Pinballs in the Wild

[Wiredworm]

I've been away for a week on a family holiday so my only exposure to pinball was initially Pinball Arcade on the iPad. I've spent even more money on filling in the gaps in my collection and whilst it's a poor replacement to the real thing it's better than nothing at all.

However, whilst away we did manage to get to Ingoldmells near Skegness where I found an arcade which had 5 pinballs located there - probably the most i've ever seen in a single location in recent years, even if two of them were turned off.

I only played Elvis but I managed to get 2 or 3 games in. Was pretty pleased to net 28M on my first ball which awarded me a replay. Alas from there it was all downhill and I played pretty inconsistently - managed to keep the table occupied for a good 10-15 minutes over the 3 games so figured I did reasonably well. Alas of the 3 tables that they had working all of them had dirty playfields. The flippers on Elvis were pretty weak which made getting up the Heartbreak Hotel even more of a challenge.

Looking forward to my trip to London next month even more now - i'm only a short walk from The Pipeline so i'm hoping to get a few games in each night.

 

[RudeDogg1]

U didn't list the pins this place had

 

[Wiredworm]

Ooops, sorry, I was too busy enthusing about the fact they had any at all.

Addams Family - turned off :-(
Star Wars Episode I - turnd off :-(
Elvis
Shrek
Batman: The Dark Knight

I was pretty sad to see Star Wars turned off as i've yet to see a Pinball 2000 machine actually up and running. Those that were working were pretty dirty and although I only played Elvis the entries on Pinformer would appear to ring true. Real shame, but I guess a partially working Pin is better than no Pin at all (if only just).

 

[PT82]

Do you not get tempted to ask if any would be for sale? I know I would

 

[johnwhitfield]

Be careful though if you make an offer on the SWEP1. Depending what's wrong with it, it could be a real money pit...... All the normal problems with a pinball PLUS all the joys of a keeping alive a 15 yr old PC with impossible to source hardware. Going down the nu-core route sounds tempting but your looking at the best part of a grand as you also need to swap out the PC and replace the TV with a monitor + associated hardware.

 

[Paul]

Going down the nu-core route sounds tempting but your looking at the best part of a grand as you also need to swap out the PC and replace the TV with a monitor + associated hardware.

Not now it's been "unofficially" leaked.... Just a simple dual core desktop PC and maybe an ArcadeVGA card and you're back in business....

 

[Wiredworm]

Do you not get tempted to ask if any would be for sale? I know I would

Yes, I always get the urge.

Lack of space means that for now I have to just accept having just the one. Small steps and all that - but I hope to have more one day.

 

[Sgt GrizZ]

I was pretty sad to see Star Wars turned off as i've yet to see a Pinball 2000 machine actually up and running. Those that were working were pretty dirty and although I only played Elvis the entries on Pinformer would appear to ring true. Real shame, but I guess a partially working Pin is better than no Pin at all (if only just).

You had a lucky escape with the Episode One

 

[Wiredworm]

Haha, well that's what i'd heard Grizz. But to be honest I was more interested in seeing how well the technology behind the display worked.

Hopefully i'll track down a Revenge from Mars to have a go on at some point.

 

[ronsplooter]

Just got into Weymouth this afternoon for a couple of days and thought I'd check out the 2 places where Pinformer lists games......oh dear, oh dear

3 games in the Pier Bandstand arcade, all of which were switched off so I crawled around underneath when nobody was looking and plugged them back in.....I needn't have bothered:

• DE Batman - wedged in the corner so you can't actually stand at it to play, it also looks worn to f*ck and dirty NO GAME
• Godzilla - powered up but the display is shot so can't see a thing. Also got the volume set to a mental level that meant if you tried to play it the arcade staff wondered what the f*ck was going on and why you'd switched on games that are always off
  
  Also very dirty NO GAME
• Addams Family - this game is rivalling the TAF in Skegness Pier arcade for most f*cked up Addams in the UK. Worn to the bare wood in so many places. The display came on and I thought I might actually get a game of pinball. Put 50p in to then discover that it's got no balls in it NO GAME

I moved on to Harry's Arcade on the esplanade to see if my luck was any better. They have 2 games and both were switched on

• SWEp1 - The monitor is dead! It was all lit up but have no idea whether it was working as I didn't fancy wasting 50p on an already sh*t game if the display was dead NO GAME
• POTC - It actually worked
  
  The game is really dirty, got some pretty nasty wear and plays slow as hell but you can play it. The sinking ship is completely knackered but tortuga works and the chest opens. The auto plunger is broken so you have to manually plunge multiball. PLAYED A GAME

The replay score is low on POTC so got some free games but tbh it wasn't particularly fun playing. Does anyone know of any other working games in Weymouth that I could go and try out?

 

[Moonraker]

In answer to your question, no - but Special When Lit is 40 mins up the road and open tonight 6.30pm - 10pm. You'd be most welcome.

 

[Carl Spiby]

I will never understand the mentality of operators, buy a machine worth ~£4k then run it into the ground with no maintenance?

 

[PT82]

How much were they when new though? Assuming they had them from new. Probably paid for themselves many times over and don't care about them now.

 

[Wiredworm]

Fair point - but if that's the case then for gawds sake let them go to someone who will restore them and give them the TLC they so rightly deserve.

 

[JT.]

World Cup Soccer in the departure terminal of Menorca airport. In a sorry state though; absolutely filthy, lines out on dmd, coils so weak that nearly all shots are impossible. Walked away with three balls left in it..