Pinball Content Creators Share their Favorite Games And What They Love About Pinball
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Special thanks to Joel Engelberth (for the idea) and Erin Seiden (for the transcription assistance).
In early October, I received a message from Joel Engelberth of Triple Drain Pinball Podcast and Flip n’ Out streaming fame. He had an idea for a large-scale pinball media collaboration project and wanted to see if I was interested in helping make it happen. To which I said, “of course!”
His idea was simple: ask a bunch of people in the pinball media and content creation space to list their top five games and share their picks on their own channels. I’d then compile all the responses into a summary article and publish on Kineticist.
I added a small wrinkle, which was to also ask the content creators what they loved most about pinball.
We received an incredible response to the project, with over 35 entities responding to the request from 6 different countries.
The response was so incredible that we’re going to be breaking this up into two different posts. The first one (this one) will aggregate and share all the responses. The second post is turning into a new dedicated page on the site that we're calling the PPPOWER 100, or the Pinball Promoters' Power 100. There we will detail the rankings of everyone's favorite games and a few other interesting tidbits from the data.
So, without further ado, here are all the pinball creators' responses to this request.
We’ll kick it off with Triple Drain as a thank you to Joel, and then go alphabetically from there.
Few things to keep in mind as you read:
- Some people got creative with how they chose to respond to one or both prompts, so we've noted those details where possible.
- In the case of the “what do you love most about pinball” question, we’ll be paraphrasing people’s responses where we can, so we encourage you to watch, read, or listen to the creator’s full piece if you find something you connect with.
Finally - if we didn’t get to you in our outreach and you’d like to participate, please send me a note and I’d be happy to update this article with your response! Most contact info was sourced from the Pinball Promoters Database, so if you aren't listed there, chances are we don't have your contact info.
Check out the new PPPOWER 100 pinball machine rankings at the link or clicking on the image below.
Pinball Content Creators Share their Favorite Games And What They Love About Pinball
Triple Drain Pinball Podcast
United States
Triple Drain's Favorite Games
Joel:
- #5 Stranger Things (Premium/LE)
- #4 Medieval Madness
- #3 Cactus Canyon
- #2 Total Nuclear Annihilation
- #1 Godzilla (Stern)
Tom:
Travis:
What Triple Drain Loves About Pinball
Joel:
- The people. Pinball is an outlet to connect and play with people.
Tom:
- The people. Met so many cool people in pinball, it's amazing.
Travis:
- Love that it gives me a paycheck. Paying my mortgage is pretty awesome. Besides that, seeing his kids discover pinball a little, watching them play and figure it out. Cool to share a hobby with friends and family. Allowed him to meet all kinds of different people.
Abe Flips
Germany
Abe Flips Favorite Games
- #5 Ghostbusters
- #4 Harlem Globetrotters on Tour
- #3 Attack from Mars
- #2 Godzilla (Stern)
- #1 Jurassic Park (Stern)
What Abe Flips Loves About Pinball
- Without a doubt the social aspect. Generally enjoy learning and executing pinball techniques. Nothing better then a great drop catch.
Arcade Hunters
United States
Collab link: Arcade Hunters Podcast Bonus: Pinball Colab with Kineticist!
Arcade Hunters Favorite Games
Nick:
- #5 Twilight Zone
- #4 Terminator 2
- #3 Rush
- #2 Attack from Mars
- #1 Deadpool
Gerard:
- #5 America's Most Haunted
- #4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Stern)
- #3 Funhouse Rudy's Nightmare (Pedretti Conversion Kit)
- #2 Foo Fighters
- #1 Godzilla (Stern)
What They Love About Pinball
Nick:
- There's a lot to love! The community. It's a social game. The ball is wild - different game every time.
Gerard:
- Easily hands down the fact that it's tactile.
Ausretrogamer
Australia
Collab link: What I Love Most About Pinball and My Top 5 Favourite Games
Ausretrogamer's Favorite Games
- #5 Star Trek LE (Stern)
- #4 Star Wars Premium (Stern)
- #3 Dialed In!
- #2 Medieval Madness
- #1 The Walking Dead Pro
What Ausretrogamer Loves About Pinball
Alex:
- When I think about why I love pinball, it is of course the fun that it generates – there is nothing like flipping that shiny silverball into targets on the playfield, and the adrenaline rush you get when multi-ball kicks in – there is nothing quite like it! I have also loved (and still do) the pinball machine aesthetic – it is a work of art even when it sits there begging to be played. Equally, it is the people that you meet that have a mutual love for the same hobby you are into – I have made countless friends due to pinball, which makes it darn priceless to me. Oh yeah, the competition to get a high-score is another boon for pinball, but being a mediocre player, I tend to enjoy the socialising side of competition/tournament play.
Aussie Pinball Podcast
Australia
Aussie Pinball Podcast's Favorite Games
- #5 Star Trek The Next Generation
- #4 Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle
- #3 Lord of the Rings
- #2 Batman 66
- #1 Wizard of Oz
What They Love About Pinball
Dr. John:
- Like many have said, it's the people. In my case, especially sharing it all with Emily (she's still number 1 female ranked player in Australia and regularly kicks everyone's butt). Escher has now taken over my role as supervisor/mentor but makes a pretty good replacement for me! The weird thing about pinball is the depth of the hobby BUT once you've been at the deep end for quite a few years, it's really all about hanging out with folk and talking about pinball that's really special. Last TPF I think I only played about 10 games in total because there was so much catching up and partying to do. And the diversity of people is the key. I don't have any other social group that covers such a wide range of interests, talents, stories than pinball folk.
