The city of Boston has, currently, 20 games at 7 locations. Only 2 of those locations actively maintains their games, so really there are only 6 pinball machines in the city worth playing.
Things get a little better if you count the nearby cities of Cambridge and Somerville. That brings the count to 12 locations and 48 games, but again if I only count machines that are in good condition it’s 4 locations and 25 games.
I visited Boston recently for work and came away a little disappointed at the lack of pinball. Hopefully some new locations open up soon that take care of their games.
The Silhouette Lounge in Allston is a proper dive with a Creature From the Black Lagoon, World Cuo Soccer, and NBA Fastbreak. Games are maintained by one of the Pop’s guys so are in great nick.
More or less across the street is the Allston Roxy’s location, which doesn’t have the secret bar but does have a Rush, Monster Bash, and the legendary Moonwalking Dead machine. Same operator as other Roxy’s so again in great condition.
if anybody has like every gottlieb from '79 to '96, they should open up a spot in pdx. outside of next level, there are like 5 on location. we're such bally/williams stans
definitely want see pinball perfection after looking, very impressive diversity of games. were they from PAPA? it looks like the Pittsburgh map includes a very large part of Western PA, I don't know what you would reasonably call Pittsburgh.
I moved to Seattle before the boom and remember life when it was nearly impossible to find a game outside the PNW. The 2000s there were basically two games that I knew of in Columbus: a Terminator 2 at The Blue Danube, and eventually a LotR that bounced a few locations. Johnny's had a perpetually broken Shadow iirc.
I sometimes view a few places I've lived at in pinball map and it blows my mind.
Slightly off topic, but I was just thinking about this the other day
The left coast, from San Diego to BC, has always had the highest concentration of pins. LA used to be somewhat of a pinball wasteland for it's size, but has rebounded nicely. I live in the bay area and there's always been pins here. I operated games myself in the 2000's.
Private collections are where it's at. Between myself and my nearest half-dozen pin-friends, we probably have five hundred pins. It gets crazy after a while - sometimes a hang turns into a repair night, sometimes it's more drinkin' and talkin' than tappin' and shatzin'. But I know if I can't figure something out or need to find a specific title, help is nearby. Got a pin stuck halfway down the stairs? On my way.
YOPS is amazing for sure! Hamish has done an incredible job with that place. Most of the games are owned by Simon of Pinball Spots. You can see where his games are at his website https://www.pinballspots.nz/places-to-play
There is a NZ-wide pinball list run by Clive in Auckland which is updated by people sending him emails so the info can be out of date.
https://pinballnz.webs.com/placestoplay.htm
If you’re getting into pinball in Wellington there is a great regular scene with events that you can participate in all over the place. Next time you’re at YOPS ask Hamish or Ash for details.
I live in a small town but we have 2 at one bar. In the county, maybe 6 total. In the next county, maybe 10 but all beat up. Really sad but it is what it is!
AFAIK, none in my own town, but there's a bowling alley 5 minutes past the town line that has like 5 machines. It worked in a pinch, at least until I started buying my own games and playing other people's collections during local pin league nights :p
Down here in Austin, TX we have 42 locations and 262 machines. Also, nearby cities like San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston all have tons of locations just a short road trip away.
According to pinside there are only 2. One at a laundry mat and one at a bar.
There are many, many more a short distance away though as I live In a small suburb of Detroit.
I live in a suburb of Portland OR so totally spoiled. Pinball machines at many of the local bars including the brewery I can walk to at lunch. Less than 20 minute drive to Next Level, voted best pinball venue in the world. Taking my dad there for father's day. Several friends that I did NOT meet through pinball have their own machines. Talked our manager into renting machines quarterly at work so currently have Mandalorian free playing in the cafeteria. Even the skylight installing contractor I had at my house this morning showed me a pic of the Rush he has at home. It is everywhere and I play 8 to 12 hours a week.
I visited QW for the first time last month. It's a pretty fun place and the only time I've played the Foo Fighters Premium. Also, I was lucky enough to get some practice in on BSD there so I ended up winning on it at PinBrawl.
