Wrong analogy. If I bet on the long shot I expect 10X my initial bet if I unexpectedly win. In no universe will what you produce be worth $100K. I would be surprised if it could even be resold for $10K. There is an old Tim Arnold saying that just because something is low production doesn’t make it valuable. It could be it’s just a bad machine.

I should know, some people will remember my early history 27 years back. Sent a bunch of rare pins to the dump or burned them up. Made the numbers even lower, & back then they were fairly cheap project games.

Daily reminder that ripping on my first commercial game won't make John's insane schedule less insane.

Also I've done a lot more with pinball than just AMH but again, what do I know, right?

If your willing to take a stupid 5K bet, why not pony up the other 5K and be the next mini whale? Why wait? "because you make money"

That’s very impressive but….

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The only thing missing is Whodey as Ice’s sidekick. It’s just not the same as a solo act.

Beer count two already. It’s going to be a long day for me. When GWJ acknowledges Doug is the only mini whale and nobody else is buying a game so he will be only be building one game, not 1-10, is the day this project gets real and I stop drinking.

How is this possible? The list closes in 3 days right? John has this meticulous plan.

Maybe after seeing a legit whitewood that actually shoots and plays, someone might join in?

Yes there will be likely more than just 1 or 2 built. Beer count is zero. I always said more friends or people we know may buy in after that date. Doug is starting with one, & will decide if he wants another one later. Some of you guys find it hard to believe but there are a few mini whales in my area just waiting to see what happens. There still is not a title or theme which is now up to Doug as the only investor to put up money.

No one else will be able to buy in after the end of August. Unless you are on the list with ZERO money down. Still does not mean you will get a game.

So if goal is not to make money and the goal is to build a real pinball machine, why take on more mini-whales or orders? You harpooned an honest, paying patreon? What is the benefit of building a second game? I must have the parameters mixed up. What is your ultimate goal?

Is it to build and sell production ready pinball machines, based on an unknown theme, a finished playfield design and deliver them in six months?

I thought you wanted to build that caliber of game and were enamored with idea of it being TPB. Now theme is ?? and you are starting with a designed playfield including SAVED drop targets. Why do you keep chasing more if not for purpose of selling and building multiple games by Mar 1? Look back at line 1 and you are not trying to make money, remember? (I guarantee you won’t). I know it is in the plan but why? Is it to become a pinball manufacturer? It isn’t about building a TPB ultra fan pinball machine. It’s not about building a real pin. GWJ you are trying to become a pinball manufacturer, right?

John, you posted this 10 hours ago.

You just now posted this.

Could you explain please.

You did this?

Kim: I have posted this numerous times. Anyone can get on the list, zero money deposit, & the deadline ends August 31 my time zone. If you are not on the list you definitely will not get a chance later unless you are a friend of ours. Even then you still might not get a game if the BOM & labor for a build is out of control. Doug is paying for the first one, & maybe a second. Our friends may join in after the first pin is complete. There is a 6 month build window for Texas.

With everything that has gone on TPB is not the licensed game. Trailer Trash also seems offensive to a few people here even though they have no interest in the game. Doug now as the only investor to step forward will have the choice of title & theme. Maybe he is the only one getting a single or two pins.

The finished playfield design & rule set could be rethemed also during this time for others. Might happen or not. But the build max is 1 - 10 games. I will be using full sheets of plywood the same with previous playfields so either 3 or 4 will be done at a time. They will get the inserts installed & be ready for printing if needed.

Sure did lots of rare pins burned or sent to the dump. 2 Bally Spectrums, 1 Asteroid Annie, & more that I forget their names. Many em games did not survive. When I started into mostly Bally electronic pins I would buy as many of the same titles to get a few working. I did my own electronic repairs for boards. Had the Police & Fire checking out the burning going on when I lived next to the ghetto. Even had a murder past the backyard. The pinball guys would come out & drink beer around the fire.

John, I think its important that you explain these were basket cases and beyond restoration. You also sold the salvable parts to other collectors as there were no reproduction parts being made back in those days.

- This is true, yes?

Well that seems perfectly clear What is the definition of "friends"?