BlahCade Pinball Podcast
United States & Australia
BlahCade's Favorite Digital Pinball Games
Note - BlahCade covers digital pinball in their podcast, so these are digital pinball games only!
Chris:
- #5 Son of Zeus (Zen)
- #4 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Zen)
- #3 Super League Football (Zen)
- #2 Fear Itself (Zen)
- #1 Aliens (Zen)
Jared:
Presented in no particular order.
- XenoTilt
- World War Z (Zen)
- World Cup Soccer (Zen)
- A Samurai's Vengeance (Zen)
- Medieval Madness (Zen)
What They Love About Digital Pinball
Chris:
- Digital pinball is the great equalizer. It's available to anyone anywhere at any time and it's all the machines that you could want that are out there.
Jared:
- Pinball itself, whether playing in a pub or digitally, all about bringing people together around a central focus. It's about people celebrating the hobby we love. Digital pinball means more people can enjoy it, and it opens up accessibility of pinball to more people.
Cary Hardy
United States
Cary Hardy's Favorite Games
Presented in no particular order
What Cary Loves About Pinball
Seriously, watch his video till the very end. I'm not going to do his answer justice by summarizing, but here goes.
- It's not digital. Pinball is mechanical. I can touch it. I can own it. Can't beat the feeling of accomplishment, the sounds, the feeling of pressing the start button. It's a different experience each time. Pinball is also an escape -not just from the screen that we constantly hold in our hands but from life as well. Pinball cannot fix your problems but it can take your mind off of them for just a moment. One could say it's therapeutic.
Dalton Pinball
United States
Dalton's Favorite Games
- #5 Batman 66
- #4 Twilight Zone
- #3 Medieval Madness
- #2 Iron Maiden
- #1 Rush
What Dalton Loves About Pinball
- Really enjoy the physical nature of pinball. Different experience than what you get with an arcade or a video game. Not guaranteed to have the same game or experience twice. On the tournament side - love the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Love the camaraderie and fellowship among players in a tournament. Loves encountering fans at shows - it makes his heart happy! Always learning something new, which is another reason he loves pinball.
Don's Pinball Podcast
United States
Don's Favorite Games
What Don Loves About Pinball
- The kinetic satisfaction of hitting shots in a game. What I really like about pinball is the community and the relationships that I have made sappy as that sounds. We all love these machines similarly and it gives us something in common to talk about and connect over. I like that this hobby is large and niche yet still mainstream enough that there can be tournaments and conventions all over the place.
DRI374
United States
DRI374's Favorite Games
What DRI374 Loves About Pinball
- I've been growing up with it so the sights and the sounds are with me since my childhood. I played games like Firepower, Black Knight, High Speed, Space Shuttle, Gorgar when they were brand new. Pinball is like the ultimate game. There's nothing else like it. I knew as a kid if I could buy a pinball machine as an adult that I'd made it. Now I have 13. One thing that's stuck with me - met a new player in the UK who was playing pinball arcade on an iPad. What he said has been sitting with me - the ball always drains. Of course the ball always drains. That's what I like about it. You play that one game and it's not endless.
Eclectic Gamers Podcast
United States
Eclectic Gamers Favorite Games
Tony:
Listed in no particular order.
Dennis:
Listed in no particular order.
What They Love About Pinball
Tony:
- For me it's split into two things. I like the people and the social aspect of going to a pinball bar or a restaurant or somewhere where there is pinball and interacting with other people who enjoy pinball. Also like pinball's physical nature versus digital.
Dennis:
- There is so much you can learn about pinball. You can learn how to play it, learn how to compete with it, learn how they work, learn the history of the game, there are so many different ways to engage with it. Pinball also allowed me to get out and socialize as an introvert. There's a lot of richness about pinball people don't always realize.
Electric Bat Cast
United States
Electric Bat's Favorite Games
These games are favorites from an operating perspective.
- #5 Eight Ball (Bally)
- #4 James Bond 007 (Premium)
- #3 Attack from Mars
- #2 Jurassic Park (Stern)
- #1 Godzilla (Stern)
Erika's Pinball Journey
United States
Erika's Favorite Games
What Erika Loves About Pinball
- Brings me fond memories and stops my brain from talking and I can focus on the thing I'm doing. When I play pinball I don't think about the other things going on in my life I think about good times with friends and memories. A lot of the games I like because of the way they make me feel and things they make me think of.
Flip N Out Pinball
United States
Flip N Out's Favorite Games
Provided by Jared Engelberth.
Jared:
- #5 Monster Bash
- #4 Batman 66
- #3 Godzilla (Stern)
- #2 Ghostbusters
- #1 Deadpool
Frisco Pinball
United States
Frisco Pinball's Favorite Games
- #5 Diner
- #4 Avengers Infinity Quest
- #3 Godzilla (Stern)
- #2 Venom
- #1 Whirlwind
What They Love About Pinball
- It's a hobby that allows anyone to join. The pinball crowd is extremely welcoming. Don't worry about what you read on Pinside! Everyone is super friendly. I think what we all enjoy is the equal footing that everyone starts off at and the fact that anyone can come into it, learn a lot, and just have fun with it. Everyone has those moments when they first step up to a pinball machine and say "whoa that was cool!". Brings us all together. It's a timeless and classic hobby. Getting that haptic feedback and that kinetic motion in front of you is a very unique experience. I think there are alot of generations to come who will enjoy it.
