Yesterday, I was driving home from the Outer Banks of North Carolina and had to stop at Flippers Arcade in Grandy, NC. The last several months I have been spending a lot of my free time watching YouTube videos of pinball machines. I couldn't stand it any longer and decided to mask up and stop in Flippers to see what I could play.

I was impressed with their collection of pinball machines. For $5 I played their "pinball museum" for an hour. It was a blast.

Here are the games I played and my newbie impressions of them.

Addams Family - I played it once. It was a very quick game. If I remember correctly, I drained a couple balls on the left side and one down the middle. I hardly was able to do anything before my 3 balls were gone.

Black Knight 2000 - Easily my favorite game that I played there. Love, love, love the music. The game is beautiful. Love the flashing lights and the music. I enjoyed the game play. I have been watching how it plays on YouTube and I was able to get the gate thing down, but never got more than 1 ball across the bridge and locked. I was able to lock some balls several times on the lower play field and got multi-ball a few times. I was able to use the magna save once, which was cool. I really like the game and I thought it was challenging. Its a beautiful machine. One of the rubber band things on the left side of the lower play field was broken on this particular machine. I could see owning this one. It's an impressive machine, beautiful, flashy, and such a great song. I played 3 or 4 games on it.

Black Knight Sword of Rage - Pro - I really enjoyed this machine too. I wish it had the upper play field, but I had a great time on this machine. I played 3 or 4 games on it. I was entertained. Fun music and call outs from the Black Knight. The ramp things that I was able to hit were smooth and fun. The Black Knight guy was fun to bash. I locked 2 balls behind the shield thing. I didn't get very far into the game. I think I fought the Hydra. I can't remember if I got a multi-ball, but I might have. I dig the Black Knight theme and wanted to keep playing the game, but made myself try some other machines. I wish the magna save was on the side by the flipper button.

The Beatles - I liked this machine. I only played it once. I wasn't able to quite figure out what I had to do to progress into other modes. I enjoyed the music, but had trouble hearing the songs well because the Black Knight was still playing behind me. haha. The layout of the machine was very different and it took me a while to get the hang of the top 2 flippers. The magnet thing at the top of the play field was neat, but I couldn't figure out what made it come on and stop my ball and drop it. I liked how the game was bright and of course the Beatles music was nice.

Medieval Madness - I liked it. I think I only played it once or twice. I don't know if all the machines are like this one, but it was really dark and I felt it needed more lighting on the play field. Maybe this machine had a problem? It was fun. I hit the castle a bunch and eventually the trolls popped up. For some reason I couldn't hit the trolls and they eventually went back down. The machine had Monty Python type people talking to me, at least that's what it reminded me of.

Monster Bash - I liked this one too. I had difficulty hearing the sounds and music. I couldn't figure out how to progress in this game. I think I got the creature from the black lagoon sign illimunated up to the 3rd light. It seemed really smooth to play. The Black Night was calling me again. I want to play this game some more.

Whirlwind - I liked it. The fan topper wasn't working. A few times the game acted like the wind was blowing, but the topper fan didn't come on. I got balls into those hatches on the play field. I hit the ramp a few times. I couldn't quite figure out what I had to do in this game. I enjoyed it a lot. Again, Black Knight 2000 was calling me. I want to play this game some more.

I am looking forward to returning to Flippers in the future. I want to play Stranger Things, The Wizard of Oz, Batman 66, Lord of the Rings. They had so many machines and I was the only person playing them.

Is something wrong with me for liking Black Knight 2000 and Black Knight Sword of Rage Pro so much? haha

sataneatscheese - Thanks for the tips about where to play. I had heard about the MOM supermarket and some place in Frederick that had pinball machines. I'll have to check all of these places out. In theory, I could make a side-stop by MOMs on my drive home from work in the evenings. I work in DC.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the money to purchase any of the games I want. I have the money to buy them, but mentally I can't justify buying a pinball machine for what I would spend on a used automobile. haha. I think I'll have to get something old or not popular. Electro Mechanical games don't interest me. Some classic Stern solid state might be as old as I could go. So I'm open for suggestions and if anyone in the DC/Baltimore area is wanting to sell something, I would be open to thinking about it.

Dang, I want to play all of these games again. haha