Vintage EM games have appreciated 4-5x in value over 40+ years; Fireball (1972, $799) now sells for $3000-$4500
Modern pinball games have lost the great skill shots of past EM machines
King Of Diamonds reproduction uses approximately 70% original parts from the 1960s Gottlieb game
Pre-orders for King Of Diamonds have been very strong, with Gold Editions likely to sell out before production
Increased EM demand is driven by diminished modern pinball production and variety, plus nostalgia from aging players with disposable income
Purist EM collectors will not be satisfied with King Of Diamonds reproduction; it does not have adequate appeal for either collector or casual player segment
King Of Diamonds estimated cost is $3,000 with discounts available for multiple purchases
Modern EM games have too many gadgets, blind activity, and complex rules that rival video games; vintage machines are simpler and more appealing
Games planned to follow King Of Diamonds include Kings & Queens, Muscle Car Café, Cactus Jack, Crosstown, and El Dorado
Games should go to production in summer with release a few months later
Josh Sharpe, Roger Sharpe and Steve Epstein established the IFPA
In 2006, WPPR tracked 52 tournaments and awarded points at all of them
Keith Elwin was crowned 2006 WPPR champion
P3Tournament's first event in 2004 had almost 60 players from over 12 different states
Adding tournaments to shows increases their profile and stature
Tournament growth helps bring pinball back into the mindset of the general public
The European Pinball Championships relaunched in 2005 in the Netherlands
The UK Pinball League is designed to raise skill levels and interest in pinball in the UK
Greg Maletic first conceived the documentary idea in 2001 while working at a software company looking for a new challenge
Williams pinball division closed approximately one month after Greg Maletic visited the factory to discuss joining
George Gomez told Greg that it was not a good time to join Williams at the time of his visit
The documentary was originally titled 'The Future Of Pinball' but was renamed 'TILT - The Battle to Save Pinball' to appeal to a wider audience
The documentary experienced significant post-production delays including re-edits and a new soundtrack after the original 2004 target release date
Martin Ayub founded Pinball News in 1999 following Bally's closure to document that pinball was still alive
Martin Ayub was UK #1 ranked tournament player for an extended period
Pinball News published an article on Classic Playfield Reproductions' origins in 2005 that remains the primary available source on the company's history
In 2000, Stern was the only major pinball company left standing
Class People Republic (London pinball club) operates between 60-70 machines
Martin Ayub is a collector of 11 pinball machines
Competitive tournament play was negatively impacting Martin Ayub's mental health
Pinball is experiencing a vibrant resurgence with significant volume of industry news
Project Pinball places machines in children's hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, and other medical facilities for therapeutic purposes
Daniel Spolar discovered therapeutic uses for pinball machines through his background as a contractor
Community support is vital for long-term sustainability of charitable work
Project Pinball was founded in 2011 after discovering a non-functional 2007 Stern Spider-Man pinball machine at a children's hospital
Daniel Spoler's son was diagnosed with leukemia at age 14, which directly influenced his motivation to create Project Pinball
Playing pinball provides singular focus and stress relief that helps players escape from daily problems and trauma
Hospital child life specialists validate that pinball machines provide therapeutic benefits for hospitalized children and their families
Spoler walked away from pinball for approximately 18 years while raising his family and returned when his children left for college/military service
Spoler's leadership philosophy emphasizing worker compensation, transparency, and human dignity was developed through observing poor practices in Florida construction industry
Learning what not to do from negative examples is as important as learning positive practices
Pinball machines in public spaces during Spoler's childhood were ubiquitous in 7-Elevens, Pizza Huts, restaurants, bowling alleys, and arcades
Spooky Pinball has secured licensing rights to 'Jump in the Line' after months of it being absent from Beetlejuice.
999 'Jump in the Line' limited edition Beetlejuice machines will be produced and sold exclusively through Flip N Out Pinball.
Spooky signed a new, unexpected license deal that is out of their typical portfolio and represents a genre departure.
Evil Dead is objectively more gruesome and violent than Texas Chainsaw Massacre with ten times the gore.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is Spooky's best game despite slower market adoption than Halloween.
Spooky's entire programming team is currently together in Madison, creating potential supply chain risk.
The right orbit drain in Beeteljuice was added to address community feedback that the game was too easy.
Charades mode in Beetlejuice was modified in the recent code update to be easier for players to complete.
Spooky discovered through TCM that the market for extremely intense horror content is smaller than expected after Halloween's success.
The humor element of Evil Dead franchise (Bruce Campbell) was the key factor in its market success despite being more graphically violent than TCM.
