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Episode 195 – Distract The Assets

Slam Tilt Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 46m·analyzed·Nov 15, 2022
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.038

TL;DR

Slam Tilt #195: Stern moves facilities, Spooky replaces Halloween programmer, HomePin's Spinal Tap struggles.

Summary

Slam Tilt Podcast Episode 195 features guest Michael Winnie discussing his entry into pinball via Pinball Arcade and his current collection (Rush Premium, Stern Meteor, Lord of the Rings). The hosts cover news including Stern's facility move to a larger two-building location, Spooky's Halloween code struggles with a new programmer (Matt Kemp) assigned mid-year, concerns about HomePin's Spinal Tap sales and marketing approach, and Pinball Brothers' Alien achieving consistent mechanical reliability. The episode also discusses pricing concerns, tournament experiences at Houston Arcade Expo, and the hosts' recent 24-hour event at the Sanctum arcade.

Key Claims

  • Stern is moving to a new location five blocks away with two separate buildings—one for woodworking and one for manufacturing lines

    high confidence · Confirmed by Pinball News; Ray Tanzer of Gottlieb fame coordinating the move

  • Spooky assigned new programmer Matt Kemp (22+ year veteran from New Zealand) to work on Halloween and Ultraman code over the next year, replacing or supplementing original programmer

    high confidence · Official Spooky Facebook post from October 27th; interpreted as mid-project programmer change

  • HomePin's Spinal Tap has poor sales and the creator has alienated a large portion of the hobby through marketing messaging that explicitly tells tournament players and complicated-rules fans 'don't buy it'

    high confidence · Hosts cite direct quotes from HomePin creator; one unit placed at Pinball Hall of Fame, suggesting difficulty moving inventory

  • Pinball Brothers' Alien machines achieved 100% mechanical reliability (mouth and tongue working every time) at Expo after multiple years of issues

    high confidence · Direct observation from hosts at recent event; described as unprecedented consistency

  • Eric Stone experienced flippers dying mid-wizard mode on Halloween and a full blue-screen crash on a second attempt, confirming ongoing code stability issues a year after release

    high confidence · Hosts reference Stone's recent stream; Bowen Cairns linked to the crash video in year-later post criticizing Spooky

  • Stern is producing $2,000 Mandalorian toppers that are not selling well and have design flaws (missing wedge inserts needed for proper hologram visibility at normal heights)

    high confidence · Multiple Pinside reports cited; topper functionality issue documented via user installation videos

  • Modern pinball machine pricing ($13k+) means buyers cannot reliably resell without taking $2k+ losses, reducing affordability and secondary market value stability

    medium confidence · Michael Winnie and hosts discuss depreciation concerns; Halloween and Rob Zombie cited as examples of machines losing value

Notable Quotes

  • “He's literally said that. Don't buy it. It's not for you. If you like complicated rules, don't buy it. It's not for you. Tournament players, don't buy it. It's not for you.”

    Ron (describing HomePin creator's marketing approach) @ ~14:30 — Demonstrates how explicitly anti-market HomePin's messaging has been, explaining poor Spinal Tap sales

  • “The update isn't going to quite make Halloween as we wish, but we are working diligently on getting it done as soon as possible.”

    Spooky Facebook post (read by Ron) @ ~29:00 — Ambiguous official statement about Halloween code status; hosts struggle to parse whether 'never will be what we want' or just 'delayed'

  • “They made it complicated just so it would distract you from the fact they have no assets.”

    Ron (theory on Pirates of the Caribbean design) @ ~44:00 — Articulates community theory that complex rules mask missing IP assets

  • “I wonder what breaks more, a home pin or Alien from Pinball Brothers?”

    Ron @ ~19:00 — Reference to Alien's notorious reliability issues, setting up the redemption story

  • “It only took them how many years to get that? Oh, three or four.”

    Ron (regarding Alien reliability) @ ~20:00 — Highlights the multi-year struggle Pinball Brothers faced with Alien's mechanical issues

  • “It's a year later, let's see how it's going.”

    Bowen Cairns (updated post linking to Halloween crash video) @ ~25:30 — Suggests simmering tension or disappointment between Bowen and Spooky; indirect criticism through video evidence

  • “What I do not like is the Gottlieb System 1 cabinets and the System 80 cabinets. That door swinging the wrong way. Just, ugh.”

    Bruce @ ~37:00 — Minor but reveals strong preferences in vintage cabinet design

  • “I'm a piece of shit.”

    Bruce (self-assessment after underperforming at 24-hour event) — Humorous but illustrates competitive frustration and performance anxiety

Entities

Michael WinniepersonStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyHomePincompanyPinball BrotherscompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyEric Stoneperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern Pinball's facility move to larger two-building location may signal production capacity expansion; unclear if manufacturing line count will increase from current 2-2.5 lines

    high · Pinball News confirmation; Ray Tanzer coordinating; five blocks away; woodworking and manufacturing separated; lease expiration timing

  • ?

    community_signal: Bowen Cairns posted year-later critique of Halloween linking to Eric Stone's crash video; suggests simmering tension or public break with Spooky over code quality

    medium · Bowen's updated post with link to crash footage; hosts note 'something happened between them and it was not good'; Spooky has not publicly responded

  • ?

    community_signal: Houston Arcade Expo Bond tournament held with minimal community feedback or discussion on Pinside or social media about gameplay quality

    medium · Hosts note 'haven't heard much good or bad' and 'usually you hear it on Pinside like two seconds later'; radio silence interpreted as potential concern

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Jersey Jack Pirates of the Caribbean promised three spinners but shipped with one; hosts theorize complex rule design was intentional distraction from missing movie assets and IP content

    medium · Hosts reference early marketing promises vs. delivery; discussion of disappointing asset scope; theory that complexity masks absent content

  • $

    market_signal: HomePin's Spinal Tap experiencing poor sales; creator's explicit anti-market messaging ('don't buy if you like complicated rules' / 'don't buy tournament players') has alienated target demographics

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.320

0:00
Come on, come on, come on buddy, come on, come on! Greg, he's gone. Call it, uh, 356. Eh, can I have the bullet? What? Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, this is the Slam Tilt Podcast, the show about all things pinball. I'm your host, Ron Hallett. Here with my co-host, Bruce Nightingale. I suck. At pinball, yes, you do. And this is episode 195.
0:44
Wow. How's it going, Bruce? Trying to find a fucking 200 guests. This is going to be the gimmick for the next 10 episodes. It's, yeah. We'll still be looking for the 200th guest when we're on 205, I think. I think so. God, every person I try to get on, they just ghost me. Well, I think they hear the intro and then they just are turned off.
1:07
Beavis and Butthead probably is not good at getting guests. Or turned on. Okay. But we did get a guest. Yeah, we're not alone, Bruce. Who do we have? We have Michael Wine?
1:20
Oh, close. Winnie. Okay, so it is. Michael Winnie. Thank you, gentlemen. It's an honor to be here. Michael is one of the people who actually jumped into the email ball bag and said he wanted to be on, and poof, it happened. It's a miracle. Yes. It's a Christmas miracle. Best Christmas movie ever coming up soon.
1:44
What's that? Die Hard. Oh, God. And Lethal Weapon. Okay. And not Christmas Story? No, that sucks. That sucks. Don't come on now. Wow.

  • Jersey Jack's Pirates of the Caribbean featured promised three spinners but shipped with only one, and complex rule design was intentionally used to distract from missing movie assets

    medium confidence · Hosts theorize this based on early marketing promises vs. delivery; attributed to licensing/asset acquisition failures

    • @ ~49:00
    Bowen Cairns
    person
    Matt Kempperson
    Ray Tanzerperson
    Colin McAlpineperson
    Timmyperson
    Ron Hallettperson
    Bruce Nightingaleperson
    Zachperson
    Houston Arcade Expoevent
    Sanctum (arcade)event
    Pinball Hall of Famelocation
    Halloween (Spooky Pinball)game
    Alien (Pinball Brothers)game
    Pirates of the Caribbean (Jersey Jack)game

    high · Hosts cite direct marketing quotes; single machine placement at Pinball Hall of Fame suggests inventory movement difficulty; hosts call out marketing approach as 'terrible pitch'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Spooky Pinball assigned new programmer Matt Kemp (22+ year veteran) to Halloween and Ultraman code, suggesting mid-project programmer change or replacement

    high · Official Spooky Facebook post; ambiguity about whether replacing original programmer (Phasma?) or supplementing; hosts speculate Spooky moving focus to next game (Scooby-Doo)

  • $

    market_signal: Pinball machine pricing at $13k+ creates unsustainable depreciation where buyers cannot resell without $2k+ losses; secondary market value stability deteriorating

    high · Michael Winnie and hosts discuss depreciation; Halloween and Rob Zombie cited as examples of machines losing significant value; three-tier LE/Premium/Pro pricing model criticism

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern's $2,000 Mandalorian topper has design flaw: missing wedge insert needed for proper hologram visibility at normal viewing heights; inconsistent inclusion across production runs

    high · Multiple Pinside reports; video evidence of users discovering missing wedge; speculation topper tested only with tall testers (Jack Danger mentioned)

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pinball Brothers' Alien achieved mechanical reliability breakthrough; mouth and tongue mechanisms working 100% at recent Expo after 3-4 years of consistent failures

    high · Direct observation by hosts; described as 'amazing, just never seen before'; hosts theorize either software fix or physical change, but functionality now consistent

  • ?

    product_concern: Halloween (Spooky Pinball) continues experiencing code stability failures one year post-release, including blue-screen crashes and flipper malfunctions during wizard modes

    high · Eric Stone stream showing crash; Bowen Cairns linking to crash video one year later; Spooky's ambiguous October 27th post about assigning new programmer Matt Kemp

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Hosts speculate Scooby-Doo (Spooky's next game) may suffer similar code issues due to resource reallocation; Zach (community member) has burned on Pirates of the Caribbean and is hesitant despite Scooby-Doo being his 'dream theme'

    medium · Hosts joke 'Crash!' when predicting Scooby-Doo reception; reference to Zach's prior franchise disappointment; implication that Spooky's track record is eroding buyer confidence

  • ?

    technology_signal: Spooky's Halloween still not at 1.0 code status one year post-release; unclear release timeline for 1.0 version despite Matt Kemp assignment for next-year effort

    high · Hosts verify game 'doesn't have a 1.0 code yet'; Spooky's ambiguous October 27th post about timing; comparison to other games (e.g., Alien) reaching stability

