Pintastic 2025 April – Cat and Sean

It’s Spring in New England, which means it must be time for Pintastic! This year it was April 11-13, again in Marlborough, and again I attended Friday. That means seminars, vendors, chatting, and whole lotta pinball. I played a little over 80 unique titles, and with some played multiple times, it’s probably close to 100 games and well over 300 balls. Not bad for 1 cover charge.

In addition to the usual club rooms, this year included a room dedicated to legendary designer Steve Ritchie. It was cool to see (and play) the many varied designs from a career spanning over 40 years.

Black
Knight Sword of Rage, Stern, 2019 — Black Knight Sword of Rage, Stern, 2019

Elton
John, Jersey Jack, 2023 — Elton John, Jersey Jack, 2023

F-14
Tomcat, Williams, 1987 — F-14 Tomcat, Williams, 1987

Firepower,
Williams, 1980 — Firepower, Williams, 1980

Flash,
Williams, 1979 — Flash, Williams, 1979

Led
Zeppelin, Stern, 2020 — Led Zeppelin, Stern, 2020

No Fear:
Dangerous Sports, Williams, 1995 — No Fear: Dangerous Sports, Williams, 1995

Star Trek The Next Generation, Williams, 1993

Star
Wars, Stern, 2017 — Star Wars, Stern, 2017

Star
Wars(comic book art), Stern, 2017 — Star Wars(comic book art), Stern, 2017

Superman,
Atari, 1979 — Superman, Atari, 1979

Terminator
2 Judgement Day, Williams, 1991 — Terminator 2 Judgement Day, Williams, 1991

Black
Knight, Williams, 1980 — Black Knight, Williams, 1980

The Getaway High Speed II, Williams, 1992

I’ve long been a fan of England’s loudest band, Spin̈al Tap, and so it was great pleasure to see Homepin’s Spin̈al Tap at the con. I heard a lot about this machine and was very much looked forward to playing a few games and forming my own opinion. And as a long-time fan of Spin̈al Tap, I was not surprised that this machine spent much of the day in the “where are they now” file, aka out of order.

I was able to get in a handful of games. (HUGE hat tip to the poor tech running back and forth between Tap and the ABBA machine down the row. Neither was having the best of days. Of course, it’s just a passing fad. A Frank Sinatra pinball wouldn’t have these problems.) I didn’t unlock many of the modes, but I got the impression there was a fun game here if everything was working and perhaps with stronger flippers for hitting the ramps. You just don’t set up a home pinball machine for a festival crowd.

Spin̈al
Tap, Homepin, 2022 — Spin̈al Tap, Homepin, 2022

This is the "None More Black" edition with demon skull topper and game-changing 3rd flipper — This is the “None More Black” edition with demon skull topper and game-changing 3rd flipper

Even when working the left flipper was sticky

Spin̈al
Tap How To Play — Spin̈al Tap How To Play

Derek's double bass — Derek’s double bass

Derek's Rock 'n Roll Creation pod with drum kit in back — Derek’s Rock ‘n Roll Creation pod with drum kit in back

Ian and his hell hole (and a loose screw)

Derek's zucchini and the premium 3rd flipper — Derek’s zucchini and the premium 3rd flipper

Another look at the speakers, screen, and topper

Every year the Pintastic Homebrew room is a highlight of the weekend, and this year was no exception. You might notice Christmas Countdown was suspiciously similar to the 12 Days of Christmas machine from last year. It was fun to play some old favorites like Michael McTallica and The Adventures of Sinbad along with the newbies like the remake of the (in)famous Pinball Circus.

Christmas
Countdown, Homebrew, 2024 — Christmas Countdown, Homebrew, 2024

Christmas
Countdown(playfield) — Christmas Countdown(playfield)

King of
the Arcade, Homebrew, 2016 — King of the Arcade, Homebrew, 2016

King of
the Arcade(playfield) — King of the Arcade(playfield)

Michael
McTallica, Homebrew, 2021, rebranding Metallica (Stern, 2013) to play the songs of Michael McDonald and other Yacht Rock greats. — Michael McTallica, Homebrew, 2021, rebranding Metallica (Stern, 2013) to play the songs of Michael McDonald and other Yacht Rock greats.

Pinball
Circus Remake, Homebew, 2025 — Pinball Circus Remake, Homebew, 2025

Pinball
Circus, remake of the Pinball Circus, Bally, 1994 — Pinball Circus, remake of the Pinball Circus, Bally, 1994

This 4-ring circus has 4 levels for clowning around

Skate or
Die, Homebrew, 2025, based on Skateball, Bally, 1980 — Skate or Die, Homebrew, 2025, based on Skateball, Bally, 1980

The
Adventures of Sinbad, Homebrew, 2023 — The Adventures of Sinbad, Homebrew, 2023

The
Adventures of Sinbad, based on Sinbad, Gottlieb, 1978 — The Adventures of Sinbad, based on Sinbad, Gottlieb, 1978

The
Magic Forest, Homebrew, 2023 — The Magic Forest, Homebrew, 2023

The
Magic Forest(playfield) — The Magic Forest(playfield)

The
Magic Forest, the little bunnies jump up when a ball hits the post — The Magic Forest, the little bunnies jump up when a ball hits the post

Some of the machines have more creative layouts, including flipper arrangements that move beyond the usual left/right. I call this section “funky flippers.”