(Topic ID: 256579)

Roanoke Pinball Museum a winner

By phil-lee

4 years ago



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  • 8 posts
  • 5 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 1 year ago by NicoVolta
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    #1 4 years ago

    I was fortunate to be able to visit the Roanoke Pinball Museum awhile back and meet the infamous Director Mr. Volta (Fans will know his real name). Nick was extremely busy running everywhere but took time to play a game with me and explain the finer points of EM logic. The selection of machines was excellent, ranging from EM classics like Surf Side to Indiana Jones, with my favorite Fun House, all in great playing condition. I discovered several like Wheel of Fortune and High Speed 2 that were really nice players (yeah, there are a lot of common Titles I don't remember playing "Back in the day"). Several rows of late-model Bally/Williams and Gottlieb SS also to choose from so spent my time hopping back and forth, didn't want to miss anything. Best 12 dollars spent in a long time (ever?).
    While there I noticed several Techs servicing/repairing machines and only found a few games with Out of Order signs. I played for 4-plus hours until sore feet set in and reluctantly left, with some thicker soles I would have stayed till closing!
    The next day I went to Boxcar and played most of the new Sterns out now and frankly, even though it was fun I prefer the healthy mix of old and new Roanoke offers. Easy parking access a short ways from the Museum, all the good restaurants you could ask for within walking distance and Roanoke is a pretty town.
    Highly recommended and looking forward to a return trip (2 hours from my house).

    1 week later
    #2 4 years ago

    Hey Phil... thanks for the shout-out! My goal is to have our collection in the best shape possible for an all-you-can-play venue. We're WAY stronger than we were 18 months ago. Give me another 18 months and it'll be legendary.

    C'mon back and see us anytime & don't forget our late night "Get Tilted" weekends. Those are turning out to be pretty special with the new game show format.

    2 months later
    #3 4 years ago

    I'm coming thru Roanoke this Thursday, and back thru on Friday.

    I will try my best to stop by!

    8 months later
    #4 3 years ago

    I went by the Roanoke Pinball Museum last Saturday and I wanted to bump this thread and put in my highest recommendation! The museum is on the second floor of a 'Discovery Center' building, with aquariums, another arcade, theatre, etc...right in the heart of Roanoke. Parking is ample and close by.

    I ordered 2 tickets for a 2 hour window on their website, but I saw plenty of walk-ins as well, so I believe they'll let you come and play a few games for less time. I paid $12.50 / ticket + $3 fee + I added a $10 donation, so it ended up being around $40 total for two of us for 2 hours. This was a great deal, as all the machines are set-up to free play and I got to play about 20 machines that I have never played before and I got to see what games I liked, didn't like, etc...they also allowed us to play 2 player games the whole time since we came in together, even with the COVID / social distancing / mask rules in effect.

    The two hours of mask-on time flew by without complaints from me or my buddy -- the pins were the only focus. We played as many different games as we could over the two hours, so I didn't get a deep understanding of them, but it was still a blast. I'm going to post their game list from their website below and I'll just highlight some of my favorites and least favorites and add some photos at the bottom:

    Addams Family (Bally, 1992)
    Arcade Legends 2 (multi-arcade system)
    Bank-A-Ball (Gottlieb, 1965)
    Banzai Run (Williams, 1988)
    Beach Queens (Bally, 1960)
    Big Day (Bally, 1964)
    Black Knight (Williams, 1980)
    Captain Fantastic (Bally, 1976)
    Cleopatra (Gottlieb, 1977)
    Creature from the Black Lagoon (Bally, 1992)
    Dixieland bingo machine (Bally, 1979)
    Doctor Who (Bally, 1992)
    Doodle Bug (Williams, 1971)
    Eight Ball Deluxe (Bally, 1981)
    Fireball (Bally, 1972)
    Fleet (Bally, 1934)
    Funhouse (Williams, 1990)
    Getaway: High Speed II (Williams, 1992)
    Ghostbusters (Pro) (Stern, 2016)
    Gorgar (Williams, 1979)
    Gridiron (Williams, 1969)
    Haunted House (Gottlieb, 1982)
    Hi-Deal (Bally, 1975)
    Hollywood Heat (Gottlieb, 1986)
    Hot Tip (Williams, 1977)
    Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure (Williams, 1993)
    Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast (Pro) (Stern, 2018)
    Jokerz! (Williams, 1988)
    Jungle Queen (Gottlieb, 1977)
    King Pin (Williams, 1962)
    Kings & Queens (Gottlieb, 1965)
    KISS (Bally, 1978)
    Klondike (Williams, 1971)
    Lord Of The Rings (Stern, 2003)
    The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot (Williams, 1991)
    Magic City (Williams, 1967)
    Melody (Gottlieb, 1967)
    Metallica (Pro) (Stern, 2013)
    OFF-ROAD arcade game (Leland, 1989)
    Out of Sight (Gottlieb, 1974)
    PIN-BOT (Williams, 1986)
    Revenge from Mars (Bally, 1999)
    Ringer (Williams, 1970)
    Ripley's Believe It or Not! (Stern, 2003)
    Safecracker (Bally, 1996) - Win a custom RPM token!
    Screwball (Genco, 1948)
    Sheriff (Gottlieb, 1971)
    Silverball Mania (Bally, 1980)
    Skill-Score (Caldwell Novelty, 1932)
    Skyrocket (Bally, 1971)
    SlugFest (Williams, 1991)
    Snow Derby (Gottlieb, 1970)
    Space Mission (Williams, 1976)
    Spanish Eyes (Williams, 1972)
    Star Trek (premium edition) (Stern, 2013)
    Star Trek: The Next Generation (Williams, 1993)
    Strikes & Spares (Bally, 1978)
    Super Shuffle (slide-puck multi game system)
    Surf Side (Gottlieb, 1967)
    Target Alpha (Gottlieb, 1976)
    The Munsters (premium edition) (Stern, 2019)
    Time Machine (Data East, 1988)
    Wheel of Fortune (Stern, 2007)
    Whirlwind (Williams, 1990)
    White Water (Williams, 1993)
    Winner (Williams, 1972)
    Wizard! (Bally, 1975)
    World Beauties (Gottlieb, 1960)
    Xenon (Bally, 1979)

