Wedgehead Pinball Podcast

Support the show & get a link to our private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastGood friend of the show and all-around expert solid state assassin, Ty Palmer joins us on the show once again for his SIXTH appearance to defend his DOTH game, 1979's Future Spa.Designed by George Christian and released by Bally in their golden era, this game is a super wide body with a very weird and very horny art package, but it's also a game that is widely mocked. At least it was, until this episode where Ty sets the record straight.Oh yeah, we are a pack of swearwolves though, so this is your explicit content warning.Support the show

Support the show & receive a link to the private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode is all about the mystery and mystique surrounding Bally's best game designer from their early solid state golden era, previously covered in our Susan B. Anthony Years episode.And just like last time, we are joined by local Solid-State assassin and good friend Ty Palmer to discuss what is all of our favorite designer from this era.  For a guy that designed some of the best-selling games of all time, during the pinball's peak era you would think that there would be a lot more known about this legendary pinball designer, but sadly there isn't.On this episode of the show, we try to piece together all the little arcane bits of data and information that we have collected over the last 18 months, to try and shine some light onto this unsung hero of the industry.Warning: Adult language is used by adults in this episode.Support the show

Support the show and get a link to the private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode we discuss Stern pinball's interesting way of approaching certain licensed games that they make, including their recent games Dungeons & Dragons and King Kong, before we dive into the differences with their earlier Marvel games like Spider Man, Iron Man, or Avengers to what they make nowadays with Deadpool, X-Men, Venom or Avengers (the second time).Roger Sharpe used a phrase called a "Soft License" to denote a licensed game in which the licensor gives a ton of freedom with how the license is used in a game (like Elvira), but we have expanded that definition to include games like D&D, Kong, and even Jurassic Park as games with minimal assets, but recognizable names.As always, we swear on the show. This is your warning.Support the show

Support the show & get a link to our private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode was written by Alex, about how to get the most out of a Pinball Show.  As the popularity of pinball has grown in the last 5-10 years, so too have the number of Pinball Shows/Expos/Conventions, and there is probably one near you too.Shows can be overwhelming, so listen to Alex & Alan discuss their tips for getting the most out of your weekend!Warning: We are badboys, and so we use badboy language. Support the show

Support the show and join the private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIn this edition of DOTH, Marcus Petersen from the previous episode about creating a pinball scene in a rural town, is back to defend his love for Sega's final pinball machine: 1999's South Park.I am sure everybody has heard of the show at this point, but this game was released after the first two seasons of the show. The pinball machine is nowhere near as well loved as the IP it's based upon, which is we are covering it as Marcus' Die on this Hill game.And while all of our episodes contain adult language, this episode ramps that up a notch with some of the soundbites that I took from the movie. You've been warned!Support the show

Support the show and join our private discord server: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode we are joined on the show with Marcus Petersen, who became a pinball operator in Lassen County, in Northern California near the Lassen National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.Susanville is the biggest city in the county with less than 10,000 residents, so Marcus really had a small pond when he decided to first start operating pinball machines.Marcus speaks to us passionately about the importance of community building and offers lots of fantastic advice for anyone listening who might find themselves in a similar situation out there.Warning: we do cuss a little bit.Support the show

Support the show and join our private Discord server: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis the follow-up episode to Episode 76: Original Themes, and in this episode, we explore the licensing wars in the early 90s through the lens of Joe Kaminkow at Data East pinball and their shift from original themes to only making licensed games.  We talk about how Williams and Gottlieb follow suit and compare sales strategies amongst the companies.Then we end up discussing the major shift in pinball buyers from operators to home collectors, and how that has forever shifted the landscape moving forward.As always, we swear on the show. Sensitive ears be warned.Support the show

Support the Show and get a link to the private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode we are joined by the Underboss of the Stern Family, Mr. George Gomez to discuss the single most popular location game in the Portland pinball scene and celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its release.George tells us stories about the production of the game, working with Lyman Sheats and Chris Granner, as well as answering our questions about the psychology of game design, and why he believes his games are so appealing to new players.Warning: the Sopranos is an adult show, with adult language.  Our show is an adult show, with adult language.Support the show