    • 1:58
    It really does. It was so overplayed, it actually burned my cornea right out. It was like gone. Let's have a 24-hour marathon of that.
    2:09
    Wow, Bruce. Yeah, truth. Ever since then, you can't drink Ovaltine anymore. Is that true? I have never drank Ovaltine. Oh. And you actually saw this movie?
    2:20
    Yes. I've seen it many, many times. Holy shit. I'm not going to watch the one with him as an old dude now. Oh, yeah, you will. You will be. I have no desire to watch that whatsoever. You will be. Let's see Ralphie old. No. I mean, he's the same actor, though, so that's good. That is good. That makes it more interesting. Yeah, but he's still old now. I want him. I want him to be a kid forever. I don't want to see him old. What?
    2:44
    Take out my dancers. Change my diaper. Actually, it's probably my age. Or your age, exactly. Yes, that's pretty old. God, that's really fucking old. Yes. What is this stuff that goes with pinball? Is there a pinball in a Christmas story anywhere? There's got to be one. Somebody's homebrewing it. Would you buy a... Christmas story pinball machine? Christmas story pinball machine.
    3:07
    Sure, if it had a working, like, the BB gun in it. That would be cool. Like you shoot the ball across the play field?
    3:16
    Yeah, you shoot your eye out, and there's a big eye, and you just hit it. Like you shot your eye out, kid.
    3:22
    You get a tongue that presses up against the steel pole and sticks. That would be good. Yes, I like that. That would be the magnet. It's like the magnet from Godzilla. Yeah, you actually hit the pole. It sticks the magnet to it. And then you got to hit the kid. And then he pops it off.
    3:42
    I like that idea. I thought you could have the stripper poles from the Sopranos pinball where the kid just spins around the pole with his tongue at it. There you go. That's good. I could reuse next. That's a good idea. Save money.
    3:57
    So, Michael, you know the big question. You're going to be asked two big questions today. Two. Two? Two big questions. Okay. Yeah, first, how did you get into pinball? And second will be, what's your favorite game? What's your non-favorite game of all time? But we'll get to that a little later. But first is, how did you get into this beautiful hobby called pinball? All right, well, there's a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is quite simply Farsight Studios Pinball Arcade.
    4:28
    I don't think we want the long answer because we've got to fill time here, buddy. So that's the basic thing is I started playing that, heard about it, And then once I started playing the digital pinball, it quickly led into playing the real thing and then owning and buying machines. So that was the short answer.
    4:44
    The long answer would be, you know, I mean, I grew up, I was born in the 80s, so I grew up with arcades and pinball machines and all that stuff. And so I remember pinball machines all growing up. They were around. But usually it was one of those things when I was really little, they were kind of intimidating because they were big. They were 50 cents to play, whereas the arcade machines were a quarter. And I would usually drain right away. so I wasn't very interested in them when I was small. Plus, I was cheap. You know, my mom deemed, like, two quarters. Well, I could play two rounds on an arcade machine or one round on a pinball, so I would always go for the quantity. But then when I got a little older, you know, 10, 11, 12, my dad, he went to work for a router in our area that had arcade machines, you know, pool tables, dart boards, jukeboxes, and pinball machines. And so I'd go out to a shop, and they'd have, you know, You could just play stuff for free at the shop, you know, whatever they had to happen to have in there. But this was like the mid-late 90s, so this was stuff like Indiana Jones Pinball Adventures, Adam's Family, Twilight Zone, Johnny Mnemonic, all that stuff. And I just remember going there and playing them, and it was just like amazing. It was like magic. Literally, like, you know, theater magic, the way that trunk worked as a 10-year-old, that was magic, you know. And so that's when I kind of really fell in love with pinball and just the call-outs. And when you drain the ball and Marion says, see you later, Indiana Jones. That was one of my favorite movies, you know, as a kid, Indiana Jones. So really just all, that's kind of where I fell in love with pinball. And then even around the house, my dad, he would buy old Gottlieb System 1s and fix them up. So we had stuff like Sinbad and Countdown in the basement. And so, but, you know, at the time, you know, those are great games. But, you know, I'm playing the DMD Williams games. Then the Gottlieb System 1s weren't very interesting when I was 10, you know. But now I like them. And so then I kind of was dormant for a while until I heard about the pinball arcade, you know, 20 years later. And that's when I kind of got back into pinball in a big way. That was long.
    6:38
    Indy. I did say? Indy. What do you think of Indiana Jones 5, Indy? Are you excited? I'm excited for it. I mean, you know, 4 was terrible, but, you know, maybe 5 will be better. Well, they'll have his walker, so he'll be able to get around a lot easier. Four was terrible with Spielberg, so five without Spielberg is going to be great? I don't think so. I don't think so either. I think it's going to bomb hard.
    7:04
    Poor Indy. Why does he – he loves playing Indy, but he hates Han Solo. I never understood that. Because Han Solo shot first.
    7:14
    What does that have to do with whether he likes it or not? Yes, he shot first. Maybe he felt guilty all these times killing Greedo. Killing poor Greedo. See? and stepping on Jabba's tail. That was in the stupid... He did walk over them in the original cut. No, he doesn't. He walked around them. No one knows what we're talking about. Well, actually, they probably do, which is sad. We're all nerds. We're pinball people. We're nerds. So bad. So, Michael, how many games do you own right now in your personal collection? Well, I own a Rush Premium, which I love. Although the Note 10 board blew up on me, so that made me sad. But I've got another one I've got to put in. And then I have a Stern Meteor that I picked up three weeks ago, which I also love.
    8:08
    And then I'm actually looking after a friend's Lord of the Rings. I fixed it for him and I got it here next to me in the room. Alright. I like it. That's a good thing. I like it. What's your next game in your mind that you want to be buying? Creature from the Black Lagoon is one that I've wanted for a while I'd like a nice one or Tales from the Crypt, those are two that are actually on my radar there you go Tales from the Crypt I have a boat to pick with you yes and Michael sent us a bunch of other notes which looks like most of them are related to repairs so when we get to repairs we can go through that yes But first, Michael, you want to help us do the news? Because there's so much of it.
    8:56
    Yes, sir. I mean, is anything happening? Come on. What's going on? No bond news. No L and L-E. Nothing. But we do get to see if people are playing bondage. I mean, bond.
    9:14
    Okay. Yes, the Houston Arcade Expo is going on right now. And they're all playing Bond. Yes. And we haven't heard much good or bad. So what does that tell you? We haven't heard anything. Yeah, usually you hear it on Pinside like two seconds later, like, you know, I played this game and it's kind of, you know, or the, oh, it's the best game, it's a slice of bread. Well, I haven't been on Pinside, so. I have, and it's nothing really. I'm really surprised. Oh. But I did put a wanted ad up on Pinside today. What does that have to do with Bond? Well, because we talked about Pinside. Okay. Michael, have you played Bond? I have not played Bond. I've seen the stream of it, and I've seen some video of it, but I have not played it. Here's something funny, Bruce. My name's come up on at least three different podcasts now. Why? Because of one comment I said about the pop-upers firing at the same time. And? I don't know. I've had at least one person on the stream said, like, no, I don't think that's true. And I'm like, just look at the video. You can literally see them popping at the same time. When the manual comes out, it'll be pretty obvious. When you look at the solenoid list, it'll show two things. Yeah.
    10:22
    At Houston Arcade Expo, I want to see Colin McAlpine win the tournament. Congratulations, Colin. And Timmy was third.
    10:29
    Timmy! Got to give Timmy a shout out. Okay, Bruce, what's your wonderful ad that you put on Pinstyne? I'm looking for a rotation eight.
    10:41
    A rotation eight. Is that a pinball machine? It is. By who? Batley. Okay. Is that the cocktail that you can spin it around? Mm-hmm. The whole play field spins. Oh.
    10:57
    You're on the cocktail kick lately. What's going on with that? Well, I can't get to 50 easily with the co-op.
    11:05
    So the way I can get to 50 is getting another cocktail. Okay, by 50 you mean 50 games. Yes. Okay. We're at 49. We're stuck at fucking 49, and Zach doesn't want to add the 50 one. When we get Zach on next time, you can bust the shops and say, we need 50. It's so much easier to say 50 instead of 49. 50 sounds. It's all about space, though, Bruce.
    11:28
    Yeah, I know. But guess what? One more game will not hurt space. That's like telling you. Yeah, yeah. And now you're, yeah. That's interesting how you tell me that, but then for your own co-op, you have people like, no, no, we can't fit another one. It's interesting how that works. Yeah, voting there. You know, I can actually peer pressure you into this stuff, you know, but they're hard to. Mm-hmm.
    11:51
    Okay. But, yes, so I put it on an ad. So if anyone has any information about a Rotation 8, please email us at slamtillpodcast at gmail.com. Good, good. Email plug right off. That's good. Right off the bat.
    12:08
    What else do I have? There's hardly any news. Spinal Tap is at the Spinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas for some reason. Yeah, I think they're trying to get the game out there, and I think they probably gave to him at a really or maybe like a loan. I think his sales are not as good as he thought they were going to be since, you know, he just alienated like three-quarters of his hobby. Okay, you're talking about Mike from Home Penn. Yep, he did. He did. Yeah. He's a terrible salesperson. Yeah, that much is certain. This game is not for you. He's literally said that. Don't buy it. It's not for you. Yeah, don't buy it. It's not for you. If you like complicated rules, don't buy it. It's not for you. Tournament players, don't buy it. It's not for you. Oh, and I didn't want to put the LCD in it, but I was forced to because of the movie clips. Like, okay, wow, that's a great pitch right there. I'm buying that right away. I'm in. Michael, you're in, right? Oh, yeah. Well, I've got to go play it first at the Pinball Hall of Fame, right? I'm going to play it, and I'm going to fall in love with it, and then I'm going to buy it. I'm going to buy two. You got it. One for your friends and neighbors and one for yourself. A final tap in every house. That's what we need. You're going to see the price and say, like, oh, this costs as much as a premium stern. Maybe I shouldn't get this one.
    13:27
    Yeah. Terrible. So, yeah, he has one on location, which is kind of scary. I wonder how many times it's broken on him. I wonder what breaks more, a home pin? or Alien from Pinball Brothers?
    13:41
    Alien was pretty solid at Expo. Didn't have an issue. Did the mouth work and the tongue work? Yes. Every time, which I've never seen that. I told my father when he was playing it, what you've experienced is amazing, just never seen before. I don't know what they did, if it's a software thing or they physically changed something, but all the ones there, it was working every time. Nice. So that means if you buy one now, maybe it will actually work correctly. It only took them how many years to get that? Oh, three or four.
    14:16
    I mean, good Lord. But it is super cool when it works. So you're now going to buy one now, right, Ron? God, I wish it was someone else other than him. If it was Jersey Jack, I'd buy it.
    14:28
    But pinball, I just, what happens if they go away tomorrow? Where are you going to get parts for anything? you know? I hear you. And it's all like, it's probably all metric and shit too, because it's all made in Italy and European and stuff. Yeah.
    14:45
    Well, it is. The Sonics, they got a lot of metric stuff in them. They're made in Spain. They do. And Zachariah, Zach is feeling the pain trying to find parts for those. Go to Italy. My home. Go to my hometown in Italy and find that for us. We make it on the scene. Yeah. Hey, we're doing good. But I got a big, I got a Mike, Mike Francesca from Maryland, who is one of my favorite people in the whole world, one of my favorite Italians. Sorry, Ron, you still are my favorite, favorite. Posted a picture on Facebook, and he told me I should speak it like it's posted on Facebook because it's the Italian Elon Musk.
    15:30
    Hey, I'm making the rocket. and then another one goes, I'm making a marinate paint like the Rick and Morty hey, I'm a pickle Rick and then another one he posted said I just invented a new fruit, it's called a tomato, it comes up all by myself oh, despertano despertano, and then the last one is Italian Elon Musk I send a calzone into space I don't pay your taxes, oh so there you go Mike thank you for that, I love it Yes, Bruce, it's great.
    16:06
    The red-headed Italian himself, Bruce, yes. Hey, we make a pinball good. Hey, we finally get the head to work in. Yeah. Hey, my skin will burn in the sun. Yeah.
    16:17
