Fenton, MO
I love what you are doing. Wish I was closer so I could visit.
We all know that one post Pinside review was as bogus as it gets.
(Topic ID: 305291)
Quoted from pins4u:Nah - they only want pinball machines with Insider Trading - I feel that idea is limiting the appeal to a wider audience BUT it's their playground/their rules!
Those are just the ones we started with. The overall plan was to mix things up with other machines as well. Possibly with Scorbit installed on some of them?
The main idea was not just to be another pinball place.
These three will be joining the lineup by the end of the month…
F1C7DABD-03A7-41F6-B464-AA0CA8F4C290 (resized).jpegQuoted from pins4u:Nah - they only want pinball machines with Insider Trading - I feel that idea is limiting the appeal to a wider audience BUT it's their playground/their rules!
Actually, as data guys coming from the esports world we just want data period. Insider Connected was first step, now talking to Jay at Scorbit and looking at what we can do with other machines as well. We want to have private groups show up on a Thursday and track their scores or other fun data points in the game while they are there so we can have prizes and leaders just for that 3-4 hour event.
And... we love pinball. So we want to play pinball with everyone but we also want to help everyone track what they are doing while they play. Even if they are not top 1% at scoring, we like that over time they can gather enough "lifetime loops" to feel like they are part of the community and enjoy that machine with others.
Gaborone
Quoted from BoZack:Actually, as data guys coming from the esports world we just want data period. Insider Connected was first step, now talking to Jay at Scorbit and looking at what we can do with other machines as well. We want to have private groups show up on a Thursday and track their scores or other fun data points in the game while they are there so we can have prizes and leaders just for that 3-4 hour event.
And... we love pinball. So we want to play pinball with everyone but we also want to help everyone track what they are doing while they play. Even if they are not top 1% at scoring, we like that over time they can gather enough "lifetime loops" to feel like they are part of the community and enjoy that machine with others.
That's all great but please don't lose sight of the fact that there are MANY players that are simply not interested in 'competing' and play pinball purely for FUN!
Keeping track of scores etc, to many casual players, simply isn't on their radar.
Quoted from pins4u:That's all great but please don't lose sight of the fact that there are MANY players that are simply not interested in 'competing' and play pinball purely for FUN!
Keeping track of scores etc, to many casual players, simply isn't on their radar.
Yep, most folks so far during our soft opening weeks have just enjoyed playing. We do not push the leaderboards, they are there for those who enjoy that extra level of engagement but not required.
But keeping track of their own scores is actually more fun we have found in our esports world if you allow them to put the scores in perspective of their location. Looking at your global rank in League of Legends is depressing, but seeing how you rank in just a small local market, combined with dividing the rankings up by age or even smaller local groups by areas of town, gives the player a sense of where they stand. I think players will care about that with pinball as well.
The worst thing with pinball in my opinion is that casual folks play a game, finish the game and kind of want to know how they did compared to the general population. But all they get to see is these giant scores of the grand champions or other huge scores for other modes in the machine.
So what if they know how they did that day compared to other players, or that week, or in their age group, or even just how their own score of THAT game stacks up to their own scores the previous 15 games they have played.
Just looking at games like Candy Crush, they allow players to grind through levels and feel like they are accomplishing something. If we can do that with pinball I think we will get a lot more repeat weekly or monthly from casual folks who only go once a year.
But in the end, food/beverage is the ticket. Most of us know that is where the money is at for paying the rent and payroll. If it is bowling, axe throwing, esports, ping pong, pool or pinball those things are the side show or theme, the cash rolls through the stomachs of the customers.
Quoted from oldbaby:This is a good poster to hang, maybe.
[quoted image]
group play should say "pay attention to which player's up" because extra balls interrupt the players alternate after each drain (as does ball save).
"Same Game, Different Rules - Each pinball machine plays differently, but adhere to the same general rules" - do they have different rules or same rules? lock 3 balls for multiball?
