Pinball Brothers just sent out a press release, indicating they are merging with their contract manufacturer Pedretti Gaming and moving into a larger manufacturing facility. Read the press release below for all details.

“A very eventful 2022 is soon behind us, and 2023 is almost here. For Pinball Brothers this will
be extra exciting as we are kicking off by moving our production to a new factory. The move
will slow us down for a couple of weeks, but from second half of January we expect to be up
and running with a bang!

The move also sees us joining forces with our long-time partner Pedretti Gaming. Together
we have shipped close to 800 games and have decided to take the partnership to the next
level by forming Euro Pinball Corp. The purpose of the new company is to provide a superior
platform for large scale manufacturing of pinball machines. Besides the raw capacity increase
it will allow us to run production of multiple games in parallel.

As 2022 comes to an end the times continue to be quite unpredictable. We have experienced
a lot of delays in the last 12 months, and while we have managed to bring out Queen, so far
only a few games compared to what we hoped and planned for. We are very sorry for this,
but we are sure it will be worth the wait.

There is just a small number of games shipped to customers in Europe who specifically signed
up for taking part in this early run of games. So if you aren’t one of the first adopters please
don’t be too jealous. We are very aware of the queue and we’ll make it worth your while.
We are currently sorting the last minor issues before the first big production run that will
follow in January. The good news is that the software will continue to evolve in the meantime.
We know people like to bash us for the timeline, but latest Covid developments are out of
our hands still. Due to that we are certainly exploring alternative European manufacturing
choices for some parts, but this process also takes time to make sure the quality meets our
standards.

Anyway, for 2023 there are very big plans from us. Increased manufacturing means we
can have a much wider network of distributors to make sure everybody who wants a game
should have an easier time finding one. Our aim is to decrease lead-times too and make all
our games available on demand, just like Alien is now (ask for it and you will get it).
And there are new projects in the pipeline … Next year is really a year to look forward too. We
hope you all are having a great end to 2022 and wish you an amazing 2023 – full of pinball!”

Categories: News

Pedretti Gaming reveals Funhose 2.0 topper

Editor

Posted on December 17, 2022

Pedretti Gaming, the italian contract manufacturer for Pinball Brothers and maker of the Funhouse 2.0 upgrade kit, just revealed their topper for Funhouse 2.0.

The topper is a static sculpt with three characters, including Rudy, from the Funhouse 2.0 game. The video below demonstrates how the lightshows interact with various game modes.

Categories: News

Storage clean out: special one-time book offer

Editor

Posted on December 3, 2022

As you may recall, Pinball Magazine published Santiago Ciuffo’s PINBALL book in 2014. This is a 208-page full-color hardcover coffee table book with beautiful photos of mostly American-made pinball machines found in Argentina. At the time, I figured there would be more demand for a book with photos than the traditional issues of Pinball Magazine, which contain in-depth interviews. So I printed the book and stored most of these books in offsite storage. While the book has been a steady seller, there are still quite a few copies in that storage. No problem; if it wasn’t, I need to move out of that storage by the end of this month.

Pinball Magazine usually doesn’t offer discounts, but I guess this is the exception to this rule: So, for the entire month of December 2022, Santiago Ciuffo’s PINBALL book will be discounted by 50%. That means you can get a book copy for only Euro 14.99 + shipping instead of the usual Euro 29.90 + shipping.

Visit the Pinball Magazine webshop to place your order by clicking here.

The book does come with a bonus issue of Pinball Magazine that contains a 4-page interview with Argentinean photographer Santiago Ciuffo in 12 languages, photos that were not published in the book, and advertisements by various pinball companies that made it possible to publish the book internationally. So the book is free of ads, as these are all in the supplement magazine.

Originally the book also came with a set of free postcards. Those are gone, but postcards from a different postcard set by Santiago Ciuffo will be included with every order as long as supplies last.

In case you’re interested in this special offer, you may also be interested in getting a copy of Pinball Magazine issues 1 to 5. These are not discounted, but they haven’t increased in price either, while everything else around you has. When ordering the book and some issues of Pinball Magazine, you’re likely to save on shipping costs as well.

Visit the Pinball Magazine webshop to place your order by clicking here.

When ordering the PINBALL book, please note the following: due to the weight and size of the book, it can only be shipped as a Package. If you select any other shipping method, such as LETTER mail, your order cannot be processed, and you will be asked to pay the additional postal costs.

As seen by the images in this newsletter, Santiago Ciuffo’s PINBALL book is a great holiday gift. The sooner you place your order, the sooner it will arrive. Please note that I can’t guarantee when your order will arrive as I’m not in charge of postal delays.

UPDATE:
The response to puy the book, and copies of Pinball Magazine No. 1 to 5, has been great. Thank you for that. It also brought forward a few glitches in the webshop that I wasn’t aware of. I’ll look into these as soon as I can, but for now here is one solution to a common issue:

If you get a message during checkout that no shipping options are available this can be a result of the total weight in your cart being over 5 kilograms. The simple solution: remove one or two issues of Pinball Magazine from your cart and try again. Place a second order for the magazines you just removed, as that will give you cheaper shipping options.

If you get a notification that your country isn’t available, please send me an e-mail (editor @ pinball-magazine . com without any spaces) and I’ll look into it right away.

European customers are also welcome to order via email and pay via IBAN bank transfer. I’ll add details on that in the upcoming Pinball Magazine Newsletter.

Visit the Pinball Magazine webshop to place your order by clicking here.

Categories: News

Jersey Jack Pinball factory tour

Editor

Posted on November 1, 2022

Before Pinball Expo 2022 started, Martin Ayub and I visited Jersey Jack Pinball, were we got a factory tour by game designer Eric Meunier. The photos below will give an impression of that tour.

When entering the factory, there are three prototype games with minor differences compared to the production model.

Jersey Jack Pinball currently has two production lines, but at the time of our visit only one line was in use.

For more images from the Jersey Jack Pinball factore, see the Pinball Expo report.

Categories: News

Pinball Expo 2022: overall report

Editor

Posted on October 21, 2022

Pinball Expo 2022 is here and Pinball Magazine is present to report from the show. A small warning upfront: as this is a show with A LOT going on, and I’m helping Martin Ayub of Pinball News out with the video registration of seminars, it turns out to be hard to find the time to sit down, write a report, and edit the photos I’ve taken. I’ll try to report as much as possible during the show and will most likely finish the report probably when the show is over.

Pinball Expo is held at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. Martin Ayub of Pinball News and I often travel together to these events and we both report from them separately. Martin covers the show in his way on his Pinball News website, while my report is more like a travel blog.

We arrived in Schaumburg on Monday, October 17th, two days before the start of the show. Monday evening we went to Enterrium, a huge local arcade. Pinball designer/programmer Scott Danesi (Total Nuclear Annihilation, Rick and Morty) had announced on Facebook he would be at this barcade that evening to play redemption games at half price. As it turned out, Scott wasn’t the only pinball designer present as Mark Seiden (Jersey Jack Pinball) and Ryan McQuaid (American Pinball) were also present. All three have a history of starting with homebrew games. Martin and I played a couple of games on Toy Story 4, which was the first time I got to play the game. As I haven’t seen any of the Toy Story movies, I had an unbiased approach to the game and I can only say that it’s a great shooting game. It plays like butter, very nice flow.

Tuesday morning we visited Jersey Jack Pinball, where we got a factory tour from game designer Eric Meunier. For photos of that tour, see this article. The JJP factory is a very clean, classy and efficient factory, and Eric had time to give a very detailed tour. Following the tour, Martin and I were playing a few more games of Toy Story 4 in the JJP reception hall, when game designer Steve Ritchie walked by. We both know Steve well and were happy to see him again. As he was heading out for lunch with Mark Seiden, he invited us to join them. We went to a Chinese restaurant with a very good reputation. Many pinball industry professionals eat here regularly.

Following lunch, Martin and I headed to American Pinball. We were supposed to meet David Fix, but as David is one of the main organizers of Pinball Expo he was busy setting up the show at the Renaissance hotel. Instead, we got a factory tour from Max Senesac, who has been working for the company in Sales for almost a year now. Comparing the production facility of American Pinball with Jersey Jack Pinball, I’d say the American Pinball lines are a factor five smaller than at JJP. As a result the production lines at AP are shorter, which means less stations on the line to put parts on the playfield and each station has more parts to install on the playfield. Still, a very efficient line. Photos will follow soon in a seperate article.

Following the tour, I got a chance to talk to veteran pinball designer Dennis Nordman, whos career in pinball is covered in-depth in Pinball Magazine No. 2. Dennis is currently working on two games for American Pinball. Both are non-licensed themes and the first of these games will have artwork by Christopher Franchi.

Tuesday evening we were invited to a league night at Mark Seiden’s house. Here I was able to play Mark’s Metroid game. This game design resulted in him getting hired at Jersey Jack where he is being mentored by Steve Ritchie.

Wednesday morning, Martin and I checked out of our hotel to move to the Renaissance Hotel. For both of us, this is our first time attending Pinball Expo at this location. Last year, Pinball Expo moved to this location, but we couldn’t attend due to Covid-19 restrictions. The hotel reminds me a bit of the Texas Pinball Festival hotel.

Wednesday is build-up day for all exhibitors on the show floor. The only public event part of Pinball Expo is the Bumper Blast Welcoming Party, which this year was held at Enterrium. Schoolbuses were available to bring visitors from the Renaissance hotel to Enterrium.

At Enterrium, it turned out the Bumper Blast event was held at the same time as a local pinball tournament, resulting in a very crowded Barcade. For the tournament, all piball machines had been moved to the area next to the bowling alley. The Bumper Blast event was held in a separate room in the back, on the other side of the bowling alley, where free food and drinks were served. I arrived rather late, which turned out to be a good thing, as there had been a lengthy line for the food and drinks, which by the time I arrived was reduced to a minimum. While at times some of the food trays were empty, they would within minutes be replaced with new trays of food.

At 10:00 PM, Enterrium closed and buses were waiting outside to take everybody back to the Renaissance hotel.

Thursday

Thursday morning, Pinball Expo kicked off with a tour of the Jersey Jack Pinball Factory. Below are photos from the factory tour, focusing on the tour. In a separate article, I posted photos from the tour I had two days earlier, which are far more focused on the various stages of how pinball games are build.

Registration for the Jersey Jack Pinball tour at the Renaissance Convention center. The line was long. Two buses were available to take attendees to JJP. People in the line received a wristband of a specific color, which corresponded with a certain time slot the bus would depart to JJP. Demand was so big, the last groups departed early afternoon.

The showfloor for Pinball Expo is drastically different than the previous location, the Westin in Weeling, Illinois. Now, all vendors, manufacturers, and free play games are setup in one large hall. I took photos during setup of the show, which I used in a special newsletter I sent out that afternoon. Below I will post photos from the show floor during the show, with all booths set up and up and running.

Pinball Brothers had a Standard Edition and a Rhapsody Edition of Queen on display. To keep the games short, they were set at two balls per game and no multiplayer games.

The images above were mostly taken on the Thursday of the show.

So, the images above give a good impression of what the main hall of Pinball Expo looked like. Compared to previous editions, I find this new location and the current setup a huge improvement. One of the main elements of Pinball Expo that is still held in a separate room are the seminars. These were held in a room on the first level in the lobby. This year, I helped Martin Ayub of Pinball News out in the recording of the many seminars. Martin still recorded most, but I was able to take over for some hours so that he could go to the show floor to see what that was like. Note that the seminar program is packed. They start at 8:15 AM and continue until way past 10:00 PM. All seminars can now be watched on the Pinball News youtube channel, or on the Pinball News website, which also has a short summary of each seminar.

Because I was helping out Martin, I didn’t spend as much time as otherwise on the show floor. Still I was able to go over, buy some parts, play the new Queen game by Pinball Brothers, play several of the homebrew games, and talk to many familiar faces that I haven’t seen in three years or so.

On Thursday and Friday, the show closed at midnight, but that didn’t mean the party was over. The hotel has a large lobby with a nice firepit, where a lot of people hang out until early in the morning. Much to my, and many other’s surprise, the hotel bar closed at 11:00 PM, so people brought their own drinks. From the sound of it, which could be heard up to the seventh floor of the hotel, people had a good time hanging out.

On Saturday, two autograph sessions were held in the room next to the seminar room. The first session was the traditional autograph session as we have seen at previous Pinball Expos. Pinball game designers, artists, engineers and other creative people from the industry sit behind a large table and attendees of the show can have their translites, flyers, playfields and other items signed by the people responsible for that game. Unfortunately, former Gottlieb designer Bill Parker became unwell during the first session and was taken to a hospital by medics.

Later in the afternoon, Stern Pinball held their own autograph session. Besides the familiar designers and artists that also attended the first autograph session, this session had more video animators, programmers, mechanical engineers and people in other positions that are less noticable, to sign game-specific items.

