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The Spinner Is Lit - Episode 52 Unwrapping 2022

The Spinner Is Lit Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 57m·analyzed·Dec 30, 2022
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

NorCal pinball crew names Weird Al GOTY and GSPF best show; discusses 2022 highlights and community.

Summary

The Spinner Is Lit Podcast (Episode 52) hosts Spencer, Dan, Mark, Will, and Brian in a year-end review of 2022 pinball highlights. The group unanimously selects Weird Al as Game of the Year for its theme integration, innovative mechanics, and polished code, while Golden State Pinball Festival wins Best Show for its unique multi-venue experience, community atmosphere, and 'Woodstock of pinball' culture. Discussion touches on tournament news, competitive game design, artistic direction in modern pinball, and nostalgia for defunct shows like Pacific Pinball Expo.

Key Claims

  • Weird Al has custom call-outs recorded by Weird Al himself

    high confidence · Mark: 'And the other great thing is the call-outs from Weird Al that they're all custom call-outs from him.'

  • Weird Al was originally supposed to ship in October 2022 but has been pushed multiple times (to November, December, unknown final date)

    high confidence · Dan: 'We were supposed to get ours in October. Then it was pushed to November. Then it was pushed to December. Now we don't know what's happening.'

  • Weird Al code was 'pretty far along' as of Golden State Pinball Festival in May 2022

    high confidence · Spencer: 'I know they've added stuff to it since then' regarding code updates after GSPF May 2022

  • Golden State Pinball Festival is now 4-5 years old as of the episode (2022)

    high confidence · Dan: 'we're like, what, four years old now, five years old'

  • Rush has a three-flipper layout and a magnetic ball lock feature

    high confidence · Dan: 'I like the fact that you have a three-flipper layout... the magnetic lock thing with a little ramp leading up to it is cool'

  • Rob Zombie pinball was selling for $5,600 locally near Montana/Cricket area

    medium confidence · Will: 'There's a Rob Zombie for sale right now for like $5,600'

  • Pacific Pinball Expo historically had over 400 games

    medium confidence · Brian: 'they would have like well over 400 games there'

  • Metallica pinball art was influenced by Ghostbusters Yeti artwork

    medium confidence · Brian: 'the reason Metallica got that highly stylized art is because of the one they basically, or the first year, the zombie Yeti did'

  • Legends of Valhalla is a Pat Lawler game

    high confidence · Dan: 'It's a Pat Lawler masterpiece'

Notable Quotes

  • “It's the Woodstock of pinball. It's a happening.”

    Spencer @ ~27:30 — Encapsulates the Golden State Pinball Festival's appeal as more than just a machine showcase—it's a cultural event

  • “You can play pinball anywhere, but you can only get Golden State Pinball Festival in Lodi.”

    Dan @ ~32:00 — Core differentiator for GSPF: unique location and experience that can't be replicated elsewhere

  • “I haven't played Weird Al yet, so I cannot say it's my game of the year... By default, it's where it's at.”

    Will @ ~14:15 — Even hosts who haven't played Weird Al acknowledge its consensus GOTY status based on hype and reputation

  • “The playfield on ACDC is one of the worst playfields I've ever seen in pinball machines.”

    Will @ ~18:45 — Critical take on Steve Ritchie design legacy and art direction in older Stern games

  • “If you got your hands on a Rob Zombie, I would love for that thing to sit by Metallica and ACDC... Because those are the games that weren't afraid to say bad words.”

    Brian @ ~22:00 — Music-themed pinball collecting trend and thematic cohesion in personal collections

  • “The only show I know where you can travel between three different buildings to play pinball.”

    Mark @ ~30:45 — Unique structural advantage of Golden State Pinball Festival's venue design

  • “We're still waiting. We were supposed to get ours in October. Then it was pushed to November. Then it was pushed to December. Now we don't know what's happening.”

    Dan @ ~12:30 — Manufacturing and supply chain delays for Weird Al affecting home collector expectations

  • “How can you complain about another pinball show?”

    Brian @ ~47:00 — Community gratitude for abundance of regional pinball events and show variety

Entities

SpencerpersonDanpersonMarkpersonWillpersonBrianpersonWeird AlgameRushgameLegends of Valhallagame

Signals

  • ?

    product_launch: Weird Al has experienced multiple shipping delays: October→November→December 2022, with final delivery date unknown. Hosts report 5-6 months additional wait from time of recording.

    high · Dan: 'We were supposed to get ours in October. Then it was pushed to November. Then it was pushed to December. Now we don't know what's happening... We're probably still five, six months out.'

  • ?

    code_update: Weird Al's code was mature at Golden State Pinball Festival (May 2022) with minor additions post-show, suggesting solid launch state compared to other 2022 releases.

    high · Mark: 'The code was pretty close to finished. They added a couple of things, but it was solid out of the gate.'

  • ?

    design_innovation: Weird Al features novel mechanical integrations including hamster wheel ball lock, wall-raising targets in germ mode, modular playfield design packing full-sized machine content into compact module.

    high · Mark: 'the hamster wheel. What a neat, ingenious way of having the ball lock... the wall of targets raises up so it blocks it...'

  • ?

    event_signal: Northern California has robust tournament system including CCPL (with interleague championships and Winter Cup), Nevada state ratings system feeding to state championship at Player One Barcade Las Vegas (Jan 21, 2023).

    high · Mark: 'CCPL... interleague championships... Winter cup tournament... Nevada state ratings are in for the state'

  • ?

    venue_signal: Golden State Pinball Festival uniquely spans three separate buildings with different eras/genres of machines, plus outdoor camping area with additional games—differentiating factor vs. single-venue competitors.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.351

0:00
Hey, welcome to the Spinner's Lip Pinball Podcast, tonight's episode, episode 52, Unwrapping 2022. I'm your host, Spencer, and with me are my co-hosts, Dan. Hey, what's going on, folks? And Mark. Hello. Happy holidays, everyone.
0:36
And two veteran senior members of the Roundtable crew, or we welcome them back. But we have Will and Brian. Hello. Hi.
0:48
So good to have you guys back again, man. I missed you guys a lot. So tonight we're going to kind of just do a – we're not going to really talk about news. We're going to review 2022 and talk about 2023 a little bit. Before we get into our review of the year past, Mark, you got some tournament and league news. Yes, it's the end of the year now, and all of the ratings are in for the state. and I am happy to say that I am eighth in the state of Nevada. So I am going to the state championships in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. So I'm really excited about that.
1:34
Congratulations, man. Great work. And not only that, but several other people are coming from Reno that are going down to Vegas. So we're definitely going to represent this time. And hopefully we'll have the tournament here instead of Vegas, but we're going to go down there this year. Actually, next year. We're going down there next year.
1:52
Yeah, that's like the end of January, right? Yeah, it's January 21st, and it is at the Player One Barcade, which is in Las Vegas, pretty close to where the Stratosphere is, like around that area.

Mark qualified for Nevada State Championships by placing 8th in state ratings

high confidence · Mark: 'I am eighth in the state of Nevada. So I am going to the state championships in Las Vegas'

“It was like X-Tone but not. You know, it was just really, really, really well done.”

Brian @ ~46:00 — Nostalgia for Pacific Pinball Expo as a gold-standard show that influenced modern events

  • “The variety of machines is awesome. Where do you go where they have tons of EMs in one room, then you got the solid states in another?”

    Brian @ ~35:00 — Golden State's curatorial strength: mixing eras and genres of machines across multiple buildings

    • Toy Story
    game
    Metallicagame
    Rob Zombiegame
    ACDCgame
    Golden State Pinball Festivalevent
    Pinnagogoevent
    California Extremeevent
    Pacific Pinball Expoevent
    Multimorphiccompany
    Sterncompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Michael Hosierperson
    Juanperson
    Pat Lawlerperson
    Steve Ritchieperson
    Charlie Danielsperson

    high · Mark: 'the only show I know where you can travel between three different buildings to play pinball'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Unanimous consensus among five panelists that Weird Al is GOTY despite varying hands-on experience. Indicates strong pre-release hype and community alignment on theme/design quality.

    high · All five panelists (Spencer, Dan, Mark, Brian, Will) select Weird Al despite Will admitting he hasn't played it yet

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Discussion of stylized hand-drawn art renaissance post-Metallica, credited to Ghostbusters Yeti influence. Metallica band insisted on specific artist, driving shift away from 'Stern formula' in art direction.

    high · Brian: 'the reason Metallica got that highly stylized art is because of... the zombie Yeti... They insisted on it... look, we want this guy to do the art on our game'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Rush features complex rules system involving multipliers, color-coded record shots, and deep lore integration. Acknowledged as difficult to master on location, better suited for home play.

    high · Dan: 'when you talk about doing the multipliers and making the shots with a certain color of the records... it's like, whoa, this really gets crazy'

  • ?

    collector_signal: Music-themed game collection curation (Metallica, ACDC, Rob Zombie, Rush) driven by fan appreciation of IP and aesthetic consistency rather than mechanics alone.

    medium · Brian: 'If Rush had Weird Al on it... I would have owned an Ellie immediately' and discussion of assembling music-themed lineup

  • ?

    event_signal: Pacific Pinball Expo is remembered as gold-standard show (400+ machines, multi-pod design with hanging lights, adjacent hotel deals) that influenced modern shows including Golden State.

    medium · Brian: 'PPE... That show was on another level... they branched out... a lot of other pinball shows took some examples from that'

  • ?

    community_signal: Northern California pinball community emphasizes collector diversity, eclectic machine variety, and grass-roots event culture as competitive advantages vs. other regions.

    medium · Mark: 'I don't think you've got a more eclectic group of collectors than we do here in NorCal'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Pat Lawler recognized as consistently reliable designer (Legends of Valhalla, Toy Story). Steve Ritchie's legacy critiqued for playfield aesthetic choices despite strong shooting mechanics.

    medium · Dan: 'It's a Pat Lawler masterpiece. I mean, I don't think that anybody thought that Pat Lawler wouldn't put out a good layout.'

