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Reviewing all the Expo Games! Pinball Expo 2025
1.3k Plays4 days ago
Star Wars, Winchester, Dune, Evil Dead, Harry Potter, Portal, Predator, and many more are talked about on this episode.
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Transcript
Introduction and Expo Challenges
00:00:07
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Loser Kickin' Ball Podcast. We're on episode, who knows? We're on the expo episode. Expo. Yes. So I've got ah got my notes. I got my, yep. Got my co-host.
00:00:17
Speaker
Scott Larson. And ah man, this show has been insane so far. We tried to record in the Flippin' Out booth. Yeah, it was too much. It's too busy. There's too many people in there.
00:00:28
Speaker
Greg and Ken are here. Greg Bone, Ken Cromwell. They're holding down the fort. Amazing, amazing product in there. They're one of
Winchester's Popularity and Reveal
00:00:36
Speaker
the only people that have a Winchester here, which has been insane. But if you, I guess if you wanted Winchester, you should have done it about three days ago, right? Yeah, and Winchester, we'll get into Winchester, but wow, what a surprise thing.
00:00:48
Speaker
Yes. I did not expect ah an October surprise for for Expo. Yeah. And for them to come up and just say, hey, by the way, we got a new game and... It's it's been a big hit for them. Oh, huge.
00:00:59
Speaker
And so if you want to do the new Star Wars, I mean, any these games you're seeing at Expo, I guess, it's except for Winchester. Yeah. Hit up Zack and Nicole. Many. ah They're wonderful customer service and great products. So seriously.
00:01:14
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's great. They've always helped us out. And even even fun things like banners, if you want banners. So check them out and and accessories. So I keep to, I'm like, we've got to do this quick. We stole the banners. Yeah, we we borrowed the banners because we, ah so we'll have to we'll have to ask for David Van Ness' blessing after.
Dune's Unique Features and Gameplay
00:01:31
Speaker
so Yeah, what is It's easier to ask for forgiveness or beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.
00:01:37
Speaker
But but yeah let's talk about, I got first on my notes. Let's talk barrels of fun. Yep. holy crap like okay i hadn't played dune before this yep uh obviously we didn't play winchester before this what are your thoughts so far okay um Dune really surprised me.
00:01:53
Speaker
Same here. Because now the one thing that we're used to in pinball is we're used to having pinball sounds. yeah So it's it's very arcade feel. So you hit you hit the target, a little whiz goes off, you start something, you you get some sound, you get call outs, you get all that.
00:02:10
Speaker
So Dune took a different approach. And this is the one thing, it took me a while to figure out what the difference was. But they have like a cinematic score going the entire time. Yep.
00:02:21
Speaker
So, okay, I know that we talked about like Guns N' Roses, like captured the whole concert experience. This captured the entire movie experience.
00:02:33
Speaker
where you're getting there and you're feeling the game and they they must have some big subwoofer in there. Something. Because the game is like slightly vibrating, kind of like you're in a you're in a movie theater and you get that that deep subwoofer sound that's like bringing you into it. yep It is so good. The lighting was great because they have the they have a screen in the back that's constantly updating.
00:02:58
Speaker
And they you know, they have i don't know if the rad cows or what, whatever their version of the rad cows are, but inside on the art blade. So you really are immersed in this sea of sand world. Yes.
00:03:12
Speaker
ah The now the shots I thought felt great. What did you think of the shots? I think they feel really good. um I played two different versions of Dune while I've been here so far. um There's a shot that goes through the worm and it ramps up around him.
00:03:25
Speaker
And I found so on one of them, it was a little clunky, but the other one was perfectly smooth. so I'm like, I don't know if this is me. I don't know if it's the game. Which two did you play? Because I'll tell you which two I played. i played in the booth. Yeah. Okay.
00:03:36
Speaker
I actually thought they both played pretty good. so Okay. Okay. okay um Yeah, but everything else, it did really, really well. I think there was one shot that I was hitting that was kind of rejecting. But it's it's ah it's a it's a little bit of a tweak, right? We're not talking. You see, i for for me, I had really long ball times. See, Scott's playing better than me right now at Expo, and I am sucking it up. So don't let Dune's quality be a reflection of my terrible gameplay. Or maybe, yeah.
00:04:02
Speaker
Okay, but legit, the ball paths were fun. Yes. They were interesting. Very unique. They had diverters in there. And so there were definitely different. in And that is the key to a lot to making a game more interesting is making sure a ball path doesn't do the same thing every time.
00:04:18
Speaker
Well, not only that, did you get to the mode where you have to hold down the center button? Because like your hands in the pain, is it called the pain box? The pain box. And you're playing just one handed without trying to die. So by the way, so you know, you can't cheat on this mode. so So I tried to cheat on the mode where they were there and I reached over and I held it and they busted us and I didn't know how they busted us.
00:04:41
Speaker
But then, so, uh, friend, Tony Murphy, by the way, first time he was playing the game, i was like, you got to play this. And he's like, he's like, I'm not really sure. And so he put his tummy on there.
00:04:54
Speaker
And so he's tummying down and trying to flip it. And then said, are you using three hands? Question mark. And then what barrels of fun, king fun employees came over and they laughed and there's like, uh, just, you know, there's a camera there. they can see
Winchester's Theme and Market Impact
00:05:07
Speaker
what you're doing. That is awesome. That is amazing. So you get totally busted for cheating that mode. Yeah. But yeah, so the whole point of the the pain box mode is you have to have your hand, one hand, whichever one, on the on the action button, yeah and you're supposed to alternate. yeahp And what it's that's that's a cool thing. And also the fact that they busted you for cheating was hilarious.
00:05:31
Speaker
Absolutely hilarious. Well, and honestly, none of us were expecting it with Winchester, though, right? No, no, no. Dude's been fantastic. We've known this. We've known this since March when they revealed May. Sorry. May is when they were reveal it got a little bit of bad press between Pemberg and some of the people that got early.
00:05:46
Speaker
Everything I'm seeing doing has been fantastic. They've had these games up running. from sunup to sundown when when actual hours are allowing it, I don't think I've seen a single one turned off. No, they obviously reliability is an issue with any sort of newer company. yeah So this is their second game.
00:06:04
Speaker
But wow, reliability that the line for that booth is a weight and especially with winchester because that was the surprise we're going to talk about winchester in a second yeah but there was a big weight for all these things and so these things have been played all the time yep no and and and they're holding up so well speaking we've we've talked about winchester we've alluded to it a couple times i'm blown away Carl DeAngelo. So give a background. Give us a summary on what Winchester is. And so people know, like, context. So that's what made me laugh with all this. I knew about it growing up because we talked about history class.
00:06:40
Speaker
My mom saw it when she was a kid. The Winchester Mystery House ah back at the turn of the century, there was a man by the last name of Winchester made the Winchester rifle that arguably won the West. If you had a Winchester, you were winning.
00:06:53
Speaker
And so ah The husband died at a young age. They lost their son at a young age and it was just the wife. And she had all this fortune for me selling these guns. Right. Well, she went to ah kind of a was a medium or something. A medium. Yes.
