Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Episode 240 – I’ll See It When I Believe It

Slam Tilt Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 12m·analyzed·Dec 4, 2024
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.035

TL;DR

Slam Tilt Podcast 240: Metallica accessory cash grabs, D&D pinball news, JJP redemption system, Mueller indicted.

Summary

Slam Tilt Podcast Episode 240 covers Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale discussing pinball news from while Bruce was on a two-week cruise vacation. Key topics include Metallica accessory pricing complaints (described as cash grabs), upcoming Dungeons & Dragons pinball by Stern, Jersey Jack's new Pinball XP redemption system, tournament results from Free Play Florida and Australian Open, Robert Mueller's wire fraud indictment, X-Men Premium vs Pro comparison, and upcoming Rochester Pinball Collective tournaments.

Key Claims

  • Metallica expression lights are $600, which is $100 more expensive than the same feature on Foo Fighters or Rush machines

    high confidence · Ron citing NAP Arcade pricing information

  • Metallica accessories are a cash grab with no new functionality (topper just says 'Metallica', side armor $400, RGB shooter rod $225, expression lighting $600, speaker lighting system $200)

    high confidence · Both hosts discussing NAP Arcade accessory prices

  • X-Men Pro is preferable to Premium with better functionality on various features

    medium confidence · Ron's personal experience at X-Men launch party tournament, noting shooter had to be jammed to work properly

  • John Borg confirmed on Loser Kid podcast that he worked for five months on a canceled game (presumed Indiana Jones) that fell through due to Disney package deal falling through

    high confidence · Ron citing Loser Kid podcast appearance

  • Jersey Jack Pinball XP redemption system costs approximately $100,000 for the package

    medium confidence · Ron stating 'the rumor has it' before quoting the price

  • Cuphead is in production and will be shown off 'probably in January'

    high confidence · Ron reporting American Pinball was building Cuphead but did not have it at Free Play Florida

  • Robert Mueller was indicted on eight counts of wire fraud for misappropriating investor money for personal use including multiple wives, vacations, condos, and private school

    high confidence · Ron citing criminal charges filed late last week

  • Dungeons & Dragons pinball is 50th anniversary themed for the tabletop game, not based on the movie

    high confidence · Ron confirming D&D is game-based, not movie-based, due to 50th anniversary

Notable Quotes

  • “This is what I have to go through, folks, to bring you this content. The hard life run.”

    Ron Hallett @ Opening segment — Humorous commentary on production challenges with co-host scheduling

  • “Cash grab! Cash grab!”

    Ron and Bruce (in unison) @ Metallica accessories discussion — Repeated refrain expressing skepticism about pricing on Metallica accessories

  • “It's only a thousand dollars. Only a thousand dollars.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ Metallica topper discussion — Sarcastic comment about the $1,000 Metallica topper price

  • “If you charge $500 per word of Metallica, it's $1,000. Great idea!”

    Bruce Nightingale @ Metallica accessories section — Humorous critique of topper design being just text

  • “I already know it. I'm not saying it. Everyone knows it. It's the rumored one. Which is that? It's our old theme music, Dungeons & Dragons.”

    Ron Hallett @ D&D announcement — Confirms Dungeons & Dragons as next Stern release with playful secrecy

  • “Some people call that a dream. Some people call it a nightmare.”

    Ron Hallett @ JJP redemption system discussion — Skeptical commentary on JJP's Pinball XP redemption system initiative

  • “What's the most gripes you would ever have about going to a pinball place? The games don't work. The game's broken. The game's not sitting right. Not, oh, gee, I wish these were on redemption so I can win me a prize.”

    Ron Hallett @ JJP redemption system critique — Questions relevance of redemption feature to actual operator needs

  • “You're going to need it. Actually, I think he says, you'll need it, but whatever.”

    Bruce Nightingale @ JJP discussion — Reference to Smash TV arcade game in context of predicting JJP system failure

Entities

Ron HallettpersonBruce NightingalepersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyAmerican PinballcompanyJohn BorgpersonDungeons & DragonsgameMetallica

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball's $100,000 Pinball XP redemption system may be poorly targeted, as JJP products are primarily home-focused, not location-based like arcade redemption systems

    medium · Bruce questioning 'do they sell a lot of machines to arcades? No, I don't think so. I mean, isn't their product more for the home?' and expressing doubt in business model ROI

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Hosts express lack of interest in Cuphead theme despite hoping game mechanics are solid; skepticism about market viability

    high · Bruce stating 'I have no interest in in the theme' and Ron predicting 'car crash soon' if Cuphead is released with this theme

  • ?

    competitive_signal: American Pinball's Cuphead in production but not yet revealed at major trade shows (absent from Free Play Florida), scheduled for January reveal

    high · Ron confirming American Pinball 'were down there but they did not have cuphead... They building them and they will show it off probably in January'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Metallica topper criticized as lazy design that simply says 'Metallica' repeatedly rather than incorporating band imagery or iconic elements

    high · Hosts joke about $500 per word pricing model, express disappointment that it's just text, suggest alternatives like electric chair or bell imagery

  • ?

    regulatory_signal: Deep Root Pinball owner Robert Mueller indicted on eight counts of wire fraud for misappropriating investor funds for personal expenses and Deep Root operations

    high · Ron citing criminal indictment from 'late last week' detailing charges related to multiple wives, vacations, condos, private school, and company operations

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.218

0:00
Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, this is our eighth session to try to improve your behavior, and if anything, Butthead's aggression is getting worse. Uh, it's the same. Ow! Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, this is the Slam Tilt Podcast, a show about all things pinball. I'm your host, Ron Hallett, here with the other host, Bruce Nightingale.
0:38
Who's just back from his cruise. Cruise is. This is episode 240. So, Bruce, what have you been doing? I just got back from a two-week, two-cruise vacation. Before you get into the cruise thing, audience, this is the kind of stuff I've got to go through with Bruce. I just have to vent here. Bruce, here we go. Here we go. I don't know, Thursday or Friday, I didn't bother to look it up. But Bruce is like, we're recording Sunday. I'm like, okay, what time? Bruce says, 7. I'm like, okay, I got it. Sunday at 7. So I have scheduled everything on my end for Sunday at 7. So Sunday, around 6, Bruce is there. I can record now if you want, which is his way of saying I want to record now. Yeah. Well, it was Monday when I brought this up to you on the 25th, and yesterday was at 6 o'clock saying, hey, I'm up now. Let's go. Yeah, I'm up now. Let's go. And I'm like, I'm not even home. I scheduled everything for me to be back by 7. And Bruce is there like, I don't think I'll be able to stay awake that long. Set an alarm, bro. I can't. And Bruce is like, no, let's do Monday. Let's do Monday. And look, I'm more awake. Is that work today? This is what I have to go through, folks, to bring you this content. The hard life run. It's a hard knock life. For Ron, it's a hard knock life. For Ron, dealing with Bruce's shit. Oh, my God, it really sucks. It's a hard knock life. Yeah, yeah. Then we had – then I got back late today because of some work stuff. Yeah. So I sent a message to Bruce, which I get no response. So I actually call him. Huh? What? I was talking to my wife. I sent you a link. Not an excuse. I sent you a link. Why aren't you on?
2:38
And Bruce is there. I love your best comment, though. I'll meet you in the basement. And I knew exactly what he meant. Even though that makes no sense. I have to go downstairs to actually get on my station here. So he can meet me. Yes. If we had screens up, I could meet you. Oh, God, no. We can meet you in the ladies' room. For my money, it can't be too soon. So, Bruce, you were on cruises. So you were completely caught up on all pinball news. Of course I am. Because I was just sitting around doing nothing.