"Flashing Lights" plenty of pinball machines indicate valuable targets with solid lights. There's also the issue of players not recognizing that, for example, an lit arrow insert pointing to the orbit means to shoot the orbit - the arrow is along the playfield after all.
anyways, that poster has way too much information on it.
1 week later
I really hope the score tracking works very well for your location. My experiance is people know how well they are doing according to the leaderboard on the actual pin. Goal is to get your initials on that specific game. If at your friends, even better so they can see your initials everytime. I seriously doubt many people care about their scores beyond the one machine they are playing. Once again, good luck and wish you much success.
2 weeks later
Quoted from RyanStl:I love what you are doing. Wish I was closer so I could visit.
We all know that one post Pinside review was as bogus as it gets.
Lol a bogus review? I wrote an honest option about my experience. I look forward to going back, I just shed some light on issues I saw.
I've been going every week. Worth the drive from Bloomington. It's nice being able to go sooner than typical bar hours. So many games!
Quoted from greenhoody:I've been going every week. Worth the drive from Bloomington. It's nice being able to go sooner than typical bar hours. So many games!
We love having you come visit! Should be getting Hobbit and Pirates today from JJP, but Hobbit is going to come to my house for a bit. 
Ultraman is shipping to us soon and lining up another 4-5 to source with Zach from Flip N Out in the next few weeks.
Still working on an extension of our partnership with the mall to install a kitchen so we can do some pizza/paninis and then get a beer/wine license. We are also going to poke a couple holes in the wall so we can expand to some unused space attached to the bank.
Goal now is to have all current Stern, CGC, JJP, AP and Spooky pins by the end of this year.
1 month later
Was able to make this part of my work trip this weekend (drove Evansville to Terre Haute “on my way” to Effingham), and got to play for about two hours.
Great space! I made the mistake of parking on the opposite side of the mall and walking through the whole thing to get there (which was kind of a depressing walk if I’m being honest about the mall). The bank itself is really cool, and it seems like you guys are doing the best you could do with the layout of the machines. Shame that the main counter is mostly hidden behind a bank of machines, but having 6 more crammed in there is probably worth the trade-off.
There were probably 7 or 8 other folks there the whole time I was there, but plenty of space to get around and never had to wait on a machine for long if I wanted to play it. Everyone there seemed to be having a really good time. All ages.
Was great to play a handful of titles I hadn’t had a chance to play yet (GNR, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Godzilla Premium). Machines all looked and played nice and clean. Rubbers on the GNR flippers were looking pretty rough, but that’s the only thing I think I noticed that might have needed attention from a parts/functionality perspective. Also appreciated that the volume on everything was high enough to hear as the player! Love that. Makes a huge difference.
Both LZ and Rush were leaning really hard to the right, Rush especially so. I ended up leaving a couple credits on Rush because it was impacting the play so much. Also noticed the Insider Connected wasn’t enabled on that machine, even though it was enabled on a few others (EHOH, Godzilla). Thought that was odd.
All that said, had a good time! Everything (even the Jersey Jack games) being 3 for $2 is great! I go to Effingham for work somewhat regularly, and definitely think it’s worth the hour drive there and back. Will probably try to head back at least one more time this weekend to play some more.
Quoted from JStoltz:Was able to make this part of my work trip this weekend (drove Evansville to Terre Haute “on my way” to Effingham), and got to play for about two hours.
Great space! I made the mistake of parking on the opposite side of the mall and walking through the whole thing to get there (which was kind of a depressing walk if I’m being honest about the mall). The bank itself is really cool, and it seems like you guys are doing the best you could do with the layout of the machines. Shame that the main counter is mostly hidden behind a bank of machines, but having 6 more crammed in there is probably worth the trade-off.
There were probably 7 or 8 other folks there the whole time I was there, but plenty of space to get around and never had to wait on a machine for long if I wanted to play it. Everyone there seemed to be having a really good time. All ages.
