Homebrew Showcase: Bootleggers Pinball at Texas Pinball Festival 2026

Marco Pinball·video·12m 54s·analyzed·Apr 6, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Bootleggers: open-source homebrew pinball machine designed as DIY tutorial for new builders.

Summary

Kyle and team are developing Bootleggers, an open-source homebrew pinball machine designed as a tutorial project for DIY builders. The prohibition-themed game features original art, was revealed at Texas Pinball Festival 2026, and aims to lower barriers to entry for homebrew creation by publishing complete files, partnering with Marco Pinball for component kits, and releasing step-by-step build videos by year-end.

Key Claims

Bootleggers team includes Aaron from Fast Pinball, Ernie (Monsters Inc.), Nick (Turbo Time), Alex Labasco (MPF contributor, Trogdor), and Jeff Palmer (Enigma, arcade owner in Bay City, Michigan)
high confidence · Kyle, lead designer, introducing the core team at Texas Pinball Festival 2026
All game files will be published open-source, and the team plans to produce playfields and ramps through Marco Pinball partnerships at cost
high confidence · Kyle describing the commercial strategy and accessibility model
Development began in November (2025) after Expo, with target completion and full artwork by Expo (end of 2026)
high confidence · Kyle discussing project timeline
The game uses no classic pop bumpers by design choice to maintain fast, aggressive gameplay
high confidence · Kyle explaining design philosophy for Bootleggers
Four copies of the fully finished, artwork-complete Bootleggers machines are planned for Expo 2026
high confidence · Kyle on team members building identical copies for exhibition
Monday night streaming of the design process is ongoing
high confidence · Kyle describing community engagement and transparency
Kyle's previous homebrew was a Harry Potter machine that appeared at Expo for the last 2 years
high confidence · Kyle's personal project history
Artist Eric Lee is creating all artwork (backglass, playfield, cabinet) for Bootleggers
high confidence · Kyle crediting the artist and visual design team

Notable Quotes

“Our one goal is to be able to create an open-source pinball machine that anyone can build themselves.”
Kyle@ 1:09 — Core mission statement of the Bootleggers project
“We really want to make it approachable for people, not even the homebrew world, but like people who are collectors, people who haven't thought about building the game yet. We want to lower that barrier of entry.”
Kyle@ 2:53 — Defines the target audience and accessibility goal
“So, someone who just learns how to weld on YouTube or do their own flooring on YouTube can do the same with a pinball machine.”
Kyle@ 3:03 — Analogy illustrating the democratization intent
“We're building it by the community for the community. So, we really want to make it as easy as possible for people.”
Kyle@ 7:24 — Reiterates philosophy and acknowledges community-first approach
“For the theme of bootlegging, we wanted it to be fast and aggressive. And we think like having pops at least like classic pops on the upper portion slows it down too much.”
Kyle@ 8:47 — Reveals intentional design philosophy and theme integration
“The idea that you're making this game so that people can make a game is incredible.”
Host/Don@ 12:21 — Highlights the meta-educational nature of the project

Entities

KylepersonAaronpersonErnie SilverbergpersonNickpersonAlex LabascopersonJeff PalmerpersonEric LeepersonBootleggersgameMarco PinballcompanyFast Pinballcompany

Signals

?
design_innovation: Bootleggers represents a novel approach to homebrew distribution: complete open-source files, step-by-step video tutorials, partnered component kits at cost, and published playfield/ramp designs specifically designed to lower entry barriers for new builders.
high · Kyle's repeated emphasis on making the project 'as approachable as possible' and publishing 'all the files for the entire game' with DIY videos
?
product_launch: Bootleggers is currently in prototype phase at Texas Pinball Festival 2026 with target completion and full artwork by Expo 2026 end of year; four fully finished copies planned for exhibition before file publication and video tutorial filming begins.
high · Kyle's timeline statements: development started November 2025, prototype at TPF 2026, four complete machines planned for Expo with full artwork
?
community_signal: The Bootleggers team (7 key contributors including Fast Pinball, homebrew veterans, and arcade operators) used a collaborative brainstorming model where each member contributed a desired game element, resulting in a design that synthesizes multiple creative ideas (fast power lane feeds, kickback, horizontal spinner).
high · Kyle describing how Aaron, Ernie, Nick, Alex, and Jeff each brought ideas that were 'cobbled together' into the final design
?
design_philosophy: Bootleggers intentionally excludes classic pop bumpers to maintain fast, aggressive gameplay aligned with the prohibition bootlegging theme; design philosophy reflects thematic coherence over mechanical completeness.
high · Kyle: 'For the theme of bootlegging, we wanted it to be fast and aggressive... pops slow it down too much'
?