“I just like shooting it. Yeah, I like shooting it a lot.”

Ron Hallett @ X-Men gameplay discussion — Positive feedback on X-Men ramp shooting despite software complaints

  • “The thing is, it was moved up in the schedule. Yes. That's the only thing to remember because of the canceled game.”

    Ron Hallett @ X-Men discussion — Explains X-Men rushed development due to canceled game schedule slot

    • game
    X-Mengame
    Cupheadgame
    Robert Muellerperson
    Escher Lefkoeperson
    Eric Stoneperson
    Lisa Henryperson
    Jack Revenueperson
    Brent Schaubperson
    Rochester Pinball Collectiveevent/venue
    Free Play Floridaevent
    Australian Openevent
    Pinball XPproduct
  • $

    market_signal: Jersey Jack attempting to revive past redemption concept that previously failed (Wizard of Oz redemption system), suggesting prior initiative did not succeed

    medium · Ron stating 'didn't they do this before? I could have swore they did this with like Wizard of Oz... And obviously it couldn't have done too well if they stopped doing it'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: John Trudeau designed Rocky pinball machine (referenced with crude joke about designer); hosts conflate game design with designer name

    medium · Bruce stating 'John Trudeau designed Rocky, ladies and gentlemen, if you're wondering why he says this' followed by inappropriate reference

  • $

    market_signal: Metallica LE accessories priced significantly higher than comparable products on previous games (expression lights $600 vs $500 for Foo Fighters/Rush, shooter rod tied for highest ever at $225)

    high · NAP Arcade pricing data cited showing $100+ premium on expression lights and side armor being $100 more expensive than prior offerings

  • ?

    announcement: Dungeons & Dragons pinball confirmed as next Stern release for 50th anniversary of tabletop game, game-based not movie-based, designed by Brian Eddy and Dwight Sullivan

    high · Ron confirms D&D after initially cryptic reference to their old theme music

  • ?

    product_strategy: X-Men moved up in production schedule to fill slot left by canceled game (presumed Indiana Jones that John Borg worked on for 5 months)

    high · Ron stating 'it was moved up in the schedule... because of the canceled game, which John Borg did confirm' on Loser Kid podcast

  • ?

    product_concern: X-Men Pro version has significant playability issues requiring workarounds (shooter rod must be jammed to side before release to function properly)

    high · Ron describing X-Men launch party experience: 'Had to pull the rod back. And tilt it to the left. And jam it to one side before you release, and then it would work'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Multiple major tournaments held during Bruce's absence: Free Play Florida with tournament divisions and John Wick malfunction controversy, Australian Open won by Escher Lefkoe, X-Men launch party at Rochester Pinball Collective

    high · Detailed tournament results for all three events with specific winners and division outcomes