    Hey. My tongue finally works up the forehead. Hey. Okay. Well, I'm really scraping for any news here. Well, this is actually a big deal to me. Stern is moving again. They are moving again after, what, five years? Maybe the lease is coming up. But how are they going to a bigger location? Are they going for more centralized? This is confirmed by Pinball News.
    16:44
    Hi, Pinball News guys. Hi, Pinball. Basically, they are moving like five blocks away, and they're going to have two buildings.
    16:54
    One is going to be the woodworking building, where all the wood is going to be. There you go. Oh, my. I haven't done that in a while. And then the second building is going to be just, you know, where all the lines are going to be, the manufacturing.
    17:12
    How many lines will they have? Probably a lot, I'm guessing. Ray Tanzer of Gottlieb fame. Hi, Ray Tanzer.
    17:21
    He coordinated their last move, and he will be coordinating this move. I don't know exactly when it's happening, but whenever the release expires, I'm sure. Yeah. How long has it been since they've been in a new building? It's probably like a five-year lease, like you said. Yeah. Probably something like that. Yeah? Yeah. So how many lines will they have? That's going to be the key, since they're going to be in two separate buildings. Well, no, all the lines are going to be in one building. The one building is going to be for woodworking. I'm not saying how many lines are they going to have. Right now they have, what, two or two and a half, I think it is. Like, would they have a small little mini line, and then I think two full lines? Yeah, they have like an accessory line or something. Yeah. Could it be three or three and a half? Who knows? Well, that's the question. Will they actually, will the production increase at all? And also, will they actually be able to, you know, make accessories in a timely fashion and rerun old accessories like toppers and stuff? Good point. Because you have a rush. Do you have expression lighting in your rush? I have Led Zeppelin lighting in my rush. He got away with it. He did that. Yeah, he did. We're sick of waiting. So I need to, yeah. I, yeah, I want my special lighting. How's your special lighting going? Damn it. Who, me? I don't have it. Yeah, you. I don't have anything. Exactly. Why not? Because they're busy making $2,000 Mando toppers. That haven't sold out. Surprise, surprise. I'm trying to figure out if the Mando topper, I saw a video of a guy that installed his, or actually it was, no, it was on pin side. And they have this wedge thing that you put in so it tilts the topper towards you so you can actually see the hologram better. But then I watched a video of another guy installing his, and he's like, I didn't get a wedge. Was I supposed to get that? And then when he installed it, he's looking at it and it's like, yeah, this needs some kind of wedge because I can't see everything on it. Probably he got, like, the first run and probably the second run. That's one of those I would definitely call Stern and say, yo. Give me my wedge, baby. Yeah, I can't. Because he said he was like six foot, and he couldn't see it. So that's fine. I like seeing shit. Maybe like Jack Dangerfall or something to be able to see it. Yeah, maybe that's it. They just tested it with Jack, who's like 6'6". It looks great. Fine. No problem. $2,000 toppers. Where the fuck are we going in the top? Don't worry. We'll have the $25,000 LNLE if it's ever released. I know. What do you feel about the pricing, Michael? I mean, it's, yeah, it's going ridiculous. Well, I think the problem right now for me with pricing is that stuff isn't holding value the same way. I mean, toppers maybe, but, like, the machines aren't the same way. So, you know, you can't just sell them and flip them. You've got to kind of commit, and you're going to commit and lose $2,000 because the prices are so high to begin with. Yeah, I don't know. It's rough.
    20:10
    Yeah. Well, speaking about holding price, let's talk about Halloween. But, yeah, I thought that was a pretty good segue. This isn't really news news. It's just something I was watching Eric Stone, a top ten player, he does these streams where he will play basically a stock game and just destroy it, just get to wizard modes, and I think he played Dialed In for like two hours or some ridiculous thing. It's that kind of thing. I will break you. Yeah, it's ridiculous. So for Halloween, he played Halloween. Tried to get to the end of the game. So his first try, he gets to the final mode, and the flippers go dead on him. It comes out of the elevator, and he goes to flip, and the flippers don't work. And people are going, oh, you missed the flipper. What are you doing, man? Yeah, and he's like, oh, I didn't miss the flipper. I hit the freaking flipper button. Now he's pissed. And he immediately starts another game. I'm like, God damn it, I'm getting to the end of this thing. So this next game is even better. He's still on ball one, and he's going to play the final mode, or the final regular mode before whatever the wizard mode is. And the game blue screens.
    21:29
    The equivalent of a blue screen. Like, it literally just crashes hard. But it's only been a year. What's so hard about software after a year? At which point he gave up and played Alien, which actually worked fine. Yeah, go figure. The reason I bring this up, because I thought this was kind of funny. So then Bowen Cairns, who used to work for Spooky or help Spooky out, in his post from a year ago where he said he wasn't working with Spooky anymore when Halloween first came out, he put an updated post in there that said, it's a year later, let's see how it's going. and he linked to the Eric Stone video where it crashes. Yep.
    22:14
    Which I thought was interesting. I don't know what happened between Owen and Spooky, but it was not good. Yeah, I was doing the same thing. Yeah, that's pretty rough right there. It went into a whole conversation. Did Spooky respond to this? No, no. In which way? They don't respond to stuff like that. But they did have a post before Halloween on October 27th regarding the game Halloween, which I had to read this Facebook post about four or five times to figure out what they actually meant because the way I read it the first five times didn't make any sense to me. I'm going to read this just as it's printed.
    22:59
    Do you know about this, Bruce? I do, yes. You're the one playing that to me. Michael, do you know about this? I do know about this, yes. Damn it. That ruins everything. But I'll read it anyway. Here's what it says. It says, meet Matt Kemp. Matt has been a prolific programmer for 22 plus years and is a huge fan of pinball. Matt is going to be pouring that passion into the Halloween and Ultraman code over the course of the next year. The update isn't going to quite make Halloween as we wished, but we are working diligently on getting it done as soon as possible.
    23:31
    That last sentence confused the hell out of me. The update isn't going to make Halloween quite as we wish. I read that as this update is still not going to make it the way we want it. No, it's not. But as a year, if you see what he said before that. Well, no, what it means is the update itself isn't going to quite make Halloween as in October 31st as we wished. That's what it means. But the way I read it multiple times was like, are they saying that this is just never going to be what they want? No, it's just that, you know, maybe this fix is going to possibly fix some bugs, but it still sucks, this game. And Matt is from New Zealand, I believe. But my question is, are they replacing the current programmer on it? Was it Phasma? Yeah, who knows. Is he moving on to something else? I mean, that's just kind of weird.
    24:18
    Oh, I guarantee they're into the next game. Yeah, but still, I mean, I know you wanted to retire and all, but I can't see any situation where Dwight Sullivan is working on a game and then at some point, like, now I've got to go do something else. Here's someone else that's going to work on my game. Oh, it's happened. Yeah, it's weird. Yeah, I don't see that. These guys are usually possessive of their games. Yeah.
    24:43
    It is weird. It's almost like we know this has problems, but we have to move on to Scooby-Doo, so we're going to have this guy try to salvage this thing. Zoinks. That's kind of what it sounds like. So you're going to get Scooby-Doo then, right? Probably not, but I mean, I am a member of the fan club. So I would like to at least look at it and see it in action. I know somebody interested in one.
    25:09
    He's been a guest on our show many times. Guest or third host? Third host. Yeah. Yeah, this is one of the – Zach is not doing good with his dream themes. His one dream theme was Pirates of the Caribbean. It sucked. So he hates the Jersey Jack one because it doesn't have anything from the movie other than the one actor. who does everything. That just, that killed him. Now it's going to be Scooby-Doo, which is one of his other dream teams.
    25:35
    And what do you think is going to happen there? Crash! He'll give it a chance. You got to wait and be out of the list, or you got to be buying in, and then hopefully, you know, you can sell it afterwards and not take a loss like Rob Zombie. Or Halloween. Yes. People are taking losses. Oh, they're taking baths. Yes. I have a question for you, General. A question. Yes! Slight diversion to Pirates of the Caribbean. Do you think it'd be better if it was just, like, generic Pirates theme, like Black Rose, and so you didn't have Johnny Depp on the plate, but you just had pirate art in general? Do you think it'd be a better game?
    26:12
    Probably not. No? Okay. No. Because there was just so much disappointment with that game, with the three spinner then turning to... It was just like, here's all the things we're going to get. And in the beginning, if you remember this far back, when Jersey Jack first came out with Pirates, he was saying, we're going to get all the assets. We're going to do all this. We going to get the three spinners Look at this It so much Nobody doing what we doing This is the best game So we like okay cool Yeah great It took six months and then like six or seven months later like oh yeah here one spinner What do you mean one spinner? What happened? Oh, it was too difficult to make, which means it took a lot. And then like, oh, here's gameplay. Where's all the assets? Oh, well, we got this one guy who's going to do some fill-in voice work, and where's all... No, that doesn't matter anything. And let's make the rule really, really hard so you don't realize that you're missing nothing. Well, that's why they created so many characters to distract you from the lack of assets. Because it just sucks. First time I've ever heard that theory. You've heard it here, Bruce. I feel it. I mean, you've heard it from Bruce. They made it complicated just so it would distract you from the fact they have no assets. Very good. Because it does suck. Well, that's why I ask this because it's like you don't have any assets from the movies anyway so why even have it to that theme when there's nothing from that movie? Like, I play it and it doesn't feel like you're in any of the movies. at all in any way. Just like their last non-theme game, it doesn't sell then if it doesn't have a theme. That's the problem. There's no winning with that game then. It's just a lose-lose. It is a lose-lose unless you had all the assets. Of course, there's also the thing where, is it on 1.0 yet? No, I don't think so. I don't think it's done. No, it's not done.
    27:55
    I don't think it's on 1.0 code. Well, no, it doesn't blue screen. That's true. Actually, I'm looking at this spooky post here. In the background, he has looks like a centaur and a 8-Ball Deluxe LEs.
    28:12
    So he's thumbs up in Bruce's book. Bruce loves those. Yeah. You do. I thought you said you preferred those cabinets. I do. Yeah. I do. Really? Yeah. Bruce is crazy like that. I don't know why he prefers those cabinets. I do. What I do not like is the Gottlieb System 1 cabinets and the System 80 cabinets. That door swinging the wrong way. Just, ugh. Okay, don't ever work on Terminator 3 then, because it also swings that way. I know it does. I own one. Okay. It's very awkward. I'm not used to it. Let's see. I think I'm almost through everything at this point. We're done. No. No, we're not. 24 hours at the Sanctum. The big thing we did while we were away. Oh, well.
    28:56
    Bruce did not do well. We had a go. Had a go. No, it went like ass. It went like ass. Wait a second, it's so bad that I was in the second group you know, they have two groups per bank of games, so you have the better group and you have the worst group so the better group is like the top 10, 15, 20 people you know, playing along with each other and then you have the bottom group, which is like the 50s and 60s me and Zach played in two groups exactly the same time my lower group scores were beating all the players on the upper group scores. Like, every group I played, everyone had the best fucking game ever. Yeah, Bruce has this thing where he hates when people have good games against him. He hates when people fail and beat him anyway and stuff like that. He just, he goes crazy. He hate-watches? He hate-watches the other players? Yeah, that's it. He's a hate-watcher. No, I walk away. I don't even watch it. He's a hate-watcher. Exactly. He's like, hey, I won my Stargazer game at 650,000. I'm like, okay, great. I had 953, and I barely won. And everyone had, all four of our scores were better than the four people who were in the higher levels.
    30:12
    It's like, really? And how did that make you feel, Bruce? How did that make you feel? I'm a piece of shit.
    30:18
    Yes, Bruce has retired again. But the good thing is the games played really well. Thank you, Jim, for doing that. It's a lot of work for 24 hours of sitting around watching people do their thing.
