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We Visited a 500+ Pinball Museum… These Machines Blew Us Away

Wild Dog Arcade·video·17m 47s·analyzed·Jun 4, 2026
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

Wild Dog Arcade explores Ann Arbor's 500+ machine pinball museum, highlighting underrated gems and iconic designs.

Summary

Wild Dog Arcade visits Ann Arbor Pinball Museum (Vintage Flipper World), a 500+ machine collection open only a few times yearly. The hosts showcase underrated gems and holy grail machines including Stargate, Banzai Run, Safeer, Joust, Motor Show, Starship Troopers, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Circus Voltaire, and Tales of the Arabian Knights, discussing their historical significance, mechanical innovation, and collector appeal.

Key Claims

  • Ann Arbor Pinball Museum (Vintage Flipper World) is only open a couple of times per year

    high confidence · Ed speaking at the beginning of the video

  • Stargate typically sells for $3,000-$3,500 and is an underrated gem

    high confidence · Ed discussing Stargate's market value and quality

  • Banzai Run has a vertical playfield mounted in the backbox, a unique experimental feature from 1988

    high confidence · Ed describing Banzai Run's mechanical innovation

  • Safeer was designed by Pat Lawler and features a magic token dispenser gimmick

    high confidence · Ed detailing Safeer's unique mechanics and designer credit

  • Motor Show (Mr. Game/Zachariah, 1989) had only 50-70 units produced and sells for ~$6,800

    medium confidence · Ed citing production estimates for Motor Show rarity

  • Joust is a rare two-player simultaneous pinball machine with flippers on opposite sides

    high confidence · Ed explaining Joust's mechanical design and competitive layout

  • Ripley's Believe It or Not (Stern, 2004) is an underrated gem designed by Pat Lawler

    high confidence · Ed positioning Ripley's among overlooked quality titles

  • Circus Voltaire costs $9,500-$11,000 and features the iconic ringmaster toy

    high confidence · Ed quoting Circus Voltaire's price range and signature feature

  • Tales of the Arabian Knights (Williams, 1996) features a dynamic magical lamp that redirects shots

    high confidence · Ed describing Tales of the Arabian Knights' mechanical centerpiece

  • A Tales of the Arabian Knights remake may be in development

    medium confidence · Ed speculating about a potential remake affecting pricing

Notable Quotes

  • “It's one of those machines you have to play. Pictures can't explain it.”

    Ed (Wild Dog Arcade)@ 3:28 — Emphasizes the experiential nature of Banzai Run's vertical playfield innovation

  • “Because of the weird unique gameplay and it's just a whole lot of fun to try to, you know, outmaneuver and outsmart this machine.”

    Ed@ 4:34 — Captures the appeal of unconventional pinball design and replay value

  • “It's not trying to be like a traditional pinball machine... It feels handcrafted and it has unique sense of humor.”

    Ed@ 6:01 — Defines what makes experimental machines like Safeer memorable and collectible

  • “That makes Joust feel almost like an alternative timeline for pinball design history.”

    Ed@ 7:52 — Conceptualizes rare head-to-head pinball as a missed design direction for the industry

  • “This machine feels like the movie, man. It's got some amazing strengths.”

    Ed@ 12:28 — Articulates how Starship Troopers successfully translates cinematic experience to pinball

  • “The ringmaster... will rise from beneath a playfield, taunt the player, and physically interact with the gameplay, and it feels alive because of that.”

    Ed@ 15:08 — Highlights the emotional impact of mechanical toys in creating immersion

  • “This was definitely one thing to check out. All right, our next pin is Ripley's Believe It or Not.”

