Pinball News

Original pinball journalism — game reveals, industry analysis, interviews, tutorials, and opinion from the Kineticist editorial team.

Staff Picks

A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Pinball

Everything You Need to Know About Pinball Machine Rental

The Best Pinball Websites to Feed Your Pinball Obsession

Pinball

Top Ten: The Worst Video Modes of the 90s

Some video modes are great. Some are forgettable. And some are so badly designed that the optimal strategy is to immediately stop playing.

solar_espeon

May 1, 2026

Stern Pinball

Pokémon by Stern: A Pokéfessional's Take

A 30-year Pokémon fan with a Living Pokédex looks at Stern's pinball adaptation — what works, what's coming in code, and what fans probably won't ever get.

Chris Krentz·Apr 30, 2026

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: mrm_4

Staff Picks

A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Pinball

Everything You Need to Know About Pinball Machine Rental

The Best Pinball Websites to Feed Your Pinball Obsession

Pinball

Top Ten: The Worst Video Modes of the 90s

Some video modes are great. Some are forgettable. And some are so badly designed that the optimal strategy is to immediately stop playing.

solar_espeon

May 1, 2026

Stern Pinball

Pokémon by Stern: A Pokéfessional's Take

A 30-year Pokémon fan with a Living Pokédex looks at Stern's pinball adaptation — what works, what's coming in code, and what fans probably won't ever get.

Chris Krentz·Apr 30, 2026

Pinball Restoration

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: mrm_4

In the second edition of Nutter's Pinball Restoration Spotlight, Michael talks with Matt (mrm_4) and tours the Pinside threads that made him one of the hobby's most prolific restoration documentarians.

Michael Swanson·Apr 28, 2026

News

Why Does Spooky's Beetlejuice Have a Goonies Logo in Its Source Code?

The Goonies has been heavily rumored as Spooky's next release. Evidence of it may have been sitting inside the public Beetlejuice code for months.

Colin Alsheimer·Apr 23, 2026

Pinball Tutorial

The Magic is Within You: A Playbill for Bally’s Theatre of Magic Pinball

Learn how to play Bally's 1995 classic, Theatre of Magic, in our expert guide. For the first time ever, we also break down the changes found in a popular community-contributed code update (Soren's 2.0 ROM).

solar_espeon·Apr 21, 2026

Lists

Every Dennis Nordman Pinball Machine, Ranked

With Dennis Nordman in the news lately, we sit down and formally rank all of his major pinball releases.

Chris Krentz·Apr 16, 2026

The Score Card

The Score Card 13: Women's Championships and More March Madness

Jack Revnew takes the Texas Wizards, Sterling Mitoska picks up his first Stern Pro Circuit win at Steel Valley, and Emily Reilhan caps a historic run with the Women's North American and World Championship titles.

Matt Owen·Apr 9, 2026

News

Pinball Capital Opens as Chicago’s Largest Public Pinball Location

James Fremont covers the grand opening of The Pinball Capital in Stone Park, Ill. — Chicago's largest public pinball location at 131 games. Roger Sharpe re-enacted his famous 1976 "called shot" demonstration on its 50th anniversary, and Brian Weisberg swept both opening weekend tournaments.

James Fremont·Apr 9, 2026

Pinball Restoration

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: Leebo’s Pinball

Michael Swanson profiles Leebo's Pinball, a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching pinball restoration one task at a time, from metal polishing and cabinet repainting to wiring repairs and connector upgrades.

Michael Swanson·Apr 8, 2026

Interviews

One More Dollar, One More Game: Inside Project Pinball with Daniel Spolar

The pinball community keeps asking questions about Project Pinball. We sat down with Daniel Spolar for three hours to get answers.

Colin Alsheimer·Mar 27, 2026

News

HEXA Pinball Launches The 3 Musketeers

Today, HEXA Pinball launched The 3 Musketeers, their second-ever title. Here's everything we know about the release.

Colin Alsheimer·Mar 20, 2026

Interviews

Noah Crable on His Surprise Run to the 2026 IFPA National Championship Final

The rulesheet writer talks his path from NH States to the IFPA Nationals final, tournament strategy, and VHS tapes.

Matt Owen·Mar 20, 2026

News

Turner Pinball Launches Yukon Yeti

Turner Pinball's third game is a Dennis Nordman-designed spiritual successor to White Water, themed around the Klondike Gold Rush.

Colin Alsheimer·Mar 19, 2026

The Score Card

The Score Card: Major Moves

Competitive pinball's spring season exploded in March with three massive events. Our recap plus a look at what's ahead on the tournament circuit.

Matt Owen·Mar 18, 2026

Pinball Tutorial

I Choose You! The Pokémon Pinball Trainer's Survival Guide

Learn to play Stern's 2026 release, Pokémon Pinball in our latest expert tutorial.