    Favorite games included Banzai Run, Getaway High Speed 2, LOTR (stern), Bride of Pinbot (don't see it on the list but it's there and loved it), Slug Fest, Star Trek (Premium), Wheel of Fortune, and Whirlwind. There were tons of other fun games (Munsters, Ghost Busters, Strikes and Spares) that I really enjoyed playing as well.

    Least favorite games were Xenon and Black Knight (both had weaker flippers and were really tough to get into, also both had terrible sound IMO, Xenon has a woman moaning every time you hit a pop bumper?). I also did not find myself able to get into the newer 'band theme' games like Metallica, Iron Maiden, and I think there was one more. Addams Family and Revenge from Mars were also set-up 'too dark' without lights on the playfield and I didn't enjoy either of those games much, but I think that was down to lighting issues.

    That's all the notes from me, now onto the photos, but I highly recommend that all Pinsiders make the trip, if they find themselves on I-81 in VA near mile marker 140 -- it's only a few minutes from the interstate.

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    #5 3 years ago

    Hey Brett! Sorry I missed you. Appreciate the feedback... your comments are right on! On our to-do list: Replace Xenon and BK with WPC-era flipper mechs and light up Addams and RFM. Obviously you are a "pinball guy" who knows what to look for.

    Many other upgrades in the works planned. Covid ain't slowing us down!

    #6 3 years ago
    Quoted from NicoVolta:Hey Brett! Sorry I missed you. Appreciate the feedback... your comments are right on! On our to-do list: Replace Xenon and BK with WPC-era flipper mechs and light up Addams and RFM. Obviously you are a "pinball guy" who knows what to look for.
    Many other upgrades in the works planned. Covid ain't slowing us down!

    It was a great time, we will be back I am sure of that! It'll be an awesome way to spend a rain-out at SML next summer and my parents just moved down full-time to SML, so I will likely be by this winter as well.

    I've only been a pinball guy a few months now, but really starting to catch the bug, so I very much appreciate you providing a safe, fun, and easy way to play all of these wonderful machines. Other than those few and minor items, everything else played perfectly and was in great condition and it's really a great time not paying for each game you play, that way you don't feel like you 'lost' if you have a really bad game or ball.

    Didn't get to add my initials to any machines though, so that's the goal for next time! Thanks again for the awesome experience.

    1 year later
    #7 1 year ago

    I just wanted to give a shout-out to Nic NicoVolta and the Roanoke Pinball Museum for a great time! My family and I were passing through Roanoke this week and I’d always wanted to meet the legend himself since reading about his epic road trip

    My son and I stopped in for a visit, and despite being busy working on the machines Nic spent a good hour with us chatting about everything pinball while showing off his great collection. Our visit was far too short unfortunately, but we played a handful of games from several eras including Magic City and Paragon, to classics like Banzai Run and TAF, right up to Munsters and Black Knight Sword of Rage. They have lots of machines in great condition, and any pinhead could easily spend hours entertaining yourself there or listening to Nic’s stories. As if that’s not enough, next door there is also an arcade museum but we didn’t have time to see it on this trip.

    Anyway, if you are down in that part of Virginia make sure to stop in at the Roanoke Pinball Musuem and check it out as you’ll be glad you did. Thanks Nic and we can’t wait to return!
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    #8 1 year ago

    We are closed for maintenance on Mondays, but whenever "one of us" stops by like Ed did... I'll open 'er up for a bonus round if there is enough time.

    No matter how good the photo, my coil-dusted fingertips always reveal the true nature of this gig!

    C'mon back when you have more time, Ed. Maybe we'll have our Multimorphic P3 w/Weird Al by then...

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