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Episode 204: Martha Donovan, author

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·17m 58s·analyzed·Jul 5, 2019
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

Martha Donovan discusses her new beginner's pinball e-book and casual league advocacy.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Martha Donovan (T-Bonus), a Buffalo-based pinball player and newly published author, about her e-book 'Pinball Secrets: A Beginner and Intermediate Guide to Pinball.' Martha discusses her inspiration for writing the book—helping new players overcome the barrier to entry in pinball—and shares her approach including homework assignments tied to specific games and a chapter on 'Pinball Tourism.' The conversation covers her journey into pinball through dating Nick Lane, her favorite game (Metallica), and her involvement in casual league play formats designed to welcome new players.

Key Claims

  • Martha wrote her e-book 'Pinball Secrets' in approximately 7-14 days, inspired by a self-help podcast about writing e-books quickly

    high confidence · Martha directly states: 'About, yeah. I mean, yeah, a little longer, but yes, generally. It's a shorter book.'

  • Martha got into pinball through having free play access to machines at Nick Lane's house with him as a tutor

    high confidence · Martha: 'I got into pinball because I was dating Nick Lane and had access to pinball machines at his house on free play and with a tutor, basically.'

  • New players often struggle with basic mechanics like coining up or starting a game, which inspired the book's focus

    high confidence · Martha: 'I see a lot of new people who, for example, have trouble even coining up or starting a game. So part of the inspiration for this book was to reach out and provide a simple guide.'

  • The e-book includes homework assignments using three common games with easy and harder goals for players to achieve

    high confidence · Martha: 'I picked three common games, and I gave an easy goal to achieve and then a harder goal to achieve on each of the games.'

  • Martha's favorite game is Metallica, which she appreciates for its multiple play strategies and never-boring gameplay

    high confidence · Martha: 'The thing that I love about Metallica is just there are so many different ways to play it and I never get bored.'

Notable Quotes

  • “I got into pinball because I was dating Nick Lane and had access to pinball machines at his house on free play and with a tutor, basically.”

    Martha Donovan @ ~06:30 — Explains her unique entry point into pinball and motivation for writing beginner content

  • “So part of the inspiration for this book was to reach out and provide a simple guide for pinball, like what to do to get started, why to play, and then some basic skills and starting points to give them something to aim for, to achieve.”

    Martha Donovan @ ~07:30 — Core thesis of her e-book addressing barrier to entry

  • “I have homework assignments for my readers... I gave an assignment to do this one thing and try to achieve that because that's how you really get hooked.”

    Martha Donovan @ ~18:00 — Unique pedagogical approach in the book for teaching pinball skills

  • “The thing that I love about Metallica is just there are so many different ways to play it and I never get bored. You can go for Sparky if you want to do that. You can go Snake Multiball. You can go Graveyard, Coffin, so many different strategies.”

    Martha Donovan @ ~39:00 — Explains her preference for game depth and strategic variety

  • “When you buy one Pinball machine, usually it turns into two, three, four, five... Pinball's ugly secret.”

    Jeff Teolis @ ~30:00 — Industry inside joke about pinball addiction/collecting

  • “The whole key for pinball to me... is just have fun, whether it's in split flipper, whether it's in a friendly league, whether it's a selfie league or something like that. But just it's not so much about the competition. It's about enjoying the game.”

    Martha Donovan @ ~45:00 — Encapsulates Martha's philosophy on pinball engagement and accessibility

Entities

Martha DonovanpersonJeff TeolispersonNick LanepersonPinball Secrets: A Beginner and Intermediate Guide to PinballproductBuffalo PinballorganizationBro, Do You Even PinballorganizationPinball ProfileorganizationMetallicagameCountdowngame

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Buffalo pinball community organizing casual league formats (Pinball Duos, team leagues, Flip Frenzies) specifically designed to welcome new/casual players alongside competitive infrastructure

    high · Martha describes multiple casual tournament formats with explicit emphasis on fun over competition, designed to attract non-WPPR players

