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BONUS X!! 4/20 Arcade Trip, Jaws, Bond, Reggae!

Bash Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·27m 17s·analyzed·May 9, 2024
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Bash visits Boxcar Arcade on 4/20; discusses Jaws gameplay, venue setup concerns, and Pinfest prep.

Summary

Bash Pinball podcast bonus episode covering a 12-hour visit to Boxcar Arcade in Durham on 4/20, featuring gameplay on Jaws, Elton John, Bond 007, and Elvira. The hosts discuss arcade setup issues (overly steep pitch angles), food, the venue's 4/20 event with reggae music and a joint-rolling competition, and upcoming Pinfest attendance. One host expresses improved opinion of Jaws after extended play, while the other plans to attend Pinfest and is considering an Airbnb in Allentown's Black Panther Experience apartment.

Key Claims

  • Boxcar Durham arcade machines are set up at excessively steep pitch angles (bubble at the upper line rather than between lines)

    high confidence · Direct experience report from host about machine setup; notes this makes games play 'weird' and shots like Jaws' upper playfield extremely difficult

  • Jaws machine at Boxcar is nearly impossible to hit the upper playfield shot (1 out of 7 attempts); likely due to steep pitch setup

    high confidence · Host's direct gameplay experience and analysis of pitch angle impact on shot difficulty

  • Elton John machine at Boxcar has a ball-bouncing-over-flipper issue during return, possibly related to steep pitch

    medium confidence · Host reported experiencing this issue; speculates cause is related to overly steep setup

  • Boxcar Durham arcade has 16-18 pinball machines, the most in the 30-45 minute radius (possibly further)

    high confidence · Direct report from host who frequently visits; compares to Raleigh location

  • Boxcar Durham machines are maintained by a third-party amusement operator, not owned/operated by Boxcar directly

    high confidence · Host explains pinball is one of many arcade amusements the operator handles; suggests possible maintenance afterthought

  • Host's opinion of Jaws improved from 7.2 to 8.0 on PinSide scale after playing ~20 games

    high confidence · Direct statement: 'My opinion has not changed, but I will say I had fun... after about 20 games I kind of started to get... the flow'

  • Wicked Weed Beer Company (not hemp) donated hops for the joint-rolling competition at the 4/20 event

    high confidence · Host clarifies the confusion: 'it was hops' from brewery sponsor, not cannabis

  • One host has played pinball 98% in home/controlled environment and only 2% in arcades; is adapting to arcade-specific challenges

    high confidence · Direct personal assessment during conversation

Notable Quotes

  • “I would say they're like borderline predatory the way that they're set up. If you have a Stern game that's the factory you're setting it six and a half degrees of pitch... their games like the bubble is halfway high... that's pretty darn steep”

    Don (Bash host) @ ~23:00 mark — Direct criticism of Boxcar's machine setup practices; identifies specific technical issue affecting gameplay

  • “I don't hate the game anymore... My opinion has not changed, but I will say I had fun. I remember you said it was a 7.2 in the pin side scale. That's gone up to 8.”

    Matt (Bash host) @ ~40:30 mark — Shows opinion shift on Jaws after extended play; indicates game has more depth than initially thought

  • “When you go to boxcar, you're in the streets so you gotta watch your back things aren't what they seem anything could happen like the games could be too steep it can take your money it real life man”

    One host @ ~35:00 mark — Colorful metaphor about unpredictability of arcade environment vs. home play

  • “Venom's not so innovative after all. [No Fear] does the same thing... It's got the ball locked.”

    Matt (Bash host) @ ~45:00 mark — Notes No Fear shares lock mechanic with Venom; challenges innovation narrative

  • “I want to play... page 2 and page 3 Pinside games... Banzai Run, Terminator 3, NBA Fastbreak, Time Machine, Safe Cracker... early 90s late 80s games that just nobody has around here”

    Matt (Bash host) @ ~46:30 mark — Documents desire for access to older/rarer pinball titles at Pinfest

  • “It's only, what, $126. Hosted by Tina... 72 reviews, 4.94. Tina's talented artist husband painted all the artwork on the walls.”