00:07:09
Speaker
And pretty much her husband came from the afterlife and told her you need to buy is you got to build. You to keep building. These spirits are are going to haunt you. They're going to get you if you don't stop building the house. So she built maze after maze into this house, right? Like stairways going to nowhere or doors that open to nothing. Yes, yes.
00:07:29
Speaker
And so that's the background of it. Because a lot of people, our friend Craig Bobbies from Canada, he's like, all know, this was a thing. And so it it's it is a very unique kind of niche thing.
00:07:39
Speaker
it's It's basically, so I did talk a little bit to David. They wanted to do a haunted house type thing. Because there hasn't been a really great haunted house uh theme that's been done in pinball yeah and even haunted house it's it breaks down all the time you you owned one right no but my friend owns one i have to fix it all the time all the time yeah so they wanted that and so for them they uh do you mind if i take over a little bit so i talked i talked a little bit to uh to david is that they knew that carl was working on a white wood yeah and they also knew that the last really elite player who was building uh building games
00:08:18
Speaker
has done a really good job. A little bit of a good job. ah Yeah, Keith Elwin. And so they were really curious about if Carl was interested in in collaborating. Yeah. So they talked to them and they they got the theme.
00:08:32
Speaker
So they got Carl and they said, you know what? This is a risk because one, it's Carl's first design. yeah So you don't know. Two, the theme, yes, it is a licensed theme, but you don't know if that's gonna connect with people. Not everything is gonna be a seller. yeah and And then just the you know the layout, everything. So they were trying to say, look, this is a concept. This is a small batch. We're going to see if this will be successful. yeah And so they announced it and people started playing it. And Josh, would you call it a success? It's a little bit of a success. Yeah. I would i would say unanticipated too, really. well this is surprise success. Yeah. And this is this is the thing that I keep hearing is, oh, but it's only 525.
00:09:16
Speaker
Okay, but do you know why it's 525? Why is that? So, in and I talked to David Van Ness about this. He's like, if you have a limited number, you should have a meaning to the number, which is totally reasonable, right? yeah yeah So that's the address of the house.
00:09:28
Speaker
Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. Nice. So, but it's funny to me is that people keep bringing this up. Oh, it's sold because it's only 525. Okay. Only? I'm like, only $525? Let's be realistic here.
00:09:39
Speaker
Like, not to not to crap on Turner Pinball. There are companies that come in. Struggled to sell $100. Or even $200. Right. So the fact that they sold out $525 in hours?
00:09:52
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I think people should be giving more credit to this. yeah i think i think it's proven I think it's broken the mold here. Because what have we been hearing for the last... year is there's no money in pinball no one wants to spend money on pinball pinball's too expensive um and i think everything that has been said in pinball has been disproven with this game and i even think yes it's a license thing yes it really is a license it's a license it's a it's a we always talk about tiers of license right yes a b c this is i would say a boutique tier Yeah, I don't even know if you can letter it like you said, but really to take a theme like this and to do 525 and 24 hours at 11, six, that is more than a premium where people are right like throwing fit about pro price right now.
00:10:43
Speaker
Right. It that is amazing. I would argue, though, if you want to do and this is maybe taking a tangent, if you want to revitalize the l LE market,
00:10:55
Speaker
That's your price point, kids. Yep. Because people are willing to spend more from a premium to an l LE if there is a perceivable difference.
00:11:06
Speaker
What a true LE product? it's a true LE. And ah there's a big difference. If you're spending $3,500 more, people are going to question, well, that's two-thirds of a price of a pro. yeah Is that worth throwing the money at it? But $11.6, you're looking at that.
00:11:22
Speaker
it is a It's exclusive. It's elite. It is expensive. But it's
Portal and Star Wars Pinball Experiences
00:11:27
Speaker
still... I know more accessible yeah than than what the $13,000 price has been asking for. Well, you know, I said Turner and whatnot, but even think about Dutch Pinball. They just released Predator and they're cutting that run short where they're doing like $200 of that and they're still waiting sell the last $100. And that's well legal get little a big list. We'll get to Predator. But yeah, it's ah i it's it is a more discernible license. yeah And so it so it just talks about, there are so many aspects in pinball.
00:11:55
Speaker
When you start circling the Venn diagram of making a successful pinball, you at least need two circles to overlap. ye I think they got four on this one. Yeah, something like that. Yeah, man. yeah they've done the They've done really well.
00:12:06
Speaker
What did you think gameplay-wise? What did you think? Okay, gameplay-wise. Now, it is it still feels boutique-y. Yes. because it doesn't feel like kind of the over-the-top theatrical presentation that you get with Dune, that you'll get with King Kong, yeah that you'll get with Harry Potter. yeah And so this felt like, hey, this is a a small project game that doesn't have the over-the-top, in-your-face assets yeah and the you know the immersion.
00:12:34
Speaker
However, the shots are great. the ah the the theme is is great. And if you look at it, they do ah they have like a Pepper's Ghost thing in the back, which took me a second to figure out what's going on because there's a ball lock in the back and it's like a spider web that goes down to the ball.
00:12:51
Speaker
yeah And it looks kind of cool. And for a second, i was like, oh, that's really cool how they do And I'm like, oh, it's a Pepper's Ghost thing. that's yeah That's a really brilliant thing to put in pinball, which is on par for the fame too, Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:13:02
Speaker
and So I had a lot of fun. Now, that there's a lot of stuff that I still haven't figured I only play one game because the lines are long. They're insane. But it... It is, it's an amazing accomplishment and they should be given an A plus on this. I wholeheartedly agree. And after seeing this, it's funny because like. and our lab Reliability too. Reliability. been going, they've had three one, two, three, four games, I guess. games. Four games.
00:13:30
Speaker
I think Flip announced was down for about an hour this morning. Okay. But I, but for the most part, I have seen them all running. Yeah. Same, same. um and And just I after this, I'm a believe in barrels now. Yes.
00:13:43
Speaker
um Don't get me wrong. Labyrinth is a good thing. It's not a thing for me. Okay, Labyrinth was a first off. Like, we didn't know what to make. We said, that's a great effort. Yep. And it looks great. Yep.
00:13:55
Speaker
And it's the it's the wait and see, right? Yep. Because we have seen this with other companies. You know, there was an Australian company that came up big and then didn't didn't make good on their product. True.
00:14:06
Speaker
But this is three games. Yep. And three solid solid games. And so I think we can we can say barrels is right. So I think David Van S I know you're watching.
00:14:17
Speaker
You're doing it right. I think we had a good talk last night for about an hour and a half, man. Thank you. First off, thank you for like allowing us into your world and talking about this stuff.
00:14:29
Speaker
I think you guys are going in the right direction. I make a prediction right now. Barrels of fun is going to be the contender in the top three moving into the next three years. Yeah. Well, we're talking top pinball machines making pinball barrels of fun. It's going to be in that list. Yes. So so i you're right. I'm the same way. So you have Stern.
00:14:47
Speaker
You have JJP. Yeah. Yeah, barrels are fun there now. Yeah. and And what a great success story because the bottom line is more pinball is always good. Yep.
00:14:57
Speaker
Because competition, you know the steel sharpens steel. Yep. So this is this is great for pinball and great for them. And we have seen in the past where other people have over-promised and under-delivered. Yep.
