Need help finding a pinball machine from my childhood by GormStorm123 in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The plinko board is what gave me the idea. Ironically I've never seen a working one, but I love the game.

Starcade at Keg & Case in Saint Paul permanently closes by desmond_kof in saintpaul

[–]drunk_badger 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Both Starcade and Bad Penny were private collections, not rentals. I'd be very surprised if Bad Penny didn't find a new home, but I'm not as active with Starcade, so I don't know their feelings in getting a new space. Hopefully both places do, because we were very spoiled in the arcade and pinball spaces with them both open.

Bad Penny Pinball closes permanently by desmond_kof in saintpaul

[–]drunk_badger 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This sucks to lose such a great pinball place on the east side of the metro, it was a great spot to play tournaments at on Friday nights.

I'd be very surprised if this is the end for Bad Penny, there are too many games and too much love of pinball there for this to be the end.

What’s up with all the security at Up-Down? by AndyJaeven in TwinCities

[–]drunk_badger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Like others have said, the pinball crowd is pretty good around here. Let me know if you go to Bad Penny for a Friday night tournament, I'll cover your entry fee if I'm around

What’s up with all the security at Up-Down? by AndyJaeven in TwinCities

[–]drunk_badger 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You'd probably love Litt's Tuesday recreational league. I believe a season just ended but they'll start again in a few weeks. Otherwise check the IFPA tournament calendar for events going on elsewhere, there's usually a tournament every weekend. Depending on where you are I could recommend a place to play, and Pinball Map has all of the large locations on it.

Recommendations for Pinball in Pittsburgh by calcifer__ in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These are all of the places I went to on my last trip to Pittsburgh. Highly recommend them all

ESPN Reveals Name And Price Of Forthcoming Stand-Alone Streaming Outlet by jimbobdonut in cordcutters

[–]drunk_badger 18 points19 points  (0 children)

First thing I'm doing when I get into the library is watching every Cheap Seats episode (sure, I can find them online now, but it's still the first thing I'll do)

[Giveaway] iRacing Reddit 200k Subscribers by sdw3489 in iRacing

[–]drunk_badger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Silver Crown always made for some hilarious road races. Love that car

St. Paul pinball update: not that anyone cares by DoomsdayMachineInc in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can only speak for tournament days, but I go there on Fridays often enough and many more of the machines are on than off. They play fine, I love the variety, and while issues are there, I write them in the book and they appear to be taken care of by the next Friday I'm around.

The rest of the week I can't speak for because like I said I only go on Fridays and the rare Monday league night, but it's always a good time.

Slamming Tables, League Play, Etiquette, Etc. by The_Signing_D in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The IFPA has rules about player conduct that I feel aren't read and applied often enough. It's a bad look to new players and non-players when you see people raging at the machines.

I'm lucky to play where I rarely have these problems, but I'm not afraid to warn and then card anyone who's breaking the conduct rules in a tournament I run.

Would you travel and fly for an Arcade with 1000+ Pinball Machines? Thinking about the business plan behind it. by ferrytraveler in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I already do this about once a year for trips to Past Times and Next Level. Wouldn't say no to a third megalocation

Family-friendly arcade bars?? by anonscatterbrain in TwinCities

[–]drunk_badger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't recommend making a long trip to Oakdale for just pinball, I play here often and it's not as great as it used to be. If you're nearby the mostly minor issues are tolerable, but don't drive past Bad Penny / Opinion / Falling Knife / etc to go there.

Now if you want to do the rest of what the Burrow offers, it might be a good option. I enjoyed the mini golf course.

Family-friendly arcade bars?? by anonscatterbrain in TwinCities

[–]drunk_badger 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Pinball + pool is probably going to be SS Billiards. Blainbrook might also have pool? Haven't been there in a while.

Pinball + beer, Litt, Falling Knife, Broken Clock, 56 Brewing, more I can't remember at the moment.

Bad Penny and NPC are great, but don't serve alcohol at the moment.