Entities

Wild Dog ArcadeorganizationAnn Arbor Pinball MuseumvenueVintage Flipper WorldvenueStargategameBanzai RungameSafeergameJoustgameMotor Showgame

Signals

  • ?

    venue_signal: Ann Arbor Pinball Museum (Vintage Flipper World) operates as a massive 500+ machine collection across multiple buildings, open only a few times yearly, drawing pilgrimage visits from enthusiasts

    high · Ed states 'limited time thing. You can... They're only open a couple of times a year' and 'Thinking like 500 plus games in here... It's quite an impressive collection across multiple buildings'

  • ?

    historical_signal: Late 1980s-1990s marked experimental pinnacle in pinball design with manufacturers competing against video games, home consoles, and cinematic entertainment through mechanical innovation and unconventional playfield layouts

    high · Ed references multiple late-80s/90s machines (Banzai Run 1988, Starship Troopers 1997) as peak experimental period when 'manufacturers were trying all sorts of crazy ideas' and competing against PlayStation/N64 (1996)

  • $

    market_signal: Holy grail/rare machines command premium pricing: Banzai Run $8,300-$9,600, Safeer $8,900-$9,400, Circus Voltaire $9,500-$11,000; underrated gems like Stargate $3,000-$3,500; Motor Show rarities ~$6,800

    high · Ed provides specific price ranges for each machine discussed, with holy grails consistently in $8,000-$11,000 range while underrated gems significantly cheaper

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Innovative machines prioritize memorable mechanical centerpieces and unusual gameplay mechanics over traditional pinball conventions: Banzai Run's vertical playfield, Safeer's magic token dispenser, Joust's simultaneous two-player head-to-head, Circus Voltaire's ringmaster toy

    high · Ed repeatedly emphasizes how experimental machines departed from 'traditional pinball' design; Safeer 'doesn't try to be like a traditional pinball machine'; Joust uses 'flippers on opposite sides' with 'simultaneous gameplay'

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:02
Hidden in this massive museum of pinball history are the machines collectors dream about and the games nobody talks about that absolutely deserve more love. Today inside Ann Arbor Pinball Museum, we're hunting down the underrated gems, the forgotten masterpieces, and the holy grail machines that pinball fans chase for years. And some of these games might just surprise you.
0:28
Hey everybody, it's Gary and Ed from the Wild Dog Arcade. Today we are at >> the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum.
0:33
the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum.
0:33
the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum. >> So yeah, limited time thing. You can
0:35
So yeah, limited time thing. You can
0:35

Ed@ 13:27 — Transitions to discussing overlooked quality titles from the post-Williams/Bally era

Starship Troopers
game
Ripley's Believe It or Notgame
Circus Voltairegame
Tales of the Arabian Knightsgame
Pat Lawlerperson
Edperson
Garyperson
Williamscompany
Ballycompany
Sterncompany
Segacompany
Mr. Gamecompany
Zachariahcompany
Gottliebcompany
  • ?

    design_innovation: Iconic toy pieces serve as emotional centerpieces that drive collector appeal and gameplay memorability: Banzai Run's vertical playfield, Circus Voltaire's ringmaster head, Starship Troopers' brain bug, Tales of the Arabian Knights' magical lamp

    high · Ed emphasizes toys as key draws: 'giant pyramid toy,' 'iconic ringmaster toy that was mounted in the playfield,' 'giant bug toy... the machine's centerpiece,' 'magical lamp itself make the gameplay dynamic'

  • ?

    collector_signal: Extreme rarity drives collector value: Motor Show 50-70 units, Joust mechanically unusual with few produced, Safeer wasn't made in large quantities, Circus Voltaire limited production as 'artistic and experimental machine'

    high · Ed states Motor Show 'probably only about 50 to 70 of these things that exist,' Joust produced in limited numbers due to mechanical complexity, Safeer 'wasn't very many made'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Licensed IP machines (Starship Troopers, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Tales of the Arabian Knights) succeed by translating cinematic/thematic elements into mechanical gameplay and visual presentation that reinforces intellectual property identity

    high · Ed notes Starship Troopers 'feels like the movie,' Ripley's themed by 'bizarre world records and oddities,' Tales of Arabian Knights conveys 'fantasy artwork' and magical elements; success depends on 'how it feels to play'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Smaller manufacturers (Mr. Game/Zachariah, Sega) attempted unconventional design strategies to compete with dominant Williams/Bally during arcade decline and console emergence; Sega and others sometimes receive less respect than deserved

    high · Ed notes Motor Show was 'Italian manufacturer... trying their best to compete against... Williams and Bally,' and 'Sega pins have sometimes received a lot of less respect than it should'

