This feed contains the most recent stories, machine stories and other content posted on Pinside.com See http://pinside.com/pinball/help/how-do-news-feeds-work for more info about all our news feeds. http://pinside.com/pinball// Copyright 2010 Pinside.com http://pinside.com/pinball/blog/fun-facts http://pinside.com/pinball/blog/fun-facts http://pinside.com/pinball/blog/fun-facts#comments blog Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:47:51 GMT As our pinball forum is getting busier each day, some people step forward with excellent ideas. One of these plans found its way to both the Pinside homepage and the archive page today! I'm talking about drbond's idea to show fun facts containing little trivia and cool stuff that you probably didn't know about a game.  Well, we decided that it would be best to build this feature on top of the existing information in our archive, for example here's Twilight Zone's details page. We are pulling the trivia directly from the "comments" section of each machine. But not all comments are as interesting to ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/fdjp611/stories/new-to-collecting http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/fdjp611/stories/new-to-collecting http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/fdjp611/stories/new-to-collecting#comments my-pinside Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:45:51 GMT I just started collecting machines. I have a finished basement themed in the Dallas Cowboys. Naturally I needed a Dallas Cowboys machine no matter how good or bad the game was. Being of Italian decent I also needed an Italian themed game which turned out to be The Sopranos. Finally, I had room for one more game and decided on Monster Bash over Lord of the Rings based on ratings and how it would be more fun for all ages over Lord of the Rings. ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/okidokipvd/stories/in-the-beginning http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/okidokipvd/stories/in-the-beginning http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/okidokipvd/stories/in-the-beginning#comments my-pinside Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:55:33 GMT Honestly, I got into pinball pretty late in the game. Never really understood it much and why people were so into it. I remember back in the 80s as a small child I would drag my dad to the arcade every time we stepped foot into the mall. I would head straight for Star Wars (remember the old vector atari one? What am I saying of course you do). My dad however, would head straight for the back. Where they kept a line of pinball tables. Granted in those days I was barely tall enough to play one but it ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/ianwho/stories/my-path-to-pinball http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/ianwho/stories/my-path-to-pinball http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/ianwho/stories/my-path-to-pinball#comments my-pinside Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:13:12 GMT When I was in the fifth grade my mom moved my family to Santa Cruz CA. I literally lived directly across the street from the Boardwalk. This was in the big days of the DMD. The toys, the lights, the ramps, the sounds everything about there rows and rows of pinball machines drew me in. I would stand and watch guys who were particularly good and be enthralled at all of the machines intricate features. They would some times get annoyed with me hovering around and give me tokens to go away. When I would play I wasn't the best, which lead me to play ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/maldoror/stories/6-months-in http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/maldoror/stories/6-months-in http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/maldoror/stories/6-months-in#comments my-pinside Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:00:20 GMT Around 6 months ago I took the plunge into collecting and fixing pinball machines. What a super crazy 6 months it's been, this is the story of the begining for me. I had always loved pinball, since I was a kid in the 80s during the arcade boom, it was hard not to love pinball and of course arcade games. It was the early 90's that really solidified my lifelong love for playing pinball, with good reason as the 90's produced the greatest pins of all time. I was just a poor kid at that time though and could never have ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/drbond/stories/my-pinball-journey http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/drbond/stories/my-pinball-journey http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/drbond/stories/my-pinball-journey#comments my-pinside Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:02:16 GMT Many years ago I can remember having dad drop off my brother and I at the local "Keystone Arcade" in the late 80's. Every weekend, we were given a few bucks and would stroll the arcade to see the latest and the greatest video games. In the back of the arcade was pinball alley. The newest games would be brought in. I didn't think much of them at the time. I had heard of EM machines my dad played as a youth. The state of the art by this time was solid-state. I stepped up to the latest game in ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/lclark0921/stories/how-i-fell-in-love-with-pinball http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/lclark0921/stories/how-i-fell-in-love-with-pinball http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/lclark0921/stories/how-i-fell-in-love-with-pinball#comments my-pinside Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:30:28 GMT The first machine I remember playing was a Gorgar at my local bowling alley, probably around 1980 or '81. I was 13 and was mesmerized by the cool sound effects, especially the ever increasing bassy heartbeat and Gorgar's low,ominous sounding voice. I dropped a quarter in, and was immediately hooked. I spent many summer afternoons and evenings playing, and so began my life-long adoration of these insanely fun, incredibly challenging amusement machines. I don't own a real machine yet, but I spend a fair amount of time playing astoundingly well done virtual versions of many of my favorites on my ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/tehcox/stories/tehcox-pinball-intro http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/tehcox/stories/tehcox-pinball-intro http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/tehcox/stories/tehcox-pinball-intro#comments my-pinside Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:59:59 GMT Fairly new to the Pinball Collecting Scene.  