Spinners in Frederick Maryland: 40 games 50 arcade 15 1ups
So today I hit up Spinners in Frederick Maryland for the first time since COVID and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had expanded and more than doubled the number of pins they have. I just updated the pinside database for this location here https://pinside.com/pinball/map/where-to-play/11124-spinners-pinball-arcade-frederick-md and their website is here https://www.spinnerspinball.org/.
Here is a quick walkthrough.
And an addendum with the Arcade 1ups in the back.
It is all you can play with no time limit. $15 a person or $50 for a family. They are a non profit that teaches children about pinball (see their website). Adult and kid friendly (they do sell beer).
This place is awesome! The 40 pins consist of a handful of modern Sterns (Jurassic Park, Star Wars, GOTG, Avengers, Star Trek Premium), as well as games going back to E.M. and a wide variety of DMD and early solid state pins. Aside from the Sterns the other games of note were a Funhouse, Paragon, Black Hole, Pinbot, Torpedo Alley, and Hercules. There were also 2 virtual pins, many cocktail pins (although only 1 was working), racers (Daytona, SanFrancisco Rush 2049), many classic consoles, shooters (Deer hunter, time crises 4, big buck hunter, area 51), and many classic arcade games ranging from The Simpsons to Centipede. They had the 3d pong game, air hockey, fooseball, and 15+ Arcade 1ups with a variety of games.
When I went I took my 4,7, and 9 year old and everyone had a good time. My kids only left after 4 hours when everyone got hungry. The building is divided into 2 main rooms and a handful of smaller spots so you can generally tell your kids to stay in the same room as you and you can see them while you play or play whatever they want with them. Of note there were another 20 or 30 games in the back off the floor that were in various stages of restoration. A titles like Williams Indiana Jones as well as some random junky stuff.
I really like variety and was very happy to see a Black Hole, Paragon, and Torpedo Alley as I have been considering them as a next pin and really wanted to play one. The 2 virtual pins there reminded me why I don’t have one. They work perfectly and have a fantastic variety of games but it just doesn’t feel like real pinball.
As far as quality of machines on average goes, I would put them above Crabtowne USA but below VUK and MOMs Organic Market (the only thing I can compare it against). Out of 40 games I think I saw 2 credit dots, which is fantastic.
If you are only after the latest and greatest pins, there are a handful of modern sterns, but there are better options for that (VUK and MOMs). If you are interested in a solid and wide variety of games, this is the place to go and is number one for kids and arcades in my opinion.
I solidly recommend Spinners. If you are coming from out of town there is a fantastic downtown and river walk park with lots of small shops and mom and pop restaurants. It is a bit of a drive for me but I absolutely will be returning to Spinners.
I took a few photos as well but my camera does not play well in the dark.