Castles & Coasters! Phoenix, AZ

[gooche77]

I'll be going later today for much pinball. They're offering a 3 hr unlimited pass for $10!!!

According to pin locator they have 15 machines with some heavy hitters like Addams Family and Indiana Jones pinball adventure. There's also some newer Sterns and classic video games.

I'll have my wife take some pix to post later. I haven't been this excited since my daughter's 1st steps!

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

or when you posed for your avatar pic. HAVE FUN!

 

[gooche77]

Here's what I played:

Indiana Jones - played well. Center of play-field was warped causing some odd drains. Path to adventure caused a stuck ball that the operator had to fix. Still as awesome as I remember it, though.

Addams Family - great shape. Man that's a fun table.

Whodunit - broken. Game kept resetting after 1st plunged ball.

High Speed - also in great shape. This table is a must have in TPA. La Grange wouldn't be missed if licensing is an issue IMO. I barely noticed it.

Terminator 3 - excellent shape. I was quite surprised at the depth and fun of the table despite the corny Ahnold voice clips. If the kick starter goes through, FS should double up a la Elvira.

Revenge from Mars & Star Wars Episode 1 are unique but ultimately disappointing. Revenge more so but that's probably because I'm a Star Wars geek.

Creature from the Black Lagoon - fine shape. I couldn't hit the snack bar to save my life.

Family Guy - weak left mini-flipper otherwise playable. Great design and sound work.

Simpsons Pinball Party - great shape. So much to do. Another TPA essential.

Pirates of the Caribbean - table worked fine. Didn't spend a lot of time on it, but it seems like I'd like it with a few more plays.

Iron Man - weird glitch where left flipper would stay up until right flipper button was pressed. Fun table but nothing special.

Spider-Man - no real problems to speak of. Definitely not my favorite of the newer Sterns. Felt a bit generic.

Batman - perfect working order. The table was a blast to play (despite Maggie Gyllenhaall's busted face messing up the nice play-field art) The scarecrow challenge was very creative.

Overall it's the most pinball I've played in years and TPA certainly helped me prepare for such a fine experience.

 

[pseudokings]

Sounds like they've done some work to a few tables (finally). Hoping to get back there in the next couple weeks.

 

[gooche77]

The attendant was very courteous and addressed the issue I was having with Indiana Jones in short order. $10 for 3 hrs of pinball and classic arcade games is a steal. I even channeled my inner Steve Wiebe and beat the high score on Donkey Kong!

 

[pseudokings]

Here's what I played:

Indiana Jones - played well. Center of play-field was warped causing some odd drains. Path to adventure caused a stuck ball that the operator had to fix. Still as awesome as I remember it, though.

Addams Family - great shape. Man that's a fun table.

Whodunit - broken. Game kept resetting after 1st plunged ball.

High Speed - also in great shape. This table is a must have in TPA. La Grange wouldn't be missed if licensing is an issue IMO. I barely noticed it.

Terminator 3 - excellent shape. I was quite surprised at the depth and fun of the table despite the corny Ahnold voice clips. If the kick starter goes through, FS should double up a la Elvira.

Revenge from Mars & Star Wars Episode 1 are unique but ultimately disappointing. Revenge more so but that's probably because I'm a Star Wars geek.

Creature from the Black Lagoon - fine shape. I couldn't hit the snack bar to save my life.

Family Guy - weak left mini-flipper otherwise playable. Great design and sound work.

Simpsons Pinball Party - great shape. So much to do. Another TPA essential.

Pirates of the Caribbean - table worked fine. Didn't spend a lot of time on it, but it seems like I'd like it with a few more plays.

Iron Man - weird glitch where left flipper would stay up until right flipper button was pressed. Fun table but nothing special.

Spider-Man - no real problems to speak of. Definitely not my favorite of the newer Sterns. Felt a bit generic.

Batman - perfect working order. The table was a blast to play (despite Maggie Gyllenhaall's busted face messing up the nice play-field art) The scarecrow challenge was very creative.

Overall it's the most pinball I've played in years and TPA certainly helped me prepare for such a fine experience.

Just played there today, so here's my assessment of the tables and their working order:
Whodunnit: In proper working order, played well. Under-appreciated table that is TPA worthy for sure.
Indy '93: Some flipper delay in dropping after a ball-stall on the right flipper, and ball diverted away from the tilting path toy, otherwise, played pretty well. Brilliant game, would love to see in TPA if that were realistically.
The Getaway: Dead left flipper. Weak upper flipper. Pretty much unplayable. Great table that should already be in TPA.
CFTBL: Flippers a little weak and a lot of really little things just off, but still playable. Wonderful table, Top 10 for sure. My fave at Coasters. Glad it's in TPA (wish it wasn't missing songs though...)
Addams Family: In essentially proper working order, although the ball did stick until you pushed the machine at the bend in the return ramp. Great table, neck and neck with Indy '93 for 2nd fave at Coasters. Everyone wants this in TPA. Everyone. Will that ever matter? That's another story...
SW:Episode 1: Busted plunger. Unplayable. They "can't" do Pinball 2000... and we aren't missing much without Epi1.
Revenge From Mars: Some flipper weakness. Playable. This one would be cool in TPA, but, they "can't", so...
POTC: Weak flippers. Not dreadfully so, but any little thing off about a Pirates makes it 10x harder to play well. Great table, would love to see in TPA, but it's "The Mouse"...
Family Guy: Playable. Over-rated. Not bad at all, but over-rated. Not worth a kickstarter.
Simpsons Pinball Party: Barely playable. Dirty playfield. Weak flippers. Probably the most over-rated pin ever made. I've played it a bunch. It breaks down a lot (at least the one as Coasters does), the little upper-playfield is pretty rinky-dink, and I just don't get why it's so highly though of.
Elvis: Flippers a little less than perfect, but still very playable. Right loop magnet actually worked for the first time I can think of. Drops stuck down. Really good pin. Not an Elvis fan, but it's a cool table with a good design that would be great in TPA.
Didn't play Iron Man.
Spider-Man: In pretty much proper working order. Very good table that always seems to stop short of being great. Would be sweet in TPA, but it won't happen.
Batman(DK): In proper working order. Looks like a pile of Stern junk... but it's great. Maybe their best table (LOTR, POTC, in the running too). Would love to see in TPA, but that would take a lot of $$ or a sweetheart deal from DC/WB.