    Don (Bash host) @ ~50:00 mark — Highlights the Black Panther Experience Airbnb as potential Bash headquarters for 2025 Pinfest

  • “I feel like we kind of bonded in a way we had like a pretty real conversation... about life... we just had like a nice real moment”

    One host @ ~62:00 mark — Reflects on deeper human connection fostered by extended arcade time

Entities

MattpersonDonpersonBash PinballorganizationBoxcar Arcade (Durham)organizationPinfesteventWicked Weed BrewingorganizationTinaperson

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: 12-hour arcade session fostered deeper bonding and real conversation between hosts; social benefit of extended pinball venue time

    high · Host reflects: 'I feel like we kind of bonded in a way we had like a pretty real conversation... we just had like a nice real moment'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Upper playfield shot on Jaws is significantly harder than intended (1/7 success rate) due to steep pitch setup, suggesting poor shot difficulty balance in location environment

    high · Host analysis: 'I think it gets halfway up the 180 and then just falls onto the wire form... there's no way it's supposed to be that impossible to hit'

  • $

    market_signal: Boxcar Arcade actively stocking premium tier games (Jersey Jack machines at $15,000+); hosts note this is rare among arcades and appreciate the investment

    medium · Hosts thank Boxcar for having Jersey Jack games and note 'Most arcades, I don't think, can afford them'

  • ?

    product_concern: Bond 007 game features cheap/low-quality toy components (tank made to look like construction paper/tin, floppy rocket toy); general concern about Stern's low toy investment

    high · Hosts repeatedly discuss Bond toy quality: 'All the stuff in it is really chintzy... the tank looks like somebody made it out of cardboard... it's floppy too'

  • ?

    product_concern: Boxcar Arcade machines set up at predatory steep pitch angles (bubble at upper line instead of between lines per factory spec), causing gameplay issues and shot difficulty imbalance

    high · Host explicitly states: 'I would say they're like borderline predatory the way that they're set up... their games like the bubble is halfway high... that's pretty darn steep'

Topics

Arcade machine setup and maintenance qualityprimaryJaws pinball game reception and gameplay depthprimaryBoxcar Arcade Durham venue and 4/20 eventprimaryPinfest 2024/2025 planning and rare game accessprimaryHome vs arcade gameplay environment differencessecondaryBash Pinball community engagement and bondingsecondaryStern pinball machine variants and naming confusionsecondaryPinball machine toy quality and cosmetic design (Bond rocket toy)mentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Hosts had fun at the event and enjoyed the social experience despite criticisms of machine setup quality. Improved opinion on Jaws game. Frustration about steep pitch setup and machine maintenance issues, but overall appreciative of venue's pinball selection. Excited about Pinfest attendance. Casual, humorous tone throughout.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.082