    30:33
    But, yeah, it's just like, holy fuck-a-loo-roo. I wasn't sitting around watching people do their thing. I was doing my thing, Bruce. Yes, yes. Ron got two nines. I'm looking at my chart here, and for the first five rounds, I wasn't doing anything. I was third or last, like, over and over and over. Like, wow, this is not starting well at all. This is painful. Then I started my ascension.
    30:59
    So the thing they did there is you play three games per round, and it's Tinberg scoring, 3-2-1-0, four-person groups. So a perfect round would be nine. You win all three games. If you get a perfect, every round, there's $50 up for grabs for a perfect round. So if you're the only one to get a nine, you get 50 bucks. If you're like, there's two people, you each get $25. If there's three, et cetera. So I got a nine. Once I started my ascent and started to suck less, I got a nine. But two other people got nines. So I got $17, whatever it was. But then the one round, I got a nine and no one else got a nine. Zach got a nine. And even I got a nine. I got $50. I got $25. I think Zach got the third. He's been at three ways. $10 and the rest in ones and twos. I haven't seen a $2 bill in like 20 years. I didn't know they still existed. Oh, they still exist. They made a new batch of them. So I think we all sucked at the very end. Oh, I completely hangered it. I actually plunged my last ball and just walked away. Oh. So I had the last round, I got a two. Otherwise, I probably would have been, I calculated I would have been top 20, which would have been nice. Zach got top 20. Yeah, but he bombed out his last round also. Yep. Let's see what he has.
    32:38
    Hey, Zach, where are you? Zach ended up 14th, but he was playing near the top the entire tournament. Yep, he was with the top guys most of the second half. Yeah, and then he kind of, yeah, the last, actually the last two rounds. Yeah. The second to last wasn't good, and it looks like the last one was really bad. You know, crash and burn. Yep. I won't bring Bruce's up. Nope. Just walk the fight. I honestly plunged last fall and walked away. They're like, ugh. The last game, they're like, what position do you want to play? I'm like, I don't give a flying fuck. The guy looks at me like, what do you mean? I'm like, I don't give a flying fuck.
    33:17
    You're just done, huh? I was done. Bruce took his medal, and he went and slept in his car. Left in the car.
    33:24
    Now, is there a smell that goes on those places after, like, you get to the 24 hours? Is it kind of like everyone hasn't had a bath or shower in 24 hours? I mean, is there a aroma? No. We had the one guy. The one guy was thinking he was at his house. He would think with a hundred people. Oh, Jesus. Yeah. No, no. He would think with a hundred people. Okay. We got to do this because this was fucking hilarious. This was fucking hilarious. This is why Bruce is in an asshole, but sometimes it's so great. So they have, let me paint the picture here. At the Sanctum, they have the center area where they have, like, chairs and they have a couch. There's one couch. One couch. That three people, usually you'll have three people sitting on it, you know, between rounds, just doze off, whatever. So they had this one dude there.
    34:11
    So he. It's like 7 o'clock, 6 o'clock. It's like the second. It's just before the last round. We're all eating. We all have the chance to eat because they actually have a breakfast buffet. This dude, he decides he's just going to take the whole couch up. Lays across the whole fucking couch. Lays across the whole couch. So then, as Bruce is sitting there, was it Sanjay? It was Sanjay. He's looking around for a spot. So he gets a chair, and he sits down. And Bruce is there. Oh, good thing you were able to find that chair. You know, sometimes it's hard to find a seat in here. you know you know how hard it is to find a seat in this place holy crap you are so lucky you found a spot and this guy was just fucking oblivious and what was the thing about being home you said this is just your home area you know just relax all you want lounge out do what you want to do i'm saying it just as loud as i am right now he was five feet away from me and he was just too busy on his phone just ignoring everything. Not a care in the world.
    35:16
    And, you know, you're with 99 other fucking people. Show some fucking consideration. And he was also, like, halfway through, he was like, you're sitting there watching a game. You're right behind your game. He's just, boom, bang into you. Like, the third time he did it to me, I looked at him and said, really? He looked at me with his face. And he's a bigger guy. I don't give a shit. I don't give a shit about anything. Well, yeah, you don't give a shit, period. I think he was also one of the first guys to go get the breakfast when it was available. Oh, yes, he was. He was good for that fucking thing.
    35:50
    But, yeah, it's just like, holy fuck. He banged on me three times, and I looked at him a third time. I'm like, really? He looked at me and turned around like, show some fucking consideration. I said it exactly like that, and he looked at me and walked away.
    36:03
    Bruce is making friends as always. As always, yeah. And Sanjay didn't get the joke. He's like, yeah, it's what I got. I spelled the guy, and I got it immediately what he was talking about. And Bruce just kept going because Sanjay wasn't getting it. Like, you know, it's not like you're home or anything, you know.
    36:24
    And finally somebody says, Sanjay, you know, hey, Bruce was like making a joke there. He looks at the guy and goes, oh, my gosh. And Sanjay's so innocent and so nice. He's like, no, I get this. And I love Sanjay. And she could not stop. He was just, like, laughing. And I'm like, holy. And this guy was just. But show a little respect.
    36:47
    Share a couch. Now everyone's going to be like, who is this guy? Can you tell me who he was? I have no idea what his name was. No clue. I can tell you. No clue. And if he was a listener, he's probably not now. And who gives a flying fuck? Oh.
    37:02
    You lost one for your Silverwall Chronicles, Ron. oh you mean silver ball chronicles my other podcast that can be listened to on the pinball network yes where we just recorded an episode yesterday hey uh i must give a shout out to uh flipping out pinball they gave us some banners and we're going to be putting up his flipping out banner at the rochester pinball collective where where's that at bruce that's at 349 West Commercial Street in East Rochester, New York. Sweet 2965. We have almost 50 games on location. That's going to be your gimmick now. Almost 50 games on location. You're like, why don't you just get 50? And then you'll be, see, Zach? See? So if you want to complain about not having 50 games, come on and send us an email. Everyone comes in. I counted. You have 49 games. Why not 50? I don't understand. You can just say you have 50 and then, you know. No, I'm not lying. That's not cool either. No. We do have more than 50 because we have, like, 15 in the back. They said they had 50, but I counted it. It was only 49. Zero stars. What's that one game that, get ice cold beer. Oh, I love to get that. No, what I really like to do instead of ice cold beer is Pikes Peak. Zeke's Peak. Zeke's Peak, sorry. Zeke's Peak, yes. Yeah, one of those games. Everyone loves those. Except you've got to be under, I think, 15 years old to be really good at it. Yeah. Every time I've ever seen anyone who's, like, the best at it, they're even younger than the pinball players. They're usually, like, a tiny, like, little kid. I agree. But, yeah, so that was my – Your 24-hour experience? 24 hours of playing like ass.
    38:51
    Literally 85th out of 100. So it's 24 hours of ass, literally. It was total fucking ass. So are you retired again, or have you un-retired again? I actually emailed Colin at 4 a.m. saying, Colin, how do I get a refund for TPF?
    39:11
    He's like, you shouldn't be making decisions like this after, like, Colin. Tournaments have not been my friend lately.
    39:18
    They have not. I had a little glimmer with one, but nope. Like, balls in the ass. I think that was my last tournament. My last tournament I did. Yeah. How was your last tournament then? Well, we have a monthly strikes tournament, so I took second last weekend, so I was happy. There you go. Where do you play at usually? At the fabulous Pinball Room in Boss's Pizza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. How many tournaments do they have in South Dakota, really? Just the monthlies? Just the monthlies. I mean, they have a league, but the only tournament they have is just that one, the monthly at the Pinball Room. Okay. I like that. How many tournaments do you have, really?
    39:59
    Like, wow. Very nice, Bruce. I'm an asshole. Well, we're the only, like, IFPA location in the state, I think. So if you look at the ranked players in South Dakota, it's just all players that play. Exactly. It's very small. It's basically like, well, it's also like Wisconsin. All your ranked players are all District A2 players. Oh, of course, yeah. If you were at any other place, you know, I would love to be at another place like, you know, 100 miles away, maybe the tip of Wisconsin. I've opened a new pinball place, and everyone's like, yeah, I'm going two and a half hours to get my points. What do you mean? Well, because I can get them there, and I can't get them from your place. Fuck. Yeah. Fuck. Hmm. Oh, you know what we didn't mention? Who actually won the 24-hour? No, yes. Bo and Karen's won in a three-way playoff on the official game of the Slant Hill Podcast, SARS. stars. That was good. That was a good match.
    40:56
    It was fast. For Bowen and Jerry, it was okay. They actually got to hit the ball. Luke, if I remember, he didn't really get a chance to do anything. No, he got nothing. And I think Jerry I have to look at this. I think Jerry took like a two or three the last round. Otherwise, he would have won outright. He could have repeated. Yep. It's a shame. We were all chanting Jerry. Everyone always wants Jerry to win, but I think it was Bowen in first, Jerry in second, Luke in third. Yeah. And congratulations to all of them. You know, it was a hard night. I beat Alberto. That's all I need. That made my entire 24-hour. I finally beat him at something. Again, Jim and your staff did an excellent job, as always. When I finally get to do a 24-hour, I hope it's half as good as what they do. Agreed.
    41:45
    And I do like that oven pizza there that you hate. Oh, God, this is fucking bullshit. Wrong, wrong, delicious. Liked it. Nope, nope. But I did have a Thanksgiving panini. What's that? You get cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey, mayo, and they crush it into a panini sandwich. Okay. Awesome.
    42:09
    New Englanders know their subs. Not the chowder. Chowder sucks. And Brady sucks. Oh, God. Oh, here you go, Bruce. You can let this out while you're on here. I know you were really excited. Because for those at home, you would think Bruce would be a Bills fan living in Rochester. But he's from New Jersey originally, so he fucking hates the Bills. And he's a Jets fan. Yes, I am. So that must have been fun for you. It was good because I got home. I actually, once I slept outside for the hour. The Jets beat the Bills, by the way, folks. Yes, they did. I jumped in the car. We drove all the way home. I got home around 3 o'clock after the tournament so once I got home at 3 I got to watch the last quarter of the game and I watched the Jets go run down the field and got the last field goal and beat the Bills and then I went outside and started yelling it because my neighbor next door is a humongous Bills fan who has like Bills paraphernalia all over he's got a Bills flag on his flagpole I'm like go Jets and he was outside and was like really? What a dick I am an asshole Wow.
    43:17
    And I changed my lights outside to green because he has blue and red on his always. So, you know, usually we have ours at white. I just find a blue and green, and I might buy mine, too, a green, and I was all set. Wow.
    43:35
    What an asshole. Okay. I am an asshole. Repairs. Let's get in repairs. Michael. Yes. Why do you always bring a drill and a titanium drill bit when you do an in-home repair?
    43:50
    I know why. I bet you do. Yeah, well, because the number of times I've had to draw the lock is ridiculous. And luckily, it takes seconds, and you're in. And if you've got the drill and the drill bit, it's like there's no problem at all to get into a lock machine, you know? Mm-hmm. I love when you go to people's house and they're like, oh, so how do we get in? Do you have the key for the coin door? Ah, my son lost it, and we haven't been able to find it. So how am I supposed to fix the game? I thought you would have, like, a master key.
    44:18
    Did I talk like that, Bruce? Did I? They all have a master key. Yes, the Karens do. Wow. Yeah, I always ask if they have a key, and I double-check if they have a key for the back box and the cabinet. Yes. And then even if they tell me they have it, I always just bring a drill bit anyway because I've had them. Oh, I thought I had it, and I don't know where it went now. I don't know. Yes, I totally agree with you on that. Do you do a lot of repairs out there? I do, yeah. I mean, at least a couple jobs a week at least. Holy shit. Well, I'm like the only guy who travels and does repair. You have one guy who's really good at repair. He's been doing it for like 30 years, but he doesn't travel. You've got to bring the game to him. I mean, moving the machines, no one wants to do that. So then I kind of jump in. No, no, no. There's a way to do it. How much is your in-house repair? $125 an hour. Okay. How much is your at your place? $75.
    45:13
