Episode 442: Pinball. A Quest for Mastery (book)

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·23m 41s·analyzed·Jul 16, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (batch) · $0.019

TL;DR

Tasker Smith's new 'Pinball: A Quest for Mastery' book explores skill development and player psychology in competitive pinball.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Tasker Smith about his new book 'Pinball: A Quest for Mastery,' a 250+ page hardcover launching July 28th that explores skill development, mental game, training strategies, and the player experience in competitive pinball. Smith discusses his five-year writing process, how he examined pivotal moments in pinball history (1980: MagnaSave/multiball, 1991: DMD era), and practical techniques like dead flips, nudging, and flipper control inspired by observing top players like Bowen Kerins in the New Robert Englunds Pinball League.

Key Claims

Tasker Smith has been working on 'Pinball: A Quest for Mastery' for over five years, with a contract signed January 19, 2021.
high confidence · Tasker Smith stated this directly in the interview.
The book covers significant turning points in pinball history, with 1980 (MagnaSave, multiball, two-level playfield) and 1991 (DMD displays, ball saver, video modes) highlighted as transformative years.
high confidence · Jeff Teolis and Tasker Smith discussed these historical milestones in the interview.
The book includes training strategies, a three-day training plan, and flipper skills worksheets not previously published in pinball media.
high confidence · Jeff Teolis mentioned these specific training tools in the book during the interview.
Tasker Smith was inspired to write the book after observing players like Bowen Kerins in the New Robert Englunds Pinball League and wondering how to unlock the mystery of becoming a great player.
high confidence · Tasker Smith explicitly discussed observing Bowen Kerins and drawing inspiration from his skill.
The book includes a section on Easter eggs in pinball machines and flipper codes.
high confidence · Jeff Teolis mentioned the Easter eggs section at the end of the book; Tasker Smith confirmed and discussed Easter egg websites.
Tasker Smith will conduct a launch event in Natick, Massachusetts on July 28th with Mark from Backhand Pinball, including Q&A and prize giveaways.
high confidence · Tasker Smith stated this directly in the interview.
The book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and select arcades starting July 28th.
high confidence · Tasker Smith explained the distribution strategy during the interview.
Tasker Smith will be attending Pinball Expo in October and touring museums across the southern United States this summer.
high confidence · Tasker Smith confirmed these plans in the interview.

Notable Quotes

“I really felt like, why isn't there a book about this out there now? So much has happened in pinball since 1979.”
Tasker Smith @ ~12:00 — Explains the core motivation for writing the book—filling a gap in pinball literature for a modern audience.
“You stand next to another player and you think, you know, this guy's about my age. He's about my build. Like, what is he seeing that I'm not seeing?”
Tasker Smith @ ~18:00 — Captures the central mystery that drove the book's creation: understanding how elite players achieve mastery.
“The first time that you observe somebody perform a dead flip where the ball bounces off a flipper that has not been activated and it passes over the drain to the other flipper where they catch it... my game completely changed in that moment.”
Tasker Smith @ ~42:00 — Illustrates a key insight explored in the book: transformative moments of skill discovery that fundamentally change player capability.
“Pinball is partly a game of prediction, not reaction. And if you can predict the trajectory of the ball and influence the machine in a way that can direct it towards a controlled location, then you're going to have control over the ball and control over the game.”
Tasker Smith @ ~38:00 — Core gameplay philosophy central to the book's skill development framework.
“If it is slop, please blame me. Don't blame the AI... I am just a devoted lover of this game. I'll forever be chasing mastery in the game, but mastery just not for the sake of becoming masterful, but just because I love it so much.”
Tasker Smith @ ~60:00 — Addresses AI-generated content criticism and clarifies the author's philosophical intent—mastery as a personal journey rooted in love of the game, not expert positioning.
“There's so many ways you can play pinball that I think wasn't really intended to be designed, but if you mix it up, I think it kind of keeps the joy flowing.”
Tasker Smith @ ~50:00 — Highlights creative training approaches (one-handed play, The Price is Right variant, split flipper) that balance skill development with enjoyment.

