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The Pinball Show Episode 186 BONUS: The Best Pinball Of 2025: The Pinball Show Awards Winners

Pinball Show Patreon Feed·podcast_episode·25m 50s·analyzed·Dec 17, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Pinball Show announces 2025 Awards winners: Winchester Mystery House and Harry Potter dominate categories.

Summary

Dennis Kriesel and co-host announce The Pinball Show's 2025 Awards results across multiple categories including sound, art, animation, and overall game of the year. Winchester Mystery House wins Best Game overall and is the co-host's favorite, while Harry Potter is named Best Game by Dennis and awarded wins in multiple categories including Best Theme, Animation, and Lighting. The hosts discuss the effort involved in producing awards shows and reflect on the industry's award landscape, including past attempts at Twippies-style competitions.

Key Claims

  • Harry Potter is expected to sell over 10 times the amount of Winchester Mystery House

    medium confidence · Dennis Kriesel predicting sales trajectory during best game discussion

  • Evil Dead's topper (Cheryl) is more thematically integrated than Beetlejuice's because it serves as a centerpiece rather than a small scene

    high confidence · Co-host explaining Evil Dead topper award decision with specific playfield integration details

  • Dungeons & Dragons cast recording involved the entire Vox Machina cast from Critical Role

    high confidence · Dennis describing D&D call-outs as matching Star Trek: The Next Generation in ensemble cast investment

  • Winchester Mystery House theme was previously not cared about by the industry before this game

    medium confidence · Co-host discussing Winchester's Best Launch award: 'They took a theme nobody cared about'

  • Harry Potter had AI art controversy that was so minor it didn't impact sales

    medium confidence · Dennis discussing JJP's most improved from Avatar: 'Outside of some controversy over AI use on some of the art, it basically succeeded'

  • Jersey Jack Pinball founder Jack Renner abandoned Avatar promotion at TPF to focus on Harry Potter

    medium confidence · Dennis recounting Renner's public shift in priorities at The Pinball Factory event

  • Barrels of Fun released two games in 2025 (Winchester and Dune), which is noteworthy for production capacity

    high confidence · Both hosts acknowledging Barrels' dual releases and expressing hope for continued momentum

  • Venom topper had issues with the Pro model not including the topper feature

    high confidence · Discussion of D&D's topper progression improvements over Venom

  • Uncanny X-Men code has improved significantly despite initial community skepticism

    medium confidence · Co-host defending Uncanny X-Men: 'i'm going to uncanny x-men people gave up right... but i'm telling you just wait that game... i love that game'

Notable Quotes

  • “It's a stain. It's a stain on the hobby. And it will take decades to cleanse us from trying something.”

    Dennis Kriesel@ 3:44 — Dennis expressing regret about industry awards proliferation and impact on credibility; reflects on Twippies legacy and award fatigue

  • “I have considered, really? I'm not going to do it, but I've considered just reinventing the twippies and just rolling with it. I co-created it so like i have just as much right to it as anybody else”

    Dennis Kriesel@ 1:47 — Reveals personal consideration of launching competing awards show; highlights tension over original Twippies creation

  • “Winchester Mystery House. You don't know what it is specifically. It's not just one thing, but there's just something so special about that game. And easily, hands down, my favorite game of 2025.”

    Co-host (identity withheld in transcript)@ 23:00 — Passionate endorsement of Winchester as top favorite despite Harry Potter's broader market dominance; describes luxury brand appeal

  • “The whole package behind it, especially given it is gone with some D tier theme. I was really impressed.”

    Co-host@ 20:32 — Highlights Winchester's achievement in elevating a low-profile theme to award-winning status

  • “It's sacrilegious.”

    Dennis Kriesel@ 13:48 — Expresses surprise at co-host's King Kong rules nomination over Harry Potter, acknowledging Potter's dominance

  • “I think there's a good chance... I think there's a good chance as well... Not that I've seen it... Not that I haven't”

    Dennis and Co-host (Best Art discussion)@ 9:07 — Both hosts agree Christopher Franchi (Evil Dead artist) has strong potential for repeat awards

  • “Maybe it's not about how much razzle and dazzle. Maybe it is about timing and the way, the details and the way you present things.”

