Ian is a prominent figure in the pinball industry, serving as editor/operator of Nudge Magazine and co-creative director on the Portal pinball machine. Known as 'the most connected man in pinball,' he actively promotes and facilitates game installations, demonstrates gameplay expertise, and contributes to industry discourse. His role has evolved from magazine editor/operator to direct involvement in game design and creative direction.
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Beetlejuice is hands-down Spooky's best game
Beetlejuice could be a top 10 pinball game of all time
American Pinball is in a transitional phase under new ownership
Circus Voltaire remake will be a safe bet for American Pinball
Co-creative director of Portal pinball; demonstrates gameplay and explains mechanical/design philosophy throughout livestream
Nudge Magazine editor; booth co-operator; described as 'most connected man in pinball'; facilitated Harlem Globetrotters game installation
Guest from Nudge Magazine; characterized as disagreeing with Kaneda's criticism and thinking game is loaded
Editor/operator of Nudge Magazine; referenced satirically as enthusiastically promoting games
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Homebrew games should have their own dedicated festival
Spooky's Beetlejuice machines at TPF had exceptional reliability with only one hood lift needed all weekend
Beetlejuice sold out before it was officially announced
Spooky brought 17 Beetlejuice machines to TPF 2025 with only one hood lifted all weekend
Kerry Hardy said Beetlejuice is 'Spooky's Godzilla'
Jersey Jack Winchester is limited to approximately 500 units
American Pinball announced Circus Voltaire remake
The 2025 Twippies is the shortest Twippies ever produced
Ian from Nudge Magazine recently rented a Shadow pinball machine and had to return it, experiencing similar emotional loss
Nudge Magazine Issue 4 experienced two printing delays before finally arriving
Ian started a new job this year that is affecting his availability for podcast production
Ian left Facebook due to social media toxicity and is trying to distance himself from social media generally
Ian from Poor Man's Podcast has retired as co-host/editor and replacement will face chemistry challenges.
Melbourne is in its fifth lockdown with NSW Sydney experiencing Delta variant outbreak of ~200 cases
Melbourne is currently in its fifth lockdown, with Sydney/NSW experiencing Delta variant outbreak and restricting inter-state travel.
Mandalorian has a unique angled ramp in the center that's difficult to aim but hits regularly due to quirky physics
Mandalorian sold 750 units on day one and quickly depleted inventory
Ian disliked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball despite nostalgic connection to the IP
Current Stern production shipments go directly to customers with no distributor stock holding
Ian is purchasing a Creature from the Black Lagoon project pin after agreeing on price with an unnamed seller who is a friend
Oktoberfest is priced at $6,900-$7,000 based on Pinside comparable sales and Doc Finley's recommendation to price aggressively
Creature from the Black Lagoon was $2,000 two years ago and is now being priced much higher due to market appreciation
Oktoberfest sale generated 6-7 interested buyers in the first full day of listing
Oktoberfest has a broken left ramp that doesn't allow balls to go up
Indiana Jones, Twilight Zone, and Demoman are well-designed wide-body machines that shoot cleanly despite Gomez's wide-body critique
All modern pinball games require some adjustment/tweaking out of the box due to shipping and assembly variability
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is possibly John Borg best playfield layout
Ian can reach Final Battle on TMNT playing 4-player co-op mode with 12 balls to score ~100 million
If given unlimited money, designers, and 5 years, a quality pinball machine can be produced for the masses
Licensed themes sell significantly better than original themes in the current pinball market
George Gomez was approached about Big Trouble in Little China as a pinball theme and rejected it
The podcast received 30-40 dad joke submissions for the giveaway contest.
David Dennis from Silver Ball Chronicles submitted the winning dad joke about skydiving blind people.
Zach Sharpe from Flip It Out Pinball will need to pay extra for shipping the banner to Canada (David Dennis is in Canada).