Prior to Pinball Expo, Henrik Maurer of Pinball Dreams in Germany had reached out to me. He was coming to Pinball Expo and was hoping to talk to former bally pinball designer Jim Patla and former Bally engineer Allen Reizman regarding a game he recently found in Germany. That game would be the only fiberglass Bally KISS game in the world. Henrik had met Jim Patla already on Thursday. Alen Reizman would only attend Expo on the Saturday, and I was able to get him to meet Henrik and Ingo, the owner of the game. Henrik had created a one-page flyer for the game, which he showed to Allen. Allen hadn’t seen the game in over 40 years and was under the impression it was destroyed. He wanted to know all about how they found it, the condition of the game and so on.

Henrik gave Allen a few of the flyers he had printed. Thirty minutes later, multiple people started walking up to me. “I hear you have flyers of a unique KISS game. Can I have one?” I tried to explain I did not have these flyers, but quickly figured it would be easier to ask Henrik to drop off some flyers so I could make these people happy, which he did. In the meantime, Allen has posted some photos of the game on Facebook.

Another highlight of the show was walking onto the show floor and DJ Jivan Ivan was playing Baltimora’s Tarzan Boy. As I collect 7 inch singles by italian artists, I was curious what pressing he was playing, as I have never seen the U.S pressing of this track. So I explain I collect this type of music on vinyl and such and he hands me the record as a gift. How cool is that?! Thank you, Jivan Ivan!

This report is still being updated, so please come back for more soon.

Categories: News

Stern Pinball reveals James Bond 007

Editor

Posted on September 22, 2022

Stern Pinball announced their newest cornerstone game: James Bond 007, coming in three models: Pro, Premium and Limited Edition. The game is designed by Stern Pinball’s VP of Game Design George Gomez. Gomez picked up the license after Steve Ritchie, the original designer of the game, left for a competing company. A fourth James Bond-themed game is also announced, but is designed by Keith Elwin. That game has yet to be revealed. Below is how Stern Pinball’s announced the game on social media:

Stern Pinball, Inc. launches a new line of pinball machines celebrating the iconic, genre-defining James Bond films. The James Bond 007 cornerstone series features the original 007 actor, Sean Connery, available in Pro Edition, Premium Edition, and Limited Edition (LE). Stern Pinball will also release a special James Bond 007 60th Anniversary Limited Edition pinball machine featuring all six James Bond actors.

In Dr. No (1962) Sean Connery propelled 007 into the cultural zeitgeist, bringing the legendary literary figure to life through adrenalized action sequences, ground-breaking gadgets and effects, memorable characters, and timeless villains.

Stern’s James Bond 007 cornerstone pinball machine will highlight film footage and iconic music from the films that built the 007 legend: Dr. No, From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Players are immersed into the world of espionage in this action-packed pinball experience, tackling assignments, teaming up with key allies, and stopping SPECTRE’s villainous schemes.

Gather gadgets from Q Branch as pinballs get ejected through the roof of a custom sculpted Aston Martin DB5. Break through the Osato Chemicals drop targets to battle SPECTRE at the Bird 1 rocket base. And hold your breath on the gravity defying, magnetic jetpack as it transports pinballs across the playfield.

James Bond 007 pinball machines include Stern’s award-winning Insider Connected™ system, which enables players to interact with the game and a global network of players in a variety of ways. Through Insider Connected, players can track progress, earn new game-specific achievements, engage with the player community, and participate in promotions and Challenge Quests. Insider Connected also provides an operator-focused toolset to drive location play through Location Leaderboards, build player loyalty, analyze performance, make adjustments remotely, and maintain the machines. Registration for Insider Connected is available at insider.sternpinball.com/.

Limited to 1,000 machines globally, the highly collectible cornerstone Limited Edition includes an exclusive full-color mirrored backglass inspired by Thunderball, masterfully adapted cabinet artwork, custom high gloss and powder-coated pinball armor, a custom designer-autographed bottom arch, exclusive inside art blades, upgraded audio system, anti-reflection pinball playfield glass, shaker motor, a sequentially numbered plaque, and a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Stern Chairman Gary Stern and President Seth Davis.

Stern’s James Bond 007 60th Anniversary Limited Edition pinball machines will immerse players in the history of 007. Limited to 500 machines globally, the highly collectible 60th Anniversary Limited Edition offers players a retro-inspired playfield packed with exciting mechanical action. Control the chaos from Oddjob’s kinetic spinning disc hat, survive tactical precision shots against 10 drop targets, escape SPECTRE’s evil henchmen navigating pinballs through 4 fast-flowing optical spinners, learn assignments through an in-playfield LCD screen, and rack up high scores on classic-style score reels.

“James Bond is as timeless as pinball. Partnering with EON Productions/Danjaq, MGM Studios and Aston Martin, we created a pinball adventure capturing the suspense, action, and humor from this beloved film series.” said Gary Stern, Chairman and CEO. “Get connected today and become a legend.”

Fittingly, the new James Bond 007 pinball machines will be on show for the first time to media and public in London. On September 26th the games will be on display and available to play as part of the Bond-themed Christie’s Late, a public event celebrating the forthcoming Christie’s Sixty Years of James Bond Charity Auction. Shortly after, they will be a part of the James Bond at 60 weekend at the British Film Institute on the South Bank, September 30th-October 2nd.

Pricing and Availability:
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (“MSRP”)*:
Pro Edition: $US 6,999
Premium Edition: $US 9,699
Limited Edition: $US 12,999
60th Anniversary Limited Edition: CALL FOR PRICE
*MSRP for sales to USA end-users, before any VAT, GST, Sales Tax, Duties, or other taxes.

James Bond 007 pinball machines and accessories are available now through authorized Stern Pinball distributors and dealers around the world. Pro and Premium Editions will also be available at 007Store.com
For more information, visit: https://sternpinball.com/game/james-bond-007/

Gary Stern’s mailing to distributors can be read below:

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

A dream come true – pinball based on a fantastic theme with movie history, including 25 films which were released generation after generation. Today we introduce Stern’s latest games, James Bond 007. With Bond movies and licensed products having grossed over $15 Billion worldwide, this movie franchise, the franchise that created the spy genre, reaches its 60^th anniversary this year.

Stern EVP/CCO George Gomez took the lead and designed our 3 cornerstone games – James Bond 007 Pro Edition, Premium Edition and Limited Edition. George has based his Bond games on the six genre defining Sean Connery films:

Dr.No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
Diamonds Are Forever

An enthusiast Bond fan since early childhood, George has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Bond. The opportunity to bring to pinball the mechanical action of gadgets created by “Q” and action scenes included in these Bond movies energized his creativity. James Bond 007 is a passion project for George. That passion shows in the games he has created.

I hope you have watched Seth’s and my webinar and our game play videos to see all the memorable action and features straight from James Bond that our games capture. All Cornerstone Editions have, of course, an Aston Martin DB5 ejecting a ball thru its opening roof. A 3 bank drop target protects the custom molded SPECTRE “Bird One” rocket that senses and moves when hit. The underwater Thunderball fight scene is illuminated on the playfield. And much more.

The James Bond 007 Premium Edition adds more action and features. The ball is shot up the “Bird One” rocket gantry to be captured for multiball. The underwater fight scene utilizes molded characters under the playfield. A magnet on a sculpted moving James Bond JetPack captures the ball. The Premium has Dr. No’s Dragon Tank, illuminated and with 2 targets for players to attempt hitting by releasing the ball from the JetPack magnet.

Each movie’s titles, villains, henchmen, SPECTRE weapons and Bond women are symbolized in strings of light up inserts. Progressions through each and through the SPECTRE spellout are visually exhibited to great and novice players.

I could add a detailed list of all the other mechanical devices – 3^rd flipper, wire ramps, stainless ramps, up posts, vuks, control gates. It’s better that you watch the videos and play the games.

James Bond 007 play excitement is enhanced with film clips, plus Stern created animation so detailed it has been mistaken for film. Voices from the six movies are carefully integrated into the game. Leading with the iconic John Barry’s Bond theme music from Dr. No, other compositions from each movie are utilized in that movie’s game play sequences and modes. Included are performances by Matt Monro, Nancy Sinatra and Shirley Bassey.

The James Bond 007 games feature art adapted from famous Bond illustrators & designers Frank McCarthy, Robert McGinnis and Ken Adam. The Pro, Premium and Limited Editions each highlight a different movie. The movie’s poster has been adapted for each edition’s backglass. The cabinet right sides, different for each edition, have Bond movie posters from the 5 Connery movies not featured in that game’s backglass. The left side has art themed around the edition’s highlighted movie. The playfield art includes all six of the Connery movies.

The 1,000 James Bond 007 Limited Edition are numbered 001 to 1000. Each has:

High gloss metallic armor and legs
Mirrored backglass
Upgraded audio system
Shaker motor
Non-glare playfield glass
Certificate of authenticity signed by President Seth Davis and me
Designer George Gomez autograph
Sequentially numbered (001 to 1000) plate

And there is more.

Keith Elwin has designed a retro inspired James Bond 007 60^th Anniversary Limited Edition, capturing all James Bonds and their films. It’s a classic drop target game with 10 drop targets, Oddjob kinetic spinning disc, and many fast flowing spinners. In addition to traditional score reels, an LCD display is mounted in the playfield. This highly collectible limited model will be numbered 001-500. A full reveal will be coming soon.

All James Bond 007 ship Insider Connected™ capable. Utilizing the power of the internet, we will issue special Bond “Assignments” only possible on connected games.

James Bond 007 games will be available in November. We will begin with Pro Editions, followed by Limited Edition games, and then Premium Editions. The 60^th Anniversary Limited Edition production will be in December. Information on accessories is coming soon.

We are all aware that inflation has caused parts and labor cost increases. Supply chain difficulties have resulted in additional cost increases. We annually have increased our wholesale sales prices, and new prices will be set for James Bond 007. Our sales reps will be able to give you prices for all games (cornerstone, 60^th, studio & home editions) and also for requests of specific Limited Edition numbers.

Prices on prior cornerstone models will increase to the James Bond 007 level on January 1, 2023. A new UMRP, MAP and MSRP list will be sent to USA customers. The list will indicate these prices for James Bond 007 games. For other models it will indicate current prices and the prices at January 1, 2023. For models that are reaching end of life in 2022, the UMRP/MAP/MSRP will not increase on January 1, 2023. Included are Guardians of the Galaxy, Led Zeppelin, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We will accept cancellations, should you so desire

Jack Danger will stream James Bond 007 Premium/LE Editions. For updated information, please check https://facebook.com/sternpinball

I will end where I started. These James Bond 007 games are a dream come true.

Best regards,

Gary

Gary Stern
Chairman and CEO
Stern Pinball, Inc.
2001 Lunt Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-5605 USA
www.sternpinball.com

Below are photo galeries of the Pro, Premium and LE models:

Below is a gallery of Premium model images:

Below is a gallery of Limited Edition model images:

The first image of the James Bond 007 game designed by Keith Elwin was already shown on the 007.com website:

Categories: News

Pinball Brothers announce: Queen pinball machine

Editor

Posted on July 21, 2022

Backbox of the Champion Edition

Following a demo game displayed at a Queen pop-up store in the fall of 2021, Pinball Brothers and Queen have finally announced their Queen – Live In Concert pinball machine to go into production. There will be two versions of the game, a Champion Edition and a Rhapsody Limited Edition (1,000 units), of which the latter will become available in the first quarter of 2023. The game features 14 songs from Queen’s well-known Wembley live shows from 1986.

Here are the close up playfield images provided by Pinball Brothers:

Player’s view

The upper playfield

The Red Special mini playfield with captive ball

Based on these photos the game appears to have two flippers in the standard position at the bottom of the playfield, a thrid flipper on the Red Special miniplayfield, three popbumpers, three shot-blocking droptargets, a huge metal center ramp, elevated static radio and Wembley Arena sculptures, numerous stand-up targets and one spinner.

From earlier rumors it is understood the game was originally designed by Dave Sanders and Barry Oursler during the days of Heighway Pinball. At that time the game was developed as a widebody design. Now that Pinball Brothers have taken over, the game has been modified into a standard width game by the Pinball Brothers Design Team and Alexander Spohr.

The art package of the Rhapsody LE differs from the Champion Edition, as can be seen below:

The Rhapsody LE artwork package

While the game is announced July 21st, 2022, production of the game will start in September 2022. As with Pinball Brothers’ previous title, Alien, production will be handled by Pedretti Gaming in Italy.

Additional info:

Game Designer: Alexander Spohr
Art: Stefan Akin
Graphics & Animation: Kelly Mazurowski
Rules Programming: Joe Schober
Software Programming: Brian Dominy
Music & Sound FX: Michael Stöckemann
Game Engineering: Leon Brunner
Initial Game Designs: Barry Oursler, Dave Sanders
Executive Producers: Daniel Janson, Alexander Spohr
Manufacturing: Pedretti Gaming
Electronics: IOTA Electronics Ltd.