Topics

Open-source pinball machine developmentprimaryHomebrew pinball design and accessibilityprimaryDIY tutorial and educational pinball projectprimaryBootleggers theme (prohibition, bootlegging, distilling)primaryHardware design and playfield mechanicssecondarySoftware and code (MPF integration)secondaryCommunity collaboration in homebrewsecondaryLowering barriers to entry for pinball buildingprimary

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

All right, welcome internet and friends. This is Pin Devcon 2026. We are at Marco Pinball's homebrew booth and we are looking at Bootleggers. My man Kyle right here, you're the lead on this. Tell us a little bit about what Bootleggers is. So, Bootleggers is a project by a team that I put together of a lot of really creative people in the home brerew world. Uh, strong people who built games like Friday the 13th and Big Trouble Little China. We got Aaron from Fast Pinball. Ernie who did Monsters Inc. and a bunch of other games. Too many account. Um, you got Nick got the Avengers. Yeah, Nick. We We assembled the Avengers team. We got Nick who uh did Turbo Time. We got Alex Lamasco who's a contributor on MPF and he did Trogdor. Um and then we've got Jeff Palmer who did Enigma and he owns an arcade in Bay City, Michigan. So a really strong team of people that we put together to do this. And our one goal is to be able to create an open-source pinball machine that anyone can build themselves. So we will Where we at the job target? Oh. All right. I like it. There we go. Um, open source open source pinball machine. And so our goal is to publish all the files for the entire game. We're streaming on Monday nights. We stream our design process. And then by expo of this year, we will have a fully fitted and finished game that you can go and build yourself. So once we publish all the files, we're going to film DIY videos so that you can follow along step by step and build your own copy of the game. So if I'm reading this correctly, this is kind of a way for someone to go through the entire workflow of creating a game, but not have to sit and wonder what their game is going to be. And so you're separating kind It's like a tutorial. Yeah, we wanted to make it as approachable as possible for someone to build their own game. To this point, like if you build a homebrew machine, it's a massive undertaking. You have to master skill sets of every color, right? Yeah. So, with this, we're trying to make the take that work out of it so that you essentially can build a kit even though it's not a kit. Like, we're going to partner with Marco to do kits of the components that are going into this and we're going to have the playfields produced and ramps produced. You just buy the stuff at cost, follow the instructions, and build it. That's it. So, we really want to make it approachable for people, not even the homebrew world, but like people who are collectors, people who haven't thought about building the game yet. We want to lower that barrier of entry. So, someone who just learns how to weld on YouTube or do their own flooring on YouTube can do the same with a pinball machine. This is fascinating. You know, I Kyle, have you created any other homebrew um games creations? Yeah. So, my first homebrew was the Harry Potter homebrew. That's right. Okay. So, that's been at Expo the last 2 years. And that was I probably bit off more than I could chew for my first game, but that really taught me like the intricacies of building one of these and what it takes. And then I recognize that there are so many hurdles for people to overcome to do it themselves. So we really want to try to make it as easy as possible for people. How's the project going so far? Where are you right now in the in the process of making the process? So we started the development of this in November of last year right after Expo and it was a big push to get it here for TPF to this point. Um, we had to start off with one person doing like the sole physical design of the whitewood so that we're aligned on how it shoots and then once we lock in the physical part of that then everyone on the team can start building their own copies of it. But so I've been doing the physical whitewood. Um, the cabinet Kyle Smith brought that. Um, Alex Labasco sent me a computer with the code. Um, and Aaron put together a harness and shipped the harness for the playfield over. So, it's been like everything coming together last minute. Sorry, I'm just trying to get the light back. Can you give Jordan a turn the light back on? So, um, so all the ramps and everything, they're all 3D printed right now. Um, is there there's so you're going to give them the plans and everything to create all this stuff and or is Marco like going to make actual wire ramps? So So our plan for the ramps right now, so because it's going to be open source, we're going to publish like the 3D print files, but we're also Yeah, you mentioned that. We're going to partner with a company to do the vacuum forming and then they can go to that company to buy vacuum form ramps that are made for this. Um, wire forms I think are a little bit too difficult for just some average person to learn how to do it. I mean I mean I mean yeah no big deal. Kind of a big deal. Okay. The star button. Um, this is So what is the significance or is there any significance of the uh bootleggger title? So the bootleggers title kind of came from us like sitting Yeah, go for it. Yeah, go for sitting in my uh my bourbon room at my house and like last April, Aaron, all the guys flew out to my house to like brainstorm this idea. And as we're sitting there drinking whiskey, it just dawns on us, well, let's make a game about prohibition bootlegging. So, yeah, and we wanted to do an original theme that is not a licensed theme that we can make open source and then anyone can use the artwork. So, yeah, I figured that. Yeah. Um, we're working with a great artist, Eric Lee, has done the art so far on the back glass and right now just the vinyl decal on the playfield, but he's going to do full art on the playfield, the cabinet, all