# Seven Pinball Themes for a Casual Player Named Brad
by [Brad Milison](/author/brad-milison) · April 7, 2023 · [Pinball](/news/category/pinball)

> Discover the top 7 pinball themes on a casual player's wishlist, from Jaws to The Fifth Element. Explore why these cinematic and musical inspirations would catch his eye.

I’ve been writing for Kineticist for a few months now and I’ve had a blast immersing myself in pinball culture and learning more about what makes a machine great, both figuratively and literally. 

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Personally, I’m more of a casual pinball player. One of my earliest pinball memories was when I was younger and my friends’ dad brought home [Bally’s Playboy pinball machine](/pinball-machines/playboy-1978). I can still picture that backglass and the thing that stood out the most to me on it wasn’t the risque playmates, but the skinny-dipping grandma in the pool in the background. 

![naughty granny cartoon playboy bally pinball ](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f49a894177772bdefe41f_naughty_granny_cartoon_playboy_pinball.webp)

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In hindsight, it makes perfect sense that I appreciated the humor over the sex appeal since years later I came out as gay. Regardless, us kids were always doing four-player tournaments on it, and while I can’t say I became the greatest technical player or even learned any pinball vernacular from it, I had a great time and I was completely entertained. 

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Since then, if I find myself around pinball machines, I will absolutely indulge, but I don’t think I’ve leveled-up, skillswise. The top two [best places to play pinball in LA](/post/play-pinball-los-angeles) were actually places I stumbled into for reasons other than pinball. [AYCE Gogi is a Korean BBQ spot](/locations/ayce-gogi-korean-bbq-and-pinball) with a pinball haven in the back that I took advantage of because of a long wait to be seated, and [EightyTwo](/locations/eightytwo) is an arcade with its own pinball hall that a date took me to (it didn’t work out, thanks for bringing it up). Both places offered a huge variety of pinball machines that tickled my fancy and took me back to being a kid playing the Playboy machine. 

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![pinball machines at ayce gogi in la](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/4cecdfcde49f.jpeg)

The pinball at AYCE Gogi

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Writing for Kineticist has inspired me to play more. Embracing my status as a more casual player, we thought it’d be fun to explore some of the pinball themes that might catch my eye walking into an [arcade bar](/arcade-types/arcade-bar) or restaurant. What do I look for in a machine as a casual pinball player? Mostly fun IP with a showy backglass, and I’m a sucker for a detailed playfield. And if there are some cool looking toys? Take my money! I went through our very own [pinball theme hype index](/hype-index), and picked out a few of the themes that would for sure grab this newer pinball player’s attention. 

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## **Jaws**

![jaws pinball machine](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f486ffaceca6ecf1d922c_jaws_pinball_machine.webp)

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I’m a huge cinephile and much like any other child of the ‘90s, I am a huge Steven Spielberg fan. I even did a report on him in school and learned about the many problems the production of Jaws had, which makes its success and its place on the best [American Movies of All Time](https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/) even more impressive. Hearing that iconic score play from a [Jaws](/pinball-themes/jaws-pinball) pinball machine would have me rushing over to play faster than Amityville residents vacating the water. Imagine the fear of a shark fin circling the playfield, or, better yet, a full blown great white toy terrorizing players. Let’s just hope it doesn’t sink like the real mechanical shark did when they first put it in the water (source: me and my school report, or read more about that [here](https://boldentrance.com/remembering-bruce-the-malfunctioning-animatronic-shark-that-made-jaws-a-horror-classic/)).  

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## **Elton John**

![elton john pinball machine](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f4847d2b52f4cc63105b7_elton_john_pinball.webp)

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Maybe I’m biased from catching his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in the fall, but I want to preserve Elton John and his musical legacy as much as possible, so I would have no problem supporting an [Elton John pinball machine](/pinball-themes/elton-john-pinball) that costs me 0.01% of what I paid to see him in concert. Also, if given the choice to pay to play his music on a jukebox or pay to hear his music from a pinball machine while I get to indulge in some EJ-inspired playfield designs - outerspace for Rocket Man, a Yellow Brick road, a literal Crocodile rockin’ - I’m gonna go with the option that keeps me more active. To the friends who will try to get me to sit down and take a break from this machine, I say, “I’m Still Standing.” 

