The Great British Pinball Podcast Ep 36 - UK Pinfest Special!

UK Pinfest preview with Cirqus Voltaire critique and UK Open tournament updates.

Synopsis

Neil McRae hosts a UK Pinfest special episode covering American Pinball's Cirqus Voltaire remake announcement, the upcoming Stern media day launch (likely by Keith Elwin), extensive Pinfest 2025 game lineup commentary, and logistics for the UK Open tournament. Key discussion points include critical analysis of Cirqus Voltaire aesthetic choices and $10k pricing, UK Pinfest venue relocation to a larger hotel, and charitable fundraising for Puzzle Pinball's Dave who has cancer.

Highlights

• American Pinball announced Cirqus Voltaire with Classic Edition at $9,989 and Ringmaster Edition at $12,000 with 700-unit limited production
• Stern invited media to next media day, likely featuring Keith Elwin as designer of upcoming game launch
• Star Wars of the Empire is 'the only one in Europe that works' and Neil is bringing it to Pinfest for a score competition
• Spooky Pinball board sets and electronics have reliability issues, citing Evil Dead as example and referencing widespread Pinside complaints
• Original Cirqus Voltaire pricing has dropped more than expected depreciation, but original Medieval Madness pricing recovered significantly post-hype
• Pinfest 2025 relocating to new larger hotel approximately 30 minutes from current location with double space, rooms, and parking
• UK Open 2025 has ~230 registered players with additional ticket sales ongoing, scheduled for late September (22nd-23rd mentioned for setup)
• Puzzle Pinball's Dave has rare form of cancer; fundraising from Star Wars competition will support him
• Totan (Pedretti game) has reported technical issues and may not arrive at Pinfest as scheduled
• Neil believes Cirqus Voltaire remake pricing ($10k standard) will cause secondary market depreciation similar to uranium, contrasting with Medieval Madness recovery pattern

Entities

• American Pinball· company
• Spooky Pinball· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• Pinfest· event
• UK Open· event
• Cirqus Voltaire· game
• Evil Dead· game
• Medieval Madness· game
• Pokemon· game
• Star Wars Fall of the Empire· game
• Totan· game
• Transformers· game
• Pinball Republic· organization
• Puzzle Pinball· organization
• Brian Allen· person
• Dave· person
• Keith Elwin· person
• Neil McRae· person
• Phil· person
• Scott Rundell· person