Support the show and join the private discord server: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastOn this episode, we have a listener from the New England area Josh who wants to talk about the first Dungeons & Dragons pinball machine released in 1987 by Bally.  It's a famously hard game with very weird inlanes, so it should be no surprise that it is not well loved by most pinheads.But Josh came on to set the record straight, and respond to all the haters.Warning: We swear on the show.  Always have and always will.Support the show

Support the show & join our private Discord server: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis is a good one, where we discuss how Williams was able to prove that during the renaissance period of the late 1980s and 1990s, they were able to design, manufacture, and most importantly, SELL the crap outta their original theme games.In this episode, we talk about how Williams beat their competition with original themes and then discuss why almost all of the modern original IP themes suck.Warning: we swear when we get worked up, and we definitely get worked up in this episode.Support the show

Support the show & join our private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastScott Danesi rejoins us on the show to defend his love of Gottlieb Premier's Raven, the lowest rated game that we have ever featured on the show!  Scott goes on the record with why he thinks Raven is actually great and confronts and addresses all the bad internet reviews.Standard warning: We curse on this show; in case you weren't aware of these fact in the first 74 episodes of this podcast.Support the show

Support the show & receive a link to our private discord server: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIn this episode, we are joined on the show by the patron saint of making pinball challenging again, Scott Danesi.  Scott works a full time job at Pinball Life as a multidisciplinary engineer, creating replacement pinball parts for all of us to benefit from, but he also famously has designed 3 (as of this recording) production pinball machines.Scott is also one of the nicest dudes in pinball, who just so happens to make some of the meanest games in modern pinball, and he generously took the time to discuss all of the many things that he does in the pinball hobby from engineering, coding, scoring, and designing.  He truly is pinball's renaissance man.Standard warning though, and it was Scott's first question (can I swear on this show?): yes we are adults, so sometimes we swear when we talk. This is your warning.Support the show

Support the show: https:/ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIn this episode we discuss the final chapter of Gottlieb as a pinball manufacturer.  The prevailing narrative around these games is that they're all terrible, but that's simply not true.  There was a bunch of talented individuals working at Gottlieb at this time, making some very interesting games on extremely tight deadlines, with few resources and we wanted to highlight their talents and work.You may know these games by their pointy boy flippers, or their killer custom music compositions, but we hope that after listening to this episode, you will find a new appreciation for Gottlieb's last dance era.But if you're new and don't know, we are adults and freely use adult language to express our enthusiasm.  You have been warned.Support the show

Support the show: https:/ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastWe are joined on the show by our friend Todd Robinett, to discuss creating a pinball scene from scratch in a small town near the Oregon Coast.  He operates pins in his two businesses: the Merry Time Bar, and the Labor Temple Diner.When Todd first moved out to Astoria, there were no pinball machines.  Now Astoria has 45 pinball machines on location in a town of 10,000 people, and Todd operates about half of these games.Todd tells us all about his rare games strategy, the initial confusion that locals had to his pinball obsession, and how he was able to make Astoria a pinball destination.The Salty Mermaid CupAn annual, 2 Day IFPA sanctioned Matchplay tournament happens on Easter Weekend this year. Saturday 4/19 (Qualifying) & Sunday 4/20 (Finals).Limited to 64 players. Registration opens on March 1, 2025. Register here.Astoria Pinball LeagueTuesdays at the Merry Time, 6:30pmSupport the show