Have been a casual player most of my life, but recently have gotten the bug and want to own some machines for my home and the enjoyment of my Family and Friends. ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/articles/my-saturday-at-the-pacific-pinball-museum-and-why-i-need-a-new-car http://pinside.com/pinball/community/articles/my-saturday-at-the-pacific-pinball-museum-and-why-i-need-a-new-car http://pinside.com/pinball/community/articles/my-saturday-at-the-pacific-pinball-museum-and-why-i-need-a-new-car#comments community Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:49:35 GMT So this past saturday I had plans to go to a rave with a friend of mine. we realised we had nothing to do all day. Since the rave didn't start until 10PM I decided to look and see if there was anything to do near there. I quickly realized that the rave was no more than three miles from the Pacific Pinball Museum! I was so excited that i could finally show my friend why i love pinball so much. so that morning we set off on a trip to a museum(not something you would expect two teenagers to do on ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/alfadogmusic/stories/my-background http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/alfadogmusic/stories/my-background http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/alfadogmusic/stories/my-background#comments my-pinside Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:58:30 GMT I'm a Music Producer and Recording Engineer, who has worked professionally in the industry for the past 25 years. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, in 1988, with a Music Production & Engineering Degree, I took an Engineering position at the world famous Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. While at Sigma, I had the opportunity to work with, and learn from, some of the top Producers, Engineers, and Artists in the music industry. In 2006, I took the plunge and finally built my own Recording Studio, as technology dropped to a price point where competing with the multi-million dollar studios had finally become a reality. As far as ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/articles/gambling-and-pinball-part-three-slots http://pinside.com/pinball/community/articles/gambling-and-pinball-part-three-slots http://pinside.com/pinball/community/articles/gambling-and-pinball-part-three-slots#comments community Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:00:17 GMT Anyone who's ever been to the Vegas strip knows it's not easy winning on slots. In pinball that's really not different, although modern games will do their best to give you just the award you need. But let's not go ahead of this story and start at the beginning of this part three of our series in "Gambling and pinball". In our previous story we looked at poker and pinball and in part one we had an overview of games featuring roulette wheels. All good and well, but we saved the best for last: what about a fully working slot machine in a pinball game? But is it not with mixed feelings that I look at ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/sealclubber/stories/my-pinball-epic http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/sealclubber/stories/my-pinball-epic http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/sealclubber/stories/my-pinball-epic#comments my-pinside Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:34:55 GMT I have been playing pinball off and on since I was very young.  The first pin I remember playing was a Joker Poker EM imy uncle had in his basement bar/gameroom.  I must have been 6 or 7 and hogged that machine when I was over at his house.  Unfortunately he sold that a couple of years ago while I was overseas. My father was also a big pinballer.  Whenever it was his turn to watch me he would take me to the arcade.  I would bounce between Seawolf,Donkey Kong and others while he played pins.  When "my money" ran out, ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/bigjoe/stories/new-to-the-hobby http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/bigjoe/stories/new-to-the-hobby http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/bigjoe/stories/new-to-the-hobby#comments my-pinside Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:30:54 GMT Well what can i say. I recently started playing pinball and the local pool hall and instantly fell in love with it. I am 18 and though I do not yet own a table yet i hope to soon. My favorite table I have played so far is Cirqus Voltaire. ... http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/world-cup-soccer/stories/wcs-is-one-of-the-best http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/world-cup-soccer/stories/wcs-is-one-of-the-best http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/world-cup-soccer/stories/wcs-is-one-of-the-best#comments archive Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:26:43 GMT Here's my story: I've been collecting pinball machines for about 3 years now, and I don't have a large house. So, I've been restricted to having only one machine...and it sits in the dinning room, lol! Having a one pinball household, and a very low attention span, has meant that the machines don’t last very long here. I've had PB, JM, TZ, JD, Diner, BSD, Shadow, HS, and a few others in the coveted spot, but none have had the staying power required to be permanent residents. Then I picked up a WCS94. Wow, what a great game! Actually, it’s the perfect pinball machine. Its fast, ... http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/world-poker-tour/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-v http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/world-poker-tour/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-v http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/world-poker-tour/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-v#comments archive Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:43:12 GMT I went to the Fun Factory in Waikiki to play the pins they have there.  