Pinball
Probably why you're here.

Where to Play Pinball in Colorado Springs: Arcades, Barcades, and Pool Halls with Machines
Colorado Springs offers a diverse pinball scene, from a vintage penny arcade in Manitou Springs to downtown barcades and a dedicated pinball pub north of the city.
Colin Alsheimer

Where to Play Pinball in Charleston: Bars, Barcades, and Breweries with Machines
Charleston's pinball scene spreads across the metro, with a sports bar arcade, axe-throwing venue, barcades, and a craft brewery all maintaining collections.
Colin Alsheimer

Where to Play Pinball in Branson: Arcades, Bars, and Game Stores with Machines
The Branson and Springfield Ozarks corridor offers pinball at retro '80s-themed arcades, a tabletop gaming store, and a neighborhood bar known for secret sandwiches.
Colin Alsheimer

Where to Play Pinball in Birmingham: Arcades, Barcades, and Breweries with Machines
Birmingham's pinball scene spans a mall-based arcade with the state's largest collection, downtown barcades, and a brewery taproom with a solid lineup.
Colin Alsheimer

Where to Play Pinball in Albany: Arcades, Breweries, and Bars with Machines
Albany's pinball scene spreads across the Capital District, with family entertainment centers, a craft brewery taproom, a league-hosting arcade, and a downtown bar with tournaments.
Colin Alsheimer

Where to Play Pinball in Albuquerque: Bars, Breweries, and Venues with Machines
Albuquerque's pinball scene spreads across breweries, a downtown live music bar, and reaches north to Santa Fe, with craft beer a common thread throughout.
Colin Alsheimer

Where to Play Pinball in Akron: Arcades, Barcades, and Breweries with Machines
Akron anchors a strong Northeast Ohio pinball corridor, with family entertainment centers, barcades, and breweries spread from downtown to surrounding communities and extending to Youngstown.
Colin Alsheimer

Review: Williams Pinball Volume 8 on Pinball FX
Zen Pinball FX Volume 8 revives Banzai Run, Black Knight 2000, and Earthshaker! with faithful physics and smart extras. See more in our review.
Noah Crable

The Score Card: April Flippers Bag Big WPPRs
Europe crowns a new champion, King Kong storms Kalamazoo, and familiar faces take home trophies as the 2025 competitive pinball season heats up. This edition of The Score Card rounds up major tourney results from across the U.S. and abroad.
Matt Owen

Where to Play Pinball in Sacramento: Arcades, Bars, and Breweries with Machines
Sacramento's pinball scene spans dedicated arcades, craft breweries, and entertainment bars across the metro. Whether you're looking for tournament-ready collections or a few machines alongside local beer, the region has options.
Colin Alsheimer

Shift Into High Gear: Learn to Play The Getaway: High Speed II
Learn How to Play the Williams 1992 Release The Getaway: High Speed II.
Noah Crable

The Weird World of Pinball Arcade Hybrid Machines
Pinball is fun and so are arcade games, so why not mix the two together?
Matt Owen

Photos: The People Who Build Your Pinball Machines
A photo essay that turns the lens on line workers at Stern, Jersey Jack, and Barrels of Fun Pinball, the people who quietly build and assemble the games we love.
Colin Alsheimer

Review: No Surprise, King Kong Is Another Great Keith Elwin Game
Keith Elwin’s King Kong delivers exactly what we’ve come to expect: pinball greatness so polished it feels routine. Learn more about Stern's latest release in our hands-on review.
Colin Alsheimer

Dune Pushes the Envelope for the Cinematic Pinball Experience
Our review of the latest release from Barrels of Fun, Dune.
Colin Alsheimer

Stern Launches King Kong: Myth of Terror Island
Everything we know about Stern's latest release.
Noah Crable

Barrels of Fun Reveals Dune Pinball as Game #2
Everything we know so far about Barrels of Fun's latest release, Dune Pinball.
Colin Alsheimer

First Look: The Hangover Trilogy Pinball by Brian Soares and Reby Hardy
Fresh off their 2024 TWIPY win for Custom Game of the Year with their work on Happy Gilmore, Brian Soares and Reby Hardy are back with a new custom game just in time for the 2025 edition of Pintastic New England.
Colin Alsheimer

Riddle Me This: Learn to Play SEGA's 1995 Release Batman Forever
Learn to Play SEGA's 1995 Release Batman Forever.
Noah Crable

Barrels of Updates from Barrels of Fun
Highlighting a few small updates from the Barrels of Fun team coming out of Texas Pinball Festival 2025.
Colin Alsheimer

A Tale of Two Launches: How Portal Upstaged Merlin and Revealed the Limits of Original Pinball Themes
Why did Multimorphic's Portal pinball gain mainstream attention, while Turner Pinball's original Merlin's Arcade stayed niche? We break down how licensed themes amplify coverage, audience reach, and marketing impact.
Colin Alsheimer

D&D is the Necessary Evolution of Pinball and RPGs
Stern's new Dungeons & Dragons pinball blends RPG mechanics with approachable features like saved progress, aiming to draw in both casual gamers and dedicated fans. While not flawless, it's an exciting step forward in pinball design.
Matt Owen

