Barry O's Barbecue Challenge is a pinball game released by American Pinball in 2024, designed by Steve Bowden and featuring barbecue festival and hot rod themes. It was the final pinball design by Barry Oursler before his death, released as a tribute to the designer with a $7,000 base price and $8,500 limited edition version (100 units). The game received mixed reception—praised for well-designed rules but criticized as commercially unsuccessful with fewer than 200 units sold and production halted, often cited as an example of American Pinball's struggles.
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge is a poor theme choice that conflates incompatible concepts (barbecue and hot rods)
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge was a commercial disaster with no sales traction at TPF and immediate playfield failures
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge design was dominated by legacy celebration of Barry Osler rather than focus on game quality
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge features trophy ratings determined by completing recipe shots, side dishes, and spiciness matching
American Pinball title designed (partially) by Barry Oursler; heavily criticized as commercially unviable and poorly designed
Game used as example of low universal appeal; cited in location operator discussion about game performance variance
American Pinball title awarded worst theme of the decade; criticized across all design categories (sound, art, theme, layout)
American Pinball title; homegrown theme by Barry Osler; priced at $7,000; released with minimal code, received updates Friday before ZapCon; criticized for underpowered flippers, spinner-on-ramp design, disjointed artwork; proceeds support Barry Osler's family; extensively critiqued for questionable market viability
Pinball game at Pintastic 24; criticized by hosts as charity-driven; weak bumpers, screen-based backglass elements
American Pinball title; tribute to designer Barry Orsler; throwback to 1990s Williams WPC style; features pops and scoop shots like Dracula; experienced downtime at Pinfest
No linked glossary terms
The game includes exactly nine unique hot rod challenges
Playfield X multiplier increases all scores and can be extended through boss awards
The game features a 'Fire' hurry-up mode where timeouts reduce recipe value by 50%
The original game design was called 'CarHop' before being renamed 'Barry O's Barbecue Challenge'
The game design philosophy prioritizes risk/reward mechanics, captured by the phrase 'risk it for the brisket'
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge features spinner shots, drop targets, and multiball modes
Plunger timeout was reduced from ~1 second to 0.5 seconds after ball leaves plunger
Playfield X multiplier duration extended 50% for 1.5x state
Aura lighting now available for classic Barry O's machines
Side Dish Multiball is a separate mode from Pit Master multiball requiring drop target completion
Another code update is planned for next week (not October Festival related)
Barry O's features bash locks on far left and right orbit with multi-ball steal mechanics
Barry O's Barbecue Challenge features laggy, underpowered flippers typical of American Pinball games but with good geometry including captive-ball saucers and sweepable drop targets
Barbecue Challenge shipped with beta code which hurt first impressions and market reception
The Limited Edition is restricted to 100 units
Limited Edition priced at $8,495 with features including Aura Lighting System, Magic Glass, shaker motor, knocker, and numbered brass plate
Classic Edition priced at $6,995
Game features '80s design with two ramps and small LCD screen embedded in playfield
American Pinball game; thematic and conceptual failure with drippy meat imagery; poor reliability; worst American Pinball release
American Pinball's 2024 release; commercial disaster; criticized for lack of coherent design despite technical competence; poor gameplay reception at TPF
American Pinball game; selected as worst theme choice in 'Theme Judge' segment; criticized for poor conceptual execution mixing barbecue and hot rods
American Pinball game; 205 plays at tattoo convention; Kyle's convention game received 1,000+ total plays; Kyle converting to black and white
American Pinball game at Pinbrew; noted as having 400+ play count; praised in Matt Owen's article
Latest American Pinball title; displayed at UK Pinfest 2024
New American Pinball release showcased with multiple machines at show
New American Pinball machine with BBQ theming, honors Barry Oursler
American Pinball game title; featured high-score competition at the party; winner (John) received Barry O's sauce bottle and apron
American Pinball's newest release announced day before ZapCon; features photographed food items on apron, mixed art styles, captive-ball saucers, sweepable drop targets, spinners on ramps; shipped with beta code; poor visual appeal and limited player retention
American Pinball game; David Fix admitted it was a 'giant misstep'; discussed as layout for future white-label custom games
American Pinball title; not acquired by Electric Bat due to space constraints and lack of tournament compatibility; also available at local venue Danger Zone
American Pinball game currently on location at Interval Chicago; used by American Pinball as testing/prototype platform for code tuning; observed by Don during arcade visit
American Pinball release; excluded from $500 4th of July discount; Don criticizes animation quality relative to Legends of Valhalla
American Pinball title receiving code update 24.05.21 with multiple gameplay improvements
American Pinball game; criticized for weak art/animations, sticky shooter rods, and underdeveloped theme execution; positioned as uncompetitive vs. licensed titles
Arcade game at Interium; Don introduced Jason Knapp to it as 'barbecue ambassador'
American Pinball filler game; low sales; described as tribute with secret/throwback Easter eggs to Steve Bowen's earlier games
Recent pinball release cited as cautionary example of talented team ending up 'in some parking lot in Delaware instead of the top of the mountain'; used as metaphor for poor thematic execution.
New pinball machine designed by Barry Oursler, manufactured by American Pinball, currently in beta testing (code version 408)
American Pinball game being demonstrated in live stream, featuring customizable skill shots and barbecue theme
American Pinball pinball machine with Southern barbecue theme, featuring spinners, drop targets, locks, and multiball modes
American Pinball game co-designed by Barry Oursler and Dave Christenson; originally conceived as car-themed game, changed to barbecue theme; named as tribute after Barry's death
American Pinball title featured in stream; August 1st beta build with updated rule set, combo values, and fireworks multiball mechanics
American Pinball pinball machine; subject of design retrospective walkthrough; features extensive callbacks to Barry Oursler's design legacy
American Pinball-produced pinball machine; theme centers on competitive barbecue festival gameplay with multiple multiball modes and complex rule set
American Pinball game themed around barbecue and hot rods, honoring late designer Barry Oursler. Pricing $7,000-$8,500 LE (100 units). Criticized for lazy artwork (stock images/footage) and minimal mechanical features.
American Pinball unlicensed game; third consecutive original/unlicensed theme; experienced ball search issues
American Pinball release; prioritized over Whitewater sequel in production; sales concerns with frequent discounting
American Pinball title based on Barry Oursler's final design; features numerous Easter eggs referencing Oursler's work; released March 2024 with dual-edition pricing model.
American Pinball limited edition title; only one unit remaining in factory; represents failed signature edition pricing strategy
New pinball game by American Pinball dedicated to designer Barry Osberg, featuring barbecue festival and hot rod themes with tribute mechanics
Newly released American Pinball game, final design by Barry Oursler (deceased), marketed as throwback to 1980s-era original-theme games; $7,000 base price, $8,500 LE (100 units); hosts assess it as potential location game but not a personal collection priority
American Pinball release; criticized as unsuccessful; used as negative comparison point for Cuphead's superior design
American Pinball game with well-designed rules by Steve Bowden; fewer than 200 units sold; production halted
Final pinball game designed by Barry Oursler before his death
American Pinball title; Orbital Albert recommends discontinuation due to poor concept
March 2024 release; Kaneda previously excluded from worst games list but included here; does not win any Kudos
American Pinball game with <150 units sold; Kaneda uses as primary example of game that should not be remade; focus of his 'bonfire' metaphor