Noah Crable·Mar 13, 2026

News

TEP's Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel Join American Pinball's Growing Team

TEP co-founder Rob Rath and product engineer Nick Neitzel are joining American Pinball as Product Director and Product Designer — the latest in a string of moves under new owner Bryan Vincent. TEP will continue independent operations while becoming a key AP vendor.

Colin Alsheimer·Mar 12, 2026

Pinball

The Pinball Music Video Leaderboard

Eight contenders. Bonus tallies. An Annie Lennox penalty. Only one takes Grand Champion. Who will it be?

Brian Saa·Mar 6, 2026

Rumors

Get Ready for a Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Machine

Someone has the license for the massively popular LitRPG franchise. We don't know who — but we have thoughts.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 27, 2026

Kineticist Updates

How the Hype Index Got Smarter

We've been quietly rebuilding the Hype Index over the past few months. The scoring is smarter, the nostalgia model actually accounts for franchise eras, and your hype vote feeds directly into the rankings now.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 20, 2026

TWIPYs

The 2025 TWIPY Pinball Awards: Full Winners and Recap

The 2025 TWIPYs looked nothing like the eight shows before it. Seven categories, no sponsors, four arcades, and real conversations with the people who make the games. Here are the winners and what happened.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 18, 2026

Pinball News

Pinball News

Staff Picks

A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Pinball

Pinball for Dummies

Everything You Need to Know About Pinball Machine Rental

The Best Pinball Websites to Feed Your Pinball Obsession

Top Ten: The Worst Video Modes of the 90s

Pokémon by Stern: A Pokéfessional's Take

Staff Picks

A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Pinball

Pinball for Dummies

Everything You Need to Know About Pinball Machine Rental

The Best Pinball Websites to Feed Your Pinball Obsession

Top Ten: The Worst Video Modes of the 90s

Pokémon by Stern: A Pokéfessional's Take

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: mrm_4

Why Does Spooky's Beetlejuice Have a Goonies Logo in Its Source Code?

The Magic is Within You: A Playbill for Bally’s Theatre of Magic Pinball

Every Dennis Nordman Pinball Machine, Ranked

The Score Card 13: Women's Championships and More March Madness

Pinball Capital Opens as Chicago’s Largest Public Pinball Location

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: Leebo’s Pinball

One More Dollar, One More Game: Inside Project Pinball with Daniel Spolar

HEXA Pinball Launches The 3 Musketeers

Noah Crable on His Surprise Run to the 2026 IFPA National Championship Final

Turner Pinball Launches Yukon Yeti

The Score Card: Major Moves

I Choose You! The Pokémon Pinball Trainer's Survival Guide

TEP's Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel Join American Pinball's Growing Team

The Pinball Music Video Leaderboard

Get Ready for a Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Machine

How the Hype Index Got Smarter

The 2025 TWIPY Pinball Awards: Full Winners and Recap

Pinball News

Latest Pinball News & Articles

Pinball News

Latest Pinball News & Articles

Staff Picks

A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Pinball

Pinball for Dummies

Everything You Need to Know About Pinball Machine Rental

The Best Pinball Websites to Feed Your Pinball Obsession

Top Ten: The Worst Video Modes of the 90s

Pokémon by Stern: A Pokéfessional's Take

Staff Picks

A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Pinball

Pinball for Dummies

Everything You Need to Know About Pinball Machine Rental

The Best Pinball Websites to Feed Your Pinball Obsession

Top Ten: The Worst Video Modes of the 90s

Pokémon by Stern: A Pokéfessional's Take

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: mrm_4

Why Does Spooky's Beetlejuice Have a Goonies Logo in Its Source Code?

The Magic is Within You: A Playbill for Bally’s Theatre of Magic Pinball

Every Dennis Nordman Pinball Machine, Ranked

The Score Card 13: Women's Championships and More March Madness

Pinball Capital Opens as Chicago’s Largest Public Pinball Location

Nutter’s Pinball Restoration Spotlight: Leebo’s Pinball

One More Dollar, One More Game: Inside Project Pinball with Daniel Spolar

HEXA Pinball Launches The 3 Musketeers

Noah Crable on His Surprise Run to the 2026 IFPA National Championship Final

Turner Pinball Launches Yukon Yeti

The Score Card: Major Moves

I Choose You! The Pokémon Pinball Trainer's Survival Guide

TEP's Rob Rath and Nick Neitzel Join American Pinball's Growing Team

The Pinball Music Video Leaderboard

Get Ready for a Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Machine

How the Hype Index Got Smarter

The 2025 TWIPY Pinball Awards: Full Winners and Recap