The Pinball Blog

Where have I gone?

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:54:00 PDT

Erm.... Pinball has been a large part of my life for the past few years, perhaps a little bit too much. After hosting the European Pinball Championships and World Pinball Championships in the space of two weeks, I decided to take a break from pinball for a while. I've had hundreds and hundreds of best wishes emails which have been great but it's time to have a break!

I've organised 5 world class UK Pinball Shows, met some incredible people and had a blast, but it never was my intention to stick around forever. I'm still getting visitors to HQ2 who want to rummage for parts, play pinball or just have a cup of tea and a chat. Everyone is welcome still (well, nearly everyone :)

I still check my emails, just you won't get an instant reply like before!

Also it would be nice if the blog could continue but I just don't have the time anymore. If YOU want to continue the blog, I'll show you how easy it is and my little army of informants can be at your disposal!

The blog became so popular that it would be a shame to see it disappear, it still gets more hits than most pinball websites and it's not been active for 6 weeks!

Drop me a line if you want to have a chat about running the blog, or a chat about anything.

I have the Transworld Sport piece on the IFPA which I'll try and upload - my little place on the farm on TV in more than 100 countries around the world is pretty neat! But it's time to have a break, spend some time with the family and chill with the ducks!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

2009 UK Pinball Show & EPC Report

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:39:00 PDT

Martin Ayub has been busying away at Pinball News HQ getting the 2009 UK Pinball Show & European Pinball Championship report written up. Sadly Martin wasn't able to compete in the EPC during the show as he had to organise it! Quite how he finds the time to remember half of what goes on I never know!
Click the pic for the 2009 report, great stuff Martin

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Pinball Factory for sale. £25

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:00:00 PDT

Thanks to Phil on the (free) Yahoo UK Pinball Group, who spotted this little gem...

Pinball Factory for sale. £25!

I thought someone was having a dig at the non-pinball factorium down under, but it turns out it's even worse!

Someone is selling 6 months membership to an internet forum for £25. I guess an internet forum that offers much less than the many similar FREE offerings all around the web.

With Pinball News, Rec.Games.Pinball, the UK group and of course, this most excellent blog, there's really no need for a paid-for service but I'm sure he'll reel in some sucker or another.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Welsh Classic Pinball 2009

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:52:00 PDT

Sunday 20th September sees year 2 of the popular Welsh Classic Pinball Tournament in, er Wales!

Dave and his family have become part of the furniture here at HQ2 for the Monster Meets and helped me non-stop during the recent IFPA World Pinball Championships. It's my lad's birthday weekend so I might not be able to escape myself, but judging by last year's report, it's an event worthy of a trip out west.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

High Speed Pinball Ringtones!

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:09:00 PDT

It seems most modern mobile/cell phones have a corny Electro-mechanical plinkety plonk as a ringtone, but what about something a little bit more modern?

There's a website called Locally Toned, where they find locally grown ringtones and the author recently hooked up with the guys at PAPA to record a couple of ringtones from High Speed. Click the logo above to see the results.

Now if only I had any idea how to put these things on my phone!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

IFPA World Champion Radio Interview

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:34:00 PDT

IFPA Pinball World Champion (and bloody nice guy) Bowen Kerins, gets interviewed on classic rock radio station 94.7 WCSX.

Click the logo to take you to the interview.Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

World's Worst Pinball Tips

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:41:00 PDT

I'm trying to drag my sorry a$$ back into Blogging-Mode after 2 weekends of pinball carnage - although they seem a lifetime ago!

Bowen Kerins may have come to my place in the UK and won the IFPA World Pinball Championships, he may also be one of the nicest guys I've ever met, but when it comes to giving playing tips - he's either been horribly misquoted, or doesn't want us to be rivals to his crown! Click the pic for the article if you can't read it here!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

IFPA & EPC 2009 - The Video!

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:05:00 PDT

Wow, has it been a week since I've been anywhere near the blog? I've still got loads to share, but for now here's a trailer to the upcoming video (made by TV's Will Barber) about the 2 weekends of pinball!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

EPC & IFPA Pinball Piece in August Gamesworld

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:24:00 PDT

There's a piece about the European Pinball Championships and IFPA6 World Pinball Championship in the August GamesWorld.

Not sure you're able to read online so here's the text from the article.

- - - - - -

Former NBA professional Todd MacCulloch is among an international field of 150 competitors playing in the European Pinball Championship at this year's UK Pinball Show, taking place from July 24-26 at Northampton Saints Rugby Club.