    that's how you kind of get them to come. Yeah. That's how I do it at the RPC, and that's how we do it.
    45:24
    Literally, we went on a repair Saturday, me and Zach. And, oi, oi, oi, broken wires on a Lord of the Rings. Is this the guy that left? Yeah.
    45:35
    We're literally, here's the funny thing. We're repairing, he's got two games, a Flipper Clown, which is a beautiful machine, the stepper motor for the left lights for the purple row the stepper motor got loose and Zach put it back together got it tightened up and it actually was registering fully me, I get there and the coin door is going like it's stuck between thinking that the coin door interlock is disabled or enabled so we look at the wiring what game is this? Lord of the Rings. Okay. And I figured out, me and Zach were looking at the wiring like, no, this is in the wrong place. Click. Okay, now it works. Great. Then we just start playing the game. I'm like, there's no pop bumpers. There's no swing shots, and there's nothing registering on the bottom row of switches. I'm like, fuck. Let's go start looking again for this. And the guy's like, oh, yeah, I realized that was not working before this other problem failed. and we're looking following the wiring from continuity from the board to the any one of the switches nothing so right where the pivot point is for the play field there's a broken wire cut and it was taped in the past so i soldered it up taped it up and then the cover up so it didn't short out and you know and i'm like here you go it's fixed again there your switches work and that was all for that one. But then while we're doing, we're waiting around, we finish the repair and we're playing the games, the guy's missing. He's MIA.
    47:12
    Where the fuck did this guy go? Finally, like 20 minutes later, he comes from downstairs, I think. He's like, hey, we're all done already? I'm like, yeah, we're done. You're paying us for doing nothing.
    47:27
    Sitting around. Yeah, really weird. he's probably tying up and making sure the knots were double knotted on the people he has stored downstairs.
    47:38
    Wow. Who knows? Maybe he'll let them out to play the machines a couple hours later. Now he will be able to. You're good. You're a good nurture.
    47:50
    Jesus. Put the lotion in the basket. Put the Novus in the basket. Or else it gets the hell out of the house. Yes.
    48:01
    Okay, so they say what is wrong is never what is wrong. Well, yeah, I've learned now that if they say, oh, this is what's wrong, it's never when I get there, it's never what they say it is. So I always just ask a lot of questions, and I just bring anything I think I might possibly need because it's never going to be as simple or what they say. How big of a bag do you usually bring?
    48:23
    Well, how big of a bag do I carry around? Yes, how big is your bag? Yeah, I don't know. I've got multiple bags. I've got a bag for my soldering iron, a bag for my sort of go-to all-the-time tools, another bag for just spare parts. I mean, a lot. Yeah, me, I carry in two bags. I carry in a tool, soldering iron, and on the other side, I'm bringing in, like, literally, like, eight bins of parts. Yeah. And you hope. An example of that would be, like, I had a guy call me, and he says, oh, yeah, the flippers don't work. Well, flippers don't work. Well, what does that mean? And, you know, so I think, oh, maybe you've got to lose wire, blown fuse. And then this was early on before I started asking a lot more questions. And I got there and, oh, actually, none of the high voltage coils are working. Okay, well, that's a different problem. And then it'll actually, yeah, for a few months now, they've been getting weaker and weaker. And so it goes from one problem to the next. And if, you know, they just say, oh, flippers don't work, it's not that simple. No, it never is. The funny thing is Zach just repaired a machine on his own for an EM. for a customer, and the same time I'm working on the Flipper Clown, and the loader rings, the guy emails him, like, hey, you know, I got a problem now with this, and it doesn't kick out. And Zach's like, you want to check and see if the coil's, like, he's like, no, I just want you to come down and check it out.
    49:43
    Zach's like, okay, it's going to be mid-January then. The guy's like, I'll pay you double if you come sooner. And Zach's like, no, I really don't have any free time.
    49:54
    And he goes, if it's a bad coil, I don't want to make another trip. You need to open it up and see if there's something going on. The guy never emailed him back after that. Texted him back.
    50:05
    I think people think like, hey, I'll just throw more money at you, and you'll just have to come. No, my time's worth money, too. No, I just really like Zach. I'd really like you to come to my house, please, Zach.
    50:18
    I'll pay you whatever you want. Can you just look into my machine? Yeah, could you bend over? Yeah, move a little bit up right there. Yeah, right there.
    50:29
    The Zach Stalking story. And WPC power driver boards are aging out. Yeah, I found that almost every, you know, 90s Williams game I go to, the capacitors are either starting to dry out or the connectors, the header pins are bad. Whatever it is, it seems like I'm always getting low 5 volts, you know, at least. Mm-hmm. I agree, I totally agree and then I see even bad repairs from the past like somebody, oh yeah, I replaced my capacitors and I open it up and I flip it over and I go, yeah, but this is your problem you burned the pad so bad that now I'm fucked, I gotta now do jumpers wires all across this thing he's like, yeah, well I got this fixed though please don't do this just leave it to the professionals, please put the soldering iron down, sir please, put it down Yeah, it's kind of scary.
    51:26
    Yeah. Yeah, the obstacles are awesome. They are awesome. Yeah, I converted a Harlem Globetrotters to them, you know, a few months ago, and they're pretty great. They're pretty neat. They're okay. I would like a little more flexibility on mounting them. When it's tight, like in your middle triangle for your Harlem Globetrotters, it must have been a little fun for the grounds. Yeah, it was a little tricky, but, you know, it's got the oval shape on the, you know, the mounting. That does help, but I wish he'd round them on the corners or made it so you can cut them and break them easy. Yeah. That would be a nice add-on. Like Zaxicles.
    52:05
    Ooh. Did you know about this? Yeah, he's making his own. Yes, he is. Oh, really? Yes, he is. Of course he is. And I'm testing them. I'm putting some in.
    52:16
    So I'm going to have a Zaxicle. Are they Zaxicles or Fry-cicles? Yeah, Fry-cicles. I think Zaxicles is even cooler, though. It's the last word in LED, you know, surface mount. It's the last word because it starts with a Z. Very good.
    52:33
    See? I should be in marketing. I should be in marketing and advertising. Did you know that the shopping magnet tools are your friend? They are. Yeah, the number of times that I have recovered a dropped screw because with a telescopic magnet tool, I can't even count. I don't know where I'd be without a telescopic magnet tool, I tell you what. I totally agree with you. Now, what's the hardest repair you ever had to go to in a person's house?
    53:00
    Hmm. Hercules. No. Hercules, Hercules. I don't know about the hardest. I'm not sure. I tend to remember the ones that just took the longest which is just doing all the obstacles on a game that just took hours and hours I would have just said give me the play field I take it home with me I talk to you later on
    53:23
    I have done that. I have said to them, I'm going to take this home with me because I just can't do this here in this environment. I need it in my workshop. I've got to be able to test things, put it in, take it out, test things. I've had that before. I totally agree. I don't want to be around your dumb brat kids. I need to be alone. Well, and I had a Jurassic Park that gave me a lot of problems, because what was happening was the power supply was failing, and so it was giving me all kinds of weird phantom issues, but the actual problem was just the power supply was not sending out the right voltages, you know? And it was giving, like, phantom switch triggers and all kinds of stuff, and as soon as I put in a good power supply, it just, all the issues went away. Everything worked perfectly.
    54:03
    Okay. Let's see. This is an in-home repair quiz for Ron and Bruce, basically for Bruce. because I've never been called out for any repairs. Well, but you know repairs in general, so you need repair games. So this would still apply, I think. Let's see. What is the most common game that you've been called out for? I know mine. Could you guess mine? It's the second most made game ever. The second most made game ever.
    54:31
    Eight ball? You got it. I've repaired five eight balls. Different ones. Wow. All in the Rochester area. Let's see, what's the most common game? Yeah, most common game I've had to go out and repair. Since they're all in my basement, I guess the one I had to repair the most times was probably TNA.
    54:53
    I'm sorry, it's true. I had that thing apart more damn times. That, the stupid, the single drop target in Star Trek, I had to screw with that so many times to get that to work right. another one for me would be the most I've ever repaired for my own personal is Game of Thrones, Premium I had that fucking apart so many times for the diverter ugh so what game do you think I've had to repair the most that people have called before, if you had to guess Gorgar, Adam's Family Ding Ding Ding, yeah it's actually a tie, it's a trick question, it's Adam's Family I think I've called the most and then 8 Ball Deluxe is the other one that I've been called out the most Wow.
    55:36
    So next question. What do you think my favorite board set slash company's games to work on is? And I think it should be an easy one.
    55:44
    Well, WPC, I'm assuming, since you know all the power driver boards are failing and everything like that. But mine is Stern, early Stern. Yeah, I'd say Bally Stern. Just because I have so many of them now. Yeah, me too. And I know exactly what's going on. I know when, you know, some exact thing, the way it is, it's this, this, or this.
    56:03
    Yeah, it's the Bally Sterns. I think that Bally board set was the best of those early solid-state board sets. And it's just, I think they're easy to work on. You can swap out boards easy as well if you need to. There's not like 50 connectors on a board. And it just kind of all makes sense the way it's laid out to me anyway. So, yeah, those are my favorites, the Bally's turn. Plus it's all available. Like if you completely give up. I just want to throw money at it and get a working board. Here you go. Yep. Done. Yeah.
    56:30
    What connector have I had to replace many times across companies or brands? Yeah. Well, I guarantee it's probably the same thing, or the one-sided or two-sided from the driver board to the CPU. What do you think, Rob? How about the Williams System 3-7 interconnect?
    56:54
    No, that would be a good one. The one I've had to do the most is the GI connectors. They're always burned up. Oh, on WPCs, yeah. Yeah, because people leave the games on all the time with the incandescence, and then they just burn up after 20 years. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. The incandescence, Bruce. No, no, no, no, no. There's a setting on your CPU in the settings to change the voltage down. After two minutes, your GI save, that's all you need. Done.
    57:20
    I've also seen it on Daddy East games, too, actually. Yes. Yeah, I've seen it. Yep. Okay, last question for you guys is, What's the most common repair I've had to do on Data East games?
    57:30
    I'm sure all that makes the game inoperable is connectors on the power supplies. Those things suck. They burn up all the freaking time. They do, but that's not the one I'm thinking of. Wow.
    57:41
    I only have one Data East game, so I'm not going to be good at guessing this one. Well, for me, what I've found on multiple times I've been called out is the kickback transistor that drive the kickback or drive the after pit. I've seen that blown up on three or four different games now where, you know, it just locks on and then it burns up the coil and the transistor's burned up because they fail short and then it just it's like they didn't have enough a high enough level transistor for what they were driving and yeah, I've seen that blown up multiple times now. And also, another problem with the 80s boards is the fuse holders, of course. They suck.
    58:23
    on the PPB boards. They just, you're like, literally, you're like squeezing, you're pushing the fuse in and snap. Wow, that's it.
    58:31
    Now I got more work. Yay. Here's another funny thing. Yesterday, we were working on Spectrum. I wasn't, but one of the other owners at the co-op was, and he was like, I'll just move the play field a little bit while the game is on. Suddenly, Pop-Pop died. I'm like, oh, fuck. So I go, you probably blew, he tries to boot it up, and it just sits there idling and no boot up, really. So I'm like, oh, you probably blew the fuse for the 43 volts. So he looks down and he blew that fuse, and he blew the fuse on the play field. Guess what fuse was in the play field and what it should have been. Ooh.
    59:10
    Was it under fused? It was over fused. Wow, over fused and it still blew. Yes. That's scary. Mm-hmm. It was supposed to have a 1-amp slow-blow fuse in it. It had a 5, and we topped that like that.
    59:26
    Once we replaced both fuses, though, the fuses did their job, even though it was over-fused and didn't hurt anything. We got lucky. But, yeah, always, when you get a new game, check all the fuses that are in the machine.
    59:40