Support the show: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIFPA director, and former women's world champion Zoe Vrabel is back on the show to discuss the past, present, and future of women's competitive pinball.  Zoe tells us all about the rise of competitive women's pinball, and what she would like to see in the future.Stream the Women's World Championship March 29th-30th on Twitch through Backhand PinballLocal Portland Women's events mentioned in the show:Gator Queens - Every last Monday of the month at Wedgehead. IFPA sanctioned, registration at 6:30, tournament starts at 7pm.FLiP - First Wednesday of the month at Ground Kontrol. IFPA sanctioned. Registration at 6:30, tournament starts at 7pm.Good Luck, Babe! - Second Friday of every month, at rotating locations around deep SE Portland. Website here.Other Resources:Belles and Chimes: find or start a local chapterIFPA ResourcesSupport the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIn this episode, Alan is joined on the show by Zoe Vrabel, an IFPA director and former Women's World Champion to discuss some of the legendary women who have worked in the pinball industry, and we discuss their impact on the games that we all know and love.....but, we do swear sometimes.Support the show

Support the show: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode our special guest Glenn Waechter (of the Saw Homebrew machine) joins us on the show, to Die on the Hill for Stern's 2001 game, High Roller Casino.This early stern, rare non licensed title wasn't well received upon its release, as evidenced by all the bad reviews we found, and it's low overall rating on pinside.  But it was loaded with cool mechs and toys, and actually features a very deep ruleset, complete with 3 wizard modes. And Glenn definitely loves this often-hated game....but we do swear when we get excited, and spoiler alert: we got excited. This is your foul language warning.Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode is all about the history of the licensed band pin starting way back in the late 1970s, with a couple dots in the 1990s, and finally into the explosion of them in the 2010s until today.We talk about the effect it has had on the industry, and why, love 'em or hate 'em, old man band pins are here to stay.Warning: If you don't know by now, the explicit warning you see listed in your podcatcher is there because we swear when we talk.  So, sensitive ears be warned.Support the show

Support the show: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis is the finale episode of our 3-part trilogy of episodes that began with the first episode: Pinball Buyer's Guide, continued in our episode Pinball Maintenance, and finally culminates in this episode right here.Alex and Alex talk about coming full circle on a pinball machine and give you some hot tips for kicking that giant box of lights down the road.And if you're new to the show: we do all of that whilst swearing.  This is your warning.Support the show

Support the show: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastCompanion piece episode here from Alan to talk about how to maintain that pinball machine that Alex convinced y'all to buy in the Pinball Buyer's guide episode.There's a lot of bad or wildly unnecessary advice and ridiculous precautions out there on the forums, and it can get confusing fast as others loudly argue amongst themselves about what cleaner is or is not appropriate.  Do we replace the balls immediately out of the box? Every 300 plays? Every 10k plays?And so, we wanted to make this episode to cut through all the noise and help you learn how to properly clean and maintain your pinball machine, when to replace balls, cleaning rubbers, and touch on flipper maintenance like rebuilds too.Pinball Maintenance 101 in an easy to listen to format!  With cuss words!Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastScott & Ryan, the creators of the Pinball Map are back on the show to defend Scott's DOTH game: Stern's 2007 machine, Wheel of Fortune.  It's got a tweaked lower playfield, a theme nobody asked for, and code that was never completed.  But Scott loves this game. So listen up as Ryan and Alan read him all the bad reviews pulled from the internet and get his reaction to the haters.Obligatory: Yes, we swear on this show by adults for adults.Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis is a sequel to our earlier episode 16 - So You Wanna Buy a Pinball Machine?  And in that episode (which we HIGHLY recommend listening to first) we mostly discuss a lot of the things that we wish we knew before we bought our first pinball machines, including a lot of the downsides that you might not even be thinking about.But this episode is a deeper dive taking the plunge, and in particular, buying used games, which is a whole lot different than buying new machines directly from a distributor.Alex give a lot of advice for sites to use to search for games, tools and vehicles for moving games, and what to look for.We mention in the episode a very handy pinside thread that has a list of vehicles that confirmed will fit a pinball machine in them, but here's an easier to read at a glance list from the pinball wikiAs long time listeners know, we're naughty boys on the show and sometimes curse throughout our discussions. This is your warning.Support the show