  • ?

    operational_signal: Museum-scale pinball operation requires dedicated parts inventory and continuous maintenance staff; Ed observes parts storage areas and discusses with staff the ongoing maintenance burden of 500+ machine collection

    high · Ed notes 'they have a lot of parts... because of the amount of machines that were there to begin with' and speaks to 'one of the fellows there... Yeah, you yep, this is what it takes. We got to we got to be on top of all these things all the time'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Potential remakes of classic machines (Tales of the Arabian Knights) may affect secondary market pricing; collectors often prefer original machines over remakes despite modern game quality improvements

    medium · Ed states 'The remake may be something that's in the horizon that could affect pricing here and there, but let's be real, a lot of times the players... will really prefer the original machine over a remake'

  • ?

    historical_signal: Late 1990s marked a creative explosion before the arcade/pinball collapse; machines from 1996-1997 represent 'final explosion of creativity' before industry downturn, making these era machines particularly collectible and historically significant

    high · Ed emphasizes Tales of Arabian Knights 'represents a final explosion of creativity before the late '90s pinball collapse' and this context explains why collectors 'chase after it' and prefer originals

  • ?

    content_signal: Wild Dog Arcade produces regular live gameplay content on YouTube and podcast streams (Sunday/Wednesday evenings Eastern time) focused on pinball machine deep dives and enthusiast commentary

    high · Ed closes with 'Make sure to check out our live pinball action every Sunday and Wednesday evenings, Eastern time. Or you can watch us here on YouTube at Wild Dog Arcade'