Entities

Dennis KrieselpersonHarry PottergameWinchester Mystery HousegameEvil DeadgameDunegameDungeons & Dragonsgame

Signals

  • ?

    product_strategy: Winchester Mystery House demonstrates successful elevation of obscure IP theme through exceptional game design and launch execution, contrasting with Harry Potter's reliance on established fanbase. Both approaches validated by awards.

    high · Co-host: 'They took a theme nobody cared about... capitalized, and I think it was the best launch' vs. Dennis: 'Harry Potter is going to end up selling over 10 times the amount of Winchester'

  • ?

    design_innovation: Toppers evolving from novelty to integrated theme element; D&D's topper progression (following Venom) appears to be establishing new design standard for mechanical features.

    high · Discussion of D&D topper innovation over Venom, Evil Dead's Cheryl topper as centerpiece design, and co-host calling topper progression 'close enough now that it's actually a selling point'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: 2025 appears to have raised overall design quality standards across manufacturers; even lower-tier game selections demonstrate high production values and cohesion.

    high · Dennis: 'what the industry really deserved'; co-host praising Winchester despite modest theme: 'just feels like a special game'; minimal negative commentary about 2025 releases

  • ?

    content_signal: The Pinball Show experimenting with tiered award disclosure (top 3 public, full results Patreon-exclusive) to drive subscription engagement; represents shift from transparent community voting to content monetization.

    high · Hosts discussing transparency: 'If you want the goods, you got to support' and acknowledging subscription model for exclusive award results

  • ?

Topics

2025 Game Awards Categories and WinnersprimaryGame Design: Sound, Music, Animation, Art, and Theme IntegrationprimaryMechanical Features: Toppers, Toys, Layouts, and Rules ComplexityprimaryManufacturing and Production Capacity: Barrels of Fun's Dual ReleasessecondaryIndustry Awards Proliferation and CredibilitysecondaryTheme Licensing and IP Value (Winchester Mystery House, Harry Potter, Dune)secondaryCode Updates and Game Balance (Uncanny X-Men, D&D progression)secondaryMarket Positioning: Luxury Brand Perception (Winchester vs. Harry Potter)secondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Hosts express genuine enthusiasm about 2025's game quality and design standards. Positive tone celebrating award winners and industry achievement, particularly for Winchester's underdog success and Harry Potter's dominance. Secondary undercurrent of frustration about awards proliferation and industry politics (Twippies legacy), but largely positive retrospective on 2025 releases.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.077

0:00
Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised. Thanks again for the ongoing support as a Pinball Show Club member. Enjoy this exclusive TPS content and make sure to visit the Pinball Show Club Discord to chat about the bonus material. Oh, Dennis, I've been eager. I've been really waiting to see what you think the best of 2025 are at the Pinball Show Awards. So we gave people our top three from each category in the main episode.
0:30
And then we ask for that money for the results. Yes. I mean, come on. We're going to hide behind it. Subscribe bait, really. No, we didn't hide. We told you we're transparent. If you want the goods, you got to support. And why not? Why not support us? I think top three is plenty for a lot of people. It tells them a lot, but it doesn't tell them everything. No. Here's the thing. Don't go ruining it. Yeah. Damn troll. I don't think anyone wants to retype all of this. Oh, they will.
1:00
there's some turds out there dennis oh the production schedule sure well that's on the public side anyway but like people typing that up like there's some meaning to it knowing like what we thought had best sound and music is probably not really resonating to that level in my view i mean unless we're sending crystals are you sending crystals to all these brands with all this is flipping out sponsoring some crystal awards they didn't care about them before we're I like that we're not either still bitter about the total lack of support.
1:32
I still thought it was objectively a great idea. I still, I'm glad we tried it though. I really like, I really like how we did awards. I think it was what, what the industry really deserved, but I did too, but I'm not going to lie. I have considered, really? I'm not going to do it, but I've considered just reinventing the twippies and just rolling with it. again and people like well what do you mean it's like i co-created it so like i have just as much right to it as anybody else like what would the industry say if all of a sudden we just came out

Co-host@ 16:34 — Reflects on Winchester's Best Launch success as validation that marketing execution matters more than promotional scale

  • “If a designer did it or something. What helps, what are the rise of the boats kind of thing?”

