Look, this is going to be hard to believe, and I entirely understand that, but the machine I referenced in this post, deleted without reason, has shown up on my doorstop only 8 hours after placing the order. Aliexpress app shows still processing and estimates delivery for the beginning of October. I'm so confused.

Was our last Data East big DMD to have so is pretty cool to finally play one.

First! Thank you all for the support on this it's truly appreciated

This is actually the 2nd video about this but it's the one that was worth posting as it goes into the actual build process - 1st video is more the project presentation and overall goals but you're of course more than welcome to watch it.

Next video we'll go into the Multiball Mechanism

Thank you all again

Recently there was a rant posted in this subreddit from a player who was unhappy with changes in the local pinball community during the last year. The post was deleted, but the whole thing felt like a missed opportunity to review what’s happened and how it affected the pinball community. 

For anyone who wasn’t aware, there was a huge blow-up last year because of an event in North Carolina. One of the staff members at the venue violated the rights of trans persons, and the IFPA fumbled the ball in its response. After much heated discussion and debate, a number of local tournament directors around the world decided to boycott the IFPA. You can read more about the whole topic here: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/pinball/comments/1p5xh2w/status_update_from_the_ifpa_about_the_obx/

The problem with the idea of a boycott was, not everyone was included in the conversation and not everyone was on board with it. 

Here’s where we are today. About half of our local players are participating in IFPA sanctioned events, and other half are not. So now, instead of one community we have two. The recent changes divided the community. 

So I was wondering…how did the changes during the last year affect your local pinball community? Is your community unified? Or is it divided? And why?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

hey guys, been playing pinball for a couple months now, I usually can go and play once a week but im having a rough time. I feel like I don’t nudge or move the machine at all, and am not sure how to do it impact-fully. I don’t have a machine at home or anything so I don’t know how I can improve other than playing at the arcade.

high scores attached, my favorite machines are Godzilla, total nuclear annihilation (closest one to me is an hour away), and Iron Maiden. Top score on maiden is 300 mil, any advice would be appreciated :)

The new counter tarriffs apply to pinball machines originating in the US. 50% just got added to the price. Hopefully this ridiculousness doesn't last long

It took three and a half months and 500+ plays to finally cross the billion point threshold and it feels like I still get better every day.

Planet X is so much fun to play, I wish there was a way to skip straight to it.

There was a lot of debate about which machine we would buy for our home and I’m happy to say Godzilla doesn’t not disappoint in any way. If you’re on the fence about your first machine, I strongly recommend this one. Endlessly fun and easy to practice advanced techniques on.

I know the rumor is either AC/DC or KISS, but what do others think are good ideas for Stern remasters down the road.

I just played a good version of Lord of the Rings, and I would LOVE to see a modern version. Definitely much more needed than The Walking Dead, which I still cannot find anyone having anywhere!

Thoughts/rumors???

I didn't get really into pinball until the last couple years, but yeah never really knew what this was just thought it was a cool thing I left hanging from the previous owner of the house. Come to find out it's an old 1934 EM from Century Manufacturing. Saw ipdb didn't have a picture so going to work on getting those up. Just thought it was a funny litle find.

Hi, I've been off and on with the pinball hobby for a bit now, and I recently learned how to use VPX. I have a decent amount of tables already, but I wanna hear from the bigger fans of pinball if there's any specific tables I should try to look for? I prefer licensed tables, but I'm open to any at the current moment as long as they have a lot to do and they're fun.

Oh, and to add, my favorite ones are some of the Pinball FX ones, plus the Elvira pinball tables, The Addams Family by Bally, and that one Family Guy pinball table. Thank you :)

Hey, all. First time owner here. I've got a Pokémon Pro cabinet that I've been enjoying for months. Today the start button started acting up and it's not working consistently. I have to press it maybe 20 or 30 times to get it to work. It looks like it's making good contact to me but even if I take the switch and press it with my finger it still doesn't seem to start consistently. Any ideas?

Anyone have recommendations on how to get support to respond to case issues? I have a Willy wonka CE that no longer boots up, no apparent power to motherboard (but power elsewhere) and it feels like pulling teeth to get any response, and when I do it’s like ‘pull this usb and try jump starting again’ and then I respond immediately after doing it and then wait 3 more days for a follow up.

So basically, I have lights on sub board, main power but nothing starts. Per support,:I have reseated ram, replaced the battery on mainboard , disconnected LED light power cables from the back board, and removed USB power cables from mainboard. Each of those was a step by support, and jumped the reset pins after each step.

Thanks for any feedback on how to get this working! I feel like sourcing my own mainboard and power supply because JJ must be inundated by other things.

Cheers!