Below is the official announcement from the Pinball Brothers press release:

QUEEN AND PINBALL BROTHERS ANNOUNCES NEW PINBALL MACHINE: QUEEN – LIVE IN CONCERT!

With over 300 million albums sold worldwide, the iconic British rock band Queen are one of the biggest bands ever. Formed in London in 1971, Queen have released 15 studio albums, toured extensively, and produced innovative film, video and theatre shows for over 5 decades and they continue to pull in the crowds around the world.

The time has now come to honour this legendary band with a pinball machine based on their truly spellbinding songs – all played LIVE!

The game will be available in two different editions: Champions Edition and Rhapsody Edition. Rhapsody Edition is limited to a run of 1,000 numbered games and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
The limited Rhapsody Edition will come with a number of unique add-ons and the two editions will be different in appearance.

We have worked closely with the band to ensure their approval and it features the following live songs:

A Kind Of Magic
Another One Bites The Dust
Bohemian Rhapsody
Hammer To Fall
I Want To Break Free
Killer Queen
One Vision
Play The Game
Radio Ga Ga
Seven Seas Of Rhye
Somebody To Love
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
Who Wants To Live Forever

Game Features
The game features 14 live songs accompanied by call outs by the band, exclusively recorded for the game.
Featured also is Brian May’s legendary Red Special guitar, in the shape of an upper playfield where you can lock balls to start the Red Special multiball. Or you can visit the epic Wembley Stadium to lock balls to start yet another of the game’s many multiballs.
Keep an eye on the Radio – it might help you time your flips! Collect autographs, instruments, band members, tour passes and posters on your way to eventually reaching the final wizard mode »I Want it All!«

The game is presented with a breath-taking full RGB light show and a HiFidelity sound system, including an 8” bass speaker. It is hard to imagine a better way of experiencing Queen live, whether it be at the club or in your own living room. It is truly immersive!

Pricing and Availability

Champions Edition (Orange artwork) 9,295 USD*
Rhapsody Limited Edition (Golden artwork) 10,995 USD*

*Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (»MSRP«)

The Rhapsody Edition is limited to 1000 units and will be available through our global distributors.
The Champions Edition will become available in Q1 2023.
Pre-order through your local distributor today!

Pinball Brothers

Tune in for the upcoming Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast for more details about the Queen game.

Top view of the playfield, without any playfield mechs.

Categories: News

Toy Story 4: Jack Guarnieri comments on sales

Editor

Posted on June 15, 2022

Left: Jack Guarnieri and his daughter Jen di Cosmo, right: Toy Story 4 pinball designer Pat Lawlor.

Yesterday, Jersey Jack Pinball revealed their long-anticipated seventh game title: Toy Story 4. Pinball Magazine just received the following info from JJP-founder Jack Guarnieri:

“Yesterday Jersey Jack Pinball received orders for over $30 million dollars worth of Toy Story games! I believe that to be a record for sales of a new game in one day in the history of the amusement business!

On Collector Edition games, we sold 1,000 games in two minutes, fifty seconds at $15,000 per game! Of that around 900 to distribution and 100 in direct sales from the JJP Website. This eclipsed the record set with our last release, Guns N Roses of 500 games which sold out in 27 minutes in October of 2020.

The balance of Toy Story game sales on day one were the Limited Edition games which sold for $12,000 each. We are in the process of shipping hundreds of Limited Edition games now, with the Collector Edition games slated to start shipping this Autumn.

That was only day one!!“

Congatulations to everybody involved at Jersey Jack Pinball, and JJP distributors. Jack Guarnieri will be a special guest on the next Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast, which will become available at the beginning of July.

Categories: News

Jersey Jack Pinball reveals Toy Story 4, all details here

Editor

Posted on June 14, 2022

Jersey Jack Pinball will be revealing teir newest game, Toy Story, June 14th, 2022, at noon EST. Pinball Magazine will publish all available info, such as press releases, photos, videos and what else becomes available in this article, which will be updated during the day.

The first teaser image of the game, showing a custom shooter knob and red powdercoat.

Last week, the company posted a video on their social media to inform customers how they can prepare for placing their order the best way possible.

The reveal of Toy Story is highly anticipated and looks like it will be a historic, record-breaking day for Jersey Jack Pinball. Follow what becomes available about the game this reveal day below.

First video, which is earlier than expected!

Based on this video, the game includes the following:

3 Flippers
red powdercoated ramps
a spinning disc with awards
a jump ramp to launch the ball
an LCD on the playfield, partly used to emulate a digital pinball game
a popup doll head
four popbumpers
a topper with rotating discs that reveal images
sideblade artwork
a captive ball

Stills from the above-mentioned video:

More images (source: RB Flip France)

The Toy Story 4 flow chart (click for enlarged version)

According to Christophe Lienard, JJP distributor for France, the game will be Pat Lawlor’s final game as he will retire from the industry soon.
The game will be available in two versions: Limited Editions (5000 units) and Collector’s Edition (1000 units). A physical game will be available at Chistophe’s place June 20th, which he will bring to various pinball shows in France after that date. (The first game arriving in The Netherlands will be placed on location around the same date)

LIMITED EDITION features:

Exclusive Limited Edition Art Package by John Youssi
Imagination Blue Powder Coated Armor
Individually Numbered LE Plaque – Limited to 5,000 Units
Custom Voice Narration by Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear)
Pinball Version of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman
27″ Backbox LCD Display With Scenes From The Film
10″ Carnival Game LCD Playfield Display
120 Watt 2.1 Stereo Sound System with Subwoofer
300+ Individually Controlled RGB LEDs
JJP Exclusive HotRail Lighting System
Star Adventurer RGB LED Stunt Deck Marquee
Duke Caboom Stunt Ramp with Benson Posts
Gabby Gabby Pop-Up Mech
Second Chance Antique Store Mystery Scoop
“Take A Chance” Spinning Wheel Mechanism
Road Trip Physical 3-Ball Lock with Drop Target
5 FORKY Targets
4 Buzz Pop Bumpers
2 Woody and Bo Peep Spinners – 1 Captive Ball
Shaker Motor & Invisiglass
Photo Booth Camera
Wi-Fi Enabled + Bluetooth Audio

COLLECTOR’S EDITION features:

Carnival Red Powder Chrome Armor
Individually Numbered CE Plaque – Limited to only 1,000 Units
Pixar Luxo Ball Shooter Knob
Exclusive Playfield Artwork with Sparkle Accents
RadCal Cabinet Art Package by John Youssi
Mirrored Backglass & Art Blades
Fiber Optic Fireworks Topper with Flying Duke Caboom Mech
450+ Individually Controlled RGB LEDs with Under Cabinet Lighting
Signature Card Signed by Pat Lawlor & Jack Guarnieri
Laser Etched Rule Card
Additional Custom Speech by Annie Potts (Bo Peep)
Custom Voice Narration by Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear)
Pinball Version of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman
27″ Backbox LCD Display With Scenes From The Film
10″ Carnival Game LCD Playfield Display
120 Watt 2.1 Stereo Sound System with Subwoofer
JJP Exclusive HotRail Lighting System
Star Adventurer RGB LED Stunt Deck Marquee
Duke Caboom Stunt Ramp with Benson Posts
Gabby Gabby Pop-Up Mech
Second Chance Antique Store Mystery Scoop
“Take A Chance” Spinning Wheel Mechanism
Road Trip Physical 3-Ball Lock with Drop Target
5 FORKY Targets
4 Buzz Pop Bumpers
2 Woody and Bo Peep Spinners – 1 Captive Ball
Shaker Motor & Invisiglass™
Photo Booth Camera
Wi-Fi + Bluetooth Audio

Jersey Jack Pinball just sent out the following mailing:

Toy Story 4 Pinball is here!

Jersey Jack Pinball is excited to announce the highly anticipated release of the Toy Story 4 Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition pinball machines. Experience the magic of Toy Story like never before, playing pinball with Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, and more of your favorite toys as they come to life in this pinball adventure.

Experience the magic of Toy Story 4!

Launch into the world of Toy Story, with the voices of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, Duke Caboom, and more. Custom call-outs from Buzz and Woody can be heard throughout the game. The journey is accompanied by an original soundtrack that includes a special rendition of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”.

Award-winning designs

Experience the light and wonder of this high-flying, combo-filled playfield from JJP’s award-winning design team, led by Pat Lawlor — celebrated designer of the best-selling pinball machine of all time, The Addams Family.

Jersey Jack’s state-of-the-art platform includes proprietary technology that engages players with an immersive experience, featuring mesmerizing light shows alongside animations and scenes from the film.

Players can send the silver-ball flying off the Duke Caboom jump ramp — just don’t let the Bensons block your shot! Blast into the jet bumpers to collect a super jackpot in Buzz Multiball, and aim for the stand-up targets to light Rescue Forky. Hurry up and bash Gabby Gabby into a pinball frenzy on the way to scoring Grand Champion. Take a chance on the spinning wheel to earn different awards like Extra Ball, Tiki Party, Super Loops and more! Start interactive carnival games like Star Adventurer, Dragon Zone, Squirrel Derby, and Flipball on the 10-inch playfield frame display.

Smile for the camera!

A special feature of this high-tech entertainment system is the digital photo booth that takes pictures while you play. Make memories and ‘tweet’ your high scores! The machine comes fully equipped with bluetooth audio for wireless listening and Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless over-the-air software updates. Scorbit, a competitive pinball platform and social network, is also included in the package.

Pricing is as follows:

Limited Edition: $12,000
Collector’s Edition: $15,000

Order now! (links to JJP store)

Top view of the Collector’s Edition playfield (click to enlarge)

Top view of the Limited edition playfield (click to enlarge)

The same email as above was received again, this time indicating orders can be placed starting 12 noon EST today.

The official announcement video is now available. The video was accompanied with the following info:

JERSEY JACK PINBALL ANNOUNCES THE OFFICIALLY LICENSED DISNEY AND PIXAR’S TOY STORY 4 PINBALL MACHINE

The ultimate toy is now available to purchase for your home game room or arcade

CHICAGO, IL (June 14, 2022) – Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) is excited to announce the highly anticipated release of the Toy Story 4 Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition pinball machines. Experience the magic of Toy Story like never before, playing pinball with Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, and more of your favorite toys as they come to life in this pinball adventure.

“Toy Story is beloved and treasured by families all over the world. We’re thrilled to bring this excitement to pinball with an amazing game for all generations,” says company founder “Jersey” Jack Guarnieri. “With this collaboration we’re able to create unique, modern pinball machines for players of all ages and experience.”

Experience the magic of Toy Story 4

Delve into the world of Toy Story, with the voices of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, Duke Caboom, and more. Buzz Lightyear and Woody call out throughout the game with custom narration. The journey is accompanied by an original soundtrack that includes a special rendition of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”.

Award-winning designs

Smile for the camera!

A special feature of this high-tech entertainment system is the digital photo booth that takes pictures while you play. Make memories and ‘tweet’ your high scores! The machine comes fully equipped with Bluetooth audio for wireless listening and Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless over-the-air software updates. Scorbit, a competitive pinball platform and social network, is also included in the package.

Collector’s and Limited Editions

Only 1,000 Collector’s Edition and 5,000 Limited Edition machines will be made.

The Limited Edition includes blue powder-coated armor, exclusive cabinet artwork, an interactive shaker motor that provides haptic feedback, invisiglass, and individually-numbered edition plaques. It is priced at $12,000.

The highly sought after Collector’s Edition includes a super-exclusive Pixar Ball shooter, a fiber-optic LED fireworks topper, red chrome armor, sparkly playfield art, RadCal cabinet art package, mirrored backglass art, external lighting, custom callouts by Bo Peep and signatures by the design team and Jersey Jack himself. If you act fast, it can be yours for $15,000.

The Toy Story 4 pinball machine is available for purchase through authorized distributors and JerseyJackPinball.com.

About Jersey Jack Pinball

From its founding in 2011, Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) has earned its reputation as the industry leader in collectable pinball machines, creating the most desirable titles in the modern pinball era. Designed and manufactured in the USA at its Chicago headquarters, JJP is led by an award-winning design team. Easy to play, difficult to master — JJP’s games both honor the rich history of pinball and lead it into the future, with uncompromising standards of design and engineering that are certain to entertain players both old and new.

JJP introduced several industry firsts, including the use of LCD screens, LED lighting, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, camera integration, and other innovative technology. From its first offering, The Wizard of Oz, JJP has continued to revolutionize the pinball experience with groundbreaking releases, including: The Hobbit; Dialed In!; Pirates of the Caribbean; Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; Guns N’ Roses: Not In This Lifetime; and now, Toy Story 4.