00:15:11
Speaker
And they they flip that. And so they have been very subtle about their marketing and they have given you so much. ye I totally agree. ah One last thing on barrels before we move on.
00:15:25
Speaker
Something that Brian's told me, David's told me they want to remind us. This is just phase one. Yeah. All these licenses we're seeing Winchester, Dune and Labyrinth all before Labyrinth was revealed.
00:15:39
Speaker
And now the license that is that are coming to them after seeing the product. They're promising but quite quite quite a big stuff in the store. And so I'm I'm excited to see what's coming down the pipeline. If this is what they did but yeah pre show. Holy crap.
00:15:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think other companies, if you're if if you're looking to compete You might be a little worried. Well, okay. I will argue that they have shown a proof of concept yes that you can do something without flashy stuff yeah and just quietly put out an elite product. Yep.
00:16:15
Speaker
And it's, what a great, ah what a great success. Let's talk portal. um You and I played this. Yeah. Two nights ago. Yeah. Uh, holy crap. i think I think is taking multi morph it to the next level.
00:16:28
Speaker
I think it makes them ah now in the conversation because that's the things like I feel bad for P3 because it's always been like, well, it's a P3. It's pinball, but it's all in the back third. like and also. Yeah. And also. And you're like, there shouldn't be a butt here, but there always is. what I'm saying?
00:16:45
Speaker
portal feels fantastic. My concern here was with the extended kit, plugging it into the play field, right? You see all this extra stuff that goes on top. And um I asked our our friend, Wise Trailers, he's in LeBron, I'm here.
00:17:00
Speaker
I said, how long did it take you to put this extended kit in? He said, 30 seconds more. Right. It just it sits right on top. It's a couple screws. He's like, it's it's a piece of cake. so And the extended thing.
00:17:13
Speaker
It makes it feel like it could be a standalone pinball machine. Yeah, it really does. Because that's that's been the other complaint too, is people are like, well, it feels pinball-esque. right this Pinball adjacent. It always felt pinball adjacent.
00:17:26
Speaker
This feels like a machine. ah but It could be a standalone manufactured machine. ye And I will point out, my son's favorite game so far. So i um brought I bought my 14 year old.
00:17:37
Speaker
He has played Portal. He played Portal one and two. And it was awesome because we were talking with Mark Sill, who is the voice of Reggie. And he was super excited. He's like, ah we should get one of these, Dad. Yeah.
00:17:49
Speaker
ah How many times do you get your kid who goes up and plays the games like, hey, we should get this? Yeah. And it's it is a fantastic escape game that aerial faceplate when you shoot it right at them and also like your easiest shot.
00:18:00
Speaker
But yeah, just launching it and and it catching it didn't reject a couple of times. But you know what? Every machine does that. It does. And it was just but when it connects, it's amazing.
Evil Dead and Artistic Contributions
00:18:10
Speaker
The little upper playfield, it's it's it's a little challenging. It feels good, man.
00:18:16
Speaker
It just. i I want one of these portals. I'm going to be after this. Jerry and I, we need to talk. Yes, man. The game is so good. I cannot wait to see what they have in store moving forward.
00:18:29
Speaker
And I really think portal moves the needle for them. And I hope I don't know why they're more in the conversation. They really should be. ah The team over there is doing amazing. So and this is obviously and ah this is a jump.
00:18:43
Speaker
This is the next phase in what they're doing. Yep. And which is. I think it's it's better for pinball for them because they've always felt like the, you know it almost felt like a ah mobile game with like a ticker redemption because it kind of had elements of both, right? Kind of, yeah, I'll give you that. And now that now that we actually bring the play field down and surrounding you, it does make it make it a lot more more competitive with a standard pinball machine. Yep, I agree.
00:19:16
Speaker
Let's move on to Star Wars is the big one right now. fate of the fall the empire from Stern. um I got to play this with Travis Murray last night. And, you know, it's funny because I enjoyed it because I had a really good first ball.
00:19:32
Speaker
I dropped about 260 million on it and I was I was very pleased as punch with myself. I think. You know, people kept saying this is a fan layout. It's going to be easy, blah, blah, blah. It's fast.
00:19:44
Speaker
It's really fast. um I didn't have any issues with the Death Star. I know that's the biggest problem right now, people learning playing about the reliability on it. um I didn't have any issues. I thought it was great.
00:19:56
Speaker
I think... If you're looking for like an Iron Man, I think if you're looking for one of those faster games, Star Wars fits that mold. it does. Well, it's a Borg. It's a Borg. And so he's known for having fast designs. i Really, ah the easiest, well, the most accessible design has always been monsters, right, for him.
00:20:15
Speaker
But almost everything else has been challenging. So i just go back for like he he had... Okay. and So, sorry, going back. ah your Guardians of the Galaxy yep is challenging.
00:20:29
Speaker
You go back to Walking Dead. Yeah. It's challenging. a little bit. Yeah. Metallica, it's a fan layout, but guess what? Metallica is challenging. Yes, it definitely is. Yeah. And so you have all these, so he's known for a Rush.
00:20:41
Speaker
Yeah. Rush is, you can make it a little easier, but it's still a challenging game. And so, like, where, ah you know you were going to get this with Jumble.
00:20:53
Speaker
I think with with pinball where it's at currently in the hobby, I think a lot of it's long players, right? like i think yeah i I think it has to be because it's this is this is one of those things where, we and we talk about this, like tournament players versus casual
Harry Potter Pinball Overview
00:21:10
Speaker
players. And I'm a casual player.
00:21:11
Speaker
yeah I play at home. um But what makes a good selling pinball machine? It's not the short ball times. No, no, it's not. So, and even Elwin, who's an elite player, knows that in order to sell more games, you have to give them a little bit more of an experience. Yep.
00:21:30
Speaker
So, what are if the average game is three minutes, being able to push that... you know, a little bit more, yeah that's going to make a big difference for sales, especially in a home environment. Like you want, I want my kids to walk up and say, hey, let's play this game.
00:21:45
Speaker
I don't want my 10 year old getting up and just getting three ball rejects and say, okay, we're done. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and my point being is all my collections, mostly L ones, which are longer players. Right.
00:21:55
Speaker
I think if you're looking for a short player, I love the theme. I love the Star Wars theme. theme is good. And it's integrated well. um Raymond Davidson on code. Holy crap.
00:22:06
Speaker
It just, I don't know why we don't talk about him more. Okay. That's because he's, he's, he's always been a collaboration with code.
00:22:17
Speaker
Yeah. And so and and ray Raymond's great. Raymond is by, by the way, the, the nicest, most underspoken guy out there. Yeah. He's a, he's a great player. i was actually in line with him to play Winchester.
00:22:29
Speaker
you know i And Stephanie was there too. And so we were talking a little bit and he just has a pinball mind yeah that will translate very well. He has a bright a bright future. he's He's still one of the young guys around.
00:22:41
Speaker
I'm- He's driving innovation. Yeah. And so he's able to take things in. By the way, he was the one who did the extended code on Metallica. Yeah. And if you're trusted to do an extended code on the Lyman Sheets code, that that says well how the industry views you.
