Fallout pinball is rumored to be coming from Stern with advanced Insider Connected features

Insider Connected is probably the most innovative thing to happen to pinball in the last 30 years

Stern does not get nearly enough credit for Insider Connected and what it currently does and can do

Mike is skilled at F-14 Tomcat and could play it with his eyes closed based on his tournament performance

The Pokémon catching mechanic is completely unique and has no comparable precedent in pinball history

Jaws is ranked superior to Pokémon due to better layout and ramp design

Beetlejuice was produced in just under 1,000 units (980 something).

Beetlejuice is my number one favorite Spooky game.

Karl DeAngelo is a brand new designer working on Winchester for Barrels of Fun.

Modern good-shooting pinball games today smoke those 90s games by a lot.

I think Spooky's next game is going to be Gremlins.

If Spooky expanded to make 2,000 games a year and the next game only sold 1,000, they might go broke.

Mandalorian is an underrated game with good value at under $4,000

Earthshaker is better than Monopoly and Roller Coaster Tycoon for the same price range

If choosing between Jaws Premium and Kong Premium, Jaws is the optimal choice

Venom is an underrated game that is very good and very fun

Central Illinois PRPA scene has 150 players

Madison PRPA scene has 161 players, the largest regional scene

Match Play software could implement a handicapped tournament feature as a premium subscription tier (e.g., $100/year vs. $50/year standard)

PRPHQ was founded partly because entry fees to major tournaments ($75-$125) felt futile given near-zero win probability for mid-tier players

Match Play has a player rating system with Wizard, Master, Expert, A, B, C, and D tiers; fewer than 700 players in Wizard/Master tier nationally

Top-5 world pinball players win ~50/50+ against mid-tier players; Mike estimates <2% personal win probability against top-5 players

If organizers ignore community feedback and don't adapt, the scene will decline regardless of past success.

Joe Sharp recently placed tied for fifth at Pinball at the Beach tournament with epic comeback victories.

PRPA localized scene-based leaderboards will launch within 2-3 weeks.

Open pinball tournaments are typically 90% male-dominated by participation.

Spike 3 Stern machines (Fall of the Empire, Walking Dead) produce black screen output via HDMI despite proper cable configuration

Off With Their Heads event will have 20 limited tickets at $50 including show and t-shirt

Pokemon Pinball will be revealed at Pinball at the Zoo or Pinball at the Beach

King Kong has the best layout of 2025 and possibly the best layout of the last five years

Jaws 50th Anniversary looks better than the Jaws LE

Evil Dead is the coolest looking pinball machine ever made

Punk Rock Pinball Association leaderboard will launch by January 1st

Apple Podcast listeners represent nearly equal volume to YouTube video views for the show

Punk Rock Pinball HQ has 23 pinball machines

Mike (King of the Arcade designer) intends to produce homebrew pinball games commercially rather than create one-off builds, reflecting ambition for larger market participation

Punk Rock Pinball took keys to new HQ in Bloomington on Halloween night

First Friday tournament at Golden Ticket Cinema had 32 players attend

Star Wars: Fall of the Empire has shot to the top of Mike's want list unexpectedly

Star Wars: Fall of the Empire creates dramatic moments and tension through rules, code, music and lights similar to Jaws

Raymond Davidson led the rules and code development for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire

Star Wars Pro model is being considered over Premium/LE due to 2,500 dollar savings

Jeff volunteered from 12:30pm to 5:30pm unpaid to help set up arcade machines at PRPHQ

Punk Rock Pinball will host second Sunday IFPA tournament at Poor Bros in December with Stern prize support

Uncanny X-Men does not have dramatic moment-building mechanics like Jaws or Star Wars: Fall of the Empire

The Internet and social media represent a third wave of pre-war pinball interest and accessibility

