duration:** 24m 8s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/kanedapinball/posts/episode-1238-of-164016965

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## Analysis

Kaneda returns from Italy to discuss Barrels of Fun's next game, which he claims is a music-themed pinball machine by a musical act with broad appeal and no prior pinball adaptation, dismissing earlier movie/TV/anime/comic guesses. He also critiques recent major releases (Sonic, Pokemon, Transformers) for lacking depth in code and 'wow moments' despite hardware quality, expresses skepticism about Dungeon Crawler Carl launch timing, and reflects on market saturation and the challenges of music pin narratives.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Barrels of Fun's next game is a music pin, not a movie, TV show, anime, or comic book — _Kaneda speaking, based on 'hearing murmurs' from community sources and Jason Knapp's hints_
- [MEDIUM] The musical act in question has never had a pinball machine before and appeals to primary pinball buying demographic — _Kaneda's reasoning about David Van Ness's strategic choice_
- [HIGH] Pokemon has received no meaningful code updates six months post-launch despite Stern having access to IP assets — _Kaneda speaking from observation of community feedback and game experience_
- [HIGH] Sonic the Hedgehog's code needs significant work to match its hardware quality — _Kaneda after 1.5 weeks of play and observation of community streams_
- [HIGH] Transformers is 'dead on arrival' because Optimus Prime does not transform as a mechanic — _Kaneda's critique of mechanical design choice_
- [MEDIUM] Multimorphic has sold far fewer games in a decade than Stern sells in days — _Kaneda's comparison of sales volumes, stated as claim but based on observation_
- [MEDIUM] Dune by Barrels of Fun sold only ~700 units despite being based on a $2B movie — _Kaneda speaking about production history_
- [HIGH] Winchester Mystery House sold out in two days — _Kaneda from direct knowledge of Barrels of Fun release_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is a period in pinball in which we have the most pinball companies in the history of pinball making pinball machines...we're almost oversaturated with so many games."
> — **Kaneda**, ~middle of episode
> _Reflects growing industry fragmentation and market saturation concerns_

> "The software needs to catch up with the hardware. There's a lot to like about Sonic in the hardware department, but there needs to be more life sort of coded into this game."
> — **Kaneda**, ~early-middle
> _Core critique of recent major releases lacking code depth_

> "I've given up on Pokemon. I don't have faith because if they've got access to all of those assets and they can't get anything more into the game that's interesting six months after launch...I bought a $13,000 paperweight basically."
> — **Kaneda**, ~middle
> _Stark assessment of Pokemon's failure to deliver on promise despite massive IP investment_

> "You're not just dating this game. You got to want to marry the entire family [with the Multimorphic platform]."
> — **Kaneda**, ~middle
> _Explains core barrier to Multimorphic adoption despite mechanical excellence_

> "It is way more valuable in life to travel and have an unbelievable experience like Brenda and I had in Italy versus just another pinball machine in your lineup that you're barely going to play."
> — **Kaneda**, ~early
> _Reflects broader market sentiment on impulse buying at current premium prices_