Support the Show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode features an interview with Ryan and Scott, two regular guys and former roommates who created the Pinball Map all the way back in 2008 right here in Portland, Oregon.Alan talks to Ryan and Scott about the history of this incredible resource, and they talk about the expansions to bring in more cities and regions, the development of the app, the changes in features over the years, and we end the episode discussing some fun stats and some talk about angry operators.You can and should support them via their own Ko-fi account Just remember, this is a show that features some occasional saucy language. Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode is all about the hotly debated definition of what a fan layout is, what it isn't, whether they are good, or whether they are cookie cutter derivative BS.  We discuss the history of them, some of the most famous ones, and some of the designers most associated with them. And at the end of the episode we even argue about some "modified" fan layouts that really seem to kick the old hornets nest amongst public opinions on how broad or how tightly a fan layout's definition should be.As always though, this is a show with two adults speaking as adults do. I make zero effort to censor the show, which is just me saying: we say lots of no-no bad words when we get excited.Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode, we are joined by our friend Isaac Ruiz, a legendary tournament director and organizer from the Portland scene to discuss the rise of tournament pinball here, breaking the IFPA rankings systems in the early 2010s, developing Brackelope, the world's first software for running pinball tournaments, some format explanations for new players curious about all the jargon, and some advice for players who want to TD their own tournaments in their own local scenes.But... we are adults, and as such, we swear sometimes. Just like every other episode. Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastLocal Deathsave enthusiast Jeff Hart returns to the show to defend Stern's 2006 game, World Poker Tour against all the internet haters.  This is one of those games with a star studded design team, loaded with mechanical features, and yet it still is widely derided by many pinheads.Jeff is here to set the record straight, and respond to the all the criticisms.  Maybe it's time for you to give WPT another chance.Warning: our language gets spicy on occasion. Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastThis episode Alan recaps the seminar that he was a panelist on for the 40th Annual Pinball Expo in Chicago and sort of reprises his notes for you all to listen to.The panelists were 3 independent Arcade Bar Owners, Zespy of Logan Arcade in Chicago, Rachel & Cale of the Electric Bat Arcade in Tempe, and your very own Rhodesie & Alan of Wedgehead in Portland.The topic was "How to Run a Successful Independent Arcade Bar", and Alan is here chatting with the Waterboy, trying to give a version of the seminar for y'all to listen to even if you weren't at the Expo.Warning for the sensitive of ears: We use bad and naughty language sometimes. Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastWe are joined on this episode by admitted cheater, local Portland player Jeff Hart, to discuss the dark arts of pinball: The deathsave and it's little brother, the bangback.We discuss the moves, the ethics of doing them from a player's and operator's perspective, and why they aren't allowed in tournament play.  Alan argues for changes from the manufacturer to disable them, and Alex outs himself as a proud cheater too.Warning: this is a show made by adults, and adult language is used throughout.Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIn this episode we interview a fan of the show Mike, who runs a cool AirBnB in Troy, NY near Albany.  He has 15 pinball machines in the apartment that are all on free play for the guests, and we talk with him about this unusual but very cool way to operate pinball in an unconventional way.Mike tells us how he got started collecting, and then the decision to open up his collection to guests in the basement apartment under his home.Mike also defends 1986's Road Kings in a truncated version of our popular "Die on this Hill" series.Here's a link to his AirBnB if you're ever in the area, you should definitely check it out: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/691779632034113278?source_impression_id=p3_1729622041_P36uRzILadll9f_R*Obligatory Naughty Language Warning*Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastIn this episode we are belatedly celebrating our one year anniversary of hosting this weekly pinball show.We asked y'all to submit some questions, and boy did you!  We try and answer all of your questions that you sent in to us, although a few came in after we recorded this episode and we will save them for another time.Thank you to each and every one of you that has listened to our show over the last year plus, and thanks for sharing us with your family and friends.  We feel rejuvenated, and can't wait for what year number has in store for the show!Note: y'all should know by now, but we do swear a little bit sometimes.Support the show

Our buddy Mike from Quarters and Quarters Sugarhouse joins us on the show to discuss operating two arcade bars in Salt Lake City, Utah.We talk about his start in the bar business, and all the unique challenges that running a bar in the state of Utah entails.  Mike enlightens us on his local pinball scene and speaks about the decision to open a second location in the same city.Note: We are adults, so we swear a little bit.