    • 3:12
    That's what you do. You said multiple cruises. Multiple cruises. So on the Saturday, the 16th, we jumped on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale to St. Kitts. Then we went to St. Thomas. No, sorry. Yeah, St. Martin, then St. Thomas. And then the private beach of Coco Cay. That's the Royal Caribbean's own private island. And then we came back after eight days of being on that cruise back to Fort Lauderdale. So then we jumped in an Uber. We drove down to Miami. We stayed in a hotel that night and washed our clothes and relaxed a little bit. And then we jumped on another cruise ship that went back to that same private island, Coco Cay, which was fucking awesome both days.
    4:01
    And then we went to Cozumel, which fucking pushy people in Cozumel. Oh. But I did get a lot of new shirts for myself. I'm very happy. I got about 10 shirts of the Charlie Sheen bowling style shirt. Okay. I did. It's going to be awesome. Winning. Like all, you know, just hanging out and having a good old time with some. You were there for Thanksgiving, right? Yeah. We actually had. We were in Cozumel all day Thursday. and then we had a hibachi for dinner we didn't have turkey we had a bocce i had steak and shrimp which is fucking awesome yes and i lost two pounds on the cruise wow i walked at least two miles every day uh my goal is to be down to 200 which i'm at like 227 right now by next cruise, which is five months away. My goal is to keep it under 160. Yeah, Jesus Christ. That's so easy for you, you fucking lightweight. No, that's not easy for me. Yes, it is. No, it's not. If I cheat in any way, I balloon up. So I have to be a good boy. Yeah, so I'm going for 200.
    5:25
    And we're bringing back the pinball with Rocky. Oh, God. Oh, no. Pedophile frocks. Pedophile rocks. John Trudeau designed Rocky, ladies and gentlemen, if you're wondering why he says this.
    5:43
    Who designed Rocky? I just said John Trudeau. Okay. And who did he do it for? Himself. He had a little Rocky in his pants. that's for you ryan say uh okay so bruce are you ready to talk about some pinball because all kinds of stuff happened while you were away are you ready for some pinball oh god monday night football do they still do that no they have now uh the other singer a woman i forget who does it uh she's a country singer yeah she's a country singer um it's not carrie underwood karen does the nbc okay she does the nbc one i forget it monday night it is a monday night party yes oh yeah right now oh wait that means there's a football game happening today another hour yes it's not the jets is it no the jets lost yesterday so we're good i've been a bills fan for six weeks now and guess what the bills have been six and oh Wait a minute. No, no. You can't become a Bills fan. I am going to become a Bills fan. No. Glory to the Bills. Oh, that's so hypocritical. I am jumping ship, you fucking losers of the Jets. So wait a minute. You can listen back to our previous episodes, folks. He's Mr. Pro Jets. He's just abandoned them. I just fucking hate. I didn't like Aaron Rodgers since last year with all of his fucking stupid comments. And then he's like, oh, I'm not going to go to spring. training camp because you know i'm gonna be you know i'm gonna be right and i'm gonna go to egypt instead you know what that got us a handful of jizz in our fucking hand three fucking wins and we fired our head coach who's doing better now at his new job and our general manager who's happier than ever because our fucking owner sucks woody get a fucking life you're you're in woody the owner of the jet woody is on the same level as fucking cuomo is for me three years ago okay wow yeah um did you know some new accessories came out bruce really for what from woody to fucking the fucking yes the douchebag for choice story woody accessories yes that's for the mom in the house so godzilla accessories came out yay how many years later oh not too long well it couldn't have taken too long because all they did was remove the color from all the regular of course they did accessories but i'm bumps cash grab yeah that was the cat that's literally we did no work there we just took the color away and boom there you go your accessory so you can have a black and white Godzilla topper boom there it is boom there it is well then we had the Metallica accessories were already announced so that's pretty good hey so hey you know what oh what you know what Metallica Metallica Metallica oh yeah it says that a lot yeah the topper the justice for all topper basically says metallica metallica and it's hilarious but before it was ever shown i was like man i hope it's just not metallica no how much it doesn't just say metallica on it and that's exactly what it does oh it's fucking gaudier than hell i was like i thought i was like to be fair well to be fair I guess that was a band mandate that it had to say Metallica.
    9:30
    And guess what? Let's see how many they sell. It's only a thousand dollars. Only a thousand dollars. Yeah. The side armor. All these fucking crack heads that are fucking all hard. And when they get the new fucking topper released, they're like, Oh, the side armor is $400.
    9:48
    The RGB shooter rod, 225 bucks. Jesus. Expression lighting, $600. Yeah, that went up. Why did that go up in price? And the speaker lighting system is $200. Yeah, why did that all go up in price? The side armor is more expensive than any recent offering. I'm reading all this from NAP Arcade. And it says, and the shooter rod is tied for the highest ever.
    10:11
    Motherfucker. And the topper. Hey, you get 13 feet of fun, right? Or how tall is that fucking thing with it on there? I think it says that. He says it in the article. Well, it's not as cool as another topper, but we're going to talk about that later. So you just think cash grab? Cash fucking grab. Oh, my God. I like the side armor.
    10:32
    I like the side armor. Then it's $600 for the expression lights that are already on the LE. Yeah. The shooter rod stuff I never understood because it's just a big freaking gaudy thing. Yeah, it's terrible. I never was a fan. But some people like them, and if they sell them, if people are buying them, you've got to sell them. Yeah. Oh, I sold 27. Great. I just lost money. Thanks, guys.
    10:57
    God, oh, fucking mighty. Just pound your head into the fucking ground. Yeah, the shooter rod is... But don't forget, you can get all these accessories from our favorite pinball place. Oh, what's that? Flip it out, pinball. Oh, okay.
    11:10
    Well, I just... The Proof Fighters shooter rod was actually more. It was $250. Oh, Jesus Christ. Now, the side armor, which does look cool, the most expensive one they had looks like was around $289. So this is... That can't be right. So it's $100 more? Yep. Wow. Yeah, how you doing? Say it with me. Say it proud.
    11:34
    Say it, Ron. Cash grab? No, say it with gusto. Cash grab! There you go. At $600, the new expression lights for Metallix are $100 higher than for Foo Fighters or Rush. Why?
    11:48
    Why? And I heard the complaint, oh, it's going to be because it's getting imported from China. We haven't even talked about – they've only talked about tariffs. Tariffs cannot be inputted until January 20th. So even if they are inputted the first day of the election – They're inputted. They're put into a presidential thing. Guess what? Are you saying that the accessories aren't going to be out in 60 days then? That's where you're – I kind of take that. well i'm looking at the side armor it's pretty nice it's nice is it that nice it's just well if you want it if you want it here it is come and get it you better hurry because it's still gonna be on sale name the band uh i can't think of it bad finger yeah it was there and i couldn't think of it yeah but who Who wrote the song? Don't know. That I don't know. I believe it's Paul McCartney. Oh, really? Yeah. That's a good thing. If you want it, here it is. Come and get it. Okay. They're still going to be here in six months. Yes, they are. I bet you they're selling well, Bruce.
    13:05
    Dead silence. Okay. That's the news on accessories. Yeah. The top are literally just as Metallica. Yeah, it's pretty bad. Well, it's got lighting. Yeah, it's got great. Is it worth $1,000? No. It would have been cool if it was just like, if they wanted to repeat something, repeat the electric chair. Yeah. Do that. Just have an electric chair up there.
    13:31
    Something. What other kind of thing is iconic with Metallica? Well, I'd say crosses, but yeah. Yeah, we already have plenty of those. A bell, even though ACDC already did it. Injustice for all. Who in the bell tolls? You could have a bell up there.
    13:47
    Trapped under ice would be kind of cool. Just a figure underneath the TV screen. That would have been really cool.
    13:55
    See, you got to think ahead. No, we want Metallica. Okay, give them what the man wants. How are we going to charge for this? Well, if we charge $500 per word of Metallica, it's $1,000. Great idea!
    14:12
    Okay. Fuck. Okay, Bruce. So that's... It doesn't give you an extra mode. Doesn't give you an extra thing. Well, not yet. Well, we'll see. We'll see. We'll see, Raymond.
    14:25
    Poor Raymond. More Beatles. Yeah. They're going to be making more Beatles. I guess they never... I never sold a 1964. That's it.
    14:38