American Pinball is producing a reimagined Circus Voltaire game expected to release later this year
Melvin from Deep Root Pinball is involved in American Pinball's Circus Voltaire project
Monster League Hockey allows single-player games with proximity sensors under flippers
Circus Voltaire is one of the most popular competitive J-pop Williams games alongside World Cup Soccer
If remaking a J-pop game for profit, Circus Voltaire is the strategic choice
Keith Elwin's Avengers Infinity Quest is Tony's least favorite Elwin game
Keith Elwin's Jurassic Park is the one Elwin game Tony doesn't own but would like to
Barrels of Fun's Dune Pinball requires audio, video, and lighting to be fully appreciated in home environment
Pokémon shoots better than Beetlejuice and Winchester
Pokémon's code is not ready and vision could take 1.5 years to fully develop
Harry Potter will depreciate significantly in secondary market due to unlimited CE production
Sonic will be Steve Ritchie's greatest game ever
A Pokémon LE is available for $3,000 markup from a private seller
Transformers reveal scheduled for May with June rollout
Stern pricing at $13K-$20K+ is overvalued; local dealers selling Elise at $22K
Jersey Jack overbakes code with too many simultaneous events in games like Potter
Pokémon's 180+ Pokémon collection mechanic is unmatched replay value in Stern catalog
Chris Turner should outsource Yukon Yeti production to American Pinball's 6 lines
New code version for Dune may help with worm magnet not catching ball cleanly
Las guns do not get harder to qualify as game progresses
Dune scoop can be adjusted with crescent wrench to direct ball toward right flipper
Flipper power and responsiveness varies significantly based on venue electrical infrastructure
Whitewood will receive code update with first wizard modes and travel mode rule changes
Librarian Rackus in Dune wizard mode cannot be played twice in single game
Default timer for Run from Shai Hulud mode is 30 seconds
Dune designer Eric implemented optional difficulty adjustments for specific shots to help struggling players
Pokemon Pinball is bringing significantly more new players to arcades than D&D Pinball by Stern did
Both Pokemon Pinball Pro and Premium versions at Electric Bat are occupied approximately 20 hours per day
Approximately 75% of new pinball machines require setup or repairs out of the box
Stern began shipping pinballs coated in oil to reduce corrosion
Electric Bat generates more than 50% of revenue from pinball/arcade games
Electric Bat submits 110-125 unique players per 6-week IFPA series out of ~200 total unique players during that period
Arizona has approximately 450 tournament players, with 250-300 playing regularly
Electric Bat's social media and podcasting efforts drove explosive growth in Arizona pinball community
Godzilla is an excellent first pinball machine choice for new buyers with sufficient budget
Operating an arcade venue requires 60+ hours per week when also running bar operations and events
E.K. Fernandez pioneered Hawaii's first vaudeville act, ice show, rodeo, amusement ride, and circus
Fun Factory was created in 1977 as an indoor family entertainment center
Fun Factory expanded to 12 states on the mainland starting in 1981
Kane Fernandez died in 2001
Linda Fernandez demonstrated exceptional leadership ability in amusement and coin-op businesses
Hooky opens April 29 at Nashville Yards
Facility spans 50,000 square feet across multiple stories
Hooky will include dine-in cinema, full-length bowling lanes, and interactive arcade
Hooky is designed to turn a night out into something bigger through shared experiences
The Card Recycle Kiosk was created based on operator needs
The kiosk can hold roughly 2,000 cards
Operators can save money on card reorders by reusing collected cards
Boxcar Bar + Arcade operates existing locations in Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro, North Carolina
A new Boxcar Bar + Arcade location is coming to Winston-Salem
The opening date for the Winston-Salem location has not yet been announced
IAAPA Meetup is scheduled for May 6, 6-8:30 p.m. at IAAPA HQ in Orlando
Member registration costs $49; non-member registration costs $99
Orlando Magic executive leadership will provide a special guest announcement
Week 10 tournament runs April 10–16, 2025 (Friday 3:00 p.m. PT to Thursday 11:59 p.m. PT)
17 general winners and 3 DPWR winners will receive AtGames Gift Card prizes
AtGames Gift Cards do not expire
On-device gift card redemption support will be added in a future AtGames update
The inaugural IFPA Women's European Pinball Championship was held at Lund Pinball Academy in Sweden
Kate Rothwell-Jackson won the championship with a 4-2 victory over Karyn Kiser in the finals
Kate Rothwell-Jackson was the top seed after qualifying rounds
Claire Lickman defeated Nora Sommerfeldt 2-1 in the bronze match for 3rd place
Winners of the Women's European Championship earned a spot to compete in the IFPA European Pinball Championships held the same weekend
Redstone Pinball contributed €670 to the championship prize pool
Pokémon Premium's auto-plunger minimum coil power setting is 58%
At 58% power, the auto-plunger produces clean skill shot execution without gate pauses; at higher power settings, ball physics becomes erratic and dangerous
Right scoop eject behavior on Pokémon Premium varies with coil power; too much power sends the ball into slingshots (causing drains), while lower power produces safer flipper feeds
Pinball machine coil performance changes as machines warm up during play; cold machines and warm machines behave differently
Another instance of Pokémon Premium that the creator has played exhibited guaranteed drain behavior from the scoop