Entities

Tasker SmithpersonJeff Teolisperson Bowen Kerinsperson Roger Sharpeperson Pinball ProfileorganizationNew England Pinball League (NEPL)organizationPinball: A Quest for MasteryproductBackhand Pinballorganization

Signals

?
content_signal: Major pinball book release: 'Pinball: A Quest for Mastery' by Tasker Smith launching July 28th, representing significant media/content contribution to the pinball community.
high · Confirmed July 28th release date, 250+ pages, hardcover, available through multiple retailers and arcades.
?
gameplay_signal: Book explores and documents advanced pinball mechanics (dead flips, nudging techniques, flipper control, trajectory prediction) and their application to skill development.
high · Multiple discussions of specific techniques (dead flips, drops, alley passes, nudging types, one-handed play) with illustrations provided in the book.
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design_philosophy: Book incorporates sports psychology concepts into pinball, including discussion of introvert/extrovert play styles and their impact on tournament vs. home performance.
high · Tasker Smith discussed bell curves describing introvert/extrovert gameplay differences and how these affect performance in different environments.
?
historical_signal: Book documents two major technological turning points in pinball: 1980 (MagnaSave, multiball, two-level playfield) and 1991 (DMD displays, ball saver, video modes, auto launchers).
high · Jeff Teolis and Tasker Smith explicitly discussed these years as transformative periods in pinball game design.
?
community_signal: The New Robert Englunds Pinball League is positioned as the largest competitive pinball league in the world, with elite players like Bowen Kerins serving as inspiration for skill aspirants.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.016

