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luvcraft (2)

Marcin Wichary, a designer for Google, recently visited Chicago's Stern Pinball, the only remaining pinball factory in the world. He posted some amazing photos of his trip. [more inside]
posted by Lieber Frau on Jan 31, 2012 - 13 comments

Urban Flipper As part of the Festival of Lights, CT Light Concept, created a giant interactive pinball game with 3D projection mapping on the facade of the Celestine Theater in Lyon. [more inside]
posted by Z303 on Dec 17, 2011 - 6 comments

Pinball machines, when you can find one, have gotten pretty complex over the years (for a notable example of pinball complexity, check out the Twilight Zone pinball machine). The average person likely plays one for a bit, figures it's about keeping the ball alive as long as possible, and hopes for the best. Why did I just rack up a million points on that go-around? Who knows. [more inside]
posted by SpacemanStix on Aug 10, 2011 - 63 comments

The first official pics of Stern's new Tron pinball machine have been released. According to Stern, this game will continue their recent trend of keeping games "short" and "random". Features include a miniature (non-working, of course) arcade cabinet over a cellar hole, a dropping three-target assembly (as seen on Attack From Mars and Spiderman) with a whirlwind disc behind it, and a third flipper. Like Avatar, it looks like Tron will have a "normal" and "LE" release, with the LE version adding lots of EL wire all over the playfield.
posted by luvcraft on Apr 30, 2011 - 35 comments

Pinball retailer Jersey Jack Guarnieri has started a new pinball company to challenge Stern. Stern is currently the only major manufacturer of pinball tables. However, their recent Avatar table has been criticized for its simple rules and lack of mechanical toys. Jack is already accepting pre-orders for his official Wizard of Oz pinball table. But will he be able to take on Stern and return competition to the industry?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn on Feb 21, 2011 - 74 comments

The Pinball Ninja has assigned himself a daunting task: repair 500 pinball machines in the 365 days of the year 2010! He's a little behind at the moment (#289 at last count), but the journey is still entertaining, and filled with insights into pinball repair. [more inside]
posted by luvcraft on Aug 24, 2010 - 14 comments

The Bill Paxton Pinball Machine via
posted by Katemonkey on Mar 24, 2010 - 37 comments

11 things you didn't know about pinball. Worth it for the picture on #3 alone.
posted by shakespeherian on Jan 22, 2010 - 83 comments

On pinball's downfall; draft Scrabble; strategies for choosing a seat; visiting our old friend, swoopo.com; and meatball theory: various and sundry economical, game theoretical, and miscellaneous morsels from the folks at Cheap Talk.
posted by cortex on Nov 18, 2009 - 53 comments

Make your own pinball machine. The art of pinball machines is in decline, but some folks endeavor to keep it alive. From the basic, to the the full blown experience, these guys do it their way. DIY pinball goodness.
posted by caddis on May 20, 2009 - 28 comments

Welcome to the world of pinball promo videos. Need more? Well, CaptainPinball has you covered...
posted by tittergrrl on May 5, 2008 - 22 comments

You all remember the song from Sesame Street, but you've never heard it like this: one two three FOUR FIIIVE six seven EIGHT NIIINE TEN eleven TWELVE! (via). Se7en!
posted by Astro Zombie on Jan 10, 2008 - 17 comments

Pinball an historic American art form. Although early versions were boring by today’s standards, modern machines are a marvelous blend of sophisticated software and ingenious hardware. Pinball is often associated with gambling, and has always had a bad reputation. The industry has been in decline since Pong and Pac-man conspired to take over the arcade. With fewer and fewer machines available for the public to play, enthusiasts have started collecting and repairing the machines for home use. Some people take it to extremes.

The great pinball makers of the glory days are gone: Williams now makes slot machines, Gottlieb is long gone, and Bally was folded into Williams in the mid-90’s. Only one company is still making pinball machines: Stern Pinball, Inc. If you have an old favorite, find it in the Internet Pinball Database. For the sake of completeness, Mefites have talked about pinball before.
posted by cosmicbandito on Mar 8, 2005 - 57 comments

One two three, four five, six seven nine ten, eleven twelve. [6.5mb .wmv]. An excellent remix video of the the Sesame Street 'Pinball Song'. Features the Pointer Sisters on vocals, apparently. The remix was done by Braces Tower, who also have the mp3 up on their site.
posted by tapeguy on May 18, 2004 - 27 comments

RapidMotion ... cool pinball game for an interestingly named german bearing maker. [note: flash]
posted by crunchland on Oct 19, 2003 - 6 comments

Fancy 3D Chess, pinball or crosswords? It's all just more of that Friday Flash Fun!
posted by twine42 on Mar 21, 2003 - 9 comments

Save pinball! "It's an American icon," said Stern, ever the salesman. "Pinball is cool because it is retro. It's a Volkswagen bug, a PT Cruiser, khaki pants."
posted by justgary on Aug 3, 2002 - 23 comments

The Internet Pinball Database has shots of backglasses, playing tables, and promotional flyers for just about every pinball machine ever created. I loved pinball. Now, it seems impossible to find a machine to play on. Back when I worked at a local pizza shop, we had a rotation of some great machines. I really enjoyed the Addams Family, Star Wars, Lethal Weapon 3 (which i remember as being really easy), and especially the Twilight Zone game, with the special white power ball. A walk down memory lane that served me well. Find a place near you to play some pinball here. Or, you could just go pro.
posted by Ufez Jones on Jun 12, 2002 - 34 comments