00:22:56
Speaker
I have a percent of grief. So I think that this is- Now, this goes into the Star Wars, like- Pantheon, or I guess, selection of games. So if you're looking for a modern Star Wars game, you have the home pin option.
00:23:12
Speaker
yeah You have this option. yeah You also have the Ritchie option. You have the Mandalorian option. So there's there's a lot of options that can bring you into that world.
00:23:24
Speaker
yeah And you can choose which ones but which ones best for you. yeah I the my only criticism on the game is I would probably put like ah something something to slow down the the Sarlacc pit because that that does take maybe maybe it a little bumper up there that slows the the spin down. i don't know, man. If you have a drink, you ah you hit that Sarlacc pit. Yeah.
00:23:45
Speaker
You take a good sip. yeah because It does. it it it It tended to be a little longer to circle around and go down. I think the Pro is the best option on this one as well. playing the Playing the Premium, playing the Pro. I need to spend a little more time on the Premium. Yeah. so I did enjoy the Premium, though.
00:24:00
Speaker
um let's move on to evil dead have you got play evil dead yet you know what i i keep getting in line and i keep getting sidetracked so i'm gonna i'm gonna send it to you on this one once again travis i we played it um it's a really cool game i think that if you want good theme immersion this is the game the topper is great toppers they had like eight toppers on the case I think they finally have figured out, too.
00:24:26
Speaker
You don't need the best shooting game, right? But the geometry should feel good. Yeah. And it does that with this. I wasn't a fan of the flipper inside the sling thing. I never used it. You know, and there's a flashing light right there saying this is the flip for this is the one.
00:24:41
Speaker
of But
Innovations in Pinball Games
00:24:42
Speaker
no, like seriously, it just felt like I was in the universe with Bruce Campbell trying to stop the deadites from killing me. I loved it. I think I think if you're looking for a game like this, it should definitely be on your list. Yeah, ah which it's hard to get now because they all sold out back in March at T.P.
00:25:00
Speaker
Well, you can always get a game if you're willing to spend spend money for it. Very, very true. is And ah now what do you think of the double barrel shotgun? Double barrel shotguns? Really cool. I like that concept, even though I couldn't tell there was a ball in the lane a couple of times. Mm hmm.
00:25:16
Speaker
But other than that, ah yeah, it just it's just, it was really cool. Travis being elite players, like watch this. Right. There's like an infinite bug glitch if you, it won. Multi balls.
00:25:28
Speaker
um It was awesome. But seriously, that game. I think pinball goes into a couple different categories. One's like straight up player. You're playing this because and you want whether tournament, you know, the fast, the brutal.
00:25:43
Speaker
I think there's also immersion, right? Like there's you want to experience the game. We did the Twilight Zone and Adam's family was great at this back in the day. Just that whole like hitting the jackpot and it celebrates you or you feel like you're in that universe.
00:25:57
Speaker
I think if you're one of those people that are looking for immersion and an experience, this is definitely one for the collection. Spooky has always done great with art. Yep. They've always I think they've always been a plus on art. Yes.
00:26:09
Speaker
And a plus on immersion. Yep. And I would say they're getting better. Yeah. with being able to make you know a great shooter. I was playing, so i played Texas Chainsaw Massacre yesterday. yeah And I was talking to them and it was funny, I was talking with a friend Lee and her is his wife Sherry, and was like, yeah, this is the same as Looney Tunes, just you know different, it's the same layout.
00:26:31
Speaker
And she she thought that that was kind of funny. But it's like, oh, OK, it's like, yeah, because this and the theme is a little rough for my house, but for other people's houses, it's perfect. And if that's your thing, then great.
00:26:42
Speaker
ah You can't go wrong with the experience, honestly. I agree. um And speaking of artists, Franchi's been running around. It's been wonderful to see him. Spooky was so brilliant. Locking him down. He's good.
00:26:54
Speaker
Way good. Brad Albright. yeah It warms like it makes my heart happy to see him on Mystery Winchester House on Portal. This dude has been at it hard since we started. We've been doing this almost seven years now. so So he did our shoes. Yeah, he did our shoes. Yeah. So they bra Josh and I are still sorry.
00:27:12
Speaker
josh Josh and I are still ah rocking the shoes. yep And I've run into a few people who who are wearing the shoes. and It does make me smile. yep So if if you want awesome shoes, go and check it out. Brad Albright did it. And he did the art for, the you said, Portal and Winchester. Yeah, both. Amazing.
00:27:30
Speaker
ah Harry Potter. Yeah. Holy crap. I was not expecting it. Yes, it is great. It is great. And Eric, Eric. Yeah. Eric. Good job. Get me one. Yeah.
00:27:42
Speaker
I know you can't get them until like ah we're out to April, but it's a good problem. We're out pretty far, yeah. It's a good problem to have. But holy crap. Okay, so I actually did, so Eric, after the JJP seminar, yeah so he talked about all the different mechanisms they put in there.
00:27:57
Speaker
And that was really smart yeah to talk about how challenging some of these mechanisms were. And the staircase mechanism is really cool. yeah That they're able to have, he had a crazy amount of paths on there.
00:28:09
Speaker
And I even told him last night, because after the seminar, he went to dinner. and i swang by and I swung by with him and i I talked to him and I said, this is great. Now that Josh and I have had time to play it, we want you to circle back and come back on so we can have a better conversation about what's going on. Because when we did our first one, we had just seen pictures and we'd seen the reveal.
00:28:31
Speaker
And we had him explain it, but now we can have a better conversation. and And that's going to be really good. yeahp like Harry Potter is going to be something that if you want to um like if you want to have something for your family, this is a great experience. And talk about theme immersion. Okay, well, let's give props to Harry Potter for how thematically immersive is.
00:28:55
Speaker
I was nervous, though, because it's a fast shooter. so i was like, I'm i'm afraid that i'm not going to be where where you have a game that you want to explore like Harry Potter is having Borg style layout, which it's not Borg, but you get what I'm saying, right? Like, yeah. So when you're having that kind of layout, it's hard.
00:29:15
Speaker
It's hard to do that. And so playing this game, absolutely amazing. Yeah. Holy crap. Just so good. I would argue it is a lot easier. OK, less brutal than I thought it was going to be. Yeah.
00:29:29
Speaker
And the Quidditch that that upper the upper play field with the upper shot on the play field. Yeah, man, that is a great shot. That's a great. talk And you can repeat it a lot It's so good. Yeah. ah I love I don't know if you've gotten this yet, but it's funny to come to these because we obviously have to give a first impressions video when they come. Sure. Right.
00:29:50
Speaker
And so David has to it to me and Eric to me. They're like, so. Do you still feel the same way you did when you did the first impressions? Like, no, this is entirely shattered by impressions. And so Harry Potter, absolutely fantastic. I think. And I liked all versions.
00:30:05
Speaker
I loved all the versions. So you can actually have options yeah depending on your budget. Now it is, it's a little bit of like eye candy, bells and whistles, but the play is the same.
00:30:17
Speaker
So good on them. Yeah.
Homebrew Successes and Community Spirit
00:30:19
Speaker
I think. I think if you're looking for a more modern game with the bells and whistles and lights and stuff like that, the arcade version at nine K is an amazing price for this, right?
