DPP #191 "Don't tease me bro! Sample"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·5m 37s·analyzed·May 25, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Don's Kong review: excellent layout, drop targets, and upper flipper geometry make it a standout game.

Summary

Don provides a detailed hands-on review of King Kong pinball after bringing a premium build home from the Stern factory. He praises the game's layout, mechanisms, and drop target design while highlighting specific gameplay elements like the left orbit ramp geometry and upper flipper area that he finds exceptionally well-designed. The episode is a Patreon preview focusing heavily on Kong with mentions of upcoming Dune gameplay, Evil Dead impressions, and Harry Potter updates.

Key Claims

King Kong's layout and mechanisms are well-designed with particularly strong drop target sweeps and orbit shot geometry
high confidence · Extended hands-on play at home after factory visit; Don verified earlier factory impressions
The left upper flipper area and right upper quadrant of Kong play like a mini-playfield with excellent feedability from either flipper or plunge
high confidence · Don's detailed analysis of shot geometry, diverter mechanics, and ball routing after extended play
Kong's diverter and flipper geometry prevents fast-moving balls from rocketing off the upper flipper despite high incoming velocity
medium confidence · Don describes consistent ball behavior and speculates about rubber/geometry contributing to this effect
Don was unsure how to achieve an extra ball on Kong at the time of this recording
high confidence · Direct statement: 'at this point, I'm still not sure how to get an extra ball on it'
Several pinball companies are over-teasing new game announcements and marketing
medium confidence · Don mentions 'pinball companies are teasing us way too much' and specifically calls out Pinball Brothers marketing approach

Notable Quotes

“The layout is good. The mechanisms are fun. The drop target sweeps are probably my favorite part of it.”
Don @ ~2:45 — Core assessment of Kong's gameplay quality and design priorities
“whenever you do combo that biplane ramp it's magical man it's magical”
Don @ ~4:20 — Emotional response to Kong's shot design and mechanical reward system
“that whole right upper quadrant of the left upper quadrant of the game feels like it's so many playfield and it definitely does”
Don @ ~5:15 — Assessment of upper flipper area design philosophy and separation from main playfield
“when you get a shot up in there or the shots feeding over... You hit that diverter and I expect the ball, even now, every time, I expect the ball, if it's coming fast, to hit that diverter and just rock it off that flipper. But it totally doesn't.”
Don @ ~7:30 — Detailed observation of unexpected mechanical behavior that works in player's favor
“pinball companies are teasing us way too much”
Don @ ~1:45 — Statement of community frustration with marketing practices by multiple manufacturers

Entities

Donperson King KonggameStern PinballcompanyDunegame Evil Deadgame Harry Pottergame Pinball BrotherscompanyJoelperson

Signals

~
sentiment_shift: King Kong is being fairly praised in community; Don's hands-on verification supports positive reception after factory play
high · Don states 'It's being fairly praised in the community' and confirms 'this game is good' after home play period
?
design_philosophy: Kong's upper flipper area and right upper quadrant designed as functionally separate mini-playfield with excellent feedability and geometry-based ball control
high · Don's detailed analysis of shot routing, drop target placement, diverter mechanics, and flipper placement creating intentional playfield separation
$
market_signal: Multiple pinball companies (specifically Pinball Brothers highlighted) criticized for excessive teasing of new game announcements
medium · Don states 'pinball companies are teasing us way too much' and calls out 'Pinball Brothers, the spotlight is currently on you' regarding marketing stumbles
?
product_concern: King Kong demonstrates thoughtful mechanical design with secondary effect behaviors (diverter geometry preventing flipper rocketing) that enhance player experience
high · Don's observation that fast-moving balls don't rocket off upper flipper despite high velocity, attributed to flipper rubber or geometry choices

Topics

King Kong game design and mechanicsprimaryPinball manufacturer marketing and teasing practicesprimaryPlayfield geometry and shot design philosophyprimaryUpper flipper and mini-playfield designprimaryUpcoming game releases (Dune, Evil Dead, Harry Potter)secondaryHome pinball ownership and extended play testingsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Don is enthusiastic about King Kong's design and mechanics, particularly praising specific playfield elements and shot geometry. Mild criticism regarding manufacturer marketing practices ('teasing') and own uncertainty about extra ball rules, but overall tone is appreciative and detailed in positive assessment.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.017

