About Kineticist
Kineticist is a digital publication and community resource for the pinball and physical gaming communities (like arcade gaming, air hockey, skee-ball, retro gaming, and tabletop gaming).
The site was launched in 2022 by Colin Alsheimer, a lifetime gamer and pinball enthusiast who wanted to bring his skills in technology, marketing and business to the world of pinball and physical gaming after seeing firsthand the power it has to bring people together and be a positive influence.
Kineticist is currently a 100% self-funded effort, backed by a small but growing team of writers and builders. Your support, any way you can provide it, is massively appreciated. And if you're interested in collaborating or talking about the latest pinball news, drop us a line!
Mission
At Kineticist, our mission is to bring more people into the pinball and physical gaming space by making it more accessible and welcoming to diverse mainstream audiences. We aim to elevate all sides of the industry, from players and creators to manufacturers and operators, in a way that's fair, approachable, and fun.
The problem (as we see it)
The pinball and physical gaming communities are vibrant (but fragmented), prolific (but economically unsustainable), heavily documented (but not always approachable), and often inaccessible to newbies and underrepresented groups. For all the good presently in the community (and there’s a lot of it), we believe it can be dramatically amplified and improved upon.
Our Approach
We will accomplish this goal by creating creative, engaging, and informative content and resources across a range of topics that new and future players are passionate about. We will also focus on using modern technologies and communications solutions to build tools and platforms that (directly and indirectly) highlights the best the community has to offer.
Our goal is to make it easier for people to learn about pinball and physical gaming, discover their favorite creators, transact with quality businesses (and each other), and to generally come together around their shared passions for this small subsection of gaming.
Core Values
We are inspired by organizations like the New England Pinball League, who promote the sport of pinball and embrace casual play and the social aspects of the game. By operators like Pinball Over Boston who bring their energy, passion, and ability to build community to the scene. By the teams behind Pinball Map, OPDB, and MatchPlay, that build products for the pinball community and accessible tools for other builders and creators. And by the many community organizers that bring the community together in positive, respectful and mutually beneficial ways.
We seek to be:
- Good ambassadors for the community
- Positive and fair
- Passionate
- Accessible and approachable
- Innovative
- Fun
- Collaborative
- Supportive
- Creative
- Good at business 😉
Goals
Our short-term goal is to make Kineticist a viable, self-sustaining business that can support a small, dedicated team of builders and creators with shared goals and values. Our content and distribution platforms are likely the fastest ways to hit these goals.
In the long-term, our goal is to make a measurable positive impact on the pinball and physical gaming community. We will achieve this by building products and services, supporting the building of community infrastructure, helping the next generation discover the physical side of gaming, and providing opportunities for passionate people to build, launch, and grow rewarding careers.
Got an idea?
Send us your idea, and if it fits our vibe or benefits the community, we'll help you bring it to life!
Contributors
These people fuel Kineticist. Newest contributors listed first.
I have been a psychologist for over 40 years and a passionate collector and player of pinball machines for even longer. My love for pinball began in the late 1970s when I would spend hours at the local pinball centre with friends after school. To help pay for my university education, I purchased a pinball business, operating machines in milk bars and pizza shops. After selling the machines upon graduation to focus on my psychology career, my wife Cassandra and I reignited our pinball passion 10 years later, filling our games room with over 40 machines. My first Hankin pinball was Empire Strikes Back, completing my Star Wars pinball collection, and it led me to collect other rare Hankin pinballs, Orbit, FJ Holden, Howzat, and Shark. These highly collectible machines are a source of pride for me, and I love sharing the Hankin story and my enthusiasm for Australian pinball history with others.
Ryan Banfi is a PhD Candidate in The Martin Scorsese Cinema Studies at New YorkUniversity Tisch School of the Arts. He is a Corrigan Fellow at NYU, and he is aHispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar. Ryan holds a BA from the Claremont Collegesin Literature and Media Studies, a MA in Cinema and Media Studies from theUniversity of Southern California, and a MPhil from NYU in Cinema Studies. Hehas been published in New Review of Film and Television Studies (forthcoming),The International Journal of James Bond Studies (forthcoming), Television & NewMedia, Games and Culture, Game Studies, Mediapolis, Flow Online Journal,Studies in European Cinema, and In Media Res. Ryan is on the editorial board ofGames and Culture.