> "Will never buy a transformer game in which nothing freaking transforms. I mean, it is maybe the biggest missing of the mark in the history of pinball mechs."
> — **Kaneda**, ~middle
> _Harsh critique of Stern Transformers as a design failure_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast on Patreon; vocal critic and industry commentator with insider connections |
| [name withheld pending review] | person | Founder of Barrels of Fun; strategic decision-maker on upcoming music pin |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; upcoming music pin expected to follow Winchester Mystery House and Dune |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer with Pokemon, Transformers, Sonic, and upcoming James Bond Goldfinger and Fallout titles |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Harry Potter and rumored Van Halen game; known for launch software quality |
| Multimorphic | company | Platform-based manufacturer preparing Dungeon Crawler Carl reveal in 11 days; criticized for poor adoption |
| Pokemon | game | Stern Pinball game (6 months old) criticized for lack of code depth and character customization despite IP access |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | game | Recent Jersey Jack release with unique layout but software deemed to need significant work |
| Transformers | game | Stern Pinball game criticized as 'dead on arrival' due to missing transformation mechanic |
| Dungeon Crawler Carl | game | Multimorphic game unveiling July 27; rumored to have dual-theme modular variant |
| Winchester Mystery House | game | Barrels of Fun game that sold out in two days; financial challenge for manufacturer despite collectability |
| Dune Pinball | game | Barrels of Fun game based on $2B movie; struggled to reach 700 units despite massive IP |
| Harry Potter | game | Jersey Jack game praised as superior to recent releases; sets high bar for gameplay and content |
| Van Halen | game | Rumored upcoming Jersey Jack music pinball game; expected March 2025 or later to give Sonic exclusive window |
| James Bond 007 | game | Confirmed upcoming Stern Pinball game; anniversary edition expected |
| AC/DC | game | Another Stern pinball expected this year; music pin with historical success but subject to oversaturation concerns |
| Fallout | game | Confirmed upcoming Stern Pinball game |
| Jason Knapp | person | Pinball media figure; has hints about Barrels of Fun's next game but deliberately avoids spoilers |
| Kerry Hardy | person | Content creator; preview viewer of Dungeon Crawler Carl; Sonic CE buyer/borrower for streaming |
| Godzilla | game | Stern Pinball game referenced as example of code and atmosphere 'pulling you in' |
| Jaws | game | Stern Pinball game referenced as superior mechanical implementation vs. Transformers |
| Rick and Morty | game | Spooky Pinball game referenced as example of fun code despite poor shooting quality |
| Foo Fighters | game | Music pin praised for having storyline narrative rather than jukebox-only mechanics |
| Tales of the Arabian Nights | game | Game remake mentioned as part of market saturation in recent weeks |

### Signals

- **[rumor_hype]** Community heavily speculating about Barrels of Fun's next game; guesses ranged from SpongeBob to various movies/TV shows before Kaneda's music pin revelation (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'everybody wants to know what's the next game from barrels of fun. And I see everybody's like really excited by the things that they are guessing.'
- **[code_update]** Pokemon game has received no meaningful code updates 6 months post-launch despite community requests for trainers, Pokemon selection, and environment choices (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'this game has been out for six months now...if they've got access to all of those assets and they can't get anything more into the game that's interesting six months after launch, I don't think that just one day the Pokemon company is going to allow Stern to put all this stuff into the game.'
- **[product_concern]** Transformers game lacks core mechanical transformation despite being central to IP; called 'maybe the biggest missing of the mark in the history of pinball mechs' (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I will never buy a transformer game in which nothing freaking transforms...it is maybe the biggest missing of the mark in the history of pinball mechs.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Significant negative sentiment shift on Pokemon after initial hype; Kaneda reports giving up on game and community disappointment visible on Pinside Pokemon club page (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I've given up. That's like the most honest thing I can tell you. I've given up on Pokemon...I bought a $13,000 paperweight basically.'
- **[market_signal]** At $15,000 price points, buyers are increasingly reluctant to purchase immediately; 'wait and see' has become dominant purchasing strategy (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'at these prices, we all know what the new motto is. First and foremost, it's wait and see. I don't know what the urgency would be to buy Sonic right now.'
- **[product_launch]** Sonic the Hedgehog using unlimited edition model for all tiers; no scarcity marketing as distinct from Pokemon LE strategy (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Every edition of the game is unlimited. They are going to make as many as people order for the next year.'
- **[market_signal]** Pinball market experiencing unprecedented saturation with 8+ manufacturers; multiple major releases within weeks (Pokemon, Transformers, Sonic, Tales remake, Dungeon Crawler Carl) (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'we have the most pinball companies in the history of pinball making pinball machines...it's almost like we're oversaturated with so many games...in just like 11 days, July 27th, Multimorphic is going to unveil freaking Dungeon Crawler Carl.'
- **[business_signal]** Stern selling more units in 2-3 days than Multimorphic in entire decade; massive market share disparity between manufacturers (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Stern has sold more games between Monday and Wednesday of this week than Jerry has sold of games in a decade.'
- **[product_concern]** Multimorphic P3 platform requires full system purchase commitment ('marry the entire family'); high barrier to entry despite mechanical excellence (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'You're not just dating this game. You got to want to marry the entire family...the pinball buying community has said they don't want to buy.'
- **[business_signal]** Winchester Mystery House highly collectible but financially problematic for Barrels of Fun; may be breaking even per unit despite strong secondary demand (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Winchester...was a home run from a collectability standpoint, but from a profit standpoint, it's been a nightmare for David. He's probably almost just breaking even on every single Winchester.'
- **[product_concern]** Sonic has strong hardware/layout but software lacks depth and engaging modes; hardware quality not matched by code (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'there's more that's required...The software needs to catch up with the hardware. There's a lot to like about Sonic in the hardware department, but there needs to be more life sort of coded into this game.'
- **[industry_signal]** Music pin category showing signs of fatigue despite historical success (Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N Roses); AC/DC returning exacerbates oversaturation concerns (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I would just worry a little bit that music pins have fatigued people and were oversaturated with them especially with ACDC coming back again.'