Welcome back friends to Don's Pinball Podcast, episode number 191. Doing a Patreon edition show here. I got a ton to talk about. I've had some time with Kong here. I've started the mod build phase of everything. Pinball companies are teasing us way too much. I got so much to talk about. Let's get into it. so kablooey and thud bringing back the denisey heat back in here for episode 191 what's up everybody i was sitting around and i've got a ton of topics i just wanted to get out of there i'm going to start with kong and then we're going to go through this uh what i feel like is a bit of a stumbling on the marketing of some of these new games that i've seen from a couple different companies, pinball brothers, the spotlight is currently on you. I've got some Dune updates. I'm actually going to get to play Dune again at a new location here pretty soon. I got a little throwback game I want to talk about. I got some thoughts on Evil Dead. We'll finish up with Harry Potter. We'll get into all of it. I'll let you know everything that I know as of right now, as of right this minute right this minute All right So I had Kong in my house now I know everybody waiting for their games to come in I got an early premium build because I blessed I don know luck of the draw It just happened to work out that way Plus I able to drive down to the factory and pick these things up which saves a lot of time and trouble with shipping. Just boom, three hours. I've got it in my truck. Grab some lunch. Three hours back. So, Don, how is this game? It's being fairly praised in the community. And I thought, you know, giving a little bit of reel-reel would be good. I know Joel just did a live stream talking all about the rules. I need to go and watch that because at this point, I'm still not sure how to get an extra ball on it. But I've played the heck out of this game and it's good. I mentioned this before, you know, after I got to play it at the factory. Now I've had it at home and I can verify that, yes, this game is good. The layout is good. The mechanisms are fun. The drop target sweeps are probably my favorite part of it. Uh, that, and I didn't think I was going to love the little curly Q hit back shot on the right orbit as much as I do. What I've been able to do now that I've had the game though, is discover a lot of these little things that just set this game apart from some of its other contemporaries. Things like, like the little jumpy ramp that's on the left orbit. So if you shoot that left orbit shot, it comes all the way around to the right, feeds that right upper flipper. And from there, There's multiple shots. But if you shoot the right orbit because of that little ledge that there the ball hops over if it coming from the left You get the little curly coup punch back You know it fun It not like you just shoot up there like on say fire When you hit one of those ramps it a stand target Comes right back down the ramp. This, because it does do that little circuitous little snail trail route, bam, and then on the way back, like it gives you a little bit of time. Like when you see the ball firing up there and you're like, cool, that shot was successful, particularly during the multiball. like it gives you a beat to wait until like okay now let's get back to that upper flip boom that's fun and and whenever you do combo that uh biplane ramp it's magical man it's magical and i've heard people mention this before the left upper flipper that whole right upper quadrant of the left upper quadrant of the game feels like it's so many play field and it definitely does like if you can imagine shooting up you know a ramp or something and then having a little mini play field up there with the four drop targets that mini flipper the diverter like that could be a mini upper play field it just happens to take place on the main play area of the game which is great it's feedable from either flipper it's feedable from the plunge if you plunge right and then catch it with that upper flipper you can start playing up there I've noticed that my scores have really taken off when I focus when I'm up in that area like normally you know drop targets whatever, I'll try to finish them when I get a chance. On this game in particular it important to finish them as many times as you can right You light the monkey ball lock on the train thing by hitting that set of drop targets twice And yes, it's four drop targets. It's up there out of the way, but it's doable. Like I'm able to do it juggling the ball off that upper flipper. And I don't know what happened to the geometry here or what kind of magic pixie dust is sprinkled on this thing. But when you get a shot up in there or the shots feeding over from, you know, one of the other shots down that orbit to the log diverter. You hit that diverter and I expect the ball, even now, every time, I expect the ball, if it's coming fast, to hit that diverter and just rock it off that flipper. But it totally doesn't. And it may be due to like the rubber that's on the flipper right there. Something about the geometry. But like the ball comes around that corner so fast, but then it'll hit the flipper and then just slowly roll on down it. Hey, listener, thanks so much for joining in on this exclusive preview of the Patreon episode. If you would like to listen to this in its entirety, it's over there at patreon.com backslash Don's Pinball Podcast. $5 gets you in the door. $10 to $20 gets you more, including double entries to the monthly giveaways. We've done translights and banners. I've got hats. I've got so much stuff to give away. And I love showering the Patreon community with all kinds of awesome stuff. So if interested, head on over there. Otherwise, another free episode will be coming out within the next couple days, I would imagine. Take care of yourself and each other. I'll see you next time.