Pinball News

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

Staff Picks

How to Take Better Pinball Photos with Jon Geier of Darkroom Pinball

The 10 Best Steve Ritchie Pinball Games, Ranked

Top 10 Pinball Machines of the 2010s

Pinball Terms Glossary

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

April 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

Staff Picks

How to Take Better Pinball Photos with Jon Geier of Darkroom Pinball

The 10 Best Steve Ritchie Pinball Games, Ranked

Top 10 Pinball Machines of the 2010s

Pinball Terms Glossary

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

April 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

News

Melvin Williams Joins American Pinball as Creative Director

Melvin Williams has been named Creative Director of American Pinball, just over a week after splitting from Dutch Pinball. Here's what it means and why the history is wilder than you'd think.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 17, 2026

News

Stern Pinball Reveals Pokemon Pinball

Stern Pinball has revealed their next cornerstone title, and it's the one everybody's been waiting for: Pokemon.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 13, 2026

Rumors

RUMOR: Dutch Pinball Partnering with Stern Pinball to Produce Back to the Future

Back to the Future might still be happening — and it could be coming alongside a major international partnership.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 13, 2026

Interviews

The Pinball Bet

The Pinball Capital of the World doesn't have a world-class place to play. Francis Wisniewski thinks he can fix that.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 10, 2026

News

Dutch Pinball Exclusive (DPX) Is No More

DPX is shutting down and Melvin Williams is out at Dutch Pinball. Here's what we know and what it means for Alice owners.

Colin Alsheimer·Feb 9, 2026

The Score Card

The Score Card: States & Starfighters

The 2026 competitive pinball season is officially underway. We've got the complete list of IFPA State and Provincial Championship winners — plus the first Stern Pro Circuit results of the year from the Starfighters Pinball Festival.

Matt Owen·Feb 4, 2026

Pinball News

Latest Pinball News & Articles

Pinball News

Latest Pinball News & Articles

Staff Picks

How to Take Better Pinball Photos with Jon Geier of Darkroom Pinball

The 10 Best Steve Ritchie Pinball Games, Ranked

Top 10 Pinball Machines of the 2010s

Pinball Terms Glossary

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

Pinball Capital Opens as Chicago’s Largest Public Pinball Location

Staff Picks

How to Take Better Pinball Photos with Jon Geier of Darkroom Pinball

The 10 Best Steve Ritchie Pinball Games, Ranked

Top 10 Pinball Machines of the 2010s

Pinball Terms Glossary

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

Melvin Williams Joins American Pinball as Creative Director

Stern Pinball Reveals Pokemon Pinball

RUMOR: Dutch Pinball Partnering with Stern Pinball to Produce Back to the Future

The Pinball Bet

Dutch Pinball Exclusive (DPX) Is No More

The Score Card: States & Starfighters