    • 2:08
    All right. So when we probably have our February show, we'll talk about the results of that. Yes, we will. Nice, anybody else got any News items they want to share?
    2:21
    So CCPL, we have a couple events coming up We have interleague championships Which I did qualify for By the skin of my teeth And we also have a Winter cup tournament coming up Have you heard about that yet Mark? No, when is the winter cup tournament? I'll have to get you the details I think It's like early February Oh, wow. Yeah. My cinema is always really, really good. We do them at our CCPL Commissioner House. So hopefully we're going to be in for some good winter pinball action here in Northern California.
    2:59
    Is it pin golf? Is that the format? Yeah, pin golf. Oh, yeah, I'm in. It's good enough that we think Spencer should fly out for it. Yeah. There you go I don't think I'm going to be able to fly out for it I really really really want to I really want to So Take your arms Take a flight like the eagle that you are You know what man If we get a good tailwind I ain't going to have to flap I'll put on my little fly I ain't kidding man I'll put on my little flying nut hat And just oil up the catcher's net and grab me. I'm telling you. The winds out here have been pretty rough lately. But no, a lot of exciting stuff, man, coming up basically in the new year with tournaments and leagues and stuff. So we're going to go ahead and jump in. Nobody else has any, no one has anything else. We're going to jump into kind of looking past, looking back at 2022, the highs and the lows.
    4:07
    We're going to call it points. Our first point is game of the year. And this one's a little harder this year because there's a lot of new games out or coming out that we just haven't been able to play. It's been a weird year. I'm going to go ahead and start.
    4:27
    I'm going to say Weird Al. It's got everything. I mean, it's theme, obviously. I love the theme. I think everybody on the show right now is a fan of Weird Al and loves the theme. Theme integration, gizmos, mechs, toys.
    4:50
    You know, even early on when we played at Golden State Pinball Festival in May, the code seemed pretty far along and I know they've added stuff to it since then. I give an honorable mention to Rush because I think it's a fantastic game. It shoots great and I love the theme and the code is pretty far along, but there's no toys, mechs, or gizmos in there that we haven't really seen before. I'm absolutely going to give my best in the show to Weird Al just for raising the bar and really putting out a superior product. The guys at Multimorphic have done a wonderful job. Dan, what's your thoughts?
    5:34
    I'm honor-bound to choose Weird Al as my game of the year. It is an awesome game. I mean, the theme is just so overwhelmingly perfect for me. But the game is really good. I have a lot of respect for P3 for making this happen. And I just can't wait to finally get my hands on one, which is still a good ways away, and really, really ring it out and experience all that it has to offer. Rush is great. You know, I think it's the best shooting stern. Even better than Godzilla. Come at me. and I think it had good toys, and I think it had good gimmicks. You know, the magnetic lock thing with a little ramp leading up to it is cool.
    6:18
    I like the fact that you have a three-flipper layout. I like the fact that it has shots that lead into other shots. It's a fantastic game, and I think Valhalla is a super, super good game as well. Like, I really enjoy The Legend of Valhalla. I don't feel like it was a runaway. I haven't spent too much time on Toy Story yet. But it's a hell of a shooter. It's a Pat Lawler masterpiece. I mean, I don't think that anybody thought that Pat Lawler wouldn't put out a good layout. I know there were a lot of hard feelings about the price, and maybe we'll talk some about that later. But I think Toy Story was a great game. So I don't think it was, you know, a one and done. But I think that Weird Al is, you know, my game of the year, hands down.
    7:04
    Yeah, I would agree. Valhalla, I really, really enjoyed playing it. It's a fun game. and they've done a wonderful job on it. You know, I continue to applaud everything Americans are doing.
    7:17
    You know, every game they put out, they seem to up the bar just a little bit more. But, yeah, I mean, we're talking about game of the year. And, you know, all the games are great. You make great points about Rush. I kind of think about the little magnetic ball lock is really cool. So it does have some cool mix. And it's a fantastic game. Love playing it. Really would like to have one. but when it comes down to game of the year for 2022 my choice is still Weird Al if I like the theme more Rush or Finish Higher I will say that I don't hate Rush but I'm not a Rush affectionado either yeah see I am a Rush fan so but yeah I still think Weird Al is just a cut of a Mark?
    8:03
    I would say the game of the year for me is also weird, Alan. The reason why is because it's amazing how Multimorphic packs so much into just a little part of that play field, that little module. It has as much max as a full play field. And how it works, from what I've heard, it's pretty reliable. And there's just fun shots. I can't believe how many shots that they added to that to be able to shoot in so many different ways. on the back of the play field. So I really am impressed with that. The mechs are really cool, especially the ball lock near the camera. And, of course, you can't forget about the hamster wheel. What a neat, ingenious way of having the ball lock in that way. The other thing is the theme is great. The topper was included with the higher-end model. Yeah, with the LE. and it was just a nice way to bring everything together in one nice package and not spend as much if you buy a module. Of course, you buy the whole machine, different story, but still a good investment for what you get.
    9:19
    It's just super fun. The modes are great, very original. The one with the germs is really cool how the wall of targets raises up so it blocks it so you have the lower part of the play field work in that regard. And the way it's integrated with the screen, it's just a great package. And I wish there was more out there to play, but the ones that I played were very entertaining and definitely a one-more-game appeal. So, yeah, I would say definitely Weird Al is the most innovative and the best theme.
    9:57
    And the other great thing is the call-outs from Weird Al that they're all custom call-outs from him. So it's a win-win. The other thing is the code was fleshed out really well compared to other games that get released right away. The code was pretty close to finished. They added a couple of things, but it was solid out the gate. So definitely liked Weird Al. You know what's weird is, like, I'm almost thankful that I haven't had one local that I've gotten to play on and kind of get rid of the anticipation of when I finally get my word out. But at the same time, yeah, it's just really getting frustrating waiting. It's been close to a year now, right?
    10:45
    Close to a year. January or so where I threw down the deposit on it. Yeah, and we haven't got ours yet either. We're probably still five, six months out.
    10:57
    Yeah, we're still waiting. We were supposed to get ours in October. Then it was pushed to November. Then it was pushed to December. Now we don't know what's happening. So it's a matter of time. Our local friend who's got one coming in, like they don't have theirs yet either, and they were originally due for like November or December. So it's a double-edged sword because every point that you made is true. Kicks ass, super fun, want to play it more, but at the same time I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I play somebody's out and then by the time I get mine, I'm tired of it.
    11:31
    Good point. Yeah, exactly. Brian. I don't think that's going to happen. You're not going to get tired of Weird Al.
    11:39
    I certainly hope not. I don't think you will either. Yeah, Brian, what are your thoughts? Well, I have not had the chance to play Weird Al yet, so I cannot say it's my game of the year.
    11:52
    I have... Heretic! I played Rush, I played Legends of Valhalla, and out of those three, Rush would probably be my pick mainly since I haven't had much time on Legends of the Hall or Toy Story and I like them both but I've had plenty of time on Rush. I like the way Rush shoots. It's a fun shooting game. I don't think it deserves all the I don't want to say hate but not the general mode. I don't know. It's a fun game. I like it. I feel like people are kind to Rush. Like, it had that, the scoop, kind of the scoop debacle at first. Yeah, that's what's big. That's what the only drawback about that game is their fix for the scoop was not cool. And a lot of people, yeah, a lot of people are really dickish about the art, which I think is perfectly appropriate for the game. It was for 70s Rush. It looks like 70s Rush you'd find on the side of a panel man back then. You got it, man. It's a cool-ass game. Again, if it was a band that I cared more about, like, if Rush had Weird Al on it, I mean, I would have owned an Ellie immediately. Do you just hate Canadians?
    13:01
    Do I? I kind of think there are many Canadians that I really like. Slade Dion. No. Ryan Lannis. No. William Shatner. Oh, yeah, Rick Moranis is great. The crew can do that on television. I love that show. All right, so I do like Canadians, luckily. It's not a deep-seated race. No, I mean, I know about Rush. I just don't, you know, I don't find myself seeking out Rush. When Rush comes up on my playlist, I usually skip it. Maybe I'll listen to, like, Tom Sawyer. But, yeah, a lot of the Rush references, and I know watching some of the streams and stuff, that the lore on that game is super deep. And the rules on that game are just batshit insane. Like, they go deep. But a lot of that is lost on me. Where you can drop the deepest word I'll reference on me, and I'll get it. Yeah, I agree with you, Dan. The code is complicated on Rush. I mean, if you take it at the surface, it's pretty easy to understand. But then when you talk about, you know, doing the multipliers and making the shots with a certain color of the records and all that, then it's like, whoa, this really gets crazy. But it is a lot of fun once you get those rules mastered. I could definitely see this as a perfect game for home use. We have a couple pros in the Northern California group now, so I'm really hoping one of these days I'll talk someone into a short-term loan so I can get some home time on it. There you go. That's a great idea because I wish I had it at home too because then I can really learn that game. But on location or at a show is not enough to learn it. Brian nailed it with the art it's something you would see on a 70's Chevy van that is so perfect yeah exactly so wow that's a perfect yeah exactly and the other thing the band approved it so if people are complaining about it. Well, it was approved by the band.
    15:17
    There's still a lot of people who hate on Metallica's art. I don't get why, but they do. You can't please everybody. People just can't deal with stylized art. Yeah, they want clip art, so good for them. ACDC. There you go. ACDC exists. Will, you have an ugly band, Penn Doll Machine. A great machine, but a nightly machine. Awesome. Awesome game to play, but it is rough on the eyes.
    15:51
    Yeah, it is. What do you think you see right now? It's like, hmm, kind of. Well, I'm just talking about the play field. Like, the cabinets are all their own thing. But, yeah, the play field on ACDC is one of the worst play fields I've ever seen in ball machines. It just sucks. And here's why. Fun to shoot. Ugly. It's a Steve Ritchie game. That's why. All art sucks on Steve Ritchie. He didn't draw it himself. Steve Ritchie games with cool art. Terminator 2 looks fucking awesome. Which one? Terminator 2. Black Knight, Sword of Rage. That's amazing.
    16:24
    Yeah. It's not an era of Stern. That was what they were doing until Metallica came along and reinvigorated the whole hand-drawn art, you know, stylized art.
    16:36
    Kind of. Yeah. And then Ghostbusters with Yeti coming on the scene really, really fired it up. What were you saying, Brian? You have to remember, the reason Metallica got that highly stylized art is because of the one they basically, or the first year, the zombie Yeti did. Yeah. That's the only reason this Metallica has that art is because of what that one looked like. Well, they insisted on it, too. Like, they said, look, we want this guy to do the art on our game. Yes. And if you guys don't want it, there doesn't need to be a Metallica pinball machine. Yep. And that came along. because of the figure shaker metallic. Yeah. And what was the other one they did? The helicopters. Yeah. It was beautiful. Which they don't. And that thing, you know, they don't want everything to be cookie cutter. They wanted to get rid of the stern formula, which to an extent they did with the art anyway. Yeah, only if they're drummers do the same thing. Yeah.
    17:30
    Yeah, that really did take a turn for the better. I mean, that was the turning point for, you know, hand-drawn, stylized art to come back to pinball, which everything else was in place that's sorely needed. We could do a whole other show on that. So, Will, are you still with us? I am. All right, man. Give me some thoughts on a game of the year.
    17:55
    Well, that's kind of rough for me, honestly, because I haven't played most of the games we came out this year. probably the game that I stood in front of the most would be the Legends of Valhalla which I liked but I haven't taken anything enough honestly to make a perform an educated opinion I mean I can't wait until Dan gets his weird owl because I'm definitely looking forward to playing it out of all of the machines that everybody's talking about but I haven't even put a game on that video.
    18:32
    By default, it's where it's at. Pretty much. I was just thinking, there's locally for sale, well, I think it's actually in Montana, but we'll call it local for me at Local Cricket. There's a Rob Zombie for sale right now for like $5,600.