0:00

It's time for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teolis. You can find everything on PinballProfile.com. We've got a great Facebook group as well. We're on Instagram at PinballProfile. If you'd like to email, you can do that, PinballProfile at gmail.com. And if you'd like to show your support, keep this show going. Don't worry, the show will always be free, but this certainly does help. It's patreon.com slash pinballprofile. And thanks so much to GME Law, to Lua W., to Jerry S., Jake C., John L., and more. That's patreon.com slash pinballprofile. Now, if you know anything about competitive pinball and leagues and things like that, you probably know the biggest league maybe in the world, probably so, is the New England Pinball League. And, you know, there's this player there that has seen a lot of great competition there. So what has he done? He's created this beautiful 250 plus page book, hardcover book, Pinball, A Quest for Mastery. It is available July 28th. It is available July 28th. You'll want to get your hands on this incredible book. And that person who put this all together joins us right now. Tasker Smith. Hey, Tasker, how are you? I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me on your show. This book is phenomenal. And there have been some great pinball books. I'm sure you're aware of, obviously, Pinball by Roger Sharp and John Chad had that wonderful illustration book of pinball. But this is going to be in that same breath, too, because you've really done a wonderful job. And I can only imagine how long it took you to put this all together. Any ideas? So, such a great question. I've been working on it for a little over five years now. I actually just the other day looked back at my contract with Shiffer. It's dated January 19, 2021. So it was coming out of the COVID times when I felt like I had in me a book I wanted to write. I just have to say just sort of before diving too far into it that I just love, part of what I love about pinball is I love unplugging from my digital life at home and at work. It's just such a joyful way to spend time, I mean, as you can relate to that. But I love reading books also. And I think especially during COVID, I was really digging into my collection of pinball books. And it's amazing that there were a couple of books that were written in the late 1970s, one called Pinball Wizardry and another, so of course, Roger Sharpe's book and another all about pinball. But what was unique about them was they didn't talk so much about the history of pinball, but they talked about the experience of playing the game. I just love those so much, but they're coming up on not quite 50 years old. I really felt like, why isn't there a book about this out there now? So much has happened in pinball since 1979. So I assembled the book that I really wish had been out there. Had it been out there, I would have bought it somewhere else. But anyway, that was sort of the origins of the project. But in it, I sort of aggregated everything I love about the game. And honestly, I don't consider myself to be a pinball historian. I don't consider myself to be a pinball master. I consider myself to be a pinball enthusiast, and I just love this game so much. And really, the project was about trying to unlock the mystery of what does it take to be a great player. And I will admit that if you look at my IFPA ranking, I am not among the greatest players. But in the NEPL, you've seen one of the greatest players maybe of all time in Bowen Kerins. And I think we've all kind of watched Bowen play and say, how can I be like that? And he even gives you pinball tutorials. And you still, I remember playing him at one of the Pintastic events and we're in the finals together. And he picked a game and he goes, do you know this game? I said, I've never played it. He goes, well, here's what you do. Told me exactly what he was going to do. The difference is he did it. But you always wondered, how do you do that? And I'm sure that was maybe part of the inspiration for this book. Yeah, so that's exactly it. And I would tell you that Pint Dead Bone is exactly the person that I observed and had this experience, which was, you know, if I was watching like a professional basketball player dunk a basketball and he stood next to me and I would say, you know, there's no mystery why this person can dunk and I can't dunk. I'm just not like designed that way. But you stand next to another player and you think, you know, this guy's about my age. He's about my build. Like, like, what is he seeing that I'm not seeing? I feel like there's this temptation when you first start playing that you think that luck plays this heavy role, but if that were true, then he and I would fare equally against one another, but clearly there's so much more to it. It is a game of skill for sure. Absolutely, Tasker. I want to get into this book. It's on sale on July 28th, Pinball, A Quest for Mastery. There are some unique things. I mean, certainly you've got a little bit of history and some key significant dates in pinball, but you really break it up into different chapters and some things I've actually never seen written. So the first thing that caught my eye was kind of years of significance, and there were two that came to mind. 1980, big year obviously for solid states, the first time we saw multi-ball in solid states. The top lane changes and the Magna save and really the two level play field. I remember playing Black Knight. That's actually what got me into pinball. And that probably took pinball to a whole new level. And you talk a little bit about that. 1991 is another one. Now we're in the DMD stage. That's the first