This is the second part of our series about the groundbreaking Williams System 11 games, and we discuss the second half of them, including games from the recently acquired Bally pinball division which injected even more creative juice into the parent company.Ty Palmer is back for part two, and we talk about games like Whirlwind, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Diner, and Dr. Dude amongst all the others, and further discuss the many design tropes that emerged from this era including which ones stuck and which ones fell by the wayside.We even do a quick snake draft at the end to pick our own top 3 from the era.  But we are adults, so adult language is used. 

Our good friend and solid state pinball guru, Ty Palmer joins us for the first episode in our two part series on the Williams System 11 platform, a pinball board set and software framework that massively changed the game of pinball.Larry Demar designed and engineered this groundbreaking system, and programmed many of the best games from this era too.  It spanned 5 years from 1986 to 1991, and includes 30 pinball machines.We discuss the first 15 of them in this episode including highlights like High Speed, Pinbot, Banzai Run, Grand Lizard, and more.This era marks the change from classic to modern, and is the grandfather of all the machines we see to this day. System 11 is to pinball what Black Sabbath is to all subsequent metal bands.Listen up, this is a good one!

In this episode Alan and Alex discuss the best games to trick your normie friends and family into liking and playing pinball.  We discuss the parameters of what we think makes a great gateway game, what makes a bad gateway game, and tips for making their first time playing more fun.We are also now accepting questions for our 1 year anniversary episode, so send all your questions or comments that you want us to read and discuss on that episode to wedgeheadinfo@gmail.comNote: We're not werewolves, but we are little swearwolves.  Sensitive ears be warned.

In this episode, freelance pinball artist Jonathan Bergeron joins us from his studio in Montreal, Canada to discuss his life as a commercial artist doing gig posters and merch designs for bands like Mastodon, Guns 'n Roses, Suicidal Tendencies, Judas Priest, and many many more, as well as how he got pulled into the pinball industry as the artist for Stern's Jurassic Park.He did 5 different dinosaur themed art packages for all the different editions of that game, and we discuss his transition into doing art for something as big as a pinball machine.We discuss his other released pinball art packages on games like former guest of the show, Sean Irby's Eight Ball Beyond homebrew, Scott Danesi's Final Resistance for the P3 platform, and his latest project for Barrels of Fun and their first game Labyrinth!...but you must be warned that we do happen to swear just a little bit in this episode.

The man/myth/legend Roger Sharpe is back again on the show to speak more about the pinball renaissance of the 1990s.  In this second episode we dive more into some of the many people that made these games special.We talk about designers like Steve Ritchie, Pat Lawlor, and Dennis Nordman. Programmers like Larry DeMar, Lyman Sheats, and Dwight Sullivan, as well as the sound design and musical compositions of Chris Granner amongst others.  Roger tells us some fantastic stories of licensing, the industry competition at the time, and how he feels about this decade of pinball and its lasting impact today.

Alan and Alex are joined on the show once again by Roger Sharpe, aka the 'Man Who Saved Pinball' to discuss his career at Williams from 1988-1999 as the Marketing Director.  Roger tells us some great stories about getting hired, the merger of Bally into Williams, his role in licensing games, and more.And we discuss a lot about the different technological advances that made this era of games so dynamic and interesting, from the software and rules, to the DMD display, to the big mechanical toys that were being engineered and put into these games, the 1990s saw a rapid rise and fall in pinball, but it changed the game forever.

