Why Star Trek The Next Generation Is One of the Greatest Pinball Machines Ever

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama·video·19m 15s·analyzed·Jan 29, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Gonzo celebrates Star Trek: TNG as a masterpiece pinball machine while saying goodbye to his copy.

Summary

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama video showcasing Star Trek: The Next Generation as a classic widebody machine, highlighting its superior design, achievable shots, and engaging modes. The host, despite selling the game due to collection space constraints, demonstrates through gameplay and detailed playfield tour why it remains one of the greatest pinball machines ever made, crediting it with sparking his lifelong pinball addiction.

Key Claims

Star Trek: The Next Generation was the joint second pinball machine the host ever owned (after Popeye, alongside Jackbot)
high confidence · Direct personal statement from host about ownership history
The host credits Star Trek: TNG with getting him 'totally and utterly hooked' on pinball and developing his pinball addiction
high confidence · Direct statement about the game's formative role in his pinball journey
Star Trek: TNG is probably number 10 on the host's all-time pinball list, and likely not more than 50 machines are better than it
high confidence · Host's explicit ranking statement
The upper ramp (Warp/Delta Quadrant ramp) design by Steve Ritchie was reused on Spider-Man and Elton John pinball machines
medium confidence · Host's observation about ramp design similarities across multiple games
The game is being sold because nobody wants to rent older machines anymore—renters prefer new games
high confidence · Host's stated reason for phasing out the machine from his rental collection
This particular Star Trek: TNG unit had not been played for 10 years before the host acquired it but was in excellent condition
high confidence · Host's assessment of the machine's history and condition
The machine was serviced by Martin at Go Pinball, with common issues like cannon looms having been previously fixed
high confidence · Direct statement about service history
The game was taken to PinFest where attendees enjoyed playing it
high confidence · Host's account of the machine's reception at PinFest event

Notable Quotes

“In fact, not this particular model, but Star Trek: The Next Generation was the third pinball machine, actually joint second pinball machine I ever owned.”
Gonzo (host) @ 0:30 — Establishes the game's historical importance to his collection and pinball journey
“I found Star Trek: The Next Generation to be infinitely better than both Jackbot and Popeye. I would credit this game with getting me totally and utterly hooked to the extent that I've now got a bit of a pinball addiction.”
Gonzo (host) @ 1:00 — Direct attribution of the game's role in his conversion to passionate pinball enthusiast
“I doubt there are 50 pinball machines better than this one. Probably not. By it's number 10 on my list at the moment.”
Gonzo (host) @ 2:00 — Quantifies the host's esteem for the machine on his personal ranking system
“I don't want to do this video because I know I'll regret getting rid of it. Because I just think it's such a good game.”
Gonzo (host) @ 15:30 — Emotional expression of conflict about selling a beloved machine
“This one really works. The shots are achievable. The modes are fantastic. One of my favorite buildups to a multiball is certainly the Borg multiball on here.”
Gonzo (host) @ 9:45 — Specific gameplay praise highlighting what makes the machine excellent
“This is a great game. I don't care what anyone says. I knew it. I wouldn't want to bloody sell it once I played it again.”
Gonzo (host) @ 34:00 — Post-gameplay emotional response revealing genuine reluctance about the sale
“It's got tons of diverters. It's got ball locks, physical ball locks. It's got kickback stuff that realistically started to get phased out. Not so much now with the boutique pinball manufacturers.”
Gonzo (host) @ 11:00 — Technical breakdown of what makes the machine mechanically impressive

Entities

Star Trek: The Next GenerationgameGonzopersonSteve Ritchieperson MartinpersonGo PinballorganizationPinFesteventPopeyegameJackbotgame

