We Are Pinball #12 "Hangin' with Cale!"
Very special episode of WAP today with legendary cool guy Cale Hernandez! He's the bearded part of the power duo along with Rachel Bess running the Electric Bat arcade in Tempe and Flagstaff, Arizona USA! We talk about what it's like running one of the biggest pinball tornament leagues and more about operating games. What works, what doesn't, and what we need from our manufacturing partners in this hobby and MUCH MORE! Join us for an awesome episode and hello to all pinball players from around the world! Meget speciel episode af WAP i dag med den legendariske seje fyr Cale Hernandez! Han er den skæggede del af power-duoen sammen med Rachel Bess, der driver Electric Bat-arkaden i Tempe og Flagstaff, Arizona, USA! Vi taler om, hvordan det er at køre en af de største ligaer i flipperspillet og mere om operative spil. Hvad virker, hvad gør ikke, og hvad har vi brug for fra vores produktionspartnere i denne hobby og MEGET MERE! Slut dig til en fantastisk episode og hej til alle pinballspillere fra hele verden!
Kineticist’s take
Cale Hernandez shares operator insights on machine economics, manufacturer strategy, and gameplay philosophy across Stern vs JJP.
Synopsis
Cale Hernandez from Electric Bat Arcade discusses operating two successful pinball locations in Arizona (Tempe with ~62 machines, Flagstaff with ~12) alongside his wife Rachel. The conversation covers operator economics, comparing Pro/Premium/LE pricing across manufacturers, Jersey Jack Pinball market positioning, and playability differences between Stern and JJP games. Key themes include why JJP doesn't make operator-friendly standard editions, earnings per tier, rule complexity issues affecting casual players, and the distinct gameplay feel between manufacturers.
Entities
- Game Room Goodies· company
- Jersey Jack Pinball· company
- Marco Specialties· company
- Stern Pinball· company
- ZapCon· event
- Avatar· game
- Godzilla· game
- Guns N' Roses Not In This Lifetime (Standard Edition)· game
- Iron Maiden· game
- Pirates of the Caribbean· game
- Willy Wonka· game
- X-Men· game
- Electric Bat Arcade· organization
- Yucca Taproom· organization
- Cale Hernandez· person
- Don· person
- Jengiz· person
- John Schappel· person
- Mark· person
- Rachel Bess· person