    People are stupid. They think the fuse is a fuse is a fuse. I got it. We're good. Power's on. I'll get a new fuse tomorrow. next week, they're going, ah, what was I supposed to order?
    59:53
    Here's a question on fuses for you guys. Now, when a fuse blows, for whatever reason, I can't get out of my head is why did it blow. I always want to find out why did the fuse blow. If I can't figure out why it blew, it always just bothers me just a little bit. Oh, it does bother me. I have a big game that has a one and a half amp slow blow fuse in it instead of a one amp, which it calls for. And literally, I can go through the solenoid test, it pyres all the solenoids. Certain order just pops the fuse.
    60:23
    I just went up a half amp and it's better. It's just age, I would assume for, you know, coils are getting older, you know, maybe they're drawing a little bit more amperage, you know, the wiring's getting a little, you know, degraded over time. It could get that green crud in it or anything like that, you know, for the valleys and sterns. Degradated. Is that the right word?
    60:48
    It degrades. I guess it is. Yeah, it degrades. And the problem is, you know, over time, you're used to having only a 1-amp fuse doing the job, and then over time, the current's just pushing more and more, and needs more current. It's going to go past that 1-amp fuse. So eventually, you might have to go, and that would go very small, of course, if you can go a half-amp fuse higher. it's not a oh my god it's not going to burn up your coil but i'm not going to put a 10 amp fuse where my one amp fuse is going and saying good but it does drive you a little body because i did have that problem on big game and i was playing with it for weeks yeah i remember that one yeah and i'm sitting there going what the fuck and finally i'm like that's it done going to one and a half amp slow blow fuse and i had one and popped it in and never broke on me since but it does drive you batty.
    61:39
    Yeah, agreed. And you feel bad if you're at a customer site, like, hey, I had to do this. You know, I've never had to do it for a customer, but I'd feel bad, like, hey, you know, I had to over-amp your, you know, this is not, you know, recommended. I'm going to tell you. I'm going to put the one-amp fuse. It's going to blow. There's a one-and-a-half-amp fuse next to it. If you need to use it, there you put it in.
    62:03
    Because guess what? I don't want to be causing a fire and blowing up his game. but there's that one and a half amp fuse. It's sitting right there. If you need to use it, you made the call. That seems kind of cruel.
    62:14
    Well, no, it's not because they're choosing to put it in. That sounds like a bit, like a short, he's got the fuse sitting there. They have the music. Do I put it in? I really need to play this game, man. I need to play this game.
    62:28
    Yes, you do. Like don't push the history eraser button on a random snippet. Yes. Don't force it. Steve, you idiot. You idiot.
    62:40
    But, yes, Meteor Talk. Since you have a Meteor, Stern spinners, they are the best. Yeah, I've heard you guys for years talk about, you know, the Stern spinners. I never had played or owned a Stern, and I bought a Meteor three weeks ago. And it's amazing. Those spinners, they really just are another level. I've never had a spinner that spins like that. It's not a lie. It's true. They do spin amazingly. So cheap is the way to go. Actually, they're going to be heavier than the other ones. Actually, they're lighter. I don't think so. I think the weight. There's a guy who actually weighed. Weighed the spinners? Yes. He's like, I've invented a time machine. Oh, that sounds incredible. What are you going to do? I'm going to go back in time into the Stern factory and steal all their spinners and bring them back with me. Wow. We've got to go back. That's a great use of the time machine. No, but the problem is you went back in time, bought and stole all the spinners from them, and then they couldn't replenish them, and that's why Stern went out of business. So you actually lost the problem.
    63:46
    I might go back in time and just get new in boxes up the ass. So would I. Yeah, I couldn't believe it. My first couple games on Meteor, and it was like, even like a not a clean hit, that's kind of just like a slow half-speed hit, they'll still spin. And so, yeah, I'm now a believer now, guys. I'm a believer. Woo-hoo! Cheaper is better. Yes. And just Meteor in general, man, that is just like pure pinball. I think that's one of the, yeah, I really like Meteor now that I've got it. It's some of the purest form of pinball I think I've ever played. I worship at the altar of Steve Kirk about that. You are the man. No, Stars is better. No, it's not. Yes, it is. No, it's not. Yes, it is. It's more brutal, but it's not better. I do like that it has chimes, though. I do prefer the chimes to the droning, whistling noise. The better you play, the more it punishes you, you know? Yes. It's the coolest background sound ever.
    64:42
    And it was their first attempt. Yes, it was. Well, actually, it was their first attempt at background sound. Yeah. Because their crappy MPU-100s just have the terrible... Chimey. Not chimey. No, no, no chimes. I wish they were chimes. Well, you can change it. Certain boards, like the Electronimo I was working on, does have the things so you can put the chimes in the soundboard for that one. It would actually drive the chimes.
    65:11
    Speaking of chimes, you know, that Gottlieb spin-bad that we talked about having as a kid, that was a chimes spin-bad. So that bonus content was just beautiful to listen to. It was super pleasant. I've seen other people put the solid-state spin-bad sounds, and it's like, ooh, no, give me the chimes, please. I do like it in countdown though Yeah Now countdown's almost Your countdown's almost done Cool My countdown's almost done I'm excited Too bad you're not getting it It's mine For now I hear you have a George Takei story. I do. Oh, my.
    66:01
    Yeah, my closest I've been to George Takei is when I was in the Army, I got stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia, which is, you know, Newport News, Virginia Beach area, the Virginia coast. And so I hadn't been there very long, and I was looking for some sushi one night, and there was a place around the corner from where we were staying at. I was like, well, it's like a mom-and-pop sushi shop. So I'm like, well, I'll go in there. Maybe it'll be good. That's because I just feel like sushi. I get in there, and as I'm waiting to get a menu, and I was going to just order to go, I look on the wall, and no shit, there's a picture of George Takei in the restaurant, and he says, best sushi east of the Mississippi. Love, George. And I'm like, okay, well, if Mr. Stilwell says the sushi's good, it's got to be good. And was it? Was it? And it was good. It was very good, and it was well-priced. Of course. I wouldn't steer you wrong. Oh, my. I've been to the same restaurant George Takei has been in. Wow. That's my George Takei story. I can't even say that. Nope, neither can I. So win-win is him. But I like that he couched it. It wasn't the best sushi ever. It was the best sushi east of the Mississippi River. He really wasn't like, you know. No, no, it's not as good as San Francisco sushi. No, San Francisco sushi rock. Yeah. It's my San Francisco treat. Ah.
    67:23
    Rise to roadie. Oh. Oh, my. So, repairs. Countdown is almost done. I need one spring for one of the drop targets.
    67:37
    It is booting up every time now. It's flippers. Just need a flipper kit. I need a plunger cover, the chrome cover for the plunger, and a new plunger rod and the bushing inside. and then that will be all done. And then the games is all done. So two will be out of the coop. What game, Bruce? What game? The games. But which game? The games. But who makes it? Copy. Okay, what's the title of the game? The games. They make lots of games, Bruce. Yes, they do. It's the games. The best games. Okay, I give up. Never get that answer from you. you'll have to find out when you come to my house and play pinball. So those two are going to the house because I have league night coming up in December.
    68:28
    So countdown will have to be Zach's countdown at the coop. Mm-hmm. And then we have repairs coming in. There will be another Adams family. Oh, joy. And a local person is bringing in a transporter. So I'll get to play with one of those System 11Bs. Transporter the Rescue more than meets the eye do you guys like Transporter? I don't think they like it I don't mind it there's a lot worse ones like Lost World yeah but I don't mind Transporter it's okay, I don't know, it's not one of the better ones I don't think of as its little evidence I don't mind it I think it's rare though, people like it because it's rare and it's got good art so I think that does a lot for it does have a lot it does it's no radical though There's no radical. We need a radical. Everyone needs a radical. Everyone wants a radical so bad it's not even funny. See, that's where I'd use the time machine, get myself a radical.
    69:28
    Hmm. What would be the one game you want to go back for? Ooh, you have a time machine, and for some reason you can only use it to go back and get a new in-box game. Once. You can only bring back one game. In the machine, you have to stand on the box, but you can only bring back one. So do I go for something I can just make a shitload of money on, or do I get a game I actually want? That's the key. This is a hard one. See? Do you have any ideas, Michael?
    69:58
    I agree, it's a difficult question. I think we have a new asking question. Hmm. Maybe something like, I would go for something really old.
    70:09
    I get a new in-box meteor. Okay. Just for the hell of it. Okay. Of course, you'd say, but they made a ton of them. Yeah, but mine's new in box. Yeah. Okay, Michael? I think the first thing that came to mind is actually a Stranger Things LE.
    70:26
    Just because they're not, or premium, but they're not going to make them anymore. And people seem to love them now. And if you want that projector, the only way to get it is a premium LE.
    70:39
    Hmm, I didn't think of that. And the price has gone up as well. I should have meant that. I'm going to go back in time and get whatever the most expensive topper is now. Yeah, exactly.
    70:51
    I can put that in the box. Don't buy an old game. You can just load up on the same amount of space, but, you know, Ghostbusters toppers, Black Knight Sword Race toppers.
    71:02
    I'm going really old school, boys and girls. Balls are popping. Oh, gosh. New in box, balls are popping. Balls are popping? you know how much you would be able to sell that for and you still get to play it it'd be awesome maybe a new in box Spirit would be good too definitely you can just go for a new in box if you want to go for money just go for a new in box Pirates of the Caribbean that's true and just make the killing but yeah all the problem would be mine because it's so old so rare you can never find them it'd be kind of cool pulling that out of the box Speaking of pulling it out of the box, let's get to the ball back. Oh.
    71:46
    You like that one? Yes. I love it. So, Coddy Meal here from Scott, our Scott. Our Scott. We love Scott. And how, when I mentioned the Easter egg in the Atari Adventure, he has an interesting article called Chasing the First Arcade Easter Egg. Yep. And there was an Easter egg before Adventure. Yep. An arcade game. Yep. Very interesting. So we'll have to post that link on Slam Tilt, which I'll do right now. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I was impressed with you guys the last episode when you were talking about the Easter egg. You guys both seemed to know exactly how to get there. That was impressive. We're fucking old. That's why. Yeah, we're really old. I mean, the only reason I knew is because I think back when I was in my gaming days, you could get, like, little books. Like, it would be the secrets of the games or whatever, even then. and it had a thing in there for adventure. I'm like, really? It's not something I discovered on my own, but. No. Yeah. I remember it from, like, some of the gaming magazines. Like, it wasn't like, it was like Nintendo Power, but before those. It was like, you know, PC Gamer or something like that, and they actually had the thing, and it was really neat. Yeah, I've only done a few. Like, I did that one. I did the Galaga one, which is boring as fuck to do, but it does work, where you don't, what is it, you leave the B, you don't shoot the 1B, and you let him come down and fire at you, and you just avoid him for like 20 minutes until he stops firing, and then you kill him, and then for the rest of the game, no one fires at you. So you can just literally go on to infinity. Yep. And you just right there go, okay, yay. Yeah. You did it, now what? Yeah. Not recommended. It's super boring. It is super boring. I did it once in a while just to see if it would work, And it did.
    73:40
    All right. Let's see. What else do we got in the ball bag? Yes. Robert Byers. He mentioned adventure.
    73:52
    Listening to Ron talk about the Easter Egg on Adventure, and it reminded me how good Ready Player One book is for geeks like us. If you haven't read it, it's a must read. It's good. The book is better than the actual movie, but it's good. Thanks, Robert Byers. Top row pinball, IFBA player one. 6-4. Have you ever seen the movie Ready Player One, Ron? I have not. You should. It's fantastic. It asks so many things from our childhood. You're going to go, oh, that's fucking cool. Oh, that's neat. That's fucking cool. I highly recommend it. All right. I'll tell you what. A Ready Player One. Can I just download it somewhere, hopefully? Yeah, you can. Oh, yeah. It's all over the place. It is all over the place. Oh, yeah. It's totally. It's been out for like eight years, nine years. And it's really good. It's a good movie. but I think the dumbest thing about that movie is the female lead. They act like she's really deformed. I know. She just has a little bit of pink around her eye. Oh, you're kidding us. Yes. Oh, my God. Yes. Ron's going, what? Other than that, it's good. It's not a documentary or anything. It's like a. No, no, no. It's a movie. It's in the future. Mm-hmm. An alternate reality future. Maybe. So we have an email from Rabia.