Signals

?
competitive_signal: Achievement/challenge mechanics (multiple extra ball awards) can lead to extended gameplay that frustrates skilled players during high-stakes moments
medium · During gameplay, host receives multiple extra balls unexpectedly and expresses frustration, saying: 'Why have I got another ball? Oh, it's ball four loads of extra balls. That's wank.'
?
design_philosophy: Boutique pinball manufacturers emphasizing mechanical complexity (diverters, kickbacks, ball locks) as a return to design principles that were phased out in modern era, contrasting with modern minimalism
medium · Host notes: 'It's got tons of diverters, physical ball locks, kickback stuff that realistically we started to get phased out. Not so much now with the boutique pinball manufacturers—those games are absolutely packed full of mechanisms and diverters.'
$
market_signal: Rental market preference shift away from classic/older machines toward newer titles, affecting collector's ability to monetize machines through rental channels
high · Host states: 'I'm so blessed with such a good collection now that I'm actually trying to get games out on loan, trying to get games out on rental, and nobody really wants to rent poor old Star Trek: The Next Generation anymore. People just seem to want to rent out new games.'
~
sentiment_shift: Post-gameplay emotional reassessment: Host's reluctance about selling intensifies after actually playing the machine again, suggesting gameplay experience validates his historical attachment
high · Host states during gameplay: 'This is a great game. I don't care what anyone says. I knew it. I wouldn't want to bloody sell it once I played it again.' Contrasts with earlier statement: 'I don't want to do this video because I know I'll regret getting rid of it.'