00:30:29
Speaker
Like they did a fantastic job. Is it nine or it's 10? Is it 10? It's nine, nine, nine, nine nine nine yeah and and What are you talking about? That dollar makes it only $9,000. Okay, I'm just making sure everybody knows. But, okay, solid effort though. yeah it's It's in that, and I know we we tend to re refer to Stern's pricing yeah because that's the most commonly associated one. But, okay, you're in the premium range. yeahp yeah Now, is there anything that you would feel like you missed missed out on at the arcade level Compared to a Stern Premium, I would say no. no
00:31:02
Speaker
I think this, ah it probably feels a little closer to like a Stern Premium Plus when you're talking about ah value. So I would totally get that, or I would even go up and do, if if you want to spend a little bit more and get a few more of the the toys under glass, but i you would be solid with any option.
00:31:22
Speaker
I totally agree. um Let's move on to Merlin's Arcade. Did you play this one yet? I have played it. It's okay. it Remember when we talked about each company has to know their audience.
00:31:37
Speaker
Okay. Turner has kind of locked in that audience. it It feels a little bit more of a, okay, this is, we are going for family friendly. We are going for, ah you know, the kind of the entry entry level.
00:31:51
Speaker
It's a pinball, but all we're focusing on is having fun. yeah And I think it's pretty good. i kind of It feels like medieval times or or something like that, where it's, hey, this is this is something for your whole family to play.
00:32:07
Speaker
Yeah. No, I totally agree, I think. And also Turner. So Chris Turner is down there. Chris is he's super nice guy, super nice guy. he He attached the app to one of the games. I didn't realize you can mess with people while they're playing, too.
00:32:19
Speaker
So like you can you can make stuff happen if you got guests over and whatnot. And yeah, you can actually control some of the coils and stuff like that. It's it's very unique. I know that like one of the selling points of Deeper it was the pin bar and everyone's like, bring back the pin bar, you know?
00:32:35
Speaker
it's cool that he's integrated the phone right so everyone owns a phone right so you just link it to the pinball machine you stick it in between your flippers on the glass and now you can see score in in real time you could mess with people it's just such a cheaper way of doing it too such a cheaper way instead of investing all that money and stuff into that um merlin's arcade did shock me i was not Expecting enjoy as much as I did. Okay.
00:33:01
Speaker
I think um I think it's fun. I think it's a really fun game. I still don't feel like it's for me, but I think at the price point and what they have, John Norris did a fantastic job of a layout. I think it's really great.
00:33:12
Speaker
It looks great. It'll look pretty in your, in your family area, family game area. Yep. I totally agree. Um, let's see what else I got on here. Quetzal pinball brought Tokyo drift and also super hoops. This is a group from France.
00:33:26
Speaker
Yep. Um, They have done a couple of different games now, and ah I was not a fan of Tokyo Drift. ah They had it for four grand. That's really not a bad price for a pinball machine at all. no i Maybe that's a show price. Maybe I shouldn't be saying that, but um it was one of those ones. It feels more old school, more of a 70s, 60s EM kind of feel with more modern take.
00:33:51
Speaker
ah There's a shot you shoot to the orbit on the left, and it just comes straight down the middle. It's hard to save. I was impressed with super hoops though. Okay. This one was 4,500 down there. Um, it's cool because it's got a, a basketball, uh, backboard in the, in the back of the hoop. Okay.
00:34:07
Speaker
And you shoot the shot right up the middle and it's kind of, it's like a little enclosed area. And if you miss, it's got little hands. You can control the coils kind of similar to TNA. Okay.
00:34:18
Speaker
Um, okay. Maybe you can't control the a. But you control the coils and it's more of like slings up there. And so you're bouncing the ball into the hole, trying to get it in. It's got these little hands trying to slap it in like it's trying to get rebound. Right.
00:34:30
Speaker
And so it's funny because like you shoot it in there and then it launches it up in the end. The back door grabs it and drops it in for a shot. So it was fun to play. It's it's mode based.
00:34:42
Speaker
The modes aren't super fleshed out, but it's still it feels like more of a 90s game to me. right i See, it seems kind of like, you know, those pitching back games? Okay.
00:34:53
Speaker
Where it's it's not It's almost a ah different focused version of what pinball can do. yeah It's not trying to do like this big old, this big immersive code experience.
00:35:07
Speaker
This is like, hey, it's you well it's the same thing as like a double shot, you know, that you buy and you put in your basement and people are just, you have the one thing. yeah That's kind of what you're doing. And it's fine. It still can be fun.
Expo Highlights and Reflections
00:35:19
Speaker
Think Hexa Pinball. Sorry. Quetzal's doing really good, especially if you're going to be at these price points. ah It's something for for the home. I don't know if you like it. I don't know. We don't know quality. We don't really know customer service. It is not from America. It's over from France.
00:35:37
Speaker
But other than that, that's kind of my two cents on that. Yeah. And we're trying to get you stuff that is available out there. And yeah given that we don't have as extensive experience on it, it's like, hey, if you're interested, go look it up. Yep.
00:35:49
Speaker
So, sorry. Now let's move to Hex and Pimple. Yes. Space Sun is here again. They brought a couple more. Yeah. I enjoy it. It's a nice little game. Yeah, it's it's the same type of thing. Yeah, yeah it's it's a very focused game.
00:36:01
Speaker
If if that's your if that's what you're looking for, then great. It will probably fill that that, you know, that need. But you need to realize it is in a class by itself in that, hey, focused, fun,
00:36:15
Speaker
It's not going to it's not going to compete on the level of like a stern pro or something like that. It's ah but it has it has the shots, has the just the fun experience and it still has, you know, that that will ah the the big shot as you shoot it up and it goes around and its ends up sliding down like that, that whole that has the pole in it.
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah. All right, Scott, we've talked about kind of the main games here. okay There is one more company we have not talked about yet. OK. ah
00:36:47
Speaker
Well, let's not beat around the bush on this. It's it's American Pinball slash Orbit Games. They brought Whirlaball. Have you played it? Yeah. Uh, and I got some ah I mean, we're showing footage as we talk about this and whatnot.
00:37:03
Speaker
And so the point of this game is imagine skeeball, but you don't have a target. You don't know exactly. You don't see the target. They've got want to say it's seven lights up on top. Yeah. And you're trying to knock those lights out by hoping that when you put your ball in that area of that light, it knocks it out.
00:37:20
Speaker
If you get all seven of the nine, and then it gives you an extra nine balls. Okay. so if you keep playing and playing and playing until you can't knock all the lights out. Yeah. So, because I asked him, I said, hey, like, is 400 the top score you can top out on this? And he said, no, no.
00:37:35
Speaker
You knock out all the lights, it gives you nine more balls. Okay. Someone got to like 2,500 resters and whatnot. Okay. so here's Here's the real question. Okay. Why is it here?
00:37:49
Speaker
Because I think Orbit wanted something to show this is the best thing they had. Okay, so yeah this is a pinball expo. This would actually fit... Pinball and arcade. but Well, I guess it is pinball expo. It is pinball expo. And so if you're going to show this, it would fit a lot better at an arcade expo that is focused more on ticket redemption games. so where it's basically a variation on Skee-Ball.