Learn more about Jersey Jack Pinball at jerseyjackpinball.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: @JJPinball

Facebook: @JerseyJackPinball

Instagram: @jerseyjackpinball

YouTube: @JerseyJackPinball

-###-

Contact(s):

Media: Greg Wiley, Robin Communications, greg@robincomm.com, 215-840-8843

Ken Cromwell, Jersey Jack Pinball, kcromwell@jerseyjackpinball.com 630-423-6556

Sales: sales@jerseyjackpinball.com

The backglass for the Collector’s Edition (click to enlarge)

The backglass for the Limited Edition (click to enlarge)

The game on the line in the JJP factory. Pat Lawlor keeping an eye on how the games are assembled.

Jack Guarnieri playing Toy Story 4 in the JJP factory

The first Toy Story 4 pinball game on location can be found at ENTERRIUM in Schaumburg, IL. More locations have confirmed to have the game set up for public play, including locations in Minneapolis – Minnesota and Madison – Wisconsin, . Keep an eye on the Jersey Jack Pinball Facebookpage for the latest updates.

Jack Guarnieri will be a special guest on the next Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast, which will become available at the beginning of July.

Stay tuned for more…

Categories: News

Dutch Pinball housewarming party

Editor

Posted on May 31, 2022

While Dutch Pinball moved to new premises quite some time ago, they never had a chance for a proper housewarming party due to Covid-19. So a long overdue housewarming party was held May 27th, which happened to be a few days after the birthday of owner Barry Driesen as well. Pinball Magazine was invited and below are is a photo impression of the party and factory.

Here’s where the party’s at. The outside parking lot was used to seat the guests

Picknick tables were place so guests could sit down and enjoy their dinner.

What’s for dinner? Barbecue!

A wall of boxes seperated the factory area from the party area.

The party area, with about a dozen of various pinball games to be played, as well as a cocktail bar.

Music was provided by a local DJ. After dinner, crates of 7″ vinyl singles were revealed so guests could look for a record to be played.

Guests brought all sorts of gifts, although most of it looked like alcoholic beverages.

At the entrance of the factory area these games were displayed. On the right is the first whitewood for The Big Lebowski. On the left is one of the first prototypes that was shown at Pinball Expo in 2014.

Dutch Pinball-owner Barry Driessen at the start of a factory tour.

The sub assembly assembly area, where parts like the bowling alley, the upper playfield, and other assembled parts are put together before being put in game.

The mold to make the white russion glasses under a specific angle. These are usually made by Barry’s daughter, who also works in the factory.

Barry explaining how the playfields are assembled on various rotissary stations.

The various rotissary stations.

The cabnet area. Here cabinets are assembled and finished playfields are placed inside the cabinets. The row of games in the back were just empty cabinets. The row on the left had the backbox electronics installed. The row on the right are completed finished games, redy to be boxed up.

From behind it looked like someone from the competition was visiting as well, but it turned out to be Barry’s father.

Categories: News

Live report: Texas Pinball Festival 2022

Editor

Posted on March 24, 2022

After an absense of two years, the Texas Pinball Festival is back and Pinball Magazine is reporting from the show.

Special thanks to: Todd Yoder.

Thursday, March 24

Today is setup day for most vendors and exhibitors. Below are some pics just to give you an impression.

Early in the morning

A few hours later

Still a lot to do

Accidents do happen….

By the end of the day, the game hall really started to take shape. Below are some pics taken just before the hall was closed. For pinball industry insiders, the setting up days are the best chance to catch up with fellow industry people. Once the show starts, there’s hardly any time for that. With TPF being the first big show since Covid-19, for many industry insiders it feels a bit like a family reunion.

The Marco Specialties booth is taking shape

Catching up on the way out

The new upstairs tournament area

So besides taking photos, here’s some of the highlights of Thursday:

Breakfast with Kim Vanderveen, one of the co-organizers of the show
Breakfast with American Pinball’s David Fix at a local ’50s cafe
Played Godzilla Pro for the first time at the Cointaker booth. What a great game!
Collected prizes for the So You Think You Know Pinball-quiz, which will be Saturday at 6:00 PM
Wrote down a bunch of questions for the So You Think You Know Pinball-quiz
Helped set up a bunch of games at the American Pinball booth
Had a lovely BBQ dinner with a local flyer collector, who was very happy with the European flyers I brought him.
Played Bally Airway in the Pre-war booth over a dozen times. Such a great, simple game
Caught up with many at the bar

Starting Friday afternoon, there will be several seminars. For the full seminar program, see www.texaspinball.com/tpf/events. Seminars will be streamed live, and can be watched later, on https://www.twitch.tv/texas_pinball_seminar.

Friday at 5:00PM the show officially opened. Jared Guynes, social media strategist for Stern Pinball, shot some cool photos with a drone, which he shared with me.

Thank you, Jared!

At the time I’m writing this, the Friday of TPF 2022 is almost a wrap. Here are some of the highlights:

Mirco of Mirco Playfields held a seminar on the recently announced upgrade kit for Tales of the Arabian Nights. As Mirco is also a playfield supplier to Jersey Jack Pinball, and some people have experienced issies with the playfield in their game, he was asked to comment on that. Not surprisingly, Mirco responded he was not at liberty to discuss this, and I don’t think he should either. I mean, if you buy a new Volkswagen car and the tires tend to go flat, are you going to complain to Michelin directly, or to your Volkswagen dealer?

During the Jersey Jack Pinball seminar with pinball designer Steve Ritchie and company founder Jack Guarnieri, Jack indicated he expects the current playfield issues won’t be an issue on their next title. He also indicated their next title will be announced soon and later went as far as saying it should be out by June or July. We may even see a second new game from JJP before the end of 2022. Kaneda’s Pinball Podcast streamed the entire seminar, which you can watch on Facebook, or on the official stream.

Earlier highlights of the day included playing some of the pinball games that came out this past two years. I played some great games on American Pinball’s Hot Wheels and Legends of Valhalla, Jersey Jack Pinball’s Guns N’ Roses, and Stern Pinball’s Godzilla and Rush. I also played Pinball Brothers’ Alien and Spooky Pinball’s Halloween and Ultraman. While I enjoyed playing these games, I had to get used to them a bit. Partly because of the lack of visibility of where the ball is going. That doesn’t mean these are lesser games, but some games, or themes, are just not for everybody.

While vendors were still setting up I was also collecting prizes for the So you Think You Know Pinball quiz, which will be held tomorrow at 6:00 PM. The quiz is sponsored by several manufacturers who donated merchandise and other stuff to be given out to participants of the quiz. I can say, this year’s prizes are the bigger than ever: Spooky Pinball surprized me with a hoody and a T-shirt, Stern Pinball sent over three translites, T-shirts, caps and more, American Pinball threw in a Legends of Valhalla backglass, and Jersey Jack Pinball told me we can give away a Guns N’ Roses playfield! And there are lots of smaller prizes as well to be won as well.

Some of the prizes to be won in the So you think You know pinball quiz

Saturday

Saturday morning kicked off with the traditional swap meet in the parking lot, offering a wide variety of pinball and video game parts, manuals, project games and such.

I was looking for a certain specific part and was lucky enough to find one for a different game, but with a color scheme that matches the game I need it for, so I’m happy 🙂

Following the swap meet I went into the show hall just before the show opened. Right at the entrance is a Safecracker pinball game that awards a special TPF token if you manage to crack the bank. Usually there is a line toplay the game, but as the show hadn’t opened yet, I took my chance. I was able to play three games before the doors of the show opened and I just started my fourth game. That was actually a pretty good game in which I managed to win the special token, which resulted in some cheering from the people waiting in line. Much to my surprise did the game dispend the ‘old’ TPF token instead of the new one, which was the main reason to play the game. Luckily, I was able to swap the old token for a new one at the registration desk, so I now have both versions of the token as souvenirs of the show. To clarify, the old token I already won at a previous edition of the show.

At 6:00 PM,Martin and I were scheduled to host our So You Think You Know Pinball quiz in the bar area of the Embassy Suites. That meant we had to prepare the area for the quiz, set up tables with prizes, put a raffle ticket on each prize and make sure our questions got displayed on the TV screen in the back. The TPF crew provided a small PA sound system to amplify the quiz with mics for Martin and me. We had prepared questions on Friday, which Martin put into a slide show.

Martin and I hosting our So you think You Know Pinball quiz (Photo credit: Ross Simpson)

The quiz was a big success as we had more participants than in earlier editions. Although we planned the quiz to run for an hour, we ran a little late as we still had some prizes left to give away. Please note that this edition of the So You Think You Know Pinball quiz was made possible with prize donations from Jersey Jack Pinball, American Pinball, Stern Pinball, Spooky Pinball, Texas Pinball Festival, Haggis Pinball, ColorDMD, Sunshine Laundromat New York, Pinball News and Pinball Magazine.

Following the quiz, I was part of a group of 10 people that headed to Hard Eight BBQ for dinner. This restaurant is a personal favorite and I’ve been looking forward to going back ever since TPF 2019. It’s almost a tradition. As I was supposed to present an award at the Twipies ater that evening, I was planning this visit to be sort of a quicky, but it wasn’t. As a result, I missed the award I was supposed to present, for which I apologized to the hosts and organizer of the show. Apparently, I missed it by 10 minutes.

Following the Twipy Awards, there was an after party in the seminar room with Scott Danesi and DJ mTort. Earlier on, we had talked about me joining them, but in the end it was their party and I didn’t want to take away any of their time to perform. Hopefully next year we can work something out.

While the party was going on in the seminar room, I headed into the show hall where I got to play Led Zeppelin pro, Cactus Canyon remake, Multimorphic’s Heist and Weird Al’s of Natural Hilarity. Congrats to Multimorphic! Both Heist and Weird Al are great games that enjoyed very much. Cactus Canyon remake is also very well done. I put up a decent score on Led Zeppelin, but the game didn’t impress me that much, as there’s hardly anything on it.

When I decided to call it a night I ran into pinball designer Steve Ritchie by the elevator. He invited me to join him and a few friends to drink some tequila. Tequila isn’t really my drink, to which Steve responded that I probably only drank the cheap stuff that isn’t any good. I needed to taste good tequila. If the king of flow says so, I’m not going to argue. Steve brought a bottle of tequila that costs $180.-. Although it still isn’t my drink, I could taste this was some good stuff. Thanks Steve!

Sunday

Sunday morning, everybody checking out had to clear their room by 11:00 AM. So it was breakfast and then packing my bags. Ross Simpson kindly offered his room to store our luggage for the rest of the day, so we didn’t have to worry about that. I joined Mark Ritchie, his wife Trudy, and Kato from the Pinball Brothers at the terrace near the bar for an interesting conversation. Later that day I caught up with Ryan White of Chicago Gaming on the show floor.

When the show had ended, I ran into Steve Ritchie again, who suggested to sit outside in the shade. Martin joined us 15 minutes later. The plan was to interview Steve, but it turned out to be more of a pre-interview discussion. It was very interesting hearing Steve talk and we’ll be interviewing him soon, which most likely will become a bonus episode of our PINcast.

As it turned out, Nicolas Manaud of PinSound was on the same flight as Martin and I and offered us a ride back to the airport. Thank you, Nicolas! Before heading out, we enjoyed a few drinks in the Happy Hour bar of the hotel. We figured we’d find something to eat at the airport, but that turned out to be a mistake as most restaurants at the airport were already closed.

Rounding up this report, I have to congratulate the organizing TPF team for such a great show. I didn’t do a head count, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this year’s show had the biggest attendance compared to previous editions. Moving the tournament area upstairs seemed like a good move, allowing more vendors to be on the show floor. All in all, another great edition is in the books and I was happy to be there and be a part of it. I’m already looking forward to next year’s edition.

For a far more in-depth report on the Texas Pinball Festival, please check out the coverage by Pinball News.

Categories: News

Weird Al’s Museum of Natural Hilarity revealed, all details here

Editor

Posted on February 24, 2022

Following last Monday’s announcement that Multimorphic’s upcoming licensed P³ pinball game will be Weird Al’ Museum of Natural Hilarity, Pinball Magazine now brings you all the details and images about the game.

Weird Al’s Museum of Natural Hilarity Standard Edition and Limited Edition

The available translites, speaker panels and aprons for the SE (left) and LE (right) model

The Museum of Natural Hilarity is a fantastical museum with exhibits and items that connect players to the Weird Al’s songs and his hilarious and descriptive song lyrics. Al acts as the museum curator, welcoming players and guiding them through the museum.

