Riot Pinball is excited to announce its newest pinball concept – Dead Man’s Hand!

Dead Man’s Hand is a table top, all mechanical, “bingo” style pinball table. It offers convenience and portability for those wanting a new pinball experience without compromising on where to play or giving up precious game room space. The game can be easily stored in a variety of locations or hang on the wall as a piece of art while offering easy access.

The game challenges a wide range of players as they attempt to make the best poker hand possible. Beginners and advanced players alike can compete against one another in this game of finesse and nudging skill; but watch out – don’t get the Dead Man’s Hand! A wide range of alternative games can also be played such as highest single card with one plunge, first person to get the joker, etc.

The design also offers a range of difficulty settings that you can choose before you start playing. The tilt mechanism is a simple, yet effective solution that relies on a pinball held in place by different hole sizes. Change the placement of the ball to change the tilt sensitivity. Nudge the game too much and the ball will fall out of place and you are stuck with the hand you have at the time of the tilt. The game also offers a “Dead Man’s Hand” hole. Depending on the difficulty level, dropping a ball into this hole will either end the game (similar to tilting) or it will just hold the ball and now the best hand must be made with 4 balls.

Riot Pinball will be showcasing Dead Man’s Hand in the Cointaker Booth at the 2017 Chicago Pinball Expo. We will be having a free tournament for all to play starting Friday from 6:00pm to 7:00pm and ending on Saturday from 4:00pm to 5:00pm.* The individual with the best poker hand after the two days will win a gift certificate for product from Cointaker (with runner up prizes as well).** Additionally, free “Dead Man’s Hand” poker chips will be given away to all those who beat the current best hand at the time.*** Play as many times as you like, however you must return to the back of the line after every play.

I look forward to seeing everyone at EXPO.

Scott Gullicks
[email protected]

* Times may be subject to change. Check in with the Cointaker booth at EXPO for final timing.
** Do not need to be present to win, but must pick up prize with Cointaker before end of EXPO.
*** While supplies last.
Game Specifications: Width: 19.75”, Height: 7.75”, Length: 45.0”

Special Thanks:
Greg Butcher – CNC prototyping playfield and cabinet
Joe Kace (laseriffic.com) – Laser cutting plastics
Justin Stearns – Providing the artwork for the side of the game

Ps. Yes, Riot Pinball realizes the irony of having a game called Dead Man’s Hand but not having any 8’s on the table to make the famous Aces and Eights hand. So all the smarty pants out there do not need to feel compelled to post about it.

Photos of the prototype game
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Artwork Closeups
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Poker Chip Give Away
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Glad to see the excitement being posted. For those expecting to see a reveal of a full size, electro-mechanical pinball machine you may want to temper your expectations. I don't think I could have kept a project of that scale secret. I'll be posting news and information later today. As always, thank you for your support!

-Scott
[email protected]

Poker chips will be given away for new high poker hands during the tournament. See first post for details.

Sorry, just Friday and Saturday. See first post for details.

I found it funny/interesting how much damn fun a game like this is with a good group of people. Whether my 2 year old is playing, or an expert pinhead, the game play is all on an even playing field and everyone has a good time.

This game is probably about as reliable as it can get. The plunger is the only moving piece. I went with the KISS rule on this one...

Not yet. My intent is to use EXPO as a method to find out how well people receive the idea. If there is enough interest I'll pursue manufacturing a few. The nice thing is there is no tooling or overhead so there should be opportunity to make as small or large of a run as needed.

Lol. Well, there are no inserts so there should be no ghosting...

Yes, you have to pull the balls out on your own. You can do it without a tool. I will have an old plastic six shooter with a magnet in the end of it with me at EXPO to retrieve the balls for people though.

Its similar but slightly different. Standard 1 1/16" pinballs.

This is a great question. The short answer is there are no magnets. The balls will be best stored underneath/behind the game when being hung on a wall. If/when this game goes into production I would like to be able to offer the possibility of a wall mount kit that would include everything you need to keep all the accessories with the game.

Yes! Exactly. I ran out of room in my basement/game room long ago...

Still working through the numbers and understanding interest level. Honestly I wasn't sure how excited this community would be over something like this, but so far I'm happily surprised with how well it is being received. Hopefully I can move this into production in the near future.

Hi everyone! Just a reminder to stop by the Cointaker booth from 6pm to 7pm tonight to try your luck on the Dead Man's Hand. Highest hand of the weekend wins a gift certificate from Cointaker. Current best hand is an ace high straight!

Thank you to all that stopped by and played Dead Man's Hand! It was fantastic to see everyone play the game and watch how excited they got playing. For a simple, straight-forward game it really is fun when playing with a couple of people.

Congratulations to Brad Baker who had the highest hand of the weekend with a full house, Queen's over Ten's!

The game was very well received and Riot Pinball is working hard to get this to production sooner than later. We are currently working on understanding pricing but should have that information available soon.

If anyone is interested in more information or would like to be put on an "interested" list please feel free to email me at [email protected] Also, I have a few poker chips left over; include your address in the email and I'll mail them until they run out.

Thanks again to those that stopped by to hang out and play my game!

-Scott

One of the great things about Dead Man's Hand is that you can make your own rules! For the highest hand competition I was running, we played the Dead Man's Hand hole exactly as you described, as a "null" card that forced players to then make the best 5 card poker hand out of four cards. You could very easily mix it up though and play it similar to a tilt in that once you get the Dead Man's Hand hole you gotta take your hand at the time.

Thanks to everyone who requested a poker chip. I've sent emails to those that contacted me before I ran out of them.

If anyone is still interested in being put on the interested/information list please feel free to continue to email me.

[email protected]

Not yet. We'll work on getting something together.

For those unfamiliar with how a bingo playfield plays, here are some videos of original bingo games and how the ball plays:

Ask and you shall receive - Brad is one of the most responsive guys I know. Here's a quick video of Dead Man's Hand:

https://www.facebook.com/VirtualPinballMachines/videos/1973300869352613/

Still less expensive than an un-populated replacement playfield for a typical pinball machine!

Thanks everyone! It's been a great project and fantastic working with VPCabs. Brad's capability and resources are fantastic and the final craftsmanship of his team's work is amazing. Much better than me making these out of my basement.

Limited edition wood laser etched plaques have all been made! What number will you pick?!

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