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## Transcript

And then, sorry, sorry, I feel it, I know a lot of languages, but I have your own. I'm here for a long time, and you remember one, you remember two. The summer comes always, but without warning. Sera, sera, sera, sera, sera, sera, sera. Ah, buongiorno everybody! Canada's Pinball Podcast. I'm back baby, back from Italia, the motherland, Sicily, Roma, Tuscany. We were there, Brenda and I. Unwinding, eating the best food imaginable. With the people with so much passion, it's incredible. I didn't see a single pinball machine. You couldn't even get a pinball machine into any of the homes in Sicily. It's too small. The people don't have room for a pinball. They've got a room for a pasta. Okay, let's talk about what I've been thinking about. I've been recharging over the last like 12 to 15 days. First, I want to say thank you so much to Iceman44, baby. Doug has increased his membership to $100 a month. Not sure if that was just for one month so we could get some drinks for Brenda in Italia. But Doug, thank you so much for the generous contribution and all of you out there. Thank you so much. Every single month, this is where it's at. And I'm about to tell each and every one of you, this is why you're here, because I'm going to give you some information that is like going to break the lid wide open. On what is the next game from barrels of fun. They've built a company around secrecy. Nobody saw Winchester's mystery house coming. Nobody. And then they dropped it on us and it sold out in two days. And there's a lot of speculation around what's next from barrels. A lot of people dreaming of themes. We're going to talk about that. I'm going to steer everybody in the right direction. It is not SpongeBob. My guess was wrong. I can go back on my guess and I can like fact check myself. But Kaneda has been seeing some things and hearing some things both from them and out there in the community. And I'm about to sort of I don't know, I think this might make some people disappointed. Speaking of disappointed, how do we think Sonic is selling? I've been in the thread. I've been reading the threads. I've been reading people's feedback on the game. I've been seeing the streams. I've had over a week and a half to sort of decompress what it was like playing Sonic the Hedgehog. And I was happy to see Don took his family on a European vacation. They went to Roma. They went to Cairo. He's going to go visit Cengiz in Denmark. Mark, he's doing all this stuff because he didn't buy a $15,000 pinball machine. And you guys know this, and I encourage you guys to do this. It is way more valuable in life to travel and have an unbelievable experience like Brenda and I had in Italy versus just another pinball machine in your lineup that you're barely going to play, that you barely need. Because at these prices, we all know what the new motto is. First and foremost, it's wait and see. I don't know what the urgency would be to buy Sonic right now. Every edition of the game is unlimited. They are going to make as many as people order for the next year. The code is not done. I think very much like Pokemon, they had to get this game to market to coincide with Sonic's anniversary and birthday. So when you play the game, I just don't feel like the wow from the software and the modes in the game right now. I think stuff is coming. But as of today, I think that's the big issue with the game is instead of it feeling like it's teleporting you back to the Sonic you loved when you were a kid. It is a little bit more like we're playing a game that needs to come to life. I feel the same way about Pokemon. These are two games that are humongous IPs. There are two characters that have such soul and spirit and fun attached to them. And I think both games as of today haven't fully waken up, haven't fully come to life. And the spirit and the soul and the moments of wow I don think are present yet in either game I hoping one day that will be the case But as of today, July 16th, I don't think you're going to play Sonic the Hedgehog and have these incredible moments of wow. And I think the layout is unique, but there's more that's required. The people in this pinball space, right? We're all the same. We've experienced games like Godzilla, games like Jaws, games like Winchester's Mystery Houses. Everyone's talking about the code, baby, and how the music and the atmosphere of that game pulls you in. Same with Dune. And so, you know, we've got all these games. Beetlejuice, they pull you in. Evil Dead, more than even Beetlejuice, pulls you in. Heck, Rick and Morty shoots like garbage, but the code is so much fun. And that's what I'm just looking at games like Sonic and Pokemon. And these games are not there yet. The