Episode 364: Amy Ziegenhagen

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·13m 1s·analyzed·Jun 14, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Jeff Teolis interviews rising German pinball champion Amy Ziegenhagen on her competitive success and art aspirations.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Amy Ziegenhagen, an 18-year-old German pinball champion who recently won the German Pinball Open with ~115 competitors. The conversation covers her path into pinball (introduced by her father Matthias, inspired by Addams Family), her home collection of ~35 machines, her competitive achievements including UK Open placements, her interest in digital art and potential career in pinball game design, and her efforts to grow pinball in Berlin where tournament opportunities are limited.

Key Claims

Amy Ziegenhagen won the German Pinball Open with approximately 115 competitors
high confidence · Amy states: 'Around about 115 maybe. That's a lot and to come out on top' in response to Jeff asking how many people were in the tournament
Amy's family has approximately 35 pinball machines at home
high confidence · Amy: 'We actually do have around 35. Just a few?' with Jeff's playful response showing this is an unusually large home collection
Addams Family was the game that made Amy fall in love with pinball at age 10-11
high confidence · Amy: 'But then we got the Addams Family and I started playing. I was like 10, 11, something like that. And then I just fell in love, I guess.'
Berlin has only one pinball location and hosts one tournament per year
high confidence · Amy: 'in Berlin we have like one location and there's a tournament once a year'
Amy sometimes misses school because of pinball tournaments
high confidence · Amy: 'I sometimes miss school because of pinball' with Jeff noting Neil Graf does the same
Prize money at tournaments is not common in Europe but was introduced by IFPA in 2023 in North America and Australia
high confidence · Jeff explains: 'that's something that's new that's happened in 2023 with the IFPA in North America. And I believe Australia, they've been taking a dollar for a while'
Amy placed second at UK Open women's division but got nervous due to prize money she didn't know about
high confidence · Amy: 'I got second because I got nervous because of the prize money. Yeah, I didn't know there was prize money and I was winning'
Amy is currently trying to get into art school and learning digital art
high confidence · Amy: 'I'm actually trying to get into art school right now but for now it's just a hobby' and 'I'm just getting started with digital art'

Notable Quotes

“I sometimes miss school because of pinball.”
Amy Ziegenhagen @ ~08:45 — Demonstrates Amy's dedication to competitive pinball at age 18, highlighting the tension between education and tournament participation for young players in regions with limited local opportunities
“Everyone's so nice, like literally. There's five people that weren't nice maybe, but I don't remember them.”
Amy Ziegenhagen @ ~13:20 — Reflects positive community sentiment about the pinball community's welcoming nature for new players, contrasting with typical competitive gaming communities
“I got second because I got nervous because of the prize money. Yeah, I didn't know there was prize money and I was winning.”
Amy Ziegenhagen @ ~31:45 — Illustrates the psychological impact of prize money on young competitors and cultural differences between European and North American pinball tournament formats
“I'd love that actually... I'm not good enough yet like I'm just getting started with digital art and everything.”
Amy Ziegenhagen @ ~21:30 — Expresses interest in pursuing pinball game art design as a potential career, showing intersection of her competitive pinball skills and artistic interests
“in Berlin we have like one location and there's a tournament once a year”
Amy Ziegenhagen @ ~10:20 — Highlights the geographic and infrastructural limitations for young pinball players outside major European pinball hubs, explaining why Amy travels extensively for tournaments
“Definitely not. I'm already nervous.”
Amy Ziegenhagen @ ~34:15 — Shows that despite her success, Amy struggles with pressure and prize money psychology heading into the UK Open, a candid admission about performance anxiety
“give her a few years you're going to see if she's got great skills... the sky's the limit”
Escher Lefkoff (via Jeff Teolis) @ ~14:30 — Endorsement from an established competitive player, positioning Amy as a rising star with significant potential in the pinball world

Entities

Amy ZiegenhagenpersonJeff TeolispersonMatthias ZiegenhagenpersonEscher LefkoffpersonPaul EnglertpersonJohannes OstermeyerpersonNeil GraffpersonZach McCarthypersonJared Augustperson