    18:54
    $5,600. See, I think that that game's worth $5,600. I do, too. I love that game. I think it's a little overrated. It's never made, but I appreciate its attitude. You know what would be awesome is when I buy that machine and then just make Dan keep it in his house for me.
    19:19
    Here's the thing. I think it looks fucking great, right? I think it sounds great. I think that the animations are brutal and weird. There's titties and all sorts of great stuff on it. I just think that the play field is a steaming pile of shit. And it's not that, you know, I hate everything that Spooky Pinball's ever done. It's just definitely, it was, to be fair, it was Charlie's first game. You know, and it feels like Charlie's first game. Well, Brian and I were literally just talking about this last night. And, you know, sometimes it's just 100% the theme. And there's nothing you can do about it. I like that machine because of the theme.
    20:07
    It could just be a, you know, the flippers could be missing and I'd still like it. And here's the thing. If you got your hands on a Rob Zombie, I would love for that thing to sit by Metallica and ACDC. Yes. Because those are the games that weren't afraid to say bad words. And, you know, yeah, you know, it would be badass. Guns N' Roses, you know, it would go really, really well in the music lineup of my dreams. You might even have to get a rush. I don't know if I'll get a rush. Or just borrow one. I would really like an Aerosmith, although I don't think Aerosmith is as good of a game. That's because you're a stupid, stupid man, David Red. As a man, though, I like Aerosmith.
    20:52
    I like it a lot better than what's the next rumor, Foo Fighters? No. I mean, like, why not just, like, make a Nirvana receipt or something? That would be dope. Yeah. Because the game would have to go to Game Over Red before everything started getting really big. because I don't want to give Courtney a lot of unlimited money.
    21:12
    Yep. She'd sign off on it. Yeah, she probably would. So I think we're through game of the year. So what's the best show? Best show. This one's going to be a runaway.
    21:27
    Best show. Like anybody thought it would be different. The Golden State Pinball Festival. And I'm going to tell you why. It's more than just a pinball show. Yeah, there's pinball machines. Duh. You know, but you can camp out, and there's barbecue, and there's the dinner, and there's, like, all night long there's people with awnings, like the pop-ups, and they've got games outside, and there's side tournaments and midnight madness tournaments, and just the people. It's the Woodstock of pinball. It's a happening. I mean, it really is. I've been to other shows now that are all wonderful and great. Most of them happen at like a nice air-conditioned or heated hotel with a nice bar, and that's all cool.
    22:19
    But if you want the real grassroots of the people, by the people, and for the people pinball show, it's the Golden State Pinball Festival in beautiful, sunny, low-dive California. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my pick for best show of 2022. Dan. Yeah, I don't think there's any debate as to why Golden State is all of our favorite shows. It's by far the best experience that you can have in a Northern California pinball show. Admittedly, I've never made it out to Texas. I've never made it out to Expo. And those are supposed to be just super elite shows. but I think that our show is the best kept secret in pinball. I think that when people come out to GSPF, they're just like, oh, wow, where did this show come from? It's like, okay, well, we're like, what, four years old now, five years old, you know, but it's got it all, man. And I like the Woodstock of pinball analogy. You know, you're never going to do better than the show itself is great, but the after hours is almost better. You know, the campsites are great. people setting up games out there, people, I mean, it's getting to the point where I think that you're going to get more people who come for the experience than the pinball. And honestly, it might sound weird to say it this way, but I think that's going to be the differentiator. You can play pinball anywhere, but you can only get Golden State Pinball Festival in Moda. Yeah. Yeah, right? You're not wrong. There's just no two ways about it. So, yeah, GSPF all the way. Love Pinnagogo. Nothing against Pinnagogo. I have a great time at Pinnagogo every year. It's a great show for hanging out with your bros and playing a little pinball in a chill and open environment. But in terms of just the overall pinball experience, the NorCal of GSPF. California Extreme is great, too, especially for – oh, he's not going to come in. Sorry. Unwatch GDR players. as a pinball show it's not the best right like it's got a lot of pinball but it's not a pinball show you know Old State Pinball Festival, Pinnagogo those are our Northern California pinball shows of the two there can be only one of the one GSPS yeah I agree with everything you said and I'll just add two things thing number one is you know we have to pay homage to Pentagogo because if it weren't for Pentagogo, there would be no GSPF.
    25:02
    And I want to give a special shout-out to Juan and his pyramid inflatable tent with the hidden Ninja Turtles pinball in it. That was probably a D. Like, that was like the Bernie man of GSPF.
    25:18
    That was awesome. That went above and beyond awesomeness. Mark. All right. I probably sound biased, but I have to say I've been to a lot of pinball shows around the country, and without a doubt it's Golden State Pinball Festival. And the reason why I like it is because it's the only show I know where you can travel between three different buildings to play pinball. Everything else is always in one big room when you go to a convention. If you go to California Extreme, it's all in a ballroom. If you go to Chicago, it's in a convention center all in one room. But man, when you go to Golden State, you got all these different genre of pinball machines. The older ones are in one building and then you go in the other one and it has a nice arrangement in pods all on the floor. And then they have the outdoor ones, which are the ones that are at the campsite. It's just a good variety. And then they have the great tournaments that are there that Michael Hosier puts on and Capital Quarter Pinball League. and they are a lot of fun. They're also considered a CERN Pro Circuit event, which is great. So you get to do that as well. So it's just a lot of great, great variety. And the thing that's different about it is that when the show is over for the public, the show keeps going on the campground, where if you go to another show, they close their doors, and then you're hanging out in the lobby, but you're not getting to play pinball. So it's a great show. It's amazing how it doesn't get more press. I know we always say a lot about it, but I'll tell you something. It is the best show by far, and like Spencer said, it's all about the people. Hanging out with the people, and it's just a great family reunion of pinheads around the West Coast and people who decide to travel there, but it's mostly people from Nevada and California. You know, I forgot.
    27:20
    Mark, have you ever made it up to Seattle? I have never gone to the Northwest Pinball Show. The Northwest? Well, I heard that's really good. That's a heck of a show, too. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. Indoors, like the, you know, both Golden State and Pinnagogo, you know, have indoor and outdoor experiences. You know, you're not just stuck indoors the whole time. And because it's the Northwest and it's notoriously, you know, rainy, it was interesting to have a completely indoor show. Yeah. Yeah, that's the same with the Denver show. It's like a Marriott. And it's a wonderful show, well-organized, well-put-together. They had a beer garden last year. The tournament area was completely closed off. You know, if you weren't in the tournament, you weren't getting near there. and they did a really fantastic job I feel like a beer garden is one thing that GSPF definitely needs yeah they need a beer garden I agree with that a good one like that picnic table area would be bought if they really like beer gardened it up yeah I'm not saying that it sucks I'm just saying that if they had, like, a legit sort of, like, beer garden experience, like, I think that would add to the show. Like, let's face it. Out of the three major California shows, you have California Extreme where you're paying $14 for a Bud Ledger. You have Pinnago Go where there's absolutely no alcohol allowed. And then you have Golden State with their beer garden. So it gets the job done. If they had more variety of local breweries, that'd be cool. But what they offer is fine, and the price is decent. I feel like if you pay for beer at Golden State you not trying very hard though No doubt Because you can walk by and see if you can drown
    29:25
    Ludicrous amounts of beer. But a beer garden, you know, would be actually, I think, a really good thing. Or I don't know, what would it be, a wine garden? I know they really push that. Since we do it at the Great Festival of Grounds, they really push that whole wine country thing. The wine garden already exists. Just walk around the machine and you will whine about something. What? Why, guys? I don't know.
    29:50
    You guys only have 200 machines. Last time you had 300. What happened? Get the fuck out of here. I'll tell you something. The variety of machines is awesome, too, about that place. Where do you go where they have tons of EMs in one room, then you got the solid states in another, and then you've got them mixed up with all different ones in the main hall. It's just awesome. There's just so much space and so many different places to explore. Not to take away from any other region, but I don't think you've got a more eclectic group of collectors than we do here in NorCal. Exactly. That's the whole point. And on top of that, we get Marco that comes in, and CERN has their machines. So that's cool too. So it's just like if you went to the Expo or if you went to Texas Pinball Festival, they bring it right to Lodi. So it's awesome. Yeah. You know, over the years I've talked to vendors, you know, and everybody, they love coming. They so look forward to vendors, distributors. you know they so look forward to GSPF man because it's just like we've all talked about it's a family reunion it's the big you know it's the big love in it's so much more than just a pinball show so Brian man what are you thinking?
    31:22
    Well you know obviously with the shows that we still have in Northern California Golden State is going to be my favorite they all have their place. You know, California Stream's cool because it does have the video games, and you know, for a long time there, there were rare games that show up that would not show up at Golden State. You know,
    31:43
    TGA would bring out his Kingpin, and the Big Bang Bar was always there. There was a collector who'd bring out his prototype Tommy, sitting next to a normal Tommy. So you can see he's placing the games there just simply for a lot of people. Getting time on is simply difficult, if not out of impossible. You know, Pinnagogo, I've always liked the laid-back feel to it, just like Dan mentioned. They had the smokiest deal ever this year, where they brought a little crate of back glasses for $40 each, for $40 for best offer, or whatever it was, and a lot of them were in really good shape, and that was really cool to see, but Golden State wins. It's just, like everyone's already mentioned, there's just so much going on there that's great.
    32:30
    I will say that out of the show to business. This game was PPE. I don't know if anybody here ever got a goat's comb. I know I went. I always got stuck working during PPE. That show was on another level. Even a lot of people would say it was just really it was like X-Tone but not.
    32:52
    You know, it was just really, really, really well done. And I miss that show. It was always fun. I had another pinball shoot.
    33:01
    Yeah, another pinball show. You know, how can you complain about it? Is that the one where they had the lights hanging, like between the pods of machines and stuff? Yeah, it was the lights hanging. It was in the Sandra Bell Convention Center. So right across the creek was an Embassy Suites where they got smoking deals on rooms. You know, there was happy hours going on at Embassy Suites. The games were all in good shape, and the amount of games they had was ginormous. Ridiculous. For a couple of years, yeah, it was heavily Eon-centric because that's what most of the collection was at that point.
    33:37
    But, you know, they branched out, and it was great. And I think Golden State and a lot of other pinball shows took some examples from that, and that's awesome. Just like I'm sure state shows are taking examples now from Golden State. But Golden State's my favorite. My boys love it. It's always fun to go for at least one day. You know, we still have the extremely long-running Sparky's SPG Barbecue, which has been going on for what, 12, 13 years now at least.
    34:05
    Definitely a tradition. That's how I met all my friends. Every time I meet somebody. It's really cool that that's still going on. You know, the original one, there was maybe 20 of us showed up. Something like that. It was not very big.
    34:21
    And now we got, you know, there's hundreds. It's really cool to see Sparky's Barbecue, first time I ever saw a margarita bill. Yes.
    34:32
    John Rosen had it sitting up on a post, and he was handing out margaritas while he was waiting for a food. Definitely the most messed up I've ever been in public.
    34:42
    Yeah. I was wrecked. I don't remember much about Pinnagogo that year, but I remember drinking a lot of margaritas. Yeah, it's, you know, Brian, I actually have a poster from one of the Pacific Pinball Expos hanging in the stairwell with all the other show posters. That's the only, well, okay, it's one of two posters I have that I didn't go to the show. Like with Dan, it always seemed to come at the wrong time of the year, and I was completely slammed with work and couldn't get away. and I regret that because, you know, hearing from you, hearing from other people that went to the show, you know, because they would have like well over 400 games there.
