The prices of everything skyrocketed worldwide. So people wanted them for their house that never thought they needed them for their house. “Even the few places that were still open and had games, they had them off. “When the pandemic hit, you couldn’t really go out and play,” Greenup says. He wouldn’t have signed a lease on a large spot next to a pizzeria if he’d know the pandemic was coming, but he’s glad he did. Greenup has been trying to establish a vital local pinball scene in KC for a decade now-Chicago and the Pacific Northwest are the world capitals-and says it’s starting to pick up critical mass, partly thanks to Solid State’s large new space on Troost. “We like to help people fix it themselves because if you’re going to own a pinball machine, you’re going to need to know a little bit or to pay someone, and there’s not too many people around.” Photo by Kayla Szymanski “We want people to come in, like a hardware store, and say, ‘Hey, this thing’s wrong with my pinball machine, do I need this or that?’” Greenup says. But like those eighties economists said, it all starts with the supply side. Keri Wing, a world cham-pion women’s pinball player, is Solid State’s lead tech, so she repairs machines all over town. They don’t just buy, sell and fix the games they have a collection of games you can play on site, run a weekly league, host tournaments and place the machines in local bars, such as Pizza West and Knub’s Pub in Shawnee. When it comes to pinball in KC, Solid State Pinball Supply is the name to know. Four hours and a three-page checklist later, they’re ready to start the restoration.
#PINBALL BAR KANSAS CITY PLUS#
Joseph, Missouri, have developed their own pinball scenes with regular tournaments happening at pinball clubs, breweries and other event centers to garner points needed to move up in the IFPA world rankings.įor information on future tournaments, public events and more, Thompson says to visit the Pinballs Plus website and Facebook page.When a new pinball machine arrives at Solid State Pinball Supply on Troost, they crack the case open to inspect it.
Other areas such as Kansas City, Wichita and St. More: 785 Beer Company will open its doors later this month. "In a tournament, even up against a really seasoned player, something could happen and you can win." "If you stand there with the machine for an hour, you can learn it on your own," Klassen said.
#PINBALL BAR KANSAS CITY HOW TO#
Thompson said good players can watch how the ball spins to know just how to flick them into the right place.Ĭonnecting with others and playing all the different games is what it's all about when it comes to tournaments. It's not because of the game, typically, of course."ĭon Thompson looks through a bag of pinball balls as he describes the difference between typical tournament-style balls, that are blank and usually carbon steel, and his preferred balls that have a black band around to show the motion of the spinning.
It's like if there's something bad that happens, it's because you mess up. "You have direct influence over what the ball does. "Unlike video games, (pinball) is a tactile experience," Berg said. The comparison to a video game is also what intrigued fellow competitor Brian Berg.Īs a relatively new pinball player, Berg was used to understanding how video games worked and the progression throughout the gameplay while following certain rules to get better scores. "It's kind of a video game of sorts, but it's tangible and it's something that you can feel," he said. The event space holds 17 pinball and arcade games and hosts tournaments and public days outside of private events.įor Klassen, the feeling of pulling back the plunger and pressing buttons to control the flippers of a pinball machine is what got him into it. Warming up before the tournament begins Saturday, from left, Brian Berg and Ryan Klassen work out the mechanisms and games on different pinball machines at Pinballs Plus.
0 kommentar(er)
