Tom is a multi-faceted figure in the pinball community who has evolved from software/graphics work on commercial pinball titles to becoming a prominent podcast host and tournament player. He co-hosts the Triple Drain Pinball Podcast and Straight Down The Middle podcast, and is a tournament-level competitor who has participated in State Championships and World Championships. Tom is also an active collector with experience in homebrew pinball production and local community networking.
No aliases
Keith Elwin said that at $10,000+ price points, a game needs $10,000+ worth of content to justify the cost.
The inverted seating order system saves 1-2 hours per tournament by reducing delays from players walking off after their chosen game
98% of players previously chose the inverted (4-2-1) seating order when given the option to pick their own order
Local pinball enthusiast; met Ed Owens at MGC; facilitated networking with other regional pinball community members
Person involved with Ice Cold Beer remake production; discussed custom art licensing options with Joe
Third co-host of Triple Drain podcast; attending INDISC tournament; obtaining Beetlejuice machine; 64% chance of returning to Pinball at the Beach next year
Host; tournament player (State Championship level, World Championships participant); LE collector since Avatar; shifting away from LE purchases
Co-host of Straight Down The Middle podcast; tournament-heavy player; long-time collector; owns James Bond 60th and X-Men; scared of King Kong gong
Stern team member credited as 'the magical guy' who solved the ball entry engineering challenge for the Encounter mini playfield
No linked glossary terms
Tom has been playing intensely for two days straight through qualifying and main tournament rounds
Tom has played amazing for two days straight in qualifying and main tournament
Tom selected John Wick Pro and chose first position in the tiebreaker
Most casual players and non-tournament players don't understand or care about score balance or shot multipliers
Using 8° lightning flippers with rubbers removed on Metallica Remastered yielded approximately 300 million points, while tournament-standard 6.5° flippers with rubbers enabled 3.6 billion points
Modified flipper setups improve reflexes through faster gameplay and adjustment training
Tom purchased X-Men Pro for under $5,000
Tom has owned Harry Potter for over a month
Harry Potter could be better than Rush
Tom considers Harry Potter a top-ten game
Harry Potter is Tom's favorite Jersey Jack Pinball game
Joel will stream at District 82 during IFPA World Championship in June 2026
The gong mechanic becomes safer and more manageable through mental preparation and correct forehand approach rather than backhanding
Tom is purchasing his fourth Pro model in a row, indicating consistent preference for Pro tier over Premium/LE
Tom Graff is purchasing his fourth King Kong Pro in a row
Cactus Canyon upgrade costs $1,249 plus shipping and adds 10 new modes, 2 enhanced modes, and new mech
Portal could be the best P3 game released to date
Three wizard modes exist but are not yet implemented in the playable build
D&D layout is significantly better than Venom layout
D&D layout is 'ten times better' than Venom
Tom sold Game of Thrones LE and Alvin Premium to make room in his collection
Tom is expecting Metallica LE delivery on December 6th
Tom qualified for World Championships by winning the Australian Championship Series at West Coast Pinball Festival in Perth.
Tom had only 4-5 days to decide to attend World Championships after the Australian Championship Series finished on Sunday with Thursday deadline.
Tom had played approximately 30% of the machines at World Championships before arriving.
Alice in Wonderland mini playfield has too much randomness without sufficient player control compared to designs like Twilight Zone.
Pinball Pulse is a new tournament-focused podcast/livestream with 98% tournament talk content streaming on Fox Cities Pinball Twitch.