Scoop feed consistency is a critical design requirement for pinball games; poor scoop behavior can cause players to abandon a game
Pokémon Premium requires perpetual coil power re-adjustment throughout its lifespan as it gets broken in and accumulates wear
Texas Pinball Festival felt less corporate and more like a casual gathering compared to Pinball Expo
Spooky Pinball's recent games are hitting consistently well in the market
Yukon Yeti's music and callouts don't match the quality of Whitewater
Turner will sell out 500 Yukon Yeti units at $10,000 within the next few months, primarily to collectors
American Pinball's new logo change was necessary and an improvement over their previous AI-generated logo
Pokemon serves as an effective gateway game for introducing young players to pinball
Multimorphic games have strong technical platform capabilities but lack a breakout designer/game that would serve as a 'killer app'
Dennis Nordman designed Yukon Yeti originally and it was passed over by American Pinball before Turner acquired it
Compulsive Pinball has an upcoming Stern game releasing soon
Compulsive Pinball offers routing and operator services on the East Coast and in Orlando, Florida
Pokémon Pinball has perfect balance between easy-to-understand and difficult-to-master gameplay with the center shot being far up the playfield creating a skill gate
Approximately 80% of the pinball buying community are homeowners rather than operators or commercial buyers
Pokémon Pinball costs $13,000+ but appears to be worth $7,000 in mechanical effort and features
Crazy Levy called Pokémon Pinball 'one of the worst games ever' and said he's embarrassed by the design
Winchester Mystery House production is somewhere in the 80s or 90s out of a total 525-unit run
Yukon Yeti buyers locking in deposits will see approximately 18 new games released before they must pay the final balance
Transformers pinball features Pat Lee artwork with big-legged, anime-manga style that may not appeal to G1 Transformer fans
Transformers pinball will be released in May
Beetlejuice machines are around unit 200-something in production and expected to ship to winners in July
Non-owners regularly post critical comments in game owner threads on Pinside, a pattern occurring across Pokémon, Beetlejuice, Winchester, and Dune threads
The 2025-26 IFPA European Pinball Championship is being held in Lund, Sweden
The championship winner earns qualification to the IFPA World Championship in De Pere, Wisconsin
The championship winner receives a new-in-box Stern Pinball machine as prize
The Three Musketeers booth was poorly marketed at the show
Yukon Yeti has clean aesthetics without excessive lighting effects or weird color choices
Manu works in postproduction, editing, and motion graphics for video production
The 3 Musketeers is more accessible than Space Hunt and was specifically designed to be easier to play
Hexa Pinball developed and patented a proprietary insert technology combining epoxy resin with custom shapes and LED diffusion
The canon mechanism required extensive engineering effort to synchronize multiple components including motor, barrel, and coil
Approximately 450 LEDs are distributed across The 3 Musketeers playfield
The game's theme was chosen because The Three Musketeers is an internationally known work by Alexandre Dumas that provides rich thematic elements for mechanics
A hidden opto sensor detects strikes to a structural support beam, crediting it as a playable shot to avoid closing trajectories
Development timeline from initial VPX design to physical prototype was approximately one year total, with three months of VPX prototyping
Hexa Pinball uses multi-level playtesting including lowest-skill team member to validate accessibility of playfield layout
The Three Musketeers is an upcoming pinball game by Hexa Pinball
RGB sensing enables rails to automatically detect and mimic GI color changes from the game
Jersey Jack Pinball games change GI colors frequently during normal gameplay
RGB sensing will be included in all Glowrails kits going forward
Erica has been involved in pinball for approximately four years since discovering it in 2022
Erica worked as a freelance filmmaker on movies and TV shows for seven to eight years
Manu has been playing pinball since age 12
Manu's first pinball machine was Nip It, which features a large alligator
The podcast will occasionally feature guests who can share their pinball experiences
Solid State Pinball is easily accessible from the highway and located near the Ferris wheel in downtown Kansas City
The venue offers the best value pricing for unlimited pinball play in the region ($60/month)
Solid State Pinball has a diverse game collection spanning from classic to modern titles
Turbo Time features a V8 Hemi engine with 170 cc's displacement equivalent to 10.7 cubic inches that serves as a ball-locking mechanism
The steering wheel controller is sourced from the 1980s Atari arcade game Road Blasters
Turbo Time is Nick Moran's first homebrew game
Development of Turbo Time took approximately 2 years from initial concept to near-completion
Nick Moran works for Dodge and incorporated Mopar branding and design elements into the game
Turbo Time maps actual American racetracks to playfield shot sequences in track select mode
Steve Ritchie played an early whitewood version of Turbo Time at an Expo event
The game is designed with fast-paced gameplay inspired by Steve Ritchie's design philosophy
Top Gun Pinball is the first public showing of the game after 6 months of VPX development
Brad used Claude AI as a coding tutor with first-grade level explanations to learn pinball programming
The game features 10 different punishments in multiball that can be applied when MIGs shoot the player