    If you want your Sea Witch that plays better and different, disconnect the magnet and come play with us hey i like it's not okay game but i wonder now what i'm gonna have a question is are they gonna charge more for it uh they gave the price how much was it it's like 8900 or something yeah more that's a fucking ripoff you have nothing into it you've already paid out all the licenses is it had to renew it bro and beatles are really expensive no i think joe had joe had an open contract of 1964 games limited okay it can do it as many years oh oh i didn't know that was part of the deal i didn't know you were familiar with the contract that joe cameron signed yes i heard that from some other thing oh and that was the same other thing the stipulation was 1964 units.
    15:36
    So, I can make them as long as I want or as short as I want. As long as I only can make 1964. So guess what? Cash grabs!
    15:48
    Holy. How many do you think they're going to sell that, Ron? Oh, New Peoples? Yes, 200. Max? Yeah, maybe. Yeah, Max. Is it worth making a little run for that? It really isn't. Unless you're past games aren't selling like John Wick or Jaws or. Hey, Jaws is fine. Jaws didn't sell that well. Oh, yes, it did. Where are you getting your information? You worry about it. Who's the one who always gets the right games picked? Oh, hey, how you doing? Right. Oh, you mean what ones will sell? Yes. No, they come out before anyone else even knows it. You're talking to them. Oh, OK. You're talking to the kid. OK. What's the next? What's the next Stern game? I already know it. I'm not saying it. Everyone knows it. It's the rumored one. Which is that? It's our old theme music, Dungeons & Dragons. Oh, I didn't say that. But yes, you're right. Yeah, Brian Eddy and your favorite programmer. Oh, God. Poor Dwight. Hi, Dwight. Oh, God. So, yes, Dwight Sullivan. That would be – So, Buggy is hell. Okay, is it based on the movie? Buggy is hell and Blinding is hell. We got the two Bs down. What's the third one? You know everything else. Is it based on the movie or just the game? Game. Okay. Not the movie. All right. I'm trying. I've never played the game. The game was okay when I was a kid. But it's now 50 years. That's why they're doing it. It's the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. Oh, okay. I really knew these things like I did. Hopefully it has music as cool as the original, which completely did not fit the theme at all, but it was awesome. It's like the funkiest Dungeons & Dragons music ever. uh let's see you know what also happened while you were away free play florida and also iapa iapa and florida well you know luckily the uh mr american dream was down there the american dream oh wait a minute they were down there they were down there so we're talking about american pinball they were down there but they did not have cuphead nope so didn't you say they weren't going to have it down there? I did. So you were right. That's right, baby. We don have Cuphead It not in the head of the Cup Ready baby They building them and they will show it off probably in January Okay Well there was a reveal of sorts There was By a pinball company Just not American Pinball. It was by Jersey Jack. Yeah. Jersey Jack Pinball Reveals New Pinball XP Redemption System,
    18:27
    which is what? You can redeem, like, tickets? Yes. Like redemption machines, too. Yes. The thing is, didn't they do this before? I could have swore they did this with like Wizard of Oz or one of them. They had a redemption system. I think there was, yes. Yeah. And obviously it couldn't have done too well if they stopped doing it. No. But they're going to do it again. But it's going to be, you know, so you can have this one unit, and if you have like eight Jersey Jack Pamela machines, all of them, it will be able to hook up to it and go from there.
    18:57
    Yeah, but the thing is, do they sell a lot of machines to arcades? No, I don't think so. I mean, isn't their product more for the home? I think they wasted a lot of time and money on this effort. That's going to gain them very little. Guess what? A Chuck E. Cheese ain't going to buy a $13,000 pinball machine.
    19:17
    Well, according to company's founder, Jack Winery, Redemption Pinball was a dream of mine when I first started the company, and now with Pinball XP, it's come true. Some people call that a dream. Some people call it a nightmare. J.J.P. stated that it's the first and only digital integrated redemption system for pinball. It works with all major arcade digital cashless providers. Okay, so when I go to any place to go play pinball, any place. Any place. What's the most gripes you would ever have about going to a pinball place? The games don't work. The game's broken. The game's not sitting right. Not, oh, gee, I wish these were on redemption so I can win me a prize.
    20:04
    Am I right or wrong? Well, the key features of Pinball XP include premium package of five latest Jersey Jack pinball machines, 65-inch display showing live playfield action, skill-based digital ticket awards, XP progression system with leaderboards. People love leaderboards. seamless integration with major cashless systems full compatibility with diverted rivers takoha platform i don't know what that is i don't know what that is either maybe some kind of ticketing thing on a jacket jacket jackpot ticket opportunities for outstanding play the rumor has it that the package costs a hundred thousand dollars yeah it's fucking stupid i mean to display. Looks pretty cool.
    20:56
    Again, Ron always trying to be positive that Bruce is negative. And let's see who's right or wrong on this one, guys.
    21:05
    Yeah, because they tried this once before. I just would think their product is more for the home, honestly.
    21:13
    But good luck. As the guy said in the video game, the one that's like Robotron, where you can win VCRs. Smash TV. Yes. Good luck. You're going to need it. Actually, I think he says, you'll need it, but whatever.
    21:30
    They also, that same weekend, I believe, they had Free Play Florida. They did. And they had a tournament. They did. And I have it in front of me, and I believe all the results are here.
    21:44
    Ooh. Yeah. Isn't that great? What a novel idea. Yeah, and I think they're complete. So let's see. I'll just do this quickly. The winner of Classics was... Oh, there was a three-way tie. Oh, my. So they had to have a playoff, and the winner was Eric Stone.
    22:03
    Not surprising. Let's see. Women's Finals. The winner was Lisa Henry. Congratulations. And finally, the winner of A Division. it was Jack Revenue with Eric Stone in second I guess some kind of malfunction or something happened on John Wick in the finals and there was some kind of controversy I don't have all the information but I guess something happened or like it launched another ball into play when it shouldn't have because it got confused and then he had two balls to play let one of them drain and it killed the flippers and that was it Something like that.
    22:50
    So that was that. Let's see. And while I'm talking about tournaments, I might as well get the other one out of the way. There was also another tournament that happened while you were away, Bruce. There was? The Australian Open.
    23:03
    Yeah, in Australia. And which Australian won? Well, technically he has dual citizenship. Yes, he does. But, well, here's the thing, Bruce. So when I hear Australia, now I think, well, there's a certain world's number one player, and that would be Eshel Efkoff, who lives in Australia now. So I figure, like, well, I mean, clearly he has to be in the lead of this. And I turned it on when they were doing the playoffs, and I didn't see him there. And I'm like, playoffs? Where is he? And I saw round two, and he wasn't there. But then to the quarterfinals, there he was. And it's like, oh, of course, he was the number one seed. So he had a double bye. Double bye. So it makes sense. It looks like they did another card-based one.
    23:49
    It's just so hard to qualify in these things. Unless, of course, you're Escher and you play a total of three entries the entire tournament. He did one Classics entry, just one, and he was in and number one seed. Boom! Chaka-laka. But then open entry, it took him two.
    24:08
    Took him two to get the number one. The struggles. The struggles to get the number one seed. And then he probably just sat around and didn't play for a while. But let's see. So the finals, we had, I'll do this the same way. There was classics. Wow, like literally the same divisions as Florida. Classics final, it was won by Escher Lefkoe. Ta-da.
    24:31
    Okay. Then the women's finals, Escher Lefkoe. No, just kidding. That would have been an interesting trick. Let's see. Sue Hansi. and then the the main finals the winner was escher leka ta-da yes so so that was the aussie open congratulations and don't worry folks this concludes the tournament part no it does not actually it doesn't yeah you're right because there's one more tournament yes there's two more tournaments wait wait two more oh one that happened and one you're gonna plug you got it baby i know you so well let me just i'm going through my list here i had other interesting little factoids john norris you know of gottlieb fame he used to be consulting work for turner pinball that would probably help them yeah i guess he was a consultant with um ninja eclipse so cool hopefully that means hey turner pinball hopefully that means you'll be coming up with a cool street level game soon that's what i want to see make it hoops to the final hooping the electric boogaloo electric boogaloo we're super prepared as you can tell folks ron isn't i am always yeah you are always i asked him before we came on like did you see any of the gameplay of so and so like no i did see it oh you did barely but barely okay Yeah, I wanted to mention this. Okay. So, deep root. Oh, my. Criminal charges for our friend Robert Mueller. I don't believe it yet. Yes, because he had the one suit that's going on that we mentioned before, the civil suit by the SEC, where we're still waiting for the judge to say how much he owes.