  • ?

    community_signal: Martha Donovan publishing beginner-focused e-book demonstrates active community effort to lower barrier to entry for new pinball players

    high · Martha explicitly designed the book to help new players struggling with basic mechanics; includes homework assignments and progressive skill building

  • $

    market_signal: Pinball industry has accessibility/education problem requiring grassroots solutions; new players don't know how to start games or understand rule depth

    high · Martha: 'I see a lot of new people who, for example, have trouble even coining up or starting a game.' Multiple mentions of overwhelming complexity for newcomers

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Growing focus in pinball community on inclusive, beginner-friendly engagement rather than whopper-chasing and competitive hierarchy

    medium · Martha and Jeff both emphasize that casual players represent majority of audience; community formats deliberately separate casual from competitive pathways

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.054

0:00
it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teolis you can find our group on facebook we're also on twitter at pinball profile email us pinball profile at gmail.com and please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher we head across the border really short drive for me we're heading over to buffalo where you probably see this woman every thursday and maybe you're even reading her new ebook as we speak martha donovan joins us right now hey martha how are you Great. How are you? I'm good. It's been a while since I've seen you. I saw you last year at the Buffalo Pinball Summer Open. I just ran into Nick and Kevin. They came over to near Hamilton and played in a tournament. And I said, you know what? I got to get in touch with Martha because I'm pretty excited about your new first e-book. It's called Pinball Secrets, A Beginner and Intermediate Guide to Pinball. Martha, you're an author now. I know. It's so exciting. It is pretty cool.
0:56
You know, a lot of people in pinball can't even read a book, let alone write one. And here you are writing an e-book. Well, you know, I actually got the idea. I was listening to a podcast called By the Book, and they review self-help books. And one of the books, I don't even read self-help books, but it's an entertaining podcast. Basically what they do, they go through, they read the book, and then they live by it. And they tell, you know, the listeners, you know, if they would recommend it or not, or what were good takeaway points. and they reviewed a book on how to write an e-book in 7 to 14 days. And it inspired me to write my own e-book. That's so cool. Did it take you 7 to 14 days? About, yeah. I mean, yeah, a little longer, but yes, generally. It's a shorter book. It's like I would call it a pocket guide.
1:44
It is available on Amazon and also on Kindle too, but that is a big undertaking. And it's not like you can just kind of, you know, when we're doing this podcast, when you're part of the Bro series, you know, that takes an hour, it takes two hours. It takes a long time to put your thoughts together to write. You need some alone time to do that. Did you find that alone time? Was it difficult to get down and write this book? It actually wasn't. I love working on projects. And once I got into it, I was really motivated to see it through and, you know, get my finished product out. And I'm excited with how it turned out. I know when I see you on Bro, Do You Even Pinball, and I've once been a guest on there two, you always ask the guest, you know, how'd you get into pinball and what are some of your favorite games and things like that. So you get a little history and it probably made you think, hmm, what about myself? What about when I first got into pinball and you have a story just like everyone else. And we actually have the same thing in common. We both played pinball much younger and then it was gone for 15, 20 years. That was the case with you, wasn't it? Yeah. I mean, I didn't play a ton of pinball when I was little, but that is actually one of the things that kind of inspired me to write this book because, you know, I got into pinball because I was dating Nick Lane and had access to pinball machines at his house on free play and with a tutor, basically. I could ask him any question that I wanted. Oh, you asked Nick? Yeah. And you still like pinball? Yes. It's true. But I mean, you know, that's kind of a unique way to get into a hobby to have, you know, personal access to any question you want to ask ever. And, you know, I know everyone doesn't have the liberty. So, you know, Nick's also been putting machines out on location. And I see a lot of new people who, for example, have trouble even coining up or starting a game. So part of the inspiration for this book was to reach out and provide a simple guide for pinball, like what to do to get started, why to play, and then some basic skills and starting points to give