Planet of the Apes would be a better pinball theme choice than King Kong

The Merlin automaton took approximately three years to complete

The brick work on the automaton was hand-chiseled rather than 3D printed

Mike specializes in clock repairs and mechanical workshop work

The Walking Dead is a better pinball experience than Tron

John Wick's smooth shooting and great lights/sound make it a compelling machine to own

Shrek pinball machine is boring and unenjoyable to play

Pat Lawler is Mike's favorite pinball designer

Mike beat Zach from The Dreaded Laramie on Beatles pinball, scoring approximately 1.6-1.7 million to Zach's under 1 million

Mike is confident he can defeat Lily, Aaron Reddick, and Joey in a Pirates of the Caribbean tournament match

King Kong's playfield artwork is too busy and makes it hard to track the ball during play

Stern Star Trek has minimal or poor artwork compared to other Stern releases from that era

John Wick was initially disliked by Mike but he later purchased one and it has grown on him

George Gomez's designs feature ramps closer to the player compared to John Borg's typical layout style

99% of people encountered at casual pinball tournaments are friendly and welcoming

Illinois has more pinball tournament locations than Portland metro area

Stephanie usually beats Mike in tournament play

Portland metro area has more pinball machines per capita than Chicago

Next Level Arcade in Hillsboro has approximately 350 pinball machines

Typical monthly pinball tournaments have 15-30 players with 3-5 exceptional players

James Bond pinball's original software is not fun compared to its current software updated by Mike Vinacore.

Pinball on Perry in Indiana has one of the first Evil Dead machines with a single-digit serial number.

Mike Vinacore works for Stern and is doing rules work on X-Men and John Wick pinball machines with recent updates.

A Weezer Blue Album pinball machine by Stern would be a good idea and would appeal to 50-year-old collectors.

Big Lebowski pinball has a difficult left scoop that is harder to hit than the Godzilla scoop.

Weezer is a polarizing band but would have strong appeal to pinball collectors aged 50 with disposable income.

The Kickback has more pinball machines (15) than any other known Airbnb with pinball

Road Kings tournament setup is challenging due to deadly center shot and side target options with high drain risk

Road Kings features the first hurry-up music cue in all of pinball history

Road Kings features the first ramp that feeds to an in-lane in pinball

In two years of operating The Kickback, Mike has experienced only 2-3 incidents requiring intervention for stuck balls

Road Kings is 'way better than any of the Bally games or the Gottlieb games that were coming out right around that time'

There is a Pinside forum community thread maintaining a list of all known Airbnbs with pinball machines

Road Kings was Chris Graner's first game soundtrack

Quarter Drop was named after a suggestion from Mike's mother-in-law; Mike wanted the name 'Leaderboard' originally but it didn't feel natural

The quarter shortage during the pandemic lasted almost two years after venues reopened and significantly impacted Quarter Drop's operations

Utah's alcohol regulations became significantly more lenient after the state hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics

Utah's alcohol regulations require metering all spirits through a 'Berg' device and conducting annual audits to verify compliance and prevent free pouring

Quarter Drop's Sugar House location is only 2 miles from the downtown location and cannibalizes downtown business; Mike would recommend future operators locate second locations further away

40th Pinball Expo is scheduled for October 15-19

Pastimes Arcade contains approximately 594 games with similar numbers in back storage

The QR maintenance system resolved all 35 reported issues from grand opening day by the next morning

Mike at Automate It has heard nothing about a Monday May 23rd Toy Story launch

Nintendo DS XL can fit comfortably in front jeans pocket and is easy to transport

Nintendo Switch does not come bundled with any games by default (correction to previous claim about 1-2 Switch bundle)

Super bands modification increases Funhouse difficulty and speed while providing experienced players new strategic perspectives

Super bands rubber has been on the Funhouse machine at Bottom Lounge for approximately one year, since the prior Pinball Expo

Bottom Lounge owner Mike has owned pinball machines for many years; was one of the few venues with pinball in Chicago during early-to-mid 1990s

State licensing for coin-operated machines in Chicago bars costs $180

Expert: merged definition Expert: merged definition