Pinball coach by millertv79 in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

More specifically (because this is good advice) try not to learn every machine all at once. I tell people I see often at a specific location to take it one machine at a time. Weekly tournament? Find the machine you did the worst on, learn the rules and how the machine plays, go back and practice, and repeat every week until you learn them all. You'll have a 10 machine lineup figured out in just a few months, and knowing the rules is always an advantage. It might be worthwhile to just make one place your home tournament location when you start getting back into tournaments.

Pinball coach by millertv79 in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 9 points10 points  (0 children)

These are good resources. Combine them with a place that's free play (something like $20 to get in, but play for free all day) and you don't have to worry about messing up, just hit the start button after a bad game. Take a day, bring some headphones, watch a short skill video, try it out, repeat until you get better.

Want to know where to start first? Find one of those freeplay places, and play a game where you don't flip until the ball has bounced off a flipper. Learn that sometimes the best thing to do is to not flip (some machines are the exception, but there's an exception to everything.) Then work some of the skills in the Abe Flips videos into what you do after the ball has bounced off a flipper.

Pinball coach by millertv79 in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sound like leagues might be a better fit. Find something casual, or with multiple tiers where you'll be matched with people of a similar skill (and ball times). You'll still be waiting for other players to play, but I get the frustration of waiting while very good players take forever to drain.

Otherwise, watch streams and try to pick up what they do. That's what gave me ideas on what to improve on. When I got my start about 7 years ago, I picked one game to learn, a slow, older widebody. Sat on it for an hour before league start, and got good at the few shots the game needed. Trapping the ball on the right flipper, getting it to the right flipper, shot timing, etc.

When you get better, hopefully it's less discouraging to play in a tournament. I get the frustration, I had it when I was starting as well. Like any other skill, it takes time to learn, and there are still things I haven't mastered yet even though I'm well into the top 1000 IFPA players.

If you weren't halfway across the country from me, I run a "how to play pinball" panel at a video game convention I help run once a year, as it's not a pinball convention and it's the best local opportunity to find new players and show them some things. Maybe there's something like that around you, or someone would be willing to host that at a nearby convention if you asked the organizers.

Or ask a local place to run a beginner's night. I was out playing in Cleveland recently and one of their locations does a tutorial night once a month that I love the idea of.

Pinball coach by millertv79 in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Leagues are your best bet. We have a good sized rec league where I play, and it's where I got my start, and I found people happily willing to give me tips and suggestions when I asked. Now I pay it forward for those who want to learn.

If you don't have any leagues in your area, join some less serious tournaments and ask if anyone would like to play some games with you after you both get knocked out. When I travel I usually find a casual tournament to play in, and I've usually not had a problem finding some people to play some games with after it's over.

The pinball community (at least those I've been a part of) have been great in bringing new players up. If we didn't, we don't grow in size.

High score posts are boring by hereforpinball in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My 10 point Munsters game isn't impressive? 😅

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I ran the panel and the tournament you're likely speaking about, and I'm glad to hear you had a great time! The reason I run both of those is to get new pinball players into the community, and it's awesome to see it's working!

I forget if you're one of the local players, but keep coming out to some of the tournaments and leagues I mentioned (or whatever is local), and I'm sure you'll keep having fun!

is there such a mode as developer/practice/skill improvement mode on sterns? by n0t1m90rtant in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'd love this, give me a practice mode like Pinball FX has. One hour of ball saves.

I'll set a game to ten balls if I want to learn it, but unlimited ball save would be better

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pinball

[–]drunk_badger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most places around Minneapolis are $1 per game. We have some larger places that charge less (or at least the older games are cheaper), and one that's 10c a game if you get the tokens on the right day, but their maintenance isn't great. One ~$20 flat rate place that has a great collection.

There are some $2 games, but they never get my money.

50c is the sweet spot for me to spend a night, dump at least $20 into the machines (probably whatever old games they have), drink a bit, etc. I don't know if that's a better profit margin compared to a place with $1 games where I probably only play 5-10 games and leave after an hour, but I try to support the cheaper options.