Matt Owen is a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend. He can often be found playing endless hours of games or watching an absurd amount of movies and television: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When he's not bingeing entertainment media, Matt enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing pinball, broadcasting, and attempting to cook.
Photo via Darkroom Pinball
(AKA "#1 Pinzer", AKA "The D.O.A.T.", AKA "Quiet Joe")
Joe has been avidly engaged in the pinball community for the past decade. Founder of the facebook group Pinball Degenerates, he is Judge, producer and host of The DeGenies Pinball Award ceremony. He initiated the celebration of National Pinball Day on August 1st and is a supporter of "Positivity in Pinball". He's also an unabashed film geek, a food nerd as well as more than just a little obsessed with making Roger Sharpe his "Pinball Daddy".
Apprentice Model Maker at Stern Pinball. I specialize in metal fabrication to create all the prototype components (wireforms, whitewoods, plastics, ramps, accessories, etc) that go into future games.
Originally from MA and a retired competitive/NEPL member (at one time ranked 896). My other passions include film, PC Video Games and Boston based sport teams.
Nick Baldridge is the founder of For Amusement Only Games.
From his website, "A lifelong love of pinball and gaming has fueled my interest in repairing and creating games.
I enjoy seeing different approaches to complex electrical, mechanical, and programming problems in all types of games, and utilizing modern technology to engage players without unduly increasing complexity."
The man who saved pinball. Also a prolific advocate for pinball, game designer, pinball journalist, and so much more.
Chris Friebus hosts the BlahCade pinball podcast, covering the world of digital pinball.
My name is Teri Bertram, and I was hired as a video game software engineer in early 1996 by Williams Electronics to help create the arcade game BIO-F.R.E.A.K.S. (the flying-fighting game brainchild of David Simon.)
Dennis Kriesel, prolific pinball creator, co-hosts The Eclectic Gamers Podcast and The Pinball Show and has been published on This Week in Pinball and Pinball News.
Spencer Murrill has worked in the film and animatronics industry mostly as a puppet and specialty prop builder for the past 15 years. His interest in pinball machines was really piqued when The Pinball Arcade released in 2012.
Jake Danzig is the creator of Arcade Adventures of Jake and Jesse and the admin of the Strictly Custom Pinball Machines group.
Will Oetting contributes to This Week in Pinball, runs Silverball Swag and leads the annual TWIPY awards.
Scott is a grown man living in Portland Oregon. He didn't play much pinball until he met Ryan, at which point the both of them created Pinball Map. Now-a-days, he plays pinball as often as possible, but isn't very good at it. When he isn't playing pinball he is a Software Development Manager who politely asks young people to make computer programs. He enjoys non-fiction books, zines that aren't about music or politics, funny movies, and cat fancying.
Ted "Doc" Finlay, Ph.D. started PinballPrices.com five years ago after buying his first pinball and suddenly realizing he had no idea if he got a good deal or just got screwed. After some intense searching and evaluation of various pinball price sources, he realized there was an opportunity to spend hundreds of hours gathering and transcribing data, creating a website, and providing monthly updates for the pinball community for absolutely no monetary gain. Who could pass that up?
When not gathering data for PinballPrices.com, Doc restores pinball machines. He is also a member of the known perversive group, The Poor Man's Pinball Tribe. Doc received his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and currently resides in Atlanta.
The seeds of Erin’s pinball love grew from summer vacations that included arcades in Maine and her aunt and uncle’s Gottlieb Wild Life that now resides in her basement along with 16 other friends. After buying her first machine the tech introduced her to the New England pinball community and tournaments and she was hooked right away. She went on to host and organize events for the New England Pinball League, Boston Belles and Chimes, The Silverbell Brawl at Pintastic New England, and most recently after a pinball related move halfway across the country, founded the Chicagoland Suburbs Chapter of Belles and Chimes. She organizes and attends a lot of events but she’s in it for the people and community way more than points. Pinball people are the best no matter where you travel!
Matt Snow owns Hometown Arcade with his wife Shelly Bansal-Snow and longtime friend Chris “Crit” Crone. Matt is a huge fan of pinball and retro arcade games. Opening and operating an arcade has been a longtime dream of Matt’s. Prior to Hometown Arcade, Matt has worked in technology his entire career and over the last 15 years has worked at start up companies focused on ecommerce and analytics.
Matt graduated from Harvard University and has a MBA in Strategic Management from Suffolk University.