00:38:18
Speaker
yeah um But here's the here's the question too. When you get a new iteration of something, you have to you have to answer two questions. One, is this needed?
00:38:30
Speaker
Two, is it better? Now, Skee-Ball's been around since, what, the 70s? Maybe. Maybe even before even even before that. it's it's the It's as basic of a mechanical game as you can.
00:38:43
Speaker
And I, Okay, i I just don't understand where the market is for this because it's about the same footprint as a skeeball, maybe even bigger. It's bigger. It's it's definitely bigger than a skeeball. It's bigger than a skeeball. And so would you choose this over a skeeball? I would say no.
00:39:01
Speaker
No, I wouldn't. The whole point of skeeball is it's kind of fun to see the target. And when you shoot it up and hit the hole, then you're like oh, that was cool. And if you don't hit the hole, you see how it was rejected. Yeah.
00:39:13
Speaker
And okay, so... i I just don't understand what they are doing as a company. and So this is product they can build. They said they built this in less than two months.
00:39:24
Speaker
Yeah. They can build it in-house. Most of the parts are here in town. Yeah. I i get it from a... Well, it's not... Like I said, they're having a hard time getting fucked at this point.
00:39:37
Speaker
and they're getting a hard time getting parts at this point. So you have to make a product that you can control the parts supply and stuff, right? Yeah, but this is this is literally like plywood, carpet.
00:39:49
Speaker
Yeah. Balls and sensors. Well, it's about as basic as you could get. Hitball is moving more into the home market. It really is. And so you're coming with a product that focuses ah ah on locations, arcades, which is fine. Again, fine.
00:40:02
Speaker
But are you OK? How much is a raw thrills game? die It depends on the raw thrills. Okay. got it What, or like that? Okay, it depends. It's like, so now, and depending um even ah going to the sit-down. Yeah.
00:40:17
Speaker
So let's just say raw thrills, which, by the way, is dominating the market in arcades right now. Yeah. like you go you go into an arcade and it's all raw thrills. OK, so if you go in there and you're like, well, there's something that you can that you can buy for $8000. That's a very old school game.
00:40:38
Speaker
Or you can buy a modern game for eight to twelve thousand dollars. Which one do you think will make money? Rothfuss is going to. and and And so I'm I really wish they'd figure out what they want to do as a market. But they it seems like this company is still trying to figure out a I don't even think they have the demand right. and So they're martin they're building something for a manufactured demand.
00:41:02
Speaker
And i I'm just confused. Yeah, I get you. I don't know. I just,
00:41:10
Speaker
I know it's not pinball, so it's hard to be like, this is, but in my opinion. Even our arcade expo, I don't think it would get much attention. Yeah, I think this is hands down, like the worst thing to show up to pinball. That's, I, I,
00:41:23
Speaker
Yeah, it really looks like you went back in time 40 years. Yeah. And even like the felt stuff is falling apart on the track. And I just I'm sorry, guys, like orbit, what whatever you're calling yourself. You're going to have to figure something out. You are right now. It's not it's not working.
00:41:39
Speaker
Yeah. So um one amazingly bright spot. OK. I want to talk about homebrew. Holy crap. Okay. Glenn Wechter, your team with Austin and all of them out there. Jake Danzig.
00:41:53
Speaker
Amazing. yeah Monster hockey league. yeah This game is insane. Brad, Brad, I'll bite the art on this one as well. Okay, so. Another good one. So the concept, it's like if you've ever ah heard about Joust or thought about it, yeah it's a fun game, but it's a two-player game. So you're shoot you're basically playing pinball on a shortened play field, ye but you're also trying to shoot the ball across and make the other person drain too.
00:42:20
Speaker
Yep. So it's it's a new version of that. it's It's like you gave Joust a Red Bull, and And said, let's go. yeah So great it looks great.
00:42:32
Speaker
It plays great. And I think they were taking interested parties if you're interested in making one. Yeah. and And Jake's not super optimistic about that. But seriously, I think the more interest they get on this, because there's a lot of people that want this game. This is something you would. OK, if I were an arcade, I would put this in.
00:42:49
Speaker
Yep. Because this is but because this is smaller than an air hockey table. Yep. and it's fast yep and it gives people that satisfaction. So if you're looking at a vibe, but yeah if you're looking at something that would go into an arcade, this is it.
00:43:04
Speaker
Anyone want cheese sticks?
00:43:07
Speaker
right But yeah, no, seriously, Monster Hockey League, like, absolutely. I agree with you on all that. I really hope if is some pinball, I know it's a very unique machine, so it will have its own challenges.
00:43:21
Speaker
Okay, but again, you're finding the market. There is a demand. There is a demand. For competitive pinball, that like you competing against someone. Because one of the big downsides of pinball is...
00:43:33
Speaker
you're taking turns at a solo game. ye Like you don't think that if I had this in my basement that I would have like five guys over and do a tournament. Yep.
00:43:44
Speaker
You don't think that that would get some, some competition going. Yep. No, I agree. It's so good. Um, Another one that I really want to point out. So yesterday we ran these two gentlemen.
00:43:58
Speaker
They want to say they love our show. OK. They're always listening to us they're when they're working on their homebrew. Ricardo and Fitzroy, man. Okay, you two.
00:44:08
Speaker
I got to share your guys' a story right now. ah Ricardo and fitz Fitzroy. This is amazing. This is what I feel like Pibbal is about. um So they got sucked into the hobby, right? A friend took them to a local bar. They're playing this. They're like, what is this?
00:44:22
Speaker
It's kind of in their alley of what... they're looking for or like because of their their careers if I remember correctly say he was a software engineer or whatnot but he just ah he's like he gets into this hobby and he's looking to buy games and stuff like that and he's like I just don't feel like there's any themes for me there's nothing for me they haven't been this hobby two years yet you ready for this so he goes Forget it.
00:44:46
Speaker
I'm building one. Let's do it. Let's do it. So they built coming to America. You remember Eddie Murphy's coming to America? Looks amazing. They hired Randy Martinez, the Randy Martinez to do artwork.
00:45:00
Speaker
This game looks fantastic. It looks like it should be in a Stern lineup, dude. Yeah. and so great. So great. And you guys are killing it. And I love even the integration that you're using gold pinballs in this.
00:45:11
Speaker
Cause you know, yeah, yeah. Oh, he's like, you want to buy a toothbrush? And he has like all the gold stuff. Oh, I love it. This game, you guys, you're killing it. And it just goes to show.
00:45:23
Speaker
I've got to give a shout out to Aaron Davis with fast pinball. yep He is always praising the homebrew community. for how amazing it is to bring people in to help them succeed, to help.
00:45:34
Speaker
It's just a community of people that have this idea, that have this vision, that want to work together. This this is amazing. Yeah. And homebrew town is huge. Yeah.
00:45:45
Speaker
You know, and doesn't matter if you're you're just a white wood in a cabinet or if you're going all out like Ricardo. Billing, Coming to America, or Monster Hockey League. Monster Hockey League. Or... Steemo Willie. Also, Greatest Showman.