Fun with Bonus (Steven Bowden)
United States
Collab link: MY CURRENT FAVORITE TOP 5 PINBALL GAMES
Fun with Bonus' Favorite Games
What They Love About Pinball
- Pinball competitions are a great way to meet new people and reconnect with players I haven’t seen in a while. Some of the major events are like family reunions, where we are related because of the game we love. Between those reunions, talking about the game keeps us connected. The pinball scene has progressed beyond being seen as “resurging” and could now be seen as “burgeoning”. Get ready for the number of games that will be asking for your votes on this year’s awards ballot. However, it is still too niche of a market to have real factions. What that means is even those who would be harsh competitors are still working in their own ways to improve and increase the impact of the game around the world, such that their efforts end up helping all pinball fans anyway.
GeekGamer.TV
United States
Collab link: What I love most about Pinball? (and my Top 5 machines!)
GeekGamer.TV's Favorite Games
What They Love About Pinball
- What truly enamored me about pinball extended beyond the pursuit of free games. It was the physicality of the game, a rare attribute in the world of gaming. Unlike video games where button mashing was the primary mode of interaction, pinball invited players to push, nudge, and tilt the machine itself, physically influencing the outcome. The angles, shots, and strategies needed to maximize points had to be calculated in real-time. It was a dynamic experience that demanded both finesse and dexterity.Furthermore, pinball is a game where you’re not just competing against other players or the machine itself; you’re also locked in a personal battle with your own stress levels. The ability to maintain composure under pressure and strategize in the midst of chaos is an art in itself. In essence, playing pinball is akin to a dance – it’s about keeping your cool and making the right moves to stay in the game.
Good Vibes Pinball
France
Good Vibes Pinball's Favorite Games
What They Love About Pinball
- Pinball is for me a way to continue to have a link with my adolescence when I could go to arcades or cafés with the presence of one or more pinball machines, put a few coins in and have a fun time and forget the environment around me. It allowed me to escape into this world under the glass.The other thing I love about pinball is the ability to be able to physically interact with this world, to have a machine with real mechanics that live inside the game and allow you to progress in the game. We are in a real world, we live with the game, we move, we nudge, we progress and we try to master the ball to move forward, but always with the fear of losing the ball by chance of a rebound, or drain it straight down the middle! Even if pinball is a game of skill, there is always a bit of luck involved and one game on a pinball machine will never be like the next, even if it is the same machine, that's adding to the magic of pinball! Pinballs are living machines, you have to take care of them, maintain them, “pamper” them and you can spend as much time fixing and refurbishing a machine from the 80s or 90s as when you play it and still have fun! Finally, pinball is also a community, a world apart for this hobby where we all share the same passion (often overflowing 😉) for these wonderful machines with mechanics and a little touch of magic that sets this world in motion under the glass!
Homegrownb_dub
United States
Homegrownb_dub's Favorite Games
What They Love About Pinball
- I can turn on a pinball game, hit start, plunge the ball, and all of my problems go away. I could have the worst day in the week, a terrible day at my job, frustrated with life itself. With everything going on in this world today, I can play pinball, and everything just goes away, and it's one of the best feelings I can have. The world could literally be crumbling outside my window, and if I'm playing pinball, it's not going to bother me. It changes my mood, it gets me out of that yucky mind frame, and it just puts a smile on my face.
HUPChallenge
United States
HUPChallenge's Favorite Games
Jordan:
- #5 Class of 1812
- #4 Spirit
- #3 The Champion Pub
- #2 Deadpool
- #1 Hot Wheels
Beck:
What They Love About Pinball
- We do a lot of things on stream - whatever we really want to, but the best thing is pinball is for everyone. You can play pinball with masks on, with friends, by yourself, competitively or non-competitively, but pinball is for everyone. All ages walks of life. There's a pinball for you, no matter what you like.
Jake Danzig (Strictly Custom Pinball Machines)
United States
Facebook Group | Facebook Page
Favorite Games & What They Love About Pinball
Kineticist
United States
Website (you're on it!) | Facebook
Team Kineticist's Favorite Games
Colin Alsheimer:
- #5 Joker Poker (first game)
- #4 Total Nuclear Annihilation (the music and the vibes)
- #3 Future Spa (wacky art)
- #2 World Cup Soccer (theme integration)
- #1 Deadpool (has it all)
James McFatter:
This is a hard list to make. Just because a game isn’t mentioned here doesn’t mean I don’t love it. This list is definitely subject to change, and is sorted by year of release, not by any sort of ranking!
Paragon (Bally, 1979)
Paragon will forever hold a special place in my heart as (one of) the first games I ever played, having grown up with one at home. Make no mistake, this isn’t just a nostalgic pick: Paragon isn’t just the greatest single-ball game of all time, the greatest Solid State of all time, or even the best game of the 1970s. This is one of the greatest pinball machines ever made. It’s relentlessly difficult, featuring a layout that’s just unusual enough to be unique, but not so unusual that it’s uncomfortable to play. There are so many achievements you can go for, whether it’s maxing out Golden Cliffs or scoring a max bonus, there’s always something to go for. Plus, it’s a game that’s just incredibly fun to control, requiring so much finesse that it can make my head spin in the best of ways. Add on a spectacular art package by Paul Faris and Paragon is one for the history books.