    26:25
    So we're still waiting on that. But there was, late last week, so probably two weeks ago, Mueller was indicted on eight counts of wire fraud for allegedly misappropriating money that investors gave him to invest in insurance policies. And instead using it for multiple wives, vacations, condos, his kid's private school, and of course, deeper pinball. let's see each count of wire fraud carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to 250 000 well you know brother there's no way that's happening dude i'm a real american i wouldn't do something like that i'm sure i'll be pardoned brother just like joe's kid was yeah but um i think i just wanted to say that so i could do hogan He did. I think he did. I know. I love doing it. I miss Robert Mueller and his bullshit. Oh, I know. We're going to change the industry. Our stuff's going to be so much better. And, yeah.
    27:29
    We stole more money than anyone, dude. We're number one, brother. Hey, can you put the game up, you know, the play field up? I love that clip. Turn the camera off, dude. Turn that shit off now.
    27:41
    If people didn't see what we're talking about, There's a clip out there of him like they're showing off the new play field hinging system, whatever. He can't do shit with it. It's like not working. And he's like, turn the camera off.
    27:56
    Oh, God. Pull up. I can't. Oh, that was awesome. Oh, Robert Mueller. It's just not as funny. oh there's rumors that supposedly cuphead is on the line right now yeah great great still no no excitement for you on on the head of cup are you gonna buy it um no yeah i didn't think so so we're done with that no i have no interest in in the theme i mean if i still hope it's a good game though okay that's all bruce will allow me to talk about that come on baby You're not getting to the cup in the hand, baby. That's right. Come on. That's right. Cuphead is coming. Cuphead's coming, brother. It's going to be an amazing, amazing game. I can't wait for the car crash soon. The car crash? That's not nice. It's the truth. You're just watching an accident in front of you coming right away if they put out this fucking Cuphead. Okay. Well, we had another tournament that happened while you were on. Where was that? It was the X-Men launch party tournament at the world-famous Rochester Pinball Collective. I hear that place sucks.
    29:12
    Wow. I hear it's located at 349 West Commercial Street, East Rochester, New York. Sweet. 29-65. There you go. Yes. And, yes, I participated in said launch party.
    29:30
    I wasn't there for three weeks. Was it exciting? Were you happy? I was totally excited. I was drinking pina coladas.
    29:41
    Well, if you like pina coladas and getting lost in the rain. If you're not into health food. Yes. If you have half a brain.
    29:51
    Who's that? Press me if you get that one. Rupert Holmes. Wow, I'm impressed. What's the actual title of the song? The Pina Colada Song. Nope. escape there you go it is escape the pina colada yeah i think it's escape like parentheses the pina colada song yes so it's a one for two today yes so how was the uh x-men we can talk about x-men after we talk about the tournament tournament was fine yes how did you i got the buy i was in the top four and then lost like in the my first round of playoffs so But I did win money on the side pot, so it was pretty good. That's good. Yep. Side pot! And the winner was not Zach. No. I don't think he was even in the final four. No, he wasn't. I mean, we warned him about this. He hit 30, and that was it. Yep, done. He's pretty much done. He can't win shit. Yeah, he can't do shit anymore. I don't know. I don't think he believed us, but it's real. It sucks to be him. It does suck to be 30. Yeah, now he'll just join the old people round, and then we'll be set. He'll finally maybe win one or two again. Yeah, he is just – yeah, he's done. It's over. Who did win?
    31:13
    Brent. Yes. Brent Schaub won. Yep, first time playing. Impressive. Yes. And second was Mr. CNY himself, Eric Russell. He's got muscle. He does. I thought he was going to take two in a row. he's won the John Wick one.
    31:31
    I guess I finished eighth overall, according to this. And Zachary Fry fifth. But our own Steph, the Pinball Princess, won B. So there you go.
    31:45
    Yeah, so after playing a lot of X-Men Premium, I definitely prefer the Pro. There are so many things that work better on the Pro. So I did get the shooter to work. Basically had to pull the rod back. And tilt it to the left. And jam it to one side before you release, and then it would work. So once you got that down, yeah.
    32:11
    But a lot of the stuff. Game fun. Yeah, the cool thing is, yeah, the hands, the finger thing or whatever, the very first time I hit that ramp where it breaks the wire form. It went right down in the middle. Yep, that's a good detail. Right down in the middle, like, boom. Like, what the fuck? God damn it. That's so annoying.
    32:28
    Mm-hmm. I mean, I just like shooting it. Yeah, I like shooting it a lot. I know people have complained about the software. The thing is, it was moved up in the schedule. Yes. That's the only thing to remember because of the canceled game, which John Borg did confirm. He was on the Loser Kid podcast, and he did confirm that. He was working for, I think he said, like five months on a new game. Then it got canceled because he thinks Stern was trying to do like a package deal.
    33:00
    And it fell through. I'm assuming a package deal with Disney because it was going to be Indiana Jones. I don't know what Indiana Jones variant that was going to be.
    33:12
    Was it going to be all the movies? Just one of the movies? I am old and crappy. the dysentery of tile of dysentery tile of dysentery it's kind of like i think a hulk hogan i think you know the hulk hogan theme song i am an old american fight for the senior fight for the rights fight for your life man you think hogan would have not screwed all those old people out of all their money Right, Robert Mueller? You want something here? You want to hear a funny stat I just saw? Okay, a funny stat. Totally off. Who has won the most games out of Major League Baseball, New York teams, or Major League or NFL football teams? Who has won the most games in the past 50 days?
    34:09
    Okay, I don't understand the question. Who has won the most? Number of games won in the past 50 days. By who? by either MLB New York teams and NFL New York teams. And I'm not counting Buffalo. I'm counting New York City teams. There are no New York City football teams. New York, New Jersey teams. There you go. That's the asshole we'll always say. That's not an asshole. It's true. They fucking play in New Jersey. They're licensed in New York. That's all that matters. They play in New Jersey. That's all that matters. I still don't really understand the question because wouldn't there be way more baseball games played than football games? Yes, but you would think, what was baseball done in what? Early November, right? Yeah, which is less than 50 games, 50 days ago. Okay, so 50 days, the Yankees have won five games. The New York Mets won two games. The Jets have won one game. And the Giants have won zero games. Wow. So it's the Yankees. Yes, and a win.
    35:10
    We are the best. in the AL. What do you mean? We only won the AL pennant. Yeah, but the Mets didn't win any pennant. I know. It's even better. Yeah, just saying. I'm going to piss off Mets fans now. Yes, we will.
    35:29
    There's one more tournament coming up and the last major tournament you can play before Nationals. Okay, let's rephrase. So, yes, it's the last major tournament. Bruce is calling a major at RPC where you can get big New York juicy Whoppers. And the last of them, you know. The last of them. Because I'm sure there won't be any more tournaments after that. No, not big like this. Not big like this one. Well, explain, Bruce. Plug away. We have two tournaments coming up at the Rochester Pinball Collective from December 13th through the 15th. Pay one price, $85. You'll be able to play in both tournaments. One is a Herb style where you can pump and dump. And the other is a max match play You can play in both of these tournaments If we get our magic number of 48 which we getting closer to every day we will have mega points for you new york players mega you just say we're getting closer that number every day when you're like a day before the event i know it's always i get one person and another person and i hear nothing for two or three days then another person i'm like oh my god well you know brother come on dude you gotta come down or over or up to the Rochester Pinball Collective, dude. You've got to play in this tournament. It's all about the Whoppers, bro. Oh, and by the way, I booked another cruise when we were on a cruise. What does that have to do with the tournament? I'm just talking about what, you know, we were talking about cruises before, and, you know, I forgot I booked another cruise. So you booked a cruise while you were on a cruise? Yes. Remember, folks, Bruce will be at the 2026 Pinball Expo. Yes, because I only have one cruise that year. So make your plans now for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Yep. At least post-2000-whatever-year-you-stopped-going. It's been 10 years. It'll be 10 years since I last been there. Yep. Be there or be square. But if you'd like to sign up, you go to the Facebook page for Rochester Pinball Collective. You'll see some under the Events tab for our Facebook page. You'll see the information. if not you can always email us at slamtailpodcast at gmail.com very good or you can look on the slamtail page we also have comments on that too so come come come and the weather come all and the weather looks pretty damn diffy cold but like you know what the weather's going to be like already got a 14 day 14 day 14 day forecast already got it yeah okay okay so geez louise I also want to mention, since we were talking about the X-Men launch party, what's one of the main issues people have been having with their X-Men games? Plunging. Yeah, that the launcher is supposed to go all the way around and feed your right flipper, but it rarely makes it. It sucks moose balls. So Stern sent a memo out to the distributors saying that there's going to be a, basically, a plethora. Yeah, a plethora. There's going to be some software fixes and hardware changes, which means they'll probably make some kind of kit. Launch fixing kit.
