The suppression is temporary; the podcast will return

Modern pinball community expectations (multiple wizard modes, comprehensive rulesets, complete content) drive feature bloat even among players who won't access that content

Sorcerer is not as exploitable as other games from 1985, making it superior from a gameplay balance perspective

Bounty Hunter's art style was inspired by an old French comic book

The biplane sound effect on King Kong's pigtail ramp makes that shot feel better than the equivalent on Godzilla.

Dune is still in limited production and not yet released to the public

Pinball machines were made to be placed on location, not kept in homes

Honest pricing (listing acceptable price rather than high anchor point) leads to better overall transaction experience

Fixing a game before sale is worth the investment; buyers trust working machines far more than mystery repairs

New Stern games are available below MSRP if buyers negotiate with multiple distributors

Pinball machines are not investments and do not appreciate in value reliably

Used machines from casual sellers often have undisclosed defects that cost hundreds to repair

Honda Fit can fit a pinball machine; Rivian electric SUVs cannot

Quality distributors provide white-glove setup services to first-time buyers including unboxing, testing, and configuration

Credit card sign-up bonuses (~$500 cash back) can offset ~7% of typical pinball machine purchase cost

Ghostbusters is NOT a fan layout due to Scoleri Brothers mechanic and goofy ramp design

Pinball players use Pinball Map to plan road trips based on location game lineups

Godzilla Premium multiball where the building crashes and dumps balls is one of the best hook mechanics from modern Stern games

A friendly plunge is more important than easy ramps for gateway games

Most of the best gateway games are from the 1990s era

Spooky Pinball games cannot reliably survive months on location unattended without major failures.

Operators buy tokens at 15 cents per unit but bank quarters cost 25 cents

Ground Control uses a card system with games priced at 66 cents to $1.00

There may be a geographic clustering of unusual electrical splicing/hacking patterns in machines, possibly from a single operator or family business in Rochester area

Sharky's Shootout was the only U.S. Stern release with outlane post save buttons (dual-button center post)

Rebuilding Sharky's Shootout flipper and drop target mechs makes them feel strong and snappy rather than cheap

Jersey Jack Pinball games come from the factory with a headphone jack

Modern Stern games can reset to zero by simultaneously holding left flipper button and start button

Playing pinball during slower hours (early afternoon) provides better audio and game experience than busy evenings

Spooky Pinball machines have built-in subwoofers that allow audio to be heard over ambient bar noise

Alex owns 6 pinball machines

Tournament play is not a requirement to become a good pinball player; friends play and high score chasing are equally valid paths

Attack from Mars is a gateway game that teaches new players about rule objectives and multiball through intuitive gameplay

Ground Control arcade in Portland opened 20+ years ago and influenced arcade bar culture across the country

California arcades and barcades will open June 12 in Phase 3 reopening with limited capacity

Cyclone is 'probably the best of the late model single ball games that we ever did' despite repeating shots

Diner pinball machines are rare and not commonly seen in modern operator routes

Holy Diver is a new Sacramento pinball venue with three premium Stern games (AC/DC Luci, Metallica, Iron Maiden) and live band entertainment