Episode 394: Karrie Hill and Neon Ranch Pinball

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·21m 6s·analyzed·Mar 7, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Carrie Hill discusses opening Neon Ranch Pinball in Victoria, BC, and her competitive pinball journey.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Carrie Hill, a top-ranked competitive pinball player and newly appointed operator opening Neon Ranch Pinball in Victoria, BC. The conversation covers her path from casual player to tournament competitor, her recent second-place finish at InDisc women's event, and her ambitious plans for a 50-machine arcade featuring competitive and casual play, women's tournaments, and hosting a Pinberg satellite event.

Key Claims

Carrie Hill finished second in the women's event at InDisc to Jane Verwise, with Emily Ryland placing third
high confidence · Direct statement from both Jeff and Carrie about tournament results; confirmed as recent event (~1 month prior to recording)
Neon Ranch Pinball will open mid-March with approximately 50 machines on the floor
high confidence · Carrie states 'mid-March, we're coming at you' and '50 games on the floor' in direct description of venue plans
Neon Ranch Pinball will host a Pinberg satellite event in spring/early summer offering a golden ticket to the main Pinberg tournament
high confidence · Carrie confirms satellite event is 'happening' and Jeff notes there are 14 Pinberg satellite tickets available across North America
Carrie is representing British Columbia at the North American Championship Series after Emily Ryland won the BC qualifier but cannot attend
high confidence · Jeff states 'Emily Rolland was the winner of BC. You came in second, but Emily can't make it. So you get to go to represent BC'
The Northwest Pinball Show satellite tournaments offered show entry tickets as prizes, motivating Carrie and Ashley to visit multiple locations
high confidence · Carrie explains they toured 8 satellite tournaments (8-Bit, Renton, Icebox, Jupiter, Shorty's, Adaball) 'partially because we didn't get tickets to the show'

Notable Quotes

“I don't know. But yeah, just a shot that I feel comfortable with, and I'll repeat it if I have to, if I really don't know how to get the points out of the game.”
Carrie Hill @ ~52:00 — Describes her pragmatic approach to playing unfamiliar games—a foundational competitive strategy of finding reliable shots rather than complex rule paths
“It's really important to me that the games play well when I talk to people, especially competitive players. Well, any players, really. It's like the worst thing that can happen is you go somewhere, spend your money, or get excited to play a game, and it plays like garbage.”
Carrie Hill @ ~30:00 — Core philosophy driving Neon Ranch Pinball's operational approach—machine maintenance quality as a service differentiator
“It was never the newest Stern or the newest thing or the blingity-blingity-blang. It was a game you don't see on location a lot. It's your weirdo games, your weird Gottliebs that I love, those janky 90s Gottliebs, 80s system games.”
Carrie Hill @ ~58:00 — Reveals operator research findings: casual players prioritize variety and novelty over bleeding-edge hardware, informing Neon Ranch game selection strategy
“As much as this is a business venture, it's a passion project, and it's about people enjoying pinball and growing in pinball and getting more people interested in pinball.”
Carrie Hill @ ~70:00 — Articulates hybrid business/community ethos of Neon Ranch, positioning it as growth-focused rather than pure revenue maximization
“I'm so excited to go and play with this caliber of players, you know. And part of me, you know, is like, what am I doing? I have no business here. But the other part of me is like, well, I deserve this spot just the way that everybody else qualified and deserved a spot.”
Carrie Hill @ ~22:00 — Reflects imposter syndrome despite legitimate credentials; Jeff counters affirming her competitive legitimacy

Entities

Carrie HillpersonNeon Ranch PinballbusinessAshley WeaverpersonInDisceventJane VerwisepersonEmily RylandpersonDan BitterlickpersonVictoria Pinball LeagueorganizationNorth American Championship Seriesevent

Signals

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business_signal: Operator entering market with explicit focus on machine quality, maintenance, and player experience differentiation rather than latest hardware trends
high · Carrie researched player preferences and found casual players prefer variety and working machines over 'newest Stern or the blingity-blingity-blang'
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community_signal: Neon Ranch Pinball planning youth league programming and multiple tournament formats (women's, open, satellite) to build grassroots participation
high · Carrie states 'We're going to start up a youth league Wednesday night. Ashley's going to head that.' and multiple mentions of tournament planning
~
sentiment_shift: Strong positive sentiment around women's pinball growth and inclusive tournament atmosphere; women players described as 'coming after' traditional rankings
high · Carrie: 'women, us women, I should say, we're coming after you. Like, they're creeping up in those standings.' Jeff agrees growth is real
?
competitive_signal: Carrie Hill qualifying for national-level North American Championship Series (58-person elite event) validates competitive legitimacy and positions Neon Ranch as regional player development hub
high · Jeff: 'only 58 of you...How cool is that?' confirming exclusivity and prestige of qualifying for national championship
$
market_signal: Northwest pinball scene (Washington, Oregon, BC) establishing as competitive hub with satellite tournaments drawing cross-border participation
medium · Carrie toured 8 satellite events; Jeff notes 'Northwest scene is going to be pretty awesome' with Ashley Weaver, Sarah Little, Leslie Ruckman, and Carrie as competitive draws