    38:46
    So supposedly the kits will begin shipping by mid-December. Yes, Michael. Michael? We're on Knight Rider all of a sudden? Yeah, you said kit. Oh, God.
    39:03
    Okay. okay really impressed me what does kit stand for night industries 2000 yeah that's it now if you really want to get crazy you would tell me what car stands for his his rival but i don't even remember what that's the four god what does car stand for it was like it was like k-a-r-r or something and what's his name did the voice i think it was optimus prime the guy is optimus could you imagine that though watching that freaking optimus prime is going against kit I'm off to the prime so yep so look for that automated roving robot okay there you go night automated I had the spelling right I just didn't remember what it stood for I think it was in two episodes wasn't it next for the tournament it's going to be a balmy 40 or 43 degrees or 42 degrees in Rochester balmy and you know what you can't have when it's above 40 degrees above 32 degrees What's that, Bruce? Snow! Yeah, you mentioned it, not me. I know, so I'm just stating. It's going to be 40s all that week. All right. Our final item of regular news here. Yes. The big reveal. There was the big new game reveal while Bruce was away. And it was for Spooky Pinball's Evil Dead.
    40:23
    So what do you think about that, Bruce? Kind of cool. A couple cool things in it. but a couple of cool things in it. Yeah. They put, they remade the, uh, Twilight Zone shooter dual lane. That's great. You know, I like seeing extra parts for older games. Well, it fires both of them though, Bruce. I know, I know. So at least it's, you know, you got parts for some of it. I like seeing the, uh, Jaws side flipper. Yeah. What else do we have there? We have the loading of the gun, you know, the bullets, you know, so it is his anti John wick because this actually has a gun really in the play field that shotgun uh yeah i'll see it when i believe it i see it when i believe it that doesn't make sense but i'll see it when i believe it because guess what i've got to see it and then see if it actually makes it the whole weekend on the show i'll see because we know the great quality yeah yeah that's the thing that worries me so it looks fantastic i think i think some of the plastics are pretty cheesy i disagree i think so i think it looks amazing i think the gun looks really good but the head oh that looks fucking terrible the spinning head the spinning head oh the oh that's fucking hard okay so so he's not a fan of some of the skulls oh god it's fucking horrid don't not hard fucking horrid okay okay i thought it looked great artwork looks tremendous lots of remember this this was a theme that was rumored as one of the like that was gonna this was gonna be one of the first games they were gonna do if you remember years ago back then but the rumors were they were having issues getting a certain part of the license that made it a no-go. Which the rumors were it was Bruce Campbell. Like they couldn't get Bruce Campbell or maybe he was too expensive or whatever. Well, they got plenty of Bruce Campbell in this one. He is everywhere in this game. The topper looks tremendous.
    42:29
    Come on, you gotta give him the topper. Oh, come on, Bruce. Come on. It's the fucking head from the movie. Now, Bruce doesn't like the movie. I don't like the movie. He's just gonna shit on everything anyway but the the topper looks why would i shit on a great company oh it topper looks tremendous i think it's like what 14 1500 bucks they're not gonna do the different models it's just one model 10k it comes with a topper like the just the flat plastic one the the fancy topper like i said it's like 14 1500 and the butter if you want the butter cabinet i kind of like that move i will give him props for that. Yeah, it seemed kind of dumb to do the different models because everybody was just taking the top one anyway half the time. So I do like that part. I will give kudos to Spooky about that one. You almost said Scooby. Because it is a shit show.
    43:26
    That doesn't make sense. What does Scooby do have to do with a shit show? Because it was one of their games that sucked mechanically.
    43:38
    Here's the thing. Me and Zach, our Zach, we were counting the mechs in this game. The actual things that a transistor would fire. And we got up to around 28.
    43:51
    And that scares me. Fire! I just can't see this being on location lasting any length of time. With the amount of stuff it has in it. I don't think it'll ever make it. I just, yeah. That's the only thing that worries me about the spookies. Is just, they break? They do. The actual playfield design itself looked pretty... It wasn't crazy. I noticed their designs have gotten less crazy by the design team of Bug and Luke. When they started with Halloween, where they just went batshit crazy.
    44:30
    And then you had Scooby, which was kind of crazy. He still had the upper playfield. Then they went much more normal with the Looney Tunes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And this looks more along the normal range, I would say. It actually has pop-uppers, which they usually don't have in their games. I agree. It has – I like the hand that moves back and forth.
    44:54
    If anyone wonders, that's actually what Spider-Man was supposed to do. Green Goblin on the top. The original idea was he would move back and forth. they have the sling flipper which they just replace the right sling with the flipper yeah so the sling's kind of only on one side now and you can stop it on the flipper just like jaws and it's the same thing like you fire at the targets on the side and it will also go up like a left orbit just like jaws i thought that was interesting they have troll mechs basically for the deadites and they have a trapdoor assembly which looks like it's it's a three bank it's a motorized three bank that comes up and then if you hit it it just goes down quick so it's probably just a small coil that you know undoes the latch and it just drops i'm guessing that's how they did it it's got an underneath play field single flipper a small flipper i mean i think it looks goal but you're not a fan no you're gonna get christopher ranchi mad at us i sorry chris the artwork i like but the sculpts are terrible and just get rid of the fucking spooky theme i know that's your fucking name but the only game you had really good was not a spooky themes what does that tell you your two games that were okay okay wait we're not spooky theme what's what's the game that's not a spooky theme tna hey i like alice cooper alice cooper's okay but it's not great okay they're gonna sell 888 of these that's the that's the limited run 888 which they're going down in numbers it's not like crash it's not 1969 i think yeah was that or whatever they've gone way lower yeah because guess what it didn't work out for him i bet uh i think there's still scoobies you can buy oh there's still scoobies you can buy right yeah and the scooby market is they did announce so they've sold 500 they sold 500 yay see to me i think this was the perfect theme for them this is what they're all about this is like if there was one game they were going to do i would think this would be it it's great but guess what will it hold up and the answer is no the thing is if they still sell all their units and their support's good enough does it matter yes they're not that great of quality underneath get rid of the 3d printing shit do you think uh when do you think the manual will be available uh 2028 will be the manual because i think they did have the scooby manual well let's see let's see how many manuals are available right now since we're talking about it i'm gonna go to their service page let's see game support looney tunes has a manual is it a full manual or is it a saw massacre has a manual that's pretty good scooby-doo has a manual so they actually have manuals for these let's see i'm no no i'm gonna go look in the manual and see how many pages there are uh the manual is 63 pages yep so i will give them someone pretty complete it's got pictures assemblies it's better than their past shit yeah see come on bruce i will give them credit for that look a rubber ring kit sizes and everything we see we see uh there's no winning over bruce here so but uh i'm excited to play this game bruce doesn't care because he hates everything i do i think it looks fantastic myself so when did you see did you see the gameplay video yeah the two minutes and 30 second of it yes okay did you uh did you i mean i like i like how the modes were all did you put your order in because i've actually seen them while i've seen the first one did you put your order in no bruce why not if you're so gung-ho about this game baby i want to see money down i'm not that huge into evil dead i have it on blu-ray oh but i have lots of movies on blu-ray that doesn't mean like boom i'm getting i'm getting the game what about team america they did team america oh oh that's a tough one that's if we get if we get full cooperation from uh Yes, full cooperation. Voices and all. For the South Park guys, yes. Yes, I would consider that. That's right, Gary. I would consider buying Team America.