Standard Edition playfield

Limited Edition playfield

The upper playfield module

The game features 17 Weird Al songs, over 2000 voice callouts from Weird Al, and a feature-rich playfield, including:

7 ball-launch destinations
5 flippers
3 Pop bumpers
2 Magnet diverters
5 Shot path diverters
2 Static scoops (ticket counter and supplies closet)
3 Ramps:
- Left ramp – shootable from 4 different flippers
- Right lift ramp w/ 6 possible destinations and a magnet diverter/accelerator
- Spiral lift ramp
2 Side loops for figure-8 squeezebox combos
10 Standup Targets
Interactive and spinning hamster wheel/ball lock
Interactive and swiveling UHF camera/ball lock
Upper playfield with 2 entrances, a mini-loop, 3 targets, and a shot to the UHF camera
Outer loop
Mini loop
VIP ticket counter entrance
Moving Harvey scoops
Cross-playfield ramp return
RGB-lit drop target
Full RGB lighting

Upper flipper, Just Eat It targets, Mezzanine upper playfield

Accordion bridge

Skywalk

Spiral cluster

Ticket counter

Supplies closet targets

Supplies closet lit

Popbumper path

MezzExit

Left side target flipper

Running with scissors statue

Ramp VUK

Camera and Harvey

Score

Al pad

Songs:

Amish Paradise
White & Nerdy
Like A Surgeon
Word Crimes
My Bologna
Sports Song
Weasel Stomping Day
I’ll Sue Ya
Mission Statement
Traffic Jam
Germs
You Make Me
UHF theme
Dare To Be Stupid
Hardware Store
Harvey the Wonder Hamster
Fun Zone

Team:

Creative Director: Stephen Silver (Heist)
Artwork: Matt Andrews (Total Nuclear Annihilation, Magic Girl)
Software: Michael Ocean, Greg Goldey, and Gerry Stellenberg
Graphics: Rory Cernuda and Stephen Silver
Mechanical Engineering: TJ Weaver
Sound: Scott Danesi (Total Nuclear Annihilation, Rick and Morty)
Rules Advisors: Bowen Kerins and Colin MacAlpine
Content Advisors: Frank Serpas III and Will Beals

The upcoming Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast will feature an interview with Creative Director Stephen Silver and programmer Michael Ocean.

For those unfamiliar with the P³ platform, it combines 100% mechanical pinball action with a huge LCD that sits below the transparent playfield surface, displaying interactive scenes as part of the playfield artwork. In this case, the various rooms in the Museum of Natural Hilarity are shown during their corresponding modes.

Rules summary:

All balls begin in the museum lobby with Al’s instrumental song Fun Zone playing. From there, players can visit five exhibit halls (listed below) and then go to the ticket counter (scoop behind the drop target) to select between the two available song modes for that exhibit. Alternatively, the player can shoot the V, I, and P targets to raise the two center scoops representing a VIP ticket counter. From there, the player can choose any of the 10 exhibit hall song modes.

Exhibition	Shot	Song 1	Song 2
Anthropology	Left Ramp	Amish Paradise	White & Nerdy
Sports & Leisure	Left Side Loop	Sports Song	Weasel Stomping Day
Crime & Punishment	Right Side Loop	Word Crimes	I’ll Sue Ya
Business & Industry	Left Mini Loop	Mission Statement	Traffic Jam
Health & Medicine	Right Mini Loop	Germs	Like A Surgeon

Upon selecting a song mode, theatre-style currents close on the screen. When they reopen, the scene has changed to an immersive environment specific to the chosen song. Each song mode has a unique set of rules that connects physical shots on the playfield with the song’s lyrics. After completing a certain number of shots, the ticket counter shot becomes available to exit back to the lobby, or the player can continue progressing in the mode until the full song plays.

When back in the lobby, the player can activate the right lift ramp and spiral lift ramp to access the mezzanine (upper playfield) by rolling over the “meal ticket” inlane icon. The main feature of the mezzanine is the “food court.” Here, the player can shoot the “Just” “Eat It” targets to collect food items to light My Bologna and the mezzanine loop to collect spatulas to enable a one-time use outlane ball save rollover target.

My Bologna is a mode with the player building bologna sandwiches via mezzanine loops and targets.

The game contains three stackable multiball song modes that work as follows:

Hardware Store: Hitting the side targets represents items being broken in the museum. After breaking 27 items, the rear hole through the pop bumpers lights for Hardware Store Multiball, during which the player collects tools and helps repair the halls.
Dare To Be Stupid Multiball: Hitting the Harvey standup target causes Harvey to periodically poke his head up (represented by one of the P³ platform’s scoops opening) while the song Harvey the Wonder Hamster plays. Shooting the scoop lights the hamster wheel for a Harvey Lock. Shooting the hamster wheel via the right ramp or spiral ramp locks a ball for DTBS Multiball. DTBS Multiball is essentially a game within a game. The player can shoot the mini loop shots to spin the wheel, and the item selected will do several things, including changing the jackpot shots and changing how the flippers work, awarding a gift, etc.
UHF Multiball: Hitting the camera standup targets lights the camera lock. Then shooting the camera lock with the upper flipper locks a ball in the camera. Locking three balls in the camera starts UHF Multiball, where your goal is, of course, to save the station!

One other song mode, You Make Me, is a mini-wizard mode that becomes available after playing at least one song mode in each exhibit hall.

That’s the basics, and then other features help you progress, award gifts, or provide scoring advantages. Examples include Squeezebox combos for scoring bonuses, Hawaiian shirt collection that leads to awards and scoring multipliers, and the supplies closet that, of course, includes a lost ‘n found that occasionally acts as a mystery award.

After playing all song modes, Running With Scissors lights for a final trip back through the museum where the player relives all of the hilarity within.

Pricing:

Weird Al’ Museum of Natural Hilarity will be available in two models:

Standard Edition (SE)
Limited Edition (LE)

The LE Package contains the limited artwork pieces, interactive/moving topper, a printed LE translite signed by Al, and various game-specific swag. None of these items will be purchasable separately.

Base P³ Platform (without a game kit): $8300
Weird Al’s Museum of Natural Hilarity Game Kit: $3000 (SE model)
227 Limited Edition Upgrade Packages: $1800 (available to SE Game Kit purchasers, in order).

For more info, visit www.multimorphic.com

Categories: News

Pinball designer Barry Oursler dies

Editor

Posted on February 22, 2022

Barry Oursler (Photo credit: PinGame Journal)

Pinball Magazine just found out through Pinball News that veteran pinball designer Barry Ourler died from complications while he was undergoing a cancer treatment.

Barry Oursler was known as probably the fastest-working pinball designer in the industry. Most of his games were designed while working at Williams, which include several landmark titles such as Gorgar (the first pinball game with speech), Space Shuttle (the game that kept Williams in pinball), Pin-Bot and the Comet / Cyclone / Hurricane trilogy. On multiple titles Oursler was paired with Python Anghelo, as Python was more creative in terms of game concepts, while Oursler was able to build what Python could only conceptualize.

Barry also worked for Heighway Pinball, where he contributed to the design of Alien and Queen. When he started working for Deeproot Pinball, he moved to San Antonio, Texas. It was only last month that American Pinball announced they hired Barry Oursler as their newest member of their design team.

For a more detailed summary of Barry’s career, visit Pinball News.

Categories: News

Barry Oursler and Barry Engler join American Pinball

Editor

Posted on February 6, 2022

American Pinball and Aimtron Corporation are proud to announce the addition of two members to their team: Barry Oursler as Game Designer and Barry Engler as Senior Production Manager.

Barry Oursler (Photo credit: PinGame Journal)

Industry veteran Barry Oursler produced his first game, Phoenix, for Williams in 1978. He continued to design more than 40 games in his career … SO FAR! Barry has always been known for his timely design pace, producing at least 20 games in his first decade in the industry. As a protégé of the iconic designer Steve Kordek, Barry’s classic Space Shuttle is a game that many say saved pinball. Other highlights include famed games such as Comet, PIN*BOT, Doctor Who, and the mega-hit Gorgar: pinball’s first talking game.

For the past couple of years, Oursler has been working for several startup pinball companies on games that eventually didn’t go into production as these companies ran into financial problems. At Heighway Pinball, he worked on Queen, followed by several games he designed at Deep Root Pinball. Barry reports he is just as happy and excited to be working on his first game for American Pinball as they are to have him.

Barry Engler (Photo credit: PinGame Journal)

Barry Engler began his first six years in the industry in 1990 as a service technician for several amusement location operators in the Chicagoland area. During this time, he became highly experienced with a wide variety of coin-operated games.

Barry earned his Electrical Engineering degree In October of 1996, which also marked the establishment of his company, 4 Play Amusements. This organization operated many types of amusement equipment in the area, and he served as its president until it was sold in 2017.

At that time, Barry began his first experience at American Pinball as he managed both their Service and Production departments. As if that wasn’t enough, he made a name for himself on the “pinball show circuit” through his sought-after presentations on pinball repair. While at American, Barry also helped with their first redemption game, The Flying Dutchman. However, that product was put on hold at the start of 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

In February of that year, Engler then joined Jersey Jack Pinball as their Service Manager. While at Jersey Jack, he concentrated on Departmental Procedures and strengthening the Distributor-Manufacturer relationship. Engler is excited to be back and eager to have the opportunity to contribute to American Pinball once again.

Categories: News

Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast January 2022 recap

Editor

Posted on February 2, 2022

Can you believe the first month of the new year is already over? Jonathan Joosten from Pinball Magazine and Martin Ayub from Pinball News certainly can as they revisit all the key events in the pinball world throughout January 2022.

From the latest tragic loss to the release of new games, from production updates to the latest software features, all the news you need to know from across the industry and around the globe comes under the duo’s microscope to be examined, analysed, and contextualised.

Don’t risk missing out. Catch the latest Pinball Industry News PINcast along with all the previous editions on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, PodBean and many others. Just click the link above or search for “Pinball Industry News” or check out the Pinball Magazine PINcast page.

Categories: News

Pinball Magazine website and webshop now SSL secured, postal rates fixed

Editor

Posted on January 22, 2022

Following last year’s security upgrade, which saw the Pinball Magazine website and webshop become secured by SSL technology, a postal rate bug fix was applied to the Pinball Magazine webshop.

In the past, orders of five kilograms and up would not be able to be processed. This has been adjusted. The 2022 postal rates have also been apllied, which in many cases turn out to be cheaper than last year, dependig on the service level of your choice.

If you run into any problems placing your order, please contact Pinball Magazine by email: editor @ pinball-magazine . com (no spaces).

Categories: News

Stern Pinball reveals RUSH

Editor

Posted on January 4, 2022

RUSH Pro, premium and LE cabinets

Following a teaser video, last week, Stern Pinball have now revealed their newest cornerstone title RUSH. Below is the Gary Stern mailing to distributors with lots of info:

“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last week we aired a teaser video for our latest cornerstone game, RUSH. Today we are making a full announcement of this game, with press release, feature matrix, photos, webinars, gameplay videos, and this email from me. Jack Danger and our RUSH design team will stream the game 6pm Chicago time, Friday, January 7 at https://www.twitch.tv/deadflip.

Formed in Toronto in the late 1960’s, RUSH is known for complex compositions drawing heavily on science fiction and fantasy. Over its more than 5 decades of popularity, RUSH‘s music spanned from blues-inspired hard rock through progressive, to synthesizers, and back to guitar driven hard rock. Third only behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the most consecutive gold and platinum albums, RUSH has sold over 40 million albums. In 2013 the band was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.

RUSH pinball uses the band’s album cover art in addition to hand drawn artwork created custom for this game. The game LCD makes extensive use of concert footage, augmented with custom animations. At the beginning of each ball players can select among 16 songs performed by RUSH:

Headlong Fight Cygnus X-1

Far Cry Big Money

One Little Victory Subdivisions

Working Man Limelight

2112 Fly By Night

Tom Sawyer La Villa Stranglatto

Spirit of Radio Bastille Day

Free Will Red Barchetta

Speech calls, 600 of them, are voiced by band members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee along with game consultant and Barenaked Ladies lead, fellow Canadian Ed Robertson.

This game is Rock N’ Roll.

RUSH Limited Edition and Premium playfield

John Borg and Tim Sexton have built RUSH pinball around these iconic RUSH songs and RUSH symbols. A ramp leads to a custom molded RUSH electromagnet Time Machine, holding and then expelling balls out forward and back. The 3-bank drop targets are coded to collect guitar, bass, and drums. Rules are visually portrayed with R-U-S-H spell out target, 1-2-3 arrows, 17 RGB lit inserts, and 3 RGB pop bumpers. Its two large metal and plastic ramps include a player and game controlled diverter, redirecting the ball to either return lane. Scoops facing the playfield front and side lead to an under playfield subway; players can view ball flow through an insert before the balls are kicked out the front scoop. Added to this are red and white GI lighting, 3 flippers, 4 main mulitballs, 6 main timed modes, and more. Games are ready to add the accessory Expression Lighting System, a must for a rock game.

RUSH LE / Premium playfield

The Premium/LE have important changes from the Pro. The Time Machine ramp is motorized, up and down, with custom lighting effects on its side and floor. Neil Peart’s drum is custom molded into a Clockwork Angels Clock, with motorized minute hand to stop at all 12 face numbers. Behind the drop targets is a ball lock post system, using a captured ball as a Newton ball. The under-playfield subway can lock balls and kick out the side scoop in addition to the front scoop, kicking balls out both at once. An added VUK fires the ball up a wire ramp. GI lighting is red and white plus blue.