Matt is originally from Maine but has lived in the Boston area since college. He lives in Needham, MA with his wife (Shelly), son, daughter, and dog (Wilbur).
Guest writer for Kineticist and fan of pinball all the way back in the days of the Super Pinball Behind The Mask. Some of his earliest memories are losing to his parents and siblings playing it. When he isn't working on his arcade store he is working on oddball ways of losing or winning at Magic the Gathering or he can be found working on one of his many crafting projects.
Eric is a competitive pinball player with a passion for pinball since childhood. He's practicing his flipper skills and competing in local pinball tournaments across Tennessee. As a member of the IFPA, and editor at pinballtn.com, he is dedicated to promoting competitive pinball events, and spreading the love of the game to new players.
Mitch Wilkins is a writer, pinballer, and aspiring stay-at-home dog dad based in Brisbane, Australia. When not writing he can be found tilting games at Netherworld Arcade.
VHS collector, media archivist, and pinball rules aficionado, Noah has been invested in the hobby since he was a teenager - much to the surprise of his parents and others his age. As an expert on brand new machines he’s the guy to call if you’re new to the hobby, or an experienced player who wants some help. Noah hopes to participate in and perhaps even win major tournaments like INDISC as his skills improve and desires for pinball to become a more inclusive hobby.
Ryan is from Los Angeles and has been playing pinball since before he was born via his mom playing their Paragon home pin. He co-founded Pinball Map in 2008 with Scott in Scott's basement in Portland. He is in the Crazy Flipper Fingers pinball gang, where he goes by the name ROM. Aside from all that he is an urban planner who enjoys hiking, skateboarding, and tennis.
Hi! I’m Alyssa, but you can call me Mrs. Kineticist. I’ve been playing pinball for over three decades, starting with a Joker Poker we had in my basement growing up. I love the pinball community, and can usually be found at an NEPL or Boston Belles and Chimes tournament, or hanging on our couch with our Kineticist Pup, who is also a big pinball fan.
Melodee Mabbitt is not a good bowler. Growing up in Flint, Michigan in the 90’s, there wasn’t much else for the children of autoworkers to do except hang at bowling alleys. Luckily for Melodee, the pinball games didn’t mind that she could barely break 100 pins. She flipped with the same lack of skill, but more heart, and eventually learned that earning invitations to the bowling alley meant she’d have to be humble, funny and willing to entertain herself while others bowled. Today, Melodee is a decent writer, not the worst flipper and still a terrible bowler.
James is a writer at Kineticist. He’s been playing pinball since he could reach both flippers on his dad’s Paragon (not an easy feat), has been playing competitively since he could drive himself to tournaments, and routinely talks ears off about any and all sorts of pinball minutia. Aside from pinball, he works as a software developer, collects board games, and spends his winter weekends skiing all over his home of New England.
Brad is a copywriter at Kineticist. His most vivid pinball memory is playing the Playboy pinball machine at his friends’ house when he was a kid. He loves the arcade, open world video games, and hosting board game nights. When not writing about gaming, Brad writes screenplays, acts, and produces creative and comedic content in Los Angeles (follow him on TikTok @bradmilison and Instagram @bradmilison).
Jose Irizarry is our newest writer. A lifelong gamer and content creator from New Jersey. Has an encyclopedic knowledge of Godzilla. Currently exploring the arcade scene in Austin, Texas.
Brian is a writer here at Kineticist. He grew up playing arcade machines at the minigolf place near his home in New Jersey and considered Title Fight by SEGA a suitable replacement for the gym (spoiler alert: it was not). Brian enjoys gaming spots that have good craft beer, '90s songs, and Skee-Ball. Currently living in Los Angeles, Brian writes TV pilots, screenplays, and children's picture books—all while his puppy Pabu whines for attention. You can follow him on Twitter (@briansaa) and/or Instagram (@throughawineglass) where he takes pictures of movies & TV shows through, you guessed it, a wine glass.
Colin is the chief pixel pusher at Kineticist. He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version). Since then he's bought, sold and repaired many machines, competed in all kinds of tournaments, and contributes to This Week in Pinball, the New England Pinball League, and Pin-Masters of New England. Previously, Colin spent over a decade working in marketing for agencies and tech startups, with clients like American Airlines, the MBTA, Analog Devices, Eli Lilly and more. He also started and ran a music blog, happy hour website, and wrote a regular craft beer review column for Central Track in Dallas. Once aspired to be an artsy film director.