Topics

Star Trek: TNG as foundational/formative machineprimaryWidebody/super pin game design and mechanicsprimaryCollection curation and space managementprimaryRental market dynamics and player preferencesprimaryPlayfield condition assessment and machine restorationsecondaryRamp design and shot repeatability across machinessecondaryPinball game modes and multiball mechanicssecondaryClassic vs. modern pinball design philosophymentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.65)— Host expresses deep affection and nostalgia for Star Trek: TNG while simultaneously being resigned to selling it. Post-gameplay, sentiment shifts notably more positive as gameplay reignites his appreciation. Overall tone is bittersweet—celebrating the machine's qualities while accepting the practical need to part with it for collection management and rental market realities.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and also I'm going to say goodbye not to you, but I'm saying goodbye to this pinball machine. Now, there's been a lot of pinball machines that have come and gone from this man cave. But this one is a very, very special game to me. In fact, not this particular model, but Star Trek the Next Generation was the third pinball machine, actually joint second pinball machine I ever owned. First one was a Popeye and then Star Trek Next Generation and Jackbot were the next two. But very much I found Star Trek Next Generation to be infinitely better than both Jackbot and Popeye. In many respects, I would credit this game with getting me totally and utterly hooked to the extent that I've now I've got a bit of a pinball addiction, which I know so many of you watching this will probably share. This has got to go. And it's not always that a pinball machine leaves your collection with a heavy heart. This one does because even up to today, they don't make many pinball machines better than this. I don't know where this is in the pinside top 50. Perhaps I should have checked before doing this video, but I I doubt there are 50 pinball machines better than this one. Probably not. By it's number 10 on my list at the moment, but my list is not completed. It has to be said. I don't know if some of this is nostalgic because I quite enjoyed the TV series Star Trek Next Generation. Love Captain Peicard and the whole crew. But I do actually think there's a nostalgia in actual pinball terms as well because this does remind me of of when I, as I say, got really really truly hooked on the hobby. I've had this pinball machine not too long, this particular one, and it's going to have to go. It's got to go, number one, to make space because I've got other things coming in. Um, but number two, I've got such I'm so blessed with such a good collection now that I'm actually trying to get games out on loan, trying to get games out on rental, and nobody really wants to rent poor old Star Trek: The Next Generation anymore. People just seem to want to um rent out new games, which I totally and utterly understand. So, uh, this one's being phased out, but it is in tremendous condition, this one. And I thought what I'd probably do, I've already got I'm not trying to sell it. I've already got a buyer uh for it. But what I thought I'd probably do here is is just play a couple of games because there's actually not much of this game on this channel. Uh I when I first got this game, I I wasn't doing the channel that not so there's just no footage of it on here. So I thought I'd really like to get a Star Trek Next Generation um pinball machine video on here. And I want to do a little bit of gameplay. We'll play a couple of games. This one's in really good nick. So, it's not had a complete restoration. It's not had a complete overhaul. It's just had a really, really easy life for this. And when I got hold of this uh over the last few months, it had not really been played for the last 10 years. And you could tell just before that it had had a service. So, as you'll see in a minute, the playfield is in tremendously good condition. And yeah, and the person that's getting this getting a very, very good game indeed. Since then, we've had it serviced by Martin at Go Pinball. But even he said it it looked like a game that hadn't been played for 10 years, but all things like the um the cannon looms and things like that which traditionally go wrong with this game they'd all they'd all been fixed. Um so it's it's in really really good condition. It's a lovely lovely game and I don't think I'd ever forgotten how much fun it was to play this game. Um, but it sort of reminds you as soon as you start playing it. And it was quite funny actually because I took this game to Pinfest. So, yeah, I think I picked this game up in in July, I think, actually. So, took this game to Pinfest and people really enjoyed it and enjoyed playing it there. And it was really this this upper ramp, this the warp. Um well, it's it's a Delta Quadrant ramp on here when Steve Ritchie did his next incarnation of Star Trek, which I think he did on the Yeah, I don't know if it was Spike one. I'm Let's call it relatively relatively recent. It was still a DMD D game actually. Um they called it the warp ramp. Uh he has exactly the same ramp on a Spider-Man. And you'll find the same ramp on Elton John. Probably others as well that I can't think of at the moment. I don't find that they always work off this upper flipper uh up to this ramp here. This one really works. And I'd say the same with with Filthy Barry, as I like to call it, a dirty Harry to the uninitiated. The ramp actually really works. Um this one, this one does. The shots are achievable. The modes are I just think the modes are fantastic. There's a mode on here called rescue mode, which I really really enjoy. Ordinarily, I wouldn't like things like the cannons, but they're a big part of this game. And may maybe they are maybe they are a gimmick, but I like them and I've sort of grown to love them really. It's a widebody uh pinball machine, one of the super pins, which of course Popeye, as I mentioned earlier, is another one uh of those super pins. You just realize it's how good it is. It's got tons of diverters. It's got um it's got ball locks, physical ball locks. It's got kickback stuff that realistically I think that we we started to started to get phased out. Not so much now. Now now we're seeing a renaissance of those now with with the what would be called the boutique um pinball manufacturers. Those those games are absolutely packed full of of mechanisms and diverters and kickbacks and and all that stuff that you you really want that that make the game. And the the way you lock do the the locks here for um back into the the Borg ship at the back I think is wonderful. One of my favorite um buildups to a multiball is certainly the Borg multiball on here. I love the way you build up to warp 10. Uh there's so much of the code which is probably