00:46:01
Speaker
Greatest Showman is here. And but I told him we're going to have him on. Okay. And I... Okay, they messaged me. I'm sorry. I don't know your... I don't have your names in front of me. Yes, yes. They are... they did such a great job of doing that. yes And being able to like, you know, it's a re-theme, but man, it looks so good in the theme integration and all these like homebrew things. yes They're so great. and i I appreciate the passion that people are willing because when a homebrew, you are working way more than you are playing. yeah
00:46:32
Speaker
And so the passion that they're bringing to the project are so good. Yep. I agree. I want to talk about the pinball scientist really quick. He is right next to the homebrew. If you don't know Tanner Walters, he is the teacher from K to five. He's a STEM teacher.
00:46:45
Speaker
He made it's almost like a pop up book. It's one of those STEM books where you you know you slide the slider in it and everything. If you haven't bought his book, go support him. 10 20 bucks i can't remember exactly uh it's it's a wonderful way to get your kids into this and my kids love the book yeah he's here he's helping support uh that part of uh of the hobby right like if you want to get more into the hobby the kids are where it's at yeah right and so check out tanner walters uh i'm gonna attach i did do a little a little chat with him so i'm gonna attach that here later of this episode um
00:47:21
Speaker
Let's talk about thing that had a smile on my face. Yes. Oh, Expo. Okay. The guitars, the guitars, the guitars. Yeah. Uh, Safari guitars came out of Canada. They're from a Toronto, Canada. Casey and Daniel came down. Yep.
00:47:35
Speaker
Something that they just, they had an idea for one day and now it's turned into actual business. The passion project, passion project. Uh, i I saw this.
00:47:46
Speaker
My face lit up. I have been gloating about this to all my friends, everyone that will listen. I'm like, go check out the guitars. If you haven't checked out these guitars, best place to check it check them out is Sathara Guitars on Instagram.
00:47:58
Speaker
These are I also posted something on Facebook. yeah I tagged us. I tagged you. I tagged Sothara. I tagged them all. And it's so mine's the Silver Ball Mania. And they did the illumination. So you can see the lights are scrolling in the guitar yeah while like while it's on.
00:48:17
Speaker
ah and yeah It looks so good. Whether you play guitar or you want to show piece. The nice part about i mean, Ed Robertson of Bayer Naked. yeah He's played his guitar. So they are quality. They're good guitars. I own i owned some super quality guitars.
00:48:30
Speaker
um Everyone knows Fender, Gibson, stuff like that. right The guitar, like the the brand you might not know is Duesenberg. That is like the Cadillac I own in Duesenberg. I would say this is up there on that quality level.
00:48:41
Speaker
it's It may not be that... We're talking, we're talking what's custom. It's a custom guitar. Yeah, we're talking three grand Canadian on the bass level and then something. Three to 3,500 or something. Obviously, depending on what yeah what you're going to do with the guitar. We're like Duesenberg's like five, six grand. Yeah.
00:48:58
Speaker
So you've really got... You have a custom guitar. Yeah, a custom. And you can do you can do whatever like we got pinball play fields in there. Yep. So that that was great. And they have some options. So that's ah that's awesome.
00:49:11
Speaker
Go check it out and look at how it I'm so excited. They were able to put our logo in the front board. Yep. And so that looks so good. Looks so good.
00:49:21
Speaker
So just wanted to shout them out because, guys, you're doing it right. It's so cool. And we're going to have them on. Yep. We're definitely going to have them on. We're going talk about the whole process.
00:49:32
Speaker
Yep. ah Last thing on my list. One of my favorite spots when you come to the expo, the nineteen thirty s no flip section there. This is just some of the coolest parts of history that he has kind of been forgotten.
00:49:47
Speaker
Well, that okay, pin ball yeah is from this, where you flipped it. Everybody's had that that cheesy 30 cent thing that they got in their Halloween thing, or you know the the giveaway things. So you pull it up and it goes up and it bounces and it hits pegs or pins, which is why it's called pin ball.
00:50:08
Speaker
And it it definitely was gambling back then. So it's hilarious, but they look so cool made in the, you know, the thirties and forties, they come up, they put in a a quarter or ah sorry, a nickel.
00:50:20
Speaker
Yeah. And you just play it and man, there's some really hard games. Yeah. Like you were playing the, uh, the puzzle game. So you hit it in the right thing and the puzzles go down and the award is okay. If you get them all down, you get an award.
00:50:32
Speaker
I think the award is still there. Yeah. I think they said they've had four people get the award the whole weekend. Yeah. ah Yeah, fantastic. You know, one that I don't have on my notes here that i just thought of before we wrap this up. Predator, what' do you think of Predator? Predator, okay.
00:50:45
Speaker
Predator, if you are a fan of Alien, like theyre their Alien game, it's very similar. yeah Like it feels it feels very similar. it's i mean it's it's it's It's a dark environment.
00:50:57
Speaker
it cases Thematically, it would be it would work well next to Alien if you like the Alien presentation or everything. Now, there are limitations with Arnold or what they can do.
00:51:08
Speaker
um it's It's a wide body, so it feels like a wide body now. It's not going to be super fast. the i The shots are there. Yeah, shots are there. The shots are there and you're going to if that is your passion theme, I think it's solid. I would definitely play it before before you buy it. But it is it is definitely on par with what they did with the alien. So if you like what they did with the alien, then you'll like this. Yeah.
00:51:32
Speaker
and i feel like it is a little bit of a miss but i feel like part of it's not their fault just hearing the story like the license challenge yeah and we can't really talk much about publicly just because they don't want to upset the licensor but uh i just the layout is it is whirlwind it's a wide volume or a win it it just i feel overall like i feel bad because like i can see that they tried I just don't feel like it has met the standard of what we expect out of pinball nowadays.
00:51:58
Speaker
um But overall, I think if you have a predator, you're gonna be happy with it. It does fit the vibe of what the movie is. But overall, yeah. So and they have the chopper. They have the chopper and it does it the blades do spin. Yeah, that's true. All right.
00:52:13
Speaker
I want to just do really quickly. we got a couple minutes left. ah What's been your highlight? I just May one or two highlights. And what's the one or two letdowns?
00:52:24
Speaker
Okay, highlight is Dune. Yes. Like i Dune is actually game. For it's Dune. Winchester for me. Okay. yeah I thought Winchester was fun. Dune, it just feels like you are playing a movie.
00:52:36
Speaker
and And that's really hard to do. yeah The shots are great and the build quality feels so good. So good. So I'd say Barrels of Fun took the show. yeah i would and so If you're looking at that,
00:52:48
Speaker
Things that I thought were were more of a mess um or, you know, I'm just gonna let Whirlaball go. it It just feels like i don't I don't understand what they're trying to accomplish.
00:53:02
Speaker
um things that i thought were were average okay star wars is exactly what you expect the star wars game to be yeah and so if you it feels very good it's very it's fan it's it's a it's a good layout it's it's familiar yeah but the i i thought the art was good and the rules are are solid um i i need more time on that But if you're looking at Harry Potter, so I'm sorry, if you're if I'm going to rank the top three games that that really impressed me once I got my hands on them I would say Dune, Harry Potter, Winchester get that order.
00:53:41
Speaker
I think my my bright spots in this expo, Winchester, Winchester and do I'm packaging them big okay because I'm going to sneak in ah Winchester and Doom definitely up there.
