Brief Review of Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, CA

Baltimore Jones

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Jul 25, 2013
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Since moving to San Francisco 3 months ago, I've wanted to visit the nearby Pacific Pinball Museum. I finally got around to it this weekend. I'm used to having a car and would have likely gone much sooner if I had one here, but I don't and so I had to be a big boy and take the train and bus all by myself (more complicated than it sounds).

The area that it's in is the main street of a nice suburban neighborhood. They don't serve food or drinks (vending machines), but there are some places to eat nearby and you are welcome to come and go after paying the $15 admission.

The place is set up with different rooms roughly representing different eras. The first large room has 20+ playable pins from the '40s-'60s with some brief written histories, as well as some older non-playable stuff. Then there are a couple of rooms with '80s-early-'90s games that are a bit more advanced but still pre-DMD, and then a more DMD focused room. There are also some random rooms with random machines; the layout isn't perfect!

Overall I had fun, as of course would be the case when going somewhere with 100+ pinball machines on free play. The one complaint I have is that it's too loud. There are era-appropriate jukeboxes in every room, also on freeplay, but this can present a bit of a problem with noise.

The DMD room in particular was problematic. You can hear almost nothing from the machine you're playing in that room. I don't know if it's the layout (it's a relatively small and enclosed room) or the jukebox or what, but it's not good. TAF wasn't as much of a joy to play as it should have been because I could barely hear anything! If I didn't know what I was supposed to be hearing during the multiball buildup, I wouldn't have gotten anything at all out of it. So I got basically nothing at all out of the machines in that room that I wasn't already familiar with.

"Nothing" is an overstatement of course, but to me the sound is such an important piece of DMD pinball games (and many prior to DMD); it tends to be where most of my pinball nostalgia comes from. It's a shame to not be able to hear anything from a machine.

In a way this is ok, because most of these machines I'll get to play on TPA at some point where I can enjoy the sound without interference to my heart's content. Definitely looking forward to an eventual TPA release of Road Show, which I played for the first time there.

Interestingly, one of the better times I had there was with Lethal Weapon 3 just because it was in an isolated and quiet room where I could hear and see everything that was going on.

Also, CFTBL's DMD was broken! Big disappointment...
 

jaredmorgs

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Staff member
May 8, 2012
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I'm used to having a car and would have likely gone much sooner if I had one here, but I don't and so I had to be a big boy and take the train and bus all by myself (more complicated than it sounds).

Totally agree. I went there last year in April, and getting over there was a trip. Particularly as an Aussie not used to how roads run over there.

I got the BART over to 19th St Oakland. Then I had to navigate my way to the bus to Alameda. This was during what looked like a police siege near a bank... Welcome to the 'merkin burbs.

It was much easier on the way back. There was a bus that went directly from Alameda central to the main bus terminal in South of Market, bypassing the crazy of Oakland.

If you're from out of town and are using BART heaps, then do yourself a favour and get a Clipper Card (prepaid transit card). Fishing around for loose change for BART network services is a PITA. If you only have a $20 on you, that's how much your fare will cost. Exact change or DIE!

The area that it's in is the main street of a nice suburban neighborhood. They don't serve food or drinks (vending machines), but there are some places to eat nearby and you are welcome to come and go after paying the $15 admission.

Yep, got my taste of Mexican at Otaez Mexican. Huge meals! Yummy though.

The place is set up with different rooms roughly representing different eras. The first large room has 20+ playable pins from the '40s-'60s with some brief written histories, as well as some older non-playable stuff. Then there are a couple of rooms with '80s-early-'90s games that are a bit more advanced but still pre-DMD, and then a more DMD focused room. There are also some random rooms with random machines; the layout isn't perfect!

https://plus.google.com/photos/117309635670089895654/albums/6101054435548718705 shows my photos of those with written histories. Very interesting stuff for pinheads.

The museum subsumed adjoining tenancies as they closed down. It is definitely a bit of a maze, but I found it was fun to explore and see what you could find.

Overall I had fun, as of course would be the case when going somewhere with 100+ pinball machines on free play. The one complaint I have is that it's too loud. There are era-appropriate jukeboxes in every room, also on freeplay, but this can present a bit of a problem with noise.

The DMD room in particular was problematic. You can hear almost nothing from the machine you're playing in that room. I don't know if it's the layout (it's a relatively small and enclosed room) or the jukebox or what, but it's not good. TAF wasn't as much of a joy to play as it should have been because I could barely hear anything! If I didn't know what I was supposed to be hearing during the multiball buildup, I wouldn't have gotten anything at all out of it. So I got basically nothing at all out of the machines in that room that I wasn't already familiar with.

"Nothing" is an overstatement of course, but to me the sound is such an important piece of DMD pinball games (and many prior to DMD); it tends to be where most of my pinball nostalgia comes from. It's a shame to not be able to hear anything from a machine.

Yep, the EM and Woodies room is best suited to a Juke. The other rooms should have them removed. The DMD room really should be in one of the more open rooms because it is pretty squeezy in there.

A hot tip for anyone going to PPM. If you go the day after the Museum is closed, you are going to be treated to the machines in the best condition they will be in for the week. Their closed day is when they do all the maintenance jobs that can't be squeezed in during opening hours.

I had no choice but to go there on a Saturday, as I had an extremely tight schedule while I was over there on Business. But I managed to squeeze in PPM once, and Free Gold Watch twice.
 
Last edited:

Locksley

New member
Jan 2, 2015
384
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Great little writ BJ and Jared.

Your link Jared is not public? I thought I would look at your photos but get a not authorized :/

Cheers!
 

jaredmorgs

Moderator
Staff member
May 8, 2012
4,334
3
Great little writ BJ and Jared.

Your link Jared is not public? I thought I would look at your photos but get a not authorized :/

Cheers!
Sorry about that. Can't believe I hadn't made that album public.

Go forth and view: shared to public.
 

shutyertrap

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Staff member
Mar 14, 2012
7,334
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If the tables had their volumes turned up loud, I would think with the speakers directly in front of you it would be audible. Problem I run in to is that there will be 2 or 3 tables blaring, while the rest barely have the sound turned on, so of course the only thing you hear is the pin 15 feet away from you.
 

EldarOfSuburbia

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Feb 8, 2014
4,032
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I'd recommend heading to Free Gold Watch. As the name suggests, it's pinball arcade (with a few video games) with a t-shirt printing shop in the back. Right at the eastern end of Golden Gate Park, easy to reach by bus. There are around 40 pins, all in pretty good shape, and they take quarters. Most are set to 50 cents but there are some at 75 (AC/DC, Stern Star Trek) and a couple at $1 (Metallica, Wizard of Oz). A good variety ranging from early 80s to up-to-date modern pins.
 

jaredmorgs

Moderator
Staff member
May 8, 2012
4,334
3
I'd recommend heading to Free Gold Watch. As the name suggests, it's pinball arcade (with a few video games) with a t-shirt printing shop in the back. Right at the eastern end of Golden Gate Park, easy to reach by bus. There are around 40 pins, all in pretty good shape, and they take quarters. Most are set to 50 cents but there are some at 75 (AC/DC, Stern Star Trek) and a couple at $1 (Metallica, Wizard of Oz). A good variety ranging from early 80s to up-to-date modern pins.
Yeah, it's a great place.

This is what was on offer last April.

https://plus.google.com/photos/117309635670089895654/albums/6005248556098941473
 

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