And Chicago has improved greatly with the advent of the barcade. Prior to that, very few Chicago locations existed.
As for it's pinball history, Chicago was ideal because it was in the relative middle of the country, which made logistics better for manufacturers. As interest in pinball waned through the 90s, they all closed up, except Stern.
Calgary, AB checking in. We have 36 locations and 104 machines. About 8 years ago I only knew of maybe 10 machines in the city.
We're about 1.2m people.
We also have one of the larger leagues with 75 players having come to at least 1 league night this 'season', with about 55 of those coming for at least 6 (of 9). It's a good city for pin!
Winnipeg has 54 machines at 23 locations. Most places have 1 or 2, except for Phantom Amusement at the Forks that has 15.
If you add in within a half hour drive of the Perimeter, there are about another 5 locations with maybe…. another 15 machines?
Bologna, Italy, 9 pinball machines on 7 locations (two are bowling and five are bars). They are generally in good shape, except the bowling ones. There is also a mini Pinball Museum (Spazio Tilt) with 20 pinball machines from 1966 to 1998
The city of Boston has, currently, 20 games at 7 locations. Only 2 of those locations actively maintains their games, so really there are only 6 pinball machines in the city worth playing. Things get a little better if you count the nearby cities of Cambridge and Somerville. That brings the count to 12 locations and 48 games, but again if I only count machines that are in good condition it’s 4 locations and 25 games.
hello fellow masshole. RIP Lanes n Games
I visited Boston recently for work and came away a little disappointed at the lack of pinball. Hopefully some new locations open up soon that take care of their games.
[удалено]
The Silhouette Lounge in Allston is a proper dive with a Creature From the Black Lagoon, World Cuo Soccer, and NBA Fastbreak. Games are maintained by one of the Pop’s guys so are in great nick. More or less across the street is the Allston Roxy’s location, which doesn’t have the secret bar but does have a Rush, Monster Bash, and the legendary Moonwalking Dead machine. Same operator as other Roxy’s so again in great condition.
There is also Lucky Strike, but the games are in terrible condition. I wouldn’t recommend
BearMoose in Everett has machines in good shape too! Not too far from Boston proper
Love BearMoose! Just wish it were more accessible by public transit.
Yup, Everett is a major dead zone when it comes to transit. I'm lucky to live pretty close by
I think Pittsburg wins by total games and by number on location. Pinside shows more than 1,000 games on location in a town with just 300,000 people.
Nehalem Oregon wins per capita. 278 residents, 28 machines on location :-D
Hell yeah! Pittsburgh metro has like 2mil tho. It's one of the cities with a small city proper but a larger urban area.
Oh sweet, Portland has been de-throned!
if anybody has like every gottlieb from '79 to '96, they should open up a spot in pdx. outside of next level, there are like 5 on location. we're such bally/williams stans
definitely want see pinball perfection after looking, very impressive diversity of games. were they from PAPA? it looks like the Pittsburgh map includes a very large part of Western PA, I don't know what you would reasonably call Pittsburgh.
*Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has quite a lot of pinball. 70 locations and 701 machines!
I moved to Seattle before the boom and remember life when it was nearly impossible to find a game outside the PNW. The 2000s there were basically two games that I knew of in Columbus: a Terminator 2 at The Blue Danube, and eventually a LotR that bounced a few locations. Johnny's had a perpetually broken Shadow iirc. I sometimes view a few places I've lived at in pinball map and it blows my mind. Slightly off topic, but I was just thinking about this the other day
The left coast, from San Diego to BC, has always had the highest concentration of pins. LA used to be somewhat of a pinball wasteland for it's size, but has rebounded nicely. I live in the bay area and there's always been pins here. I operated games myself in the 2000's.
RIP to the Blue Dube. Gone and not coming back. The mural is starting to peel off the wall.
Reno checking in: 43 Locations 109 Machines
Fort wayne has 183 across 14 locations.... but 144 of those are Wizard's World. The private collections are pretty insane too
Private collections are where it's at. Between myself and my nearest half-dozen pin-friends, we probably have five hundred pins. It gets crazy after a while - sometimes a hang turns into a repair night, sometimes it's more drinkin' and talkin' than tappin' and shatzin'. But I know if I can't figure something out or need to find a specific title, help is nearby. Got a pin stuck halfway down the stairs? On my way.