Todd, who was forced to retire through injury, now considers himself a professional pinball player, although his single biggest win of $200 doesn't get close to the $35 million he made in the NBA. While Todd may slowly be climbing the World Pinball Player Rankings, others have been playing and winning tournaments for years and competition is sure to be fierce. Some of the best pinball players on the planet are all hoping to win the championship, which is being held in the UK for the first time. Nick Bennett of ThePinballBlog.com told Games World "With pinball machines rarely seen in the wild these days, there was nothing for us 'pinheads' to do. It wasn't very long ago that social pinball in the UK was pretty much dead. In 5 years, the show has become an established part of an increasing social and competitive calendar and the fact we've been chosen to host the European Pinball Championship (EPC) as part of the show is a massive pat on the back to everything we have achieved. The EPC sold out in a matter of days but the main show is open to all and everybody is welcome."

With over 100 pinball machines to play, the event attracts casual players, competitive players and offers a nostalgic day out to families from all around the UK and beyond. Legendary pinball designer Steve Ritchie flies in for the event to be special guest and speaker at a dinner and awards evening at the Northampton Marriott on July 25. When the last machine is packed away, however, Bennett's work is really just about to start.

Just one week later, his workshop near Chesham, Buckinghamshire is being transformed into a venue to host the World Pinball Championships. Bennett proclaimed: "Last year Las Vegas, this year a farm in the Buckinghamshire countryside!" He continued: "Organising the UK Pinball Show has given me enormous pleasure, but to hold the World championships - the first time it's ever been held outside America - is a once in a lifetime opportunity and one that I certainly wasn't going to refuse."

Tournaments all around the world award WPPR - World Pinball Player Ranking points and more than 5,000 players currently take their place in the mammoth international system. Once a year, 64 of the best players are invited to play in the World Championships to be crowned the best of the best. With a prize pool of over $12,000, players from America, Japan, Hungary, Sweden and of course the UK are among the many countries represented in the championship, which runs from July 31-August 2.

For Bennett though, polishing the trophies is about as close as he'll get. "I'm not exactly a great player. I might be responsible for putting on the events that attract the world's best players, but sadly my own skills don't get me close to qualification and there's not a place reserved for the host!"

- - - - - -

Thanks to Alex at GamesWorld for the piece.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Bowen Kerins. Pinball World Champion

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:50:00 PDT

Can somebody pinch me... it's Sunday night nearly 11pm. Normally on Sundays, I pack a couple of rubbish bags and covertly dump them outside people's houses on the way home so they get collected in the morning before the unsuspecting recipeints get out of bed! But for some reason there's about 30 rubbish bags and the fridge is looking worryingly empty. The reason? I've just held the World Pinball Championships here at Pins Anon HQ. How cool is that?Let's jump in a time machine and go back 5 years. There was pretty much nothing in the way of social pinball in the UK and certainly nothing for the competitive. Now we're 5 years into the UK Pinball Show and just last week we held the European Pinball Championships.
Today I watched Bowen Kerins being crowned World Champion - right here at our little place in the middle of nowhere! Incredible! I'm sure it still really hasn't sunk in! I hadn't realised until afterwards that Bowen was watching my lad play pinball and recording him singing as he played. Then Bowen played the same way and listened to the singing on his iPod - next thing we know - he's the world champion! Almost every visitor found me before they left and shook my hand and thanked me - I was an emotional wreck by the time we got down to our last few casual players (who are still here). How often will someone like Todd MacCulloch be asked if he minds playing pinball in the middle of a field with some cows for a TV crew? Not many, but he, like all the other guys were incredibly friendly. I've always wanted to have more than 5 friends on Facebook - and I think now, that just might happen!
64 of the best pinball players on the planet who also happened to be 64 of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Names like Bowen, Jorian Engelbrekttson, Patrik Bodin, Trent Augenstein, Cayle George - the list goes on - that even the least competitive among us (like me) will know, now all have faces!

I took so many pictures of my lad playing pinball that I ran the battery flat on my phone and didn't get anything of the important stuff - so you might as well have another one!That's Martin Ayub bottom left, updating the Pinball News report live from the event - I even think he let himself get knocked out of the tournament early on, so he could concentrate on the important stuff!

I still haven't really blogged about the UK Pinball Show & EPC last week and now it seems a lifetime ago. I've still got so much to say and hopefully over the coming days I'll have some time.