World Cup Soccer (Bally, 1994)
Everyone’s entitled to their own pinball opinions. If you dislike a game that I like, you’re fully entitled to your opinion, and I respect that - unless you’re talking about World Cup Soccer. If you don’t like this game, I’m sorry, but you’re just plain wrong. This game is a masterpiece. John Popadiuk put out quite a few legendary games during his stint at Bally (notable others include Theatre of Magic, Tales of the Arabian Nights, and Cirqus Voltaire), but WCS is on another level. Despite being incredibly easy to learn, the game features a ton of ways to score solid points. Whether you’re trying to reach Los Angeles, score points through Ultra features, or defeat Germany for the Cup, you have lots of options. With every goal scored, I find my hands just shoot up into the air in excitement, and I’m not even a soccer fan. It’s pinball bliss.
Attack from Mars (Bally, 1995)
Some might argue that Medieval Madness - which is extremely similar to AFM in rules and layout - is the superior game due to some extra complexities that deepen the strategy. Personally, I’ve always preferred blowing up saucers to blowing up castles. This was one of the games that I grew up on, having one at my local arcade (alongside a Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World) that I sunk loads of quarters into. Sure, it has a very simplistic ruleset and is relatively easy to complete, but it is a game that’s always going to be near and dear to my heart. The super-inflated scoring, spectacular callouts, bouncing martians, and the satisfaction of the center hole to obliterate a saucer - it’s a cocktail that’s impossible to not enjoy. Maybe it’s a bit straightforward, but man is it fun.
Scared Stiff (Bally, 1996)
Saying that Scared Stiff is the best horror-comedy game is no small praise, given that the competition includes Monster Bash, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and two other Elvira games. Arguably the corniest pinball machine ever made, nearly everything about this table - including the name itself - is some kind of double entendre, which fits the theme quite well. It’s not all goofiness and silliness, though. The soundtrack, in particular, is spectacular, as it increases in intensity the further along the game you get. The playfield is fun and forgiving, the objectives are achievable yet rewarding, and the rules are easy to pick up but unique. Honestly, it’s just a blast all around.
The Simpsons Pinball Party (Stern, 2003)
I’ve had one at home for nearly 20 years and have played it more than any other machine. Arguably the most complicated pinball machine ever made, Pinball Party has dozens of modes, multiballs, jackpots, and bonuses scattered around for you to stack up and cash in on. Where this game truly shines, however, is in the stacking rules. Where most other games require you to start modes before multiballs or painstakingly line up a golden stack, TSPP effectively turns a blind eye to you and lets you start whatever you want whenever you want to. The end result is a challenging layout that’s constantly incentivizing you to start more stuff, running literal dozens of modes and multiballs at the same time, and giving you a super satisfying feeling when one shot collects half a dozen different awards.
Noah Crable:
If you know me, you know that I love modern pinball machines from the 90s to present. There are a lot of older games I enjoy too, and I enjoy playing any machine no matter how unique just to have the opportunity, but these are my five favorite pinball machines as of 2023.
Honorable mentions for this list include Williams’ Twilight Zone and Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stern’s Rush and Iron Maiden, JJP’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Godfather, and CGC’s Pulp Fiction.
#5 The Addams Family (Bally, 1993)
Of course, we can’t talk about “modern” pinball without bringing up this early 90s classic, an insanely influential game in drawing me further into the hobby. Pat Lawlor had already made a name for himself with games like Whirlwind and FunHouse but this game was where his identity as a designer truly became his own. There are two ways to play this game for score - either go through all the mansion rooms or go for multiball at the vault - and both of them feel very fleshed out and well-defined for their time. Combine this with one of the greatest multiball intros in any machine and a layout with a mix of easy and difficult shots, and you have an iconic classic.
I have this machine ranked fairly low on the list because I have a nostalgic connection to it, and I feel it has some flaws with how repetitive longer games on it can feel and especially the exploits that can disable the Power magnets. However, without The Addams Family, I think many of the games coming out these days would be very different.
#4 Lord Of The Rings (Stern, 2003)
For the longest time, pinball machines played quick and fast and their rulesets were comparatively shallow (yet still a ton of fun). Lord of the Rings I felt was the first pinball machine to defy this mindset, including a very in-depth & exhaustive ruleset that portrays a demanding, difficult, but very rewarding journey through the three stories in Tolkien’s compendium. Over ten years since I first played this game and I’ve still yet to reach Valinor Multiball, though maybe it’ll happen someday.
While I truly love this game, I also understand why players would dislike it, due to long game times not being conducive to tournament friendliness. It’s a great game for sure, just not one that makes sense in a competitive setting where machines have to be set up fast and difficult.
#3 The Shadow (Bally, 1994)
There are a lot of Williams machines I was thinking of putting on this list - Attack from Mars and Medieval Madness I truly enjoy - but before either of those games came The Shadow, Brian Eddy’s experimental masterpiece of a machine based on a pretty forgettable film. While the game has rules similar to its early 90s brethren, the layout is anything but familiar with the Battlefield mini-playfield, the Sanctum target that magnetizes the ball and sends it into the lock, and especially the Phurba ring diverters at the ramps that are player-controllable and can completely change how the game is played. Not to mention one of my absolute favorite combo shots, in the lucrative left loop - side loop combo.