Pinball Pulse is a new tournament-focused podcast with approximately 98% tournament content
Stern has released speaker light kits that are compatible only with stock Pro and Premium 4-inch speakers
Jaws: The Revenge mode is styled after NES 8-bit video games and is mechanically independent from the main Jaws ruleset
Stern has never implemented RGB color GI bulbs; uses separate white/red/blue bulbs for mode differentiation
Collector purchase paralysis is increasing due to fear that cheaper variants will release post-purchase
Diddy Mods has announced black-and-white remakes of Godzilla mods in response to the premium B&W release
Godzilla black-and-white premium is essentially the same artwork as the LE but uncolored, priced $4,000 cheaper
Tom recorded a second John Wick launch party strategy video this week that will be released today
Cosmetic re-releases of Limited Edition games discourage collectors from purchasing new Limited Editions due to fear of cheaper variants
Tom owns a John Wick Pro and is not planning to upgrade to the LE due to theme fit and price premium not justifying the artwork differentiation
Tom owns a John Wick Pro and is not upgrading to the Limited Edition
Wearing pinshades significantly improved visibility during Last Action Hero tournament play despite peer mockery
Elton John is Jersey Jack Pinball's best game from a gameplay standpoint
Led Zeppelin theme would have substantially increased Elton John machine adoption and sales
Steven Bowden won Wisconsin State pinball championship after defeating Neil McCrae in the semifinals
Tom reached semifinals at Wisconsin state tournament; lost to Jason Werdrick
Steven Bowden won Wisconsin state tournament after defeating Neil McRae from 0-2 deficit in finals
Tournament players analyze pinball games differently than casual players due to experience with shot complexity and rule design
Casual players and high-end collectors are very positive about Jaws, while online pinball community members complain most
Jaws has higher sales velocity than other recent pinball releases
Addams Family's Thing mechanic loses appeal after repeated play despite being iconic
Cactus Canyon is popular because its drop targets are visually obvious to casual players
Venom's core mechanic is color-matching combos identical in complexity to the game Simon
Venom's ruleset is fundamentally simple and comparable to the game Simon, requiring only color-matching
The 32-page Venom ruleset PDF is artificially padded with excessive spacing and formatting
Monsters ruleset was intentionally designed to be simple and accessible, but still received criticism
Most players don't reach wizard modes during gameplay, making advanced ruleset content less relevant to the average player
Venom's basic objectives can be completed in as few as 6 shots if executed efficiently
Stern Spike 2 platform has technical capability to implement LCD tutorials with voice narration, but this feature is not currently in use
JJP is selling Godfather CE accessories (silver versions of gold LE components) as bundled packages to distributors
Keith Elwin, designer of Bond 60th, has only reached wizard mode twice despite playing the game extensively
Every Stern LCD game received a code update on April 20 with enhanced Insider Connected features
Tom is selling Deadpool from his collection to make room for a simpler game like Cactus Canyon
Foo Fighters' superiority over Deadpool in shot geometry and gameplay variety makes it Tom's preferred retention choice
Bond 60th is excellent and really fun to play, comparable to Total Nuclear Annihilation in terms of replayability
Tom is removing two games from his collection to make room for Bond 60th
Individual mechanical innovations should be awarded rather than whole games in the innovation category
Innovation in pinball games should focus on specific mechanical features rather than entire game awards
The Bond 60th cabinet art resembles a grid of movie posters rather than a cohesive artistic design
Godzilla Premium is easier to play than the LE version due to spinner size differences on Mechagodzilla right hand side
Younger competitive players under 25 dominate Expo tournaments partly due to superior reflexes and physical stamina compared to older players over 40.
Rules knowledge and efficiency matter as much as raw skill in modern Expo tournaments due to extended game times.
Tom did not have the stamina to stream the women's tournament on Sunday at Expo after streaming all-night Saturday games ending at 2 AM.
Host's childhood friend Tom committed suicide accidentally in sixth grade
Stern receives disproportionate critique compared to boutique manufacturers for identical issues due to production volume
Software asset expectations are lower for boutique manufacturers than for Stern and Jersey Jack
GNR's rule set is non-intuitive and requires repeated play or back-glass monitor reading to learn optimal shots
GNR is not a tournament game and is unlikely to appear on competitive circuit, reducing appeal for tournament-focused players
Chicago Pinball Expo uses Tilt Amusements to provide Stern games for tournaments, already achieving sponsorship goals
Stern Pro Circuit Championship is more appropriate venue than InDisc for manufacturer marketing initiatives
Tom's son is ranked higher than Tom in competitive pinball
Tom has attended 3 Rush concerts and named his son Neil after Rush drummer Neil Peart
Tom spent over $200 on qualifying entries at Free Play Florida
Tom is exceptionally skilled at games with small flipper mechanics like Cosmos
Tom won an Avengers Infinity Quest launch party at Cool Music Stop Bar and Grill in Harvard, Illinois, placing in top 4 and winning finals with 7-5-3-1 scoring.
Metallica LE had comparable secondary market demand in 2021 to Mandalorian LE in 2024, driven by collectible toy value
Mandalorian secondary market is driven primarily by the Grogu toy collectible rather than game design itself
Tom bought his first pinball machine (NBA Fast Break) in 2006 on eBay and overpaid for it
NBA Fast Break machines are available on secondary market for approximately $2,500
Tom's father had an arcade/pinball route in the 1980s with multiple machines
The Hobbit has 31 modes with 3 wizard modes; Tom has completed two of them
Ghostbusters pinball has a design issue with its flipper gap that many players find problematic
Tom prefers games with difficulty that he may never complete, as they maintain long-term interest
Pinside forums discuss Ghostbusters ramp shot issues and potential modifications
Motion graphics artist, worked on storyboarding and full-screen effects for the game