I'm going to Pinfest this weekend. Who? Yeah. Say what? Man, I wish I could go. Dang it. Yes. But yeah, I'm going to be at Pinfest, so I don't want to edit an episode this week. Oh, man. So here we are. Well, I can edit this one. When Matt went to Pinfest, I agreed to edit the next episode. I've made it my mission to make this the most amazing bonus content possible. Welcome to Bonus X. This Bonus X is brought to you by Bonus X from Bash Pinball. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. Bonus X. I love Bonus X. 420 Reggae and other stuff. We spent 420 at Boxcar Arcade in Durham. You told me about it. So how did you find out about 420 at Boxcar Durham? Well, so it was just a coincidence that it was on the same day as the Pinball League Saturday afternoon hangout. So I was thinking about going to that, and I was like, oh, it's on 420. And then coincidentally, they were doing an event that started at 4. So you saw it in their calendar, and then you were planning on going to that event, which is when you invited me. and then it just happened to be 420. Yeah, and then Boxcar had this whole other big event going for that. Yeah. Cool. With the band and the wares. Reggae bass, reggae bass, reggae bass, reggae bass, reggae bass. Yeah, it was – we were eating at – across the street. Was that Gear Street or – I think it was Gear Street. Yeah, Gear Street Market. That's right. It's like across from Coco Cinnamon and Boxcar. It's like a nice little corner. Yeah. Outdoor area. It seems kind of fancy. That's why I've never been before because the few times I've walked by, it seemed like it was too nice for me. Yeah. Yeah, it's not really though. Yeah, we ate outside. That's why we could hear the bass, the reggae bass. Reggae bass. What did you get? I think I got a black bean burger maybe. I don't know why I did that. It was the wrong choice. That's kind of how I felt. You made the right choice. You know, but it was like, those are the smallest things I ever had. Yeah, it was a lot of work. It was almost like crab legs or something. You had to like pick through the bones and they were small. So like they would, it was hard for me to hold them in between my thumb and my index finger. The meat to bone ratio was not up to typical chicken wing standards. But how many wings? It was like, I think it was 350. I was eating and eating and eating and wiping and I ran out of wet naps. So I ran out of napkins and there's like 20 wings left in the bottom of this basket. It was too many to count. But they were delicious. And I think that – Yeah, they were – were they Asian? Asian spicy barbecue or something. I don't know. Reggae bass, reggae bass, reggae bass, reggae bass, reggae bass. That's way too low. Reggae bass. Alright so Boxcar, Durham, 420 Bash Pinball Triangle Pinball Jaws Elton John Was that it? We played Jaws We played Elton John We played Jaws And also Elvira And Elvira a little bit. Kinda. We played Jaws and Elton John. Wasn't there something else we were playing? Bond 007. I think they really dropped the ball on the names of these Bond games. Yeah. It's so confusing. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it's like 007 Pro, Premium, and 25th Anniversary. They're all just 007. Well, we played the one with the big dildo. But they all have different images on the back, so some people refer to them by Thunderball. Dildo Rocket game. Yeah, the unfortunate bash toy. Which is actually kind of fun. It's actually really fun to hit and shoot, yeah. I like that game a lot, actually, man. I think it's fun. It's just like, it's chintzy. All the stuff in it is really chintzy. What does that mean? Like poor quality Like the tank Like the little tank thing in there I don't remember that thing Look at the tank man it looks like Somebody made it out of cardboard Oh man I'll look it up hang on Like construction paper That's hilarious I just keep getting distracted by this giant Look at it again I mean but you know it's a rocket You know I get it like no matter what people are going to call it a dildo It's no hang on It's floppy, too. It flops back and forth. Oh, the tank is awful. Yeah, the tank is like... You know what this looks like, Matt? When I lived in Panama, right? For the holidays, like New Year and Christmas, fireworks were a big thing. They had these little firework tank things that were made out of, presumably, what this tank is made out of. Tin cans or something. I think it was like paper. Yeah, maybe paper. It really looks like construction paper or something i mean it looks like plastic but it just yeah it's plastic with like construction paper looking sticker yeah but yeah you would light these little things up and they had wheels and they would start rolling a little bit and then just destroy themselves i