On Sunday, we pulled all of our machines together into the garage (the Frendt Arcade), and invited a bunch of neighboorhood kids and parents over for an afternoon pinball party. We closed down the garage in the morning, and banned anyone from entering the garage until 3:00 sharp. The prohibition resulted in a crowd of kids outside the garage door at 2:55, looking as if Disneyworld were just about to open. The newest entry in our pinball family, Flash, hadn't been played by anyone yet, so there was also some anticipation of a new title.
These five machines were all busy, nonstop, for about 5 hours. I was amazed at the hold these machines had on the kids. I can understand people my age wanting to play, to recapture a glimpse of a long-past childhood, but these kids were absolutely monopolized by pre-1980s technology for the entire duration. We featured tournament play for the first three hours, which in our case was just letting the kids write down their high scores on each machine on a chart hanging on the garage wall. High score on each machine at the end of the day won a prize. But even after tournament play ended, the machines were all busy.
Some kids favored the really old Jungle King, and others the more recent Popeye. I think the biggest hit of the day, though, had to be Flash. Everyone seemed to love this one, adults and kids alike. The game play is exciting, the sound effects and lighting are very cool, and it plays fast and smooth, due to its recent restoration.
A very gratifying day, especially in an age when Nintendo, GameCube, Wii, and XBox rule the day. The visceral feel of a pinball machine apparently continues to hold its own.
These five machines were all busy, nonstop, for about 5 hours. I was amazed at the hold these machines had on the kids. I can understand people my age wanting to play, to recapture a glimpse of a long-past childhood, but these kids were absolutely monopolized by pre-1980s technology for the entire duration. We featured tournament play for the first three hours, which in our case was just letting the kids write down their high scores on each machine on a chart hanging on the garage wall. High score on each machine at the end of the day won a prize. But even after tournament play ended, the machines were all busy.
Some kids favored the really old Jungle King, and others the more recent Popeye. I think the biggest hit of the day, though, had to be Flash. Everyone seemed to love this one, adults and kids alike. The game play is exciting, the sound effects and lighting are very cool, and it plays fast and smooth, due to its recent restoration.
A very gratifying day, especially in an age when Nintendo, GameCube, Wii, and XBox rule the day. The visceral feel of a pinball machine apparently continues to hold its own.
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