them something to aim for, to achieve. Martha, you're so right. You know, I think we as pinball players take it for granted because we've been playing for years, but for me, you have to go back a lot of years to remember the first time and what to do. And games weren't as difficult as they are right now. There was a start button, there were a couple of flippers and a plunger. And if you could figure that out, and not everyone could, then you had yourself a pinball game, but that's not the case now. And you're so right. I'll play it places, especially if games are on free play and see somebody go up to the game and have no idea to start it. Like not even flip, just even to start the game. Right. And there's so much there. I mean games are they have such deep rule sets And if you don realize that that the case walking up to a game and you think it just about flipping and you know having a good time you know it somewhat engaging But there's whole layers and layers and layers, you know, to capture that interest and get people past that. You know, there's a little bit of a high barrier to entry, I think, just because it can be a little bit overwhelming. And, you know, when you see the competitive players, if you're a casual person, that can be, I think, a little bit intimidating too. Well, I would guess, and there are a few people that listen to Pinball Profile and a lot of people that listen to Bro Series and watch the Bro Series on Thursday nights. But a lot of those people that are our common listeners are not competitive players, are maybe casual players, or maybe just getting into pinball. And they're not the whopper chasers. You're not a whopper chaser by any means. So that's a huge part of both of our audiences. and I think some understanding of games on a simple level is needed because there are a lot of tutorials and there are a lot of competitions you can watch on stream and it's at the highest level, let's say, whereas that's not the case for a lot of pinball players, maybe even the majority. Yep, I absolutely agree. One of my chapters, I have homework assignments.
Buffalo Pinball Summer Open
event
Pinball Duosevent
By the Bookproduct
PAPA 20event
Texas Pinball Festivalevent
Flip Frenziesevent
John Borgperson
Kayla Greetperson
5:46
Wait a minute, you buy the book and I'm giving you homework? No, I have homework assignments for my readers. And I picked three common games, and I gave an easy goal to achieve and then a harder goal to achieve on each of the games to give, you know, a new player something you you read about skills and you read about objectives, but I don't want to overwhelm you because I mean, you go to a new game, and there's a million things that you could potentially try to do, right. So I gave an assignment to do this one thing and try to achieve that because that's how you really get hooked. If someone can, you know, if you can achieve that, that one goal, like for example, sparky multi-ball, that gives you a real feeling of accomplishment and excitement. And so that's one of the things that I did include in this book. You know what? You have played in some competitions. Nick certainly is a great player and played in a lot of competitions. I play in competitions and there are games I'll come up to where I don't know how to play and I'll ask somebody, okay, what do you do? And they start give me four, five, six, seven steps. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It's like if someone gives you directions, Hey Martha, here's how you get here. I want you to turn left, go down two blocks. You'll see that big Oak tree. Make sure you're turning the left there. Uh, wait five seconds. Cause, uh, there's a geese crossing or something like that. Then go down the hill, go North. I'm lost. I'm gone. Right. What? So it's the same in pinball too. Just give me one, maybe two tasks and you do that in the book. And I think that's a good idea. Well, I hope it's helpful for some people. And then I have another chapter called Pinball Tourism. It's another for the casual player, because I know a lot of people in pinball love traveling to tournaments. And the idea of travel for Whopper Points is not something that's foreign to anyone. But the idea of a pinball vacation that incorporates some pinball tournaments, but also some other activities as well. So I do talk about that for, you know, the casual person to kind of incorporate pinball into everyday facets of life. That's a really good idea. And especially if, you know, you're just getting into pinball because I even know and I play a lot of competitions. Sometimes the competitions are a real grind and you're like, I need a break. I need something else to do. And, you know, if you're fortunate enough to go to a place like, say, New York City or Vegas, there are other things to do. So that's a good idea. And I like your ideas here in the book, Pinball Secrets, A Beginner and Intermediate Guide to Pinball. Yep. Okay, you have to tell me how you got the nickname T-Bonus. Okay, well, I kind of gave