    • So yeah, limited time thing. You can It's They're only open a couple of times a year. We got tickets to it come this year. Looking forward to playing a lot of games. Thinking like 500 plus games in here. >> Yeah, there's many.
    0:45
    Yeah, there's many.
    0:46
    Yeah, there's many. >> It's going to be a lot of fun. So we'll
    0:47
    It's going to be a lot of fun. So we'll
    0:47
    It's going to be a lot of fun. So we'll show you a bit of the arcade. It's got multiple buildings here. So it's quite an impressive collection. >> I can't wait. I We're just scratching
    0:55
    I can't wait. I We're just scratching
    0:55
    I can't wait. I We're just scratching the surface at this point. Yeah. >> All right, let's go play.
    0:58
    All right, let's go play.
    0:58
    All right, let's go play. >> Yeah.
    0:59
    Yeah.
    0:59
    Yeah. >> Here we are at Vintage Flipper World,
    1:02
    Here we are at Vintage Flipper World,
    1:02
    Here we are at Vintage Flipper World, also known as Ann Arbor Pinball Museum. Gary and I have only been to this location maybe twice before, and it is always amazing to be able to go back to this location and have an amazing time with all these machines. So, it was a lot of fun just going through the building and playing what we could play. But, in any event, here we go. We're jumping right into our very first pin. It is Stargate. Uh, it usually only sells for about 3,000, maybe 3,500 on on Penn's side, but honestly, it is an underrated gem. You'll notice right there, there is a giant pyramid toy with a alien kind of coming out of there. Really, really awesome themes throughout uh the entire game itself. You've got exploration, you've got the mystery, you've got the ancient technology, and you also have fast aggressive gameplay. The speed that you can get in this game is is difficult. Uh the shots can be fairly difficult as well if you're not timing things just right. It's chaotic energy for sure. That being said, it is more or less a underrated Gotautle gym. Many players have skipped over games like Stargate entirely, and that's mostly because of the dominance from Williams and Valley uh taking over the pinball market. Um, but as you can see, the game has great design in terms of what the shots have to offer. It has a wonderful visual presence overall. And when it comes to, you know, historical purposes, this game represents a period where pinball manufacturers were trying to compete with video games, home consoles, and increasingly cinematic entertainment overall. So, um, it was and is still a very fun pinball machine to try out. So, if you have the means to do so, definitely check out Stargate. All right. Another amazing, unique pen is Bonsai Run, uh, built by Williams back in 1988. It is definitely considered a holy grail pin, and for good reason. It is 8,300 to 9600 on Pennside, but here's the reason, the vertical playfield. Uh, most pinball machines keep everything on a horizontal playfield, but Bonsai Run literally launches the ball upward to a second playfield mounted vertically in the back box. That means players will suddenly have to look upward instead of downward. Watch the ball climb vertically. Experience pinball almost like an arcade video game and a whole lot more. Even today, it feels experimental. Pictures can't explain it. It's one of those machines you have to play. It does have that that motorcycle stunt theme to it and it does represent peak experimental pinball. I mean during the late 80s and 90s manufacturers were trying all sorts of crazy ideas. Moving toys, magnets, multi-level playfields, and so much more. I mean, it definitely matters in pinball uh history. It's a very memorable game. uh even if someone doesn't call it their best playing machine ever, it's everyone remembers this game um because of its iconic uh play style because of its overall theming and it feels like pinball designers are asking, can we even do this? And that's the spirit of Bonsai Run. Instead of refining traditional pinball, they tried reinventing how the player physically experiences the game. At the end of the day, all I can say is this pinball machine is a lot of fun to play. Speaking for myself, Bonsai Run is a game that every single time I get to see it on location and it's not very often. But every time I see it on location, I'm like, "Yes, yeah." Because of the weird unique gameplay and it's just a whole lot of fun to try to, you know, outmaneuver and outsmart this machine. Even though you're not into motorsports, you're going to have a lot of fun with this game. Safeer is our next game. This was done by Valley back in 1996. And man, what an amazing unique machine it is. It is considered a holy grail pen uh designed by Pat Lawler. Uh the the price range is somewhere in 89 9,400 range, but there's there's a good reason for it. It has personality. I mean, it's got amazing great amount of humor. It has some odd mechanics, some unconventional ideas, and it really does pull you in and want to play that game more and more. It doesn't try to be like a traditional pinball machine. In fact, here's that one mode that uh a lot of a lot of folks will talk about. It's the board game mode, and the player can advance around the physical board style path, which creates a feeling of progression that's very, very different from a typical pinball machine. Moreover, you've got a magic token feature, is the game's most legendary gimmick. When players reach certain achievements, the machine will dispense a physical token called the magic token. the token can be used in a separate game mode and they it really made the game feel very interactive in a very unique way. So, a lot of collectors, a lot of players really do have fond memories of this machine. It was there wasn't very many made and so that that's probably a good