    Dennis Kriesel@ 5:14 — References 'rising tide lifts all boats' concept regarding industry-wide benefit of awards and promotion efforts

    • Beetlejuice
    game
    King Konggame
    Christopher Franchiperson
    Barrels of Funcompany
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Jack Rennerperson
    Eric Menierperson
    Carl D'Angeloperson
    Star Wars: Fall of the Empiregame
    Portalgame
    Walking Dead Remasteredgame
    Uncanny X-Mengame
    Cactus Canyon Upgrade Kitproduct
    The Pinball Showorganization
    Twippiesevent
    Critical Roleorganization
    The Pinball Factoryevent
    Jack Dangerperson

    industry_signal: Hosts express exhaustion with proliferating awards shows (Twippies, Trippies, Twippy, etc.) and credibility erosion; Dennis considers reinventing Twippies himself despite stated opposition to awards fragmentation.

    high · Dennis: 'It's a stain... will take decades to cleanse us'; discussion of confusion over multiple awards formats; admission: 'I have considered just reinventing the twippies'

  • ?

    business_signal: Barrels of Fun achieving dual major releases in 2025 (Winchester and Dune) positions company as reaching significant production maturity; hosts express hope this momentum sustains into 2026.

    high · Co-host: 'Barrels coming out with two games in one year something that some manufacturer been trying to do'; both hosts hopeful for continued momentum

  • ?

    code_update: Uncanny X-Men code improvements appear to be reversing negative community sentiment despite initial dismissal; co-host advocating for game despite not winning major categories.

    medium · Co-host: 'people gave up right... but i'm telling you just wait that game... i love that game so uncanny x-men'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Dungeons & Dragons recording full Vox Machina cast represents unprecedented investment in voice talent for pinball, matching Star Trek: TNG precedent in scope and professionalism.

    high · Dennis: 'they basically got the whole cast of Vox Machina... it should be right up there with Star Trek's next generation in terms of ensemble cast participation... the biggest investment I've seen in over a decade'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Harry Potter meeting and potentially exceeding pre-release hype; AI art controversy had minimal impact on sales trajectory; positioned as 2025's marquee release across multiple categories.

    high · Dennis: 'basically lived up to all of the hype'; 'basically succeeded in everything that it needed to do'; expected to sell 10x Winchester volume

  • $

    market_signal: Winchester Mystery House (premium theme execution, limited appeal) and Harry Potter (mass-market IP, broad appeal) represent distinct market positioning strategies both validated by awards; suggests room for both luxury and volume approaches.

    high · Co-host describing Winchester as 'high-end luxury sports car that not everybody knows' despite lower sales projections; Dennis acknowledging Harry Potter's volume advantage while co-host defending Winchester's craftsmanship

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Eric Menier (Harry Potter layout), Carl D'Angelo (Winchester), Christopher Franchi (Evil Dead art), and Elwynn (King Kong rules) receiving explicit design credit and acclaim; designers becoming increasingly visible in community discourse.

    high · Multiple explicit designer name drops with specific praise; Dennis: 'Eric Menier... first time that I fully can get behind his layout'; recognition of individual contributor work