    49:38
    Bruce, I need you to come into my car right now. Are you ready for debriefing and cocktails? Yes. God, I love that movie too much, honestly. It's unhealthy. It is his vice. my favorite character is Chris I just like the guy fucking actor I love that guy he's the best martial artist Michigan has to offer yeah I know like what the fuck is that and the fact that all the actors are like I've done action films and don't forget Matt Damon that should be the topper Matt Damon's head There you go. That's all he says. There you go. Oh, don't get me going on that. Okay.
    50:34
    I liked it spooky, but we'll see how it plays or if it holds up. So I will reserve judgment on those areas.
    50:42
    But like I said, at least 28 different things that transistors fire, I'm kind of worried. There's just so much stuff in there. Burn, baby, burn. Disco Inferno But come on, you gotta admit The theme integration is top-notch The freaking tape machine The basement, trap doors Hey, what's in the mail bag? Ball bag, please, anything but this shit Okay, alright Because it sucked Okay, okay Wow, so mean Alright So, I'm in the ball bag, Bruce Okay How many you got? Two? Three? No, more than that. Okay, good. Okay. Then kick them out. This is from Patrick. He says, hey, guys. Hi. He says, Ron, thank you for the kind words about past times and the Mega Match Play Tournament in your latest podcast. I've been listening to you guys since I started my hour drive to past times for work two years ago. Oh, man. Is that an hour just one way? I hope not. I'm one of those crazies that started on your first episode and have made it all the way through. Wow. To the point where I'm now waiting for each of your new episodes. It was a pleasure to sit and chat with you during lunch on Saturday. It was an honor to have you play in the tournament. It was great to have Zach, Stephanie, and Rob there as well. We love our upstate New York friends.
    52:11
    Says Bruce, my wife Debbie and I were up the previous weekend to the RPC. It was great to see you again. We love the RPC. It's one of our absolute favorite places to visit. You are all so welcoming and friendly, and the collective is fantastic. Thank you. The games are in such great shape, especially Fireball Classic. No, I just added that one there. I think I'm the only one who played it the whole time. Wow. People just don't realize awesomeness. I want to put that next to 8-Ball Champ next to Cybernaut. Yes. Oh, Cybernaut. Oh, God, you ruined it there for me. the games are such great shape and well maintained we feel like the rpc is like a second home arcade to us despite the distance we did realize that though at our age trips to the rpc are going to have to be two-day events uh thanks again for all you guys oh thanks again for all you guys do with the podcast and the rpc you guys really are a class act class oh what the fuck is that i'm sorry You lost me there. And this is Patrick, the assistant general manager of Past Times Arcade. Yes, Patrick has been at the RPC many times. Thank you, Patrick.
    53:25
    I have not been out to Past Times because I've been working so much. I come back to work today, and my boss goes, yeah, should I give you the good news? I'm actually literally walking into the room. I'm like, what's the good news? He goes, I'm moving you to a different department for the month that you have left.
    53:46
    What? He goes, yeah, next week you're going to be in blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. You'll be the anal inspector? Yes, anal inspector. I get to see how many nuts have dropped every person.
    54:00
    But, yeah, I'm like, thanks. Thanks for nothing, boss. Thanks for nothing. So I'll be in a different department for the next month. and then I go on my new adventure.
    54:13
    Hey, baby. Oh, oh. It's yawning, Bruce. It's yawning. It's 810. Come on. Get this going. Next mailbag. Next mail is from Cole.
    54:25
    And the subject was, be careful what you ask for. Uh-oh. Ooh. Okay. And I going to read this verbatim Hey pinball sluts Okay You asked him to Hey pinball sluts what you doing now you asked the stereo the radio go ahead you asked and demanded more emails well here you go well it might be just a little long at least i will use words you can pronounce and understand okay that sounds like a jab at somebody oh he's getting on my bad side already i just played in our league tournament and was forced to play those flaming turds dialed in in star wars fuck yeah this guy is my new number one well like you said number one while i can see them being okay in a home environment not really they still suck complete and utter ass for tournaments with the stupid scoring they have okay as for encouraging uh no as for bruce encouraging people to hug Ron, maybe that is not the right approach. Instead, maybe they should just grab a cheek with caring tenderness while yelling out in Bruce's catchphrase, ass grab. Cash grab with ass. Ass grab.
    55:38
    No, don't grab my ass. As for Bruce's hate for Gottliebs, except if he buys one, maybe he should have listened to the latest episode of Silver Ball Chronicles, which can be found on the Pinball Network. He would have been a wealth of knowledge on the Silver Ball Chronicles, which can be found on the Pinball Network. But unfortunately, he was too busy.
    56:05
    Let's see. He could have shared the windfall of cash from Patreon while doing the Silver Ball Chronicles, which can be found on the Pinball Network. I am reading it word for word. Nope. And what happens every time this happens from now on?
    56:20
    What's that? I just talk over it. And who's louder? But then again, it's probably the best, as I don't think that David Dennis,
    56:30
    oh, not going to, okay, from the Silver Bowl Chronicles, which can be found on the Fiddle Bowl Network,
    56:40
    would be able to do that. I talk louder than you can. I like to make the needle go to red. Yeah, we're done with that. Would be able to do that much editing. I think only Ron can handle such a task. I don't want to edit. As for the whole plug, oh, God, I would think that Bruce, being the self-proclaimed biggest asshole in the world, would be able to take five or six extra large ones on his own. Is that true? You could take five to six butt plugs?
    57:07
    No. No? My asshole's nice and tight. Oh, God. One of these days, I hope to come back east to be able to play at the RPC, located at 349 West Commercial Street in beautiful East Rochester, New York, Suite 2965.
    57:21
    Then I can listen to Zach about how Elwynn's Iron Maiden sucks while Star Wars is awesome. Neither of those is even close to reality unless you are under heavy medication. And even then, you would still have to be from another planet like Uranus. Oh, my. I hope you boys have a good few weeks with Bruce's vacation cruise and Ron just being his awesome self. Keep the awesome episodes coming. Oh, my. One of your DPX STDs, Cole. Thank you, Cole. If you notice, we haven't heard much from Dutch since Expo. Yeah, since Expo. Yeah, we have not seen or heard much since then. All right. So they must have sold them all out. Yes. That's what they said. This next one's from Glenn. Hi, Glenn. Mr. Watcher? Yes. I think it's Weckner, actually. We always said it wrong, but I don't think he ever corrected us. He never corrects us, so we're always right. So we're always right. There you go. Do you ever see The Amazing Colossal Man, that movie? No. You didn't? You've seen some weird fucking movies. But that's the guy's name, Glenn. For some reason, I always think of that when I hear his name. Hi, Glenn. Yes. Ron and Brucie Baby, I'm sitting here thinking to myself, why are all Keith Elwin's games long players? I love games with deep code, especially Keith's, but I also love games that are shallow but brutal, like Iron Man, Pulp Fiction, and TNA. It made me wonder, is it harder to design and develop a pin with miles of code, modes, multiballs, mini wizard modes, and strategies, or an ass kicker like Iron Maiden, Iron Man, sorry, where the rules are simple, but it's very difficult to do the thing before training. I do declare. I think it's the second. I think it's harder to make a game that's fast, not easy, but you can beat it if you have a really good game. Easy to learn, hard to master. Like S.T.A.R.S. It's S.T.A.R.S. Honestly, I get the same feeling when I play S.T.A.R.S. when I play Iron Man. I am officially challenging Keith Owen to design a game with the intent to have shallow, simple rules, yet be an addicting ass-kicker of a game that makes you want to keep pushing start after an average five-minute game. A game designed to be really, really hard to get to the wizard mode, but could be achieved in less than 15 minutes. A modern game I want to play with three friends for hours.
    59:50
    Keith, I got it. I already got this. Well, yeah, James Bond. No, no, no. Even easier, Keith. Oh, Stars 2. No, no, no. God. Blues Brothers. You can program your own rules in, Keith, and you got it.
    60:05
    Oh, Jesus. Keith, please accept my challenge or decline by writing to slamtillpodcast at gmail.com. Thank you. Everyone's reminding me now to say these things to explain how the behind-door meetings would not allow this game to come out in today's age of modern pinball. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds. P.S. I don't believe anyone thinks TNA stands for tits and ass anymore. It's okay to say TNA for short, right?
