I’m really big on ambience and general clientele. My favorite locations have been High-Life and Arcade Super Awesome. They’re tucked away enough that I can assume most people who go there are going to be there for pinball. I just can’t play with children or screaming drunk basics all up in my stuff. I also tend to avoid places where old men ask me what kind of asian I am.
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I personally think charging by the hour is a great incentive for beginners, as whatever amount it is they charge, a beginner would probably otherwise blow through more than that in an hour if it was charged by the game.
I also sometimes visit these places just to experiment around and practice risky things that would otherwise yield very short games. When I’m paying by the time I spend there, it takes a lot of weight off when I do so.
Unless you mean Sunshine Laundromat specifically. I’ve only been by New York City once in my life and that was before I got into pinball though, so I don’t know what it’s like there. (And it’s not like our tour group would let us stay anywhere for long anyway–my group had to argue with the tour guide so we could actually enter the Rockefeller Center, for instance, and not simply just pass on by on the bus to take pictures.)
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In Cleveland there’s a couple great places to play pinball! On both the east and west side of town, there’s a bar called the Happy Dog, and they’ve got 5 machines at one location and 7 at the other. Not a large amount of machines, sure, but it’s a great bar that has a lot of great local music comin’ through, and the food is excellent. You order hot dogs and fries off this bubble sheet where you can load up your hotdog with ~40 different kinds of toppings and sauces. It’s a pretty neat idea and there’s some interesting toppings, like Froot Loops or a fried egg.
My usual stomping grounds is the Superelectric Pinball Parlor. Usually between 14-17 machines out, along with coin op games of all eras. (Like Slap Shot, one of the more popular games here.) The atmosphere is really something, as the three owners have put a lot of thought into the layout and the ascetic of the parlor. There’s a bar they made out of a 20 foot shuffleboard (which just looks cool!) and plenty of places to sit all around the place. It makes it a much more social experience than solely playing games and leaving. I’ll have to upload some pictures in the morning when the lighting is better, my phone camera isn’t doing it justice right now.
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This last weekend I picked up a car in CA and drove it back to TX(26-28hrs uuuugh). I got a chance to stop by 82 in LA though. Really cool place with a good selection of pins and vids!
I timed my trip so I got there just a few minutes after they opened and I was really surprised by how many people were already there. By the end of my two hour stay there were probably 30+ people and more coming in. The place looks like it was someones previous attempt at a club/bar/restaurant before 82 took over. There are two good sized rooms with glass walls that look out onto a central courtyard. The arcade stuff was on the left and the pinball on the right. I’m think I prefer a less sterile environment but, the ambient light that the glass walls allowed was nice.
The staff was super friendly! I ordered a beer and the keg emptied before the bartender could fill my glass. Second beer, same story. The bartender was really nice and gave me a free beer for my trouble which was no trouble at all imo. Soooooo I took my beer and sat it in the pingulp attached to GOT. One good nudge and a quarter of my brew was on the ground… I went back to the bar and asked for a towel. I was cleaning up my mess and the guy checking ID’s at the door came over and apologized that someone hadn’t offered to clean up my mess for me! He even took my towel back to the bar since I had already cleaned up the spill. I dunno, I really felt like they were making an effort and I appreciate that.
They probably have right around 15 pins. The games I played generally worked well and were clean. I felt like they were setup on the easier side so the non-pinhead players wouldn’t be to discouraged. I don’t remember playing a game that was more than 50 cents a credit. The older games I played, like taxi, were only 25. That’s rare imo and especially for newer titles like GOT, Tron, IM, AFM that were there.
Id definitely recommend 82 to anyone making a stop in LA. I only wish that I could have stayed in LA longer. I would have loved to check out Pins and Needles. Its only 5 miles from 82 or a short 2 hour drive in LA traffic 
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Nope, it was a laundry service 
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In any location with cupholders, I place my beers on the concrete floor in between the machine’s legs precisely to avoid this situation. Unless the tilts are super tight, I know the inevitable would happen otherwise. 
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I have some on my games at home so I should have known better!
Hi-Life in Oakland is a must! TJ keeps his games in great shape, total plus that the pins are in their own zone upstairs.
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If I might be so bold. My place. SS Billiards in Hopkins, MN. Currently 17 games. More coming in this year. I’ve always had some you don’t normally see. Bill Paxton, original Big Bang Bar, Addams Gold, Batman 66 SLE soon.
And doing tech support for PPS/CGC and JJP, I’m often testing software before it’s released.
LTG : )
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A bit bummed that 82 was closed on New Year’s Day though, considering Little Tokyo was having a HUGE News Year’s Day festival right next door. I walked on over down 3rd Street and saw the doors were closed. I can understand the decision, however.
[quote=“Cornelius, post:49, topic:419, full:true”]82, Family Fun Center (although their games are pretty beat up, you can’t beat the vibe of this place; neon lights, mirrored ceilings, sketchy neighborhood), Pins N’ Needles (a crazy old school pinball spot in a cavernous recording studio / practice area? Man I almost have more fun wandering around the endless halls of this place than playing pinball!), Button Mash, and the Linbrook Bowling Alley, because it’s the first spot near me that has a Hobbit and it helps that the place is crazy old school.
[/quote]
Add AYCE Gogi to that list: They have an impressive collection, most to all of them in impeccable condition, and is one of the few places in southern California to have multiple modern machines not from Stern.
Late to the discussion I see, but I will suggest the Roanoke Pinball Museum in Roanoke, VA. It has around 47 machines, many dating from the '60s and '70s! Pretty nice place.
PPM
I’m only familiar with the Seattle area, but as much as I love Add-A-Ball’s atmosphere and appreciate the legacy of Shorty’s, Flip Flip Ding Ding has an amazingly clean collection. They play like they’re brand new and they’re all cranked up good and loud. And they’re all 50 cents!
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Heelo, international traveller,
I’m from America but permanently moved to Australia. Living three hours from Sydney (Newcastle) has many advantages. There’s an annual PinFest w 70+ games on free-play for $15 for three hours.
There are several places advertised in Sydney, but I’ve only been to City Heroes which dropped from seven games to three. You mentioned Sydney in your post, and wondering where to check out next time I’m there. I’ll be in the Gold Coast in two weeks, thanks for mentioning.
Cheers from Newcastle area
I haven’t been to Sydney lately–@michi is a Queenslander that travels a fair bit, maybe he knows more about the current Sydney scene.
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No mentioned Logan Hardware?? Wow
Still one of the best IMO , mainly because the owner is rad! Also the good mix of pins and other arcade attractions.
If you want to find out more about leagues and tournaments Down Under, check the Aussie Arcade league calendar as well as the tournament calendar. Going to some of those events will quickly get you linked up with some of the locals. I keep those lists up to date, so check them periodically.
Unfortunately, things are a little quiet in New South Wales at the moment, but I hear that things may be picking up again shortly.
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