    • 2:05
    with the twippies like greg and i just boom here come a full production live event like i i think people would love it would you call it the twippies why not i helped invent the damn thing why not it's confused remember there was a time where someone made the had the bought the pinball people may not know this i'm going to share it all right there was someone don't know who some but i think this is one person they invented they they when we started the pinball industry awards we announced we were going to do some pinball awards they actually got the facebook
    2:38
    page for the pinball awards well no you can make any facebook page you want like you can just sure yeah someone but but like it happened right when we were setting everything up so we that's why we went with pinball industry awards because we're giving the plan was awards for the industry and that confused you know oh my gosh i'm gonna go facepalm because some people are like well it's not the industry giving the word so i'm like you're linking of it from the wrong direction of flow but i understand what you're saying sure so anyway we eventually were just like screw it let's just rename it to the pinball awards because that we went and checked that
    3:10
    facebook page they hadn't done anything no it was like a yeah they're holding it and then the moment we did they spun up an award sorry you know how glad i am that we're not doing anything jeez what pain and it's been it's like our industry no longer deserves like they bastardized the whole pinball award shit like they ruined it twippy they ruined it for everybody
    3:40
    We'll never have – like this is a stain. It's a stain on the hobby. And it will take decades to cleanse us from trying something. And it still hobbles along. It's like we're doing the trippy thing. I'm like, just please put it out of its misery. I think it will linger simply because there's really not anything else that's tried to – I mean we never tried to displace it. Our thing was completely different than people's choice.
    4:13
    And after the second year, people got with it. Like the first time, we knew there would be a lot of – you're just trying to do this to kill the twippies. It's like we're not even the same model. People wanted it because it sounded – it sounds like good attention. Like this is great. And then once they realized what it really takes to produce and to put together, it is – like the only – look. the only reason that anybody would do it is because if they are overly obsessive about a hobby and they do have goals as a group to like move it forward but that still only works if you
    4:49
    put in the time honestly i don't want to toot my own horn here but like i am so enmeshed into the industry because it's my career as well it like indirectly doesn't hurt me like any any effort I'm putting in is helping the industry. And if the industry is helped, I get helped because the bigger spotlight in the industry have I work in the industry. It's like if a designer did it or something. What helps, what are the rise of the boats kind of thing?
    5:20
    Right, right, right. It was Jack Danger's old argument of, yeah, I'm Stern's ambassador, but any pinball games I promote on Deadflip is going to help sell more pinball, which will help Stern. I mean, there was way too much time put into it, but these people want to hear. Yes, sorry about that. They were going to get it from us anyway. It was Pepperidge Farm moment for us. So sound and music. Best sound and music. So what was it, the three again for you? Mine were Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Dune. What'd you go with? Star Wars. Wow!
    5:52
    Beautiful Star Wars. So Star Wars won an award. The Pimple Show Award. Okay, mine was between Beetlejuice, Dune, and Winchester. I gave it to Winchester for sound. Nicely done. Oh, wait, that's not the call-out. That's just the sound. Yeah, that's just the sound. Let's talk about call-outs. For me, it was between Winchester, Portal, Evil Dead. Call-outs, I wanted it to be Winchester. I had to give it to Evil Dead. You don get Bruce Campbell You don get unique wonderful some of the best call I ever heard And it will make me blush I love those call They still make me laugh when I play that game
    6:33
    So my award for call-outs goes to Spooky Pimble and Evil Dead. What about you? My nominees were Dungeons & Dragons, Portal, and Walking Dead Remastered. And I did Dungeons & Dragons. If you're nerdy enough, the fact that they basically got the whole cast of Vox Machina, which do critical role role-playing games. Honestly, it should be right up there with Star Trek's next generation in terms of ensemble cast participation. It will never be quite that well-known because it's not Star Trek,
    7:08
    but that's the level. It was a serious investment in call-outs, the biggest investment I've seen in over a decade. Wow. All right. From here on out, I'm just going to name the winner, and if there's somebody that I think is close, For me, best animation display. Ultimately, I liked what Dune was doing. D&D was a feat, but it's Harry Potter. I did Harry Potter also. Okay, so I'm going to mark Harry Potter. We both agreed that is unequivocally the winner. Congratulations, JJP.
    7:39
