Pins and Needles, Los Angeles

[Heretic]

anyothers of note? lol

did you give molly my number?

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

No pics?

 

[shutyertrap]

No pics?

No, 'cause I wasn't actually planning on going. I happened to be working near there and got off work at the perfect time so I swung by.

As for any other tables of note, nothing like Centaur. She had 3 other Gottlieb Premier tables lined up next to that god awful ugly Genesis table. Lining 'em all up next to each other was the smart thing to do, cause it diminished their ugly! I played Jack*Bot, Whitewater, Funhouse, Centaur, Embryon, Lucky Number (I think?), and Rollergames.

 

[Pinball Molly]

Lucky Number! When did I get one of those?! Haha

Thanks for coming by!

 

[shutyertrap]

What was is it called Molly? It's the EM between Rollergames and Funhouse I believe. Made by Gottlieb, only scored to 4 digits, had the little zipper flippers.

I might come back this week for my birthday night out. If I do, gonna bring a camera so everyone can marvel at how awesome the place looks from the street, this glowing jewel in an otherwise giant concrete wall.

That and more than 5 bucks, 'cause Centaur be hungry!!

 

[Hackcell]

The place seems to be cool. I'm expecting to go there during my next trip to LA. I've never played an EM machine.

 

[shutyertrap]

The place seems to be cool. I'm expecting to go there during my next trip to LA. I've never played an EM machine.

It's got a good vibe, that's for sure. It's also only 3 minutes off the freeway, so easy to get to.

As for EMs, I've barely played them before. What I realized playing this time is that the main goal of those tables is to get the ball as high up on the table as you can, 'cause that's where the points are. And they don't make it easy to do that! The other thing I noticed was how crushing it was to have a ball in play for a fairly decent amount of time, only to realize you'd scored 1000 points. The one table I was playing scored mostly 10 points at a time! Getting it high up on the playfield would get you to the 50 point bumpers. Crazy.

 

[Animator_pin_fan]

As for any other tables of note, nothing like Centaur. She had 3 other Gottlieb Premier tables lined up next to that god awful ugly Genesis table.

Ha, Ha... SYT! I thought about posting the same thing here! I was just there yesterday afternoon with the family. I really love it that Molly has added some afternoon hours. But yes, Centaur is amazing!! I just couldn't get enough of it while I was there. Heck, even with the lights on, that multiball effect is super rad. And it just proves that a machine doesn't have to bee in "collectors quality" to play GREAT. Did you also get to play the giant widebody right next to Centaur, called Scorpion? It has soo much on the playfied, it feels like a mini pinball layout on top of a pinball layout. I think that's my 6th favorite table there- behind Whitewater, Funhouse, Centaur, Embryon, and this one:
http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1043&picno=38019

Yeah, that back row of ugly Gottlieb backglasses is actually a great lineup. And out of all of them, I think Gold Wings has one of the coolest, most interesting layouts there. Sure it's not Whitewater, but it definitely has some really cool stuff going on. You should give it a shot while you're there next time. And the other three are pretty cool too. Monte Carlo has a cool roulette wheel, and Genesis has some of the coolest spooky music- really, don't let the horrid backglass scare you.

Also, did you wander through the hallways at all? If you head to the bathrooms, you'll find Blackrose and another machine tucked away down the hall. I should ask Molly if there are other pins setup inside, especially since she lists a few on her game list that aren't in the main room.

 

[Jeff Strong]

It's got a good vibe, that's for sure. It's also only 3 minutes off the freeway, so easy to get to.

As for EMs, I've barely played them before. What I realized playing this time is that the main goal of those tables is to get the ball as high up on the table as you can, 'cause that's where the points are. And they don't make it easy to do that! The other thing I noticed was how crushing it was to have a ball in play for a fairly decent amount of time, only to realize you'd scored 1000 points. The one table I was playing scored mostly 10 points at a time! Getting it high up on the playfield would get you to the 50 point bumpers. Crazy.

It's all relative though. A 10 point shot on that pin is equivalent to a 10 million point shot on TOM. As time went on, they just put more zeros behind the score values to make the players feel better!

 

[shutyertrap]

Also, did you wander through the hallways at all? If you head to the bathrooms, you'll find Blackrose and another machine tucked away down the hall. I should ask Molly if there are other pins setup inside, especially since she lists a few on her game list that aren't in the main room.

If you went into the lobby just beyond where Black Rose is, there are two other tables...Laser War (with a spectacularly bad 80's pic) and an EM with a racing theme.

I only had 5 bucks on me, so I didn't even bother with that upper row where the not Top Gun table was! Maybe I'll try it next time. And no, I didn't try Scorpion. Funny thing with Centaur, in VP when the ball goes down the outlanes, I'd say 60% of the time it hits that rubber post and bounces back in like it should/can. Playing for real, that ball never came close to bouncing back in! Ball just never had enough speed to do it.

That is really cool she's opening up on Sat afternoons. Might have to take my boy sometime. I'm curious to know what other DMD tables she has, as I've only seen Whitewater, Black Rose, and Jack*Bot.

 

[shutyertrap]

It's all relative though. A 10 point shot on that pin is equivalent to a 10 million point shot on TOM. As time went on, they just put more zeros behind the score values to make the players feel better!

But the bells were chiming all over the place, and I don't tend to look at the score till the ball drains, so audibly I'm thinking I'm killing it and then I see I scored 340 points and just laugh!

 

[Jeff Strong]

But the bells were chiming all over the place, and I don't tend to look at the score till the ball drains, so audibly I'm thinking I'm killing it and then I see I scored 340 points and just laugh!

But see, that's actually not bad when you put it in perspective to the value of each shot. That would be like over a billion on TOM, haha

 

[Animator_pin_fan]

That is really cool she's opening up on Sat afternoons. Might have to take my boy sometime. I'm curious to know what other DMD tables she has, as I've only seen Whitewater, Black Rose, and Jack*Bot.

Let me know if you're heading up on a saturday, we can maybe meet up. In the old space she had a Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it's not anywhere inside of the main room, so either she sold/traded it, or it's tucked away in one of the hallways.

 

[RetroDude]

Actually we all like redemption machines here like at Chuck E. Cheese. Could you please find a way to have pinball tables spit out tickets instead of replays and extra balls?

Yeesh!
If I wanted crappy gambling, I'd buy a scratch off lottery tickets.

Personally, I find all the redemption games as ruining the arcade experience, but the industry apparently thinks differently.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Yeesh!
If I wanted crappy gambling, I'd buy a scratch off lottery tickets.

Personally, I find all the redemption games as ruining the arcade experience, but the industry apparently thinks differently.

+1

Redemption machines are laaaaaaame. I'm so tired of finding a new arcade and going in only to find that all they have are redemption machines. It makes me very sad.

 

[shutyertrap]

Yeesh!
If I wanted crappy gambling, I'd buy a scratch off lottery tickets.

Personally, I find all the redemption games as ruining the arcade experience, but the industry apparently thinks differently.

I believe I was being sarcastic.

Maybe.