Episode 3: UK Pinfest aftermath and Scott goes AWOL well to Wales

UK Pinfest recap: games, tournament format, quality concerns, and venue lessons.

Synopsis

In this The Great British Pinball Podcast episode, hosts Scott Rundell and Neil McRae discuss their experiences at UK Pinfest, covering event logistics, specific games played, machine reliability issues, custom restoration standards, tournament format challenges, and venue management observations. Key topics include complaints about machines being pulled from play mid-show, critiques of Spinal Tap and Big Lebowski games, praise for restored classics like Lord of the Rings, and disappointment with tournament flipper quality on Metallica.

Highlights

• Scooby-Doo lasted only a couple of hours at Pinfest before needing to be disabled
• Alien by Pinball Brothers was turned off mid-show at owner's request to prevent plays, despite being paid for entry
• Spinal Tap has significant code synchronization issues with animations and poor video assets that need thorough rebuild
• Big Lebowski is effectively a 'poor man's Medieval Madness' with very similar rules and gameplay
• A recent boutique pinball machine Scott purchased had rails hot-glued to the playfield instead of properly secured
• Metallica at the tournament had significantly weakened flipper power, making it nearly impossible to score well
• Women's tournament at Pinfest had approximately 40 participants
• Neil McRae owns Metallica, Godzilla, Bond, and Foo Fighters pinball machines

Entities

• Pinball Brothers· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• UK Pinfest· event
• Alien· game
• Big Lebowski· game
• Deadpool· game
• Godzilla· game
• Lord of the Rings· game
• Metallica· game
• Scooby-Doo· game
• Spinal Tap· game
• Ant· person
• Chris B· person
• Holly· person
• Ilsa· person
• James· person
• James (Majestic)· person
• Matt· person
• Neil McRae· person
• Paul· person
• Phil Palmer· person
• Scott Rundell· person
• Thomas· person
• Wayne· person