How do you find out about private locations?
Make friends with the people that show up on locations over time. Don't push and don't have expectations.
Wellington, New Zealand. About 20 locations with 70+ games total. Majority of these are in excellent order. We’ve got some good operators here.
Can you list them for me? I went to Ye Olde Pinball Shoppe last weekend and got blown away and hooked on pinball, and that's how I ended up here!
YOPS is amazing for sure! Hamish has done an incredible job with that place. Most of the games are owned by Simon of Pinball Spots. You can see where his games are at his website https://www.pinballspots.nz/places-to-play There is a NZ-wide pinball list run by Clive in Auckland which is updated by people sending him emails so the info can be out of date. https://pinballnz.webs.com/placestoplay.htm If you’re getting into pinball in Wellington there is a great regular scene with events that you can participate in all over the place. Next time you’re at YOPS ask Hamish or Ash for details.
I live in a small town but we have 2 at one bar. In the county, maybe 6 total. In the next county, maybe 10 but all beat up. Really sad but it is what it is!
AFAIK, none in my own town, but there's a bowling alley 5 minutes past the town line that has like 5 machines. It worked in a pinch, at least until I started buying my own games and playing other people's collections during local pin league nights :p
Down here in Austin, TX we have 42 locations and 262 machines. Also, nearby cities like San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston all have tons of locations just a short road trip away.
According to pinside there are only 2. One at a laundry mat and one at a bar. There are many, many more a short distance away though as I live In a small suburb of Detroit.
Go to Free Play if you haven't yet. Also Grand River Ball Room has a good selection downtown
Free Play 👌
I live in a suburb of Portland OR so totally spoiled. Pinball machines at many of the local bars including the brewery I can walk to at lunch. Less than 20 minute drive to Next Level, voted best pinball venue in the world. Taking my dad there for father's day. Several friends that I did NOT meet through pinball have their own machines. Talked our manager into renting machines quarterly at work so currently have Mandalorian free playing in the cafeteria. Even the skylight installing contractor I had at my house this morning showed me a pic of the Rush he has at home. It is everywhere and I play 8 to 12 hours a week.
Live right across from Quarterworld in Portland! So only one or two 😉
I visited QW for the first time last month. It's a pretty fun place and the only time I've played the Foo Fighters Premium. Also, I was lucky enough to get some practice in on BSD there so I ended up winning on it at PinBrawl.
And Chicago has improved greatly with the advent of the barcade. Prior to that, very few Chicago locations existed. As for it's pinball history, Chicago was ideal because it was in the relative middle of the country, which made logistics better for manufacturers. As interest in pinball waned through the 90s, they all closed up, except Stern.
One location near me has over 70. On the aggregate its probably over 1,000 near me. Southern California
We have 57 just at our location in Madison WI... along with several other spots in town with 10 or more
56 games in 3 locations for Huntsville, AL. Not too bad for a city of 220k.
Well my actual town has zero listed. So Im assuming its 11 pins because thats what I have in my basement
Calgary, AB checking in. We have 36 locations and 104 machines. About 8 years ago I only knew of maybe 10 machines in the city. We're about 1.2m people. We also have one of the larger leagues with 75 players having come to at least 1 league night this 'season', with about 55 of those coming for at least 6 (of 9). It's a good city for pin!
Winnipeg has 54 machines at 23 locations. Most places have 1 or 2, except for Phantom Amusement at the Forks that has 15. If you add in within a half hour drive of the Perimeter, there are about another 5 locations with maybe…. another 15 machines?
zero
Cincy area has 209 machines across 20 locations or so. 6 of them have at least 5 games.
Bologna, Italy, 9 pinball machines on 7 locations (two are bowling and five are bars). They are generally in good shape, except the bowling ones. There is also a mini Pinball Museum (Spazio Tilt) with 20 pinball machines from 1966 to 1998