Brad has no formal background in CAD, coding, or welding and taught himself through this project
Brad plans to build a Hot Rod Pinball next, followed by Fast and Furious Pinball
Cost and time are significant barriers preventing Brad from immediately starting the next pinball build
Player response to Top Gun Pinball over the first 36 hours at the festival was uniformly positive
The game was initially shown with whitewood playfield art to test the printing and clear coat production process
Getaway is valued at $3,000-$3,500 USD according to Pinside
Only 19 Pinsiders own a Getaway, making it rarer than Gammatron
The three Getaway machines came from an Ontario operator distributor lot that also contained Alaskas, Hesitation, Ricochet, Monte Carlo, Computer Baseball, and Computer Space
Allied Leisure used LED displays in the 1977 Getaway
Getaway uses non-standard leg hole widths that don't match standard pinball machine leg sets
A mint condition (new in box, ~300 plays) Getaway is listed for $5,000 USD on the secondary market
Allied Leisure's microprocessor system was designed specifically to enable self-diagnostic capabilities
Mike Dimes plans to fully restore one Getaway and sell the other two together for another collector to restore
Tananiel Flies is working on the code for Pokémon Premium
Pokémon Premium contains significantly more code than James Gomez's Bond, which had no code
Combo evolution mechanics in Pokémon Premium are unusual to see in release code; typically added later
Foo Fighters is one of the streamer's absolute favorite Stern machines ever
Pokémon Premium has a mini-wizard mode that activates when all main Pokémon are completed
The battle arena / toilet bowl shot on Pokémon Premium has flow or design issues compared to similar shots
Pokémon Premium uses continuous rule callouts and player guidance at release, which is unusual for early code versions
Cardona Pinball unveiled Fish Tales: Ultimate Fishing Challenge 2.0 at Pintastic New England 2026
This is Cardona Pinball's third Bally/Williams 2.0 kit
Heart's 'Barracuda' has been secured for the kit (pending final paperwork)
Cardona is in negotiations for B-52's 'Rock Lobster' and a third song
The kit includes a 15.7" monitor replacing the DMD and a 5" mini-screen replacing the 'Stretch the Truth' plastic
The original Fish Tales code is fully intact with new content layered on top rather than a complete remake
Players choose from five fishermen at the start of each game, each with unique skills, call-outs, animations, and music
Cardona cannot take sales orders until all music licenses are finalized
Larry DeMar holds 38 U.S. patents in amusements, bowling systems and casino games
Space Shuttle (1984) kept Williams' doors open and launched the pinball industry resurgence
Addams Family is the best-selling pinball machine of all-time
By 1986, Larry DeMar moved into pinball full-time at Williams/Bally as director of pinball engineering and director of slot machine design
DeMar's technical innovations in automatic replay percentage, switch testing, and self-healing are now standard in virtually every new pinball machine sold
Dave Myers is the senior director of sales engineering at HTC VIVE
HTC VIVE helped establish the modern location-based XR industry
LEXRA provides direct connection between venue owners and industry expertise to help operators avoid preventable issues
HTC VIVE is deeply committed to the future of location-based XR entertainment
FUN Conference 2026 will take place May 11-13 in Loveland, Colorado
Matt Engram is the founder of Fritz's Adventure
Chris Epstein is business development officer at Laserforce
Registration includes free IAAPA Expo 2026 pass
Galaga is ranked #1 on ComicBook.com's Top 10 best 1980s arcade shooters
Space Harrier ranked #2 on the list
Commando ranked #3 on the list
Larry DeMar co-designed Robotron: 1984
Larry DeMar is a recent Amusement Industry Hall of Famer
Matthew Henick will become CEO of Meow Wolf effective April 27
Meow Wolf is preparing to open its largest and most ambitious exhibition in Los Angeles later this year
Meow Wolf is planning another exhibition in New York City in late 2027
Matthew Henick most recently served as senior vice president of consumer products for The Trade Desk
Matthew Henick previously served as CEO of Deep Voodoo, founded by Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Emily Reilhan is the first Canadian player to win the IFPA Women's North American Championship
Jack Revnew won the 2026 Texas Pinball Festival Wizards Tournament A Division using skill with classic machines
Sterling Mitoska secured his first Stern Pro Circuit win at Steel Valley Spring Mega Match Play
Women's competitive pinball is experiencing continued growth as evidenced by packed attendance at the third annual Women's North American Championship
March 2026 was a 'ridiculously busy month' for tournament pinball with multiple major events
Emily Reilhan won three women's championships (Canadian, North American, World) in the span of a couple of months
Stern Pokémon Pinball is scheduled for launch with coordinated arcade launch parties
The 2026 Texas Pinball Festival featured over 400 machines on the show floor
Steel Valley Spring Mega Match Play was a brand new tournament on the 2026 Stern Pro Circuit
Ashley Weaver and Emily Reilhan faced off twice during the same weekend (Women's North American semifinals and World Championship finals)
Mountain Dew pinball machine is happening and based on Stern's Home Edition platform
Mountain Dew pinball will be a very small production run made specifically for the brand
Stern's next Cornerstone game is strongly rumored to be cartoon Transformers with June production and late May reveal