of it. And it's been incredible to work with him. He does amazing work and he's really doing a good job bringing this to life visually. And so the software, so you guys are doing soup to nuts, huh? You're doing hardware build and then you're going to have some software tutorials. Yep. So Alex Labasco from our team is a contributor on MPF. So he did everything on the software to this point to get it flipping for this. He added some basic code for us to do multiballs and switch scoring and lights and all that to get us here. But we have a whole rules flowchart planned out for how we want this game to play. And I think it's going to be really fun. You know, this is this is I love coming here and seeing what you guys are creating, but this is a creator's creation. Um, I I'm planning a project with my son and I may just wait for you guys to finish this so I can I can see what the process is. Mhm. From soup to nuts. Like this is kind of thankless work. Yeah. I mean, we're building it by the community for the community. So, we really want to make it as easy as possible for people. And you know, the whole point of bringing it here as a prototype is to get the feedback from people that are shooting it and see where we can make improvements and tweak shots here and there. Um, because when we come back from TPF, we're going to make those adjustments. We're going to lock in the design and then we're getting the artwork completed on this and we'll have it expo fully buttoned up. So I So I noticed Good shot. Good shot, Don. This is um So, they have this game here today. They're they're they're kind of workshopping it, but this is a uh a creation for creators, right? You found it. We don't have a backboard or a backboard yet. We don't have a backboard yet. So, okay. So, let me ask you a question, Kyle. The um we lost our guy. Come on over. Let me ask you a question. So, I noticed that there aren't any pop bumpers on here. Yeah. Does that matter? For the theme of bootleggers, we wanted it to be fast and aggressive. And we think like having pops at least like classic pops on the upper portion slows it down too much. Well, my question is, does that matter to the homebrew newbie who's following along and maybe they want a pop bump or nest? Um, well, you could probably add your own in if you wanted to. Not to this design specifically, but not to specifically, but as far as like learning how to integrate it in code and how to wire it, it's it's all kind of the same when it comes to like a mech and how an auto fire is configured in MPF. So, I feel like you could leverage a lot of the code that we're going to publish for this to help you on your journey of building your own that may not be bootleggers, but something else. Yeah, that's that's kind of I want I didn't want people to get scared and go, "Oh, there no pop bumpers on that or there's no, you know, uh there's no Barry target. Oh, oh, there's no, you know, this and that." You start naming these mechs that are unique unique to some games. The uh the the overall abstract of it is it's it's electricity. It's a switch and it's a thing just firing. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, it's not simple, but it's simple if you think about it. Yeah. You know, um I tend to think of pinball as a lot of simple things, many simple things happening at the same time. Yep. Exactly right. Yep. I mean, if you break it down, it's all binary ones and zeros that run the whole game. So, so I think the idea that you're going to just give them an example of some simple things. I think I see you have you have a lot of standup targets. Do you have any drop targets on this? We do. We have a three bank. Three bank right over here. You can't see it cuz of the 3D print, but that'll be a three bankank that. So, that'll spell barley on the right side. You got rye on the left side. And then your oblong narrow targets up top are spelling corn. So, you're collecting the grains to build your whiskey or distill your whiskey. You have you have lights going on. So, you have everything you need. Lights, targets. Um it's very unique that you use that um spinner. What was the uh the inspiration to use that very unique kind of Totan Avengers kind of spinner. So how this all started is everyone on the team brought an idea to the table on some element they liked in another game that what they wanted to be in this game. So we took everybody's idea and combine them. Like my idea is I like the fast power lane feeds. Um, the kickback. There's a Jagoff kind of kickback up there off the upper flipper. Okay, that was Aaron's idea. He likes that. The horizontal spinner was Alex Labasco's wish that he wanted in the game. So, everyone brought a different element into this design and we cobbled it together and a a flow and a shot pattern that we thought worked well. Yeah. So, so where does this uh project like what is its uh status and how long do you think it'll be before people get to actually experience open source pinball prototype of boot layers? So, our goal is to have this machine fully complete with full artwork at Expo. Wow. We will also have three other members on the team are building the same machine, the same copies. So, we we're planning to try to have four copies of this game at Expo, fully art, fully finished, and then after that point, it becomes we got to film the videos on step by step. But we'll be publishing all the files and everything when it's finished, too. So, we're tracking towards the end of this year. Kyle, this I don't know what to say, man. This is completely different than what I expected. I thought we were going to walk up and watch a a cool looking game, but the idea that you're making this game so that people can make a game is incredible. I think you and the team should be commended. I'm looking really forward to I am too cuz I want to build something. So, I'm looking forward to trying it. Um, thank you so much, Don. Thank you for for playing. Of course. Anytime. Yeah. This is uh bootleggers, you guys, right here at Pendcon. Marco Pinball. Uh, we'll be back with some more. Thanks, K. Thank you.