Spooky Pinball sent Don prototype upper playfield ball lock component from TCM and Looney Tunes

Evil Dead pinball has shotgun shell shooting mechanics as a primary interactive feature

Don had not watched Evil Dead movies before seeing prototype at factory

Don's podcast has reached 217+ episodes with minimal production QA (no self-review before upload)

Spooky Pinball plans to establish yearly game release parties and summer community events

The early pandemic era (2020-2021) was characterized by extreme game scarcity requiring power-dialing and complex acquisition strategies

Black Knight (George Gomez layout) features a Hot Wheels Batmobile teeter-totter mech similar to Batman 66's crane mechanism

Don learned soldering, playfield work, and game transportation skills through hands-on ownership of Black Knight

Don Garrison works harder than any other pinball content creator in the past two years

Don will work from a location in Maine/Wisconsin area approximately 4-5 hours from Orby's location

Don Garrison has been hired by Spooky Pinball in a design/creative role

Seven servo-driven pop-up scoops in Portal mid-field add maintenance complexity and interface drag without proportional gameplay value

Portal base module pricing ($3,900+) represents barrier to entry that will limit adoption to existing P3 user base

P3 cantilever flipper systems do not provide equivalent feel to traditional pinball flipper mechanisms

Portal game design is innovative and well-executed thematically, matching Multimorphic's design consistency

Evil Dead's left orbit 180-ramp shot is among the best-executed 180-ramps in recent pinball history

D&D has superior code depth and character development compared to X-Men

Avatar CE is substantially better than LE due to topper, UV art, armor, and shooter rod differences

Jersey Jack's CE editions have become significantly more valuable post-Godfather, especially with Avatar

Dwight Sullivan's code vision will exceed what Jack Wason or Tim Sexton would have delivered for D&D

American Pinball's Alice in Wonderland will not appear at TPF or MGC

Barrels of Fun will debut a new game at The Pinball Show in approximately two weeks

Harry Potter pinball reveal expected in March

Nearly 800 people are on Evil Dead pre-order list

Evil Dead weighs twice as much as comparable games like Scooby-Doo due to mechanical density

Alice in Wonderland Kickstarter game has problematic Mad Hatter character design with offensive facial caricature

Venom is not top 10 pinball game of all time or even last year

Don received pre-release Evil Dead access and has received similar access for another unreleased game from unnamed manufacturer

Beetlejuice is rumored as Spooky's next game per Paris Pinball Enthusiast

Spooky Pinball will not announce next game before January 2025

Venom LE is available secondhand in St. Louis area for $7,000

Evil Dead at $10,000 represents better value than Stern, American Pinball, or Jersey Jack offerings at comparable price points

Don placed 38th of 105 competitors at Interium tournament and outplaced Roger Sharpe (44th)

HomePin's Blues Brothers is the worst pinball machine since anything by Deep Root

TCM and Looney Tunes are Don's GOTY runners-up and only two other collectors are known to own both games

Don was a casual pinball player before starting the podcast and couldn't name designers

Don's first pinball machine was Batman Dark Knight, purchased in 2020 during COVID

Jaws is Don's Game of the Year pick for 2024

Don evaluates games using a systematic spreadsheet methodology ranking art, gameplay, rules, and theme

Pinball industry is more accessible for content creators to build relationships compared to roller coaster or theme park industries

Don plans to develop a full homebrew pinball game and expand into toppers and custom mods as commercial products

Don Garrison earns income primarily from appearances and autograph signings

Don is building a Legend of Zelda (8-bit) homebrew machine with expected completion by Expo

Don co-hosts We Are Pinball (WAP) podcast with Retro Jango for 'stupid and fun and hilarious' international content

Don sold a Godzilla Premium coinciding perfectly with the release of a black and white variant

Don owns 16 pinball machines

Don's first pinball machine was a Stern Dark Knight purchased from a local dealer

Don started the podcast to support his hobby activities like playing Godfather at locations

Don's Pinball Podcast has 100+ Patreon members

Godzilla Anniversary Premium will be fully available with accessories at approximately $12,000 total cost

Don's Labyrinth #82 is being listed on Pinside for $11,500 OBO with custom accessories and will be shipped or white-gloved within 200 miles

Davey Stumbler and Lior have created the best quality mods for Godzilla with interactive building elements

Godzilla is the greatest pinball machine of the modern era

The Munsters house facade has been used in numerous commercials and TV shows and is located on a street less than a sixth of a mile long

Daniel Brown from Ohio has approximately ten pinball machines and has been asking to buy Don's Godzilla Premium

There is a rumor about a black-and-white Godzilla variant being released that is causing people to dump standard Godzilla Premiums on the secondary market

Munsters Premium Black and White edition had limited production and is difficult to find in good condition

Don plans to keep machines for 6-8 months to 1 year, play them extensively, mod them, then trade them off for fresh variety

Munsters Premium includes pin stadiums, speaker lights, and a shaker

Wrestling theme in pinball deserves appreciation despite superficial perception as 'fake' due to underlying storylines, intrigue, and drama