it to myself, but also it's kind of a nickname. So half of my family is Spanish-speaking and the other half is not. so my Spanish-speaking grandfather would call me Martita, little Martha, and then my dad would call me T because he couldn't say Martita. So he would call me T-Bone. And then when I got into pinball and I needed a gamer handle, I changed the T-Bone to T-Bonus. Good idea. Yeah. Makes sense. Yeah. And when you first got into pinball, I know the first game you owned was Countdown, which is a game I've actually come across quite a few times. It was recently in New York City at the pinball championships there at the Skyline Hotel and the classics event And I hadn played it for a while So I kind of forgot I thought oh I want to get multipliers I like no no no no no no And I don know what you would say in your new book. If you were talking about something like countdown, really, it's just find a group of targets and bash those. That's probably the best way to play that. Maybe. Well, yeah, it's all about 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X bonus, right? I forgot when I played that game that when you drop a set of targets, when they come back up again. They're worth 5,000 each. I was like, oh, maybe I'll just do that. I mean, it's not a bad strategy either, but when you get that countdown, I mean, the game is called Countdown and you get that bonus counting down and the great song that goes with it. Yeah, for sure. So Countdown was your first game. In the book, you talk about maybe some suggestions and things to look for, for getting your first game if you don't have a game already. And maybe some of those things that you want are maybe basic just so that it's not overwhelming at first? I do talk in the book about considerations for someone when buying a first machine. But I don't want to micromanage anyone's life and give too much advice, right? I think anyone should buy a game that they enjoy playing or that makes them happy. I mean, everybody knows, I think, once you get into the hobby, you buy a machine, you can sell a machine, and there's always somebody that wants it. So it's not like you're committing forever. And I think every game really has some value to it. But yeah, I love owning machines and I love having them in the house so you can just really get to know the rule sets and get practice with all the features of the games. Now, Martha, did you reveal Pinball's ugly secret? I don't know if I know Pinball's secret. What is it? You do, and I'm afraid to say it, but here we go. Okay.
10:44
When you buy one Pinball machine, usually it turns into two, three, four, five. I mean, so when you're convincing somebody, a partner or whatever the case may be, I'm just going to get the one. You and I and everyone probably listening knows that's not true. Oh, yeah. I did say that.
11:02
But you know what? You did make a good point, too, is that you buy a game. As long as you don't overpay for the game, you're probably going to get good value back for it. Maybe even a dollar more or so or not certainly lose a lot of money. And you think of how much time and fun you have with that game. They're good investments. Yeah, they're great investments. and you really don't lose money on them. So I don't see how you lose on that. I have to agree with you on that. Now, your favorite game is a game you've done very, very well. In fact, when I was on the Bro Show, we were playing Metallica. So that is a lot of people's favorite games. It's probably one of my top three games too. It's a perfect game in every aspect. What is it that draws you to Metallica? The thing that I love about Metallica is just there are so many different ways to play it and I never get bored. You know, you can go for Sparky if you want to do that. You can go Snake Multiball. You can go Graveyard, Coffin, so many different strategies. I love trying to go for Seek and Destroy. You know, crank it up. It's just every time there's something exciting and new to do and the shots all feel great. It's quick and it can be a real ass kicker. So I love it. I never get bored of it. I could play it every night. Yeah, I have to agree with you. It's a fantastic game. Well done by John Borg and the entire Stern team on that game for sure. You are playing, you can see Martha play with Buffalo Pinball, the Buffalo team pinball just ended. And you've got something neat in the summer, the pinball duos. What I like about the team league, what I like about duos, it's a little bit different. And again, it's not about the whopper chasing. It's just about having fun. Tell me what pinball duos is. Okay, so pin duos is a little bit of a cross between selfie tournament and split flipper. So basically throughout the month, you play like a selfie tournament. You put up high scores on the machines and either player, so it's a team of two, either player can play the games. I mean, you could have one player play all the games and submit the scores. And then at the end of the month, we have a tournament for top prize. And