The closest modern comparison to this table would be Venom, also designed by Brian Eddy and emphasizing game speed above all else, but with a more RPG-aligned ruleset designed by Dwight Sullivan. While I enjoy Venom for what it is, The Shadow works well as both a traditional pinball machine and an experimental mix of ideas.
#2 Foo Fighters (Stern, 2023)
It was a real treat to learn that Jack Danger had finally been hired as a designer for a cornerstone Stern release, and even more of a surprise to learn what game he was assigned to. Just like with James Bond 007, I had minimal experience with Foo Fighters besides having heard some of their songs on the radio; I was worried it would be another “band pin” without much differentiating it. Then the game came out, and it was a giant tribute to 80s & 90s Saturday morning cartoons’ unashamed goofiness disguised as a band game. The layout and theme sold me pretty much right away - with insanely clever shot flow and the raygun targets lending themselves to tricky risk vs. reward play.
One thing I really love about this game is how many valid ways there are to approach it for high scores. I’ve known people who have blown up Los Angeles mode but I’ve also known people who have blown up Seattle or New York in similar ways. Rayday & Tanio’s code encourages many different playstyles, even offering up a “gimme” multiball for new players at the Overlord.
#1 Godzilla (Stern, 2021)
What else did you expect? If you’ve ever talked to me or known about my online presence, you know that I find Godzilla to be one of the best pinball machines ever made. I understand that the game has seen some critical backlash as of late, but I’m here to say that the game’s quality should speak for itself. While the game can feel slightly overwhelming early on with many objectives running concurrently, once you take the time to learn the game, you’re in for a truly unique pinball experience with some of the most well-crafted rules on any machine ever made. Like Foo Fighters, the game appeals to me on a “professional player” level with deep aspects like Monster Zero mode and the elusive Tier 2 battles, but also appeals to novice players who might have never played before with an easy multiball at the building and clear feedback on what to shoot for.
And concluding the “holy trinity” of pinball machines I love based on themes I had no experience with, I had never seen a single Godzilla film prior to the machine releasing and love what I’ve seen so far. Even the American / Japanese dialogue settings prove the reverence Keith Elwin & Rick Naegle’s team had for these films. While the campy English dialogue appeals to my pinball sensibilities, the Japanese dialogue is comparatively serious and almost makes the game feel completely different.
Erin Seiden:
#5 Pulp Fiction
We’re spoiled in Chicagoland so for months I’ve had access to not one but two test prototypes of Pulp Fiction. One at Logan Arcade and the other at Enterrium. It shoots so fun and the sound package is absolutely amazing. David Theil at his best! The spinner noise, gunshots, and perfectly timed movie quotes are all chef’s kiss! I really love shooting for the saucer on launch and getting the drops down to set up my briefcase multiball. I just ordered one as a bonus to myself for getting a new job!
#4 Nine Ball
Nine Ball is my current grail (although price and being able to pick it up locally is factored in as I’ve seen a few come up). My favorite art package in all of pinball! It looks more like it should be airbrushed on the side of a van than on a pinball machine. That bitchin’ space pool wizard gets me every time. It's also got a look of cool stuff for a solid state, like a bazillion drops, horseshoe, locks, and a weirdly mounted spinner. I miss living near a friend who had one!
#3 Dialed In!
Dialed In is the first and only game I ordered before playing it, and I have no regrets! Lots of people crap on this game calling it Mr. Mom Jeans or Old Man Cell Phone game. I don’t get it. The phone isn’t nearly as annoying as the stupid Bat Phone ringing noise in Batman 66. Anyway to me it's more about disasters than cell phones, so it's totally Pat Lawlor’s greatest hits (Whirlwind, Earthquake, etc.). And I love how they kind of snuck video modes in there with the theater adding in more spinners and other virtual elements that don’t take you out of the game.
#2 Elvira's House of Horrors
I will never not be mad at myself for not buying Elvira and the Party Monsters and Scared Stiff when I thought 3K and 6K were too much money. So I used that as justification to go NIB Elvira House of Horrors, and I have no regrets. I love the theme, love the shots, love all the terrible, terrible puns (“Somebody call an artist, I need some butter drawn” is my favorite for the lobster “monsters” in Teenagers from Outer Space). And I just keep finding cool stuff in the game. Did you know for December, not only do you get Santa Claus Versus the Martians in the round window, but each day of the month adds new sounds or things on the screen, like an advent calendar? So freaking cool all the little things in this game! Super excited for expanded code coming soon!
#1 Doctor Who
Doctor Who will always have a special place in my heart since it's the first one I ever bought. I lucked out buying on the internet, not really knowing what I was doing, and after some initial hiccups, everything works great (though years later, we realized the DMD is held up by toothpicks). It was missing the little ships on the playfield, which I didn’t realize, but a friend did, and it drove him crazy, and he didn’t stop till he found us some on the internet. I love the gameplay. It's a lot like Pinbot but even more fun for me because I really like the theme. I love getting to choose Doctors to go along with your strategy. My defaults are Baker for Millions!, Troughton for multiplying multiballs, and McCoy for getting multiballs. Or if no one else is doing well and I need some points, it's Hartnell for video mode. I know WHO loops are key, too but I suck at hitting successive shots in order in a row, so it's not my go-to.
