Episode 107 - Holiday Special

Wedgehead's holiday special ranks top 5 holiday pinball machines and suggests gift ideas for collectors.

Wedgehead Pinball Podcast first holiday special ranks the top five holiday-themed pinball machines, gift ideas for pinball enthusiasts, and discusses homebrew Christmas games. Hosts debate whether games like Elvira's House of Horrors (featuring a Santa Claus Conquers the Martians mode), Taxi (with Santa as a passenger), and the 1967 Gottlieb Sing-Along qualify as holiday games, while playfully speculating about what a hypothetical Stern holiday game designed by Elliot Eisman might look like: with Gremlins and Nightmare Before Christmas emerging as fan favorites.

Highlights

• Elvira's House of Horrors features a Santa Claus Conquers the Martians mode with a special achievement for beating it on Christmas Day
• Goodyear (1969 electro coin) was a Santa-themed drop-in conversion kit for Blast Off or Apollo, with only a flyer as evidence of existence
• Taxi features Santa as one of five riders picked up by the player (20% Christmas-themed)
• Sing-Along (Gottlieb, 1967) is an Ed Krynski design about caroling that appears at Wedgehead bar during holiday season, originally owned by co-owner Roadsees as a child
• North Star (Gottlieb) is an underrated EM game under $1,000 that rarely appears on secondary market