    Unanimous there. Best lighting. Who'd you go with? I also did Harry Potter here. Hard to argue. You probably did Dune. I went Dune. I did go Dune. The day-night cycle. Oh, yeah, I figured he'd win you over. Atmospheric. And I'm telling you, those key-pointed program things, I just really love those things. Best art. Mm-hmm. Oh, Franchi, where'd he go here? I've got to give a lot of credit. I've got to give a lot of credit to Brad Albright because what he did with Winchester was special.
    8:10
    And I'll always uphold it as being very special. Got to go Franchi here. But which child are you picking to save? And which one? Which one? Which one's stuck in the cabin with the deadites? I went back and forth because, man, play field, I like Evil Dead. Cabinet, I skew Beetlejuice. Backglass, I skew Beetlejuice. I'm going Beetlejuice.
    8:41
    By a hair. I'm going Beetlejuice I was Beetlejuice also Oh right How about that So unanimously Best art congratulations to Spooky Pinball And to Christopher Franchi On artwork Do you think we'll see A two time winner next year Yeah good chance I think there's a good chance as well Not that I've seen it Not that I haven't
    9:12
    best toys face best toys all right yes um so for me uh dungeons and dragons took it the dragons doing the heavy lift there but truly truly doing the heavy lift i give to evil dead yeah i have to it's just so so well integrated it's just so good it's not only that it's packed it's packed in unique ways and i really like that i love the kong love the winchester but it's evil dead for me innovation i wanted man i wanted to go dune or dnd i went beetlejuice because dnd is speak
    9:50
    yes just the spooky speak and it's it's more like spooky really upping their game and doing things that they don't um so it's the lighting integration and innovation it's the spooky speak so i just i had to go be in this for innovation i uh well i had it on that my list i i went dnd here i i get the dragon okay in part though we've seen similar but the rules it's yeah where dwight's been going with the progression and that just like venom was a big step above like turtles but this this is
    10:25
    maybe it's not where he wants it to be yet but i feel it's close enough now that it's actually a selling point for the games. Yeah. So, topper, Zach. Hold up. Do you think he keeps doing that, though? Yes, I do. Really? I think D&D, well, we'll know when we'll have a better sense when we do the flipping out sales review, like on the next Patreon, but I have a feeling D&D moved enough that they're like, okay, this is like, Venom had some issues, and it wasn't him. It was the pro model felt like
    10:56
    you didn't get any of the stuff. True. But D&D doesn't You have enough depth with the Venom. Well, I mean – You've seen a lot of depth in this now. Yes. It's because that one really leaned into the idea of the changing of the physical state where it was possible in the Premium LE. No, I think this gets to go, kind of like the Turtle progression. People have met that end, and they're like, eh. Maybe it needs to go a little farther. I don't know. But again, if it's just distance, then maybe that's a – you don't want the opposite where it's like, holy crap, no one can win five-year mission on Star Trek because it's so far away from the start button.
    11:35
    But maybe for the progression stuff, there's something kind of cool that's maybe not totally revolutionary but requires you to get to level 1,000, and you just put that in there as a Halo objective. I see. I do like the Halo stuff. Best topper. Yeah, topper. You love toppers. All right. So for me, I had King Kong Beetlejuice and Evil Dead, and probably think it's between Evil Juice and Evil Dead, and you'd be right. But for me, it's Cheryl and Evil Dead. Ah. Easily. Easily? Yes. The snake is not a huge part of Beetlejuice.
    12:08
    It's not. It's a very small scene. But the whole cellar thing in Evil Dead, that is a centerpiece. So doing that as a topper is more theme immersive. And so I pick it. Easily pick it. I can't add to that. It's Evil Dead. It absolutely is Evil Dead, Cheryl. Absolutely. It's stunning. Best theme. Best theme? Man, I like all these themes. I like Beetlejuice, Harry Potter. I like Star Wars, Fall of the Empire. Those are my top three. But I'm going. Best thing is Harry Potter. We've been waiting for it forever. Yes.
    12:39
    Yes. This was the easiest one to do. What's this one? I'm proud of us right now. Two, four, six, eight, nine. Of nine we have four that we agree on unanimously That pretty good Well we just very predictable I suppose That very good Best theme integration Mmm I went evil dead here I did too. I did too. It's hard to argue. I mean, it's so well done. From the topper to the pop-up, things that pop up
    13:10
    to the under-cellar playfield to the hand that moves, like, everything writes itself. Yes, and the nice thing is it's such a simple set for the movie that the play field basically, it's not like picking different pieces in montage. It's not a montage because it's basically a one room play. That is a perfect one. The theme really helped allow it to be integrated so well. Best rules. It's tricky. It is. King Kong, Evil
    13:41