American Pinball's previous strategy prioritized shot design and rules over animations, with animation improvements delivered via code updates
Hot Wheels is more affordable than American Pinball's previous titles
Hot Wheels has significant competitive tournament potential despite being designed for accessibility
Hot Wheels' RPM meter functions as a game mechanic rather than a decorative toy
American Pinball reduced Oktoberfest's price by approximately $1,000 two weeks after launch
Oktoberfest features 14 modes plus wizard modes
The third flipper coil stop modification for Oktoberfest costs $8 and requires two screws to install
The Jurassic Park topper includes goat mode as DLC not bundled with LE or Premium versions
Jack Danger will stream Hot Wheels machine on Saturday the 13th at 5 p.m. central time
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is John Borg's best game design to date
Ian purchased an Oktoberfest pinball machine and is traveling to Michigan to collect it
PinStadiums Hyper Beams are limited edition and may not continue production
Raven pinball machines were selling for approximately $500 two years ago and now command $1,600-$1,700.
Ian has not played Avengers or Mustang pinball machines in person
Ian spent $13 total on raptor figurine upgrades for Jurassic Park from Amazon
Laser War restoration will be completed and ready for shows by end of week (recording timeframe)
Ian attended Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) for general education before transferring to a four-year university.
Ian and Mickey were high school sweethearts who dated for approximately 2-3 years before meeting Drew.
Ian and Mickey were married in 2006 and divorced in 2007.
Drew's initial meeting behavior (putting a hotel key in Mickey's back pocket) was extremely drunk and inappropriate.
Ian used 90% brush work and 10% airbrush for Laser War restoration to preserve detail
VR pinball is the last thing Ian wants to play on a VR headset
Ian is giving his Monster Bash to Jerome to play and potentially resell
Black Rose had approximately 3,000 units produced in July 1992
Keith Elwin scored approximately 3.9 million on F-14 Tomcat at Pembroke Finals
Last Action Hero shaker motor should be disabled to avoid disturbing neighbors
Demolition Man should be ranked higher in the Pinside Top 100 despite current exclusion
Ian recently achieved a standout Lord of the Rings performance during a Twitch stream
If Deep Root's machines have reliability issues, community members will use Robert Mueller's critical comments against the company
Ian wants to see Deep Root deliver on at least half of what they promised, ideally with games in spring or late 2024
Willy Wonka is the nicest shooting pinball machine Ian has ever played
Munsters jumped to #8 on Pinside Top 100 this week
The Plasma Disc costs $80 aftermarket and plugs directly into the Monster Bash SE board without special installation.
Simpsons Pinball Party is ranked #17 on PinSide's top 100 games.
Deep Root's Robert 'jacks up everyone's expectations' with claims about resources and capability.
Robert said Deep Root would stick with the Williams cabinet design but integrate a screen into the playfield.
Deep Root will need sub-$7,000 pricing to steal market share from Stern and Jersey Jack.
Stern alone is capable of filling the entire market quota for pinball games; other manufacturers are competing for marginal demand
Younger generations (late 30s) lack peer engagement with pinball due to home console upbringing (Sega Genesis, Nintendo); suspect generational shift limiting sub-40 adoption
Willy Wonka game shipment expected to be delayed until July or later
Black Knight Sword of Rage Pro is bare-bones and should have featured the Premium's upper playfield at a $5,800 price point to justify value
Stern is going backward in design philosophy by stripping features from Pro models instead of enhancing them
Oktoberfest artwork resolution and clarity issues are noticeable and problematic in person compared to promotional materials
Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle has superior design execution with mood, lighting, and shaker integration
Willie Wonka reveal presenter (identified as JJP investor/family member) reading from phone notes undermined professionalism of multi-million dollar company event
Game of Thrones Premium upper playfield is visually beautiful but functionally problematic for active players due to lane proximity distraction
Predator machine at MGC, despite historical provenance/rarity, has limited contemporary appeal based on visual inspection
1980s-90s location-based pinball machines have shallower rule sets than modern games
Stern raised prices $500+ between Metallica (2013) and Munsters despite reducing mechanical features
Pirates of the Caribbean charges $2 per play at some locations
Jaws pinball license restricts use to shark and name only, not music
Zombie Yeti's artwork appears on three nominees in a single category
Stern uses smaller LCD screens than American Pinball and other competitors
Metallica Premium has one of the best light shows in pinball history