was like five or six and we were playing with these things outside it was awesome yeah i just want the quality of things to be like as good as like a gi joe from 1988 you know i mean the front of the tank actually looks a little scarier than jaws it does truthfully Like if this popped out in the Jaws game I would be scared Yeah it more intimidating menacing In that that shot is scarier than the john shot that make you drain a lot that that the main thing about learning to play that game is just not hitting that by accident oh it's the shot just to the right of the lock right yeah just to the right of the lock yeah so if you miss the lock it just shoots it bounces it right back it's just like a like a drop target type thing that just kicks right back to you it's just the stand-up target yeah stand-up target but it's uh it's kind of large and it's right in the middle so it's easy to hit it by accident easy to just like um launch it right back down the center kind of thing yeah you know i don't even remember that thing in that game i'm so busy looking at the dildo rocket yeah i don't know if it's got like extra springiness or something to it but it really comes back fast that dildo rocket man i think it looks pretty expensive it's like titanium or something yeah i don't know it's fine but you know stern's just not put a lot of money into To toys and stuff like that Sadly 420 Boxcar Reggae music Reggae bass So we basically were just like Oh I guess we'll just stay and see what this event is like Yeah yeah Oh we took a break So we were there for the pinball event And then it was kind of like a pretty short Not many people showed up It was like two guys I think Yeah I think there were three guys there It went from like 1 to 4 or 5 And we got there at like 2.30 So presumably there were probably a lot of people That had come and gone already And then I guess we took a break And then we came back and the 4.20 event had started Yeah 4.20 It's all edible Boxcar Durham, pizza, pretzels We play Jaws Thousand John The food's fine For what it is So let's set the stage because subscribe it. So we walk in. 420. Big banner, right, on the entrance? Yeah. Was it like a herb leaf? Yeah, I don't know. Everybody going in there, there was like a cloud of smoke around everybody walking in there. So yeah, you walk in. The pinball machines are on the right. It's a little pinball pit, but it's kind of nice because you miss the traffic of the in and out. I mean, John Youssi everyone, and they're kind of walking past you. Yeah, there's like a, what do you call those things? Like the little Q line. It's like the Q system retractable. There's a name for it. What is it? Yeah, anyway, the pinball is on the right, and they've got like 16, 18 machine. I don't know. They've got the most pinball of anywhere in the 30 to 45 minute. No, even further than that, really. yeah i mean i mean i think uh you gotta pretty much drive to charlotte they compete with themselves in raleigh the raleigh location but the setup is a little different like i prefer the durham one because there's more space and it's a little bit more comfortable like more open durham is definitely much bigger overall and just less stuff plus they have pizza yeah and raleigh has no food um unless the games are set up better at durham typically i don't know if they don't get played as much but um they just seem a little better i feel like they get serviced or maintenance or maybe like paid more attention to in durham for some reason which is why i think i prefer to go there i think it's the same it is the same company who serves both so maybe maybe maybe the guy that works lives closer to the term maybe he lives in durham yeah so anyway we were playing these games like several like we mentioned the maintenance like it's not the best it they don't own their games it's their own by third party and it's one of pinball is one of many things that arcade amusements that they you know deal with so right oftentimes seems like a bit of an afterthought honestly but in a way i feel like they do provide a good enough pinball experience because it could be totally geared to children and drunk people you know what i'm saying like there's a lot of places i've been about that size that have definitely phoned it in with like maybe four machines. At least they have like maybe like 16, right? Boxcar Durham has 16. 