software needs to catch up with the hardware. There's a lot to like about Sonic in the hardware department, but there needs to be more life sort of coded into this game. There's a lot coded into Transformers, but the hardware lets down the software. And at these prices, nobody wants to compromise and nor should you. This is a period in pinball in which we have the most pinball companies in the history of pinball making pinball machines. It's great. We have a plethora of options. I would argue it's almost like we're oversaturated with so many games. Like in just, what is it, like 11 days, July 27th, Multimorphic is going to unveil freaking Dungeon Crawler Carl. And they had some people come see the game. They saw the engineering of the game. And I asked Kerry Hardy because he saw the new Multimorphic game and he already ordered a Sonic CE. I'm not sure I have to ask him if he bought that game or if this is one of those games that Automated is loaning him to do like streams of. But either way, he seemed to talk more enthusiastically about Sonic versus the new Multimorphic. You know how I feel. Jerry's been making this platform for a decade and it's almost like it doesn't even matter what he puts into it mechanically. In fact, I think he's got the best mechanical engineers in all of pinball. He does. And I think these engineers are almost wasting their efforts having to sort of figure out how to reverse engineer all their genius into this platform, which the pinball buying community has said they don't want to buy. And the reason I'm saying that, it's been a decade. Stern has sold more games between Monday and Wednesday of this week than Jerry has sold of games in a decade. So my question is this, if it's Dungeon Crawler Carl, do you really think people are going to open up their wallets and invest in the platform? Everyone will say, hey, it looks awesome. It looks like it's fun. It's like, but do you want to invest and buy into the platform? That's the problem. You're not just dating this game. You got to want to marry the entire family. And then you're stuck with a platform that is basically if you don't leverage and utilize all of the different modular games, then there's no point in investing in the platform. So I think it's going to be a mechanical marvel. And I also think it's going to be another multimorphic release where they just sell like one to 200 people wait forever to get it. And everyone's attention moves on to the next. I feel like I haven't even met anyone who bought Portal. You never even hear anybody talk about Portal. You never hear people talk about Princess Bride. You never hear people talk about the heist or like total resistance or final resistance. You just don't hear about it. These things get unveiled. And speaking about it from a marketing standpoint, what are they thinking unveiling a game now? People just bought Pokemons and Transformers and Sonic There just been too many games landing at the same time Throw in the remake of Tales of the Arabian Nights And it like Jerry really You going to launch a game after like four games just came out within the last like four weeks Why does nobody like get together and say, hey, maybe this isn't the right time. And maybe this is connected to some announcement or something they had to do because of licensing reasons. But I think that's what's going to happen with Multimorphic Dungeon Crawler Carl. And the other rumor is even crazier that this is going to be a dual themed game where they're going to take the modular unit that has probably a lot of intricacies to it. And they're going to have two themes that you can play on this new modular unit. One will be Dungeon Crawler Carl and one will be something else. If I were a betting man, I would say the other theme is going to be some generic original thing that they make using the mechanisms of the game. So I don't think that's enticing to people. I don't think that's enough for people to pull the trigger, but we're going to see it in like 11 days. So at least it's going to be something fun to talk about and look at and analyze. OK, so let's go back. We've got Stern Pinball where thousands of Pokemon owners are completely heartbroken. There is no end in sight. I see people on the Pokemon club page on Pinside suggesting all of these really great ideas that there should be more trainers in the game that you should run into, That you should be able to select your Pokemon that you begin with. That you should be able to start in the environment that you want to start in. There is none of the charm in Pokemon in this game right now. And this game has been out for six months now. And so I am beyond worried. I have given up. That's like the most honest thing I can tell you. I've given up on Pokemon. I don't have faith