For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast

The Multi-Bingo is really taking shape. I discuss some of the difficulty in introducing bugs that are unexpected when thinking about the reset sequence of the EM games vs. a solid state. Today's year of flipperless game is 1934's Exhibit Golden Gate. Golden Gate has an interesting middle playfield feature that allows for high scoring if you land balls in the 'open gate' hole. You can also return '...

I talk about the process for installing the backglass in the Multi-Bingo. Check out the podcast Facebook page or the Pinside thread to see some photos of this beautiful artwork! I also discuss some of the other improvements in progress or complete. Today's featured game is 1933's Genco 42nd Street, a pure mechanical game with metal diverters and cool 3d artwork integrated with the painted playfiel...

Happy 99th birthday to Wayne Neyens, fantastic pinball designer for Gottlieb! Bingo Row 2017 prep is underway! I am working to make the Multi-Bingo a great game to play. Robo-Frenzy cabinet has been put together, and I am working out installing the mechanics now. I recently worked on a Chicago Coin Baseball Champ, and I talk about some service notes and playability notes. Great game! Today's 'Year...

The Multi-Bingo programming, a labor of love for 70 weeks, is complete! Yep, 138 games later, and this thing has shaped up very well. I talk about next steps (briefly, gotta have some surprises), and my next project.... Robo-Frenzy! I've already discussed it a lot on the show, but now I'm starting work on it in earnest. Today's game for the Year of Flipperless is 1938's Exhibit Coney Island. It ha...

The Multi-Bingo marches on! Only 9 games left to implement. Pretty exciting to be down to the single digits. I discuss some of the 'special' games included with the hybrid solid state 1960s bingos. Then, some slow, but important progress on Robo-Frenzy. Next, a service call that had several interesting components! Was it a machine that doesn't have any photos on the IPDB? Today's featured game is...

All 25 hole games are complete in the Multi! I'm down to 20 games left to implement. In this episode, I discuss the method I am using to prevent damage to the Magic Pockets unit, and special thanks to Michael Ocean for a second opinion on the code I had written. Ryan Claytor and I spent some time discussing the Robo-Frenzy cabinet and some time at the Flippers arcade at Grandy, NC. Some great ques...

The Multi-Bingo is coming along! New parts, new machines, new playfields - great! Phil Bogema is bringing a beautifully restored Parade and a Show-Time to the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown! Check out those great (and unusual in the case of Parade) games. June 9-11th in Denver, CO - http://www.pinballshowdown.com/index.html Universal 5 Star is a bingo pinball-style machine made before the first w...

Lots of interesting topics this episode - unfortunately, I have a head cold that is making me sound odd. Sorry about that. IFPA posts an interesting document from a law firm representing the Amusement Devices Association to legalize pinball in Cincinnati. https://www.facebook.com/ifpapinball/photos/a.670610496321546.1073741827.208963032486297/1343263932389529/?type=3 The Multi-Bingo continues to p...

I've been making my own harnesses and wiring up some new playfields in the Multi. 1) Shoot-A-Line 2) Gayety 3) Double-Up Double-Up is only about 1/3 complete, but this will allow me to add another 20 games into the Multi, bringing me much closer to 100%. In other news, shows everywhere this weekend! The VFW show including one of the lost playfield designs of Harry Williams (built by Duncan Brown)...

My stencil has been sprayed and it looks pretty good! See the Facebook page or the Pinside thread for pics. I detail some of the mistakes made, and the good parts too. I'm in the process of building the drawer wiring, now that the drawer is physically installed in the game. So satisfying to see the cosmetics start to come together.

The Multi is progressing. I get over my existential art crisis and finish the stencil graphics and cut my stencils. I discuss some of the things I have left to do and some that has already been done! Big thanks (this two weeks) to Ryan Claytor for help with coloration consistency (elephanteater.com) Steve Smith (woodworker extraordinaire) Phil Hooper (bingo documentarian and technician - bingo.cdy...

Wayne Neyens was a very prolific pinball designer, most famous for his time at Gottlieb. We discuss everything from his time at Western Equipment and Supply to his career at Gottlieb and a bit beyond. He is almost 99 years old, and as such, has seen a LOT of interesting happenings in coin op since he started at Western. Wayne was incredibly generous with his time and willingness to discuss some of...