First off, parking is expensive down there.  $6/hour was the best I found near the arcade.  This store has a Lord of the Rings and a World Poker Tour.  Since I own LOTR I played WPT first. Let’s talk about the artwork.  This has to be one of the worst backglasses I’ve seen.  I don’t watch Poker on TV so I don’t know if the 3 people are celebrities of whatnot but even if they are, the artwork is not that good.  Someone should make a backglass mod for this machine.  The classic dogs ... http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/elvis/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-iv http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/elvis/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-iv http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/elvis/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-iv#comments archive Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:28:14 GMT I did a search and it turns out there are eight Fun Factories on Oahu.  Only three of them have pins though; Mililani, Kapolei and Waikiki.  I went to the Kapolei store in the South West part of the island since I didn’t feel like trying to find my way around Honolulu in the dark.  This store is right off of the H1 next to Safeway.  In the back of the room was Elvis.  The cabinet artwork was good and the translight has multiple pictures of the king in all his high necked jumpsuit glory.  The playfield itself didn’t have a lot of artwork on it.  ... http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/novarcade/stories/pinball-youngin http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/novarcade/stories/pinball-youngin http://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/novarcade/stories/pinball-youngin#comments my-pinside Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:28:42 GMT I'm fairly young to be in the pinball hobby (mid 20's).  But I've been fascinated with the subject for many years.   When I couldn't put some quarters in at the local arcade, I spent many hours playing numerous video renditions, sonic spinball, even Galactic Pinbal for the iill fated Virtual Boy. I started collecting arcade cabinets about 6 years ago.  Had a bunch of classics Tempest, Centipede, Outrun etc.. as well as modern 90's stuff like Neo Geo, Capcom CPS2 etc...  Sold all my classic cabs about 2 years ago in favor of the japanese style "candy" cabs.  Pinball ... http://pinside.com/pinball/blog/machines-now-need-8-ratings-to-enter-the-top-100 http://pinside.com/pinball/blog/machines-now-need-8-ratings-to-enter-the-top-100 http://pinside.com/pinball/blog/machines-now-need-8-ratings-to-enter-the-top-100#comments blog Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:15:40 GMT I did a bit of poking around in our ratings database tonight, and concluded that I can increase the number of ratings required for a machine to appear in the top 100 to a minimum of 8 ratings. This means that a game will now need 8 approved ratings before it is eligible for our Top 100. The number was previously set to a value of 6 minimum votes beause we simpy didn't have enough ratings. With our current ratings count of 13,225 approved ratings, this is no longer the case and the number can be upped to 8 minimum ... http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/nascar/stories/hawaiian-pinball-quest-part-iii http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/nascar/stories/hawaiian-pinball-quest-part-iii http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/nascar/stories/hawaiian-pinball-quest-part-iii#comments archive Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:24:41 GMT After snorkling the wife and I decide to do some shopping before dinner.  We heard of a good Italian restaurant in Mililani (North Central Oahu) called Assagios in a nice shopping center so we headed on over.  While walking around my wife noticed an arcade called Fun Factory next to the movie theater.  GO WIFE!  I poked my head in and sure enough, they had two pins, NASCAR and High Roller Casino.  I told the wife to come get me when she was finished shopping.  I'm so nice.  This place uses gift cards you can recharge to pay for the games.  Pretty cool idea I think.  Now parents can make ... http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/viper-night-drivin/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-ii http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/viper-night-drivin/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-ii http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/viper-night-drivin/stories/hawaii-pinball-quest-part-ii#comments archive Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:56:13 GMT After finding that horribly neglected Starship Troopers I resolved to find more pins on Oahu.  I started thinking of places where pins might be hiding out.  I was looking in all the bars I passed with no luck.  Then it occurred to me, bowling alleys might have some.  I got out the phone book and started dialing all the alleys on Oahu.  None of them had any pinball.  One girl who answered the phone even had to ask her manager if they had any pinball machines.  I could hear from the tone of her voice that she had no idea what a pinball machine was.  <sigh>  Finally, I decided to call the ...