that tournament is a split flipper tournament. I have not played in a split flipper tournament since Papa 20 which was two years ago in April of 2017 It was so much fun I mean it kind of goofy but it just a great way to play pinball Yeah it was really fun We actually had finals and spoiler alert Nick and I won He let me be on his team for once But that's on Twitch, on the Buffalo Pinball channel, if anyone's interested in checking it out and seeing what it was. But, you know, it was good, and it got some new people into pinball that I think if you play with a more experienced player, it's a good way to get into it because you really see how the games play. You get to see some of those rule sets, and there's not that same kind of stress. draining on your own, right? You've got another, you've got a buddy there to help guide you through. So I would encourage anyone, especially locally to get out and play in it. And, you know, it's a fun format if, um, you know, other leagues are looking for something to do to get, um, you know, have casual people and have a little fun. I think that is the best way to get people into pinball and they might be great competitive players down the road, but the whole key for pinball to me, And I think what you're saying here is just have fun, whether it's in split flipper, whether it's in a friendly league, whether it's a selfie league or something like that. But just it's not so much about the competition. It's about enjoying the game. And then maybe you want to get better and you see what other people are doing. You ask questions, you watch tutorials like you can on Thursday nights with the bro series. There are just a lot of different ways to really get into it. But the key, none of it matters if you're not having fun. Yep. 100%. And, you know, that's the same thing with our team league that we have during the fall and spring seasons. It's a, you know, it's a great way to get people out. And there are a lot of people that participate in that that I don't see at the Whopper tournaments and things like that. But they love coming out. They love playing the games and getting together with everybody. And, you know, there's competition in there, too. But we have some fun events. We have Flip Flipper. And we also have the relay race in that, which is you play 30 seconds and then switch players until the ball drains. and then a singles and a doubles round as well. So a lot of good fun. Kayla Greet once told me about a tournament. I had no idea about it. It wasn't even so much a tournament. It was just fun playing. In fact, I played with Nick at Texas. Stall ball. Oh, the stall ball, yep. It's the greatest. Yeah, it's fun. It's just goofy. It's fun. You can throw a dollar down if you want, but it doesn't even matter. It's just about the bragging rights. And it's just the adrenaline, the aspect. And going back to your book too, really, you're just trying to do one thing, aren't you? Get it maybe in a scoop or stall the ball somehow. Yeah, with the right game, that is a great game. Nick tried to make us play that with Game of Thrones a couple weeks ago, and there are like no stalls in that game. Yeah, you need, well, that's funny Nick said that because when we were playing in Texas, I said, okay, what do you need? He said, preferably two places to stop. So, you know, a scoop would be one, a saucer would be another. Two would be perfect, right? A game like Whirlwind is fantastic because there are three, right? You can go under the ramp. So yeah, that's, and he tried to do Game of Thrones. How dare him? Now, that being said, I didn't see you on the weekend, but it's what led to this call is when I saw Nick and Kevin, when they came over to Canada and we were playing in another different tournament, which I think is extremely fun to play in, the Flip Frenzies. Yes. What I like about that tournament is that you know when it starts and you know when it ends, which is kind of nice too. So you can kind of schedule it and the rest of your day. Yep, absolutely. Because, you know, I love playing pinball, but some of those long days dragging into the night can be tough, especially for, you know, more casual people who maybe have an end in mind. Well, Martha, there are a lot of casual players out there, and I recommend getting your e-book, Pinball Secrets, a Beginner and Intermediate Guide to Pinball, available on Amazon and Kindle. It's your first of, I assume, many books. Is that safe to say?
17:14
Oh, yeah. I actually wrote in the intro, there might be a YA young adult novel in the works. Wow. Good for you.
17:25
Martha, I hope a lot of people check out this new book of yours available on Amazon and Kindle. I hope they check you out on Thursday nights on Brode, Eve, and Pinball. And I can't thank you enough for being on Pinball Profile. Yep. Thanks so much for having me, Jeff. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. email us pinball profile at gmail.com and please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher i'm jeff teolas