Stern will make 1,000 Limited Edition games featuring these enhancements and collectibles:

Expression Light System™ – included, not as an accessory
High gloss guitar shaped side armor, legs, hinges, and front molding
Mirrored backglass
Reflective foil cabinet decals
Upgraded audio system
Shaker motor
Non-glare playfield glass
Certificate of authenticity signed by me
Designer autograph
Sequentially numbered (1 to 1,000) plate

RUSH Pro playfield

RUSH will ship equipped for Insider Connected™. Another new title with all games fully equipped for connectivity is essential to achieving the greatest early Insider Connected adoption and fastest success. All Stern commercial LCD games are being manufactured equipped for Insider Connected. We have shipped thousands of kits to upgrade earlier Stern LCD games with Insider Connected. We will ship thousands more starting this month. Near 20,000 players are registered. Thousands of games are connected, half in commercial locations.

On New Years’ Eve Day we stopped production to take year end inventory. We will resume production during the second week of January with RUSH Pro. We will follow later in January with RUSH LE, then in February RUSH Premium. We increased our production rate in December, and we are staffed and have parts to increase it more.

We again ask that our USA customers help us dedicate the first Pro models produced for commercial use. This is a good policy for international customers also. More people can see and play a new game on location than can see it in someone’s home.

The wholesale RUSH Pro and Premium prices will be the same as Godzilla, in spite of continued supply chain cost increases. As previously announced, all other Pro and Premium models will also be the same prices. Contact your sales rep regarding any order impact. The RUSH LE price is increased; your sales rep will contact you with details. As normal, full LE payment is due with order and without cash discounts. Costs for specifying an LE number remain the same.

A new UMRP, MAP and MSRP list will be sent to USA customers shortly. The USA MSRP’s are as follows:

Pro $ 6,899
Premium $ 8,999
Limited Edition $ 11,099

A full line of accessories will be available. We will provide you separately with dates for art blades, side armor, shooter rods, toppers, and Expression Lighting Kits for Pro and Premium.

I have a preproduction RUSH in my apartment. It plays absolutely great! Watch the RUSH game play video over and over, both on our webinar and on Stern sites. Get the game on your showroom floor. You will agree — RUSH pinball is Rock N’ Roll.

Best regards,

Gary

Gary Stern

President

Stern Pinball, Inc.”

Over 50 images of all three RUSH models are available on Stern Pinball’s Facebook page.

Categories: News

Bowen Kerins and Colin MacAlpine join Multimorphic

Editor

Posted on December 16, 2021

Multimorphic, the company behind the highly innovative pinball platform P3 which released games such as Lexi Lightspeed, Cosmic Cart Racing and Heist, is announcing Bowen Kerins and Colin MacAlpine joining the Multimorphic team. Here’s what the official press release says:

As incredibly accomplished pinball players, rules experts, and creative geniuses, Bowen and Colin bring a wealth of pinball knowledge and experience to the Multimorphic development team. They’ll be involved in the full creative process on current and future Multimorphic titles with a special focus on game rules and ensuring P3 games are fun and engaging for players of all skill levels.

Bowen has been playing pinball his entire life. He won his first of five World Championship titles in 1994, was a tournament director at Pinburgh, the world’s largest pinball tournament, and most recently acted as rules director on two titles from Spooky Pinball. Throughout his career as a competitive player and through video tutorials for countless games, Bowen has demonstrated expert knowledge of a vast array of pinball rulesets and strategies, and he’s excited to help deliver both traditional and new playing experiences on the P3. Outside of pinball, Bowen writes math textbooks, is a tutor for grades 5 and up, and has been a mathematical advisor for over 20 game shows. He loves Slurpees and once won $1000 for knowing the number of degrees in a right angle!

Colin lives with his wife and three children in Austin, TX, where he works as Director of Product Management for a specialty chemical manufacturer. His infatuation with the silver ball began as a kid at a local pizza joint in Minnesota, and after years of battling only against high score tables, he started playing competitive pinball events in 2011. Since then, Colin helped found Austin’s Bat City Pinball Club, has traveled around the world to find the greatest levels of competition, winning many tournaments along the way, and has developed a deep knowledge of pinball rulesets and what makes games fun to play. Colin has advised Multimorphic informally on a few existing P3 games and is excited to officially join the team and help develop fun, exciting, approachable, and novel rules for the ever-growing library of P3 titles.

The additions of Bowen and Colin show Multimorphic’s continued emphasis on building a world-class team and connecting new ideas and the unrivaled features of the P3 with the raw pinball experiences that everybody loves. We welcome them with open arms and look forward to building amazing games together.

For more information about Multimorphic, the P3, and P3 games, please visit www.multimorphic.com.

Categories: News

Updated: New Upgrade Kit for Funhouse: Rudy’s Nightmare

Editor

Posted on November 19, 2021

Pedretti, the Italian contract manufacturer for the Alien pinball machine from Pinball Brothers, and partner of Planetary Pinball for producing Williams/Bally licensed parts and mods, is announcing an upgrade kit for Williams’ Funhouse. The upgrade kit is called Funhouse Rudy’s Nightmare and allows Funhouse owners to add a whole new look and game to their Funhouse pinball machine. While the upgrade kit is still pending licensor approval, Pinball Magazine has all the details on what the kit will offer.

The Rudy’s Nightmare kit contains the following:

New speaker panel (wood and artwork)
New 14 inch LCD HD Display
New high-quality speakers
Playfield mini display and artwork
PCBs: Fast CPU and Pinsound XL
Custom inner cabinet art blades
Custom translite (printed on 4mm acrylic)
Custom T-shirt (Size L) for the first 200 kits
Completely new code
Customized packaging

Once installed, which should be easy plug and play – no drilling required, the game will have new graphics, two color displays, new music, sound effects and voices, and new modes. The game’s playfield remains mostly the same, although the mini display will replace the mirror above the scoop. The upgrade kit will allow Funhouse owners to choose between playing the game with the original rules, music, and call-outs, or the new Rudy’s Nightmare code. When playing the original rules, the display will show the scores and text. There are no additional animations programmed (yet).

The promotional video for Rudy’s Nightmare lists the following nine modes:

Duck Hunt
The Evil Clones
Hotdog Combat
Rudy & the Monkizz
Haunted Roller Coaster
Don’t You Want a Balloon?
Melt The Clone
Evil Rudy Multiball
Wizard Mode

While Pedretti is the initiator and manufacturer of this upgrade kit, the project is an international collaboration between quite a few pinball companies:

Team Pinball (U.K. – game code programming)
Fast Pinball (U.S.A. – new PCB design that runs all game code for this kit)
PinSound (France – modified version of PinSound XL that drives the audio, the two displays and hosts and runs the complete 2.0 code engine)
Planetary Pinball Supply (U.S.A. – licensing)

Animations and artwork are by the Italian artist Morti Morti. Zanhell, also an Italian artist, produced the new music package. Janos Kiss of Team Pinball programmed the new game code.

AndreaDM, Director of Pedretti says, “Rudy’s Nightmare will be a great kit for Funhouse owners that already own the game for several years. It brings new life to the game and a great modern look to Funhouse as well.”

Although pricing hasn’t been confirmed, Funhouse Rudy’s Nightmare will likely be priced at €2,100 / $2,200 USD. Rudy’s Nightmare will be available through the following distributors:

Pedretti webshop (Italy, Europe)
Free Play (Sweden, Europe)
RS Pinball (Austria, Europe)
Freddy’s Pinball Paradise (Germany, Europe)
CoinTaker (U.S.A.)
Planetary Pinball (U.S.A.)
Mr. Pinball(Australia)

Two years ago, Pedretti agreed with Planetary Pinball to produce enhanced “2.0” upgrade kits for several System 11 pinball games. They decided to start with Funhouse, one of the most iconic games from the early ’90s. While it took two years to develop Rudy’s Nightmare, Pedretti hopes to release more System 11 titles in the future, aiming at one title per year.

For more info visit the Pedretti website or the websites of the distributors listed above (all clickable).

Update: A video of gameplay is now available:

Categories: News

Pinball Expo ’21 highlights

Editor

Posted on October 29, 2021

Pinball Expo is currently taking place at the Renaissance Hotel in Schaumberg, Illinois. The event has a packed seminar program. Similar to the virtual 2020 edition of the event, many seminars will be streamed on Pinball Expo’s Twich channel. On Thursday, October 27th, streaming of the seminars only started during the 6:00 PM seminar of Todd Tuckey and Frank Lindenmuth. That seminar was followed by a seminar of American Pinball and a fireside chat Q&A with veteran pinball designer Pat Lawlor. The recorded livestream of Day 1 can be watched on Twitch.

Highlights of Pinball Expo ’21 Day 1:

The American Pinball team: David Fix, Steven Bowden, Michael Grant, Josh Kugler, Scott Gullicks, Frank Gigliotti.

The American Pinball seminar can be watched here.
Scott Gullicks and Frank Gigliotti of Riot Pinball discussed how they got into homebrew pinball design and their latest game Legends of Valhalla, which is being manufactured by American Pinball. At the end of the seminar they mentioned that Legends of Valhalla is not a ‘one-and-done’ deal. They are working on another game title for American Pinball.
David Fix of American Pinball announced the American Pinball American Dream contest for homebrew pinball designers. They will have one year, up to Pinball Expo 2022, to design a pinball machine and bring it to Pinball Expo. Based on feedback from the community and the American Pinball team, one game will be declared the winner and American Pinball will take that game into production.
The entire fireside chat with Pat Lawlor was golden, as it contained so many great stories and insights on some of Pat’s games and changes in game design from Pat’s 40-year career in coin-op.

Pat Lawlor during his fireside chat

Highlights of Pinball Expo ’21 Day 2:

Quite a few seminars went into fixing pinball machines, the tools you need for that and such.
Chicago Gaming revealed Cactus Canyon remake with new interactive shooting gallery topper.

The topper is currently only available on the Limited Edition model, of which 1,250 units will be made. The LE is priced at $9,250, and also includes a burned wood bottom arch. There is also a Special Edition without the topper, inner art blades and less bells and whistles (details will be sent to distributors later today), which is priced at $8,000. The software on the game has been further completed and includes the Bionic Bart mode, which is missing in the original game. CGC will be focusing on the production of LE and SE games first, before taking a Standard model into production.

The remodeled Bad Guy Bart sculpt on the playfield

Lyman Sheats and Josh Sharpe are working on an alternative rule set for the game, which will become available as a paid add-on. That game code will only be released when completely finished, which may still take some time. The Cactus Canyon remake currently has no internet connectivity, but CGC is talking to Scorbit about integrating their system. Cactus Canyon remake can be ordered with CGC dealers and distributors, such as Planetary Pinball, Nitro Pinball, Little Shop of Games, PinballPro, and others.
Gary Stern was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame
Keith Johnson, Gil Pollock and Eddie Adlum got inducted into the Pinball Expo Hall of Fame
Jersey Jack Pinball did not reveal a new game, but their seminar was still interesting.

Below is a listing of the seminars of Day 2 and livestream link:

Pinball Troubleshooting – Ron Coon, Jr
Scorbit
What Else Can You Do With This Amazing Hobby – Mike Mahood
Total Pinball Restorations – Keith Holbrook
Emily Brooks Pinball Luminaries Showcase – Zombie Yeti, Randy Martinez, Ryan Cravens, Bill Brooks
Intro to Reading EM Schematics including recommended Tool List – Mike Hale
Best and Worst Advice Seen on the Internet – Mark Gibson, Nick Schell, Rob Anthony (Borygard), Dave Alverson (moderator)
What’s Happening at Chicago Gaming, Cactus Canyon Remake reveal – Ryan White
Playfield & Cabinet Customization using 3D Printing – Andy Sokol
Arcade Dreams:100 Years of Arcade History – Zach Weddington & Bruce Zamost
Induction Ceremony for the International Video Hall of Fame – Todd Friedman & Lonnie McDonald
Pinball Expo Hall of Fame Inductee Ceremony – Rob Berk
An Evening with Jersey Jack Pinball – Jack Guarnieri & Staff

Highlights of Pinball Expo ’21 Day 3:

Below is a listing of the seminars of Day 3 and livestream link:

9:00 a.m. “Collecting Advertising Memorabilia” – Damon Granger
10:00 a.m. “A Homebrew Black Knight Pinball Machine Built Completely From Scratch” – Rolando Martin. (Editor’s note: Highly recommended if you’re interested in how to build and program your own pinball machine.)
11:00 a.m. “Custom Pinball Cabinets” – Tanner Petch discusses some of his unusual homebrew game and cabinet designs
11:40 a.m. “ShipMyPinball.com is Easier Than You Think!” – Dino Gaspari
12:00 noon “The Banning Museum of Pinball – Q&A” – John Weeks
1:00 p.m. – Talking Retro Games – ZapCristal, Mr. Wright Way, Adam Koralik, & Ray Price. Moderator: Todd Friedman
3:00 p.m. “The Making of LED ZEPPELIN” – Tim Sexton and team (without Steve Ritchie)
4:00 p.m. “Jack Danger and Waison’s Jurassic Park Pin” – Jack Danger & Waison
5:00 p.m. “The Making of The Mandalorian” – Brian Eddy & Dwight Sullivan
6:00 p.m. “George Gomez’s New Project” (Insider Connected) – George Gomez
7:00 p.m. “Keith Elwin & Team’s Godzilla” – Keith Elwin & Team
8:00 p.m. “Family Feud Without the Family” – Dwight Sullivan & Corey Stup

This article will be updated as Pinball Expo ’21 continues.

