Pinball locations in Chicago

[Edan-Grossman]

I will be traveling to Chicago later this week and was wondering if anyone here knows of any bars, barcades, or any places that has pinball in that area. Given that Chicago is the home of the pinball industry I'm sure that there is a bar that has a great collection of modern and classic pins.

 

[Pinhead45]

I will be traveling to Chicago later this week and was wondering if anyone here knows of any bars, barcades, or any places that has pinball in that area. Given that Chicago is the home of the pinball industry I'm sure that there is a bar that has a great collection of modern and classic pins.

Yeah, pinball has really made a resurgence here. You can find bars with 20-30 machines here. Logan Arcade is one of those that has the classics. They have the best Judge Dredd I've seen in a while. You'll find some hard to find tables like Bad Cats or Eight Ball Deluxe or BTTF which i never saw until last month. If you go to Pinside.com you can find a map that shows where the games are in Chicago or anywhere. Or pinballmap.com/chicago has listings. I usually update the listings if I see anything new.

If new games are what you want you'll have a blast at Hq Beercade. They have three new machines WOZ, CV and TOM that look mint there but they are charging $1 per play all the other ones are on free play, about 15-20 machines. They just got a Mustang pro there last week. They have most of the modern Limited Edition Sterns there. They will be opening a second bar soon in River North, was supposed to be this month. Their website hqbeercade.com will say exactly when it should open, hopefully soon. They also have emporium barcade but I've never been there.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Are bars and barcades the main locations in Chicago to find pinball? If so, then I can see why Stern makes some of the licensing decisions it makes...

(Here in Los Angeles, particularly the northern areas, the main locales for pinball are bowling alleys, arcades, movie theaters, family entertainment centers like Chuck E. Cheese's, and pizza restaurants. Few bars have pinball machines here, and there are hardly any barcades. Pinball is seen as a game for children.)

 

[Timelord]

Are bars and barcades the main locations in Chicago to find pinball? If so, then I can see why Stern makes some of the licensing decisions it makes...

(Here in Los Angeles, particularly the northern areas, the main locales for pinball are bowling alleys, arcades, movie theaters, family entertainment centers like Chuck E. Cheese's, and pizza restaurants. Few bars have pinball machines here, and there are hardly any barcades. Pinball is seen as a game for children.)

If you remember you made this same observation in a previous post.
We get that, OK? As I related in Podcast No 6. Chicago has been and continues to be a "Bar oriented" pinball scene. Very few Arcades at all.
Chicago does not feel a need to be like L.A. We have a very long standing tradition with pinball that goes back to it's origin.

To the O.P.:

Emporium has mostly modern Sterns in great conditions. They take tokens there about $1.00 to $1.50 per play.
Interesting that Headquarters Beercade is moving towards newer machines because previously they were leaning towards older DMD's and alpha numeric tables.

To Pinhead45:
Thanks for the heads up on WOZ, it was lot listed in the database as of last week when I searched to one. The only ones listed in the region were in Rockford and Griffon Indiana, both of which are considerably outside of Chicago proper.

Timelord ...

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

I might as well follow this, since I'll be headed to Chicago later in the summer for a family vacation. Sounds like the barcade scene is going to be over-21s only, and anyway not the kind of thing my wife/kids would go for. Maybe if I'm good I'll be allowed out on my own for a couple of hours one evening

 

[Timelord]

I might as well follow this, since I'll be headed to Chicago later in the summer for a family vacation. Sounds like the barcade scene is going to be over-21s only, and anyway not the kind of thing my wife/kids would go for. Maybe if I'm good I'll be allowed out on my own for a couple of hours one evening

I'm going to be looking at the pinball scene here in Chicago and if I find any good non bar locations I'll let folks know as I'm sure other native Chicagoans will.

Check out the database locations that Pinhead45 included in his post. The only good one I knew of, Haunted trails, has reportedly sold all their pins.

Timelord ...

 

[Jeff Strong]

http://pinballmap.com/chicago

177 locations in Chicago.

If you want to see all the locations, just leave the search field blank on the top right and hit the search button, then sit back and wait for the magic.

 

[Timelord]

http://pinballmap.com/chicago

177 locations in Chicago.

If you want to see all the locations, just leave the search field blank on the top right and hit the search button, then sit back and wait for the magic.

Hey Jeff!
Keep in mind that this map has a very broad definition of "Chicago" and includes locations from just south of Beloit, Wisc to Griffin Indiana. The good news is that it also gives you a location on a map so one can quickly assess how close you are. Also, some of those entries are from 2009-2010; so I would advise calling ahead. The world is a rapidly changing entity.

Timelord ....

 

[Jeff Strong]

Yeah, "Chicagoland" would be a better label, but there are a lot of listings within the city.

