Updated gameplay video by Lyman Sheets here: http://www.youtube.com/embed/Gzxc59Y6GcA?autoplay=1&rel=0

All eyes will be on the silver ball in Thursday's (May 16) free “Pinballapalooza” in Toronto. Organized by the Stratford Festival to herald its new staging of “The Who’s Tommy,” the day-long event features an attempt to set a Guinness World Record when 100 pinball machines are played simultaneously at 12:40 p.m. Even if you’re not a pinball wizard, the 9 a.m.-6 p.m. celebration at First Canadian Place offers games, ticket deals at a pop-up box office, and performances by “Tommy” cast members. The rock opera about a boy who becomes a pinball wizard despite being blind, deaf and unable to speak is the largest musical ever staged by the Festival. Using 21st century technology to enhance the visual “bells and whistles,” the production is led by Des McAnuff who co-created the rock opera with The Who’s Pete Townshend and directed the Tony Award winning Broadway production 20 years ago. The musical is part of the Festival’s 61st season of diverse repertory presented on four stages in Stratford, a city 2 hours west of Toronto. Visit www. stratfordfestival.ca for information on tickets and performances of “Tommy” and other plays and musicals in the season that runs through Oct. 20. For information on May 16 event, visit www. stratfordfestival.ca/pinball.


Via Boston.com

If you hear beeps and whirs, monster voices or other strange sounds erupting from Brad Grant's house in Vacaville, don't worry -- it's just his pinball machines talking to you.

The real estate agent and pinball enthusiast loves tweaking his collection, rebuilding and reworking the iconic machines until they're good as new.

He's ensuring that a majority of them are good to go for this month's 17th annual Pin-a-Go-Go event in Dixon, which he spearheads with a few fellow pinball lovers and friends.

"Pinball's made a huge resurgence recently," he said Wednesday while showing pal Steve Gligorea the machines on his property.

Grant's collection is impressive, as well as massive. There are machines of different eras, some more digital than others, all occupying valuable floor space in various rooms in his home, his garage and storage sheds.

Gligorea, a lifelong pinball fan and Escalon resident with solid cabinetry skills, owns 17 machines himself. One of his newest acquisitions is an AC/DC game that has a stereo feature which plays full-length tracks from the band. Grants owns one, too, and loves it with a passion.

On this day, Gligorea dropped off a pinball machine that he made a wood housing for. "Whoa Nellie" is all about farms and fruit and fun, and the casing he built resembles a fruit crate from bygone days. The game will be one of several hundred featured at Pin-a-Go-Go.

Read more via thereporter

In an electronic age of social media, Facebook games, summer blockbusters and other distractions what has happened to the amusements of yesterday? They're still alive in Colorado.

Don't call it a comeback. It isn't a revival either. Pinball, and the arcade for that matter, isn't going recapture the cultural zeitgeist that it once had. Where there were once a handful of American pinball manufacturers, now only one remains - Stern Pinball.

At the Rocky Mtn. Pinball Showdown, it's a celebration of the history of the game - and its continued stubborn existence.

Set amongst the loud clatter, alarms, beeps and bells of over a hundred games are tournaments, vendors, spare parts, seminars, and the camaraderie of fans of all ages. Some of those players are brought by parents and their fond memories of growing up in the pinball age.

Read more via kunc

Pinball News.com brings us an update on Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle pinball machine.

Last weekend at the German Pinball Open in Berlin, a prototype of Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle game made its first public appearance, and naturally Pinball News was there to cover it. Plus, we have big news of two new team members as preparations begin at the company's new factory.

Read more via pinballnews.com

By Kevin L'Heureux

Next weekend, for the 10th year in a row, the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown will bring the sounds of flippers, bells and sirens and the whirl of rolling metal projectiles to the Front Range.

“It's kind of a unique thing,” said Dan Nikolich, owner and co-founder of the Showdown. “We have over 125 pinball machines and classic arcade games on free play. You pay your admission to get in and can play to your heart's content.

“We have kids who can barely reach the flippers and need to pull up a stool to grandparents in their 80s who remember playing.”

In addition to the pinball and arcade games, the event includes movie screenings, a classic car show, tournaments for all ages and skill levels and exhibitors buying and selling pinball machines, classic arcade games and parts.

“We'll have exhibitors that are selling games and parts and a lot of new technology,” Nikolich said. “At one point, there was only one company that was left, and there's this great resurgence in the past few years where interest has gone way up.”


Read more via Summit Daily

With “Pinball at the Zoo” only a day away, it is seems time to revisit the popular emulators that allow anyone to relive the magic of the steel ball from the comfort of home. The two rivals for your micropayments are “Zen Pinball” and “Pinball Arcade.” Each offers different strengths, but nothing will replicate the feeling of playing pinball in person.

“Zen Pinball” and “Pinball Arcade” are available to download on most smartphones, tablets, computers and some consoles. On some of these formats, the front-end loader is free and they offer one free pinball table to play. The real fun comes when you buy the licensed tables that range from the humorous “Plants Vs. Zombies” to a classic like “The Machine: Bride of Pinbot.”

“Zen Pinball” and its console equivalents, “Zen Pinball 2” and “Pinball Fx2,” pride themselves on comic book themes or science fiction. Fans of the Marvel universe have a lot of games to choose from.

Read more via battlecreekenquirer