DMD display. You got ball saver You got video modes auto launchers and more When you putting this book together getting all that kind of research and really focusing in on some of the key dates was there anything that kind of came to mind to you like wow that really was a turning point There are just so many turning points along the way. It's hard to point to a single one. I guess I feel like what's maybe more unique, so many of the things you described, some of them have to do with gameplay and the experience of multiple bottles is clearly transparent. Some things are more like features on the play field, so I would say they were less have to do with really transforming the experience. But I guess when I think about different styles of games, I think about different styles of play. So, you know, some machines are more flowy, some machines are more target based. And so like when you think about, you know, what is fun for you as an individual player, like for me, it's always about a balance. Like you want to have some tough shots, you want to have some flowy shots. It's always satisfying to have a spinner that you can blast and rip the spinner. I don't know if I think about a single element that changed the game, at least for me personally, but what's really amazing is that over the course of time you see this transformation of this game and it's so engaging on so many different levels. Tassar, you list those and it's really neat to go back and say, yeah, that was a big change. Obviously, putting in two flippers was probably the biggest change for sure. Tilt Bob is another one, but that's just one aspect of this book. There's so many illustrations in this book and again, focusing on different things. I'm going to go to chapter seven right now. This one kind of caught my eye. Chapter seven, focusing on focus. And you don't hear or read about a lot of sports psychology when it comes to pinball, but there is certainly a great relationship there. Especially, you know, think if the first time you've ever made playoffs in a tournament or in a league, how you might just get a little nervous and maybe not play the same. So you actually focus in on the mental game, which is a very, very important part of getting better at pinball. Yeah, and that is, I mean, that will often make the difference between, you know, people that play well in tournaments and people that don't. I think one interesting thing that I discovered at one point, you know, I was just really exploring all these different topics to see, you know, What can I uncover that is going to be useful for me to play better? One thing I thought was really interesting, you'll see this, sorry I don't have the page open now, but there's a chart that shows two different bell curves kind of describing the gameplay of introverts and extroverts. And this might sort of help explain why some people play better at home and some people out in arcades, but introverts tend to like being quiet and sort of solitary time and focus time. So if that is your way of navigating the world, then it would make a lot of sense that when you're playing at home, you can be a superstar. And when you get into a social situation, maybe you feel some social anxiety and maybe you feel self-conscious about your gameplay around the people that you're playing with. But an extrovert might, I can't speak universally for everybody, but imagine the extroverts really thrive in areas where there's a lot of people around and a lot of energy. Maybe they absorb or gain energy from being around a lot of people. So maybe one of the key insights for me is just that everyone is so uniquely different. And really, I think part of what I've discovered in my own sort of quest to become a better player is just that it's just so unique. You need to find the things that work for you and the environments and the cues that really kind of trigger your best gameplay. I think that's one of the aspects of why people trap up is that you can really visualize the shot, see yourself making the shot as opposed to just keeping your head down on the actual flippers. When you're trapped up, you can look up and see, okay, maybe it's about there because different ball speeds are going to have different reactions on the flipper, but when you're trapped up, it's always the same ball speed. So that's one of the skills. And again, you talk a lot about different skills in here. One of my favorite things is nudging. And why should we nudge? Because I play with a lot of people that don't ever nudge or maybe just are too afraid of tilting, but there are several types of nudges. You illustrate them, you talk about them. That's a game changer. Yeah, thank you. I wish I was better at executing that. Pinball is partly a game of prediction, not reaction. And if you can predict the trajectory of the ball and influence the machine in a way that can direct it towards a controlled location, then you're going to have control over the ball and control over the game. So yeah, and I think part of what's fun to think about is there's no singular kind of nudge. We've all seen a dramatic slap save where somebody narrowly averts losing the ball. I mean, the goal is really to never have to slap save. The goal is to have such control over the ball and perform some skillful nudging when the ball is in the upper playfield that you never have to slap save. So I jokingly say I don't consider myself to be an expert at it, but that's why it's so wonderful to see players out in league. That's why it's fun to watch Twitch feeds or competition online to sort of see people. I think what's so amazing is if you have a game that you really love and you watch someone who is a