reason why it is more of a holy grail pin. It's not trying to be like a traditional pinball machine. Uh it's not relying on multiballs or large uh playfields. What it has is it has personality. It feels handcrafted and it has unique sense of humor, but I mean this feels less like a center pinball machine overall and more like a pinball experiment. And that definitely was at the peak. I mean, I hate to say it over and over again, but 1996 was definitely one of those years where you had home consoles like PlayStation and Nintendo 64 and just the overall uh decline in arcades. So, they were really trying hard to get something going to get excitement uh, you know, coming up on pinball machines again. So, it's it's definitely a very special machine for a lot of different reasons and it's well worth checking out. All right, coming up on our next pin that we're going to look at is Joust. This was done by Williams back in 1983. When you come across this machine, the only thing you can think of doing is, I want to play this against a friend. You can actually do a one-player mode. Um, it has that ability, but it really really does not uh give you that wow factor if you're not playing it with somebody else. So, two players playing pinball at the same time. What? Yeah. Flippers on opposite sides. Play uh the players are facing each other. There is simultaneous gameplay. Instead of waiting for your turn, you are battling them directly. So, it definitely feels more like an arcade duel. Now, the reason why it's so rare is because the concept was so unconventional and operators really weren't sure of how practical it would be. Uh, it occupied a lot of floor space. It definitely appealed to a niche audience. On top of that, very few true head-to-head pinball machines were ever produced because they were mechanically unusual. They were difficult to place commercially, leaving the players wondering, "What am I looking for?" That makes Jou feel almost like an alternative timeline for pinball design history. that the gameplay experience itself is just hectic. Balls can collide, interfere, disrupt shots. The experience becomes less about precision and more about pressure, reflexes, competition. And it has that connection to the arcade game. I mean, the joust arcade game itself really was an amazing competitive awesome experience to begin with. And then Williams translated that competitive spirit right into that physical pinball form. And this is an incredibly ambitious idea for 1983. And it even holds up to this day. That's the amazing thing about this game. So, definitely check it out if you can. Now, let's go ahead and take a little bit of a pause to see what Vintage Flipper World is really like. Uh Gary and I have only been on this location a couple of times before, and it became immediately apparent that they had actually added space and more machines to this place. It's such a unique location given the fact that it is kind of sprawled out a bit almost like a maze with five different maybe six different spots to kind of roam around and check out. It was a lot of fun getting lost as just as much fun as it was playing every machine that I could. Um, and like I said, the nooks and crannies, you kept going from building to building, kind of looking around, almost like a journey on your own, kind of figuring and seeing what's there. Now, this is sort of one of the areas where they go in and they have a lot of parts, and there's reasons for having all of those parts because of the amount of machines that were there to begin with. Um, I talked to one of the fellows there, and he was just telling me, "Yeah, you yep, this is what it takes. We got to we got to be on top of all these things all the time. All right, here's another unique machine. This is Motor Show um done by Mr. Game back in 1989. Now, you'll notice right away that there is a video monitor that is integrating elements in the game itself. And later on, you'll see some um some video footage of the different modes that are on that monitor. But you'll also probably have noticed that the Zachariah name is also attached to this machine. This is an Italian manufacturer. They were trying their best to compete against, you know, the big names like Williams and Bali. And oftentimes these machines had a lot of unusual layouts. In fact, here I noted that uh the orbit shot is well hidden. Um once you hit that shot, it's pretty much you're going to have to kind of time it. Um not something that a lot of machines back in ' 89 really did. As well as having that monitor, a lot of machines were still using the DMD display for, you know, things like the video modes and so forth. I also noted the look of the cabinet itself looks very weird and unique. When you look at it, it just looks so bizarre. It definitely stands out. Uh something to note too is as I was playing this game, I did feel that it was a fun and unique style. Um to to bring that together with that video mode um that was just so, you know, out of this world for its time. It's definitely a game worth checking out if you have the means to do so. Uh, these games are so rare, in fact, there's some estimates out there, there's probably only about 50 to 70 of these things that exist. And if they do pop up, you might get one for about 6800. Um, yeah, but here's one of the video modes, which is literally a a screen that you see nowadays on a typical Stern or any any uh modern day pinball that you will come across. So, definitely check out this game if you can. Anytime there's a rare and obscure as well as a unconventional and experimental pin, it's definitely worth taking note. All right, here's Starship Troopers by Sega. This was back done back in 1997, again during a huge time in pinball where it was trying it at Stardust to stand out. Um, but yeah, this being based off of a cult classic sci-fi