Also check out the in-depth coverage of Pinball Expo on Pinball News.

Categories: News

American Pinball reveals Legends of Valhalla

Editor

Posted on October 23, 2021

American Pinball revealed Legends of Valhalla as their newest pinball title, available in two versions. The game has an original Viking-inspired theme. Read the official press release with additional info below.

CHICAGO, October 23, 2021 — American Pinball Inc. (API) adds their fourth game, Legends of Valhalla to their growing lineup of pinball machines for arcades, homes, and collectors.

American Pinball, Inc., makers of collector-quality pinball machines for the arcade and home markets including Houdini – Master of Mystery, Oktoberfest – Pinball on Tap, and Hot Wheels, is proud to manufacture Legends of Valhalla designed by Scott Gullicks for Riot Pinball, LLC. Scott Gullocks is a well-known pinball designer coming from the homebrew community. Several years ago he also designed a wide-body game called Wrath of Olympus.

Features

Challenge 16 unique battle modes where you can test your might against Viking Legends on your quest to Ragnarok, “The End of the World.”
Overcome the Kraken who will grab the ball via a hidden magnet beneath the playfield and throw it in unpredictable directions.
Prepare for War by building your army, and board your Viking ship to begin Multiball play.
Demonstrate proper Viking values to prove that you are worthy of Valhalla.
Prove that you are skilled enough to call upon the power of the Valkyries. They can assist you in your quest to defeat your enemies who stand in the way of reaching Valhalla.
Utilize the might of Thor’s Hammer by activating it via the third flipper button. The power of Thor comes crashing down like a lightning strike, by capturing the ball via a magnet over the top lanes, giving you more control and leading to higher scores.

Models

Legends of Valhalla is available in Classic and Deluxe Editions.

The Classic Edition includes black powder-coated rails, legs, backbox hinges, lockdown bar, over 100 RGB lights, interactive Thor’s Hammer, hundreds of callouts, 22 total game modes including various Multiball modes.
The Deluxe Edition is limited to 300 units and includes enhanced features such as a mirrored backglass, topper, upgraded powder coated side rails, backbox hinges, lockdown bar and legs, shaker motor, sculpted and hand-painted figures, and anti-glare “Magic” Playfield Glass.

Deluxe Editions are available to order now with an MSRP of $8,395. American Pinball will only be accepting orders for the Deluxe Edition at this time. Pricing for the Classic Edition will be announced at a later date. Classic Editions will ship after all 300 Deluxe Editions have shipped.

Games on Public Location:

American Pinball newest policy is to have games available for public play at the time of the reveal of the game. The following locations have Legends of Valhalla Deluxe Edition available to play now:

Enterrium, 2 Woodfield Mall Unit A, Schaumburg, IL 60173
Pinball Gallery, 81 Lancaster Ave, Malvern, PA 19355
Bang Back Pinball Lounge, 741 Saluda Ave, Columbia, SC 29205
Pocketeer Billiards, 2444 Clinton St, Buffalo, NY 14224
Jackbar, 143 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

The following locations will have Legends of Valhalla Deluxe Edition available to play the week of October 25:

TILT Pinball Bar, 113 E 26th St #110, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Colorado Pinball Pub, 6209 S Santa Fe Dr, Littleton, CO 80120
Ayce Gogi Van Nuys, 7128 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91405
Ayce Gogi West Hills, 6705 Fallbrook Ave, West Hills, CA 91307
Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum, 1458 NE 25th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124
CoinTaker, 1437 PA-61, Sunbury, PA 17801

Special Pinball Expo Announcement:

American Pinball will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, October 27 from 10:00am until 4:00pm. Masks are required.

Click here for Legends of Valhalla photo gallery on American Pinball’s Facebook page.

Related Links:

https://www.riotpinball.com/

https://www.american-pinball.com/

https://www.facebook.com/americanpinball

https://www.instagram.com/americanpinball/

https://twitter.com/americanpinbal1

https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-pinball-inc

Categories: News

Chicago Gaming announces Cactus Canyon Remake

Editor

Posted on August 21, 2021

At the Southern Fried Gaming Expo, Chicago Gaming revealed their newest title will be Cactus Canyon Remake. The company was scheduled to host a seminar in which they would discuss the history of Churchill Cabinets and Chicago Gaming. Instead, they announced Cactus Canyon Remake (CCR). Originally the plan was to reveal the game at the show. Unfortunately, the game is not present at the event. The reason? Availability of the game is subject to licensor approval, which may take another four to six weeks. The good news: the game is already in production and over 850 playfields have been screened so far. Once the licensors have approved the game, it could be in customer’s hands within one to two weeks.

Ryan White of Chicago Gaming during the presentation at Southern Fried Gaming Expo (photo credit: Kaneda’s Pinball Podcast)

While the reveal of the game may have come as a surprise, the title has been rumored for years. Chicago Gaming is known for their remakes, of which the Limited Edtion model of a title unusally comes with an exclusive topper. Cactus Canyon Remake LE is no different with an interactive topper that’s actually a mini game. The game comes with new and improved finished game code. The original designers have been contacted to understand their original intent with the game, which software-wise was never finished. Chicago Gaming is launching a new operating system for all upcoming titles, of which CCR will be the first. CCR will have RGB general illumination, and an XLCD display.

The team that developed CCR consists of Sean Wilson – Project Manager, Jim Thornton – Project Manager, Sam Zehr – Programmer, Joe Schrober – Programmer. Thronton worked for American Pinball, but apparently left to start working for Chicago Gaming.

At the seminar it was also announced that Medieval Madness Remake will be back in production in 2023, that Chicago Gaming is aiming to get to two titles per year and they currently have five pinball projects in the works. The entire seminar van be watched here.

Ryan White, Chicago Gaming’s spokesperson will be a special guest on the upcoming Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast, that will summarize the pinball industry news of August 2021.

Categories: News

NEWS: Pinball Magazine No. 2 back in stock, new shipping option, U.S. postal rates

Editor

Posted on January 13, 2020

Good news and more good news! First, the good news: Pinball Magazine No. 2 is back in stock! The other good news: the Pinball Magazine webshop now has a new shipping option available. Please read all about it below.

Pinball Magazine No. 2 back in stock
Pinball Magazine No. 2 sold out over two years ago. Since then, there has been a growing demand for a reprint. Thanks to several new advertisers, this reprint is now available in the Pinball Magazine webshop.

The cover story in Pinball Magazine No. 2 focuses on the career of pinball designer Dennis Nordman (White Water, Demolition Man, Blackwater 100, Pirates of the Caribbean, Wheel of Fortune, and more). Pinball artist Greg Freres joins Dennis on the games they worked on together (Elvira and the Party Monsters, Dr. Dude, The Party Zone, Scared Stiff, Whoa Nellie).

Did you know that Dennis Nordman designed several videogames in the ‘80s? That’s just one of the many topics discussed in this cover story. But there is a lot more. The cover story also has contributions from Steve Ritchie, Chris Granner, John Youssi, Doug Watson, Roger Sharpe, and others, all discussing working with Dennis at some point during his career in pinball.

Aside from the cover story, Pinball magazine No. 2 also has side articles on Pinball News, The Pinball Arcade, ColorDMD, Pinball Expo, Silverball Museum, and more.

In terms of content, most articles in Pinball Magazine No. 2 remained the same, although some typos were corrected. New advertisements were added to fund the printing of this reprint partly. As you may have noticed, the cover of the reissue has a different background color as well. Check out the feedback that came in on Pinball Magazine No. 2.

Bonus set of postcards
New with the reprint of issue two is a set of eight postcards with photos of games designed by Dennis Nordman. When Pinball Magazine No. 2 originally came out, no postcards came with the magazine as I started doing that later on with the publication of Santiago Ciuffo’s PINBALL book. Since then, a limited edition set of postcards also came out when Pinball Magazine No. 4 and 5 came out. In line with previous postcard sets, the photos on the new postcard set have also been taken by Argentinean photographer Santiago Ciuffo.

For those who ordered Pinball Magazine No. 2 the first time around and that are interested in the new set of postcards: extra sets of postcards can be ordered separately as well in the Pinball Magazine webshop. However, I would advise ordering such a set of cards together with another magazine or book. When ordering another magazine, the added postal costs for the postcards are almost non-existent. When ordering only a set of postcards, that’s not the case. For most territories, the postal charges are the sum of a fixed price per package plus a rate for the weight of the package. While the weight of a set of postcards will be less than 100 grams, for some territories, the fixed price per package is rather steep. Hence the suggestion to combine ordering the set with another book or magazine, or maybe even wait for Pinball Magazine No. 6. Issue 6 is supposed to come out later this year, although I can’t say when exactly.
Note: when ordering the reprint of Pinball Magazine No. 2, there is no need to add the postcards, as these will be included with the reprint anyway.

New shipping option in the Pinball Magazine webshop
When you’re placing your order in the Pinball Magazine webshop, and get to the part of estimating your postal costs, you’ll notice an extra shipping option has been added. For years I’ve been working with Deutsche Post, which is still an option to choose from. New is the option to choose for shipping with PostNL. PostNL offers different postal rates, which may be cheaper you’re your order is close to 2 or 5 kilograms (4 or 10 lbs).

PostNL may, in some cases, be more expensive than Deutsche Post, but it does have some advantages. Packages of over 2 kilograms are most likely to include track and trace. Packages shipped with PostNL are expected to ship out sooner as well, as these can be dropped off at the post office on any business day. With Deutsche Post, there is a minimum number of packages to ship. For that reason, shipments to Deutsche Post occur monthly. It’s now up to you to decide which postal service you prefer.

Note regarding future North American postal rates
While postal rates are adjusted at the beginning of each year, my account manager at Deutsche Post informed me last week that postal rates to the U.S. are expected to go up significantly around July 2020. It was explained to me as a political response to cheap postal rates from China being addressed. Postal rates from other countries are likely to be affected, as well. The exact details are yet unknown, but chances are it will be cheaper to order your Pinball Magazine products before the postal rates will be increased.

Categories: Pinball Magazine No. 2

Pinball Magazine wins TWIP award for Favorite Pinball Publication 2018

Editor

Posted on March 24, 2019

Pinball Magazine No. 5 was voted Favorite Pinball Publication of 2018 by visitors of This Week In Pinball. Editor Jonathan Joosten received a TWIPy Award for the publication at the Texas Pinball Festival 2019. Below, check out the videostream of the TWIPy Awards.

Bekijk The 2nd Annual TWIPY Pinball Awards van SDTMpinball op www.twitch.tv

Categories: News

Free downloadable supplement to Pinball Magazine No. 5

Editor

Posted on December 11, 2018

Here’s a FREE downloadable PDF supplement for Pinball Magazine No. 5. As you may know, the magazine focuses largely on Wayne Neyens’ career in pinball, during which he designed 180 pinball machines. John Osborne was hired by Wayne in the early ’70s which resulted in John designing several electromechanical and solid-state pinball machines for Gottlieb. In this interview John talks about how he got into pinball, getting hired, the games he designed, the prototype assemblies he designed and of course working with Wayne. Pinball Magazine No. 5 is packed with more interviews like this. Order your copy in the Pinball Magazine webshop. Download

Categories: News

Pinball Magazine No. 5 is here!

Editor

Posted on August 30, 2018

Today, the printed copies of Pinball Magazine No. 5 came in I’m really happy how this issue turned out in print. The magazine can now be ordered in the Pinball Magazine webshop.