relatively simple code even in the modes but it but it works. I don't like an overly complicated code. I I was in many respects I don't want to do this video because I know I'll regret getting rid of it. Uh because I just think it's such a good game, but you know what? What can you do? I don't want to get rid of Attack from Mars. I don't want to get rid of um Lord of the Rings, which is there. I mean, I don't want to get rid of White Water. It's so there's so many. I'm really lucky. I got a taxi. I've not done a video on that yet. Fathom, you can see they're so lucky to have these games. Jaws is magnificent. You just get to the point where with the June coming in, um, we've also got a an Evil Dead coming here. That's not mine. Neil has lended it to me. I mean, Neil's been very, very generous to send have it sent over here. So, I'm actually going to get to unbox uh The Walking Dead, which is great. There's just no room. There's just no room for this game. And there's nothing there's nothing bad to say about the game. Just because this game isn't as good or I don't think this game is as good Lord as Lord of the Rings Attack from Mars and Jaws, that's that's okay, right? Um that doesn't make it a bad game at all. No, it's still it's still a top game. And um maybe maybe one day I'll get it back. Uh we don't know. But with June coming in and a couple other titles as well, um this this game is going to have to is going to have to go. Um, I'm sure they'll really enjoy it in their next home as well. I'm going to give you a little tour around the playfield now and then what we'll do is we'll have a couple of games for nostalgic reasons. And I think you you'll see when I show you really really good condition. The playfield is is in immaculate condition for a nonrestored game. You'd have to say because they've not they've not done the art blades and things like that. It's so much better than uh in players condition. Uh it shoots absolutely beautifully which hopefully I'll be able to uh demonstrate in the gameplay video. Right, let's take the camera off it tripod and I'll give you a little tour of the game. So here she is in all her glory. I don't know how much of the um the side decals. You can see the cabinet decals, but it's it's in very very good condition. Very good condition. Um just a beautiful beautiful game uh which has been really well looked after. You can probably see there hopefully from the shooter lane. Hopefully you can see can't really get much. It's got the protector on it anyway which it has from launch. But you can see here just the playfield is in immaculate condition. Can always tell from here when you look look at the where the switches are there. It's got mostly LEDs. I think the flashes have got uh incandescent bulbs in them. I love these modes. I absolutely love these modes. Time rift, wormhole, search galaxy, battle simulation, cube, challenge, rescue. That's my favorite. Asteroid threat. I really like that. the time rift. I love extending the time on the time rift here. Um, such a repeatable loop shot, this warp one here. Um, proper proper spinner. I don't know what constitutes not a proper spinner, but that certainly is a proper spinner. Um, beta quadrant. I mean, I just love that ramp as well. You've got the neutral zone um, in the back there. Hopefully you can see all of this that Borg ship. Then obviously where you um start the modes, start the mission and then your alpha quadrant ramp which is really nicely hitable off of both flippers. I mean, it's just it's just in a beautiful condition, but without being sort of immaculate and having had a full restoration, as I say, just been really really well looked after this particular game. And they don't, particularly with games of this age, they don't always have that about them because obviously they've been used on location. And I just don't ever get the impression that if this was on location, which I'm sure it was at some point, it ever really got played that much, but it's going to get played. Now, by the way, this is if you've ever got one of these, I would recommend the lane extenders, which has got just here. I think they really do make a difference. But there it is. There's a couple of little imperfections. You'll see here on the um on the clingon ship. It's um this this bit has snapped off because it has had a life. It just hasn't had a hard one. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Absolutely love this game. Right, let's have a game. It's beautiful. I just That is such iconic sound. I mean, this would be great with the all the sound improvements on it. Would be absolutely magnificent. Let's uh new life and new civilizations. It's beautiful to boldly go where no one has gone before. I might even get a copy copyright strike for that. I don't have a problem with it. First one, I will lock the ball to get me started. [music] probably start a mission actually. But this stuff is fun, right? Oh, damn it. Not now. Not now. That was not a good time to No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Come on. No. No. I'm panicking. This is a great game. I don't care what anyone says. I knew it. I wouldn't want to bloody sell it once I played it again. I don't understand why Patrick Stewart is saying multiball rather than multiball though. It has to be said. No man. Poor. Poor. Really poor. Will I give another one? Hopefully. No. Gone back in time. No, no, no. Come on. I'm not not hitting any shots here. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Damn it. Damn it. I was trying wanted to pick up me dthium [music] crystals or whatever it was on that. It was bad, bad, bad, bad. Got an extra ball, but the the mode was bad. So, it's one time lift. Time rift. I'm going to start another mission. Beyond set coordinates for the alpha quadrant coordinates for the delta and Ship is ready. Yes. Did it be collected picking up a ship in the I can't believe I just done that. I cannot believe I just done that. I double check. I've just double checked that's recording. Oh man. Come on. Come on. Got another extra ball. Come on now. Am I doing another mission? Come on. Better give me that back. Simulation. Oh man. I mean, this is I'm just wrecking this game. I'm ruining it. Shoot again. Come on. For goodness sake. [music] I wanted to do the rescue [music] one that come on. We don't have time for your game. Oh, for sake. Excuse excuse my language. That is just terrible. [music] I am. I I I I not happy. It's my own fault. Two of those have been my own fault, man. Can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can't believe all that's just happened. I [music] don't know why I've got another ball. Why have I got another ball? Oh, it's ball for loads of extra balls. That's a wank. Honestly, I don't mean that one. I love this one. I'm going to muck it up cuz I'm playing so badly. Evacuate all personnel. that's unbelievable. That's unbelievable.