because if they've got access to all of those assets and they can't get anything more into the game that's interesting six months after launch, I don't think that just one day the Pokemon company is going to allow Stern to put all this stuff into the game. I just don't think it's going to happen. I hope it happens, but I've given up on it. I don't care. I don't turn it on. I don't have fun with this game. I bought a $13,000 paperweight basically because nothing about this game is worth the money. Then we got Transformers, baby. There's a rumor now that there might be a 40th anniversary of the Transformers movie as an anniversary edition of the Stern machine. You can't anniversary edition a game that's basically become a sales flop for Stern because Optimus doesn't transform. It doesn't work that way. We know we're going to get the Goldfinger edition of James Bond. We're going to get another ACDC from Stern this year and we're going to get Fallout. But Transformers is a little dead on arrival. And here's what's going to happen. We've seen how these games happen. People are going to jump on them because they know they're not going to buy it. And people don't want to own a game called Transformers where nothing transforms and they're going to say they had fun. It's a lot of fun playing a pinball machine that you know you don't have to buy because you're not going to buy it. That's how you will approach Transformers. It almost makes you feel even happier knowing that I'm going to enjoy this. I'm going to get excited by what's in it. But my money's safe. I will never buy a transformer game in which nothing freaking transforms. I mean, it is maybe the biggest missing of the mark in the history of pinball mechs. Jaws as a game. It's not called shark that eats the ball. It's just called Jaws. And yeah, he pops up. The jaws are there. His mouth is there. And it's more engaging than just shooting the feet of Optimus Prime. I don't remember where they thought that would be fun. Just bashing Optimus's shins all day long is not transforming. All right So Transformers dead on arrival Sonic sales are not going into the stratosphere I sure it doing OK You know it just the problem with Sonic is two words Harry Potter Harry Potter just delivered so much more for everybody out there that it a hard act to follow I think Harry Potter shoots better. The content in it is way better. The storyline is better. And just the overall fun factor of Harry Potter, I think, just is really hard to overcome. And I do think Sonic, you know, there's so much with the uniqueness of that layout, but I don't know, man, I just wanted more loopty loops, more of the ball jumping through the air, a little bit more speed. I would have taken more of that and less of like so much is just the upper play field. I need to get more time on it. But you know what? I had hours on it. It's really the software that needs to wake up the hardware in Sonic the Hedgehog. And I look forward to seeing what they do. I am a little worried that Jersey Jack, you know, they spend a lot of focus on their launch software. And what you see is normally what you get. So I don't know if this is going to have some humongous second soulful spirited code update that I think the game needs to really pop and deliver those moments of wow. All right. So we've got that. We've got Dungeon Crawler Carl in 11 days. But man, everybody wants to know what's the next game from Barrels of Fun. And I see everybody's like really excited by the things that they are guessing. And Barrows has gone out there and said, at first it was like a theme that everybody knows, but they've sharpened the language. Listen to what they've been saying recently. It's going to be a theme that everybody has a connection to. And I think that's an interesting way to phrase it. What are things that we have a connection to or that everybody has some sort of connection to? Now, there's nothing out there other than, I don't know, the sky is blue and fire is hot. You know, there's nothing like universally out there from a theme perspective that everybody has a connection to. There's things that a lot of people do, but there's also themes that not everybody has a connection to. And so here's the thing. I'm just going to get right to it. I'm not going to tell you exactly what the theme is. I think I'm starting to get a good guess on what I think it is. And I'm hearing some murmurs. I know Jason Knapp is. He said something here. But I'm here to confirm for you something that he's just skating around. And you know what? I feel like Jason knows exactly what it is. And unlike Kaneda, Jason doesn't spoil any company's plans. What he does, and I love his site. I read his site every day. What he does when he has specifics is he dances around it. And I