really tremendous player playing it, And you see them approach it in a way that's different than you would intuitively approach it. I mean, that for me is like you have these late-balled moments where it's like, oh my gosh, I didn't even think you could do that. I'll give you just one other example that I think was a big part of my drive to write this book was that for me there's a series of moments that happen in your, or I'll speak of myself, in my pinball journey where you realize something you hadn't seen before and it just lights you up with possibility. The first time, so when you first start playing or when I first started playing, the only thing you can think about is I'm going to use these flippers to keep this ball from going down the center drain. And that's the only skill you have is using those flippers and you're bashing them around. The first time that you observe somebody perform a dead flip where the ball bounces off a flipper that has not been activated and it passes over the drain to the other flipper where they catch it I remember having this reaction thinking like I didn know you could even do that And by do that I mean not do that You know, and it was like my game completely changed in that moment. And I'm always looking for that moment. And if you're curious and you pay careful attention and you talk to people, you can uncover these moments and they'll really transform the way you play the game. And so my hope is that I've peppered the book full of at least a couple of moments here and there that people will see and it'll trigger maybe a different response than something they thought they knew, they discovered something different. That dead flip, that dead bounce was something I think the first time I saw it too was, wow, the light bulb went off and didn't know you could do that. And then again, when you mentioned seeing streams and stuff or reading this book and seeing the illustrations of how you can do that and other things too, Drop catches and alley passes and all that. You also have training strategies. And I can't say I've seen this before in a publication, so I love that you've got these. You've even got a three-day training plan. You've got a flipper skills worksheet. These are really valuable. I consider myself a pretty good pinball player. I'm going to use these. Well, I hope you find them fun. I mean, really, I think something I think about a lot, and I'm sure you've experienced this, but it's this experience of being stuck. Like, especially if you have machines at home and you play them a lot and there's this, it feels like you play and I feel like I play every single day. I should be getting better every day. I should be learning something every day. And yet you experience these moments of being really stuck sometimes. And I find that really frustrating. So really some of these tools I assembled, some of them are clearly inspired from other sports and trying to relate them to pinball. But really the challenge is kind of keeping it fun. And for me when I get stuck I find it's really valuable to mix things up a little bit. So for example, if you get really stuck playing a game just for points in the way that you would traditionally play it, you could try playing something like The Price is Right where you cover the back glass and you pick a target score You play just to try to get to that score. It's sort of a strategy for maybe not being overly focused on, I mean you're still focused on the points but you're not just trying to get the highest score possible. Or playing one handed or focusing maybe on just shooting one particular shot. Like let me see how many orbits I can hit during one game. Or maybe playing split flipper with a friend. Think about there's so many ways you can play pinball that I think it wasn't really intended to be designed, it wasn't designed to be played that way. But if you mix it up, I think it kind of keeps the joy flowing and you will surprise yourself by what you'll discover. It's definitely not about competitions because you're not going to just jump into a competition the first time you play pinball. You're going to try to enjoy the game, learn the rules, find the shots, that kind of thing, then move on to another game and just be overwhelmed with all the different pinball that's out there in different eras as well, EM, solid states, LCD, DMDs. It's making sure you're having fun doing it. And you mentioned some of those ways. Stall ball is another one that comes to mind, but I remember it was Bowen Kerins talking about playing one-handed, and you just mentioned that. It's in the book. Not only is it fun, but it is actually a really good way to learn skills, especially something like a dead bounce. So I've heard Bowen say that's a way he practices at times, just being able to really figure out the timing and the speed accuracy. And yet, it's also fun, which pinball should be. Yeah, it's funny. I actually have a quote from Bowen in the book about having fun. Again, I really hope that people see this as an opportunity to sort of explore some different ideas. But if he feels like you're entering into territory where something is not fun or it feels like homework, then you're probably straying away from the kind of play that's going to really benefit you. But my quote from Bowen was just that he said something to the extent of, you know, I've tried other ways of, paraphrase, but other ways of advancing skills. And if it's not fun, then you're probably on the wrong path. Well, it's definitely fun. And this will make it more fun, this book, too. And speaking of fun, I love at the end, and it's perfect that you put it at the end, a section on Easter eggs.