Josh & Zach Sharpe had faith in the UK pinball folk and I think we showed them we could do it! I even have an 8 foot souvenir, freshly signed by the champion! Take one of the biggest competitive pinball events on the planet, plonk it in the middle of the countryside and see what happens!

Love it!

Congratulations to Bowen!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

IFPA6 Pinball World Championship Line-up

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:39:00 PDT

Here's the guys moments before it all kicked off for the World Pinball Championships. Busy few days of course, but I'll try and post some updates to Twitter.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

I am the WORST Pinball Player in Europe!

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:21:00 PDT

There were 151 players in the European Pinball Championships in 2009 and I came right at the bottom of the field! LAST!
Guess I can call myself officially the worst player in Europe! The person who came second last found me and gave me a big hug and kiss for taking the wooden spoon (thank God it was a woman - at least I think it was - I'm not taking anything for granted after this weekend).

Hats of to Martin from Pinball News for planning and running the tournament so well. For some reason I was extra stressed this year and even Martin didn't manage to escape the hair dryer treatment - apologies to him and anyone else who helped me vent!

It was an incredible weekend and now just the small matter of the IFPA World Pinball Championship to sort out this weekend.

Sure there'll be more thoughts about the UK Pinball Show and EPC over the coming days, but for now I'll just end with the fact Steve Ritchie is a legend - what a cool guy!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

This is it guys!

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:58:00 PDT

I don't think I'll have a chance to blog now until after the weekend (unless I get ludicrously drunk and post some random rant about the waitress in the hotel or something...)

BUT... I'll try and post some small updates on TWITTER if I get the chance, so add me - and I'll also try and keep you up to date on the latest from the European Pinball Championship.I'm Pinsanon on twitter - click here or the pic and add me!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

UK Pinball Show!

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:21:00 PDT

I was just driving randomly through Northampton and spotted this banner!Looks like there's a pinball show in Northampton this weekend, so I'd better dust off the camera and brush my hair in preparation for a visit!

Amazing how sticking a banner up can make it feel so real all of a sudden!

See you all there!

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Hungarian Pinball Championship

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:04:00 PDT

More international news and this time from our pinballing friends in Hungary!

The Hungarian Pinball Championship takes place on the 17th October 2009.Click the pic for details

Nick
The Pinball Blog

More Aussie Pinball News

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:44:00 PDT

Seems plenty of news from down under recently.I've just heard Mr Giillard has been kicked from Aussie Arcade - the forum, which until now, had strangely been supporting his non-pinball-producing activities. I've celebrated by joining up!

Also Gabe, who keeps the excellent Just One More Game blog has more information about the Australian Pinball Museum.Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Insert Coin 09 Northampton

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:00:00 PDT

The Pins Anon mini-van was booked out all day today, so once the lawn-mower packed up I had nothing to do. Then the van came back early and I decided on a spontaneous road trip to Northampton Saints to visit a show called Insert Coin. Just a week before the UK Pinball Show in the same venue I thought it would be worth a nose.

I employed the age-old tactic of parking right outside and looking important to blag myself entry.There had been much said about this event, including the odd slanging match on one of the arcade forums so I didn't know if I'd be ejected rapidly by the organisers! I promptly found the man in charge, Alan and he seemed a decent (albeit somewhat tired looking) guy in the flesh. He gave me a brief tour of the place and without the partition breaking up the room, the place looks great.I'd also seen claims that 7,000 tickets had been sold for the event so didn't imagine I'd have room to move. There was nothing close to 7,000 - not even half that for the first of 2 days, but there were several hundred gamers busy playing away.I was told those things are called Candy Cabs!

I would guess the average age of visitors must be about 5 or more years younger than at a pinball show. There were a similar number of ladies (ie - not many), but I have to admit some of them were HOT!

There was a young girl dressed as Innphy(?) from a game called Ninety-Nine Nights. She was one of a number of people dressed up for the weekend along with some Storm Troopers and walking zombies. Innphy was particularly easy on the eye and I guess many of the gamers would take just one of those ninety nine given half a chance!

The noise levels were much lower than at a pinball event and there was even a Radio Show there brought along by RadioSEGA which was really cool. The RadioSEGA guy plus a number of others were really friendly, nice guys.

Anyway, I've just remembered this was is a PINBALL blog and the website said there would be pinball machines.And there were. A Fish Tales and a World Cup Soccer '94. Beyond the cabinets and a few plastics, both were pretty nice but in desperate need of flipper rebuilds. They were both for sale £695 (FT) & £895 (WCS94) - I think.

