When did you realize you liked pinball?

[REVOLUTION]

I had never really cared for it at first, myself... or rather, never cared to give it a chance. Then the local laundromat ("The Loondromat") got a pinball game. It was a Cue Ball Wizard.. which is funny because it's not terribly a good game. But what really hooked me was that I realized, unlike the video games beside it that always played too linear, this thing played like a new experience every time! Man.. pumped so many quarters into that game. To this day, I'm still not much of a player.. but then, that's not really the point for me. I just love bashing that little silver ball around.

 

[Grauwulf]

I couldn't tell you specifically when, but I think I was always kind of interested in pinball, even as a kid back in the 80's. I can't remember what the first machine was I played, but I distinctly remember riding my bike part way across town to play Rollergames at a pizza joint.

 

[Vengeance]

I can tell you the exact date, it was Aug 16th 2004, that was the day that changed my entire outlook on this hobby.

Before that point I had already acquired 3 pinballs, a TAF, Wh20, and T2. I had also going to my first TOPL meeting the week before on Aug 9th. But Aug 16th was the first time I had ever been to Nick Angel's place and this was his old house in Mississauga. Everything changed the second I walked into that place, once I knew that something as awesome as that existed, I knew I had to have it as well!

I'll never forget just walking in there and being awe struck.

From that day forward I was determined (and still am) to have as nice a collection as Nick's is. I feel I'm almost there, once I get my building, I know I'll be able to accomplish it, but really my place in this hobby really all goes back to that day, I wouldn't be anywhere near as active in the hobby if it wasn't for TOPL and I would never have even thought to ever own that many machines. Competition drives me, but I enjoy nothing more then watching other people enjoy my games.

 

[Menace]

I spent a LOT of my youth in roller rinks. My Mom was on a skating team so I'd be out there some weeknights with her, and then pretty much every weekend both Saturday and Sunday on my own with friends. They always had a small lineup, few vids and a couple of pins and for some reason I was always drawn to the pins, until I got a little older and my interest shifted towards the vids. The weird thing was I always told myself that when I got older and had my own place I would get a pinball machine. (never a vid tho) By the early 90's I had pretty much forgotten about pins until I was re-introduced to the lure of the silver ball in 2001 when my mechanic told me he had a busted Medusa at his house, and I offered to fix it. Well that was it, and shortly thereafter I bought my first machine (Funhouse) and that was the beginning of the obsession.

D

 

[mwong168]

When I went to monkeybug's basement for the first time /END

 

[WARLOCK]

I was 6 or 7 years old when my Dad first took me to a pinball arcade circa 1977. I loved it and played for hours.
He taught me pins, vids, ping pong, pool, darts over the next several years. I knew I loved pinball then.

As a teen I played Space Shuttle all through high school. It was the only pinball machine in town.
In university it was Star Trek The Next Generation. It was the only pin on campus.

Then a long break. I played once in a while, but business, wife, house, kids took up the next many years.

Then mokeybug's basement ( +1 ) earlier this year started it all over in a brand new way. I could collect my own.

 

[frolic]

Played as a young teenager. But things got kicked into high gear visiting Church of the Silverball this summer with my wife. We bought our first machine a week or 2 after.

 

[DRANO]

Easy... I sucked at video games. Well, I was okay at 1942, but crap at just about anything else... so I'd walk over to the pins instead.
Mostly I remember cutting class or hanging out with my buddies after school at a local pool hall named "Pockets Billards" formerly near Bloor St & Dundas.
They had a great lineup and we played TAF, T2, NGG and FT to death!

Years later we were all grown up and had our own places. My buddy Mike invites us over to see his new basement and he surpised us with a T2 sitting in the corner!
I was floored!!! I had never even considered the possibility of having soemthign like this in my house. It was all over for me. TAF found a home in my basement a few short months later, then IJ then......

 

[Chris Bardon]

As soon as I realized that there was a system in play, rules to the game, and a goal to accomplish. Not sure if it was TAF or T2, but starting around that point I was hooked. It was a great distraction from sucking at Street Fighter in high school. Before that, I'd always gotten a little bored just keeping the ball moving, with the only goal being "score more points", and not really knowing how. Video games were much better at explaining themselves back then, and it was really the speech/DMD additions that brought pinball up to this level. Having T2 tell you to shoot the skull , or "checkpoint 1 secured" implied that you had a specific target, and that there was a way to progress to a final goal, which is what really drove me to see what happened next.