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania LE available at Southern Fright Gaming Expo autographed by Hulk Hogan

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania Limited Edition features classic wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man with gold trim

Godzilla Premium and Jaws Premium are easily replaceable on the secondary market compared to Munsters B&W and WWE LE

Don Garrison is currently on vacation and will return in two days to get his John Wick limited edition

Don has purchased four new Stern games in succession (Foo Fighters, Venom, Jaws, John Wick) and resold the first three through secondary channels

Don Garrison is at Stern factory doing full tour and playing all three versions of John Wick

Don Garrison is receiving a John Wick LE from Stern factory to take home

IAPA Expo is primarily business-focused and not ideal for game announcements compared to Chicago Pinball Expo

Metallica Spike 3 is coming for October/end-of-year release

Indiana Jones license lapsed at Stern due to poor fit with Dial of Destiny theme

Munsters anniversary edition re-release coming August/Halloween due to secondary market demand

Pokemon pinball is coming, likely in 2025 as a winter release

John Wick is 50-50 likelihood for next Stern Cornerstone; other games equally possible

Home Pin's Spinal Tap has been in development for over a year with only one public location

Killer Shark was a 1972 Sega mechanical arcade game, not a video game

Pinburgh was the international Super Bowl of pinball before COVID shutdown, with people traveling globally to attend

Don's Pinball Podcast has grown to 90 episodes in 11.5 months with Patreon supporters and three tiered membership levels

Don plans to receive two Spooky machines within 30-45 days

Large segment of pinball audience is unaware of Don's Straight Down the Middle podcast

Don lost money shipping Patreon t-shirts, roughly $2 per unit after cost

Don expects Labyrinth machine to arrive 'soon'

Don has produced 89 episodes of Don's Pinball Podcast since launching January 2

Spooky Pinball's Looney Tunes features full cartoon playback during modes rather than clip art animations

Elton John pinball is primarily spectacle-focused with unclear depth of mode progression and code structure

Looney Tunes already has six coded cartoon modes released with more in development

Looney Tunes gameplay cannot be publicly released yet due to licensing agreement not being finalized

Galactic Tank Force target production is 300 machines per year, which is below industry capacity expectations

Galactic Tank Force has experienced wireform mechanical QC issues causing balls to jump and roll incorrectly

I put as many games on Venom Premium in three months as I put on Foo Fighters all year

Spooky's Looney Tunes has stronger flippers and more reachable ramps than Scooby-Doo

GTF Signature Edition costs $16,000-$17,000 and includes a refillable pint glass

I sold my Foo Fighters Premium for $8,000 after buying it for $9,600 and spending ~$3,000 on customization and shipping

Stern is developing a new ground-up Metallica game based on the Black Album with Expression lighting

Local powder coating in Stevens Point costs under $200 versus $400-$500 that Pinside users typically pay

Chicago Expo and Pinball Olympics were my favorite pinball moments in 2024

Don is attending IAAPA Nov 13-15 with media access

Don's Pinball Podcast launched in January 2023 and has already exceeded all expectations

Fiverr freelancers can create custom social media graphics, banners, and logos for $30-60

Episodes are released 20-30 minutes in length, 2-3 times per week

Don is executing a rotating Stern game experiment where he commits to four consecutive new releases, selling each one as the next arrives, with minimal net financial loss

Don is considering business model similar to Pinball Refinery for acquiring, customizing, and reselling pinball machines without premium markup

Venom's progression system only saves progress after beating a minor boss, forcing players to repeat the same three mini-mode sequences (six shots total) at the start of every game

The designer of Jaws also designed Iron Maiden, Godzilla, Avengers Infinity, Arcade Quest, Bond 60th, and Jurassic Park

Venom's multiball allows locked balls to be wasted—they remain in wire forms but are not returned to play if the player drains to a single ball

Venom is missing a major upper playfield feature like the Hyperloop ramps in Godzilla or Star Wars that provides visual and gameplay impact

Don discovered a pre-existing spinner mount hole on Venom's left orbit similar to James Bond and Star Wars

Venom has poor longevity for location/arcade play—casual players will likely only play it a couple times before losing interest

Don added a non-functional spinner mod to Venom as a kinetic/aesthetic addition not wired to the game code

Don's Pinball Podcast has released roughly half as many episodes as Poor Man's Pinball Podcast in a couple months

Don Garrison started his podcast in January 2026 and has released 66 episodes

Don Garrison currently owns 10 pinball machines

Don Garrison designed and 3D printed drumstick mount mods for Rush Neil Peart edition that are now sold through Games People Hans and Cointaker

Stern will likely announce a new game at Pinball Expo to fill November-December production gap

Viewer personal XP at level 2 (250+ points) contributes 2x XP per chat action compared to level 1

Seth Rogen anime/cartoon TMNT series is coming out in October and looks amazing

Manu and Surreal's work on Mystery Pinball Theater Friday Night Riff Theater is approximately 20x more complex than Don's StreamerBot system