I saw them getting a few games while I was there. Each player starting a 4 player game and lasting until about player 3's first ball before wandering off.

I spotted one of the high scores...
Looks like our very own Nick Marshall has seen this machine before somewhere (I know he wasn't there at the event).

While the whole thing isn't really my cup of tea, the event looked very well organised and the atmosphere was fantastic in the main hall.

If you're into this kind of gaming, have a free day tomorrow and £15 in your pocket, then it's probably worth a visit.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Bang Back: The Pinball Movie

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:02:00 PDT

Here's a rough trailer to Bang Back: The Movie.

Well worth a watch.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Aussie Pinball Museum

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:49:00 PDT

There's a peice on Just One More Game with some information about the Australian Pinball Museum.Click the pic for the story and thanks to Gabe for the heads-up.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

The Pinball Blog. Man with a Van!

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:06:00 PDT

The Pinball Blog is the most popular pinball blog on the planet - quite possibly because it's pretty much the only one :)

But today we became the first (and clearly only as no one else is that sad) Pinball Blog with it's own support vehicle.I bought the van before the very first UK Pinball Show after trashing my pickup using it for pinball jobs, but today it's new look is unveiled on the world! I have big vans for moving lots of machines, but I needed something I could use for the odd job here and there without costing the earth in diesel. It's also insured for any driver so it often gets borrowed for little pinball missions by guys in the community.

Bizarrely, I've become really attached to it, maybe because I'm 6foot+ and 16 stone (220ish to you the other side) and look completely ridiculous driving it! I went to a big fancy ball the other week and I pulled up in the van among Rolls Royces and Aston Martins - the valet parking guys thought it was hilarious!

Complete with Dodge Viper stripes and flying pinball player, watch out for me rattling up and down the roads of Great Britain!

Firstly thanks to Capcom for being incredibly helpful and giving me permission to use the image. Then thanks to Calvers, Mike Coates and others who helped me get a picture that's a few inches in size big enough to go on the side of the van - albeit a rather dinky van.Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Brian Dominy at the Pinball World Championships

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:02:00 PDT

Another piece from around the globe, this time on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about Brian Dominy.
Click the pic for the story. I think it's great that so many players get local coverage for the hobby and probably something we should learn a lesson or 2 from over here in the UK.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Pinball Player Profiles: EPF

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:47:00 PDT

As IFPA6 the World Pinball Championship approaches we're taking a look at some of the players heading to the UK to battle it out with the best of the best.

Player Name:

Eric Fisher (EPF)

Current Player Rank by Country:
38 (USA)

Favourite Pinball Machine:
Odds and Evens (aka Monte Carlo). It was the first machine on which I was able to consistently earn replays.

Where are you traveling from?

Dallas, Texas USA

How long have you been playing competitively?
My first pinball event ever was at Pinball At The Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in April 2005.

Your pinball highlight?
A week after Kalamzaoo (where I washed out horribly), I attended the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown in Denver where I won the pre-Showdown tournament at Lyons Classic Pinball. I had no idea at the time, but a couple of the guys I beat in the brackets there were top 20 players.

What are you most looking forward to in the UK (other than pinball)?
My wife is going castle-hunting during the tournament, then we will be staying in the heart of London through Wednesday. We're looking forward to seeing Stomp in the West End and grabbing a bite at the Texas Embassy.

Are you gonna win?
Sure, why not?

And more importantly Blue or Red?
I can't remember which I picked. I hope it was blue.

- - - - - -

You can click here for other player profiles we've featured and more player profiles coming soon!

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Pinball Art at the Warhol Museum

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:56:00 PDT

Saw this over on PSFK.com. A feature at the Warhol Museum called 'Funland' which "pays homage to the art of 1970s pinball".
Click the pic for the story and details.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Steve Ritchie Interview.

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:55:00 PDT

We've featured Steve Ritchie as one of our Pinball Heroes and he is of course our guest at the UK Pinball Show in a couple of weeks.

Stormy Nick (not me) stumbled across this old (2002) interview with the man on Svenska flippersällskapet.

It's in English, click the pic for part one and here for part two.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog

Dwight Sullivan Dutch Interview Part 2

nick@pinsanon.co.uk (ThePinballBlog.com) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:54:00 PDT

Pinball Hero Dwight Sullivan answers a HUGE load of questions for a Dutch magazine and he's putting them up on his cool blog!

Part two is now up - click this sentence.

Cheers

Nick
The Pinball Blog