What Team Kineticist Loves About Pinball
Colin Alsheimer:
Top 3 things I love about pinball:
- The diverse, friendly, welcoming, and global community you get to be a part of.
- The depth and vibrancy of the hobby - I love the blend of history, pop culture, art, gaming and technology.
- It forces my introverted self to go explore the world and socialize more!
James McFatter:
I’ve been playing pinball ever since I could reach both flippers. As a kid, there was something fascinating about the game: unlike the video games that I would play, pinball machines were real, physical devices. They were moving, kinetic, haptic, and had flashing lights, great sound effects, and cool art. They were physical worlds, and not just shapes on a screen. But, these worlds were hidden under a glass barrier - as tangible as the playfields were, you couldn’t touch them. In retrospect, this contradiction was the thing that most interested me, gradually exposing how much of a paradox the game really is. Controlling the ball keeps your game going, but you have to induce chaos in order to score points. You’re expected to control the game, but are given minimal agency to do so. But the best paradox of all is that it’s a game which, inherently, cannot be won.
Some might view it as an exercise in futility - after all, you’re fighting a literal uphill battle that will only end with your ball in the drain. I prefer to view it as an exercise in persistence - you have to overcome all these adversities in order for things to pay off. But beating these adversities isn’t solely dependent on rules knowledge, luck, or reflexes. It’s a game all about feel. The best way to play pinball is to not overthink it - you need to synchronize yourself with the game, anticipate the trajectory of the ball, and get into your zone. That’s why I love pinball so much - while playing the game, learning the rules, and hearing the lights and sounds is so much fun, getting into that trance feels like you’ve beaten the game entirely. Your scores shoot up, you can hit the difficult shots, and the game becomes much more satisfying.
Noah Crable:
What I think I love about pinball the most is how it combines video games, already one of my favorite pastimes, with a physical experience that can’t be replicated. As a modern pinball fan, I especially enjoy creating rules guides and trying to help people out if they’re struggling with machines (as long as they want that help). The people I’ve met in the community are also some of the nicest people I’ve met in any community and I’m proud to call myself both a pinball fan, and a resource for any questions about the current state of the hobby. I hope to see the pinball hobby become more inclusive as more and more people are introduced (or re-introduced) to it!
Erin Seiden:
I am one of the Kineticist folks collecting and transcribing all this stuff, so I’ve already heard more than a few other content creators' answers, so I’ll do a new spin on the community, making it so great! Don’t get me wrong, I do love all my pinball peeps at tournaments and the friends I’ve made, but here’s another aspect of the community that’s amazing: The industry folks. I’m the pinball history nerd who has read all the compendiums, Pinball Magazines, and anything I can get my hands on. I have always been fascinated with the stories of the characters and the twists and turns to get games released. But in this industry, you don’t have to just read about the folks in books. Where else do you see designers and heads of departments commenting on Facebook groups with fixes, questions, or kudos on people’s collections? Or showing up at launch parties and charity tournaments (well, maybe that’s unique to Chicagoland, but it happens a lot there, and before I moved out here, they were always accessible and friendly at shows). And despite perceived company rivalries, I’ve seen more than one instance of teams from different companies congratulating each other on new games and signing things for each other.
LoserKids Pinball Podcast
United States
Favorite Games
Note: Even though we had no rules, Scott for sure cheated here by responding with "all 4 CGC remakes" in the #2 spot.
Josh:
- #5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Stern)
- #4 Avengers Infinity Quest
- #3 Guns n' Roses (JJP)
- #2 Attack from Mars Remake LE
- #1 Godzilla (Stern)
Scott:
- #5 Metallica
- #4 Stranger Things
- #3 Deadpool
- #2 Cactus Canyon Remake
- #2 Attack from Mars Remake
- #2 Monster Bash Remake
- #2 Medieval Madness Remake
- #1 Godzilla (Stern)
What They Love About Pinball
Josh:
- The community. It's like you know Colin reaching out to say hey there's this concept that someone else came up with do you want to run with it? It's like yeah let's do it. Nine times out of ten the community is pretty amazing. I feel like every tournament I've been to everyone's been very nice to be like, what can I do to help you enjoy yourself? This community is amazing, doesn't matter if it's tournament, doesn't matter if it's podcast, it doesn't matter what it is.
Scott:
- lt's physical, you actually have a connection to the machine that's not filtered through a screen or an algorithm. It is something that if you take the glass off you could grab the ball. So I love that it's it's something that feels real in a world that has increasingly turned artificial. I also agree with everything you said about the community 100% true.
Pinball Degenerates (Joe Ciaravino)
Canada
Joe's Favorite Games
- #5 Taxi
- #4 Lord of the Rings
- #3 Ghostbusters
- #2 Godzilla (Stern)
- #1 Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure
What They Love About Pinball
- The thing I love most about pinball is that pinball has a very unique way of making you feel special. The people who play pinball are special to me. Have met so many brilliant, optimistic, enthusiastic, weird, amazing people in my pinball journey and hope to meet so many more of you. We go out of the way to help each other out. Pinball is a meaningless game but while you're playing it it makes you feel like a rock star. There's a beauty in that, it's like meditating in the best possible way.
Pinball Innovators & Makers Podcast
United States
Note: due to recording and release schedules, Dan and his Pinball Innovators & Makers podcast won't be releasing their episode for a bit, however has provided his answers for us below! We'll update this page with his episode when it airs.