    Dead was cute, but it doesn't it's really between King Kong and Potter for me on rules. It's sacrilegious. I went Potter on this one. I think how well it was done, how quickly it was done, and then just how the fine details. Just it's a really clean rule set, and it has its program very well, and the depth of it. There's different ways to play it.
    14:11
    It goes wonderful with the layout. Just for me, it's just super clean, wonderful depth. It's an overall great package. I went Harry Potter. Okay. Well, Harry Potter was not in my top three. For me, it was really a tear between King Kong and Winchester. Okay. And I went ahead and went Kong in this instance. Yeah, I mean – Given what I've seen of it, I feel like the – like I'm understanding it better. Of course, Elwynn's a pretty known quantity at this point.
    14:44
    I don't think Kong's going to be seen by very many as his top game, quite frankly. But it's seen as good, and I don't think it will be seen as his worst game. No, no. His worst is still better than many people's best. I have some interesting predictions for Kong next year. Best layout and design. What did you have in that? Yeah, I went with Winchester here. Oh. It was really – I had Evil Dead in the mix, but again, cute, but not quite for me gameplay-wise.
    15:17
    So it was Kong and Winchester, and no, I think in this instance, while I'm giving Elwynn the edge on rules, I'm giving Carl the edge on the actual layout. And Carl – What an interesting layout. Question mark. Okay. All right. Okay, so I'm with you. I did have Kong and Winchester in my top three, but I actually went Harry Potter. I'm giving the nod to Eric Menier. I think this is the first time that I fully can get behind his layout, and I think he did an exceptional job.
    15:49
    I think that, for me, it gets the edge over King Kong because I don't necessarily think that's Elwynn's best layout, but damn, it feels good. And Winchester, it's there, but Harry Potter, just so well done. So I had to go Harry Potter for best layout and design. Best launch overall. We had different pieces here. I still have to give it to Winchester. That was mine. It took a breath away. Easily. Boom, came in.
    16:19
    They took a theme nobody cared about, but the way that they launched it and everything, they capitalized, and I think it was the best launch, which goes to show you maybe this goes against everything that, unfortunately, that I'm about in this industry, helping with a lot of the promotional pieces. But maybe it's not about how much razzle and dazzle. Maybe it is about timing and the way, the details and the way you present things. I don't know. Best accessory. I didn't pick. Okay.
    16:49
    I gave this one to Cactus Canyon Upgrade Kit. I mean, it's the only one I really thought was kind of worthy enough. Best surprise overall. I went Winchester. Me too. Yep. Winchester. Everyone loved that they were surprised. I guess except maybe those that wanted to buy it and then couldn't because it sold too quick. That's true. What are you going to do? Yeah. You can always get one later. Best high-end product? You didn't chime in? Didn't know what was meant by it. I was in between like Beetlejuice, Winchester Mystery House.
    17:21
    Ultimately, I think the nicest, highest-end kind of product feel and look is Harry Potter, the CE version of Harry Potter. Kind of the same reasons that Dennis was praising the artwork on that particular model. So it's just nicely done. It's very professional. It's beautiful. It's a really beautiful game. Okay. Most improved of 2024. We had different interpretations of this. What was your focus point as the best improved then?
    17:53
    For me, it was the company about reception of the product versus the prior product. So it would be like comparing how Texas and Looney Tunes were received by the community to how Evil Jet and Beetlejuice. So that guy did year versus year. So for me, under those criteria, it was JJP because Avatar was a lukewarm reception at best. Harry Potter was obviously there was going to be a lot of hype around Harry Potter, but it basically lived up to all of the hype. Outside of some controversy over AI use on some of the art, it basically succeeded in everything that it needed to do.
    18:31
    And that art aspect, that controversy was so small, it really didn't get in the way of sales. No, it didn't. And so much so, you're right, that even the founder, Jack Renner, remember at TPF, he kind of abandoned Avatar and was like, yeah, we're doing Harry Potter. It's like, wait, what? You're here to promote Avatar. What is going on? so yeah i can't argue that for me the most improved if i'm looking at code i'm going to uncanny x-men people gave up right and people people have still given up that but i'm telling
    19:03
    you just wait that game i don't even care code why like just i love that game so uncanny x-men for me that brings us down to the best game now at the 11th hour we pulled a quick one and we said Maybe that different than our favorite game though So this is as content creators and our experience what we think is the best game of 2025 maybe not our favorite because i like stranger things a lot better than what other people would say is objectively better games
    19:35