Robert Mueller rejected a plea deal offering 10-12.5 years prison and is heading to trial where conviction could mean 27-34 years
SEC alleges Mueller spent over $1.5 million of investor money on personal expenses including weddings, rings, cruises, and Hawaiian condo
Wonderland Amusements is working on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hockey game
The 3 Musketeers by HEXA Pinball will make its first U.S. appearance at PinBrew Festival April 10-12 at The Church Arcade
Scorbit is available at fifteen locations with plans to expand to over thirty locations by end of month
The Pinball Capital features 130+ machines, mostly premiums or LEs, unprecedented for Chicago arcades
Gottlieb and Stern factories operated within a mile of The Pinball Capital's location
Roger Sharpe's demonstration before Manhattan City Council occurred on April 2, 1976, exactly 50 years before TPC's screening
Jersey Jack Pinball entered the market in 2013 with The Wizard of Oz
Gary Stern kept pinball alive during the manufacturing void more importantly than Roger Sharpe's 1976 advocacy
Modern pinball games like Foo Fighters create accessibility barriers for casual and new players due to complex rule requirements
Brian Weisberg won both the match play and three-strikes tournaments at TPC opening despite entering with IFPA rank 3957
Humpty Dumpty (Gottlieb 1946) was the first pinball machine with flippers and led to development of modern pinball
Chicago overturned its pinball ban in 1977, the year after New York
The Game Terminal in Nashville has 103 games, fewer than TPC's 130+
Beetlejuice pulled in more quarters in its first week than two Pokemon machines combined
Hexa Pinball's Three Musketeers machines were held in customs and missed their TPF debut
Spooky and Jersey Jack Pinball pack the most content into their games compared to other manufacturers
TPF (The Pinball Factory) is a critical show where machine presence directly impacts sales and company viability
Monster League Hockey is being produced by Ramps Pinball
The 1980s arcade boom with Pac-Man and Asteroids nearly destroyed the pinball industry
Lumberjack Dave now has all Spooky playfields at the venue after acquiring Beetlejuice
Iron Maiden is the worst-performing game at Lumberjack Johnny's and should be rotated out
Stern switched to white boxes for Pokémon packaging due to branding considerations
Pokémon Premium uses Spike 3 board with simpler backbox layout than previous Stern machines
Power supply on Pokémon Premium is positioned in the middle rather than by the switch like previous models
Machine includes replacement parts for commonly broken items like sling tops and inlanes
Pokémon Premium will be highly popular with modders and customizers
Zach Sharpe from Flipping Out provided early access to Pokémon Premium for Wild Dog Arcade
Software update for Pokémon Premium includes bug fixes, reliability improvements, and additional feature content
Turner Pinball's Yukon Yeti had lines of players waiting before TPF 2026 show opened
American Pinball announced Circus Voltaire as their first 'reimagine' game in limited production run
Dennis Nordman designed Yukon Yeti with engineer Zophia
Gabe Hernandez worked at Deep Root Pinball before joining Turner Pinball
70% of the pinball market is home-based games
Multimorphic's P3 machine allows playing 27 different games on one cabinet
Brad Albreight provided artwork for Portal (Multimorphic), Monster League Hockey (Danzig/Kildozer), and Winchester Mystery House (Barrels of Fun) in the past year
Strong IP/themes like Pokemon, Beetlejuice, and Portal are critical drivers for attracting new players and collectors
Celebrity visibility and 'stars' playing pinball would significantly boost mainstream appeal
Live streaming pinball from home and arcade locations attracts younger demographics and drives growth
The Harry Potter pinball machine has been installed at the Lyric Theater on Broadway
Tom Felton has not previously encountered a pinball machine as sophisticated as the Harry Potter version
The Harry Potter pinball machine features significantly more intricate artwork and detail than machines Tom Felton has seen before
The Broadway Lyric Theater location is an optimal venue for the official Harry Potter pinball machine
Erika has been actively involved in pinball for approximately four years, beginning in 2022.
Manu first played pinball at age 12 on a machine called 'Nip It'.
Manu has been in the pinball hobby long enough to need to actively cut back discussions due to community feedback.
Erika has worked as a freelance filmmaker for 7-8 years, including corporate work.
Manu works in video production with specialization in postproduction, editing, and motion graphics.
Six Million Dollar Man has a completely missing J1 connector on the solenoid driver that cannot be located despite thorough inspection
Twilight Zone was acquired on June 11, 2021 from Steve Kerchen for $6,100 plus $20 tip ($6,120 total)
Steve Kerchen originally purchased the Twilight Zone for $2,000 with delivery included
Twilight Zone suffered humidity damage from U-Haul storage unit that leaked, causing battery corrosion and rubber deterioration
Twilight Zone gumball motor issue was caused by a cut wire; jumpering transistor Q32 resolved the motor operation
Twilight Zone exhibits prototype/early production post plugs instead of standard production components
Overheating is a primary failure mechanism in Twilight Zone machines; vent holes were drilled in playfield to mitigate thermal issues
Aftermarket solutions for Twilight Zone clock issues work with varying degrees of success
Mike Dimas won the Forked River tournament with 25 players, final game on Rock