Pinball Innovators & Makers Favorite Games
This hobby has found my interest, voice and focus on those pinball enthusiasts, makers and innovators who take the plunge and build, retheme or otherwise make their own pinball machines, as well as those that create technology to empower these makers.
While I have a collection of “my favorite pinball machines” (Red and Teds Road Show, Stranger Things, Back to the Future, Multimorphic P3, F-14 Tomcat), I decided to stay on brand and offer my favorite custom and home brew machines.
I scoured almost 7 years of just under 5000 photos in the Strictly Custom Pinball Facebook group, the epicenter of the custom and homebrew scene. While not everything filters through this Facebook group, Jake Danzig and many of the other enthusiasts do a great job cross posting photos and information from many other sources, as well as posting old photos of custom and homebrew machines.
The 5000 photos covered design concepts, white woods, playfield sketches and prints, cabinet builds, wiring layouts, control boards, plastic sets, art packages, custom mechanism, ramps, habit trails, toys, videos, sound and music as well as many pictures of community members proudly showing off their time together.
Themes pulled from movies, TV, video games, comics, music, sports, leisure, businesses, historical events & people, original characters and themes, theoretical concepts and art pieces.
Showing skills on technical processes of 3D Printing, CAD, plastic vacuum forming & cutting, woodwork, CNC routing, metal bending, painting, laminating, clear coating, crimping, soldering and programming.
Specific parts, like buttons, switches, coils, rubbers, flippers, spinners, magnets, bumpers, targets, displays, troughs, pinballs, lights, wires, and tools were sourced ordered and shown from Marco, Pinball Life and Pinball Resource.
Software and controllers showcased from MPF, Cobra Pin, FAST and Multimorphic.
There are just shy of 400 machines featured in the group over this timeframe. No two machines were alike, and 5000 pictures across 400 machines documented the work of 100s of hours of work from individuals, couples, families and groups of friends.
Customs and homebrews span so many different categories, I wanted to make sure that in my picking of “top 5” I did the hobby and those making these machines justice.
As such, I chose 5 categories and winners in each. I chose 5 winners based on integrated theme, a class of machines built on a platform for innovation, as well as categories for Best to Play, Most polished & ready for production, and a custom homebrew that has been produced.
And my choices are:
- Integrated theme: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Dragons Lair, Beavis and Butthead, Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey and the Bandit
- Innovation: FAST Pinball, Multimorphic P3, Pinball AR (Haunted Cruise, Frozen, Magic Forest)
- Best to Play: Battle Stations
- Most Polished/Ready for Production: Eightball Beyond
- In production: Total Nuclear Annihilation
This list of machines picks some of my favorites out of the vast number of machines, but every maker and innovator who started a project and posted something deserves credit, it is not an easy road to travel and I am in awe of their journeys.
What They Love About Pinball
- Since I was young pinball grasped my infatuation of kinetic and control systems, offering something more like an amusement ride than a video game; something physical, wild, random exciting and new. It would be a decade until I learned the history of pinball and I found out pinball actually paved the way and came before video games when I worked on the original Xbox with Brian Schmidt.
- What sparked my love for pinball was the first time I saw the underside of the playfield on my F-14 Tomcat when I was 13. Going under the playfield, repairing and collecting quenched my thirst for the next 20 years in the hobby.
- It took some time, but I came to understand that ultimately more important than the machine and going under the playfield, what I love most about pinball is the diverse community. Players, techs, collectors, historians, industry vets, operators, media, enthusiasts and casuals. From all walks life; countries; regions; sexes; ages. And almost everyone is nice and kind. These are my people.
Pinball Junk Drawer
United States
Pinball Junk Drawers' Favorite Games
Craft Brew Sally:
Foghorn Leghorn:
What They Love About Pinball
Craft Brew Sally:
- A lot of the pinball for me is the memories of playing pinball. Have been to a bunch of Expos and such. Always play two player when we go places together. It's fun for me. I make note of everything we play. I've been involved with Ladies Flip Wisconsin. It's great to go to those because everyone is trying to help you.
Foghorn Leghorn:
- The escape. No matter what has happened in my day no matter what I'm feeling when I start playing pinball it washes away. I'm just in that world. My brain is only looking at that and only experiencing that. Some people lift weights, some people drink vodka, some people play pinball!
Pinball Mag.
France
Collab link: Pinball Mag’s favorite pinball machines
Pinball Mag.'s Favorite Games
No particular order.
Aetios:
Nick_O:
Sylvain:
Lazarus:
Pinball Nerds Podcast
Canada
Pinball Nerds' Favorite Games
Pinball Party Podcast
United States
Pinball Party's Favorite Games
PinballBoy Germany
Germany
Pinballboy Germany's Favorite Games
Rain City Free Play
United States
Rain City Free Play's Favorite Games
Courtney:
- #5 Safe Cracker
- #4 Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure
- #3 Baywatch
- #2 Medieval Madness
- #1 Simpsons Pinball Party
Eric:
What They Love About Pinball
Courtney:
- Besides it being a fun way to spend your time. I like the way it brought us together with other people who have the same interests. Have made really good friends in the community.
Eric:
- Agreed. Having an inclusive group of people. Meeting people. Having people come up to you. Always having something to talk about. It's analog. There's so much to it. The friends we've made, and it's pinball!