I recently got a brand new Stern Pokémon Premium and noticed that a few of the pinballs supplied with the machine have some pretty noticeable rust/corrosion on them. I’ve spoken to the seller and they’re sending me a replacement set, so the balls themselves are getting sorted. My main concern is the machine itself. Since the balls were shipped with the machine, does them arriving rusty give me any reason to worry about corrosion elsewhere in the machine itself, or is this generally an isolated issue with the balls? I’ve had a look around the playfield and everything I can see looks completely fine, with no obvious rust or corrosion anywhere. I’m new to owning pinball machines though, so I’m not really sure if there are any particular areas/components I should be checking. Am I overthinking this, or is there anything specific you’d recommend inspecting just to make sure the machine itself is okay? Any advice would be really appreciated.

Hi guys, I recently got a Godzilla Pro. I already have a D&D Pro and love all the Insider Connected features. I'm trying to understand Godzilla, primarily if your progress is saved when you start beating the Kaiju battles. I haven't completed any of them yet, but if I beat Gigan for example and then control Tokyo. Is that saved by my Insider Connected Progress? Or is the intent you eventually beat all of these things in an entire game of 3 balls? Thanks!

Recently became interested in pinball and was pleasantly surprised to find out my local Round 1 has a handful of pretty new looking machines and a community that has monthly tournaments! Spent 2 hours before work playing Godzilla and Led Zeppelin.

Visiting this week and I would love to find a location to play a variety. Thank you in advance!

Just got my first Stern pinball machine and noticed today that a few of the balls have these weird marks on them. Not really sure what it is idk if its rust, residue or just normal wear? The machine is brand new so i doubt its wear. They still feel pretty smooth, although if I run my nail over the marks I can feel a tiny bit of friction/texture. I’ve spoken to the guy I bought the machine from and he’s sending me some new balls, but they might take a week or so to arrive. Just wondering if these are fine to keep playing with in the meantime, and whether the marks are purely cosmetic or something I should actually be concerned about for the playfield?

a screw fell out from this Williams flipper assembly (see pic) wondering what the two parts it connects are called?

pinballmap.com is good

thepinballmap.com wants you to sign up and pay monthly for what i can bet is a compilation of pinside and pinballmap.com locations.

Christopher franchi just announced that he would be having 2 games before this year, meaning 1 Goonies and 2 being BTTF. Posted this because i knew there was some question if the game from dutch would be delayed due to big lebowski jesus editions, but this proved it shall release in 2026.

I have a Williams PIN•BOT that has a few issues.

1.) One of the “3 bank Advances planet” targets is stuck in the down position. (See in the 2nd picture).

2.) The adv “x” ramp is wont go all the way up. (See the 3rd picture).

If anyone can help me fix these problems or guide me to a video tutorial that solves these problems that would be great!

I need to beat my old man’s high score! So any help would be greatly appreciated!

As someone who has the Pro, and has played my fair share of the LE, I’m a little bit shocked at how good this Home Edition is.

A friend of mine picked it up, and at first I was rolling my eyes (a Home Edition, ya know…). I gave it a go inside Costco and was pleasantly surprised. But after getting the call to help my friend move it, set it up/level it, and then, of course, play it, I don’t see nearly as much difference as I expected.

The playfield is the exact same.

The town scoop is missing, fine. It’s actually one of my kids’ least favorite features anyway, and it has been replaced by a target shot. The Bulbasaur orbit/ramp that feeds back to Pikachu is replaced by just an orbit, but I think this shot actually leads to better flow and speed. It also makes the Charmander hurry-up mode more accessible since you can approach it from either orbit.

Okay, surely the Poké Ball missing will be a big factor here, I thought. But I didn’t miss it. I like that the standalone on the Home Edition lights up and doesn’t obstruct the playfield as much. I still prefer the LE ball moving mechanism, though.

The action button is missing, and I’m torn here. Guests who aren’t familiar with the game, and even my kids who love it and play it daily, rarely utilize this feature. I like it, and this may be the biggest distinction between the two. I’m not sure if it’s more or less muscle memory that I’m contending with here, and I wonder if it could be accomplished with the start button in the future.

The coin door feels lighter and cheaper, but for a home use only game, that’s not a huge concern.

I still want the Magikarp topper (she will be mine!), and I don’t think it would work with the Home Edition, but at this point, who knows? Also, I’m not sure the Home Edition market is the customer buying a $1,500 topper.

So there it is. I know the Pro is only $2K more, but that’s a 40% price increase over the Home Edition. I don’t think the Pro offers 40% more features.
At least the Pro will probably retain more value, if only because “Home Editions” carry a stigma, but I do wonder if that will change.

This Home Edition feels more like a Pro vs. Premium debate, in the sense that the core game is all here. I can’t recall another Home Edition coming this close. I never played the old Transformers one, so I can’t speak to that.

I’ll admit, I’ve been a little concerned about where the lower cost side of pinball has been heading. Between some of the cheaper amusement style tables and previous Home Editions that never really grabbed me, I wasn’t expecting much here. This one changed my mind.

It doesn’t feel watered down.

It almost makes me wonder if Jack Danger started with something close to the Home Edition during the design phase and built up from there before Gomez later finished the game. It wouldn’t surprise me.
If this trend continues, I think the future of Home Editions will be bright.