Flint, MI
I cannot recall the first pinball machine I have ever played, but the earliest experience was in my late teens at a local arcade.
It was a night where you pay one price and all games were set on free play. This was in the mid 90s and at the time, fighting games were huge! This arcade would have tournaments going on for the latest Street Fighter game and so all the traffic and interest was focused there. While waiting for my turn, I would go to the pinball machines and I started playing Safecracker. This pin was a little different than the rest because it hand a boardgame style gimmick, and if you play through it, you could win some kind of medalleon. I got so caught up into getting that medalleon, that I ended up skipping my turn and walked away from the tournament. I played that pin the entire time I was there. Getting better with each game I played, I was getting closer to that prize. During my best game, something happend that messed up the pin. Can't remember if it shut down, or the ball got stuck or what, but I felt hopeless because I was so close to that medalleon. I went to the manager and ask if he can look at it and within minutes he had it running again. For my trouble and without me asking, he reached in the coin door and gave my one of the collectable medalleons! At the time, I couldn't be happier getting what I tried over and over to get. But in hindsight, I really didn't earn that medalleon :-( Regardless, it was a good time.
This past year, I recently got back into playing pinball again. It started watching the documentary "Special When Lit" on Netflix. Great doc, which briefly explains a little of the history of pinball, as well as the rise and fall of it. It also featured some legendary designers and players. After watching it, I just had a urge to play pinball again. First thing I notice is that it isn't that easy to just go somewhere to find a pinball machine to play on. I did a search on Google, and notice by coinencidence that there was a Pinball Expo at the Oakland University here in Michigan, just 4 days after watching SWL. Me and my buddy went to the expo and spent 6 hours just playing all these different pinball machines. Afterwards, I just got the bug of wanting to keep playing.
Just in 4 months, I have been to 3 expos and a museum at Asury Park, NJ. I constantly am scouting different areas, just to play and the pinball locator on this site has been a huge help.
It has been fun recapturing my love for pinball and I am happy to see it is making a little bit of a comeback.