Only Don, the seller, and Escher know what Don's new game purchase is

The TMNT Premium machine is being picked up tomorrow by a buyer delayed due to weather

StreamerBot with custom C-sharp scripting enables persistent viewer leveling across streams

Don's Pinball Podcast launched in January 2023 and exceeded expectations for survival and growth

Multimorphic P3 has 6-8 to 12-month wait times for delivery

Jersey Jack acquired Harry Potter pinball license for north of $4 million

James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition pricing fell from dealer quotes of $17.5k at launch to $15k+ by mid-2023

Foo Fighters is on track for Game of the Year after February 2023 release

Godzilla topper sold out despite $1,000 price tag

Pulp Fiction available to play on location in Chicago (Logan's Arcade, Interium) before 2024 general release

Spooky Pinball has produced ~750 Scooby-Doo units with 1,400-1,500 pre-orders, implying multi-year production window

Venom contains no spinner, representing a notable absence from the modern pinball game design trend

The heart of Venom's gameplay experience is only fully available on Premium Edition tier and higher due to exclusive playfield mechanisms and diverters

Venom accessories (armor, shooter rod, topper) will be available for purchase approximately six weeks after game release

Null may be unlockable as a secret playable character after players complete the game and unlock all other characters, following video game boss-unlock conventions

Venom's layout is serviceable but not revolutionary, scoring 7.2/10 compared to Godzilla's 9.5/10 and Elvira's House of Horrors' 8.1/10

The heart of Venom's gameplay is only available on Premium Edition level due to Pro edition's missing swing-arm mechanism

Masters of the Universe pinball license has moved from Stern to American Pinball

Null (the end-boss symbiote) may be playable as a secret character after unlocking other characters, pending confirmation

Venom machines will ship Pro/Premium in late August, Limited Edition in mid-September, with Premium following after

Pro edition lacks the swing-arm doppelgänger mechanism that is included in Premium and Limited Edition versions

Limited Edition Venom is capped at 1,000 units and priced just under $13,000

Venom has no spinners in its design—a notable absence for a modern Stern machine

Insider Connected system allows players to gain experience points that scale character power, reducing required shots from 8 to 6 to 4 as players level up

Venom uses comic book license instead of movie license, allowing for flexible character/content additions in future updates

Jack Black visited Dutch Pinball Museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Dutch Pinball's next game announcement expected in September (following year) per Jason Knapp Arcade rumor

Stern's codename 'Venom' Cornerstone will be announced at San Diego Comic-Con July 20th

New James Bond code adds significantly more gameplay and fun

Stern Bond 60th Anniversary topper is limited to 500 units for Cornerstone versions

Stern released Bond 60th Anniversary accessories (topper, shooter rod, art blades) for regular Bond versions

Haggis Pinball may be financially stressed and using new game pre-orders to fund completion of existing games

Haggis Pinball's Centaur remake pricing is not justified versus single-level games like Pulp Fiction at lower cost

Pin Graphics holographic art blades provide premium visual upgrade vs. standard Stern art blades

Don's Pinball Podcast episode 52 with Jason Knapp received 450 listens after audio level correction

King Kong pinball prototype machines exist in private home arcades from back in the day

Godzilla Pinball with new King of Monsters topper is the greatest pinball machine of the modern era

Comic-Con San Diego will feature a new Stern pinball announcement in approximately 2.5 weeks

Don's Pinball Podcast has grown to 300+ listeners per episode by episode 50

Don got his first pinball machine (Dark Knight) approximately 2 years ago

Pirates of the Caribbean is known for stop-and-go gameplay and deep code with a ship battle mechanic

Elvira 40th Anniversary edition features a purple sparkly powder coat and exclusive couch piece on Super LE tier

Don's Pinball Podcast launched in January with professional production (mixer, graphics, paid intro music)

A single Harry Potter JJP game should realistically cover Philosopher's Stone through Prisoner of Azkaban films rather than entire franchise

Bond 60th will appeal most to competitive/tournament-style players rather than casual collectors

Bond 60th is overpriced relative to feature set and mechanics compared to games like Foo Fighters

The lack of pop bumpers on Scooby-Doo provides adequate side-to-side action through slings and drop targets

Pinball Brothers merged with Euro Pinball Company (Spanish manufacturer) for Queen production

Scooby-Doo U-turn ramps have similar orbit characteristics to full playfield orbit shots

Pulp Fiction game difficulty and design quality will match Chicago Gaming Company's typical output

Scooby-Doo upper playfield provides longer ball times than Halloween or Ultraman upper playfields

Scooby-Doo Where Are You shots are well-tuned and not causing frequent misses in skilled gameplay

Godfather is Godfather's 50th anniversary year timing justification for JJP8 selection

JJP8 Godfather machine will feature distinctive theme interpretation with potential hot rails, movie clips, and thematic gameplay

Don Garrison finished 16th place out of approximately 30 people in his first tournament and broke even financially

Streaming computer hardware requires replacement due to consistent technical failures during gameplay