16 or 18. So that's not bad. I think they just added two more. And you were saying they're a little steep, right? Going back to the setup thing. Yeah, so I mean I would say they're like borderline predatory the way that they're set up. If you have a Stern game that's the factory you're setting it six and a half degrees of pitch you're supposed to put the little bubble in between the two lines on the level that's built into the machine and their games like the bubble is halfway high you know it's it's it's intersecting the the upper line is intersecting the middle of the bubble that's what i'm trying to say yeah i haven't double checked that but that's pretty darn steep and the games just play kind of weird when they're that steep so speaking of which one of the games we did play, Elton John I was having an issue where the ball was bouncing over the flipper as it was returning and to me it seems like it's possible it's probable because it's so steep it's not maybe designed to go that fast but yeah like on Jaws for example they have the LEs of everything by the way for some reason that one shot on jaws to get to the upper play field oh that's so hard i feel like it's mostly that hard because of how steep it is because it's so steep yeah because it's got it's a it's got that 180 turn in it yeah and maybe it's this way everywhere but at boxcar with it with it being set up very steep it's extremely difficult i wonder i wonder if it was a little bit less steep yeah if it would be easier because i think i get that shot like one out of seven shots maybe like yeah i mean because it gets halfway up the 180 and then just falls onto the wire form from the other ramp return. Yeah, like, there's no way it's supposed to be that impossible to hit, you know? You know how I think about it sometimes, Matt? How? You know, you got your games at home, and you're safe, right? It's a comfortable place. Yeah. You can poop. You can do things you like to do at your house. Mostly poop. I got that bidet. So, yeah. When you go to boxcar, you're in the streets so you gotta watch your back things aren't what they seem anything could happen like the games could be too steep it can take your money it real life man it real life out there and you were raised on the streets of arcades Yeah yeah With your pinball playing Yeah. To continue the metaphor. I kind of like the danger. I can get a little bored. Yeah, and my pinball playing is like 98% in a controlled environment of my own and then like 2% in arcades. So I'm not good in that environment. I'm just not. I'm getting better though. Like I feel like I'm finally getting able to adapt to the weirdness of those games. I wonder if I'll die on the streets. I don't know. You might get shot at boxcar if you hang out there. No, honestly. The way the police presence has escalated in that place is getting a little bit sketchy. One night I literally saw the police come in and take somebody out. Yeah. Well, not kill them, but take them out, take them outside. Yeah. Yeah. Physically remove them. Yeah. No. Last time I was there, they had two police cars just parked right in front and the two officers just sitting there at the front door. Yeah. All the time. I don't want to scare people. Yeah. Because I will say this, right? I've been there, gosh, maybe like 20 to 50 times. Yeah. And I've only seen that once. So I don't, it's not like dangerous. It's not like a bad area. Um, maybe it's just like they, they serve alcohol. and they're a big place that holds a lot of people. You get a lot of people acting stupid. They get drunk. It's going to happen. So, I mean, that's kind of what people that don't know, they might think it's like a... Yeah, I mean, this is not your typical barcade, I don't think. This place is large. It's got to be 6,000 square feet or something like that, plus another 10,000 square foot patio area, plus, I don't know, it's massive. It's got a huge wraparound bar. that goes from basically the entire length of one side and then wraps around all the way to the bathroom. It's a giant bar. So their little bonus room that we spent some time in this time is probably the size of a normal arcade. Oh, their quote-unquote event space. Yeah, their little event space. It's like 1,600 square foot. It's a whole venue. Awesome space. Yeah, I'm jealous of their space. It's great. 420, Boxcar Durham. So, yeah, well, we didn't, you met, what was the, you met this lady. Oh, yeah, from Michigan? Yeah, a lady from Michigan. Yeah, but that was crazy. And they were doing like a joint rolling competition. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, they kept doing these announcements like, last call for the joint rolling competition. just over and over. I mean, I went to the bathroom, played some pinball. I still hadn't even started yet. Yeah, I think they were having trouble getting people to sign up for it. She rolled some pretty good joints. Yeah, it's pretty funny because her daughter was just sitting there like watching her like a 60 year old mom like rolling joints like a maniac. She was like, I haven't done this in 35 years. Yeah, and she was great. Yeah, it was pretty funny. I think she was like competing against the guy and I think he rolled like eight and I I think she got like three or four, but hers were beautiful. Yeah. And his were just kind of like, you know, garbage. Yeah, and they had the guy walking around afterwards who was like inspecting them. And he was like, oh, no, not this one, not this one. No, but it was kind of an impossible task because the whole thing was sponsored by Wicked Weed Beer Company. Oh, brewing. Brewing. So it wasn't even hemp or anything. It was. So, yeah. So it was hops. It was hops. Hops that they donated to be, which I guess hops and hemp are related, but it's a totally different texture. They're all dry. Like little broccolis. It was fun. Nevertheless, man, it's the first time I've seen a joint rolling competition, and probably the last. Yeah. Yeah, it was fun. Oh, which, by the way, I should say that we have a couple pictures posted on our Instagram. Oh, yeah. I took a few photos and I'm going to try to do a better job when we go places and do stuff. But yeah, check it out. So Instagram, is it Bash Pinball? Bash Pinball. And it's on our website. You can just link from there. Also Bash Pinball. Also Bash Pinball.com. Dot com. So I want to talk about Jaws. I don't hate the game. anymore. What? Your opinion has changed? No, I don't love it. Okay. My opinion has not changed, but I will say I had fun. I remember you said it was a 7.2 in the pin side scale. That's gone up to 8. 8. A lot of my previous criticism still stands, but I think I was quick to judge because after about 20 games and I kind of started to get some of that feel and kind of the flow and understand once I understood the kind of process and how the game worked I will say it was a lot of fun I still wish that I could hit the ball in his mouth just swallow the ball man and I wish we could hit that upper playfield shot more than one out of seven times correct up next matt and don's munching and crunching hour listener please skip this portion if you don't like the sounds of someone eating in your ear close listener discretion is advised so here we have the trader joe's milk chocolate covered honeycomb candies they're pretty good i would say they kind of remind me of a snickers if it tasted like a s'more and uh now here's what it sounds like when you chew kind of like you might have guessed crunchy munchy munchy okay stick them to the teeth i don't like that yeah it's good though i'm gonna give it a solid eight so that puts it up there with uh you know in the top 100 top 100 so that like a page one snack page one snack So I going to be going to Pinfest this weekend Yep, and I'm jealous. You should be. Sorry I couldn't make it. That's alright. Yeah, I'm looking forward to playing every game that I've ever not played. Maybe. There's not that many left on that list of games that I haven't ever played that I really want to play. but hopefully they have them all. Is there one in particular that you can think about right now? No Fear. No Fear. Oh man, I want to play that game so bad. So that one comes to mind. Oh, I want to play that game so bad. I want to go. I almost bought that game like three times. You know it's like Venom-ish. No. It's got the ball locked. It does the same thing. Oh really? Yep. Venom's not so innovative after all. Wow. Anyway, that's on my list. Judge Dredd is on my list. I never played a Judge Dredd. Big Lebowski, that was on my list. I played Pirates of the Caribbean a couple times. That's a hard one to find. I don't know if I've ever played a good Willy Wonka that actually worked. Nope. Dear Diary, this is the moment I realized how much Matt truly loved pinball. I've never felt so proud in my life. Sincerely, Don. Oh, Indianapolis 500. I don't know if I've ever played that. Okay, so the games I really want to play are like the page 2 and page 3 Pinside games. Banzai Run. I've never played Terminator 3. Have you played NBA Fastbreak? Time Machine? I've never played a safe cracker. I have played the Sopranos. Star Trek Data East. This list is too long. I'm talking about early 90s late 80s games that just nobody has around here. Those are the ones that I really want to play. 420 Boxcar Durham Also 421 because we were there after midnight We Play Jaws Elton John Reggae Bass Reggae Bass Okay, so you're going to Pinfest Yeah, going to Pinfest, don't want to edit an episode this week Because I'd be driving I'm sorry that I couldn't make it I'm very disappointed that I could not make it to Pinfest Oh, and you have something to show me Yeah, so I want you to look at the place that I will be staying at next year. Okay. And it's one block away. All right. From the farmer's market. Okay. Okay. And just take a gander, describe what you're seeing and... The Black Panther Experience in West Allentown. This is Airbnb? Correct. Nice. It's only, what, $100 now? $126. Hosted by Tina. It's an apartment with some Black Panther artwork. It's cool, though. Like red walls. I like it. And there's hippos on the wall. Read the reviews. 