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.063

0:00

It's time for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teolis. You can find everything on pinballprofile.com. We're on Twitter, X, and Instagram at pinballprofile. You can join our Facebook group as well. Email pinballprofile at gmail.com. And if you'd like to show your support on Patreon, that would be wonderful. Not necessary, but it helps keep the show going. Don't worry, it'll always be free. but patreon.com slash pinballprofile, thanks to great people and supporters like Sean I, Bart V, David M, Lua W, Rodney C, and more. Going out to Victoria, B.C., which is lovely. You have to go if you've never been. One of the fantastic parts of Canada. When I hear people talk about, oh, I'm going to go to this place and this place in Canada for the first time, I always say, go to the coasts, east or west, but in this case, the west. In Victoria, B.C. is where you'll find our guest, Kerry Hill. Hi, Kerry, how are you? I'm awesome, Jeff. How are you doing? Good to talk to you again. It was nice to see you just about a month ago at InDisc. That was pretty good for you. We'll get into that in a second. But for those that may not know Carrie Hill, and that would be probably people that aren't maybe competitive, because if you look at the competitions and you see, okay, she's a top 1,000 player, an incredible women's player at 21 right now in the world as we speak, you had to start somewhere. Where was your beginning for pinball? well I guess it would have been at Bishops University I may have skipped a few classes and went to a bit of a dive bar probably owned by Hell's Angels but they had an Addams Family game and a Star Trek Next Generation and I played the snot out of that TNG the Addams Family always seemed to be broke and I guess I fashioned myself a bit of a Trekkie and played that a lot good game to learn and of course any kind of Steve Ritchie game makes you feel good when you're playing the flow of the game and making some shots, and, oh, the ball goes faster, and I get it. That's kind of what hooked me into it, in that case with Black Knight, but I can see how Star Trek TMG had it. I'm shocked they didn't have Harley Davidson there if it was Hell's Angels, but still, you got your pinball fix in. That's good, and that was kind of the bug, and I know the scene in Victoria has really exploded over the last, let's say, five years. A good friend of mine and yours, Dan Bitterlick, who really got me into competitive pinball, he lived out here where I live, moved out there and, you know, he's like a pusher when it comes to pinball. You know, he gets people involved, he gets you hooked in, and next thing you know, you've got this great scene. That's what you've got there in Victoria. Oh, totally. Dan's the pusher, for sure, in all the best ways of pinball. You know, since those dive bar days, I didn't play much pinball at all. And, you know, played down at Shorty's one time before and came back to Victoria and saw some posters up that Dan put up starting the Victoria Pinball League about five years ago. and my partner and I were the first ones to flip at one of those league nights. It was great. I've heard about some of those league nights, but you just mentioned Shorty's, and I've been there as well. So you're not too far away in B.C. to go to places like Washington State or Oregon and see some of these wonderful places like Shorty's and Jupiter and some of these other legendary places. So you must have had a road trip or two. Yeah, it's funny you mention that. So the Northwest Pinball Show, not the championship, but the show, always starts off with a week of satellite tournaments down in the States. And Ashley and I, my partner, decided to tour around and do the full week of satellite trips, partially because we didn't get tickets to the show. And so they were offering tickets to the show. And so we went to 8-Bit and Renton, Icebox, Jupiter, Shorty's, and then, of course, Adaball. And that's sort of when the pinball bug got into our system business-wise. Yeah, I would say because for those that know Carrie, if you want a burger, go see Carrie, first of all, in BC. And then the next thing you know, you and Ashley are talking and, hey, maybe we could be an operator. How did that happen?