Was great to play a handful of titles I hadn’t had a chance to play yet (GNR, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Godzilla Premium). Machines all looked and played nice and clean. Rubbers on the GNR flippers were looking pretty rough, but that’s the only thing I think I noticed that might have needed attention from a parts/functionality perspective. Also appreciated that the volume on everything was high enough to hear as the player! Love that. Makes a huge difference.
Both LZ and Rush were leaning really hard to the right, Rush especially so. I ended up leaving a couple credits on Rush because it was impacting the play so much. Also noticed the Insider Connected wasn’t enabled on that machine, even though it was enabled on a few others (EHOH, Godzilla). Thought that was odd.
All that said, had a good time! Everything (even the Jersey Jack games) being 3 for $2 is great! I go to Effingham for work somewhat regularly, and definitely think it’s worth the hour drive there and back. Will probably try to head back at least one more time this weekend to play some more.
Rush was…setup in a rush. It literally was unboxed the evening before and the employees that legged it up ran out of time setting it up. It wasn’t supposed to be turned on until I looked at it today as the box was roughed up during shipping and there is some cosmetic damage to the machine that we could see while it was still in the box.
I wasn’t able to be there when they unboxed it and I haven’t had time to get to it until later this morning. It’ll be right later today.
I’ll also check LZ while I’m there. It was level when I set it up so I’m not sure what happened if it’s leaning now.
We are going to be moving those machines by the counter into a space around the corner soon so the bank will be expanding its footprint a bit. More on that later.
Quoted from Niterider:Rush was…setup in a rush. It literally was unboxed the evening before and the employees that legged it up ran out of time setting it up. It wasn’t supposed to be turned on until I looked at it today as the box was roughed up during shipping and there is some cosmetic damage to the machine that we could see while it was still in the box.
I wasn’t able to be there when they unboxed it and I haven’t had time to get to it until later this morning. It’ll be right later today.
I’ll also check LZ while I’m there. It was level when I set it up so I’m not sure what happened if it’s leaning now.
We are going to be moving those machines by the counter into a space around the corner soon so the bank will be expanding its footprint a bit. More on that later.
No worries! I had a great time there, looking forward to going back. Just figured I’d provide what little feedback I had here, since I didn’t see anyone around other than the younger guy working the counter.
One other thought; I got there and had forgotten my debit card at home (2 hours away) and asked if it was possible to charge $20 or so to my credit card at the counter in exchange for $20 cash to stuff in the ATM (I’ve done this at other arcades before). The guy working said you guys couldn’t/don’t do that— might be something to consider offering if the fees don’t make it cost prohibitive.
I got lucky and found out I could run my credit card through the ATM in the food court for like a $7 ATM fee (worth it since it would have been a bust of a trip for me otherwise), but would have been nice to be able to do that type of transaction at the counter.
I’m no business owner though so that may not be viable, just a thought.
Quoted from JStoltz:No worries! I had a great time there, looking forward to going back. Just figured I’d provide what little feedback I had here, since I didn’t see anyone around other than the younger guy working the counter.
One other thought; I got there and had forgotten my debit card at home (2 hours away) and asked if it was possible to charge $20 or so to my credit card at the counter in exchange for $20 cash to stuff in the ATM (I’ve done this at other arcades before). The guy working said you guys couldn’t/don’t do that— might be something to consider offering if the fees don’t make it cost prohibitive.
I got lucky and found out I could run my credit card through the ATM in the food court for like a $7 ATM fee (worth it since it would have been a bust of a trip for me otherwise), but would have been nice to be able to do that type of transaction at the counter.
I’m no business owner though so that may not be viable, just a thought.
And thank you for letting us know what issues you found. I've already leveled Rush (it actually was leaning to the right a little) and I have it connected to Insider now. I gave it a few plays, backed the flipper power down as, damm, it was SLINGING those balls! Default flipper power was set to "Hard"? Yikes. I can see why that slot scoop is getting wrecked on other machines. (I can kinda see a little bit on ours already) Hopefully, backing down the flipper power helps that. It actually seems to play a bit better with the flippers dialed down to "Soft" now. The flippers still had enough juice to send the ball up the side rail of the time machine ramp and launch the ball OVER the time machine. Oof.