Yes mostly Kim but the guys would like to think the worst for everything I do. One of the Spectrums had been in a previous business fire. The rest of the story is true. Guys could not believe the stuff going to the dump, & still would be trying to salvage any remains. Also I donated a few playfields to CPR in the early days.

Jesus Christ, what a walking contradiction!

Yeah we know Lord Bennie. You are the best and know it all.

Guess we should just shut it down John?

I’m waiting for Elwin to chime in here at some point. He won’t because he has too much class and is probably too busy creating another great pinball machine

And no, I’m not comparing Elwin to Bennie in any way.

Keep dumping on the project daily, doesn’t matter. It will be a pleasure to know it tortures you so much.

You’ve gone from he has zero chance of getting a game done to now it’s just the “insane timeline”

Fresh insight!

Always has been a plan all along. 1 - 10 games for Texas. You guys have always thought it would be only one. The whale hunt is winding down, & only 1 mini whale. Ben does not think I get a whitewood fully working than Jpop Houdini in over a year for Expo 2023.

Could be something going on with the SXSW show going on. That is still playing out over the Fall months. Lots of possibilities or not, time will tell.

John even if you do make it to TPF, you're going to be fixing wires and adjusting ball guides the night before the show. You'll wheel the game onto the floor and if you're super lucky your code guy will be there to do a final flash on the floor and then get feedback from players.

And as you're soldering the last joint as the hall doors open you'll think "Man, Ben was sure right. I would have never been able to build 10 of these by now"

Ben: It is SXSW first, & the game(s) will be ready for play. Unless the truck rolls over on the way down.

Summary for those having trouble following.

1. Aug 31 is the last opportunity to get in on a game except for others after that.

2. GWJ fondly recalls burning heaps of rare pins 27 years ago. He also sent pins to the dump. Some of the games were not in great condition. While people scrambled trying to salvage parts from the wreckage, GWJ and the boys enjoyed beers by the fires. Cops came by to check out the conflagration due to its proximity to the ghetto. Someone was murdered.

If we have not all figured this out yet, no matter what happens, no matter what calamity transpires, no matter changes in the designer, the game name, the playfield layout, the art, who builds it, it will ALWAYS have been part of the plan. The plan is whatever happens is the plan.

At this point, when he writes stuff like this, it almost seems normal.

I got to check my stack of beer napkins. Almost out, & I told the coach that I will be going to the bars later today. People have seen the Jon Norris design for the playfield. That likely will not change much, & the build show starts September 1. Ben will be standing by to tell me every wrong thing I do during the build. Must bring back bad memories of trying to work with Jpop.

I will add that even though the plan doesn't start until September 1st, 3 days from now, so far the plan is going exactly as was planed.

Exactly Kim, almost like the Seinfeld series.

I will say this. When September 1st hits and John abandons the lunacy of building 10 games by TPF his chances of getting 1 game done will increase quite a bit.

Unless he makes the other 9 (and then sets them on fire).

SXSW in my brothers driveway if you believe some people here. Will it be the only one, or multiples of games.

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Dougeee was sentenced to be John’s butler?

Or maybe chauffeur?

The parking area is also the stage. Can't get more convenient than that!

It will be one. When you take on a risky project you don't do 10x of it. If you had more experience you'd know this. You will realize this by the TPF deadline, when you barely get one game flipping in time for that.

The world needs a Greatwich John's True Pinball Land Stories series.

Coincidentally, it will also be a Drunk History spinoff.

Just need the tour bus. Lots of bars to walk or stagger to.

Who will be the first to take the GWJ Factory Tour including Pub Crawl? Tickets are $25 and going fast. See where it all started and ended*.

* buy your own drinks plus a few for tour guide.

I’ll be driving up to Austin for that. Beers on me!

Pub crawl on Rainey street

And in one fell swoop Ben explains the entire failure of DR. To John’s credit he will only require $10K to stumble upon this lesson while RM was $60M deep.

We can keep shouting this at the walls. John has got this, and building 1 is the same as building 10 in his book, dontcha know ? Ain’t never gonna be able to convince him otherwise.