A Father's Day Gift Guide for Your Pinball-Loving Dad

Father’s Day is right around the corner, and while a pinball-themed necktie may seem enticing since buying him a pinball machine for Father's Day is a bit outside of your price range, we’re here to offer up some alternative gift ideas for your pinball lover pops. Make this Father's Day a pinball Father's Day!

For the Reader

Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball

A wonderful visual read on the history of the game, Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball is Jon Chad’s comprehensive graphic novel that explores pinball as a gaming technology and cultural touchpoint and includes beautiful illustrations of the game’s design. It takes readers on a journey all the way up to pinball’s current internet-fueled renaissance. An educational lesson for any pinball fan.  

Pinball Wizards & Blacklight Destroyers: The Art of Dirty Donny Gillies

If Dad is less into reading and more into pictures, grab a copy of this coffee table book.  San Francisco artist Dirty Donny Gillies is known not just for his work for Stern Pinball, but also for Metallica, Vans, and his own iconic 1970s boogie van. Toys, guitars, skateboard decks, and of course pinball machines acted as his canvases, cataloged beautifully in this collection. 

From Pinball to Pixels: An Arcade History of Williams-Bally-Midway

An encyclopedic look at the company’s history as well as thorough examinations of 30 pinball and 26 video game classics, this recently released book includes detailed interviews with 40+ former designers and execs, chronicling the ups and downs that formed one of the best gaming publishing houses. 

Nudge Magazine Subscription

Self-described as “the product of deranged minds addled by pinball,” Nudge is a pinball lifestyle magazine. The magazine is printed on high-quality paper with excellent original writing and photography work. Buy a subscription to season 2 (covering issues 3 & 4) for $50 and receive a club card, a graffiti stencil, vinyl stickers, and more. 

For the Toy Guy

Klask

Bigger than a breadbox, but smaller than a pinball machine is this award-winning party game. Great for big or small parties, families, or date nights, Klask is described as half foosball, half air hockey. It’s easy to transport, beautiful to look at, and, most importantly, fast and fun to play. 

For the Film Buff

Tommy on Blu-Ray

One of the most definitive movies about pinball, if not THE definitive movie, Tommy on Blu-ray is a great choice if Dad loves his home theater as much as he loves pinball. Just don’t get upset if he has an impressive sound system and the rock opera reverberates throughout the whole house.

Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game Movie Poster

Released earlier this year - and reviewed by us shortly after - hopefully, Dad has seen this charming movie about Roger Sharpe, the titular man who saved pinball. If he has, why not secure him the poster to hang in his game room? (Fingers crossed for an eventual Blu-Ray release!)

For the Music Aficionado

Pinball Theme Songs on Vinyl

For the music-loving pinball Dad, we’ve got Jackpot Plays Pinball, Vol. 1 and 2. These records contain a collection of original scores from classic Bally and Williams games, including Black Knight 2000, Attack from Mars, Funhouse, Taxi, Medieval Madness, and many more. 

For the Pinball Owner

Pinballs

Nothing to over-explain here: just like a golfer Dad would appreciate golf balls for Father’s Day, a pin-owning dad could always use some more pinballs. 

Powerballs

Sadly not referring to the lottery, though a winning ticket would be such a nice gift, these white zirconia ceramic powerballs are used in Bally’s Twilight Zone machine, Stern’s Avatar LE machine, and the Rolling Stone used in Stern’s Rolling Stones LE machine. Plus, they can be a great way to create or add some variety to existing games. Ever played a game of Pin-Bot with a powerball? It’s a lot of fun!

For the Budding Pinball Repair & Restoration Expert

Cordless Soldering Iron

Reseat your header pins, solder on coil lugs, and perform PCB repairs with this iron. It reaches operational temperatures in under 18 seconds, priming it fast for quick repairs and other needs. A 40-minute battery run-time is nice, in addition to a pivoting head that can reach more confined spaces.

Desoldering Tool 

Offering the opposite of the soldering tool is Hakko’s desoldering tool, something essential if Dad’s going to do work on pinball machines. It’s a bit pricier than other options, but reviews by pinball machine owners say Hakko is the way to go. 

Little Box of Calm

Perfectly named, Titan Pinball offers this Little Box of Calm that includes the most common items that are usually dropped and never heard from again. This includes different-sized hex head screws, nylon lock nuts, and more.  

GEARWRENCH Ratchet and Socket Set

A straightforward kit to handle any of Dad’s pinball repairs or adjustments, this ratchet set and socket set from GEARWRENCH complement each other nicely and are a nice bang for your buck. 

Headlamp

“Let there be light” with this trusty lil headlamp for Dad to wear while working on the machine. 

Hook & Pick Set

Ideal for leveraging or pulling apart pinball parts, this seven-piece set gives great access around wires and other obstacles. The materials used provide a longer tool life, too. 

Digital Multimeter

Dad can’t have his machine running without the proper voltage, current, and resistance, so luckily, this tool measures all three of those elements, in addition to temperature, capacitance, frequency, and duty cycle.

Digital Electronic Level and Angle Gauge

One of the most important setups to get right with pinball machines is having a level playfield, properly pitched, and Klein Tools offers this device to help get the perfect angle for any machine. 

Novus Products

Ideal for cleaning playfields, these Novus products include a plastic clean & shine, a fine scratch remover, and a heavy scratch remover, and it also includes a pack of Novus Polish Mate Disposable Towels. 

For the Wheeler Dealer Dad

Pinball Moving Straps

Secure your pinball machine head to the cabinet easily and safely with these straps. Free of any buckle that might ding up your machine and using velcro to keep it simple, there’s no better way to secure your machine for easy transport.

Pinball Skates

In addition to the straps, these skates can work in tandem to help move your pinball machine. They slide onto the legs and lock in place and work on both regular and wide-body machines, not to mention they’re lightweight and easy to store. 

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For the T-Shirt Guy

The Kineticist Logo Tee

For the Dad who could use a few more pinball tees to wear to the local arcade, may we suggest one of our stylish logo t-shirts? View available sizes and colors in our shop.