    35:27
    So it was just, you know, a massive, massive collection of cool and rare stuff you're not going to see too many other places. And Pinagogo, man, you know, there's still a very special place in my heart for Pinagogo. The last one I went to was great. It was 2019. And it was just It was cool man It was like old home week It was like going to the clubhouse one more time The laid back atmosphere and attitudes But yeah GSPF just dovetailed off Pinnagogo And Took all the good stuff Pinnagogo and just kind of Added a little more to it But I'm so grateful that we still have Pinnagogo I mean you think about it man SoCal doesn't have shows like we do No other state has shows like, you know, the northern part of the state of California is, you know, we have two really good shows every year. And, I mean, having one is great, but having two at opposite ends, you know, one spring, one fall, that's a blessing. So, you know, everybody needs to continue to support both those shows. And, you know, because if you don't support it, man, it goes away. And really, really take care of those and protect them because they are so precious and valuable. Will, talk to me.
    36:48
    Well, this year, I only got to go to one show. Which one was it? Well, Golden State, of course. I had so much fun at Golden State this year that I didn't even find time to set up my tent, and I slept under the stars.
    37:09
    And I promise you that if anybody in our group truly exploited Golden State Pinball Festival to its maximum potential, it was William. He was always out there. Yeah, I mean,
    37:26
    the game changer with Golden State that facilitates all of the extra enjoyment is the campgrounds. I mean, it's the thing, but I mean, the campgrounds are and what makes the whole show so much better than everything else. The after hours, the after party,
    37:50
    you know, the dozens of random ice chests filled with all kinds of beers and, you know, all the new people that you get to meet.
    38:02
    And we can't forget Tiltalica. That was a blast. Year one of the legend. Yes. that was super fun you know I gotta raise something up real quick because I just remembered it and you did go to PPE one year you went with myself the ex and no no I mean I went to the Pacific Pinball Museum that was your last show okay but I didn't go like when they were having the really good shows because I remember that trip because that's when I bought the first time I bought translucent rubbers and you gave me a lot of shit about that I remember we really, really wanted to steal the, there was a beer display. The monkey, yeah. That was really badass, but you were like, we've got to get this thing.
    38:52
    I was like, how much could it possibly be? And it was like thousands of dollars. It's like, what's happening here?
    39:00
    I'd say the other thing that I've done at Golden State versus the other shows that I've been to is volunteer. multiple years. And that's a whole other, you know, part of enjoying the show, meeting new people, getting to work with, you know, the people that organize it and that sort of stuff. I agree. Yeah.
    39:24
    Although I suppose I could be volunteering at other places. It was just, it didn't seem, it didn't seem like it was as available or needed.
    39:35
    Yeah, we're always really desperate for more people at GSPF. So if you want to volunteer, please go to the website. We will make it worth your while.
    39:46
    We always need more people to run. It covers a lot of ground for a show. GoldenStatePinball.org is the website. Yes, go to the website. Please volunteer. I mean, we're not doing volunteers now. Please volunteer. It'll be coming up before you know it. Yes, it will be coming. I definitely will volunteer. I could not because my daughter graduated. So I was only there one day, wasn't I, Dan? Or was I two? I can't remember. Yeah, you were only there for like one day. And this year you're going to be there more. Yeah. You came in Saturday morning, and I think you left Sunday afternoon. I left Sunday afternoon after the tournament because the finals were on the Sunday, right? So I must have stayed overnight. Yeah. But I forgot where I stayed overnight. Somewhere. I can't remember. You probably just crashed out of someone's campsite. You probably didn't even know him, dude. He drank a bunch of beer and he fell asleep underneath a pinball machine, and we're cool with that in Logan. Yeah, I don't remember where I stayed. Okay, what other pinball show can you go to where you stayed somewhere, don't remember where, but you got home pretty safe? Yeah, I did. Hopefully every pinball show.
    41:04
    Yeah. If you're doing it. You know, you remind me, Will, of a great memory. The greatest pinball buddy picture ever photographed in the history of pinball shows is you and Mickey with your safety vest on doing door duty together. Yes. Oh, man, Will and Minnie, Will, were so fucking funny last year.
    41:32
    Well, hopefully we can have a review of that. Hopefully, yeah. He's taller than you now. I know. Just about, yeah. He's going to put a big beard on. He's going to throw you in the pool next time.
    41:46
    So on to number three, the best thing I did in pinball related in 2022. You know, best show, of course, TSPF.
    42:00
    Had a really great pinball party here at my house. got people excited about pinball again rekindled a love that people had not people loved pinball in their youth and hadn't played it some in 20, 30 years. Those were great things but my best one was meeting up with Dan and then me and Dan driving up to Reno to meet up with Mark to go to Press Start and that was in January and And, you know, I'm so glad I took the opportunity. I was real committed. I've been moving, like, nonstop for, like, five days. I had jet lag. I barely slept at all because I had exams. And I had all kinds of stuff going on. But I'm so glad we made that trip. And then also me and Dan, before we met up with Mark, stopped in for lunch at a port of subs, which I hadn't been to in years. And we got fed well. And so that was my coolest Timbo related thing I remember doing in 2022.
    43:06
    That was such a fun trip, dude. Like, I wouldn't even have thought about that. And that was actually such a cool day. And it was hard because you were so busy. You were busy, yeah. And you had no time. And I was pretty much like, hey, we got to do it. Hey, we got to do it. We got to make it happen. Hey, we got to do it. and I was really glad that we actually managed to execute that and Mark met up with us and, you know, we got to, you know, hang out. And I really hope, I mean, I know that the situation with everybody living several states apart is difficult. I mean, I always love getting up to Reno and, you know, getting to see Mark and, you know, play in an event or, you know, go by his house and have him just beat the crap out of me at Hot Wheels. you know it's not too hard when you live a couple hours apart but I know that your opportunities are fewer and farther between so hopefully you get out to California sometime this year and we can all you know make some time to get together and enjoy what really matters right which is the camaraderie you know pinball is great playing pinball is great pinball machines are fucking awesome but if it wasn't for except for Ghostbusters yeah except for Ghostbusters It sucks, man. If it wasn't for hanging out with your buddies, doing stuff like this, you know, playing in tournaments, and even just taking a little pinball road trip, you know, it would be meaningless.
    44:36
    Yeah, absolutely. It's always the people. You know, and that's why, even though I had a really busy schedule and was really tired, I said, no, man, we're not making – the window is open. I don't know when I'm going to be able to walk this in again. And so how do you do it now? Well, plus we got to go and play that amazing collection. Oh, yeah, that's right. We got to go to Jason's. Jason opened up his warehouse to us. I mean, Mark, you already knew him, and you kind of facilitated that. Thank you for that. And Jason and his Reno team were just the nicest bunch of people, you know, and we got to play at I.O. Moon. I mean, his collection is really staggeringly amazing. But a chance to play such a rare game like that. And it was a fun game. You know, I really enjoyed playing with it. Yeah, and thanks, Spencer, for making it happen. I know it's tough when you're on a business trip and fitting things in. And we really, both Dan and I, really appreciate that you took the time to make it happen, that we could get to you. I'm so glad I did. And, you know, press start. I mean, everybody in pinball that's a hobbyist, a fan, whatever, really should take note and be envious that Reno has such an amazing, well-kept location. Every game there. I mean, you go to – okay, you never find Twilight Zones on location, hardly ever, in our neck of the woods anyway, that are dialed in and played tight and everything's working properly because that's just a hard game to keep working on location. And the one there played flawlessly. the people that operate Press Start should be really proud of their efforts because it pays off yeah Press Start kicks ass man that is the best pinball venue I've been to you know the fact of the matter is they have beautiful games it's run by people who care and they don't even try to charge you through the nose for them you know charging what they charge 50 cents a game for the shit that they have is incredibly generous. Plus, that hot chicken place there, pretty bomb. Which was closed when we went. But that's just one of the... Cluckers, yeah. No, no, no.
    47:00
    Mothercluckers. No, no, it wasn't chicken. I'm sorry. We were going to go to a rib joint that was closed. We had a barbecue place next to our brother's. That place kicks ass, too. Yes, it does. But we got port-a-sows, which I had not had in years.
    47:13
    So, I got to point it back out. Reno is just like redneck enough, you know, just kind of crazy white trash enough that I can get behind it.
    47:25
    It's because I have a Dodge. I have a big yellow Dodge, so I'll fit right in. Actually, that truck was sucking Reno. If the road got a little bit slippery, I'd be dead.
    47:36
    Oh, you'd be in a world of hurt here, brother. But you'd fit right in because, like, Dodges are like king here. They really are. so that's my best thing I did in 2022 I'm going to put it to you Dan so I was thinking about it I did quite a bit of stuff this year I did the pin garage we got the pin garage done with a lot of help from a lot of friends I really appreciate that I somehow ended up with a whitewater that's pretty cool I got the creature back after a long time Indy 500 was this year wasn't it That last year? Yeah. We got a D500 somewhere in there, and that thing was super fun. But I think what it really comes down to, and, I mean, don't get me wrong, I haven't enjoyed it every step of the way, but I'm glad I finally manned up and I took over being the manager of the CCPL Lodi department. It had been floated by me a couple times, and I always was kind of like, well, if you need me to do it, I'll do it, but I really would prefer not to. And it finally came down to, you know, hey, we need you to do it. And I said, okay. And I've really, I mean, I just finished my first season. And, you know, we went all the way, you know, from six weeks and playoffs. And so we're about to start my second. And, you know, the Lodi community has really come together around me. You know, we've got people waiting in line to host. We've got, you know, a small waiting list, but we've got people standing in line to get in the door.
    49:17
    You're in. You're going to play. They're standing behind me. That's right. You're in, definitely, because you're a former member. So I'm really enjoying doing the coordinating, and I'm really enjoying the amount of support that I'm receiving from both our management, the other coordinator, David, and Darren of the North SAC department. David is wholesome. Darren is North SAC. And, of course, Mike has been super, super supportive. But, yeah, the Lodi group, you know, I think that by far of the three CCPL chapters,
    49:52
    Lodi has got it going on. We've got the coolest people. We've got, you know, the best venues. Adam Pressler is the host with the most. the guy just you know constantly comes through and you know I just I really it's really changed my relationship with competitive pinball I'm to be nice I'm an Indie Given Sunday guy right I'm an occasional competitor sometimes I'll make a run at it you know I've won I've lost a lot of times you know I like to say there's win plates or show I mean I at least show and sometimes I even placed, but being on the other side of it where you're running things is an entirely different challenge to just showing up and trying to play. And it gives me a lot more respect for guys like Jim up in Reno,
    50:46
    for Mike and David and Darren and anybody, you know, Shannon, anybody who takes it upon themselves to run events and bring people in. Actually, we even hosted the tournament here in the pin garage for Black Friday. because Mike had to be in Mexico. So, yeah, I just, I'm getting better at it. So, you know, anyone who plays, you know, please, you know, be patient. But I really appreciate it. I really appreciate the opportunity, and I think that it is my best achievement this year in pinball. That's awesome, man. No, and, you know, it's, yeah, well, I'll get to Mike's thing later. But that's a, it's an awesome responsibility, the one you seem to really be enjoying at the same time. Well, it's like, you know, when you hosted your pinball event, right? Your first pinball event in your pin dungeon. It's great, right?
    51:40