Signals

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community_signal: Young players (Amy) using personal collections and home tournaments to introduce peers to pinball and build local community as alternative to venue-based infrastructure
medium · Amy hosted 18th birthday tournament at home with friends, organizes regular game nights at her place
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community_signal: Pinball community demonstrated strong welcoming environment for young/new players despite competitive context, with Amy noting only ~5 people in entire community weren't nice
high · Amy: 'Everyone's so nice, like literally. There's five people that weren't nice maybe, but I don't remember them.'
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market_signal: German pinball scene producing multiple elite young female players (Amy Ziegenhagen, Paul Englert, Johannes Ostermeyer) with father-son/family introduction patterns similar to North American models
medium · Jeff references multiple German 'whiz kids' and notes pattern of father-led introduction across multiple competitive players
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venue_signal: Infrastructure gaps limiting pinball growth in major European cities (Berlin has 1 location, 1 annual tournament) compared to tournament-rich regions, creating travel burden for young competitive players
high · Amy travels 4 hours from Berlin to Fulda for tournaments, notes limited opportunities keep friends from entering competitive pinball
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market_signal: IFPA introduction of prize money to European tournaments (2023) creating unexpected psychological pressure on competitors unfamiliar with monetary stakes, potentially affecting performance

Topics

Rising competitive pinball talent in GermanyprimaryGenerational transmission of pinball (father-to-child introduction)primaryGeographic and infrastructure barriers to pinball growth in EuropeprimaryIntersection of pinball game design and visual artprimaryPrize money introduction in European pinball tournaments (2023)secondaryPsychological pressure and performance anxiety in competitive pinballsecondaryCommunity building and accessibility for young pinball playerssecondaryDigital media and podcasting as channels for youth engagement with pinballmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Interview presents Amy very favorably as a talented young player with passion and humility. Jeff expresses enthusiasm about young people entering pinball. Amy speaks positively about the pinball community despite identifying infrastructure challenges. Some frustration expressed about prize money pressure and tournament scarcity, but overall tone is optimistic about Amy's future.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.039