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## **Sherlock Holmes**

![sherlock holmes pinball machine](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f481ffaceca52511d8e4f_sherlock_holmes_pinball_machine.webp)

I would find seeing this resident of 221B Baker Street’s name on a pinball machine most curious, Watson. I’m a sucker for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s deducing detective, and I would love to see how [Sherlock Holmes](/pinball-themes/sherlock-holmes-pinball) comes to life in his very own pinball theme. I love escape rooms and mystery novels, so it would be clever if a Sherlock pinball machine could offer elements of actually solving a case while playing. That might make it tough to replay, but, hey, someone else can worry about that. I’m just saying if this machine existed, I would for sure be the guy playing it in my deerstalker hat while pretending to smoke a pipe.   

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## **Little Shop of Horrors**

![little shop of horrors pinball machine](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f48093e1b37849b33a637_little_shop_of_horrors_pinball_machine.webp)

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One of my favorite movie musicals, I would feed anyone standing between me and a [Little Shop of Horrors pinball machine](/pinball-themes/little-shop-of-horrors-pinball) to my very own Audrey II to get a chance to play it. In case that reference reads like Greek, this movie-turned-off-Broadway-musical-turned-movie-musical is about a lowly plant shop employee whose talking plant commands blood to grow. Seeing Audrey II grow throughout the game would be a selling point, and a really clever way to kick off the game would be to offer a fake pinprick of blood to Audrey II from your finger a la Seymour. With the soundtrack’s catchy songs playing and the goal to stop Audrey II from taking over the world, the Meek Will Inherit a great game should it ever come to light. 

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Footnote: for any fan of the movie, please check out the [insane and EXPENSIVE original ending](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RjFvcw6ToQ) that was reshot for a happier ending.    

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## **‘80s Horror**

![friday the 13th pinball machine](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f47d0941777fbe1efc4f7_friday_the_13th_pinball_machine.webp)

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As I mentioned earlier, I was a teenager in the ‘90s, and at some point - perhaps when Scream was released in 1996 - I became a huge fan of horror, and it became my mission to rent any and all classic modern horror films. I have major respect for some of the OGs of the genre, which is why I would turn into a scream queen if I ever came across a [Friday the 13th](/pinball-themes/friday-the-13th-pinball) or new [Nightmare on Elm Street](/pinball-themes/nightmare-on-elm-street-pinball) pinball machine. Freddy Krueger and Jason are icons of the genre and to see an Elm Street or Camp Crystal Lake playfield would get me just as excited as I was popping those VHS tapes into my VCR. As much as I love them, don’t even think about cutting corners and giving a Freddy vs. Jason machine, instead. Much like Michael Myers from [Halloween](/pinball-machines/halloween-2021), they deserve their own machines. 

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## **The Fifth Element**

![the fifth element pinball machine](https://media.kineticist.com/posts/seven-pinball-themes-for-a-casual-player-named-brad/inline/642f47e485ae14408ce6573d_fifth_element_pinball_machine.webp)

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On the heels of my love of horror is my love of sci-fi, and a [The Fifth Element](/pinball-themes/the-fifth-element-pinball) pinball theme would get me squealing louder than Ruby Rhod. A callout of Leeloo saying “mul-ti-pass”? Take my money! Collecting all the elements around the futuristic and intergalactic playfield would have me feeling like Korben Dallas. Hopefully, we get a later stage pumping out the [Diva’s Dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Dh5QoXv2c), or maybe even a Diva toy that performs?! I can dream. The movie has cult status for a reason, so trust in its fans to give it some pinball machine love!

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