    Like, you super appreciate doing it. But when it's over, you're done, right? You clean up, you put your chairs away, you wipe down the machines, there's no more accountability. For people who run tournaments and people who run leagues, like we have to put a lot more time and thought into it than than you think that we would have to and i never really appreciated that again i i've been kind of pussying out over taking this responsibility and you know mike had come to me a couple other times and said hey you know what would you think and you know i'm glad i decided to say yeah i can i can make the time i can handle So, like, it's giving back to the community, to all the people who show up and play, and it's giving back to the guys who've been doing it for so long so that, like, Mike can come now and he can enjoy Lodi without having to, you know, handle the whole process. I mean, obviously he's still involved because he is the commissioner. And I like the fact that, like, he'll – yeah, he's the godfather. it. He'll like a decision will need to be made and he'll look at me like I'm going to make it. I'm just like, oh, Jesus, really? You want me to do that? I'm pretty sure you can handle it there, boss. What do you think? I'm just like, ah.
    53:02
    So, it's not too bad. Plus, it's really funny to slam people when they're just being themselves. It's taught me a lot about how annoying pinball people truly are. And I'm including myself in that because I was a real heckler.
    53:19
    Remember, he'd be trying to coordinate and we'd be doing the, oh, bold move, bold move, like every single time. And now people do that to me and I'm just like, I will ban you. I'm not even fucking around. I will kick you out of the league. I will take your $20 and we'll throw you off the door.
    53:39
    I'm like, give me a couple more seasons to get good at this before you heckle. Just trust me, I need the time. It's fun, though. Again, it's redefining my relationship with competitive pinball. I don't know if I'll be doing it for two years or five years or whatever many years like some of the other coordinators have, but for the foreseeable future, I'm in it. So there we go. I like it, man. I like it a lot. That's awesome. I didn't even know that, Dan, so thanks for sharing that because, yeah, I know what it is to run a league, which I haven't done this year, but hats off to you. Good job. Hey, thank you. We are working hard to make it good. And there you go. And you're up, Mark.
    54:22
    All right. So I would have to say that my highlight of 2022 had to be District 82 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, actually in De Pere, Wisconsin, but really close to Green Bay. That was a blast. It was really fun to see Mike, who's from Missouri, and going with Ted and just playing competitive pinball for literally four days straight with the best players in the world. It was an awesome treat. And the District 82 place in itself is a sight to behold. It is just, I mean, if you're talking having an immersive environmental experience with pinball, that place is it. It is just so much fun and a blast to participate in that. And I did really well that first round of tournaments. I did 14th. I was able to be higher than Raven Davidson on the results. I'll never put that down because that was just a really huge accomplishment to say, hey. But, of course, that was not consistent across the whole Super Series. But anyway, I was up on the top, which was really cool. And that was a huge, huge accomplishment to be able to do that well. And then, of course, later on, that didn't happen. But it was nice to at least go out the gate with success. So really fun. Lots of variety of machines. They played great. And, of course, the organizer was really friendly. But it was just a fun place to go, and I think I'm hooked to go every year, but it's not easy to get off to Green Bay every year, especially with flights and everything. But it's just so cool to have six different tournaments to play in that short amount of time, or actually four days, which still in that way is kind of a short amount of time when you cram two tournaments a day. So it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that. But it was just a blast. But that was definitely the highlight. You were talking about it sounded like an absolute kick in the shorts, man. It sounded super epic. It is epic. It was great. And, like, 120 players is a lot of players, but it didn't seem crowded at all. And rare games that you don't play, like BMX, which I sucked at.
    56:48
    But it was just a great event. Cool people. it was competitive, but people were not jerks at the same time. And you hung out. They had food trucks, and it was just a great social event and one of the best pinball tournaments I went to this year. So it was a highlight of 2022 for me. District 82 Super Series, which is usually in the October time period. So, yeah. That's awesome. Do you have to go to that for the pinnacle go? I don't know, man. Well, that's the thing. it conflicted, but it was the opportunity. It worked out perfect with my schedule. I didn't have to miss any work. And, uh, yeah, it was awesome. And, uh, having Mike and Stacy and Ted there, it was just a party every day. Yeah. You also had one other local Sacramento area guy. Well, you said Rick, right? Yeah. Rick is another one. Sorry, Rick. Yeah. Rick, Ted, Mike. It was Just a wonderful time, and Stacy. So really fun to hang out with them. And we played nonstop. Even when the tournaments were over, we were staying there until they kicked us out, which was probably midnight. So we played a lot of pinball.
    58:02
    Wow. Right on, man. That's really – no, I remember when you shared that, you and Rick was a guest on the show. Yeah, you can listen to that episode, but definitely a highlight. Yeah, absolutely. What episode was that, 50 or 51? I forget. Was it 51? I can't remember. Was it our last episode?
    58:24
    It was our last episode, right? No, it was, yeah, it was our last one, right? With Rick. 51 51 yeah And what it just with the holidays and everything everybody loses track Full story Talk to Rick Episode 51 The last episode and Talk to Rick. Talk to Rick about it. There you go. And good detail. But so did Mark. Thank you for sharing. That was an awesome time. I'm glad you guys got to do that.
    58:52
    Maybe someday I'll get to get out there. Brian, what's your biggest thing of 2022? I don't know. It's been kind of a hands-off year for me. I haven't really shot any games.
    59:09
    You know, part of my, you know, I can say, put my smart name in the market is, like, he was taking over the Wonka scoreboard on Jason Fessler's Wonka, including kicking Rick off of a bunch of scores. That is a noble pursuit, sir. That is, sir. That is. That is noble. I think the biggest pinball-related thing that affected me this year was just the passing of Todd and helping deal with moving the collection out for Susie.
    59:34
    It's been a lot of work, and I've slacked off recently because of the holidays, and I started working again. But that's probably the biggest, most helpful thing I've done this year, just helping her move forward.
    59:48
    You know, I like to bring it down the move. I'll say this. Looking into your eyes, I think one of your biggest pinball achievements, whether it's yours or not, is exactly how ridiculously proficient your boys are getting at pinball. That is true. Like, they're good for such young men. And they call their shots, too. Like, you'll be standing there playing pinball, especially in games that they know, like Brian's Fun House, and they'll just be like, all right, now I'm going to hit this shot. Now watch this. I'm going to lock the ball. Okay, now it's going to come out. I'm going to shoot it in the mouth and start multi-ball. See, that's just how you do it. It's that easy. And you're just like, how old are you? Are you six?
    60:31
    Nobody likes you. I mean, no, no, you did a really good job. Good job. I feel one because I cheat harder than he does. But, man, it's just a degree of proficiency that I almost wish I had now. It's got to be six. You got to have those six-year-old reflexes. you know I want to take this opportunity to really applaud you Brian you know when Susie really needed somebody to be there you were there to you know just pick up the wheel and drive the bus and navigate through all and if you knew Todd he was just the sweetest cat in the world Todd would just keep buying things and he would never stop and like literally never stop and he just had pinball parts in games everywhere like his closet closets were like Fibber McGee and Molly you know the old radio show if you've heard of it where you open the closet door and like you know there's a 46 Buick bumper come flying out at you and that was Todd's house with pinball and then every nook and cranny every crack and crevice oh there's a dozen back glasses and nine wood nine wood rails stacked up in there and you help us because you navigate all that you know when she's coming when she's grieving you know the loss of her husband and you've been there man and making sure things are done right um and i know you put in an awful lot of hours on that and bless you for that brother because that that's a real uh big challenge to take on. You did it very, very well.
    62:17
    Yeah, that's really nice of you, Brian. Thank you. Really nice. And one thing I remember is I always saw their name on a lot of machines that they provide many games for shows, Pentegogo and GSPF.
    62:34
    So, yeah. It was a good year, but it was also a hard year for a while. But you know what? You also had a real bounce back here because you kind of went back to an old friend of me in your job too, right?
    62:49
    Unfortunately. It pays the bills, but it doesn't do much for the soul. I hear you, brother. I hear you. But you know what, Aiden? You know what? Good for you, man. I mean, and that's, you know. And who knows what 2023 will bring you.
    63:04
    Hopefully it will bring my long-awaited back-ordered parts so I can get Henry's Indiana Jones done. I'm still waiting for you to get Heavy Metal Meltdown done, brother.
    63:16
    Yeah, come on, Brian. I think Heavy Metal Meltdown is waiting for that, too. Brian figures he'll just outlast us. No, I got it partially reassembled, but there's some connectors in there that don't make sense. And I have pictures of everything, but there's still connectors. I don't know where they go because when I took the pictures, they weren't connected to begin with. And, you know, it's one of those games that only made 400 of them, and unfortunately, finding people who have one and were willing to take pictures and help you out or it's not the easiest thing to find. Well, wouldn't it just wire up, like, Strange Science or something like that? They used a different port set. No.
    63:55
    Weird. Yeah, they used several different port sets throughout the 6803 series. They did a lot of that in that time frame, piece and part together. other. So, you know what? Eventually it'll happen. That being said, I still stick to the strength science. Or Will, talk to us. Tell us about 2022.
    64:18
    Well, I mean, of course, Golden State was fantastic. Had a lot of fun there. Dan's night before Thanksgiving party was a great time as usual.
    64:35
    That's It's been a tradition that's been going on for quite a long time. But something I did for the first time this year was the Black Friday tournament over here at Games Place, which was a blast. I had a great time. I'm really hoping that's going to happen again.
    64:49
    Well, in the past, it's been nice. Yeah. You've never done the Black Friday tournament. Wow. Wait a minute. You had a Black Friday tournament? I didn't know that. You know, you didn't miss a lot. It was, we did, I think we had about a dozen players. Yeah. And we actually did three knockout tournaments. Oh, man. I think the prizes were like, you know, 15 bucks or something. Like, it was real small. A dollar buy-in or something.
    65:22
    We did a dollar buy-in at Adam's house when I won the $6 tournament, the Gauntlet Surprise. oh yeah I won a $6 tournament no but yeah no and you know what Will being here was in no small part a reason that that happened because he showed up he helped me run it Adam also did because I hadn't run a tournament using match play at that point so yeah it was pretty fun and yeah you know I think Will you know he he's just kind of getting back in to the community because he's been out of the state, but he is back in Lodi, so he's going to have a chance to show us his moves starting January 12th. Show you just how bad I am at football.
    66:15
    You've gone deep. Right on, man. No, that's cool. That's awesome. That's one of the things I miss. I miss the Black Friday tournaments. Those are so much fun. the Winter Cup as well. Great fun. Oh, trivia question. It's not really a trivia question. I know at least Dan will know this. Brian might, too. Who won the first interleague championship in CCPL?
    66:40
    Sparky, right? Yep. Sparky. Sparky Malberg. Yep. He's also coming back to Lodi this season. That's what I saw. I saw him post that. I'm so glad he's coming back. Hooray. That's awesome. Sparky Shannon and Will are all coming back. Nice. That's awesome. It's going to be a reunion. If we can get Shannon to show up for more than two weeks.
    67:04
    He's busy at the treehouse. Yeah. Right on, man. We're going to play at some new venues. We're going to play at George's house. Oh, nice. We're going to play at one of our new guys' house, Scott's. Or, of course, we're still going to play at Henry's house. I'm going to take a season off. And then, of course, we're going to play a bunch of times at Adam's. Yeah, of course, the time I come back to League, we're not going to play at Dan's house at all. The other house I can come over and practice on all those machines anytime I want to. You can still practice on them. But then I can't play them in tournaments. It doesn't help you. Really? It sure does. They betray you. Just when you think you know them, they murder you. Trust me, I know. The time that we played over here and we actually played Judge Dredd, I had such a poor game. Right? Like the one game. The one game I just joked. Give me that.
    67:58
