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THE STRONG NATIONAL MUSEUM OF PLAY

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Apr 17, 2018
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Museum visit documenting Strong's pinball exhibit and playable machine collection in Rochester, NY.

Summary

A April 2018 museum visit report to The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY, documenting their pinball collection including a permanent 'Pinball Playfields' exhibit. The article describes the museum's arcade machines, design sketches, display pieces, and a rotating selection of 30+ playable pinball machines spanning multiple eras and manufacturers.

Key Claims

  • The Strong National Museum of Play has the world's most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video games, and play-related historical materials

    high confidence · Direct statement in museum description section

  • The 'Pinball Playfields' permanent exhibit was created because the museum had too many machines for their arcade to display

    high confidence · Explicit statement about exhibit origin

  • All machines in the arcade use tokens at five for $1.00, with one token per game

    high confidence · Pricing information section

  • The pinball exhibit houses original design sketches by Mark Ritchie for Williams' Indiana Jones, donated by Williams

    high confidence · Exhibit display description with designer attribution

  • All machines observed were in excellent condition and played well despite heavy use by children, with low tilt sensitivity allowing liberal use of English

    high confidence · Visitor observation and assessment section

Notable Quotes

  • “The Strong's museum is dedicated to play of all kinds and has the world's most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, books, documents, and other historical materials related to play.”

    Article author (describing museum mission) @ N/A — Establishes the museum's scope and significance as a comprehensive play history institution

  • “Pinball Playfields is a permanent exhibit that arose because the museum had too many machines for their arcade to display.”

    Article author @ N/A — Explains the origin and practical context of the dedicated pinball exhibit

  • “The pinball exhibit is on the first floor; it's best to ask for directions for it's not easy to find.”

    Article author (visitor observation) @ N/A — Practical visitor advice indicating the exhibit's location and accessibility challenges

Entities

The Strong National Museum of PlayorganizationRochester, NYlocationPinball PlayfieldseventMark RitchiepersonGeorge GomezpersonStern PinballcompanyWilliamscompanyBallycompany

Topics

Museum collections and cultural preservationprimaryPinball machine history and design evolutionprimaryHistoric pinball manufacturers and gamesprimaryMuseum visitor experience and accessibilitysecondaryPinball machine maintenance and playfield conditionsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Visitor expressed satisfaction with museum experience, machine condition, and accessibility; no critical complaints; focused on documenting collection comprehensively and visitor experience quality

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

**Date:** April 2018 **Location:** 3941, 1 Manhattan Square Dr, Rochester, NY 14607, USA My trip took me to The Strong’s National Museum of Play located in Rochester NY. The Strong’s museum is dedicated to play of all kinds and has the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, books, documents, and other historical materials related to play. *Pinball Playfields* is a permanent exhibit that arose because the museum had too many machines for their arcade to display. [![The Pinball Playfields exhibit](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/01-stong-museum-of-play-1024x806.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/01-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) The Pinball Playfields exhibit Admission to the museum is $15. The arcade and pinball exhibit’s playable machines use tokens, which are five for $1.00. All the machines are one token per game. I first found my way to the arcade which is on the second floor, there were two machines amongst the video games. Stern’s *Iron Man* and Gottlieb’s *The Amazing Spider-Man*. The pinball exhibit is on the first floor; it’s best to ask for directions for it’s not easy to find. Along with the pinball machines is an interesting display of sketches for William’s *Indiana Hilton Jones* game, designed by Mark Ritchie. It is one of many original sketches donated to the museum by Williams. [![The playfield drawing for Indiana Hilton Jones](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/07-stong-museum-of-play-649x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/07-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) The playfield drawing for Indiana Hilton Jones Next to the drawings are three machine for display purposes; *Whiffle*, *World’s Fair Jigsaw*, and *Humpty Dumpty*. [![Illustrating pinball's evolution](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/02-stong-museum-of-play-1024x758.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/02-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Illustrating pinball’s evolution Also of interest is George Gomez’s whitewood of *The Lord of The Rings* by Stern. [![Whitewood of The Lord of the Rings](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/03-stong-museum-of-play-768x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/03-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Whitewood of The Lord of the Rings My research shows the selection of machines they have for play rotates. On my visit they had: | | | | --- | --- | | *Fireball* (Bally) *The Incredible Hulk* (Gottlieb) *Flight 2000* (Stern) *Funhouse* (Williams) *Haunted House* (Gottlieb) *The Addams Family* (Bally) *Monster Bash* (Williams) *Starship Troopers* (Sega) *Star Wars* (Data East) *The Wizard of Oz, Emerald City LE* (Jersey Jack) *Revenge From Mars* (Bally) *Game of Thrones, LE* (Stern) *The Avengers, Premium* (Stern) | *Black Knight* (Williams) *Challenger* (Gottlieb) *Ghost Busters* (Stern) *Spider-Man* (Stern) *Hercules* (Atari) *Metallica, Premium* (Stern) *Star Trek, Pro* (Stern) *Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World* (Gottlieb) *Superman* (Atari) *Transformers, Pro* (Stern) *Video Pinball* (Atari) *Star Wars* (Stern) *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (Williams) | | | | [![Pinballs in the play area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/05-stong-museum-of-play-768x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/05-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Pinballs in the play area [![The Stern collection](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/06-stong-museum-of-play.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/06-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) The Stern collection [![Challenger, Black Knight 2000 and Revenge from Mars](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/04-stong-museum-of-play.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/04-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Challenger, Black Knight 2000 and Revenge from Mars I found all the machines to be in excellent condition and played well despite the abuse they received from all the kids. I also found all the machines to have a low tilt level which allowed liberal use of English. [![Games available to play](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/09-stong-museum-of-play-716x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/09-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Games available to play [![Hercules pinball](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/08-stong-museum-of-play-744x1024.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/strong-museum-of-play/08-stong-museum-of-play.jpg) Hercules pinball My visit was on a week day, I found it not too crowded and was able to play all the games at my leisure.
Gottlieb
company
Data Eastcompany
Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
Segacompany
Ataricompany
Iron Mangame
Indiana Jonesgame
The Lord of the Ringsgame
Whifflegame
World's Fair Jigsawgame
Humpty Dumptygame
The Wizard of Ozgame
Game of Thronesgame