it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teels you can find everything on pinballprofile.com all past episodes subscriptions and more we're on twitter and instagram at pinball profile you can find our facebook group and if you'd like to support us on patreon patreon.com slash pinball profile don't worry show is always free but i want to thank people like Rodney C and GME Law and Johnny Pinball and so many others that have been so kind to keep this program alive. I appreciate that very much. So here in Germany right now, I want to speak to some people that I don't get to see that often. And I first saw this woman actually wasn't in Germany, but it was at the UK Open last fall. And since then, she has been on a roll. She is another German whiz kid. You know about Paul Englert, you know about Johannes Ostermeyer, who's now maybe not a kid, maybe he's graduated, but this young 18-year-old woman is really turning heads because of her incredible pinball play, Amy Siegenhagen. How are you doing, Amy? Hi, I'm doing good. Nice to see you, and I remember you at the UK Open. That was kind of a fun tournament for you, and nice to get to travel outside of Germany. Yeah, it was nice, really great. And when I came here this time. I think it was a few weeks earlier I saw a post. Look at Amy. She won a big event. What did you win? The German pinball open. That's pretty good with all the great competition that's here and so many people flock here. Tell us about your win. How many people were in it? Around about 115 maybe. That's a lot and to come out on top. Would you remember the final games? It was Mata Hari, Rush, and I don't know the third one. But we played Tiebreaker on Shrek, which was like the final thing, actually. And you won. I did. Tiebreaker is always a lot of fun, too. So your father, Matthias, is a big pinball player, too. So I assume perhaps he got you into pinball? Yeah, he did. And do you have games at home? I don't know much about you. Is this something that you go to places like Bulls and Balls? or do you have some at home? We actually do have around 35. Just a few? Just a few, yeah. Just a few. Yeah, he's kind of crazy. So a mix of new and old? Yeah, everything. What was the game, if you can remember, you first played and went, I really love pinball because of that game. What game was it? Adam's Family. Oh, yeah? It was, yes. Our first machine was Bright of Pinbot, but I've never really played it back then because I was too small, not really interested in it. But then we got the Addams Family and I started playing. I was like 10, 11, something like that. And then I just fell in love, I guess. Yeah. So what was it about that game? Was it the thing coming out, the hand grabbing the ball? What was it that made you go, hey, this pinball could be kind of fun? I'm not quite sure, actually. Maybe the hand, the music, just cousin it. I love him. He's sweet. Yeah. and yeah the multiball i guess like the magnet oh yeah yeah it was different i don know it is a pretty unique game It one of the top games of all time so I not surprised But I always am curious what gets young people into pinball. You said your father obviously had this collection. Okay, I'll try it. It's a good way to bond with your father and stuff. But that aside now, you're so young that you've got so many years of pinball ahead of you. But you've also got schooling, too. So is it difficult to get pinball and schooling? and do you sometimes have to miss some pinball because you're busy with your education? Actually, I sometimes miss school because of pinball. You're not alone. Neil Graf does that too. Yeah, I don't know. We don't have that many tournaments in Germany. No? No. What city are you in? Berlin. Oh, you're in Berlin. So that's a bit of a hike from here to Fulda. Four hours, yeah. Yeah, and in the Berlin area, not much. You really have to go here. Do you go to Sweden for some games too? I've been there for the EPC last year, yes. But in Berlin we have like one location and there's a tournament once a year. Oh, okay. Also, it was my first tournament. I got last. It was great. Yeah. Do you know what? I want people to hear that because you got last in your first tournament. Some people would say, that's it. Pinball is not for me. But you had fun. you went back and we're talking about you being a champion doing well here at the ifpa olympics winning the german pinball open and i'm going to tell you something i was talking to escher lefkoff before i said i was going to interview amy okay and he said give her a few years you're going to see if she's got great skills you've already had some victories under your belt and the sky's the limit so i would assume that forget the last place that you had when you first started it doesn't matter you can put that away and i just want to keep playing more and more pinball Is that the case? Yeah, absolutely. I think it's also because of the people. Everyone's so nice, like literally. There's five people that weren't nice maybe, but I don't remember them. Like everyone's kind. It's so few, you're right. Yeah. For someone of my age, who's a lot older and probably even older than your father, but I get excited when I see young people into pinball because for many years, it's been a lot of the older people that remember it when we were children. Yeah. You have options with Internet, with video games, with whatever else it is. And yet you're still drawn to this physical pinball machine. It's great to see young people into pinball. It's not always accessible. You talk about in Berlin, there's only one location. What's the best way we can get more young people playing pinball? Oh, I'm actually not sure. I think things like that, like a podcast, that's like what reaches young people and social media in general. but it's hard especially in Germany not many people know about pinball old and young but yeah I think it depends see you're fortunate your father got you into it and we think of some of the great players and I include yourself in there Paul Englert his father got him into that Johannes his father we also talk about Escher Lefkoff his dad Adam was doing it Zach McCarthy with his father with Blizzard Mountain Pinball And there so many people