Now to get Rush updated....ugh, a 10 GB update??
As for getting cash from the counter, did our ATM not work with your credit card? We have an ATM in the vault next to the change machine, and we have the fee set to $2.
Quoted from Niterider:And thank you for letting us know what issues you found. I've already leveled Rush (it actually was leaning to the right a little) and I have it connected to Insider now. I gave it a few plays, backed the flipper power down as, damm, it was SLINGING those balls! Default flipper power was set to "Hard"? Yikes. I can see why that slot scoop is getting wrecked on other machines. (I can kinda see a little bit on ours already) Hopefully, backing down the flipper power helps that. It actually seems to play a bit better with the flippers dialed down to "Soft" now. The flippers still had enough juice to send the ball up the side rail of the time machine ramp and launch the ball OVER the time machine. Oof.
Now to get Rush updated....ugh, a 10 GB update??
As for getting cash from the counter, did our ATM not work with your credit card? We have an ATM in the vault next to the change machine, and we have the fee set to $2.
Yeah, flippers and slings were CRANKING on Rush; that was wild.
I actually didn't have the thought to try an ATM with the credit card until I was across the mall (having never done that before). It was kind of a last ditch attempt to get some cash from somewhere before I admitted defeat and left. If your ATM has the same features and only a $2 fee, that's great. You might just want to let your employees know to suggest that (if anybody asks to use a credit card at the counter in exchange for cash/quarters). When I asked the guy working about the credit card thing he kind of looked at me like I had a hole in my head, haha.
Quoted from JStoltz:Yeah, flippers and slings were CRANKING on Rush; that was wild.
I actually didn't have the thought to try an ATM with the credit card until I was across the mall (having never done that before). It was kind of a last ditch attempt to get some cash from somewhere before I admitted defeat and left. If your ATM has the same features and only a $2 fee, that's great. You might just want to let your employees know to suggest that (if anybody asks to use a credit card at the counter in exchange for cash/quarters). When I asked the guy working about the credit card thing he kind of looked at me like I had a hole in my head, haha.
Honestly, it was probably the first time someone has asked to get cash at the counter with a credit card. Usually, when someone asks for cash, they just point them towards the ATM in the vault. He probably didn't make the connection when you asked to do it with a credit card.
1 month later
I was in Terre Haute on Saturday and got to visit the Bank for the first time. The lineup was very impressive. My daughter and I played for a few hours and had a great time. Thanks for all you do!
So instead of just placing some machines upstairs, we decided to just take over another space just around the corner from the Bank. We call it the South Branch.
South Branch (resized).jpg
And...we finally added a couple of things to the main bank. (they will light up as soon as we finish the wiring)
Photo May 06, 4 28 12 PM (resized).jpg
3 months later
Very cool place! My husband and I checked it out while in town from Houston visiting family. At 3 plays for $2 the prices are very good. My only complaint is that they were not open when we first came by so you may want to call first if you are driving a long distance (we checked the hours on their webpage). Games were all in great condition and insider connected was up and running on all compatible machines with leaderboards on the wall.
IMG_3905 (resized).jpgQuoted from Gotfrogs:My only complaint is that they were not open when we first came by so you may want to call first if you are driving a long distance (we checked the hours on their webpage).
Was this a couple of Saturday’s ago? We had a couple of employees switch shifts and, well, one forgot that they were supposed to open.
I was actually on the other end of the mall when I found out and I immediately drove over to open things up.
Sorry about that.
On the bright side, we have extended our hours now on Friday’s and Saturday’s. The mall may close at 8pm, but we don’t! Now you can have unlimited play on those nights from 8pm until 11pm for $10!
36DF33D2-89E9-4F2E-8AAC-65A5186CE480 (resized).png
7 months later
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