    I do need to get another Judge Dredd. Yes. I got to get a really nice one. The funniest thing about Judge Dredd was when we were hosting League at the House, every time I think we hosted League over here, we always played Judge Dredd because I thought it was funny. And then one time we played Super Game, which I thought was really funny. I remember that. I got to get off the subject. Sorry about that. No, that's cool.
    68:24
    We're talking about pinball, so no. There you go. Well, you know what? We've gone through 2022. I'm sure this conversation is about pinball. It is. That's right. It is.
    68:35
    It's going to become the Lodi League podcast. No, no, no. I don't want Lodi League for 45 minutes. Well, because we're going to talk about 2023 now, and there's our segue. Woo-hoo. What are you looking forward to in 2023? I'm so glad you asked. I am looking forward to, in 2023, getting people energized in Casper to play and compete in pinball. So I'm getting the ball rolling. It's slow, but it's moving. So I'm going to start doing the first Saturday of every month, starting this just in January, in a couple of weeks, or in a week-ish, I'm going to just open up the house, and it's just going to be the Casper Pinball Club, which I will meld that into a league, a pinball league. But for now, I'm just getting people warmed up, you know, to where they're like, oh, we're doing the pinball thing again? Because there's a few people that couldn't make it last time. They're like, I really want to do that. I'm like, I'm going to do it again soon. You know, with the way the weather works here, when the holidays and stuff come, everybody's got some kind of thing planned, you know, because, like, you're stuck indoors.
    69:51
    So I'm just going to do the first Saturday of the month, and it's just going to be kind of doors open from, like, 6 to 10 on Saturday night.
    70:01
    Come over and play pinball, hang out. You know, if there's something special you want to drink, bring that. You know, I'll have snacks, chips and salsa. So I might order a few Caesar pizzas. I'm not sure. But that's on the side. I'm looking forward to that because I'm getting the ball rolling and getting more people excited. And, you know, just, you know, spreading the disease, man. You know, give them hope. That sounds awesome. Yeah. Spreading the disease part. When you buy a little Caesar pizza, that's what happens. There you go. Surprisingly, the Little Caesar pizza place down the road from the house is really good pizza. I know. No, it's not. Yeah, it's – I don't think it's from Little Caesar, but it's not really good pizza. Okay, it's not really good, but it's – well, you know what? If you come out, Ray, you guys come out, we'll go get that Benny's pizza with the 28-inch pizza. Dude, the slice is – Yeah, I showed Dan. I'll send you guys a picture.
    71:07
    Dan's like, Mickey's looking at that pizza like, I'm going to handle this something again. Dude, if you look at the picture of him standing above him, yeah, he's like, I'm going to do some damage to this son of a bitch.
    71:22
    Exactly. We're on our way. So that's. We're in the snow for pizza. So. Donald Rico's. You've got to go with one piece of pizza. Oh, yeah. I just resend the pictures via our group text. So, yeah. And it's a local pizza place, and they've got a 28-inch pie. And, oh, in the back of the box, it gives you all kinds of stuff you can do with the box when you're done eating the pizza.
    71:53
    Activities. Activities, yeah. Make a sled with it. So, yeah. So that's what I've got going. That's my number one priority in pinball in 2023.
    72:05
    So how about you, Dan? Honestly, I have plenty to do. I've got some games I need to shop. I've got some projects I need to bring in. I've got some stuff I desperately need to sell. I'm really looking forward to Weird Al.
    72:25
    You know, I got a lot of plans for Lodi. But the big thing I'm looking forward to in 2023 is, I mean, I don't think any big surprise, man. Golden State Pinball Festival. You know, I think that that's kind of why we burn. And I think that we're going to do a lot of cool stuff this year. Hopefully I can be super involved with helping Rick do the streaming.
    72:52
    And I just, you know, I really love the show, man. And I really want to take a little bit more advantage of it this year. I'm going to try really, really hard not to get caught up in working at the show so I can spend more time enjoying at the show.
    73:06
    I'll still work at the show, but the years I've made the mistake of, it's just become more work than fun. No, you have to have fun there.
    73:17
    Yeah, you have to have fun there. Yeah, you're missing out if you work the whole time. Right. Maybe I'll even play in the tournament with you guys. show you all my superior pinball skills.
    73:30
    There you go. Right on. So, Mark, what do you got? I am going to piggyback off of Dan. I am super stoked for Golden State just because I'll be able to go the full time. So I'm really excited about that.
    73:47
    I'm excited about the new bond code coming out whenever that does, just because I had a chance to shoot it, and it shoots great. and I know it's going to be amazing when the code gets updated. So I'm really excited about that. And to go off what Dan said, we're just waiting for our Weird Al at press start, and I'm hoping that they still stayed in and are just being patient after they purchased it. But I'm pretty hopeful it will be 2023. So I'm looking forward to that. And any new games come out is always exciting. Scooby-Doo is another one that I'm excited about. So, yeah, there's a lot of exciting things that I can't afford, but everybody else who are collectors here that are so nice to share their collections, it's always a wonderful opportunity to look forward to those kinds of things. That's great, and having a good location that gets the new games. Also a real benefit. Yeah, I'm excited to see what Press Start does, too. So they are on a great path right now and excited to see what we have to offer for competitive pinball in Reno as well. Lots to be excited about for pinball. It's hard to nail down just one. But as far as the immediate future, I'm excited about Golden State, just like what Dan said. You know what? I am too. I just wanted to throw that in with trying to get things moving locally because, you know, my last little pinball outing, you know, having people over was such a success. And people who love pinball and play it as a younger person that haven't really played in years, and they're like, oh, wow. So I have, like, my boss and my doctor, my physician, playing games, standing next to each other. And my doctor leans over to my boss and goes, it's just like being in the skating rink, back over to your eye. And my boss is like, oh, my God, completely. You know, and that capturing that moment, giving them back just five minutes of their youth, you know, being able to like.
    75:58
    That was an awesome answer. You know, being able to be the conductor of that, you know. I think GFPF is almost like, I mean, don't get me wrong. it's sort of an easy answer, right? Like, what are you looking forward to? I'm looking forward to the show. We are. I love that answer, man, because you're really doing, I think what you've always done is you build a community. And I'm building it from, yeah, and I'm trying to build it from scratch here, you know, with, you know, the league and the gang and everything with all of us, you know, it kind of, you know, I walked into it. It was already, you know, the building was already built, I just kind of, you know, brought in some cool furniture.
    76:41
    With Casper, I'm kind of building it, you know, stick by stick from the ground up. And the people are here and they're excited about it, you know. It's just, it's, well, you know, the big things here, it's a little different. Big things here, billiards is huge here. Bowling is huge here.
    76:58
    Cornhole is huge here. Darts is huge here in the winter. You know, people do all those things in the winter, and they're going, ooh, gimbal? Oh, that sounds like fun. So people say I'm good. But no, I'm with you guys. I'm excited for Golden State, too. So with that, I'm going to shoot it over to Brian. What am I looking forward to in 2023? That's a good question.
    77:21
    As I already mentioned, I'm really looking forward to trying out Scooby-Doo. I absolutely love that cartoon. The game looks really cool. Still looking forward to playing a Bond. the thing on another level is probably going to be the year where I start one of my restorations I picked up a rotisserie from my kosher and I used that to sand down the homeless house play field and it kind of got me on the bug like ooh I can start doing one of my projects for the first time it is about time it's probably going to start with the whitewater and go from there but we'll see right now it's I'll be practicing clear coating with a Spraymax can on the homeless house and get that put to bed or whatever I'm going to do with it but it'll be good practice and we'll see how it goes I know I got a laundry list of stuff to get done I really need to start getting on it we can do stereo whitewaters man my whitewater needs love too. Are you going to buy a place to do some reps? No, I'll just kind of watch you do your thing and then, you know, follow in your footsteps. Most of my shit's okay, but yours is going to be obviously much, much deeper. Sounds like a good way for all the best parts to go on the function. Oh, Brian's got all the parts.
    78:46
    Well, I'll have to repost that. I'm going to have to repost that little short video, Brian, the light mod that you did and your stand-up targets? The light rod, yeah, that's an interesting topic.
    79:02
    I mean, I did a pair for Mike Garcia, and he's been prototyping a board that'll hold the L&Ds, like professional-style through-hole soldering that he's working on. In fact, I think it's amazing. Oh, wow. Yeah, well, the work you did on yours is amazing. It's beautiful. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do this next year. It's a great practice place, though, because I see your skills with the airbrush.
    79:30
    It's completely smooth because the artwork is already destroyed, so who cares? Right. And I have an overlay from, like, 2004. God knows if it's even sticky anymore.
    79:43
    But the thought was I'd put that on there, and it's going to be wall art, so who cares how bad or how good it looks?
    79:51
    And it's an old-school overlay. It's not a hard top or anything like that. so those things weren't known to be the best back then, but, you know, at a certain point, that was all you really had. This was before people were really doing touch-ups and things like that. Bill Davis was around, but it wasn't as big of an industry as it is now. Yeah. That's still cool, man. It's still something like where, you know, like, oh, even if you make a mistake, who cares? You can slam it down. You know, you're getting just more good time on things to learn to do it right.
    80:22
    Well, yeah, do it right. Make sure the mistakes only happen on Dan's white water and not mine. Exactly. That's what I'm saying.
    80:30
    There you go. No, that's – I'm looking forward to it. It's really, really nice to see you getting back into your groove again.
    80:39
    I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it. It's been a long year, and I still got a bunch of – get Susie's stuff to move out. I took a break when I started back to work and all this other stuff.
    80:51
    Still a ton of stuff to move out there. We're still finding stuff, believe it or not. No, I believe it. When you get a chance, man, post up an updated list, you know, because maybe there's something I'm interested in. I'm sure there is. Yeah, I've got to get over there and do that. There's a bunch of stuff I've got to get over there and do. Maybe this week, if I can get over there between work, we'll see if they allow me to not have any overtime. Right on, right on. Hey, Will, what do you got, man? Talk to me about 2023.
    81:26
    2023, I am legitimately excited about and looking forward to more pinball in general because I only got to go to one show last year, this year.
    81:38
    I'm going to be in league. Honestly, I'm really looking forward to that. I'd really like to maybe see if we can get a few of us interested in maybe taking a road trip up to the Seattle show this year. you know that might be a lot of fun but I'm definitely looking forward to being more involved in Golden State this year than I was you know I actually missed a day that I volunteered just because of my little hiccups getting from Arizona to California for the show you still made it man that's all that matters I did and I planned to get there a day before I needed to so when I showed up day after I planned, it wasn't that bad. Yeah. The weather seemed to cooperate, so.
    82:27
    Yeah, there was only a few. I mean, it was, I traveled, I covered a lot of ground to get into the show. It was, it was definitely really, really windy in Southern California. It was hard to keep the bike upright, you know, for a little while. Yeah, for people not in the know, Will rode a motorcycle from Arizona to Lodi for Golden State last year. Wow. It was from basically Nogales to the Arizona-Mexico border, all the way through Tucson and Phoenix and into California.
    83:09
    And I started having motorcycle problems the first night. just kind of slept where I broke down and lived it on into a shop the next day, had a new chain of sprockets put on and just in time to I think I put another 100 miles on that day and then got a hotel and just bombed into Lodoc the next day. This tells me his commitment to getting to the show. Honestly, there are a few moments from the day of the show, the Friday that I actually showed up. Like there was probably like a mile-long section where the median between the lanes on I-5 for 99 were actually on fire as the lanes on my motorcycle, you know, in this thick smoke I could probably only see about, you know, 50 feet in front of me. But, you know, I'm just keeping it going, smashing miles, got to get to the show.
    84:06
    Making it happen. Yep. That's awesome. Like you said, that's determination. That is. Oh, you don't even know what I had to do to be prepared to leave. There was nothing that was going to stop me. I would have hitchhiked if my motorcycle was there.