Alan and Alex are joined on the show by their friend Tyler White from LA to discuss Stern's Insider Connected platform, and why he loves to use it, and how he wants to see it grow into the future.Stern's IC is a feature that has been on all their games since Godzilla (2021), and has retrofit kits to connect all their Spike 2 games going back to Batman '66 (2016).We discuss what the new platform has meant through the eyes of players and operators, and how connecting pinball machines has changed the game for some, and not mattered at all to others.But the boys definitely used some salty adult language throughout the episode, so this is the obligatory explicit warning for sensitive widdle ears.

In this episode, our friend and member of our local Portland Pinball scene, Nate Tayloe joins us on the show to educate us on the weird case where Gottlieb chose to sue Paramount Pictures over alleged copyright and trademark infringement due to the inclusion of Gottlieb's "Silver Slugger" pinball machine in the 2000 movie, "What Women Want" starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.Nate learned about this case while he was in law school, and he wanted to bring this story of the case to our show, and discuss the nebulous issue of copyright in other forms of art.We discussed in the episode a website where all known inclusions of pinball machines appearing in film are listed, but Nate couldn't remember the website name in the moment.  But in case you're interested, here's a link to it: https://www.pingeek.com/film/film.htmAs always though, this is an adult show and we sometimes use naughty words to express ourselves.

Ty Ueda from Pop's Pinball Parlor in Boston, Ma. is back to defend another game on the show, this time it's 1993's Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends!Released by Data East and designed by frequent DOTH designer extraordinaire, Tim Seckel, this game probably barely qualifies as it seems to sit somewhere in the middle of truly hated or truly respected.  But Ty is an excitable boy and he LOVES this game so we thought it would be fun to read him all the bad reviews we could find.As always though, we are big boys here; and as such, we talk with big boy language sometimes...this is your explicit content warning.

We're joined again on the show by Greg Freres whom we spoke to in the last episode, about the legendary Bally Art Department of the early solid state era.  But in this episode we focus our discussions on his ascension to head of the art department at Williams/Bally after the 1988 merger,  guiding them through their wild 1990s pinball renaissance until they closed their doors in 1999.After about a decade in between of working in videogames and freelancing, he returned to pinball as the new art director at Stern, and quickly ushered in their own golden era of pinball with a return to hand illustrated art packages for their games.Greg just retired after 40+ years in the pinball industry, and we had a blast talking to him again.  But we are all adults here so...sometimes our language gets a little bit spicy.

In this episode, Alan and Alex are joined on the show by long time pinball artist Greg Freres, and they discuss Greg's time working in the late 1970s and early 1980s art department at Bally, a truly remarkable time period for pinball art.Greg tells us all about the different processes that revolutionized the industry, working under art director Paul Faris, and the fraternity bond that he shared with Paul, Kevin O'Connor, Margaret Hudsen, Dave Christensen, Tony Ramunni, and Pat McMahon.Greg tells us some great stories from the absolute peak of Bally pinball, and how this rogue's gallery of young artists came in and completely changed the game with their bold and risque illustrative style.Here's a bonus link to Greg's seminar from the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show that we mention in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChCqJVvGlL8 

In this MEGA sized episode of the podcast, Alan and Alex discuss the rise and increase in the number of pinball MEGALOCATIONS with 100+ machines.We discuss traveling to these pinball destinations, what to expect playing massive collections in warehouse buildings, and talk about our own experiences at some of these locations such as Past Times, Next Level, Pacific Pinball Museum, and the Pinball Hall of Fame.There's some very cool and massive pinball locations popping up around the world, and we talk about them in this episode....as always though, we use naughty language and no-no words.

Sean Irby, homebrew pinball designer from our last episode rejoins the show to defend his "Die on this Hill" game: Sega's Godzilla.Before Stern released their Godzilla to a near deafening roar of approval, Gary's previous pinball venture had a much less successful go at a Godzilla game, based on the similarly ill - fated Godzilla movie starring Mathew Broderick in 1998.The contrast between the reception of these two pins is STARK, to say the least.  So listen as Sean defends this original Godzilla pinball machine against the army of online haters.As always, we are an adult show, and use adult language...if this bothers you, GROW UP!