Chicago Coin's 'Thing' is up and running in my home! I go over some of the challenges and gloss over some others. The game has several fairly fragile-looking components. Odd and unique relay ladders, and tons and tons of relays under the playfield. Great game, and I'm happy it's done! Almost every shot earns at least 10,000 points, and the two passive bumpers at the bottom earn 100,000 at certain...

Some interesting fun things happened this past weekend, and I discuss a few standout games I played at the Pinball Hall of Fame and Flipperspiel Underground. I also thought it wise to cover a game again! Today's game is Baker Big Time. This game has 8 different ways to win, multiple sequences, and a neat playfield design that reminds me of the horse race games. You can win up to 60 replays on this...

I dislike the construction of Williams solid state drop targets - I give some reasons why and discuss the mechanical problems of a steel ball hitting plastic affixed to metal with more plastic... I also discuss a short circuit troubleshooting session from a recent repair. Lack of heat shrink in my travel toolbox caused me to improvise. I picked up a Chicago Coin 'Thing' and have been removing the...

I've been working on graphics for the Multi cabinet, and had a coding weekend to take my mind off of artwork... The Hold feature allows you to return some or all of the balls during a normal game. Pretty cool feature! Used on only three games, Palm Springs, Surf Club and Ice Frolics. I also describe the gameplay and some of the features of Robo-Frenzy, the new EM arcade game being made by myself a...

Multi Progress: 105 out of 107 games that utilize the standard 25 hole playfield (with no additional coils) are complete! One of those two remaining games was just discovered this week! United's Serenade appeared out of nowhere. I assume it was a prototype game that never made it into full production. A listener asks how to deal with a noisy coin lockout relay. Steve Smith is putting together a li...

My first attempt at a courtroom audio drama. This one involves a court case between the City of Baltimore, MD and Bally Bounty - yes, the pinball machine! Special thanks to Ryan Claytor (elephanteater.com) for providing some of the voices in the drama. Just a silly, fun, educational thing to get you started in the New Year. Happy New Year, everyone!

Miss America - all four of these games have been implemented. In fact, I'm up to 83 games implemented! I talk about some of how the games changed over the years, my favorite games, features of all the Miss America games, and how I've implemented the moving numbers within Miss America. Hey! You like podcasts, you like pinball - friend of the show Ryan Claytor has illustrated another podcast masterp...

Talk about the way United games work and portion, and lots of interesting news: 70 games in the Multi-Bingo! Ryan Claytor has illustrated artwork for The Pinball Podcast's 100th episode! Check out http://www.niftyled.com/search.php?search_query=podcast&Search= Robert Medl has put together a fantastic document about reflex adjustment: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/has-your-bingo-been-chea...

Phil makes a special 'in-person' appearance on the podcast! We went over the codebase for a Magic Screen game and I explained how and why each of the functions work the way that they do within the program. Phil provided me with a good clue as to why the machines seemed too 'tight' - my mixers were able to move between 1 and 23 positions with each spin. In reality, they only move a small subset. Sp...

My interview today is with bingo collector/repair person/player Keith Nickalo. Keith has a fascinating website with information about some of the machines he has repaired, as well as documentation on various oddities: http://sites.google.com/site/keithnickalo/home/as-is The heavily modified Lotta Fun that Keith mentions is here: http://sites.google.com/site/modifiedlottafun/ Some documentation on...

There's no shortcutting the implementation of these games in the Multi-Bingo. Duncan Brown's Expo seminar on the unproduced games of Harry Williams is an amazing story: http://backglass.org/williams/tlpdohw/expo2016/ It's the biggest EM news in many years. Well worth the read! The Pacific Pinball Expo is happening on Nov 10-13 in Alameda, CA. Attend and play some of the great woodrail and EM games...

This year's York show wrap-up! I discuss how the Bingo Row went, some feedback from players of the Multi, a short interview with my friend Ryan Claytor, and lots and lots of 'thank yous'. The thread on the Multi-Bingo that Ryan mentions is here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/multi-bingo-machine and Ryan and I each wrote some wrap-up posts on the 'row here: https://pinside.com/pinball/for...

Sing Along is one of my favorite Gottlieb wedgeheads - beautiful theme execution and great, challenging gameplay. http://ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2160 CORRECTION: I said this was a Parker art package. Couldn't have been more wrong. It was Art Stenholm. My apologies. I also speak a bit about Duncan Brown's excellent upcoming seminar at Expo 2016: "From The Lost Playfield Drawings Of Harry Williams:...