071: Favorite Era of Pinball?

Punk Rock Pinball hosts discuss club operations, upcoming tournaments, and favorite pinball eras, favoring modern Sterns and 1980s solid-state.

Stephanie and Mike of the Punk Rock Pinball Podcast film from their Bloomington, Illinois club HQ, covering the club's new King Kong Pro and Pokemon LE, the PRPA ranking system, upcoming birthday tournament and bounty format, membership and operating costs, and their preferred pinball eras. Their favorites lean toward modern Sterns for depth and early solid-state games like Firepower for quick play, with advice to avoid EMs and 1990s games for sustainable location operation.

Highlights

• The Punk Rock Pinball HQ club in Bloomington, Illinois has about 42-43 machines, and the hosts believe this may exceed a nearby McLean location that has 42.
• The PRPA Central Illinois scene has 299 players and 123 events this year, per the PRPA rankings page.
• Stephanie says she played almost 100 PRPA tournaments this year and over 100 total tournaments, visiting dozens of locations.
• The club operates at a monthly deficit, and prospective collective operators should budget for rent gaps, repairs, snow removal, and electricity.
• The club's monthly membership has risen from $30 to $40, which is still cheaper than a flipper rebuild kit for any machine in the club.
• The club is currently an LLC and the hosts are considering shifting to a not-for-profit structure.
• Early 1990s games carry high repair costs, with boards around $350-$500, compared to $100-$200 for the early solid-state Frontier boards.
• Electromechanical (EM) machines should be avoided by location operators without a skilled EM technician, though they are fun to play.
• A Firepower 2 can be bought for around $1,500 and a Gorgar for $1,500-$1,600, and with basic maintenance they can run reliably.
• Modern Stern Pro models have the least maintenance requirements because they have nothing that moves on the playfield.