license is a huge huge reason why there's a lot of uh, you know, love for this game. Uh, I particularly found it a lot of fun because of that third flipper that you see right there on the screen. It It surprisingly is easy to kind of adapt to and actually really have a lot of fun with it. The machine feels like the movie for a lot of different reasons. This came along during the final years of traditional pinball. Things were getting louder, things were getting faster, more theatrical, more chaos. Uh, it stands out because of a giant bug toy. Uh, the machine's centerpiece is this massive brain bug that was mounted in the playfield and interacting with the shots and dominating the table visually. And for years, Sega pins have sometimes received a lot of less respect than it should, but the machine feels like a movie, man. It it it's got some amazing strengths. It's overwhelming bug battles. This is one of the the most common things that players remember about this game is they have a lot of huge multiballs going on, a lot of frantic ball chaos and so forth. This definitely instantly gives the game some identity. It has so many different signature features. In fact, here's that brain uh brain bug that I was telling you about. This machine feels a lot like the pinball equivalent of an action movie, and that's what it's trying to do. It's uniqueness and its spectacle that it gives you definitely makes you feel that it is a machine to not mess with. Starship Troopers doesn't ease players into the action. and throws them directly into a chaotic sci-fi war filled with flashing lights, giant bugs, and non-stop multiball insanity. My goodness. I mean, by 1997, we were getting a lot of different things coming out, but this was definitely one thing to check out. All right, our next pin is Ripley's Believe It or Not. This was done by Stern back in 2004. Um, this is actually a fantastic machine to talk about um because it's loved by a lot of players, but it also gets overshadowed by flashier holy grail titles. So, um, it's an underrated gem in my opinion. It has that creepy head as one of the main uh, one of the main things in there, that shrunken head. Because of the source material being about bizarre world records and oddities, the game constantly throws unusual concepts at the player. This is a Pat Lawler design and uh it's one of the early Stern games after the Williams Valley era has ended. Uh it's a player's machine. It's deep. It's challenging. It's uh definitely packed with shots and modes that will reward you every time you play it. And as I mentioned, you know, the Pat Lawler DNA is everywhere. There's multiple looping shots. There's combo heavy gameplay and so on. So, it has a surprising amount of flow. But yeah, the three the freak theme variety is definitely on display big time here as you can see in this promo uh by Stern. Definitely check it out if you can. Uh one of the more unique designed uh pins out there. One of the most unique licensed pins out there as well. Um so check it out. All right, coming up now is Circus Voltater. This is a 1997 Ballet machine and let me tell you, it is not a cheap one, too. $9,500 to $11,000, but it is a legendary machine. It has the ring master, which is one of the most iconic toys in pinball history. A giant mechanical head will rise from beneath a playfield, taunt the player, and physically interact with the gameplay, and it feels alive because of that. Um, the neon and the lighting really give it that awesome essence of being in a circus, as well as the backlights. The backlight design atmosphere is another amazing part of this and it feels incredible to play the machine. The video footage can only do so much. But yeah, going and playing this machine will make you feel really as if you're with the ring master and battling them. Uh you got a highwire ramp, you got a boom balloon shot. It's definitely considered a huge work of art alone. The production numbers were limited. As an artistic and experimental machine and being very mechanically ambitious, Circus Voltera may be one of the purest examples of that philosophy.
    15:56
    And finally, our last machine that we'll be talking about is Tales of the Arabian Knights. This was done by Williams back in 1996. I mean, there's a lot to unpack, honestly, but why did it become legendary? Well, you have things like the magical lamp. Of course, you have your genie that we saw earlier. Uh the magic lamp itself make the gameplay dynamic because it will redirect the shots. It will physically spin itself and the presentation itself is stunning. I mean the other things inside this machine, things like the the deep jewel tone colors, the fantasy artwork, the glowing inserts, all of that is amazing stuff and it matters. It matters to get this particular version of it because of the fact that there was a final explosion of creativity before the late '90s pinball collapse. And so really to put this in perspective, why the collectors chase after it is it hits all those multiple categories at once. It's fun to play. It's mechanically memorable and it appeals to all the players, whether you're a hardcore player or a beginner player. The remake may be something that's in the horizon that could affect pricing here and there, but let's be real, a lot of times the players, whether you're new to it or not, will really prefer the original machine over a remake. Now, Pendred might uh prove us wrong and and let us know that this is an amazing game, but we will have to see until we will have to wait until we see what that is like when we finally do get to play it. Make sure to check out our live pinball action every Sunday and Wednesday evenings, Eastern time. Or you can watch us here on YouTube at Wild Dog Arcade. Thank you so much for hanging out with us and enjoying this video. We hope to see you next time.