72 reviews, 4.94. Tina's talented artist husband painted all the artwork on the walls. Very cool. But you're only a block away. Do they have the Black Panther film on loop on every television and the movie just autoplays? They at least have to have them on like Blu-ray or DVD, right? So, Tina, here's an idea. The Bash Pinball Podcast will sponsor for you to buy it on iTunes. Or $5.99 or whatever it costs. And then all your guests can just have it on deck, ready to go. Can we afford that? Well, that'll put us in the red, unfortunately. Okay, so would you stay at the Black Panther Experience Airbnb? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I would definitely stay here. Tina seems like a great super host There are shared common spaces So you might meet some other pinball players How about we make it the official Bash Pinball headquarters While we're in Allentown for Pinfest Next year, 2025 There's a lot of art on those walls, man So what do you think? Should I stay here? Yeah, so are you going to go ahead and book it for next year? Um, possible You gotta get in early on the Black Panther experience experience. 4-20. Boxcar Durham. We played Jaws. For 12 hours. Elton John. Oh, right. We forgot to mention the other games we played. We can talk about them next time. We talked about them a little bit. I just forgot about Elton John. I think we mentioned it earlier. We probably played that as many times as we played Jaws. Maybe. Because we only played Jaws four times. I think we'll come back. There needs to be more attention paid to Elton John. Yeah, yeah. And I've only played it like five times, so I need to learn it a little bit. And then it's also playing weird and bad right now, apparently. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, hey, also, thanks Boxcar for having $15,000 Jersey Jack games or whatever the heck. We're lucky to even be able to play those games. Yeah. Most arcades, I don't think, can afford them. I appreciate that. Yeah. Thank you, Boxcar. I know I trash talk you sometimes, but I hate the game, not the player. You know what I'm saying? I hate the bad playing game. And the bad playing games. So, yeah, Boxcar is very loud. And I was actually kind of surprised because my ears were not ringing and I did not have a headache on 420 at Boxcar Durham. We played Jaws. Well, it's because we were probably all hot boxing in there to some degree. actually you know what that was the most fun i've had there i think i was high a little contact high huh i had so much fun i mean we were there like how many hours we stayed there from like one until it was at least two meal cycles i know like 12 hours we had like three meals yeah yeah that was that was fun and i feel like we kind of bonded in a way we had like a pretty real conversation like a like a about life yeah yeah yeah on the patio yeah outside we're just kind of like wow resting our weary hands and feet from you know just pinballing so hard and we just had like a like a nice real moment you know like it's hard to connect people in a real way yeah so boxcar 420 durham maybe it bonded us a little bit more i don't know maybe i don't know Outro Music
Jaws
game
Elton Johngame
Bond 007 (25th Anniversary)game
Elviragame
No Feargame
Venomgame
Judge Dreddgame
Big Lebowskigame
Pirates of the Caribbeangame
Willy Wonkagame
Indianapolis 500game
Banzai Rungame
Terminator 3game
NBA Fastbreakgame
Time Machinegame
Safe Crackergame
The Sopranosgame
Star Trek Data Eastgame
  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Matt's opinion of Jaws improved from 7.2 to 8.0 rating after extended play (~20 games); initial judgment was too quick

    high · Direct statement: 'I don't love it... My opinion has not changed, but I will say I had fun... that's gone up to 8'

  • ?

    venue_signal: Boxcar Durham has elevated police presence (officers stationed at entrance, witnessed removal of person), though hosts contextualize as typical for large alcohol-serving venue rather than dangerous area

    medium · Host notes: 'The way the police presence has escalated... I literally saw the police come in and take somebody out... two police cars just parked right in front'

  • ?

    venue_signal: Boxcar Durham machines maintained by third-party operator treating pinball as afterthought among multiple arcade amusements; inconsistent maintenance quality between Durham and Raleigh locations

    medium · Host notes: 'They don't own their games... pinball is one of many... they you know deal with so... oftentimes seems like a bit of an afterthought'