The Electric Playground Reveals Pulp Fiction “Double Tap” Topper (plus an interview with Rob Rath)
Learn more about the latest release from The Electric Playground, plus an interview with co-founder Rob Rath.
Colin Alsheimer

DPX Releases Early Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Rules
DPX published an early draft of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland code. Did you see it?
Colin Alsheimer

Critical Hits: Learn to Play Stern's Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye
Learn to play Stern's new release, Dungeons and Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye.
Noah Crable

Turner Pinball Launches Merlin's Arcade
Learn more about the latest release from Turner Pinball, Merlin's Arcade.
Colin Alsheimer

Multimorphic Launches Portal Pinball
Portal Pinball is the latest full game kit release for Multimorphic and their P3 platform. Learn more in our detailed rundown.
Colin Alsheimer

Jamie Burchell Reacts to Multimorphic’s Next Game
Jamie Burchell of The Wormhole reacts to seeing Multimorphic's next game before anyone else!
Colin Alsheimer

Weekend Watch: The 4th Annual Pinball Degenerate Awards
Tune in Saturday, March 15th at 8pm ET for the 4th annual Pinball Degenerate Awards.
Colin Alsheimer

Review: Inclusive GameWerks' Adaptive Flipper Controller Opens Pinball to More Players
Getting hands on with the Inclusive GameWerks adaptive pinball controller.
David Hutchison

Competitive Pinball Roundup: The 2025 Season Begins
Kicking off a new regular series on tournament pinball with a look at the end of the 2024-2025 season and the start of the 2025-2026 season.
Matt Owen

Where to Play Pinball in Columbus: Arcades, Bars, and Breweries with Machines
Columbus has developed into one of the stronger pinball metros in the Midwest, with machines spread across downtown entertainment venues, suburban breweries, and neighborhood barcades. The region hosts regular leagues and tournaments, drawing competitive players from across Ohio.
Colin Alsheimer

An Open Letter to the Pinball Community: How Toxicity is Draining the Fun from Pinball
An open letter from Enzo La Pegna to pinball fans everywhere.
Enzo La Pegna

Barrels of Fun Factory Photos From the End of the Labyrinth Run
This past Monday following the TWIPY Awards, I was fortunate to go back out to the Barrels of Fun factory to run around and take photos with workers on the line.
Colin Alsheimer

Hybrid Best Game: How to Play the New IFPA Tournament Format
Learn how the new IFPA tournament format, Hybrid Best Game, works.
Matt Owen

Modern Kiss: Learn to Play Stern’s 2015 Refresh of the Classic Kiss Table
Learn how to play Stern's 2015 release, Kiss pinball.
James McFatter

Classic Kiss: Learn to Play Bally’s 1979 Rock-Themed Pinball Chart Topper
Learn to play 1979's Kiss pinball machine by Bally.
James McFatter
Rise to the Challenge: Learn How to Play Jersey Jack’s Avatar: Battle for Pandora Pinball
Explore the alien landscape of Pandora and take down the RDA foundation, responsible for taking away its natural resources. Based on the first two Avatar films directed by James Cameron.
Noah Crable

Making Moves at The Electric Playground: Rob Rath Talks New Hires & Product Announcements
Rob chats new hire news and several new product announcements.
Colin Alsheimer

How a Pinball Newbie Qualified for the Ohio State Championship
From a wide-eyed newbie to a last-minute qualifier at the 2024 IFPA Ohio State Pinball Championship, this is the exciting story of one player’s improbable rise through countless league nights and fierce tournaments.
Matt Owen

Turtle Power: Learn how to play Stern’s 2020 release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Learn how to play Stern’s 2020 release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Noah Crable

IFPA Rookie of the Year Jaden Rich Talks Competitive Pinball Success
Jaden Rich of Louisville, Ohio, has taken the pinball world by storm, earning the prestigious IFPA Rookie of the Year title in his first season of competition. In an exclusive interview, Jaden shares how a birthday tournament with his dad sparked his passion for competitive pinball and more.
Matt Owen

Where to Play Pinball in Pittsburgh: Arcades, Bars, and Breweries with Machines
Pittsburgh spreads pinball across breweries, bars, and entertainment venues from South Side to the Strip District. Here's where to find machines across the Steel City.
Colin Alsheimer

Another Cunning Development: A Retrospective on the Pro Pinball Series
Read this deep dive into several extremely influential digital pinball releases from the Pro Pinball digital pinball series in the 1990s.
Noah Crable

Number Crunching the Pinball Class of 2024
Analyzing public market data of pinball machine releases in 2024 to get a better read on the pinball landscape.
Colin Alsheimer

First Impressions of Blues Brothers Pinball by Homepin
Dr. John Cosson took delivery of the first Blues Brothers pinball machine off the Homepin line, and put it through its paces.
Dr. John Cosson

It’s Payback Time: Learn to Play the 1991 Classic Pinball Machine, Terminator 2
Learn to Play the 1991 Classic Pinball Machine, Terminator 2 in our detailed tutorial from Noah Crable.
Noah Crable

Visual History: A Story of Pinball Innovation in the Early Solid State Days
A story of pinball innovation in the early solid state days.
Colin Alsheimer