And yeah, definitely call ahead if you're not feeling adventurous. They do have some dedicated people who keep the entries up to date, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Pinhead45]

I might as well follow this, since I'll be headed to Chicago later in the summer for a family vacation. Sounds like the barcade scene is going to be over-21s only, and anyway not the kind of thing my wife/kids would go for. Maybe if I'm good I'll be allowed out on my own for a couple of hours one evening

You can always go to Gameworks In Schaumburg as that's just outside Woodfield Mall, a big tourist destination here. That place allows kids. There's Galloping ghost arcade (not a bar) which allows you to play all day for a flat fee, but you need to call them and find out the availability of the games. I hear they are in the back and that's not always accessible. There's Safari Land another kids place with indoor rides, there is a miniature golf place in Crestwood, Hollywood Park that has modern games so you see there is all kinds of places in Chicago. Don't believe Pinball is just at the bars. But what i have found is if I want to see something rare I have to go to the bars. Even then you miss some games. just missed a Strange Science myself and I'm still trying to locate Scared Stiff but I have seen most of the places and got to play a great variety of games.

 

[Timelord]

Oh, so you're including surrounding towns? Then I shall stand corrected. Inside the city limits your option for child friendly pinball decrease dramatically.

Shaumburg is 32 miles outside the city limits, and Crestwood is 21 miles away. You will definitely need a car to visit those places if you are visiting. Call ahead because they both close certain areas to the public at times.

As I said before, the best thing about the databases that Pinhead45 posted is that there is a map so you can quickly determine how far away you are from any given location.

Timelord ...

 

[Edan-Grossman]

Thanks for your input guys. I'll be taking another look at the map before I head out, but so far the Emporium, Logan Arcade, and Beercade stand out to me the most because of the number of games they have and that they have some of the newest games. If I go to any of these places I'll let you know how they are.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

When I get the time I'll check where we're staying. We're renting an apartment for the week, IIRC the nearest stop is Jarvis. Would be nice to find somewhere within walking distance, assuming it's the kind of neighborhood where walking is okay.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

If you remember you made this same observation in a previous post.
We get that, OK? As I related in Podcast No 6. Chicago has been and continues to be a "Bar oriented" pinball scene. Very few Arcades at all.
Chicago does not feel a need to be like L.A. We have a very long standing tradition with pinball that goes back to it's origin.

I apologize for that. I really do have trouble wrapping my mind around such a concept, and I tend to forget whom I say what to.

I suppose the actual intent of my post should've been an inquiry if other places are like this too. Considering most pinball companies have been in Chicago, I do honestly wonder if it affects their bottom line if they're exposed to an atypical audience of operators skewing their idea of how a normal operator is like or if it's just me.

(It's also because, while I do like the most recent Sterns for their gameplay, the non-movie themes they have chosen, like AC/DC, Metallica, and Mustang, feel limited in audience as they seem aimed at middle-aged and old men, and that concerns me as Stern pretty much defines the industry at this point.)

Shaumburg is 32 miles outside the city limits, and Crestwood is 21 miles away. You will definitely need a car to visit those places if you are visiting. Call ahead because they both close certain areas to the public at times.

Is it okay to ask another question here out of curiosity?

Is there a strong automobile culture in Chicago? 32 miles outside the city limits doesn't really seem that far away.

(Chicago is definitely a place I would like to drive to on a vacation one day.)

 

[Jeff Strong]

Looks like there's a nice variety of non-bar places to play in Chicago too (several of the bowling alleys, theaters, and pizzerias have pins for example). So that's cool for a change of pace.

 

[Timelord]

Looks like there's a nice variety of non-bar places to play in Chicago too (several of the bowling alleys, theaters, and pizzerias have pins for example). So that's cool for a change of pace.

Yeah Jeff, you know me, i drank water at our meetup.

The reality if it is, when you check the status of the machines is that outside of the major operators, major lack of maintenance.

For example when I checked the status of the locations for the Jarvis station location I found one non bar table, a Terminator 3 It all looks good until ya visit the location.
The DMD didn't work. no scores, no video modes. Typical for these kind of 2nd or 3rd tier locations in Chicago as they don't really care.

All the tables good have been purchased by collectors or are in high volume locations ( ie bars). Very much dregs left behind. At least we don't have a "cricket" report like Germany, and I am thankful for that.

Makes me sad as I want to play pinball, not drink, but economics being what they are, it is what it is.

Timelord ...

 

[Jeff Strong]

I hear ya, man. Thank God for those operators who still have a passion for pinball. They are few, but much appreciated.

 

[Timelord]

Right on, brother man !

Timelord ...

 

[brakel]

Has Logans Hardware expanded their pinball? The last time I was there they only had three machines but that was a couple of years ago. They were all in great shape and I keep meaning to go again but it's one of those things that keeps getting back-burnered by life. My daughter turns 21 this year so I look forward to going anywhere for pinball with her soon. Many of the bars that have a full dining room will let her into the bar with us to play pinball during the day. I just call ahead to ask. One bar that we went to said that she could be in the bar area until 9pm as long as we were with her. But then we weren't watching the time and stayed until 10pm and no one bothered us. But it's Chicago. The police don't bust local bars as long as everyone is playing nice. So as long as it's cool with the bartender then it's cool. But that's only in the city. The burbs are another story.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Are the bartenders more ornery in the suburbs?