00:53:52
Speaker
Harry Potter definitely up there. Portal. okay or i actually forgot about port is okay you you have the same the same three yeah yeah if you're gonna rank them portal it it was great and again it's the game that my son said hey dad we should get this yeah i think i think portal is people are sleeping on it and they need to get their hands all right it's so good And then, yeah, I agree with you 100%.
00:54:16
Speaker
World of all is a world of is. Yeah. ah so So definitely, if you're interested in the portal. Yeah. um you Okay. Pretty sure they they we they still have a Loser Kid hookup. Yeah.
00:54:27
Speaker
So if youre if you're interested in ordering, contact them. Say Loser Kid sent you, and they'll they'll give you a deal. Yep. um So, yeah, I'd say... Yeah, those are the ones. And now Stern is always solid.
00:54:39
Speaker
Stern is always solid. You kind of know what you're getting. If you're saying that people way hit above their weight class, ah what the expected weight class would be. Barrels of fun. ah Harry Potter was better than I thought it was going to be. yep It really did.
00:54:52
Speaker
yeah And in Coral, you're right. So, yeah. I mean, that that pretty much does it for Pinball Expo. This is the last day we're here. Yeah. um It's been fantastic. the the The hotel is always beautiful.
00:55:04
Speaker
ah They've done a great job. If you haven't been to an expo here in Chicago, it's it's time to put it on your schedule for a nice year. no ah It's definitely worth it. One thing I wanted to point out, if you say this long, we appreciate you.
00:55:18
Speaker
You can head us up on Patreon, hit all that jazz, right? But I hope I heard a new term this weekend, and I've loved it. And I hope that you guys use this term.
00:55:29
Speaker
I hope and we are evangelical pinballists. We are spreading the gospel of pinball. We're preaching the word. Preaching the word. i don't care. so So there's different denominations. There's barrels of fun. There's Stern.
00:55:44
Speaker
There's Harry Potter. There's JJP. But yeah, seriously, i think that's what all it's about. This community is amazing. We love pinball, so we go out and share it, right? That's why we started this. Yeah.
00:55:56
Speaker
Is we felt like there's wonderful bright spots in pinball that we get. to talk about and I hope us going over these notes and everything does that so ah if you want to hit us up we are losing kit pinball podcast at gmail.com that's up on all the socials at loser kid pinball whether it' Facebook YouTube all that jazz we really do recommend you want to talk to us whatever Facebook is the place to go as that's where I'm gonna see the easiest stuff easy we see it fastness yeah that's where we see it fastest but even to talk we're on there as well of What else?
00:56:27
Speaker
Simple, swag.com, loser kid. We've, like you said, people have been buying them. We have shoes, we have shirts, we have, okay, I'm gonna wrap up a little bit right here. Okay, go for it. There's a couple things I wanna talk about that,
00:56:39
Speaker
i I forgot that we have the, so Stern, we didn't even talk about this. You didn't get, okay, I'm i'm gonna i'm going to pull a mulligan here. yeah So Stern, Insider Connected, okay?
00:56:50
Speaker
They are actually starting, it's like going to be adopters are like $79, but $99, you home arcades. ah but ninety nine dollars you can finally do home arcades So that's good. And there's also, we talked to them, there are ways of doing bug fixes and also like insider issues. And so the it's like bug fix at stern.com or something like that.
00:57:15
Speaker
And um sorry, insider connected. yeah And so. Then you got hecklers coming, which too long. i got Yeah. So, so we're going to have an episode where we're going to talk about the new inside of things. Yeah.
00:57:27
Speaker
So, uh, you know, thanks a lot for, Ben Gomez on, uh, uh, as Stern, who does a lot of that stuff and Taylor does a lot of stuff yeah like that. Yep. And, uh, we definitely, if, if you want more stuff on like, give us suggestions, how we can make the Patreon worth worth your money.
00:57:43
Speaker
We appreciate the money because it does help us. ah supplement some of the things that were like this camera we bought the Patreon stuff. Thank you for that. So definitely if there what things do you want us to do yeah to help you out with a Patreon? So we appreciate what you guys do and certainly have a great time with pinball. We had a great time and really if you want doing you should order it.
00:58:05
Speaker
Yep.
00:58:09
Speaker
All right. So it's the first day of Expo. We're kind of just going through the floor right now. I ran to Tanner. We met back in 2022, right? yeah You were right next to us when we did Flipping the Script on Autism. You're like, dude, I want to i want to help out and because you love the kids.
00:58:23
Speaker
Absolutely. And that's what the whole event was about. And speaking of the kids, you got this book. You want to hold that up? Yeah. You tell me about this book. Sure. you want me hold this? Yeah, go for it, man. All right. So I'm going to hold that up like that. There we go. I know. We're so professional around here.
00:58:36
Speaker
ah'm I'm Tanner Walters. I'm a STEM teacher, kindergarten through fifth grade STEM teacher in Minnesota. ah We made this book to get kids involved all the way from, you know, ah one years old all the way to 99. It's a fun, interactive book that gets kids ah understanding how pinball works, flipping a flipper, hitting drop targets, ah just carrying it with them wherever they go. And and and we think pinball.
00:58:56
Speaker
I am a huge advocate. I have it my classroom. Students get to use pinball and make pinball machines in our classroom, and they get to paint it, make ah any sort of play field that they want and just have fun learning ah through STEM.
00:59:09
Speaker
Yeah. Which is awesome, man. Like that's that's really cool that you're doing this. And I don't know if many people know this, but you made like a fully see through pinball machine, right? Yeah. Yeah. you What was the concept? what Like why?
00:59:21
Speaker
Well, there's so much to see through pinball machine like inside of it. The students are like, how does this work? What's inside? And you can't safely show them without, you know, like ah having them get shocked or something. You can't lift up the play field.
00:59:33
Speaker
um So I made it see through so they could see like everything working as it's working um and show the circuitry, the complex ah engineering, the amazing engineering that goes into it. it's amazing that they still work. You know, today you just clean the context and they start right up.
00:59:47
Speaker
um So, ah did that and it's at CanCan Wonderland in Minnesota, if if people want to see it. um we We moved it there to have the whole community be able to engage with it and benefit from it. That's awesome, man. That's awesome. yeah Well, i love always seeing you at these shows. You always do a great, you always put on a great booth.
01:00:05
Speaker
Thank you. Also, one more thing before we before I shut this off. You have a topper out too, right? I do. We're pretty proud of that. Massive dragon topper. It's so cool for Dungeons & Dragons. Thank you. i was just over there playing it.
01:00:17
Speaker
One of the concepts is like you kill the dragon and it like dies. like Everything just on the thing just shuts down. Yeah, it's interactive. It allows like everybody around you to see, like, whoa, you killed killed the dragon. I mean it's a simple little thing, but it it it speaks volumes when you're actually playing it. You're standing next to it. The flames next to this huge dragon, the silhouettes of the warriors. It's very symbolic of the game and the adventure.
01:00:39
Speaker
Yeah, it's been really fun to work on. Yeah, it's awesome, man. Thank you. Thanks for coming. It's always great to see you, man. Thank you. Awesome.