RETROCENGO
Denmark
RETROCENGO's Favorite Games
What RETROCENGO Loves About Pinball
- Love this hobby, love the people, loves his listener community. So much friendship through this hobby. Love the community so many great people.
Silverball Chronicles
United States & Canada
Silverball Chronicles' Favorite Games
Note: these are themed after the designers that have been featured on prior episodes.
Ron:
- John Borg: Metallica
- George Gomez: Deadpool
- Barry Oursler: Dirty Harry
- John Popadiuk: World Cup Soccer
- Dennis Nordman: Demolition Man
- Steve Ritchie: The Getaway: High Speed II
- Pat Lawlor: Whirlwind
David:
- John Borg: Tron
- George Gomez: Lord of the Rings
- Barry Oursler: Bram Stoker's Dracula
- John Popadiuk: Theater of Magic
- Dennis Nordman: Elvira's House of Horrors
- Steve Ritchie: Terminator 2
- Pat Lawlor: Funhouse
What They Love About Pinball
Ron:
- It's a physical game that I can also work on and tinker with.
David:
- Very much love that it's a physical random analog experience as opposed to a very digital based experience. Have almost exclusively grown up in a digital world so it being a physical thing with a solenoid that moves a device is very exciting and appealing to me. The nostalgia of the previous world.
Slam Tilt Podcast
United States
Slam Tilt's Most Hated Games
Note: Slam Tilt put their own spin on this and did their top 5 hated games instead of favorite games.
Ron:
- #5 Dipsy Doodle
- #4 Six Million Dollar Man
- #3 Strato-Flite
- #2 El Toro
- #1 Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Bruce:
- #5 The Mandalorian
- #4 Led Zeppelin Pro
- #3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Stern)
- #2 Ghostbusters Premium
- #1 Star Wars Premium (Stern)
What Slam Tilt Loves About Pinball
Ron:
- I like the fact that it's a gaming thing that's physical. I was a gamer and to be truthful I was a video gamer. When I was a little kid I was the one that when the operator would come in to empty out the coins in the machines, like they'd have the jukebox open, I'd be looking in there like, how's that work? Ooh look there's like a little arm that grabs the record! I love the jukeboxes where you can see all the mechanical stuff moving. Pinball you had the mechanical stuff that I could work on and it's a gaming device. It's perfect, how can I go wrong.
Bruce:
- Being able to find a niche of the games that you like. We both like Stern solid States and some people want to always buy the newest games and some people want to collect EMs and some people want to have the WPC era. You can find what you like and you can get what you like, mostly very easily. So that's what I like about the hobby. What I really love about the hobby is I've been doing this for almost almost 40 years now. It’s all about the hunt finding that game finding what's next. Find a game that originally I did not like as you said with Close Encounters. What I found is because my tastes change over time, and the pattern for pinball is usually this: when we got into the hobby like me and Ron you buy every WPC you can find. Then maybe I'll go to classic Ballys then I'm going to Classic Stern and now I'm coming around and going a little with the old Gottliebs. You can find the games or game room that you want to make the way you want it. If people come over and as you said you like when you hear people you know come over and say hey these games play great you know that's what you you like to hear. I don't like going over somebody's house and going, "wow you got every LE for the past 12 times", you didn't make them great because they could usually came out of the box pretty good, but you know that's what they want to do that's up to them. You can make the hobby what you want to. You can even not own a game at all and still be the best pinball podcaster in the world.
TK Pinball
United States
TK Pinball's Favorite Games
What They Love About Pinball
- It's something my son and I do together. I live in a rural area and there's not a lot of places to play. Love the physicality of the hobby. Lots of stuff to learn. Love adding mods. Amazing community. People are kind, supportive and happy to be around the hobby.
This Week in Pinball (William Oetting)
United States
Collab link: TWIP Top 5 Pinball Machines and What We Love About Pinball
TWIP's Favorite Games
- #5 Attack from Mars
- #4 Taxi
- #3 Deadpool
- #2 Stars
- #1 Foo Fighters
What They Love About Pinball
- One of the many things we love about pinball is how there is a machine out there for everyone. Like a fine wine, you just need to find the machine that fits your tastes.
TiltTrek
United States
TiltTrek's Favorite Games
What They Love About Pinball
- The one thing I can say is we love the community. People always talk about the community but we love the community. We're all about traveling to different locations. Locations are key to every community they are in - like Wizard's World connecting with the local PTO, all of these places are in the community being part of the community. That's why we love location pinball and why we do what we do.
Tribe Multiball with Rachel and Tim
United States
Tribe Multiball's Favorite Games
Tim:
Rachel:
- #5 Dolly Parton
- #4 Deadpool
- #3 Any EM
- #2 Iron Maiden
- #1 The Addams Family
What Tribe Multiball Loves About Pinball
Tim:
- It's not because I'm one of the premier players in the country. I really got into pinball because I just enjoyed playing it. Loved playing it. What really got me into the hobby is the people. I go to tournaments and I'm too busy talking to people.
Rachel:
- Similar answer to yours. All about the people in pinball. But what I really love is that every game is a puzzle. Love the act of learning the game. But it's really about the people in the hobby.
Wormhole Pinball
United States
Wormhole Pinball's Favorite Games
Note: Wormhole did 1 top pick from each of their "top 5 Wormholers".
- Jamie: Medieval Madness
- Donovan: Oktoberfest
- Tim: Twilight Zone
- Leslie: Monopoly
- John: Sorcerer
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