4:26

So we moved in some pinball machines that we had at home. I bought a couple more from a friend, and all of a sudden we had six pinball machines down the side of the restaurant, and off to the races we were as operators, I guess. Good on you, good on Ashley. and one of the rare times Liquid Courage actually made a wise decision, I would say. Yeah, I never drink alcohol when I'm playing competitively because I never play well if I have a couple beers, but it sure is fun to kick back and just play for fun and play socially and have a drink. So that was that kind of night. Well, we'll get into what you're creating there in BC, in Victoria, in just a bit, but I'm guessing you didn't have much to drink when you were at Indus because that was pretty impressive. You came in second in the women's event to Jane Verwise. I know your fellow BC mate Emily Ryland was third So it was nice to see a couple of Canadians in the top four Yeah that was awesome Emily is a beast of a player and Jane is just something else She on a whole new level of pinball She's just so good. I still can't believe how well I did at that tournament to come second. I was so elated. I thought any one of the four of you could win, because all four of you were just spectacular when it came. And the whole women's event, I mean, it's fun. For those that don't get to watch it, it's a real treat, because, boy, you know, I wish more pinball tournaments had that kind of support system and just a real good atmosphere that sometimes some pinball tournaments lack, but not the case with that women's event at Indisc. Yeah, I mean, there's some fierce competitors, and it gets real serious, but at the end of the day, there's always, like, big hugs and smiles and congratulations, you know, all the way around. It's always sweet vibes and fun vibes when you're playing women's pinball, even at that level. You must just get stoked for big events. I can only imagine what it was like leading up to Indisc. And even right now, leading up to the North American Championship Series, because Emily Rolland was the winner of BC. You came in second, but Emily can't make it. So you get to go to represent BC and have a chance at the national title. There are only 58 of you. How cool is that? I mean, it's super cool. I'm so excited to go and play with this caliber of players, you know. And part of me, you know, is like, what am I doing? I have no business here. But the other part of me is like, well, I deserve this spot just the way that everybody else qualified and deserved a spot. So I'm going to go. I'm going to take it all in and enjoy the experience. And, again, like, just be stoked to be around such really good players and play with them. You need to get that out of your head. What am I doing here? Because you do belong there. And anybody who's watched you play knows that, okay, you're up for a good battle when you're going up against Carrie. She knows her stuff. And because, you know, you're an operator and we mentioned the burger joint and what we're about to mention in a second, you kind of have to be a bit of a fix-it person too. So I guess you've got your hands dirty there and fixed a few things here and there? Yeah, I have. I mean, I guess I fashioned myself as somebody who's pretty handy. I literally figured out and built my own food truck from scratch, like bit by bit, just by reading forums, using the Internet and just having a little bit of handiness, tactility, I guess. But it's the same with pinball and stuff. There's lots of stuff to read. There's so much information on the Internet to help along. And, yeah, I just spent my last weekend repinning a game and trying different things, and my soldering is getting better. So here we go. A dead machine doesn't earn, does it? No. And, honestly, one of the big things that's super important to me with opening up our new space is that our games play well when I talk to people, especially competitive players. Well, any players, really. It's like the worst thing that can happen is you go somewhere, spend your money, or get excited to play a game, and it plays like garbage, you know, or the flipper's all stuck up or whatever. And so it's really important to me that the games play well as well as they can because, you know, with pinball, things always break, and that's going to happen. But they've got to play well. Well, let's talk about this new place, this new business venture for you. I know you're excited, and I know a lot of people in B.C. that are equally excited. It's called Neon Ranch Pinball, and it's opening up this spring. In fact, pretty soon. Yeah, I'm so excited to share it with everyone. It's opening up really soon. We're probably going to launch, well, definitely within the month, maybe a soft launch. But yeah, mid-March, we're coming at you, and we're stoked. Tell us what we'll see at the Arm Ranch Pinball. What you'll see is the place that Ashley and I would love to play pinball. We're trying to create an awesome community vibe, a place that competitive players want to come and play, a place that families and people that are new to pinball want to drop in and play. It's really important to us, again, that the games play well, that it's cozy, it's comfy, it's welcoming. We're just basically, after doing all this touring around North America and making all these pinball trips and taking every little bit in that we enjoy to make the pinball place that we want to see in the world. I think a lot of people want to see that, and I like that it's a nice mix of, it doesn't matter if it's just a casual, I want to throw a, we're in Canada, a loonie in, a dollar in here or there for their machine just for a little bit of fun, grab a bite to eat. And then you talk about the competition too. So the games have to be tip top. And you've been to enough big tournaments that, hey, you know, I've seen what some of the action here is in BC for tournaments and other big events. Why can't you do it yourself? And you and I were talking in InBisc, you've got some big plans for some pretty amazing events there at Neon Ranch Pinball. We do. We're going to have 50 games on the floor. So it's going to be a large space. We're going to throw down some big women's tournaments. Like we have a, our heart is in playing with women's pinball and on the women's side. And we're planning on doing a big weekend, a big camping weekend, you know, like Dory Hill, watch out. Here comes Carrie Hill.