I know Jared August his father Scott was a big pinball player You've met Neil Graff this weekend. His dad Tom does that. Just so many young people that are doing well have had someone show them it. So with you and your friends that maybe don't have parents playing pinball, are you trying to get some of your friends your age to play pinball as well? Yeah, absolutely. for my 18th birthday i had like a little tournament at home and i invited friends and they played in the tournament and i actually liked it so we do sometimes fun little game nights kind of where we just play pinball at my place and it's really nice yeah i like it yeah but the thing is they wouldn't get into tournament play because they don't have the opportunities to play more often and get better. So it's not even about intimidation. It's just the opportunities. So if there aren't big tournaments and you have 35 machines, do you host maybe some IFPA tournaments just to get their feet wet into playing some sort of competitive pinball? Yeah, it would be nice, but it's too small. Like we have a little, very small... It'd be tight. Yeah, wouldn't work. Like we only do tournaments with our friends in summer because then we can stay outside. Stand outside. But my father's actually looking for a location in Berlin. Wow. And maybe then... Never know. I mean, hey, it sounds like some opportunities if there's only one there. And, you know, it's a nice novelty. It's fun to see pinball machines. You must like all the new games that come out with all the great themes that come out. Are some of the new games... What are some of the new games that really catch your eye? Jurassic Park, I'd say. And I also like the Godzilla. but the favorite sterns we have at home like favorite of mine would be Deadpool and Game of Thrones good games yeah they're pretty I'm really into art as well okay so that really catches my eye is that a hobby for you or is that something you're in school for um I'm actually trying to get into art school right now but for now it's just a hobby okay I'm gonna ask you and we haven't asked this beforehand so I don't know what your answer is if you like art and John Youssi some great art on pinball machines is that something you'd like to do maybe do some art really you're nodding your head good yes i'd love that actually yeah you know there's some people here that may work at some companies like i don't know i know yeah i'm not good enough yet like i'm just getting started with digital art and everything yeah you gotta get started somewhere so you're building your portfolio and again we're talking to an 18 year old young woman here who's got the world ahead of her and that's good that you have that interest too so some of your favorite not pinball machines art on pinball machines what are your if you could pick three like oh boy is that ever beautiful what are the what are the games that just catch your eye um matahari definitely yeah that's because you won the german pinball open on that's why maybe um deadpool yeah definitely and Iron Maiden Iron Maiden yeah Yeah kind of Do you like the band Iron Maiden No not really No no But the art is good yeah Yeah it very detailed I love it So with your art would you be doing something more realistic Like people, actual people, or more cartoon work? What are you thinking? I'm not quite sure. I think, I haven't figured out my art style yet, but I'm thinking kind of like cartoony situation, something like that, yeah. You have to have a lot of patience for art, don't you? Yeah. it's funny you know we who aren't in art will look at art go oh my god that's beautiful it's this it's that and the artists will be ah yeah but i made a mistake here and there what they see is a lot different than what we see yeah that's true that's true also when i look at like back glasses and stuff i see a lot more details like when i'm with my father i'm like look at that hand it's so detailed and the pose it's just amazing and he's like yeah it's it's a hand like nice i don't know So you're having fun this week here in Fulda at the IFPA Olympics in the EPC? Absolutely. Yeah, that's good. Do you know what your next big pinball tournament might be? The UK Open. You're going to go back, good. Of course, yeah. Because you did well on the People's Bank and you did well on the Women's as well. I think I saw you win a trophy. Yeah, I got second because I got nervous because of the prize money. Yeah, I didn't know there was prize money and I was winning. And my dad came up to me and was like, did you know there's prize money? I'm like, sorry. So that's not common here in Europe, is it? No, absolutely not. And that's something that's new that's happened in 2023 with the IFPA in North America. And I believe Australia, they've been taking a dollar for a while. So it would be a euro here as well. I guess a pound in the UK. Mixed emotions on that. I mean, it's new to you. So I think I heard you over say it might deter some people perhaps, or it might just put too much pressure and take away from the fun. Yeah, absolutely. because I always like to refer to the European Pinball community as like a little family. Yeah. And it makes it more competitive. Okay. It's not a huge amount of dollars. I mean, a dollar at a time. But when you play in the UK Open, those dollars get big. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah. But now that you know that there's money there at the UK Open, which is happening September 30th in Croydon, just south of London, you know money's there. You've won money before. Are you going to be able to block that out when you go back this fall? Definitely not. I'm already nervous. Oh, well, I'm sure you'll do very well. Amy, I know we're about to start another round, but I wanted to, first of all, say hello and it's a pleasure to meet you and we're going to be following your career in pinball and we know only good things are going to happen. Amy Ziegenhagen, thank you very much. Thank you so much. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We're on Twitter. We're on Instagram at pinballprofile. email pinball profile at gmail.com and if you'd like to support on patreon that would be wonderful don't worry the show will always be free i'm jeff teolas