    60:29
    Unless you're announcing for Pinberg, then no. It's not okay. Okay. Which there is no more Pinberg in some ways, but there is in other ways. But there is in some ways. Jesus Christ. I know, but it's not in Pittsburgh. Glenn, I think he already accepted the challenge. It's called James Bond's 60th anniversary. Nope, I call it he's going to buy himself a Blues Brothers and program it the way he wants, and it's just like stars. Easy, fast, fun. The next email is also from Glenn. Hey, wow. Update to last email. Oh, no. I forgot about Keith's 60th anniversary machine. It is a quick player with the tick-tick rules and a brutal layout. Oh, this is so embarrassing. Glenn. Wah, wah, wah. Oh, well. All right.
    61:15
    Two more. Let's see. This is from Tim. It says, hi, Ron and Bruce. do you remember the song all i want to do is make love to you by heart all i want to do is make love to you yes actually i don't remember that one it's weird she uh runs off because her husband can't give her a baby has one night stand with the guy and then he comes back and sees her the kid's face like five years later that's like an 80s heart thing right yes it is so yeah i remember like alone all i want to do is make love to you oh yeah okay yeah wait a minute yes one night of love that's all we'll do okay what pinball machine makes you relate to that song a pinball machine you know is wrong a pinball machine that you don't really love but a pinball machine you just want to take home and play in one pinball passion filled evening and not tell your friends oh road kings that is a bad one there you go obviously i i would say if i didn't own half of one i would have said fireball classic because everybody fucking hates that game joust joust joust but why would you be embarrassed to like joust because i if you bought it and you owned it god you spent so much money on a crappy game that's going to be broke most exactly yeah that's like the most broke game of any i've ever seen at pinball shows it's like if there's a joust there and actually survives the whole show that would be just amazing it's an yeah it's funny how our our rotation eight is lasted longer than some jousts out there forever their lifestyle let's see uh he says also use protection when you play this machine bruce might end up with a baby Star Wars Pro. Oh, no. God, no. Let's see. As always, love the show and never miss an episode. Glenn's best friend, Tim. Okay.
    63:21
    One night of love. Wait a minute. Did you give a game? That's all we'll do. What game did you give? I gave, what's it called? Joust. Oh, Joust. That's right.
    63:31
    That was just, you know. You see what I got to put up with people? See what I got to put up with people? Yeah. Okay, Bob. Bruce. Okay, this is from Tom. Make it pro. Are you ready to make it pro, Bruce? I am ready to make it pro, so. I swear we've already done these, but I think it was before the three changes only rules effect. So you have to take these games and remove just three things to make it a pro.
    63:59
    And one of them is actually a stern. So it's not like most of the times he just gives us the Williams 90s ones. Yeah. All right. Whitewater. remove the Yeti thing.
    64:11
    Just remove the whole upper play field. What do you got when you do that, though? That's too big a part of the game. Okay, so you get rid of the Yeti.
    64:21
    You get rid of the lock mech, so it's virtual locks. And you get rid of the bowl. The what? The bowl, the toilet bowl. The bowl, oh. Or, and you could also get rid of the boulders, the plastic stuff. I don't know how much money that would save you, but that is something you could remove.
    64:40
    It could. Oh, this one. I don't know this game well enough. You owned it. So I'm going to defer to you on this one. Safe Cracker. Okay, first, right off the coin mech. Gone. The coin. Oh, the one that spits out coins. Yes. You know what? Guess what? You're making it cheaper. You're making it Stern Pro.
    65:02
    Second thing you're going to do is actually make it a normal body size. that will save money because you got it because it saves money because it's a normal size game see always thinking third third you get rid of the tokens so you don't need that third mode that extra game well you got no you took you got rid of the mech so you took away the mech that gives them out yeah but you made tokens you made tokens how about the door things or whatever the back box. Doesn't it have those? Oh, yeah, you can do that. Yeah, get rid of it.
    65:38
    Okay. And the third and final was is Batman the Dark Knight. Okay, so the Batman. You can just copy from the Costco one. Take away the freaking spinning... Yeah, the spinning... The Joker.
    65:58
    Take away the upper... The Path of the Dead. And the car. There you go. The shifting back and forth car thing. Wow, that game sucks now. It does. Damn. Okay. Thank you, Tom. There you go. We made him pro.
    66:16
    And that is Empty the Ball Bag, Bruce. You feel better? I always feel better when I empty my ball bag. I'm sure you do. All right. We'll end it up with repairs. Repairs. I didn't do shit. Done. That's right. You were out. I was away. I didn't do shit.
    66:38
    Let's see. I worked. I got some things to work on, but I don't have anything right now to tell you that I fixed in the past three weeks. Me and Zach worked on his team one.
    66:49
    Oh, yes. Yeah, which had this bizarre thing with the flipper. The left flipper would keep. It seemed like it was binding, but it wasn't really. it wasn't binding against the play field it would not turn freely and it turned out the uh the the bracket that has the double um bushings on it that's its own like you could take it off separately it was bent ever so slightly so the shaft was not going through you know oh my the holes weren't lined up for the shaft oh god that's actually what it is folks i'm not just saying that to be disgusting that's it's like abracadabra all over again but you know i i got on zach's case because he's a proponent of you know those are the greatest flipper mechs ever made and it's like now yeah but look how fat they are they're too it's it's the thing's got to be perfect for it to work right man it's just this one little thing gets off and boom it sucks it's now i'll take the williams i'll take the williams mech uh let's see i did have uh i had one of my own games. Ooh, you actually worked on a game? Hold on, let me sit down. I told you it's the final one from actually, did I mention this last time? I don't remember. I replaced the rectifier boards on Stargazer and Stars. Rector what? The rectifier boards on Stargazer and Stars. Okay, and we should have no issues now. So hopefully the games can now be on for eight plus hours and not lock up. Yay.
    68:22
    So we'll see. Rector, my Harley newer. We'll see what happens. That means I have to have at least one more stomp to test that out. Yeah, you never know. Did I do anything else? Oh, I fixed my furnace, but that wasn't a... That's not an arcade thing. Sorry, we just ignored that. No. I still got to work on the Quicksilver Playfield. That's going to be my next... That's going to be Winter's Project.
    68:42
    Finish that up. Then I'll start on the cabinet. Wasn't it a Winter's Project last winter? Yeah. The good thing is I have a basement that's dry and nice and... And we have many winters ahead. Winters ahead, yes.
    68:57
    When I retire at 65 and four days later I die, you know, hey, I at least got those four days of working. Four days, bro.
    69:08
    I think that's it. I think so, too. Tell them how we can get in touch with us, Ron. Well, we are the Slam Tilt Podcast, and you have just listened to episode 240. Suckers. Yes. you can check out our website www.slamtelpodcast.com all our links are in the upper right hand corner including Twitch and YouTube and all that kind of stuff you can also email us at slamtelpodcast at gmail.com you can check out our Facebook page always fun going on there we don't have a Discord nope should we do Discord or Facebook's enough How many times do you go on Facebook for us? I mean. There you go. Enough said. And Bruce is, I mean, he does no research. He doesn't watch any game reveals. He doesn't do anything anyway. You think he's going to go to Discord? I don't think so. God, I barely go to a Discord of my own. Yes.
    70:06
    All right. I do go to Discord, though. You do? Yeah, okay. I don't know. So, hello to all the people on our cluster, Vuck. Yes. Hi, Zach. Fun one bonus. pinball princess everybody jeff teolas everybody everybody yay yay keep being positive in pinball just like bruce here positive for all the new games support your manufacturers try their games out before you completely bash them yes right yeah uh and then guess what you can come out and play some real games at the rpc the last tournament before nationals get your practice in and then uh We've got to start talking about Stomp next year.
    70:48
    Oh, God. It's way too long for that. No. Got to start thinking about it. Got it? Nope. Okay. Thanks, everybody. Until next time, say goodbye, Bruce. Goodbye, Sarah Stomp.
    71:04
    Oh, my, my. Can you boogie? Can you slide? Oh, my, my. All by my, you can boogie if you try. All by my, all by my, guarantee to keep you alive.
    71:34
    Meteor, Level Zero, Clusterfuck, George Takai, Tim Balls, Bruce Isms, Tournament Talk. Carholer, Cheetah, Sanity, Cash Grab, ELO, Ball Bay, What You Buy It, Game You Love, Game You Hate, Turbo Talk, Pimple Princess, Sir! Oh my.
    72:08
    Oh my. if it's yellow let it mellow if it's white flush it down no