10:10

You know, so yeah, but everybody, and open tournaments as well. We're excited to just do what we've been enjoying doing as our hobby, and hopefully the pinball community is into it and enjoys it. Your passion for women's pinball certainly is well known. You got this big women weekend planned the camping I told my wife about it and she was like oh we got to go And I said okay I think I know a few people in BC Sounds like it be a lot of fun just the camping experience and good atmosphere So I wish you all the best with that I want to thank you because Pinberg is back and here you are, you're just getting ready to open Neon Ranch Pinball and instantly you're like, how can I support Pinberg? And of course, the Women's International Pinball tournament, Whipped. And sure enough, you, along with Delaware Pinball Collective, Neon Pinball Ranch is one of the title sponsors of Whipped. That meant a lot to the organizers. I'll tell you that right now. It means a lot to us to support women's pinball because it is such a good time. It is super growing within the competitive side. We wanted to go to Papa before it shut down, before the whole COVID times. Whipped, we watched all the streams. It's so exciting. You see all the girls with the t-shirts at the tournaments. We are so excited and happy to support that and, you know, just have that back in the community. And, you know, women's pinball is, it's a thing. And those women, us women, I should say, we're coming after you. Like, they're creeping up in those standings. So watch out. You don't have to tell me that. That's the thing. Pinball is for really everyone. It really is. Men, women, children, adults, it doesn't matter. Anybody on any given day can win and can become great. It's just I think with more of these events, it'll get people that are interested in pinball in a nice setting, in a comfortable setting, a low-pressure setting, and the next thing you know is like, wow, I'm really getting into this. And the Kerry Hills of the world come out and they're like, oh, cow, okay, these are players. Yeah, I mean, there's so many good players, like so many good players that don't have the privilege to travel too. Like I say that I have great rankings and I'm kind of in the mix with things, but that's because I get to travel and I've gotten to play at some big tournaments. There's some fierce women playing at local tournaments. You go down to Babes in Pinland, down to Atta Ball in Seattle, or even some of the stuff sparking up up here in Vancouver and in Victoria. There's some fierce, badass girls playing some pinball that are holding their own. Sarah Little, she's going to be down there representing at the Women's North American Championships. On any given day, she can beat any of the guys up here. It's happening, and it's just been a lot of fun to watch. and support and be a part of. We've talked about Emily. You mentioned Sarah Little. I know Ashley Weaver. Leslie Ruckman has now moved to Seattle. So that Northwest scene is going to be pretty awesome, and especially with the big weekends you're planning there at Neon Ranch Pinball, I would imagine you're going to have a few people cross the border, and we look forward to that, and especially for another event that you're going to be hosting. And there aren't many of these in the world. Boy, you know, you didn't get your Pinbird ticket. There's only 144. Darn, I didn't get in. but there's still a chance because Neon Ranch Pinball, sometime later in the spring or early summer, you're going to be having a Pinberg satellite event. We are. We're kind of going big. We want to do this thing up. And, yeah, so we're going to be having a big tournament. It's not all set in stone yet, so I don't have a ton of details to give you, but I do know that it is happening, and one of the things that we will be giving away at that tournament is your ticket to Pinberg. It's kind of like for me when I hear these satellite events, and I know you had that experience too with the Northwest show, going to the satellite events, trying to get in. The Pinberg satellite ticket thing is, you know, for somebody old like me, we remember the original Willy Wonka movie, and people searching for that golden ticket. Well, there are these golden tickets out there, and they are the Pinberg satellite tickets, and there are going to be 14 of them around North America, and Neon Ranch Pinball will have one in the suburbs of Victoria, B.C., so looking forward to that. So you're getting ready for the North American Championship Series. I assume you've watched a few streams. You've been to District 82, correct? Yeah, we went last fall. So you get to see some of the games, and when you are playing in competition and you come up to a game like, oh, geez, we don't have one of these around here, what is your go-to? What is your quick fix, and how do you quickly get up to speed on a game? Yeah, for me, if I don't know the game, I'm looking for a shot on my left flipper and a shot on my right flipper that I feel comfortable with. So sometimes people will be watching, and, you know, it's funny, you mentioned Wisconsin, and I played Johnny Mnemonic for the first time there, and I had no idea how to play the game. I was in video mode, and I didn't realize there was two sets of buttons to go up and down, so I'm going side to side. But anyways, playing Johnny Mnemonic, and I'm just hitting the shots that I'm comfortable with, ripping that spinner and stuff, and I blew the game up and won my group, never playing it before. I was just kind of laughing because I just, I literally was like, okay, this seems like a comfortable, returnable, easy shot for me to hit. I like orbits a lot. I don't