The goal of the Twilight Zone restoration is to create a one-of-a-kind Grasley Garage masterpiece through multi-thousand dollar investment
Pokémon is either the largest or second-largest IP license in pinball history, with only Hello Kitty comparable
The Pokémon Company (not Nintendo) owns the Pokémon IP and controls licensing
Code updates for Pokémon may be slow due to strict licensing approvals from The Pokémon Company
The game currently has 192 Pokémon available
Pokémon Premium's Spike 3 platform uses only one cable for streaming setup
Multiple location venues have replaced existing games with Pokémon
Pokémon pinball has strong appeal as an accessible game for casual players, similar to classic Williams games
Joel will likely purchase a Pokémon Pro model by the end of the year
New pinball machines cost approximately $7,000 on average, with Pokémon LEs exceeding this price point significantly
Theme is the primary driver of secondary market value for pinball machines
Used machines require ongoing maintenance within the first 6 months to several years of ownership, with component failures being common
The biggest mistake first-time buyers make is purchasing based on theme/hype without playtesting the game
Pokémon pinball will drive a significant wave of new players into the hobby
Classic games like Addams Family and Twilight Zone command secondary market prices equal to or exceeding new machines
Wide-body pinball machines are significantly heavier than standard machines and require specialized moving equipment
A properly 'shopped out' machine includes deep playfield cleaning, new rubbers, lighting upgrades, mechanism rebuilds, and comprehensive testing
Overpaying for LE machines (e.g., $40,000 for certain limited editions) represents a significant first-time buyer mistake
Personal gameplay preference should take priority over expert recommendations when purchasing a pinball machine
Leebo was given a 1991 Data East TMNT machine by his wife's aunt around 2010-2011
PinDoc was Leebo's coworker and performed approximately 90% of the work on the initial TMNT restoration
The TMNT machine was stored for a few years before being returned to Leebo around 2016
A 1955 Gottlieb Sluggin Champ restoration took approximately 80-100 hours of work and resulted in 12 videos
Leebo restored approximately 10 different games for Pinball Garage in Hamilton, OH
Leebo uses warm-white, clear-lens LEDs for EM restorations to minimize heat and maintain original appearance
LED light strips and adhesive-mounted mods from Leebo's Pinball Garage work have shown durability issues in high-use arcade environments
Leebo's video methodology was inspired by how Todd 'TNT' Tuckey used to make videos
Leebo uses OCD LED boards for System 11 and WPC games to reduce flicker harshness
Leebo's favorite aspects of restoration are lighting improvements and flipper rebuilds
Space-themed pinball machines could succeed commercially with proper code and visual aesthetics
NASA would be a better licensing partner than SpaceX due to cultural iconicity and brand recognition from childhood
Pinball manufacturers should employ dedicated creative directors to oversee lighting, sound, and moment choreography separately from rules designers
Godzilla Premium and Pros are shipping in April 2026
Jaws Pro/Premium, Jurassic Park Pro, and King Kong Pro/Premium are shipping in April 2026
American Pinball is producing a second run of 150 Galactic Tank Force units with improved sculpts and topper by Melvin Williams
Transformers is the rumored second Stern Cornerstone title for May/June 2026
Ball guide feed issues on newer pinball Premium models can be corrected with simple screw adjustments rather than drilling into the playfield
Players are more motivated to keep machines in their collection for memorable moment experiences rather than scoring achievements
Light show choreography creates more replay value than mechanical toys or complex ramps
Batman '66 by Stern Pinball is installed and operational at Lynn's Arcade
The player achieved or attempted to achieve a 374M score on Batman '66
The Boy Who Lived wizard mode has a bug where locked balls don't drop consistently, causing the super jackpot to time out
When three balls are locked on The Boy Who Lived, the ball drop occasionally fails to register in time, timing out the parking super jackpot
JC's Six Million Dollar Man will be picked up on Saturday the 11th
Slugfest is waiting only on art blades for completion
Tales of the Arabian Nights is receiving a full playfield swap
Custom Pinball Restoration (CPR) ordered three playfields but only delivered two
Mike DePue's Star Trek machine was one of Kevin's first restoration projects before he offered decal/stencil services
Two Allied Leisure Getaway machines fit in a 2012 Ford Escape just barely with no room for a finger
A hidden duck was placed in Medieval Madness at Grasley Garage arcade
The Six Million Dollar Man display set cost approximately $250 for seven displays
My premium Pokémon has been shutting off and I've been working with Stern support on the issue.
Multiple customers are reporting issues with their Pokémon LE machines as they reach the field.
Pokémon LE unit #60 arrived in perfect condition with no nicks, cuts, or damage.
Raiden Mods offers a $199 servo-based animated Pikachu tail modification for Pokémon LE.
Foil decals on pinball machines cost approximately six times more than standard decals but the LE at 2x Pro pricing didn't include them.
The Pokémon LE includes better speakers than the Premium version.
Stern ships Pokémon LE with bolts pre-installed to prevent rattling and loss during shipping.
The standard cash box lock on Spike 3 platforms has been changed from a smooth round bar to a laser-cut metal flap, affecting aesthetic appeal.
Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel from Electric Playground have officially joined American Pinball as employees
Brian Vincent acquired American Pinball from Aimtron
American Pinball has acquired two licenses: one based on a movie and one based on a band
Nick Neitzel is designing a new American Pinball game based on a previously acquired license
Dungeons & Dragons has reached code version 1.0 with a planned third major update still to come
The partnership between Electric Playground and American Pinball originated when Brian Vincent saw Electric Playground's Circus Voltaire topper at Amusement Expo
American Pinball is currently building Houdinis, Galactic Tank Force, and a new Hot Wheels edition
It's been a while since we've had a new music-themed pinball machine
IAAPA Expo Asia will be held June 9-12 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Su Zhigang is the first Chinese industry leader inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame
CinemaCon 2026 occurs April 14-15 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
Sacoa Cashless System will exhibit in booth #938J
Sacoa recently partnered with VenueSumo for Australian expansion
iPlay Australia is opening its first new FEC of 2026 in Sydney
Yoshihisa Kishimoto died on April 2 at age 64
Yoshihisa Kishimoto created Double Dragon (1987)
Kishimoto created Cobra Command (1984), known as Thunder Storm in Japan
Firestone Financial served thousands of customers across amusement, vending, coin-op laundry, gaming and fitness industries
Cohen raised over $1 million for charities as chair of AAMA charity board for more than 10 years
Pokémon by Stern Pinball is shipping globally to homes and locations
The Walking Dead Remastered's SPIKE 3 Technology is nominated for a Webby Award
Keith Elwin is the greatest pinball player of all time based on Pin-Masters victory
Factory tours at Stern are limited availability and will fill up quickly
The Stern Army is expanding globally with troops in multiple locations
Jack Revnew earned his first Stern Pro Circuit victory at Texas Pinball Festival
Sterling Mitoska earned her first Stern Pro Circuit victory at Steel Valley Mega Match Play
The Walking Dead Remastered Premium is now available through the Stern Rewards Program
Pokemon LE unit #50 cost over $14,000 all-in including setup and customization
Pokemon is approximately $2,000 more expensive than Guns N' Roses CE
Guns N' Roses has poor shot layout and cumbersome gameplay compared to Pokemon
Stern LE machines should feature radial/premium decals like Batman SLE rather than basic stickers
Pokemon's long-term success depends primarily on code quality and future software updates
George Gomez made the right design decision prioritizing accessibility over mechanical complexity
Pokemon is the first pinball machine to successfully engage Kaneda's family members (spouse and young child) for extended play
Pokemon's playfield has minimal interactive mechanical toys (Meowth, Squiddle Whirlpool, scoop, magnet) with no novel features
Pokemon features exceptional audio-visual presentation among the best on any Stern machine
Some Pokemon owners dismiss the game as inferior to Toy Story 4 in online communities
Brad spent approximately 6 months prototyping Top Gun in VPX before committing to physical construction
Brad used Claude AI with natural language prompts to teach himself coding without prior programming experience
Brad sourced the blank playfield from Ernie at Trident Pinball and received hardware support from Aaron at Fast Pinball
Top Gun Pinball received consistently positive player feedback during its first 36 hours at Texas Pinball Festival 2026
Brad plans to build a Fast and Furious pinball machine as his next project, with focus on the original 1989 film
Brad's primary motivation for designing Top Gun was as a family bonding experience and tribute to military service
Cost is a significant barrier to Brad's ability to fund multiple homebrew projects
The dual eject mechanic in Top Gun requires players to press both flippers in response to a Goose death-scene fail-state, creating skill-based outcomes
Marco considers Top Gun Pinball to be of production-quality caliber and is 'obsessed' with playing it
Brad has no prior experience with CAD, coding, or welding and learned these skills specifically for the Top Gun project
Friday the 13th debuted two years ago at Texas Pinball Festival 2024
Friday the 13th is Kyle's first completed homebrew game; Big Trouble in Little China is his second
The game contains 12 movies, 2 video games, and approximately 23-25 modes total
Kyle used Cobra board architecture (single board) rather than Fast boards (multi-node) for simplicity
Iterative hands-on prototyping is superior to digital design tools for homebrew development
The Friday the 13th font in Kyle's game only supports numbers 1-3; using 4+ causes a crash
Ernie Silverbird of Trident Pinball provided critical mentorship and homebrew kits to enable Kyle's first build
Kyle's primary design tools were PowerPoint and CapCut for asset creation
Kyle has a third homebrew game in development scheduled for Texas Pinball Festival 2027 debut
Friday the 13th looks like a commercial-grade game that could ship tomorrow
Robin Roth and Nick joined American Pinball this month as team members working with Brian Vincent
Electric Playground will produce Circus Voltaire topper for American Pinball's reimagined game launching later in 2024
Brian Vincent acquired American Pinball from Aimtron
American Pinball is currently producing Houdini, Tank Force, and new Hot Wheels machines
Hot Wheels sold surprisingly high unit volumes despite its COVID-era launch challenges
Barbecue's flipper coil issue can be resolved by replacing the coils despite good overall build quality
Electric Playground is moving to a new facility within two months
Turner's Yukon Yeti is Turner's best game to date based on positive reception at TPF
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
The IC leaderboard feature at locations drives people to put more quarters into the games
Stephanie won the Pokemon pinball launch party tournament with a score of 178-180 million
This was Stephanie's first open (non-women's-specific) tournament victory
Stern is a small to mid-sized company with limited resources, not a behemoth like Walmart or Amazon
D&D has saved progress features including character levels, items, trinkets, and story progression
Fallout pinball is rumored to be coming from Stern with advanced Insider Connected features
Spooky Pinball is working on Planet of the Apes