    75:06
    How's it going? Hello. I look back, he's been emailing us for like four or five years. He's one of our – Fucking poor bastards.
    75:15
    Good job, Bruce. We haven't lost him yet. We haven't lost him. I haven't tried – hold on. Let me try my best. I'm going to crack my knuckles. Here we go.
    75:25
    He said, try to guess what game this review is for. And the review – I don't know what site this is from, but it's a five-star review. And it says, before I had this pinball game, I was a loser. After I bought this pinball, I found a magic goose that laid magic eggs. I married a supermodel and won the lottery. This pinball game has changed my life. It's got to be Godzilla.
    75:50
    No, I'm thinking Dr. Dude. Because remember Dr. Dude? He was a geek. And then he got the whatever, the excellent reign, and he became the doctor. And now he's got the nurse and all that stuff. No, I'm thinking Godzilla. Godzilla? Yeah, he's the best game ever. So what do you think it is, Michael? So what is the game? Well, I'm with you. I think Dr. Do, that makes sense. I like your reasoning. I'm going to go with that. I think it's Dr. Do. He got hit with the excellent ray and then just good things happened.
    76:18
    All right. Do we know the answer? No, it doesn't say. I was waiting. Fooled you. Where's the payoff there? There was no payoff. Your payoff will be next episode when he emails us back after listening to our episode. He'll be like, I don't know what it is either. I was wondering if you guys knew.
    76:37
    Oh, Joe. Okay. Last email here from Darren. Hi, Darren. Hi, Ron and Bruce and Bruce and Ron. Oh, you're actually in the ball bag. Wow. I'm in the ball bag. You're bouncing around in the ball bag? Wow. I am. Everyone wonders if you actually ever read any of the emails, Bruce. I just wanted to say the last time I wrote in, I had assumed that only Ron had access to the ball bag, and Bruce only heard the messages during the show. Not true, but a lot of times they are the first times he hears them during the show. I had no intention of slighting Bruiser, leaving him out of my salutations. See? Therefore, I agree. I remember this one. I remember that one. Both of you equally this time around. That being said, I will say that I tend to lean a little more towards Ron in game choice and preference. Very good. I love my dialed in. Hear that? And Black Rose. And World Cup socks. And whodunit. Okay, hold on. Hold on. Who did you buy your whodunit from? You. Okay, first. Okay, second. How many World Cup soccers have you owned?
    77:42
    Just one. Okay, I've owned three. How many Black Roses have you owned? Just one. Okay, I've owned two. What does that mean? You keep selling them. I mean, what is that? Because I get bored of WPC after a while.
    77:58
    He says, I value both of your opinions very much. Last time I was asking advice on our next game, I was pretty sure I was leaning towards a George Gomez game. You guys suggested Johnny Mnemonic, and I was thinking maybe a Deadpool, if I could find a decent-priced one. Turns out I didn't get either. A cheetah came up for sale not too far away from me, and I was able to pick up a very nice blue-cabineted cheetah. I was very excited. Nice, nice, nice. That might have been a two birds, one stone thing, since Bond ended up being the next Stern-released game.
    78:31
    However, I am not here to talk about Bond. I will say that your comment last episode was very insightful, Rod. It's crazy to me that the Pro is individually controlled pop-upers and the Premium does not. I assume they just ran out of transistors. Definitely something to consider when choosing between the models next time around. Get a Pro. I would get a Pro. Yeah, I would get a Pro, too. It's not that different. The Bond on the wand is... The one thing I didn't realize, I guess the creature from the Black Lagoon thing, under the flipper there on the left side, you know, for Monster Bash, I guess it actually moves.
    79:07
    Yeah, that swimmer, the guy. So there must be like a coil that hits the thing on the spring so it moves. Yeah. But soon you'll be able to play one, Ron. Oh, it's coming to RPC? Yes, it is. Play it. Okay. Of course. Alley. Alley, of course.
    79:24
    Are there any alleys you don't get? Holy shit. I know. Do all the LEs just go to Rochester? Is that just where they go to live? I think that's it. Because it's not just RPC. There's all kinds of guys there. They just buy every freaking LE. It's insane.
    79:38
    All right. Sorry for the length and banter. Don't be like this. No problem. Oh, my. Please feel free to skip here to my question. I wanted to get your guys' opinion about pool sharks. One is for sale near me at a very good price I do not have any experience on the game and I was wondering if this was something worth picking up I am a fan of other Valley Williams games around this time before the full DMD came into play. What do you guys think? I like pool sharks. I like pool sharks. Just make sure the inserts are not worn and that kind of stuff. You know, that's the big thing with those pool sharks, the inserts and the ramps crack. Yeah, you can play two different games. You can play 8-ball or 9-ball. Or 9-ball. They have plenty of different rules, depending on which one you pick. Yes. fun game. You know, it's not a keeper like, oh, I'm going to keep this forever and ever and ever. Yeah, I would say it's a keeper, but it's fun for a couple of plays. Yep, I totally agree. It shoots good. It's not like, oh my God, this is a steaming dirt pile. And it's got a shark that talks. Yep. His mouth goes up and down, if I remember. Don't forget, we still, we want you to, you know, give us your suggestions of what to buy next after this one, because you're going to buy this game, I guarantee it. Buy this one, and then start looking for the next one that you think you're going to buy.
    80:53
    He'll be like, I didn't end up getting that pool shorts, but I found a stargazer at an unbelievably low price and bought that set.
    81:02
    Let's see. Thanks for all that you do. And, Ron, I am waiting for the Godzilla new owner's video guide.
    81:09
    I know you talked about little adjustments and things that you were going to do once you got your Godzilla. I have a premium, and I would really find this video helpful. Can't wait for the next episode.
    81:20
    I did say that, didn't I? You did. Here's the thing. I have this vision in my head of what I want it to be, but then I don't want to put the work in to make that vision happen. Ta-da.
    81:32
    That's the most honest way I could say it there. But maybe I'll do a stream instead or something. Gotcha. Are we seeing you next week, Ron?
    81:43
    I will be in Florida next week. Oh, that's right. You'll be at Freeplay Florida. I am going to be at Freeplay Florida. So don't forget, come up to Ron. Give them a big hug. Big hug, yeah. Tell them you love them. I'll be by the pool, I think, most of the time. Oh, my. Yeah, I'm going to play in classics and then probably just hang out by the pool. I've got to show off my new slim physique. Yes. I got myself a new swimming trunks. You going to wear the sweater around the pool, too? No, actually, it should be, hopefully, warm, and I won't have to do that. Let's see what the weather's going to be in Orlando next week. Let's see. Yeah, what's it going to be, Bruce? Hopefully the hurricane's gone past now and you can not be in here. Exactly. That's a good thing. Oh, no, your weather's not going to be good. Oh.
    82:32
    Friday, 69 is your high, 59 is the low. Oh, I'm not going in the pool. No, that's too cold. Don't care. It's too cold. Rain in 73. Sunday, rain in 72. Wow. So, never mind. I guess the trunks I won't bother bringing. Well, unless it changes. You know, anything can happen. Yeah, it does change a lot. Yeah, but yeah, if you were going Tuesday, 85.
    82:56
    Ooh, wow. See? Monday was 79, and Wednesday will be 80, and then just Thursday, Colt from us come through and just knocks it all down. Oh. Mwah, mwah.
    83:09
    All right. Game you like, game you hate. Yep. Ooh, game I like, game I hate. All right, well, I'm going to... Game I like, Elvira's House of Horrors. I think that it's so full of mechs. I mean, the number of ball locks and, you know, the crypt, which is a bash toy, and then it becomes a scoop, and then it rotates around the bash toy, and that's a subway that leads to a buck, like, and then the house. Like, it is one of Stern's most mechanically packed games they've done in years, and I think it kind of goes under the radar a little bit.
    83:43
    Okay. Probably why they have trouble making it, seemingly. Yeah. Seems like it. and because I'm like just an okay player like the ease of the layout actually is a perk for me so and I think just again the way that Lyman did the code on that is just really fun and that's the way you should do movie clips where you know it locks the ball does a little intro clip that you can skip and then you make shots in the modes it plays a little clip of the movie as you're going and then if you finish the movie the mode then it you know you get like a little reward screen and a funny line and then a chance to you know start the next movie. I think that it's way integrated with the assets. It's one of the best that's been done, I think.
    84:23
    And it has Mano's hands at bait, so I almost like it. Wow. What's the goat man's name? Torgo? I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the master is away. Torgo, have you seen Debbie? No.
    84:43
    I can't watch that. it has to be a mystery science theater. That's like my, it's ingrained in my brain what that's from.
    84:51
    And then Game I Hate. Well, not a game I hate, but I do think Godzilla is slightly overrated, at least for me. I think that it is a great game, but I'm not sure if it's the best of all time. I'm not sure.
    85:05
    Controversial, I know. The best of all time is now. I'm losing connection here. It's funny how the top 100 pinball machines, Godzilla's back at number one because... Oh, Alien was number one for a while. Alien is now gone. Yeah, it disappeared. Wait a minute, disappeared? It's off the list.
    85:26
    Wait a minute, the top, it's not even on the list? It's on the top 10, 15, 20... It's down to 50. God, they just downloaded the fuck out of it to get it out of there. That is freaking hilarious. It's like, how dare you put it up against Elwynn? You will pay.
    85:46
    But, yeah, actual game I hate, and I don't want to pile on to it, but I think it's Toy Story 4. Yeah. I think it is such a trash game, and I hate to say that, because I love Pat Lawler's stuff. So many of his games are great, and I like the Toy Story theme, but I think that game is trash. Yay. There's not a single, other than the jump ramp, is not a single interesting shot. That left ramp is boring. The right orbit to the feet to the flipper is kind of interesting, but it takes forever to get around there. The upper flipper shot's boring. I just find it really boring and unengaging. And that music, the doodly-doodle-doo-doo, that's not pinball music. And that's whatever the antique shot music. That's just disappointing.
    86:33
    And some people love it. If you love it, that's great. I know some people love it, and I know it's a good earner for a lot of locations, but I just, yeah, I hate it. It does nothing for me at all. Oh. Nice. I've softened on it.
    86:49
    Play with it. It's down way down. It's a way better experience. You got a fofty. Wow. Okay. So, yeah, I think that's about it. Yeah, I'll be at Freeplay Florida. Yep, so hug Ron. No, do not hug me. Hug Ron loves it. Make sure it's a sneak attack hug. Yeah, just come behind and hug him. Like, oh, I miss you, man. I wonder if Billy Mitchell will be there again. He's usually there every year because he just, like, sued more people again. Of course he did. Is he as ridiculous in person as he is on video?
    87:26
    He's more cock-off. He's more off-standish when he's not. He's never not in gimmick. Let's put it that way. Yeah, but he's like, eh. Like, his ringer on his phone was like a Donkey Kong sound effect or something like that. Yeah. Do you think he believes his own bullshit, or is it, you know, he's a fraud? He knows both. It's both. It's like a used car salesman, you know. Hey, I got a great car. Let's just buy it. He knows it's his gimmick. He knows it's his gimmick, I think. He's self-aware. Yeah. It's just him. He's a used car salesman. That's exactly what he reminds me of. Hey, you came here today. I'm going to get you a new car. him. And then at the end when he sells it to him afterwards, he's like, ha ha, I need my money. All right. That's the way I feel like he is.
    88:14
    Now we're going to get sued. Oh, well. Is Free Fly Florida a good show? It's not that bad. It's fine. It's Florida. I mean, you go there because it's Florida. Because you can, you know, go to Florida. Go to Florida and be by the pool when it's 60 degrees unfortunately, looks like. Oh, well. Florida.
    88:32
    Don't forget we're still here. Yes, exactly. But right now, today, it is. I don't even know what temperature it is here today.
    88:39
    I don't have my watch on. We're 19 degrees here. Oh, yes. Well, there's some things. The wind just rips across the plains here in the Midwest, and it's just ice-cold wind from the northwest, and it's just brutal.