    but what do you think the best game of uh and what were your top three of best game and i okay my My best games were Harry Potter, King Kong, and Winchester Mystery. Okay. All right. And my best games, top three, were Beetlejuice, Harry Potter, Winchester, Mystery House. Okay. What did you go with? Winchester. Wow. Winchester. Yes. Yep.
    20:06
    Great. Great call-outs without having to rely on a known name. I love the sound effects. Think hard to tell any animations, but whatever the peppers got, like the theme immersion to a theme. I absolutely, and I'm not into ghost themes period, but the whole theme immersion for it layout looks interesting and fun. New designer rules seem, seem really good. Like the whole package behind it, especially given it is gone with some D tier theme.
    20:38
    I was really impressed. And from a gameplay perspective, an immersion perspective, an ability to replay the game, I think it's the best thing that came out. Wow. That's frickin' high praise. Congratulations, Barrels and Carl D'Angelo. Nicely done there. Best game. There's a reason it's in my top three. It's there. It is right there. Beetlejuice is up there as well. it's hard for me to go against harry potter here i just think it is special it's everybody's
    21:17
    heralding it it does shoot that good it does look that good it is the harry potter that we all wanted it to be they could have done some stuff better but i think they they have sold they're going to end up selling over 10 times the amount of winchester it's just for me the best game of 2025 so congratulations jjp uh harry potter for me is the best game of 2025 however the top three my favorite games was harry potter my favorite game hard not to be it was really good game
    21:53
    my favorite games top three are the same beetlejuice harry potter winchester I went Winchester here Winchester And honestly I would have a hard time Being argued against Winchester Even when I was working on the Beetlejuice stuff Even when I knew of the Harry Potter stuff It just is There's something about it guys We were going to do a Patreon My first impressions on Winchester Something is working so well On this game
    22:24
    It's just one of those games It just feels special. And what I mean by feeling is everything just feels like a special game. It's limited ability. Like you said, the new designer, the looks of it, the sounds of it, the lighting of it. It just feels almost like that high-end luxury sports car that not everybody knows. Like, oh, I've never even heard of that Pagani. I've never even heard of that brand. But when you see it, you're like, holy shit.
    22:54
    Like, that's a sports car. You don't know anything about it, but that's a sports car. Same way with Winchester Mystery House. You don't know what it is specifically. It's not just one thing, but there's just something so special about that game. And easily, hands down, my favorite game of 2025. Okay. I went with different ones for my favorites. So my favorites were Dungeons & Dragons, Dune, and Evil Dead. And I went with Dune. oh dude wasn't winning a lot of my categories it was in a few but it wasn't winning a lot of them
    23:29
    but the overall package that'd be like so i like that theme the lighting system is well i gave the edge to jjp i think that the lighting and the way they approach the lighting and the immersion they attain with the lighting is is there i couldn't like give it more immersion than evil dead but it's more my type of immersion sure um i think that the layout's really interesting i wouldn't say it's the best layout that came out this year, but I think it's a fun layout. The toys and mechs are off the chart. And the rules have been on a good... Once they got that first big update out...
    24:01
    The game, the modes in Dune are phenomenal because they're very choreographed, the modes. Like when you're training, you're hitting things and it shows the video sequence. It's really well done. So I'm with you there. That's cool. So that was my favorite. Both barrels games. Look at that. Our favorite games are barrels games and look at barrels coming out with two games in one year something that some manufacturer been trying to do so now they're gonna be careful because that they took a big
    24:32
    bite in 2025 i hope that they can keep that momentum come 20 i'd hell i'd take 75 momentum in 2026 to be honest with you uh so it was a a quick recap that we thought my thought of the Best game was Harry Potter. You had it at Winchester. And your favorite game of 2025 was Dune, and mine was Winchester Mystery House. Wow. Okay. There you go. Ladies and gentlemen, how about that? That was fun.
    25:02
    That was the Pinball Show Awards 2025. Now, maybe in another episode we'll do the worst of 2025. We had fun doing that last time. That's true. Poor barbecue. you and thankfully this year wasn't quite so rough remember if you want to do all the season shillings win all of that stuff all you've got to do is give us in the comment section on YouTube your what you think is the best game of 2025 take a picture of it and send it to the pinball
    25:34
    show at gmail.com follow light hell you're already here follow like subscribe to all the different things thank you happy holidays Merry Christmas season screenings I love