Stephanie shot 3.1 billion points on Venom, her best score on any modern Stern machine
Devil's Dare sold 3,800 units and was the most successful System 80A game
Devil's Dare was the first pinball game with a multiball restart feature
Caveman predates Baby Pac-Man as a hybrid pinball-video game
Marc Trudeau's first Gottlieb design credit was Rocky (1982)
Spirit (1,200 units) was primarily distributed to Europe, making US examples rare reimports
Black Hole's designer credit is disputed between 'Adolph Seitz Jr.' and 'Shing Lam' across databases
Going Nuts is valued at approximately $50,000 on Pinside
Restarting multiballs creates better gameplay tension than modern ball save mechanics
Golden Girls pinball domain has been registered
Domain registration monitoring is an effective method for predicting unreleased pinball titles
Multiple domain-flagged titles have been officially announced as real pinball games
Emily Reilhan won both the North American Women's Championship and the Women's World Championship in the same weekend in April 2026
Emily is possibly the first Canadian to win the Women's World Championship
Emily's father purchased Bram Stoker's Dracula in 2009 when she was 6 years old to join the BRPA home league
Emily placed 4th at the Metallica Stern launch party in her 5th tournament ever, beating Chase Nunez in a tiebreaker
Emily was feeling sick during both the North American Women's Championship and Women's World Championship tournaments
Sean O'Hare taught Emily the double danger nudge technique which transformed her game
Emily believes she could reach top 100 IFPA ranking with more big tournament participation
Princess Bride pinball machine theme appeals more to women players than men
The Vancouver/BC pinball scene is fragmented rather than centralized
Women's pinball tournaments create a different, safer vibe compared to regular bar tournaments and attract different players
Leland Kuykendall won the Barcade Fi-Di Monthly tournament on March 28th, marking his first tournament win in the city
Balls of Steel are currently leading Pinball NYC's left flipper division with a 6-1 record and 71 points
Greg Pavarelli is in first seed position for Scrapple League season 2 finals with 112 points across 4 visits
Rolling Stones at Margarita Island in Coney Island has had chronically non-functional flippers for 15 years
As of April 3rd 2026, there are 360 pinball machines in NYC at 74 public locations
Lord of the Rings at Scrappleland has a ball save light indicator that doesn't accurately reflect ball save status
The Colliders lost a tiebreaker match to Worms 255.2 million to 251.4 million points with the match determined in the final bonus count
Pokemon Premium machine was installed at Jack Bar on March 29th, replacing an earlier Pokemon Pro model
Ball Drainers and Schlubs are both 5-1 in Pinball NYC's right flipper division and will play in-venue 'jack off' match on April 7th
Venue staff should be notified directly of machine issues rather than through PinballMap comments for faster repairs
Kevin has apron decals available for Supersonic restoration
Pokemon Pinball project began in 2022 with a completely different design than what is now displayed
Game has remained mostly stable in design since 2024 Expo with incremental improvements
The Next Generation (TNG) by Steve Richie was the primary design inspiration including the Picard maneuver shot
Gyarados 3D sculpture sourced from Fiverr took 4 days to multicolor 3D print
CPU fans on flippers are essential—the first Expo appearance without fans resulted in flipper failure after 30 minutes
Custom widebody aprons had to be fabricated as they were unavailable commercially at the time of need
Jeff broke Winchester pinball machine the first day of playing it and has a community reputation for breaking machines
Owen and Luke recently moved to Texas approximately 6 months before this interview
Alice in Wonderland entered the public domain, enabling the team to choose this theme alongside at least two other manufacturers who made the same IP choice.
The VPX virtual pinball modeling phase took approximately six months before the game achieved a playable flipping state in simulation.
The team debuted the unfinished whitewood at TPF 2025 and got it flipping for the first time just two minutes before the show floor opened.
Playfield feedback from TPF 2025 led to repositioning of pop bumpers and other pieces, visible as holes in the current whitewood playfield.
Using a Street Fighter 2 arcade cabinet as the base cabinet proved more costly in time and money than anticipated, justifying the decision to source a new, purpose-built cabinet.
The team plans to have the Pinball in Wonderland machine mostly finalized by Chicago Expo in October 2026, with remaining work focused on code, music, and sound design.
Ernie Silverberg's kit and Discord community were instrumental to the project's development and success.
Omar learned that homebrew pinball machine development requires multifaceted expertise across electronics, mechanical design, game design, and narrative/storytelling.
Monsters Inc. homebrew features a magnetic ramp system where a magnet travels on the bottom of the wire form
Visual Pinball X physics are approximately 85% true to life compared to physical machines
Ernie has commissioned artwork from a Fiverr freelancer in the Philippines for three of his homebrew machines
Black Gorilla tape is the most important pinball hardware tool for show troubleshooting
Designing homebrew pinball machines is more addicting than collecting machines
Airballs are unpredictable and cannot be fully prevented through design planning
Texas Pinball Festival 2026 grew from approximately 5 homebrews the previous year to 14 this year
American Pinball is exploring providing damaged/defective cabinets to the homebrew community
Turbo Time's steering wheel control provides dual input for flipper firing and dedicated steering-specific shots unavailable to standard button controls
Nick Moran designed the engine mechanic to be a ball-lock upgrade over Corvette's shaking-ball engine
The game incorporates actual American racetracks converted into pinball playfield shots
Steve Richie played Turbo Time at Expo in whitewood form several years before TPF 2026
Turbo Time is Nick Moran's first pinball game, started after meeting Marco and Ernie at a show two years prior
The game lacks traditional tilt warnings and instead penalizes nudging with RPM loss
Steering wheel shots provide double scoring in drift mode compared to flipper shots
The homebrew community is supportive and actively helps unfinished games reach completion