EldarOfSuburbia
New member
- Feb 8, 2014
- 4,032
- 0
So on the pretense of running an errand (actually, not a pretense, I did actually need to pick something up) I hit up a few local location likely to have pinball tables. 2 bowling alleys and an arcade/sports bar/Dave-and-Busters-a-like.
The first place I visited, ABC West lanes, has a Tee'd Off. Not in terrible shape, the plunger felt wonky but worked okay, left flipper rubber in poor condition - very visible cracks, the ball just died instead of bouncing at least once. Also it felt like the table was bolted to the floor, it was impossible to nudge even the tiniest amount. All in all, unlikely to revisit.
We'll get to the second place in a bit.
The last place visited, The Coliseum Entertainment complex, has a Simpsons Pinball Party! Yay! After negotiating with the overly complex system of paying $1 for a "token card", then charging said token card, and sliding the aforementioned card in the slot on TSPP, I began the game. Which was, frankly, a mistake. First off, the upper-right flipper on the main playfield, and the right flipper on the mini-playfield, just didn't work. Not weak flips, not some sorry attempt to flip, just no response whatsoever, entirely dead. That's the game unplayable right there, before I even go into practically all of the playfield lights being out, and the sensor in the Garage not working. The ball would get stuck in the Garage until the ball search started, and fired the VUK to serve the ball to the mini-playfield. Yuck. Definitely won't be back, which means I have about $4 of useless "token card" for that place.
The second place I visited was Trindle Bowl, the clear winners!
First, a very good condition Monopoly. Naturally my first game where I didn't have a clue, I got a replay. Second and third games, where I was trying to learn the game, not so much. As it goes.
But the surprise? This:
Yep! An Atari Superman. In pretty good nick. Well, the flippers were weak as molasses, but otherwise, in very solid shape and very playable. Quite the find.
So now I know where to book my kids' bowling parties in future
The first place I visited, ABC West lanes, has a Tee'd Off. Not in terrible shape, the plunger felt wonky but worked okay, left flipper rubber in poor condition - very visible cracks, the ball just died instead of bouncing at least once. Also it felt like the table was bolted to the floor, it was impossible to nudge even the tiniest amount. All in all, unlikely to revisit.
We'll get to the second place in a bit.
The last place visited, The Coliseum Entertainment complex, has a Simpsons Pinball Party! Yay! After negotiating with the overly complex system of paying $1 for a "token card", then charging said token card, and sliding the aforementioned card in the slot on TSPP, I began the game. Which was, frankly, a mistake. First off, the upper-right flipper on the main playfield, and the right flipper on the mini-playfield, just didn't work. Not weak flips, not some sorry attempt to flip, just no response whatsoever, entirely dead. That's the game unplayable right there, before I even go into practically all of the playfield lights being out, and the sensor in the Garage not working. The ball would get stuck in the Garage until the ball search started, and fired the VUK to serve the ball to the mini-playfield. Yuck. Definitely won't be back, which means I have about $4 of useless "token card" for that place.
The second place I visited was Trindle Bowl, the clear winners!
First, a very good condition Monopoly. Naturally my first game where I didn't have a clue, I got a replay. Second and third games, where I was trying to learn the game, not so much. As it goes.
But the surprise? This:
Yep! An Atari Superman. In pretty good nick. Well, the flippers were weak as molasses, but otherwise, in very solid shape and very playable. Quite the find.
So now I know where to book my kids' bowling parties in future