see him here. It's a beautiful like the nap waltz, I'll call it, where I know Jason knows what the next theme is for Barrels of Fun and he doesn't want to spoil it. So he's starting to deliver tidbits of information where it's like hearing murmurs, you know, is how he phrased it. And I'm here to tell you right now that the next game from Barrels of Fun, it is not a movie. So all of the movie themes you've been guessing are not happening on this next game. This is what I am hearing. It is not a movie. It is not a TV show. It is not an anime. It is not a comic book. I am hearing that this game, and this is like nobody's really guessing this, the next game from Barrels of Fun is going to be a music pin. And it is going to be a musical act that, yes, a lot of people have a connection to. It is going to be a musical act that you've been hearing even in culture today. In fact, if you've been watching, I don't know, there's a big soccer tournament going on. I've heard this ban a few times while I've been watching the World Cup. That's all I'm going to say for now. But I'm also here to tell you right now, knowing what I think it is, it doesn't hit me with a take my money now sort of grab. And I think part of that's because I don't want another music pin. Now for barrels of fun to do a music pin next, a very, very interesting gamble in my honest opinion. This company has really hit a home run with Winchester. Now look, the problem is, is like it was a home, From a collectability standpoint, but from a profit standpoint, it's been a nightmare for David. I mean, it really has been. He's probably almost just breaking even on every single Winchester. Dune was not a sales success. It wasn't. They had to like basically threaten to stop making it three times to get to just 700 units when they wanted to make over a thousand. Okay, so the reason why I think David is doing what he's doing next is he knows that this act has millions and millions of fans. He knows that this act has never had a pinball machine before. He also knows that this act hits the primary pinball buying demographic on the bullseye. And so if you him and you doing those numbers and you also you aware that some of the best selling pinball machines of all time have been music pins Metallica ACDC Guns N Roses You know these are some of the games that have been selling five to eight thousand units So he knows if I just need to sell a thousand and I've been making games, you know, with more in them than my competition. Maybe it's time we go to the music well. Now, I don't know, man. I don't know. All I'm going to say is that's what's coming from Barrels of Fun. That is what I am hearing. And I will give more clues as we get closer. But it is going to be very, very interesting if Jersey Jack has Van Halen coming out, that this is going to be what Barrels comes out with. And I'll just say this, Van Halen is most likely not going to come out now until March of next year. I think they going to give Richie a chance to have his game be the only game Jersey Jack releases this year But I just here to say I love you guys I don understand you know the marketing that goes into these companies and these games It always makes me scratch my head a little bit. I think there is like a really interesting thing about this hobby where you can make a pinball machine based on a $2 billion movie like Dune, And you can't even sell 700 units globally. Then you go make an obscure game like Winchester and it sells out in two days. And I think all of that is the reason why David and team are trying to pull a lever that has worked well for Jersey Jack. It's worked well for Stern. And I think they're like, well, now's our time to make a music pin. And I would just worry a little bit that music pins have fatigued people and were oversaturated with them especially with ACDC coming back again And you know with music pins the hardest part is the narrative Yes sort of you know have to like the band so much because most music pins are sort of just jukeboxes that you can play to get a high score I wish all of them were more like Foo Fighters where there was a storyline. That to me is the better way to do it. But anyway, you're hearing it here. I know Jason Knapp said there's murmurs about this, but Kaneda is here to tell you that the next game from Barrels, if what I'm hearing is correct, is going to be a music pin. So take that and go now speculate what you think it's going to be. And no, it's not Michael Jackson. And no, it's not a pop genre act. So go from there. And you know, it's David David Van Es. So you know it ain't gangster rap. Kaneda out. Sorry, scusa, lo siento, parole diverse ma stesso universo.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-03 | Item ID: eb6f63ac-5ac7-479e-b2e7-3cca2261b04b*