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Advice on pub pinball

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discodave

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Sep 6, 2015
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Surrey
Evening all,

Firstly, please forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere in the past. I'm sure it probably has, and in which case, please do direct me to where. But in the meanwhile...

Something of an idea I've been toying with for a long time is putting a pinball table or two in my local pub. I haven't approached them about it yet as I'm still apprehensive about it having never done it before, but I figured it will give me a side hobby and an excuse to go in for the occasional pint. Plus it means I can buy another machine that likely wont fit in at home and could potentially interest others in the game. The pub, independently run, is a decent size and does tend to get extremely busy on Friday and Saturday nights.

I'm not particularly interested in making any money in this but it would be nice to break even on the cost (excluding the purchase of the machine!) as I assume I'll need to have the thing PAT tested once a year, insured against damage as well as if the thing catches fire. Obviously, I'd expect the pub to take 50% of the revenue, seeing as they're housing it.

Does anyone here have any advice they can offer to a total newbie? If it's actually a terrible idea, too much hassle, massively cost prohibitive, or if they've found it to have good and bad points who can provide any insight into doing it, having come out the other side? No preference on machine apart from it being SS, but at this stage i'm more interested in just the pitfalls of the process.

I'm all ears.
 
It’s a great idea - I’d talk to the pub owner first and suggest a trial month. If you go full time then make sure you get the games PAT tested and you have third party liability insurance.

Think about how folks will pay - coins - does the bar have the ability to give change and also consider the tournament mode on sterns which is like a little payout pot. If something goes wrong with a game how will refunds work etc.

finally game choice is crucial older games people love and remember but they tend to have lots of issues and what type of crowd is it? Will a music pin work or a marvel type pin ?

Neil
 
Also I’ve seen some bars have rebellions against machines where the landlord wants shot of them. Really knowing the people will be super helpful.
 
I remember in the 90's my various locals would have AFM, TAF, CFTBL etc. None of my mates were interested and i was always able to walk up straight on to the machines. It never seemed like pinball was especially popular.

Maybe times have changed but for those that still frequent pubs with machines, do they see much use?
 
the other thing to remember is they will get knocked,have beer/food spilt on them so you have to decide if it's worth putting your mint condition pinball in an enviroment where it is likely to get damaged
 
As a former technician, I'd ask how proficient you are at repairs, especially since you mention you're new. At the time (the early 90's) pinball was popular, but the company view was that machines had to be working properly to earn well. I was told by a punter that a nearby pub also had a Star Trek Next Gen, with a lower price of play, but "yours works better".

I ask due to recalling the old yahoo groups' Wes suggesting this, and thinking 'how is someone who can't repair a non-working slingshot going to cope with a machine on site?'

A machine you could buy without the space at home; work never put machines on site without a thorough check first, even brand new. I heard of some who had the distributor deliver new-in-box machines to a site, to show they were new; asking for trouble.

And PAT-tested each year; I'd be surprised if many games would hold their appeal in a boozer for that long.
 
Last edited:
Neil McRae said:
It’s a great idea - I’d talk to the pub owner first and suggest a trial month. If you go full time then make sure you get the games PAT tested and you have third party liability insurance.

Think about how folks will pay - coins - does the bar have the ability to give change and also consider the tournament mode on sterns which is like a little payout pot. If something goes wrong with a game how will refunds work etc.

finally game choice is crucial older games people love and remember but they tend to have lots of issues and what type of crowd is it? Will a music pin work or a marvel type pin ?

Neil
Click to expand...
I think theme is key- barcades seem to bring in 20-30 somethings in the middle of Newcastle—people will drop money in Stern LCD Deadpool and Jurassic park; a pub might draw in a different kind of crowd so may appreciate some 90’s games
 
Thanks for all your thoughts so far!

Theme is something I've definitely thought about. As an initial venture into this, I'm not planning on spending a huge amount of money so a 90s machine is far more likely. I don't plan on using one of my machines I already own and wouldn't be as worried if a machine got a bit of pizza or beer on it! Valid point made about whether even pinball is that interesting to most people now, I fear my own bias isnt helping here but I suppose it's worth a try!

I've done some basic repairs on my machines at home over the years but as they've only received light use, they don't tend to have many problems beyond the occasional loose fixing, blown lamp or stuck mechanical part. I'm hoping any problems that appear, I'll be able to fix or pick people's brains on here if i get really stuck!

I'm thinking I'll probably check the game over at home first anyway, get acquainted with it and perhaps play it for a while and see what potential trouble I might find! Obviously get it PAT tested too. I'm guessing the challenge will be getting a working coin slot as I've not had to think about that in the past!

Regards the pub itself, I've been in every now and again but I don't really know them as well as I perhaps should. A trial month sounds like a great start, something that doesn't sound too long commitment wise and gives both of us an escape plan. I'll have to ask them about how well furnished they are with coins as that's not something I was expecting to worry about but it's a fair point! Regards refunds, I'm guessing that will need to be discussed with the pub but that might be a voyage of discovery! Any thoughts on that topic?

Regarding insurance, are there any specialist companies I should consider or is your domestic type options good enough. ie. Direct Line or similar?
 
Ive only operated 2 pins in the past 30yr and both paid for themselves in a few months, however both ended up absolutely trashed and rather than take em back I offered them to the owners of the establishments.
first was in a pub on 50/50 basis but after several month he wanted something new and due to the fact my pin was now trashed I decided it was better just to sell it to him for a few hundred quid and mark it down as lesson learned.
As Lesson wasn’t learned my second was in a taxi rank so it didn’t get trashed as much but I had to service on a weekly basis as it was played to death non stop by the drivers themselves. The rank owner bought it from me but soon after sold it on due to the drivers turning down jobs to play the game and he was having to turn away punters 😂
Im sure there’s a market out there but back then I didn’t bother with insurance or even declaring as the pins were so cheap I wasn’t bothered. However things are so much different now and all this pat testing and insurance malarkey is a must.
 
Valuable insight Colywobbles.

This is why I'm asking really, I like the idea of doing it but just want to make sure I'm not kidding myself. I fully appreciate it's not going to make me much money these days, my thinking being any small financial gain is a bonus but the main aim is to get a game or two back out into the wild. I think a lot of this will be based on the cost of insurance, PAT test and if it ends up taking up more of my time in repairs than I can afford.

I suppose my only hope would be to get the game back in one piece at the end...
 
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