Content listing:

With 360 glossy full-color pages our biggest issue ever (it’s definitely more like a book…)

Two specials: the most in-depth interview ever with living pinball legend Wayne Neyens and an article by Gordon Hasse on Wayne Neyens career in pinball. Wayne recently celebrated his 100^th birthday. He started in the pinball industry in 1937 at Western and started working at Gottlieb in 1939. In 1947 he started designing his first game and since then designed 180 games in total of which 159 made it into production. Each and every one of these, as well as several prototypes, are featured in the magazine. Former colleagues and pinball collectors also comment on working with Wayne, Gottlieb’s transition from EM to solid-state games, what makes Wayne’s games so special and more.
Scott Danesi discusses how he designed Spooky Pinball’s best-selling hit game Total Nuclear Annihilation. Besides designing the game, Scott also programmed all the rules, light shows and other code, and he produced all of the great music featured in the game.
Essential Website: Jack Danger discusses streaming pinball on his Dead_Flip channel.
Private Collection: Randy Peck’s incredible Nu-Pike Arcade.
Shop: Steve Young (The Pinball Resource) discusses his business and storing the Gottlieb archive.
(P)in Business: Doug Skor talks about Churchill Cabinets and Chicago Gaming.
(P)in Business: Gary Stern discusses Stern Pinball’s current business model, taking more time off, and more.
Pinball Personalities: Antoinette Johnson.
Upgrade: Michael Pupo (Flipper Fidelity) discusses upgrading the speakers in your pinball machine.
Museum: Terra Technica in Czech Republic.
and much more

Order your copy in the Pinball Magazine webshop. In case you’ll be attending the Vancouver Flipout show, please note a limited supply of Pinball magazine No. 5 will be available at the show in the Nitro Pinball stand.

Upcoming USA resellers:

Pinball Classics – Rob Anthony
The Pinball Resource – Steve Young

Reviews:

Pinball News
For Amusement Only podcast
Head 2 Head pinball podcast, starting at the 2:00:00 mark

Categories: News

New: 3 posters by Kevin O’Connor

Editor

Posted on February 1, 2018

New in the Pinball Magazine webshop: 3 posters with concept art by Kevin O’Connor. The three available posters are:

Backglass art for King Kong (Data East, only nine prototype games ever built),
Concept backglass art for Playboy (Data East) This magic marker sketch was made when the Playboy 35th Anniversary game was set to be themed around a Playboy photoshoot. Eventually the theme was changed to a pool party.
Concept backglass and cabinet sketches for Star Trek (Data East) The poster includes early magic marker scetches and the magic marker sketches that got approved.

Like all posters in the Pinball Magazine webshop they are priced at Euro 6.50, or any three posters for Euro 15.00. The posters are sized 50 x 70 cm. Note that all three posters have a white border all around the center image.

Categories: News

News from Pinball Magazine

Editor

Posted on September 26, 2017

As there are some developments going on, please find the latest news regarding Pinball Magazine below:

Starting with the October Newsletter, which will be the September 2017 pinball industry recap, the monthly Pinball Magazine Newsletter will mainly contain the headlines of each manufacturer. The monthly recap will be posted on the Pinball Magazine website, and the newsletter will contain links to that summary.
While the newsletters will be send out at the beginning of each month, the pinball industry update of that month will be published and updated already during that month. This way the latest headlines and summaries will be availble much sooner.
None other than pinball historian Gordon Hasse wrote a 62-page article on the career of Gottlieb pinball designer Wayne Neyens for Pinball Magazine No. 5. Pinball Magazine also has 180(!) pages of transcripts of conversations with Wayne Neyens. The current plan is to use the article by Gordon Hasse as the lead article, but anecdotes from Wayne will be added to be as complete as possible in covering this career.
Pinball Magazine will start taking advertisements for Pinball Magazine No. 5 soon. Potential advertisers will receive an email soon with all the details. If you haven’t received this email, but would like to advertise as well, please contact: editor @ pinball-magazine .com (no spaces).
Pinball Magazine editor Jonathan Joosten is scheduled to host a seminar at Pinball Expo, Friday, October 13, at 1:00 PM. In this seminar, the upcoming Pinball Magazine No. 5 and a second upcoming publication will be discussed.
The Pinball Magazine website has been updated in some sections. Some posts on the front page appear now as shorted version and have a “Read more” button added to them.
The September batch of Pinball Magazine orders shipped out September 26th.

Categories: News

The next batch of Pinball Magazine orders ships: first week of June 2018

Editor

Posted on September 25, 2017

Due to a minimum required quantity of packages Pinball Magazine ships its incoming orders (books, posters and magazines) in monthly batches. This also qualifies us for a more economical postal rate, which helps since it’s such a heavy magazine and it’s being shipped from The Netherlands (Europe). The next shipment is scheduled for the first week of June 2018. In case the minimum required number of orders is met prior to that, they will ship earlier. To order Pinball Magazine No. 1, Pinball Magazine No. 3, Pinball Magazine No. 4, Santiago Ciuffo’s PINBALL book a package deal of the magazines and book and/or PINBALL Posters (discounted when ordered 3, 6, 9 etc.) please visit the Pinball Magazine webshop.

Categories: News

Feedback to Pinball Magazine No. 4

Editor

Posted on January 5, 2017

Below is a selection of feedback that came in once Pinball Magazine No. 4 started arriving at the homes of those that ordered a copy:

“It’s great!” – Mark Ritchie
“@PinballMagazine Your magazine is a work of art married to a plethora of useful and interesting information- great job! #TakingItHomeToRead” – Jack Guarnieri (JJP)
“Thank you for sending a copy of No. 4. It will be a fun read. Actually, I did read my interview first! I thought it was very smart and professional, the choice of images and their placement throughout the article, to complement the different things that I said, to provide a visual aid to those who may not be familiar with the games that I referenced. Very nice.” – Jay Stafford, IPDB
The magazine arrived just today. Now, the likely reason this issue took as long as it did to arrive is because it apparently was dropped during unloading upon reaching New York’s air cargo terminal and was simply kicked around and run over several times, before someone realized it was a bit too heavy to sweep into their dustpan and then was forced to actually reach down and pick it up off the tarmac.As luck would have it (and as a testiment to your fantabulous packaging skill) the much anticipated, highly regarded and obviously incredibly valued contents inside remained nearly perfectly unharmed. Bravo! And bravo on another wonderful issue chock full of great content – sure to provide many hours of brain stuffing, eye glazing reading. Many thanks as always!” Cliffy (Passion for Pinball)
“The magazine came in today’s mail Jonathan… looks great and can’t wait to read all about Taro! Thanks for being a force for good in pinball. Hope to see you in Texas sir! Take some time off over the holidays and play some pinball.” – Charlie Emery (Spooky Pinball)
“Bonjour Jonathan, I received your magazine yesterday. I spent at least 15 minutes just to browse it, looking at the titles and pictures. It’s just AWESOME and the postcards are a nice add-on, especially during this upcoming Xmas period. Hence the reason why I did not ask if you were doing fine, because I had no doubt about it ;)” – Pascal Janin, FLIPPP

Categories: News

New Euro / Dollar and Paypal policy

Editor

Posted on January 1, 2017

Effective January 1st, 2017 Pinball Magazine will invoice orders for advertisements and bulk orders for magazines and book only in Euro. This means the invoices should be paid in Euro as well. When paid via PayPal the costs for such transaction (currency exchange and costs Paypal applies for transferring money) should be at the expense of the paying party. The easiest way to handle this is to indicate the transfer is a gift. Alternative payment options are a bank transfer, or transferring money via Transferwise.com.

Categories: News

Pinball Magazine No.4 is here!

Editor

Posted on November 16, 2016

Pinball Magazine No. 4 is here! With 244 pages Pinball Magazine No.4 is another book and has a great variety of articles to enjoy. Here’s what you can expect:

Special: pinball designer Mark Ritchie discusses his entire career at Williams Pinball, Capcom and beyond, in a 100+ page cover story including game designs such as Thunderball, Firepower II, Sorcerer, Big Guns, Taxi, Fish Tales, Indiana Jones, Kingpin and more. Contribution by others about Mark Ritchie include Eugene Jarvis, George Petro, Steve Ritchie, Chris Granner and others, all revealing great insights in working with Mark Ritchie.
Dutch Pinball owners Barry Driessen and Jaap Nauta discuss the making of The Big Lebowski in a 17-page interview.
Pinball animation artist Jean-Paul de Win discusses his work for Jersey Jack Pinball (The Hobbit, Dialed In!), Dutch Pinball (The Big Lebowski), Silver Castle Pinball (Timeshock) and more.
Showtime: Ed vanderVeen discusses the very successful Texas Pinball Festival.
Dan Ferguson discusses the Lone Star Pinball Museum in Hockley, Texas.
Jeff Frick discusses collecting prewar pinball machines.
A triple interview on Dallas makerspace’s VECTOR Committee where some great pinball restorations take place.
Essential Website: the Internet Pinball Database, interview with manager Jay Stafford
Store: Pinball Universe‘s new approach to bringing pinball to the people
Artist Lippy discusses the first issue of Binge Trigger
and much more

To order your copy of Pinball Magazine No.4 visit the Pinball Magazine webshop.

Categories: News

Feedback on Pinball Magazine No. 3

Editor

Posted on October 20, 2015

Below is a selection of reviews and feedback received on Pinball Magazine No. 3.

Reviews:

Pavlov Pinball
Coast2Coast Pinball Podcast Episode 201 (Pinball Magazine comments start at 48:30)
Pinballsupernova
Three sides of the coin (KISS podcast) Episode 156, 04:40 – 11:30 (see brief transcript below)

Michael: “If you’re a KISS colloctor, a KISS magazine collector, if you own a KISS pinball machine – the original or the new one – you want this.”
Tommy: “It’s amazing!”
Michael: “About one third of this magazine is devoted to KISS pinball stuff. There’s a ton of photos of behind the scenes stuff. This is just so freaking cool and well done.”
Tommy: “When I started going through this I was like, here’s another article, here’s another photo, it’s just boom-boom-boom-boom thoughout the whole thing.”
Michael: “By all means: get it! …. This is qlearly in-depth. … I would guess the people behind this are KISS fans.”
Tommy: “It’s too cool not to be.”
Michael: “The quality and the depth they put into this is not done by someone who is assigned a project to write a story about KISS. … I feel like this was written by somebody who understands KISS.”

Categories: News

Pinball Magazine No. 3 is here!

Editor

Posted on October 5, 2015

Pinball Magazine No. 3 is here! With 260 pages even bigger than Pinball Magazine No. 2!

Pinball Magazine No. 3 contents:

260 glossy full color pages (it’s more like a book…)
Almost everything there is to know about KISS-themed pinball machines (total KISS-related content is about 88 pages out of 260 pages)
Former pinball designer Jim Patla discusses his entire career at Bally Pinball, including lots of new details on his 1979 KISS pinball design as well as other games
Former Bally Marketing and Licensing Director Tom Nieman talks about his years at Bally, inventing the licensing model, lots of details on Bally’s KISS marketing campaigns and much more
Pinball artist Kevin O’Connor discusses his years and games at Bally, including the artwork he did for KISS and lots more. This article features unique sketches and artwork!
Stern’s Director of Marketing and Licencing Jody Dankberg discusses their current KISS game
Stern Pinball designer John Borg discusses his new KISS design
9-page pinball review of Stern’s KISS by Pinball News
2 Bally KISS restoration features
Very rare painting of Gene Simmons from 1982 by a well-known pinball artist
Barenaked Ladies leadsinger Ed Robertson talks about his pinball passion
The French Connection: four articles on French manufacturers of replacement printed circuit boards that will enhance your game
Showtime: Festi’Flip, Europe’s biggest pinball show
Museum: Freddy’s Pinball Paradise, location to play and game distributor
Plus articles on Jersey Jack Pinball (USA), Project Pinball Charity (USA), Pinball Creative (U.K.), Pinball Dreams (Germany), Pavlov Pinball (U.K.), Who’s Working On What?, Show Diary,and lots more

Pinball Magazine No. 3 can be ordered in the Pinball Magazine web shop

Categories: News

Reviews + Feedback gallery for Santiago Ciuffo’s PINBALL book

Editor

Posted on May 7, 2014

REVIEWS:

Review by Pinball News
Review by Pavlov Pinball (interesting new website, just launched, do check it out!)
Review by Don Fregede on PinballArcadeFans
Review by Credit Dot Pinball (interesting new website, check it out!)
Review by Pinball Aficionado (interesting blog, recommended!)
Review by Gene X on PinballSoul

FEEDBACK:

“We received a book today. Younger son Nate (4) could not hide his excitement. He recognized couple of pinball machines from our small collection and happily took a picture with a new book. Thanks Pinball Magazine and Santiago for bringing pins back to life and promoting them to the young generations.” – Teo

Click READ MORE below for more feedback >>>

Categories: News

Book: ‘PINBALL’ – Santiago Ciuffo now available

Editor

Posted on May 1, 2014

As mentioned earlier Pinball Magazine got the rights to publish the international edition of PINBALL, a beautiful photo book by Argentinean photographer Santiago Ciuffo. The book (hard cover, 208 pages, 11.3 inch x 8.7 inch) is now available and can be ordered in the Pinball Magazine webshop.

To get an idea of the photos in the book, see the pictures below:

Categories: News

Free Pinball Magazine downloads

NEW: Pinball posters by Santiago Ciuffo (now available)

Book: ‘PINBALL’ – Santiago Ciuffo now available

The latest pinball news and rumors: Who’s working on what?

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