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No Longer a Relic of Sleazy Bars, Pinball Is Making a Big Comeback
Yahoo News! ^ | Sun, September 7, 2025

Posted on 09/08/2025 4:29:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Step into an unassuming industrial building in Teltow, just outside Berlin, and a bright, clacking universe unfolds: around 50 pinball machines line 200 square metres, from classics like Wizard and The Addams Family to modern hits such as Game of Thrones. Welcome to Flipperhalle Berlin - proof that pinball is back in vogue.

The United States, the world's largest pinball market, has seen a dramatic revival since the mid-2000s, fuelled by the rise of arcade bars, or "barcades," that pair vintage games with food and drink.

The trend has spread far beyond the US: pinball machines now pop up in breweries, restaurants and dedicated pinball bars from Chicago to Sydney. Chicago's Logan Arcade, for example, has become a mecca for enthusiasts, with themed machines and regular tournaments.

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Hobbies
KEYWORDS: pinball
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To: Bonemaker

There is a company actually selling new arcade cabinets.


41 posted on 09/08/2025 6:06:25 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: Fungi

Sorry, not even close.


42 posted on 09/08/2025 6:13:52 PM PDT by mfish13 ( )
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To: FrankRizzo890
Those drop-targets on the right leading up to the top hole were always the “target”. :)

Those are called "progressive" drop targets, and yes, THAT made the game.
43 posted on 09/08/2025 6:15:37 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: Dr. Sivana

A little lakeside burger and ice cream joint 1/2 mile from my parent’s home had two pinball machines, and the doughnut shop 300 feet away had a couple of video games.

Seedy bars indeed LOL


44 posted on 09/08/2025 6:15:44 PM PDT by Don W (When blacks riot, neighborhoods and cities burn. When whites riot, nations and continents burn)
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To: Don W

Heck, even Arnold’s Drive-In in “Happy Days” had a (period incorect) pinball machine.


45 posted on 09/08/2025 6:18:50 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Yeah, the authors have no clue. I played Pinball at the entryway to K-Mart, they had 6 or 7 of them easy. I was never any good, and I never had many quarters as a kid and lost ‘em right away. I was envious of kids who could play for more than a minute or two!


46 posted on 09/08/2025 6:21:03 PM PDT by Freedom4US
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To: Republican Wildcat

AM music stations were perfect for background use. Had this sleepy, relaxing languid sound. But then they decided a half hour worth of commercials every hour in 5 minute increments was the way to go, and I turned it off forever.

Good old tube radios. Zenith made some great 50s brown bakelite AM and AM/FM with the center “Airplane” dial. They sounded great, collectors call them the “poor man’s Bose” because they have excellent bass response.


47 posted on 09/08/2025 6:25:21 PM PDT by Freedom4US
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To: DallasBiff

I never tilt mine.

Then again, I’ve removed the center tilt pendulum and dropped it in the bottom of the bottom box . . .

🤷🏻


48 posted on 09/08/2025 6:32:28 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: nickcarraway

I’ll take pinball for a fun game anytime!


49 posted on 09/08/2025 6:33:38 PM PDT by US_MilitaryRules (#PureBlood )
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To: mfish13

You like that torrent of feces in the “opera?”


50 posted on 09/08/2025 6:35:34 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: nickcarraway
No Longer a Relic of Sleazy Bars, Pinball Is Making a Big Comeback

When were pinball machines relics of sleazy bars? When I was a kid they were at game arcades and amusement parks, and one of my room-mates sophomore year in college had one in our dorm. We wore that thing out.
51 posted on 09/08/2025 6:44:43 PM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: bigbob

Ain’t got no distractions.

Can’t hear those buzzers and bells!


52 posted on 09/08/2025 6:49:38 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Fungi

What???


53 posted on 09/08/2025 6:55:57 PM PDT by mfish13 ( )
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To: hinckley buzzard

You might have to drive a little bit to get to a place. Ironically, there’s a pinball service guy near you. You should reach out and find out where his nearest client is.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/09/hinckley-resident-is-a-pinball-wizard.html

Also found this.
https://familydestinationsguide.com/retro-arcades-ohio/

If you make it to Columbus sometime, look up Pins Mechanical. They have several locations. I know they offer pinball there, as well as other fun games.


54 posted on 09/08/2025 7:12:21 PM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: nickcarraway
"No Longer a Relic of Sleazy Bars, Pinball Is Making a Big Comeback"

The last time I visited the Cedar Point Amusement park it had a huge arcade, but I think that was back in 1975 or 1976. I remember some of the Bally and Williams machines over the years.
55 posted on 09/08/2025 7:27:02 PM PDT by clearcarbon (Fraudulent elections have consequences.)
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To: GingisK

The ball is analog. Tactile.


56 posted on 09/08/2025 7:33:52 PM PDT by TheThirdRuffian (Orange is the new brown)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek

Yeah I didn’t get that headline either - they were staples normal arcades, kids recreational places in the games sections, etc.


57 posted on 09/08/2025 9:57:12 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: nickcarraway

All that was old is new again! Love it!


58 posted on 09/08/2025 9:59:25 PM PDT by antceecee ( )
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To: nickcarraway

Didn’t know coney island was a sleazy bar;-)


59 posted on 09/09/2025 3:42:21 AM PDT by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US;-))
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To: hinckley buzzard

The problem is there is nowhere to put your beer when playing pin ball. It’s a hold ma beer activity.


60 posted on 09/09/2025 3:52:13 AM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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