 

[necro_nemesis]

Mid 70's. There were a few pinball parlors around T.O.. Pre video arcades; pinball parlors were peppered around the city and were more approachable for a kid than the local pool halls where only the big guys hung out. If you were looking for a place to hang out with your friends it was a place populated with a bunch of 4 player Bally's, a few Gottliebs and/or Williams EM machines. If you were like me you had very limited funds; a few quarters on a good day, and you spent more time watching and learning than actually playing. This quickly escalated to me bugging my Dad to take me down to the bigger places on Yonge St. on the weekends when he'd go to Kensington market to get groceries. Pinball playing carried on through until video games hit the scene. I must admit pinball took a back seat to vid games for quite some time and a hectic start in my early years pretty much put me out of the pinball picture through the onset of SS period. It was some time later that life stabilized enough to re-examine where pinball had evolved and I was really suprised of the outcome which renewed my interests and got me collecting.

 

[Aerostarz]

I spent my time in arcades from the age of 14, but never once noticed a pinball machine.. strange.
My first time playing a pinball machine was 3 years ago in Gerald's shop off of Danforth. I had no interest in Pins until i stumbled accross a Youtube video of the Gnr Pin, while looking for GnR videos. Then i saw Gerald's ads for games on kijiji. Well i never got that pin and still dont own one, however i purchased an F14..
So F14 was my first pin i actually played and owned.
Here i am 3 years later.

This is the video that started it all

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQivdk3dSZs&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Sorry can't figure out how to get this video embedded properly

 

[Menace]

Sean, I fixed it for you.

D

 

[brewmanager]

I was definitely a vid kid. Spent hours on Galaga, Elevator Action, the Pacman family, Tron, Rampage, Demolition Derby (the 4 player sit down - that was a fave).

When I played pinball I always played High Speed - something about that one just sucked me in - if the arcade had one I played it, and most of them seemed to have one - otherwise I'd play them, but not particularly remember them. I remember Space Shuttle...and that was about it.

When I first decided to make some purchases, it was looking for two things. Elevator Action, which was my favourite vid as a kid (Cedarbrae Bowlerama FTW baby!), and a High Speed. I wound up with a Triple Strike first, but once I found my High Speed I was off to the races.

After buying my first pin, I started communicating with some guy who was being very helpful, but whose name wasn't ringing a bell that really should have. Monkeybug and I are distant relatives, and I suspect he figured out who I was before I did the same with him, since he was the one who asked. Almost like the cousin's uncle's brother's sisters roommate bit, but not quite.

I realized I was going to develop a pinball problem at the Menace/Monkeybug get-together last November, where I met Doug, Mike, Corey, Kevin, Adam and so many others for the first time. My wife would probably curse you guys, but all I can say is thank you for opening my eyes to what could be done.

Oh, and seeing McMean's Whirlwind last December was very bad. Had one by May. Hard pin to find, too.

I love pinball more at this point in my life than I ever have before, and for that I have the people I've met along the way to thank.

 

[Aerostarz]

Sean, I fixed it for you.

D

Thanks Doug.

What am i doing wrong?
For instance [YouTube]embed video in here?[/YouTube]

 

[Menace]

What am i doing wrong?
For instance [YouTube]embed video in here?[/YouTube]

You have the format correct, but for some reason the actual youtube link you were using wasn't correct. (it was way too short)

D

 

[Ancient Games]

I was 14 when I started to hitch hike 10km's into town with a friend. We used to go in to rent nintendo games but we started to hang out on the main street. Which is where we discovered the arcades. Then it was a mission to find them all! My small town (Lindsay) had a few run by 2 operators at the time. JJ's, The amusement Center (Emelios), Eagles Nest, Red Pine and another Convenience store by the High School. First it started with the vids but all the older kids seemed to hover around the pins. So, we started to play High Speed and Pinbot. That was it. I loved that in a short while I was able to hitch into town with a few dollars and have enough for a hot dog, pop and hours of pinball. I was in High School when a RollerGames came into the Amusement Center. Well that almost ended my education right then. I skipped so much I had to go to a private school where I had no choice but to learn something. On weekends though I drove into the arcades! I have that exact Rollergames in my garage now....I fried it but none the less its there .

Mike

 

[novaguy]

I was around 7 or 8 years old(71,72)and in the small town of Rosseau where my parents live there was one restaraunt(still has only one)that had 2 pins.one was a Gottlieb Central Park and to this day I can't remember what the other one was.whenever my Dad took me in there I always bugged him for dimes so I could play Central Park and make the monkey ring that bell.about 5 years ago I found a basket case in Welland so we made the drive to get it and it's one game that will never leave our collection.
Ted

 

[Ancient Games]

oops, already replied..