know. But yeah, just a shot that I feel comfortable with, and I'll repeat it if I have to, if I really don't know how to get the points out of the game. That's interesting you say about orbits, because for those that are trying to get good at pinball, those are the shots that probably matter the most. And I'll say that because there's probably less risk factor in shooting orbits as opposed to hitting anything kind of center of the play field. So orbits, you know, good things usually happen. Yeah, and I just, the satisfaction of ripping it around the play field is kind of fun too, right? So yeah I mean whether like when you go up to a game and you don know it and like just look at the blinky lights and start flipping around and hit something that feels comfortable for you and things will always happen So is there a certain comfort level? I know when you talked about going back to Bishop and learning Adam's Family and Star Trek Next Generation, that's kind of those 90s games, and you're certainly familiar with newer games. Is there a sweet spot era for you, or do you like it all? You know, I'm just, I feel so new in the pinball world still but like I'm kind of going through a solid state phase right now where I'm just like I'm fixing up a stars and I know everybody has like this hate on for stars. No. Unless you're Ashley Weaver. She loves it. Do you love it too? I love it. It beats the hell out of you, but I love it. Yeah, exactly. But the simple sort of like, okay, I'm going to collect some stars and I'm going to rip that spinner. Great. Maybe I'll hit a drop or two. But just this simple, stupid kind of, you know, dumbed down thing instead of trying I know this super complex, like, where am I going to put my gems to like this and mode start that and multiple something else. I just, the solid state vibe has kind of got my heart right now, I guess. But it's like anything. It's a phase. I'll get into EMs and, you know, fall back in love with, well, we just got a Jaws, and that's super fun. So I love it all. What can I say? It is a fun game. I just, at the time of this recording, new code dropped right now, and I've got to say this because there are a lot of people out there thinking about the mods and stuff. It's fine as is. You don't need a ball that is eaten by a shark. It's okay. Just play the game that it is. And Keith, we trust because, my goodness, that's a fun game. So is that something that you thrive to get, especially now with Neon Ranch Pinball? If there's a new pinball machine out and it's certainly got a big buzz, okay, we've got to get one of those? Yeah, it's funny you said that because on our travels I asked a lot of pinball players. I was like, what are you so excited to see at a place when you go into a pinball space? What game do you want to run to? And it was never the newest Stern or the newest thing or the blingity-blingity-blang. It was a game you don't see on location a lot. It's your weirdo games, your weird Gottliebs that I love, those janky 90s Gottliebs, 80s system games or a game that you just don't get to play. That being said, this Jaws game is awesome. We're probably going to have the newest, latest things on site to play because they're awesome and they're fun. but it's kind of cool to have games that are a little deeper, darker in the basement that a lot of people don't have a lot of time on. Well, if you're going to be running a lot of tournaments, too, you want to have a nice mix of modern and some older games, too. Mm-hmm. Have you talked to some of the operators? And there are some great ones out there in the Northwest, and I know Jermaine Marriott is one of them for sure. What are your good earners? Those have to be factors, too, I would imagine. Yeah, I haven't really asked a ton of people that. It just, you know, I think that if a game plays well, that's going to get coin drops into it. You know, I think that's really key. I think you could have a really great game, a great earning game. Like say you have a Stranger Things, which was known to be a great earner, but if the ramp isn't coming down properly or the ball's flying off the ramp, which I had to fix with the little mod that keeps the ball in play, then people are going to play it. They're not going to come back and play it and enjoy it. So I think pinball, you can earn with any game as long as it's enjoyable and there's always something fun and new to play. Well, it's got to be working, and it sounds like you'll have that definitely. No worries there at Neon Ranch Pinball. But it is nice to have a variety as well, and you want people to have fun. It's one thing to get that first loonie, the first quarter, the first dollar. You want them to come back and play it again. Yeah, and more so we want people to have a good time. You know what I mean? As much as this is a business venture, it's a passion project, and it's about people enjoying pinball and growing in pinball and getting more people interested in pinball. We're going to start up a youth league Wednesday night. Ashley's going to head that. We're really excited about that. And just pinball is a good time. It's fun. It's got a renaissance happening right now, the nostalgia and everything of it, of people who played it back in the day. And it's just fun. Play pinball. I love your passion. I love seeing you. And, Ashley, I can only imagine Neon Ranch Pinball is going to be just a lot of fun for BC residents and people in the Northwest. You've got some big plans, and I wish you all the success. Thank you so much, Jeff. I really appreciate that, and I really appreciate talking to you today. Carrie, we'll talk to you soon. Best of luck at District 82 for the North American Championship Series.