    84:23
    I was going to be on that show. Yep. Best dedication, brother, and that's what we like to see. At least this year you'll be starting a little closer. Yeah, a lot closer. You can walk it if you have to.
    84:42
    Do you ever want to end the show on a down note? It's not really a down note. This is what our fans ask for. They want the negativity. They want to hear us complain about the things that we don't like. There you go.
    85:01
    I'm the lame of the year for you. You say it. Okay. The lame of the year. I got it in my house. But you can say it. The lame of the year. This was my idea, by the way. So I'm going to end this out. That was the lame of the year. Yeah. This topic was your idea, Dan. You get credit for it. Okay. So for me, Timball Expo. Now, I didn't go, but listening to people talk about it, They're charging vendors who they already pay, you know, to rent a space to be a vendor there. Now they're charging them extra for power. They started that last year, I think. And then this year, they charged them again, and not cheap, like $300 for Internet access.
    85:49
    You guys have already got a lot of issues and a lot of baggage. You're the first pinball show ever, the longest-running show. God bless you guys for that. But I'll just say it Y'all need to come out to Golden State Pinball Festival To see how we run a real pinball show I literally have no desire to ever go to pinball I want to go to Seattle I want to go to the Midwest show I want to go to every show there is on the planet With the exception of Expo Because I just keep hearing nothing but really bad crap About this show So that's my lane in the air That's some lame ass shit man Charging vendors for internet And power There we go that's it uncool you know what nickel and dime that's not 300 bucks at a time man I was listening to I don't remember who that is one of the other podcasts is a loser kid it's like a tournament or a marathon an autism marathon that was awesome that was like a great event they went through their tribulations of trying to get internet and them quoting like $2,000 for the internet access that they would need for the event. They ended up coming up, I believe, with the Hotspot solution. But yeah, just, you know, come on, guys. Two grand. This is the 2020s. We run on the internet now. Right. Two grand for internet. It's a utility. Right. Think about that. We're paying to be there. Give us the fucking internet. We're doing a charity tournament. And you all know my son, Malcolm. Apparently, the whole thing was they asked, man, is there like a charity rate? They're like, that is the charity rate. Yeah, okay.
    87:34
    So, now they've pissed on my oatmeal even more. Because for the listeners who don't know, I have a daughter and three sons. And my oldest son is autistic. So, yeah, way to piss on my oatmeal. Yeah you guys at Expo I say it Fuck you guys Don go expo It the venue Okay well the venue is it Okay so it not a hotel It's the hotel.
    88:00
    Fuck the hotel. Don't blame expo. They're doing the work. I got you. I mean, I don't know. The internet springs out of the ground. That's some weak-ass shit. You know, I'm sorry, man. You know, that's some weak-ass shit, charging two grand to a charitable organization, doing some really good work, helping some people that are really in need, man. People in the autistic community could really use, you know, always use some help. And them doing a pinball tournament and doing something really awesome, and then go, oh, the charity raised two grand? Yeah, not, that's uncool. Anyway, so, Dan, your turn.
    88:47
    So my name of the year goes to our good friends at Stern. And, you know, I know Stern's bringing out the games and that they're doing the work. And I know things are getting more expensive. I understand, right? Games are going up in price. There's a $2,000 topper out there now.
    89:07
    But, man, the one that got me was this new Rush bonus box. so it's essentially a Rush cardboard box and it's got like some shirts and a hat and I think it has some signed cards of Rush in there but you know nothing too heavy duty how much do you think they want for this thing?
    89:29
    oh gosh I don't want to even know no it's a lot I know $100 more higher Higher, higher. 600. Lower. They want 500 bucks for it.
    89:45
    Now, I get it, right? You got to make that money, but there's just a point where it's like you're exploiting your fan base. You know? I mean, maybe I don't know the whole story. Maybe Russia's insisting that they get $499 for every single one of them, and Stern is making $1, and they're doing it out of the goodness of their own heart, but I seriously doubt that. I know that they're trying to set themselves up as a lifestyle brand, not a pinball company, and as such, that's just an excuse to charge to the nose for, you know, anything with your logo on it. But the Ninja Turtles one, which came with all kinds of cool stuff and an action figure, was like $60. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Stern is supposed to be a lifestyle brand? That's Stern's whole gig, right? Stern isn't a pinball company anymore. they're a lifestyle brand. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. They're not even a good pinball manufacturer. They're just a mediocre one. They're the biggest one. Okay.
    90:47
    You know, Dan, I got the same reaction. I saw that. Yeah, I saw that. I saw the box set. I'm like, that is so freaking cool. I really want one of those t-shirts. You go, okay, not a Rush fan, but I'm like, that's a cool thing. You know, I saw the Ninja Turtles one and I was like, oh, that's cool. Like, you know, if I was still buying figures and stuff, like I'd want one of those. And it's like 60 bucks. That seems really reasonable. Yeah. Now they're like, how much they want for this one for Rush? Not 100, not 400. That's right, kids, $500. And that, I mean, came on the heels of the $2,000 Mandalorian topper, which is dope as that thing looks. No toppers worth $2,000.
    91:33
    None. None at all. I would have to say, honestly, no topper's worth $500, and I've bought a couple $500 toppers because I'm stupid.
    91:43
    There's no possible way that they can justify $500 for a cardboard box with a shirt, with a couple signed cards, you know, and some other tchotchkes. Like, unless there's just something about this box that I'm missing, just fuck off, Stern. You know, quit exploiting your fans. We're already spending $7,000 to $10,000 or more now on the machines. You know, how about not fucking up on every other thing? Why are you charging the hundreds of dollars now for the shooter rods? You know, they were $60 a couple years ago, and that was still preposterous. You know, rods.
    92:24
    You know, why are they just cranking the prices on everything? It's just, it's getting to the point of insanity. And I know that we can go on and on about prices, and it's a hot-button topic, but that box specifically is just a humongous just F you to their fans. Agreed. In my opinion. I agree 100%. You know, million-dollar baller, you know, pinball collector.
    92:53
    I will ask, chump change, I'll take it. This is going to be a new topic, man, the lame of the month. I love it. So.
    93:03
    We need more negativity. Rub it on our faces. Well, I should. We need some of that street street Canadian time.
    93:12
    Oh, I can go on. No. Yeah. It's like, Mark, what do you got? Delays, delays, delays. Shipping delays. Parts delays. It's getting old. They need to figure out a solution because I know they say, oh, well, it's the supply chain, blah, blah, blah. Okay, when is the supply chain going to finally get back to normal? It's been, what, two, three years now? Come on. Let's get it together and let's fix this because it's so annoying when people order machines and they wait twice as long, not only me, three times as long to get what they're paying for where they're shelling out $10,000 or $11,000. So I think it's just ridiculous. $13,200. Or $13,000, yeah, or $15,000 or $25,000 if it's the L-1-1. I mean, it's ridiculous. Yeah. How long it takes them to get it done. Now, I know that Stern is moving to a new factory. Maybe they'll fix things, but then they've got to move all their crap and get that all set up and their lines. So it's just the delays is annoying. Now, what's funny is it really doesn't affect me because I can't afford any game except one until I sell it, and then I can get another one. but for those collectors that are just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting, it really is getting annoying, and it's super lame. I don't know. There's no way to fix it, but it's getting old. Don't announce until you're ready to share. Yeah, it's more like an excuse. I mean, come on. Chicago Gaming, what are they doing? What is taking them so long? I mean, they should be releasing this code, for crying out loud. I know it takes a while, but come on. I mean, people are paying extra money to get that. Or what about the people who pay for the LEs, the Cactus LEs, and they're just starting to get them out there. They're just starting to get out there now. I think it's the apron, right? That's not wood apron that's holding everything up. And the topper. The topper kept falling apart.
    95:12
    You got to say it out loud. You got to say it when people can hear it, Brian. Brian doesn't want to piss Rick off. Rick, he doesn't listen to this. I said Rick has a smile and then the game will finally start shipping. Yeah, he will.
    95:28
    He's frustrated too, though. He's frustrated with Chicago Gaming because I was asking him and he was like, I don't know what the deal is with them. But they do make great games and I'm excited when it comes out. I mean, we got to play the prototype so that excitement kind of wore off. But what is in store for this new hardware? Possibly the rumor is, you know, is it going to be the saloon doors? Those are things to look forward to, but all these promises and nothing's getting delivered and no communication of what's happening to the customers is bullshit. Well, you know, Chicago, man, they are throwing away money.
    96:08
    I know people who are waiting to buy Medieval Madnesses. I know people who are waiting to buy Attack from Mars. I know people who are waiting to buy Monster Bash. Nobody's really waiting to buy Cactus because he can get it right now, but it's just like man they need to you know more production lines or whatever it takes it's like they got people waiting to buy the shit that they sell right yeah and they've got the perfect formula because they're building shit that's already finished I know that they're enhancing cactus and I know it's unfortunate I think it's unfortunate what's going on with the code I mean I don't think it would be done even if Lyman was still alive but you know obviously they're keeping people waiting but You know, just like, yeah, they've got the keys to the kingdom. And I think the same thing kind of goes for Multimorphic, right? Like with Weird Al, you know, their way, their way, Batlock. They're the way too, exactly. Maybe it was more demand than they expected.
    97:04
    You know, I mean, who knows? They're, they're kind of jumping from the small time to the big time. But yeah, some of these companies just like people, we want to give you our money. You know, like you got to give us the product that we, that we need and, you know, don't string us along because eventually, even I thought a couple times, you know, maybe I'm tired of waiting for Weird Al. Maybe I should get a, you know, this or that or a James Bond or whatever. But, you know, then I come to my senses. Well, obviously I'm going to wait for Weird Al. But, yeah, it's hard to wait, man. And a lot of pinball aficionados have a lot more money than patience. That is so true. You guys, think about the king of the, or the queen, rather, of waiting for a game, Elvirus, you know, the new Elvira. Oh, my gosh. Tell me about it. That game came out in 2020, and people, oh, we're going to be running it again in 2023. You mean people ordered and put down a deposit or paid full in 2020, and maybe in 2023 they're going to get their game? the screen. And to not grandfather them in for a price increase? Yeah. That's bull, too.
    98:22
    That's another, like, fuck Stern moment, too. That's really uncool. Dumbball and Forkert didn't do that when they moved up their prices. JJP didn't do that when they moved up their prices. I mean, if you're locked in, that's like saying, you know, you lock in your interest rate, and then, oh, by the way, we're going to raise it. That's why I pulled the plug on the Deadpool. I paid for Deadpool in full and then they're like okay well it's going to be $1,000 more and I sent $1,000 more and begrudgingly and I said I'm literally standing on the toilet like 5 in the morning looking on the tin side and that tin box came up and I'm like fuck this I'm buying that tin box I want a refund people don't wait forever man I'm like all I did was have a cup of coffee and be on the toilet and go Well, that did it because it's just like – and I don't want to blame the distributor because, you know, they're stuck against the wall too because Thern said do this. You know, it's like, hey, you know what? If you've already paid up front or even put down a deposit, y'all – because eventually somebody's going to call the ball. You know, I seriously considered calling the Better Business Bureau about that, and I'm like, it is not worth my time to deal with these morons. So – No, in the era of the Internet, the Better Business Bureau really doesn't matter very much. It doesn't. Maybe just go onto Twitter and just bury somebody 100 times harder than the Better Business Bureau ever would. I am so proud of the fact that I've never been on Twitter. So I'm really proud of that. Well, now you are because Twitter sucks now. But Twitter used to be semi-useless. I've never – I never signed up. I've never been on there. But, you know, that's – Mark, did you sum it up or do you have more? That's pretty much it. I just, like I said. That was a great one, Mark. That was good. That was good, sir. It's just annoying. And I know there's behind the scenes of why it's happening, but it's just happening across the board. It's like, okay, let's come up. We've got to have a solution here. Are we waiting for parts to be manufactured because there's not enough people to manufacture them? What is going on? I mean, it's getting old. And the whole COVID thing that lumps in with that, it's like, okay, let's move on. Come on, people. Take some NyQuil, shut the fuck up, and make some pinball parts. Yeah, let's go. Come on. Let's go. Come on. Yeah. Tell them. Testify, brother. All right. Brian, you're up, sir. I don't know if I have a lane of the year. I just can't really think of anything this year that's really upsetting in terms of pinball stuff.