    88:54
    Yeah, it doesn't sound like fun. No. Let's see. We're at my temperature right now. Oh, come on. My temperature is 97 degrees. Oh, you mean outside. 38 degrees. And it's freezing rain here right now.
    89:11
    Here it's 44 degrees. See? Nice. Wow. We got heat waves compared to you. Heat waves. It's a heat wave.
    89:23
    But don't forget, we are still looking for a bad girls, me and Zach. we need to make Bruce look like a fool and get me a bad girls bye number 50 it needs to be bad girls I think Zach would approve the 50 on that one bye so bad it's good love you Gottlieb yeah that's almost as bad as roller games rock Rock, rock, rock, rock, roll other games. Or get the European ROM, and it's all, like, different. Roll, rock, rock. It's like they modified it slightly, so it's weird. Yeah, we just got a Roller Games at the pinball room, so I've been listening to that a lot lately now. Rock, rock, rock, rock, roll other games. This show is canceled before the game even came out. Do you like Roller Games? I'm not actually not a fan. I don't like that there's no ramp directly from the roller flippers. You've got to hit all the ramps just from the upper flipper. It has the Picard maneuver shot, so I will always like it. That's like the rule. If the game has the Picard maneuver shot, I will like it. I just wish it had, like, one more ramp, like, either left or the right. Just something else to hit with the lower flippers, because I feel like I'm just trying to feed the upper flipper all the time on that. They used all the plastic up on the top part where the diverters are and all that. We can't put any more plastic. No more ramps in this game. Sorry. I've lost my 11 C No more C's Oh no wait a minute I have mouse and that's a C Yeah that's a C Yeah I have no B Because I have no Black Knight 2000 anymore You want to mouse around? You want to mouse around little boy? Wow Oh no Good lord Trudeau did not do that game sorry He had a hand in it. No, he didn't. Oh, he had a hand in it. Did he hand? No. He had a hand.
    91:26
    Are those the best ball locks ever, though? Mousin Rounds ball locks? I love it. By the great Ward Pemberton. Before he did Gilligan's Island. But still, I like that play field. That's a satisfying snap when you lock that ball. I do like the ball lock cycling on roller game stuff.
    91:45
    Don't worry. It just fires the ball out. It's supposed to stimulate your going around the thingamabobby. Playfield, yes. Yep. That's really, really cool. And then Ward Pemberton came back and did Golden Eye.
    91:58
    Which is good. That's a great final game if he never did another one or does another one. I would take that.
    92:04
    Okay. Very, very cool. Well, on that note, Michael, you have anything you want to plug? Yeah, I'd go ahead and plug the fabulous pinball room in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, located adjacent to Boss's Pizza. I think we've got 15 machines, ranging from 80s all the way to the latest Sterns and Jersey Jacks. So, yeah, come out and play. We're open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m., I think, so pretty much seven days a week. So anytime you want to play, you can come and play. Nice. Play from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.? Yeah, because it's a pizza shop, so they do deliveries. So they're open until after bars close, and as long as they're open, the pinball room's open. Wow. Cool. Pizza pinball. Which is great when I need to fix something because I can just come anytime I want and the doors are open and I can just go and fix. Nice. Nicey-nice.
    92:55
    Bruce, do you have any plugs? Need a bad girl's, need a, what is it, Revolution 8? I don't get it. Evolution, or Evolution, whatever the pinball is, the rotating one. Rotation 8? Rotation 8. There you go. I'm half asleep right now. Do you still need a back glass for the games? I still need a back glass for the games because that guy still is an idiot on there with $1,400 for the games back glass to be sold. I'm sure he won't sell you now being you called him an idiot. I called him a douchebag. No. No eBay challenges today? There would. Trust me. I looked. There was a lot of shot on there.
    93:40
    A lot of shot. There's some deals coming. There are some deals coming back down the earth, but they're not like wow deals. Like, you know, I can give you a couple. Okay, let's go for a couple. All right, we'll do. Okay. So this is, would we or would we not buy that? Yep. Everyone, while you're driving, make sure to take your phone out. Go to eBay.com. Make sure to play at home. Play in the car. So we're at eBay.com now, and type in the number that Bruce is about to give. It is 284. 846-020-968.
    94:20
    Oh. Okay. It's a Stern NASCAR. Clown edition. Oh, LED. Oh. Oh, yeah. Oh, purple. Oh, yes. It's better in the pictures when the lights are off. Yeah, it is. it's just, I don't know what people think. Like, let's just flood the whole thing with blue. Only $4,500. Yeah. Now, why do people do color GI? Help me understand. What is the thought behind that? I've never gotten that. Why do people do that? Stupid is what stupid does. I think one person saw it and went, Oh, it's the best thing in the whole life, Fred. Like, I know people like what they like, but I can't understand why they like it. Like, I don't know what the appeal is. It's not the appeal. It's a stupid thing. Maybe they put colored rubbers on there and it looked good. So if that looks good, why not colored lights? Maybe. Maybe not.
    95:19
    Now, do you see prices going down at all? Because I have not seen that yet at all. I think they're going down, yeah, especially on the newer, at least on the newer Sterns they're going down because it used to be you couldn't get a new premium Stern. And now, I mean, a lot of them are sitting with dealers now, so, for the premium. So, yeah, I think prices are going down. Well, in certain ones that nobody really, honestly, let's say this. They didn't need to make another run of freaking turtles. They really did not need to make another run. People were going, oh, I want a turtle so bad I need to have a new one box. And he made it. I was like, what the fuck are these people doing? I know you want to keep the line running, but, oh, it's just terrible. So would you buy this NASCAR, Bruce? No, not at all. Okay. Would you? For $4,500, no. No, not at all. Here we go. Another one.
    96:11
    Ticket number 334566263109. Huh. Ooh. Mars Trek. I know a guy from those. Good old EM. Only $2,800. Yeah, the crack of it all. in Washington State at Redmond.
    96:43
    And? It went through the Northwest Pinball Championships without any issues. You could probably find a screen of it. History!
    96:53
    Yeah, provenance. I mean, the play field's probably going to look good. Yeah, they all do. That's the good thing about it. Yeah, it does look good. I mean if you really want a Mars Trek The cabinet's pretty rough though The back of that cabinet They all are honestly You're lucky to get a cabinet that's actually still held together With you know glue on one of those games Yeah that's the strength of my prospector Is the cabinet Yeah I don't know You pay a little more than you should for stuff This would be in there But $2,800 is kind of Oh very high very hard. Maybe it was $1,800?
    97:35
    Yeah. I think $1,800 to $1,600 would be a good price if it's all working, and it seems like it was, it went through a whole tournament, so. So it's bulletproofed. Bulletproof, yeah.
    97:47
    Well, we probably wouldn't get it at this price. No, no. And honestly, everything else is just like fucking nuts. I'm just scoring by pricing here. Here we go. Ticket number 115.
    98:00
    5-3-1, 2-3-8, 3-1-3. This is a good one to end with right here. It's rare. So you know once it's rare, it's got to be expensive.
    98:20
    So it has to be good, too. The rarer it is, the more fun they are. Yes. Yeah, it's got to be. This is one of the two Gottlieb super wide pins. This one is Star Race. This is the Immortal Circus. For only $6,800, you can have this wonderful game from Illinois, it looks like. Let's see. It works great. Oh, God. It's got a big, long description.
    98:46
    That tells you, like, we know it's overpriced, so we're going to have a big. Oh, wait a minute. The only real flaw I should mention here, although it does not affect how it works, is that one of the targets on the Roto target is broken off. So it's broken It's a big wheel with lots of different targets on it From time to time this target rotates And changes what's the value of the scoring When hitting that target One of the many targets broke off And I cannot find no way to replace it PBR doesn't have those? I bet you they do The good news is it still scores and functions perfectly It just doesn't show the number 3 anymore Fair enough Yeah but for $69.99 $67 67, isn't it? 67-95. Well, it feels nice. Yeah, because nobody played them because they died right off the bat.
    99:38
    No, no one played them because it sucked. It sucked. Oh, God. What a terrible game. Wow. And he's got a lot of turds in the background, too.
    99:49
    He does. Next to it, you have Spy Hunter, the pinball machine. He's the Illinois turd collector. And then on the left-hand side, you have Comet.
    100:00
    Comet's bad. It's no Cyclone, that's for sure. It sold too much to be bad. It did. It sold way too much.
    100:10
    I think Comet's fine. I just think Cyclone is better in every way. It's just Comet, so it's like, I'd rather just have a Cyclone. Just go for one shot. And if your flippers can make that shot, then you're good. And then they went to Hurricane, and it went kind of downhill again. We're gone. Wild time! and I'm like, whoo-hoo!
    100:28
    Yeah. Woo! So are you contacting the guy right now? I am already put my buy it in now. Are you on crack? Yes.
    100:39
    Because it comes with two kilos. Now, this is one machine that should have more clown in it. It only has clown in the upper in lanes. What, clown LEDs? Yes, everything.
    100:50
    This deserves a clown look. Did you know the plastics are all basically perfect? All basically perfect. As opposed to just perfect. They're basically perfect. Basically perfect. It's not just good. It's good enough. How much would you pay for a Gottlieb Circus? Would you pay for one?
    101:09
    Something. Maybe if the board set works. Yeah, board set. If the board sets it. Yeah, pretty much. It's pretty bad.
    101:18
    Oh, it's bad. It's cloud. price boom. Where does that price come from? How do you come to that number? 6795. That's a good question. Where did they pull that from? Out of his ass. You know, if it was 6800, I wouldn't have got it, but 6795?
    101:37
    I'm going to get me sold. He probably says, I put 50 hours into it. My hours are worth this much money and there's so many parts and everything else I had to do, so we're good. I love how he put the battery holder in. the battery holder is the best part of this machine.
    101:54
    Oh, yeah. Look at that. Yeah. Dangling. Just dangling there. Oh. Let me see here. Oh, yeah. It's like hanging off of the board. It'll hold. We'll ship this thing. Yeah, that won't bounce around at all. No, we're good. It's just like one little wire or two. Yeah. Nice. And it's the old style batteries that will crop out and puke on you also. Just leave it sitting on the board. That's perfect. We're good.
    102:25
    It's like, what the fuck? Yeah. So we would not buy that. We would not buy that. Okay. Bum, bum, ba-dum. Bam.
    102:35
    That was good. Yeah, that's a pretty piss poor one. That was good. That was good, Bruce. You're welcome. So we are the Slam Till Podcast. This has been episode 195. If you want to contact us, We're available at slamtillpodcasts at gmail.com. You can check out our website, www.slamtillpodcasts.com. All our links are in the upper right-hand corner.
    103:01
    I stream occasionally. I actually just did a rush stream where I found a bug. Ooh, and Ray Day was there. Yeah, and Ray Day was there. Basically, I started multiball, and it clearly came up and said, activate the weapon, saying that I had a weapon. Except I didn't. I did not have a weapon. You are not worthy of a weapon. I'm not worthy of a weapon, I guess. That's a good call-out, too, that activates a weapon call-out. Love that one. All the call-outs are good. Rush is awesome. Why does Rush need weapons? Their instruments, their musical instruments are the weapons they use to, you know, fight the war. Fight the war. The planets of the Solar Federation and stuff and all that. Yeah, they have assumed control. We are the Slamtail Podcast. We have assumed control. Don't forget Hug Ron this weekend. Stop it. Tell him Bruce says hi. Yes. Hi, Bruce. And hi to everyone out there, everyone in the Cluster Valk. Hi, Zach. Hi, Steve. Hi, Silver Ball Chronicles. David Dennis. Can be heard on the Pinball Network. That's twice, you douchebag. I better get two times this time. We did. That is one of them out. we did two plugs for Slant Show on them. So blame him if they're not on there. Oh, I will. I'll call that fucker out.
    104:25
    Thanks for having me, gentlemen. It was an honor. Thank you very much. If you ever want to come back on, you're more than welcome to suffer with us.
    104:32
    Sounds good. So thanks everybody. Until next time, see you later. Say goodbye, Bruce. Goodbye, Brian Henson.
    104:45
    Thank you. Oh my. so thanks everybody until next time see you later say goodbye bruce i have nobody right now so give me two seconds it's the one time i've not been prepared in a long time right so do some background music and say hi to everyone while you can Okay, I got one. You got one? I think so. You sure? I might have said him before. Oh, we can't have any repeats. I know, so hold on.
    106:29
    I've got the world on a string. Oh, are you ready? Yeah, I'm ready. Okay.