In this episode, Alan and Alex are joined on the show by Sean Irby, a northwest pinball neighbor from Seattle to discuss the making and development of homebrew pinball machines, AKA making your own pinball machine.Over the last 5 years, the homebrew pinball community has exploded thanks to the availability of boards, mission pinball framework, and the online community surrounding these tools.Sean built his own pinball machine, Eight Ball Beyond, a spiritual successor to the trilogy of Eight Ball games made by Bally, and he talks with us about his process, offering advice for players looking to follow in his footsteps and build their own game too.Anyone in Portland, or the surrounding areas can play this awesome game at Wedgehead for the entire month of August 2024, as Sean is bringing it down and dropping it off for the community to play and enjoy!For everyone else, check out this pinside thread that he created, documenting more of the process: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/eight-ball-beyondAs always though, we use some adult language throughout the show.

In this special edition of our popular 'Die on this Hill' series, Alan teams up with his buddy AJ, the owner and operator of the Flip a Coin Arcade, to defend Data East's Hook.Alex is there as the resident hater on the show, and he GLEEFULLY reads AJ and Alan an avalanche of awful reviews scoured from the depths of the internet.Buckle up, this one is a wild ride.But we do use some choice and tasty adult language throughout the episode to punctuate our refined takes.  You've been warned! BANGARANG! 

We are joined on the show by Adam 'AJ' Jordan, owner and operator of the 'Flip a Coin Arcade' that they built in the basement of his girlfriend's bakery, the 'Bite Me Cake Company' in Pueblo, Colorado.We talk about building a scene in a small town, taking a leap in the middle of covid, and how his day job as an autobody repair guy has bled over into his operating of pins, including spraying new clearcoats and repainting old cabinets in the booth.AJ is another very passionate hobbyist turned operator, and one of those folks that we absolutely love talking to and highlighting on the show.  

Our pal Jeff Johnsen, the operator of Walt's in LA, is back on the show to defend the last pinball machine that the original Stern Electronics company ever made, Orbitor 1.Jeff tells us about the historical significance of the game, including the two pinball outsiders and NASA engineers, who brought their concept and ideas for an entirely new play experience to a company under duress, and convinced them to take the leap and manufacture one of the most hated pinball machines of all time in the process.What most people write off as a weirdo art project novelty, Jeff argues that it's actually a real pinball machine and is very controllable and satisfying to play once you take the time to learn it.  The internet disagrees...HARSHLY.As always, we are adults and speak like them.  There are a few naughty words used throughout.

We speak with Jeff Johnsen, owner and operator of Walt's Bar in LA's Eagle Rock neighborhood about how his father taught him and his brother how to work on games as kids, almost blowing themselves up in the process.We talk about the LA pinball scene, pricing games, giving up his route, and how to properly rehab an old plumbing supply store into an iconic LA bar, replete with 10 vintage pins.Join us for a chat with one of the wildest pinball operators we have ever chatted with, as we talk about one of the most vibey pinball locations in the country using some choice adult language.

Pinball restoration artist Ashley Ludwig (@ludwigsynopsis) is back on the show to defend her favorite trashy 90s pin, Lethal Weapon 3.Made by Data East in 1992, and based on the hit series of odd couple buddy cop films, Ashley passionately tells us why she thinks that LW3 is actually better than the Addams Family, and we confront her with the heap of bad reviews we found for it all over the internet refuting her claim.Obligatory swear word warning here: we cuss a little bit.

Ever wanted to know why operators choose to use quarters vs tokens? Or why so many large arcades have ditched coins altogether and installed card readers on their games?  Or why Wedgehead moved over to a freeplay model?Then this episode is for you.  Alan and Alex discuss each payment system in depth and outline the pros and cons of each from both the operator and consumer's point of views.  There's a reason for every decision, and it's usually not because your local operator is a crook.Our hope after listening to this episode, you will leave with a greater understanding of why your local spot chose the payment system best suited for them, and why no matter the system, you should support them....but we do swear sometimes throughout the episode.