16:03

Because they're kind of, some people know them, some people don't. And it's not all just about cows either, but there are some fun things. There's some flipper codes in there. And I love that you've actually put this in a publication. Yeah. And I want to say there are some amazing websites. Really, I think of this book as being like an aggregation of a lot of content that's already out there. I just try to put it all in one place. There's some amazing websites and I'm sorry I don't have the name of the website front of mind. But there's one that's devoted to Easter eggs and it's got probably 50, I'm just guessing, different machines. And it's just a fun way to kind of to appreciate like the depth of joy that these designers put into these games, you know, to sort of uncover these tricks and try to understand like the history and the mystery. Some of these things really are shrouded in mystery and as much as you inquire with the designers, like they don't really like to tell a lot about it, Which I think makes it maybe even a little bit more mysterious and fun. But I like how you said, you know, find out who's programming the game, built the game, maybe type in their initials and maybe you can find something. That's a good way to explore some of these that may not have been discovered yet. But again, lots of fun, lots of illustrations, so many different topics. I'm wondering, I know the book isn't out until July 28th, but some people have their hands on it like myself. And some of the feedback you've been getting so far and certainly the encouragement. It been amazing I will say I just so grateful for the positive feedback I had and for the team of people that were I sent a lot of copies to people This book believe it or not seems huge but it was quite a bit huger and I had to pare back a lot of crazy ideas that I was interested in exploring that just felt like they were a little off the beaten track of skill development I'm just really grateful for all the positive feedback. I am bracing myself for there are some, I don't want to say internet trolls out there, maybe that's not the right kind term to use. Also, there are. Yeah. So a lot of accusations of the book being AI Slop. And I just want to say, just for the record, that if it is slop, please blame me. Don't blame the AI. I really... but I just know that this is like... originally this book was titled A Guide to Mastery. And I strategically changed the title because A Guide to Mastery suggests that I am this master and I am guiding you to this holy land of mastery. Really, I just hope that you know and all the people that read this know that I am just a devoted lover of this game. I'll forever be chasing mastery in the game, but mastery just not for the sake of becoming masterful, but just because I love it so much. It's really, for me, more about that experience of just being immersed in this game and experiencing those fleeting moments where you have total control over the ball. That is just such a profoundly meaningful experience that once people that haven't found pinball find that moment, then they're hooked. Well, ignore the internet trolls. I do as well because they're just keyboard warriors without a face and a name. So it's going to be out there. Don't worry about that because I'm telling you, this is a great keepsake, a nice coffee table book. It is just so well put together. You've covered everything and I wish you the best success. Thank you so much. This has been awesome to speak with you and I'm really grateful for the warm responses received. I hope it deepens people's love of this game and that anyone out there that reads it that you find some, maybe stumble across a couple insights that you hadn't had before that are going to just improve your fortunes in pinball. I know at the end of the book you've got different locations where people can play and all around the world really and big shows too. Are you going to be able to get to some shows? I know Expo's coming up in October because people are going to want to get their hands on this. Yes, thank you. I'm going to be at Expo. I'm actually getting ready. So we're doing a launch event in my hometown of Natick, Massachusetts on the 28th, which is going to be a blast. I have my buddy Mark from Backhand Pinball who's going to be hosting. We're going to be doing kind of a Q&A and prize giveaways. There's going to be crunchy snacks and drinks, and it's going to be a blast. But shortly after that, I'm going to go on a tour. I'm going out to the Beast. I'm going to come visit you out there, which I'm looking forward to. I'm hitting a series of different museums kind of around the southern states. If I'm being honest with you, part of the writing of this book was to write the book and I felt like I had a project in me, but part of it was an excuse to just noodle around, just go for a big road trip and visit a bunch of museums and places that I heard about but hadn't experienced before. So I will be in Expo. I'm going to be hitting a bunch of museums this summer and I'm always game for finding new places that are fun to play. So, Tasker, I'll tell you what, I'm so proud of you for doing this book that when you're at the Beast and you're selling these books, we're going to have 100 plus people playing in this Stern Pro Circuit event at Pocketeer Billiards, July 30th to August 2nd. Anyone that buys the book, I'll give them $10 in free entries to the Beast, too. So, you know, you're going to get a good deal on the book. And if you want to pick one up for gifts for yourself, again, I think you'll really enjoy it. So I want to see you do well, Tasker. Oh man, thank you so much. That is amazing. And I can't wait to see you out there. We're going to have a blast. And then getting it online, where's the best way to get this? That's a great question. You know, it is available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon, of course. I was really trying to get it out into arcades because if arcades are selling it, then they're really making the line share of the money. I thought, isn't that an amazing way for people to both deepen their love with this game and also support arcades? So if you see it in an arcade, buy it in an arcade. I'm also trying to get it into local bookstores, but Amazon and Barnes & Noble, if that's your online preferred source of choice, you can find them there. I'm excited you're doing the event on the 28th with Mark from Backhand. I know Mark very well. He's a big part of the UK Open, which will be happening in September. But I know Mitch Curtis is a big, big operator there, Flattop Johnnies. I've been there and I'm sure Mitch will help promote this as well for you. Mitch is the best and he honestly he is one of my early inspirations in playing pinball. Just such deep enthusiasm and honestly kind of couples like the spirit of like having fun but also of course you're going to compete like hell to like play your very best but always at the heart of it like it's really all about playing fun and hanging out and he is the master. You've got a good community. I know you're going to have interest in this book, whether it's at shows, arcades, or certainly events. Wherever you can find Pinball, A Quest for Mastery, please pick this up. You will thoroughly enjoy this. I promise you that. And again, looking forward to seeing you at the Beast. Tasker, well done, buddy. Thank you so much. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We're on Instagram at pinballprofile. We have a Facebook group as well, email pinballprofile at gmail.com. And if you'd like to show your support, you can do that on patreon.com slash pinballprofile. Thanks to Francis W. Ken G., thanks to Erica's Pinball Journey, Stefan R., Sean I., and more. Pick up your copy of Pinball, A Quest for Mastery by Tasker Smith. I'm Jeff Teeolis.