    100:56
    It's been a rough year, you know, and a loss of a friend. But beyond that, you know, I don't give a shit about the price increases. I don't give a shit that they can't get games produced. What the fuck do I care? I'm not buying them.
    101:09
    You know, and it doesn't affect me. Brian is also super upset about the weird overlays. Too, we're not caring about the weird overlays. I'm here to help you.
    101:21
    You can't be a smith, can you? You've always got to be a dickhead. In fairness, both Dan, Mark. You don't have an answer, so give me an answer. There you go. Dan Mark and I have these things. We've had these topics sent up for a week. You know, Will and Brian got these handed to them like 10 minutes before show time. I have no excuses for them. You and Brian about this. I'm upset that my parts underneath the red responder station have been back ordered since October. What's your name?
    101:54
    That's it, because I can't do any board work until those parts come in. That's a pinball-related problem, sir. So that's it. That's what I'm upset about. That and the weird eye.
    102:06
    Don't get me wrong. It makes Dan happy too. There you go. See? Exactly. But it's nothing to do with me carrying over the dollars. Just so Dan doesn't complain. Just solidarity with your pin bros, man. Solidarity, brothers.
    102:23
    I'm upset that Dan hasn't picked up his brown sugar Dracula yet. Yeah, we should do that this week, guys. Wait a minute. You bought a brown sugar Dracula? Yes. Dude, I've been thinking about taking him a lot lately. I've got severe emotional problems.
    102:37
    You've got a lot of problems, so shit. I've got 99 problems, but a penny won. It's 17. Wow. Okay. Jib. If nobody else is called Jibs, Jibs, when are you going to move it?
    102:54
    Yeah, exactly. Welcome to the party, pal. Yeah, I know. Like 10 people got dibs already, huh? Well, you can jump ahead of the line for a low, low price at $499.99. Yeah, no. I could buy a Rush box. Yeah, I could get the cool t-shirt of the Rush box. This is going to be great. I was like, oh, cool, $30, $40 for a cool Rush. It says Rush Pinball Stern. That's cool. $500. Good lord, man. You're not rich enough for this hobby. I'm not. I'm just not. So, Will, you got anything? You got to have something, bro.
    103:32
    Oh, God damn, man. Oh, man, dude, my name of the year is me because I didn't make it down here for Pinagogo. Yeah, that was pretty weak. That was pretty weak. It was a good Pinagogo, too. Not the best.
    103:49
    No, it was a good Pinagogo, man. The boys, God, we loved it. It was like 1130. We played all day. Yeah, it wasn't the best kind of go-go, but it was a solid show, man. How come they don't use both buildings? That's what I missed, going back and forth. How come they don't have that anymore? They just made the show smaller? What's that? Not having games in the other building. Yeah, they wanted to go back to the original. I don't know if it was that they wanted to or if it was just that that's the level of support that they marshal. because a lot of like the second room and then the EM room being super, super full was just about promoting and bringing people in and having some of the collectors that probably bring more stuff to Lodi being a little bit more dedicated to Pentagogo at the time. Okay, got it. I missed that because it just brought more games, more games, more fun all the time. Yeah, there's a term that was always the EM room. Yeah. But, yeah, it's just this is a little bit more like what Pinnagogo was back when Will and I started going.
    104:56
    Yeah, like 2006, 2005, 2006. And you have like that one room, pretty full, some junk vendors around the sides. And, you know, it's fine, you know. It's still a fun show. I agree with you. It's still fun. And there are a lot of games that they have that they can pack into that room.
    105:16
    Yeah, you know what? I just missed the walking back and forth. $20 for the whole weekend? Yeah, yeah, that's true. The price is really good. You're right. Yeah, you can't beat the amount of fun that you can have just, you know, hanging around with your buddies. For $20. Jeff and I had, like, the most impossibly epic game of Hurricane, and it was as grindy as you think that that would be. Oh, not Hurricane. Oh, yeah, just, you know, just super fun to go in there and just play games with your buddies and then, you know, get something to eat, cut out for a while, go do something else, come back. It's still there. It's not too crowded. It's a great show. But, yeah, Will was super lame for not making it. And I'm super lame for not making it either. Yeah.
    106:02
    But I had a good reason. I didn't make it either. I was going to go to the Denver show again this year, the Mile High show, but then the weather turned bad, so I ended up not going. but I don't think any of us took every opportunity that we had to do everything that we could have done in pinball you can't kill yourself no the game is the way it's run that's the wizard mode under Bonapinball construction blues oh well that sounds like I thought I got the acro on. There you go.
    106:45
    Getting salty here. Well, you know, talking about the shows, you know, kids cover yours. It's 145 days until the Golden State Pinball Festival.
    106:59
    Hey-o. So we're going to wind it down because I remember talking, and we always do this. It's like, I think it was Mark said, well, is that going to be enough for us to talk about? Like, oh, yeah, we can get an hour out of that. We're at an hour and 50, kids. So today, I didn't put the date. Today is December, Monday, December 26, 2022. So in case you were wondering, that's today's date.
    107:28
    This has been episode, well, I won't go there yet. So shout-outs. I'm going to start. Shout-outs and thank yous. Thank you to you guys, man, for coming on the show. Thank you to my co-hosts for making another great year of constantly improving Pinball Podcasts. And thank you to all the wonderful people around the world, literally. We have people around the globe that listen to us.
    107:55
    Shout-outs to all you people who are the listeners who support us and listen. And I'll tell you what, man, if you've got a lame of the year, just email us. Our email is thespinnerislit at gmail.com. And I'm not going to get to everybody tonight, but I'm going to get to a few. Or hit us up on the Facebook. Hit us up on our Facebook page. We're trying a lot harder to interact with the Facebook to get questions and participation. Brian participated when I asked a Facebook question about Scooby-Doo, right? Yeah. So thank you. You're the man. We had a couple others. you know, we know Facebook's old school but we're not smart enough to use Instagram and nobody wants to do Twitter anymore so please interact with us at Facebook send us your names of the year yes, please, thank you Dan and Dan's been really taking kind of taking the lead on getting a lot more stuff posted on Facebook, so I want to do a few shout outs, there's so many people if I don't mention you tonight, it's not that I'm not thinking about you, just we don't want the show to be six hours long So a quick list of shout-outs tonight are friends of the show, Eric Seeper, Alex Lambert, which we've got to have both those guys on again, George Gonzalez, Willie Midtide, Tim Lilly, Jake Danzig, and Adam Holder. And, of course, Jeff and Courtney, Claybaugh, and Chris and Michelle Vanster. So shout-outs to all you guys, Adam Presler as well, and our commish, Michael Ogier. and thank you all for listening and making it another wonderful year it's been a great 2022 and here's to an even better 2023 Dan you're up you know I just kind of want to go along with what you said I want to just put it out there for the whole community you know pinball isn't pinball without you guys anymore again machines are great events are great, tournaments are great but none of them is anything without the people really glad to have gotten Will and Brian in tonight you know to be fair, Will bought the food Will brought Brian I was getting set to start recording and just be kind of like, hey guys, keep yourself amused and Brian's just like, oh we're going to do this? and I was like, fuck yeah, we're going to do this let's set up in the garage so, you know, just really great to have these guys back on the show. Really great to have Will back in the league and back in town. One of these days we'll talk Ryan back into coming and playing with us.
    110:32
    And, you know, but, you know, just huge props to you guys, you know, you Spencer for the podcast and you Mark for really helping us up our game. And, you know, I've really enjoyed the things that we've been building and, you know, we're building it slowly, but we're building it surely and I think that we're doing good work. So thank you guys. Thank you. Yeah. No, thank you. Mark? So my shout out is to you guys, of course. Will, Brian, it's great to see you back on the show. And just really thanks for keeping it consistent, trying to do a show every month and being open to feedback from each other. It's always nice to make it better instead of just one person running the show. It's definitely a collective effort. So I really appreciate that. The other shout-out I want to make is to the folks at Press Start. They really have built the pinball community because of offering those weekly tournaments on Tuesday. We get every single week a new player that is interested in playing. It's amazing how many new people we get every week. and it just keeps growing and growing. And it is just wonderful to go to a place where you know the machines will work, you know that it will be organized, and you know it'll be just a fun time to hang out with people. So shout out to Jim Martin, who does a great job managing the place, and Kevin Woods for keeping those games in perfect shape every time we have a tournament. Without you guys, there would be no tournament and people would not be as excited to come every week. because we always can count on you that they play perfectly when we get there. They don't play nice, but they sure play perfect as far as no issues. And if there are, they get to them right away. So thanks, you guys. Really appreciate it. Can't wait to see what happens in 2023 with all the exciting things that are going to happen at Press Start and Competitive Pinball in the Reno Sparks area. Nice, man. Brian, what you got? I don't know general shout outs to everyone who's just been around and helped out nobody in particular, nothing specific just general shout outs to everybody thank you I like it, it works when everybody gets a shout out nobody gets a shout out you're right, that's all of it alright, we'll put it over to Will I mean man, I gotta give a shout out to Dan I think dude his garage is pretty awesome now and he's using it to host you know league and tournaments and parties because Dan's the man we got ourselves a studio out here tonight I'm going to shout out to everybody that helps put on and volunteers we're able to save people. How's that? Yeah, definitely. It's amazing. Eric, Chris Bannister,
    113:53
    all those guys. So many. It's hard to get anything started. The whole board takes a lot of effort. It's a lot of work, Henry. We appreciate it greatly. It's hard because I want to name all the old guys so I know who doesn't do it anymore.
    114:08
    No, wait, no, he doesn't do it anymore. Steve Faison It's been Brad Grant. There you go, Brad Grant. He moved to Reno.
    114:18
    Yeah, I just talked to Greg on Thanksgiving. He's doing good. And I got a Christmas card from him, so.
    114:25
    And I talked to Brad. What did you say? Who moved to Reno? Greg Ong. Ong, yeah. He made, among other things, if you've ever seen, like, the blinking shooter rods on some people's games, he invented those. He did? Yeah. Where does he live in Reno? I don't know where they have shooter rods. I didn't know that. I'll reach out to him here as a new year, and then I'll see if I can get you guys to link up at Press Start. He travels a lot for work. Oh, that's cool. He's one of the other great guys. We're good bros. And he's one of the OGs of NorCal Pinball. He is definitely one of the OGs of NorCal Pinball, for sure, for sure. Yep. Nice. So, yeah, and he's just had a lot going on, you know, family. And then, like I said, he travels all over the country for work. But we'll get you guys linked up.
    115:18
    But, yeah, so does anybody else have anything else? Are we ready to take it out? I think we're all good here. All right. So real quick, again, our email is thespinnerislit at gmail.com. Our Facebook page is thespinnerislit. It's thespinnerislitpinballpodcast. I believe so, yeah. Yeah, pinballpodcast. podcast. We are super professional. You know what, man? I'm... Here, let me... I just had it up. Yeah, I did too. So... Hey, we even got nominated as one of the choices for the... The 20s. We did. We were actually... That's pretty cool. We were a drag down. Yeah. We were a drag down.
    116:04
    That's huge. That's a huge celebration. We're on the map. Yeah, we're not a big city But we're not unincorporated Yes, we are We are that So it's nice to get the recognition So yeah, you can listen to us If you're listening to us, you already know On our flagship At soundcloud.com The Spinners Lit Pinball Podcast And on iTunes This has been Episode 52 of the Spinners Lit Pinball Podcast Take it out, boys. Play pinball. Keep America strong.
    117:06
    you