Your Pinball Story

[Carl Spiby]

I first encountered a pinball machine in Morecambe when I was quite young (maybe 8?), I cannot remember how old I was, I cannot remember the machine, but I do remember it was a friends birthday party and we went for laser-quest.

After that I have absolutely no recollection of playing pinball other than on my Amiga in the form of Pinball Dreams, Fantasies, Illusions and Slam Tilt all by Digital Illusions.

Fast forward many years to the summer of 2011 (age 27), my girlfriend is living in Kendal and we hear about a pub (The Kendal Arms) that does a good carvery. After a long time of meaning to go in we eventually do, to find that its changed owners and they no longer do food!

Now things for some reason go a bit hazy here (Hazy? In a pub?) but I think we ended up buying a drink and I noticed around the corner, a pinball machine - Fish Tales to be exact.

I couldn't help but pop in 50p and have a quick go... Suddenly my appreciation for pinball grows and even though the right flipper that won't hold up, I'm enjoying it as much as I did my video games.

We went back several times until they went bust and changed hands once again into what is now known as Romneys.

After that, I had a bit of a dry spell until one day I stumbled across 3 machines in Lancaster (We used to pop through to the multiplex cinema). A T2, a TZ and a STTNG. Now it must have taken another few months or so until I realised a community existed and again, it all seems such a blur.

Finally a year later I find Play Expo and attend my first event in October 2012, this was the event that got my other half hooked too! Up until then she was just 'putting up' with my obsession but now she's as bad as me

For ****z and giggles I Googled my hometown and pinball, aside from Google thinking I meant paintball, I found a result for a pub not 5 minutes away that advertised the fact they had pinball machines. On Christmas day I trotted down with my girlfriend and was ecstatic to find they did (POTC)! Alas it would have to wait for another day as they were about to close (doh!).

I played this machine for 3 months until one day, it had gone, I pestered the pub/hotel owners but it never did return, I was even promised it would be replaced with a Spiderman, but it never happened.

I've since played almost my first full season in the Northern League, I'll miss the league meets until the next season starts but I do have NERG, Play and Daventry to look forward to Oh and an onsite T2, TZ, Wh2o and Dr Who in Lancaster, 30 miles away...

 

[Steve]

My love affair with pinball started when I worked in Spain in 1976. I shared a flat with 2 Argentine draft-dodgers and we would get up every morning around noon (we worked in the clubs) and go next door to a bar for a Cafe-con-leche.
They had a machine in the corner (no idea what it was) and we played it to death. Dario was very good at it and taught me all the shots, what to go for and we were getting replays all the time. The cafe owner got fed up with us in the end as we were on it for hours and only spent a few Pesetas, so he changed all the settings to hard and that ruined it for us. We still played it from time-to-time but it was never the same.
I would love to find out what that machine was but can't remember a thing about it now.

 

[OrochiLeona]

I love arcade and video games, and frequented arcades at home and on holiday for hours and hours on end as a child/teenager.
I never really played pinball, preferring to spend my money on arcades, but I *always* took the time to study the machines themselves, the artwork, cabinets, playfields, sounds etc which have always fascinated me and continue to do so.
When I was tall enough to see the pf the first game I ever played was Bally Game Show, the speech in it stuck with me for years and years later. I also remember Dr Who and Addams being *everywhere* on site.

Was a big fan of the Amiga pinball games, never really rediscovered the love until Zen Studios Pinball FX game, which was followed shortly thereafter by the UK release of Farsight's Williams Pinball Classics.
Attended the UKPP in 2011 and that was that. It was on. Special When Lit movie also had a part to play.

Own one game, Pinbot, working on obtaining another at the moment.

Completely in control of the passion. Impulses remain solid.

*Viciously* antagonistic of Farsight's Pinball Arcade product, In the hands of a more reliable and competent developer, would be one of the finest pieces of software pinball has seen and an absolute blessing for those of us who don't have the room/money for the games, as such, it's a bug filled, date missing, dollar grabbing, unreliable mess of a product. One that wins awards and rakes in thousands. The mind boggles.

Favourite game so far, probably Bram Stoker's Dracula, but there's so many great games to choose from, other favourites are on my wishlist. I love Fathom too, mainly for the aesthetics.
Still not played Cirqus Voltaire.

Likes this lady:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m05892birZ1qaopfko1_500.gif

And this lady:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxm6rhSAZQ1qzynaro1_500.gif

Both of whom appear in great pinball machines.

Oh, and I'm actually Rubbish at Pinball.

 

[chris b]

I loved to play vidio games when i was a kid as soon as i got my pocket money it was down to a place called alans tuck shop to play space invaders and super cobra ect ect
would look at pins but didnt realy do it for me
as i became a teenager and was going to pubs i discovered a funhouse played it and loved it then wow they got an hs 2 well i was hooked i spent more money playing the pin than on beer
played all through that era till cars motorbikes and girls took presedent
after a few years my mate said look at this e bay you can buy anything i replyed can you buy pinballs so he punched in pinballs and hey presto i bought a t2
after playing it and loving it i then found a ww not working a pin i used to play at harry ramsdens fish and chip shop i bought it and took it home turned it on got 3 beeps and that was it i found the balls in the cab put them in the trough and that was it it burst into life but every thing was week flippers targets ect ect i didnt have a clue how to fix it but took the back glass out anyway and thought i supose its worth checking the fuses i found 2 blown fuses and didnt have any pinball fuses so removed them from a few kitchen apliences and fit them to the pin well to my suprize instant fix and thats realy how it all started
there are not many dm games i have not owned now but wow i love this hobby and my games room