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Danger... Danger... Tilt... GAME OVER - Tilt Birmingham 31-10-2015 to 06-07-2025

Kaufmanised

Kaufmanised

Site Supporter
5Years
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
1,675
Location
Birmingham
Tonight we played the last games at Tilt in Birmingham and closed the doors for the last time

I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone for all the support over the years, it has meant the world to me...

Massive thanks to @philpalmer who believed in me from the first phone call and supported me ever since

I joined forces with @steve brum when Fife Street closed and massively grateful for his support too

And the biggest thanks to @Pick Holder for maintaining the machines for 10 years

We had some amazing tournaments and leagues ran by @Wayne J @Genotime

I've made so many friendships from pinballs and tilt, I feel truly blessed and humbled to have been and will continue to be part of this community

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Kirk

GOODBYE.webp
 
Sorry to read it’s closed but congratulations on your last ten years and best wishes for whatever new venture you embark on.
 
This is really sad, I rarely get the chance to come to Birmingham but have visited Tilt whenever I did. Such a great place with great pinball machines and excellent coffee too.

Good luck for the future, I’m sure whatever you chose to do will be a massive success. 👍
 
Sad to hear. End of an era.

I was a student and then lived in Brum for nearly 10 years. The only pins I ever found were South Park at Aston Students Guild (circa 2002) and RFM at Scruffy Murphys (disappeared 2004).

Didn't do much to satisfy the hunger.

So baron was the pinball in Birmingham that I bought a WH2O (on student loan money!) just to satisfy the itch.

Then I moved away and Tilt opened up a few years later... typical!

Probably the one thing that kept me coming back to the city and was a great place to meet fellow pinheads and get involved in the Mids league meets.

Tuesday night leagues at Tilt were always a blast, and the beer was always top shelf. Coffee & Tea great too. Presentation was everything and so it was style AND substance that made it a success.

I think with Kirk's grit & passion and Phil's support and unwavering belief in the game, the pinball scene has never been better in the UK, with other similar pinball bars opening in the past decade to follow.

It's a bitter blow that it's all change in the arcadian/city arcade now, but hopefully there will be a pheonix rising again soon.

Thanks for the good times Kirk.

Some pics of my first visit Dec 2015...

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and April 2016...

IMG-20160423-WA0039.webp

IMG-20160423-WA0041.webp

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IMG-20160423-WA0042.webp

IMG-20160423-WA0043.webp
 
Really sorry to hear this Kirk. Loved my trips to Tilt to play pinball, and the coffee.
All the best for wherever life leads you next.
 
So sorry to hear that you ended up having to close, Kirk. Really enjoyed my visits to the comps at Tilt and will really miss seeing you and everyone else there.

How to catch up with you at another event and wish you all the best for whichever direction life takes you in, hoping that maybe there will be a Tilt 2 sometime in the future?

Many thanks for all you've done for pinball and community and treasure the memories.

Cheers
Greg
 
Sad to read this Kirk, really enjoyed my visits there over the last year or so. Good luck in your next venture, whether this involves pinball or not!

Simon
 
Heartbreaking stuff, without Tilt I'd never have gotten as deep into the hobby as I have in the last year, opened up countless doors for me and always had the weekly league on a Tuesday to improve and look forward to. Best of luck with everything Kirk, hope to see yourself and all the other wonderful people I've met at Tilt in the near future.
 
I echo what @BradG has said above. I got into pinball after a night out in Birmingham and going to Tilt just over a year ago. I saw a poster for the Tuesday night league and that was it I have been hooked since. When I found out Tilt was closing for good I was so gutted. Gutted to not be there every week but even more so to not be around the new friends that I have made from pinball and Tilt.

I wish you all the best @Kaufmanised it what ever is next for you.

Someone needs to open a Tilt2 in the Midlands to keep the UK pinball scene growing!!
 
Sad news Kirk, such a great place you had going there, I’m sorry I didn’t get to visit more often over the years.
I’m sure we will still see you in the future at pinball events and what not.
All the best for the future and a massive thanks for putting Pinball on the map in Birmingham 😊.
 
Sad news, very much enjoyed your place when I visited. Is there a story somewhere behind the closure? Are there any learnings you'd share for anyone else wanting to do a similar thing in their neck of the woods?
 
This is such a shame, Tilt was my first venture back into the world of pinball which has since brought me much joy. Great place and so many helpful people, coupled with beer beer and of course pinball what wasnt to like.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing.
 
I only went once, but had a great time. Sorry to see you are closing. What do you plan on doing with the tables? Will they be stored, or sold off?
 
So sorry to hear this news, Tilt was always a place we’d visit every time we came to Brum. All the best with what’s next for you and your team, if there’s ever a Tilt 2.0 we’ll be there!
 
Very sad to see an owner managed business close, especially an arcade.

A lot of happy hours there and thousands introduced to pinball.

Good luck with the next chapter.
 
The outpouring of love and memories on Facebook show just how much the place meant to so many people. Thank you for everything you have done Kirk, you set the standard of what a public pinball location should be and have brought so many people into our hobby. An extremely sad day, thank you for all the wonderful memories
 
So sorry to hear this Kirk and team. Have been visiting Tilt for years...we used to go to Birmingham every year so my family could see the Strictly tour and I could play the pinball...long before I got involved in the community. It was the first time Eilish encountered any of the 90s classics and we have friends who live in Birmingham who we took once and since came back several times by themselves to play more. First place I ever played Beatles, Munsters, D&D, Willy Wonka, Pirates, Toy Story, Guardians...the list goes on. And then of course when I did finally dive in to pinball properly it was one of the go to tournament spots.

I really hope there's a Tilt 2.0 in the future but for now thank you so much for keeping it going as long as you did.
 
Well there goes any reason I had to visit Birmingham. Such a shame but good luck Kirk on whatever you're going to next. Had many a good time at Tilt, wish I had made a few more trips!
 
Found out the news this morning, and it’s heartbreaking. Tilt quickly became my favourite place in Birmingham when the doors opened, and it eventually became the place I would always gravitate to. No matter what was going on, I could come down, put my headphones in, and play pinball. I’d look forward to any reason to head into Birmingham, just so I could go in an hour early and get a few games in.

I was late to the pinball league scene, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I got to meet like-minded individuals and broaden my horizons with different games. It even helped me become a little more social. Tilt became a constant in my life, and I genuinely didn’t think this day would come.

Just wanted to post this message as a thank you to Kirk and the team for creating a place like this — a place that’s given me so many memories and a calming space to escape to.

Kieran
 
The outpouring of support and love has been overwhelming

Whilst I am heartbroken its now gone (building is empty) I take comfort in knowing I created a space a lot of people loved

But as I sit here knowing it supposed to be league night tonight and none of us will be there playing tonight kind of destroys my soul

I will reply to everyone that has been kind and messaged me privately in the coming days when it all sinks in

If anyone if interested in a Mando LE, Avengers LE, Bond LE and Jurassic Park LE give me a shout
 
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