Uh oh, I might be becoming a pinball guy

It’s been a long time since I had a new obsession. I’ve been a movie and comics guy since forever. I’ve gone nuts for Halloween and Christmas for about 20 years now. Starting when I graduated college, I had an 8 year run of being really into professional wrestling that finally faded away in the last few years. Looking back, I think my last deep dive into an obsession was in 2014 when I started getting really into Kate Bush (thanks to her appearance on my Halloween playlist, natch).

But I feel the big gears in my head starting to turn, and the familiar *brrrrrrrr* is starting to consume my waking hours.

It’s pinball.

Ten weeks ago, I joined a pinball league. It was kind of just a whim. My wife and I were listening to the Flightless Bird podcast where they were covering pinball in general, and in the episode, David Farrier attends an LA pinball league. While listening, I thought, “surely this is the kind of thing Baltimore has” and sure enough, they were registering then for their spring league.

I’ve just now finished my first season of pinball league, and I gotta say, it rules! Go sign up for pinball leagues!

Its the perfect social hobby if you happen to have my exact brand of social anxieties. Each week, you’re paired up with two random other players; the three of you play four machines, and at the end of the night, you tally up scores based on how you did in comparison to the other players.

What’s great about the format is you have an opportunity to meet almost everyone (our league is about 50-60 people per night); there’s a common topic of conversation to help break the ice, but you’re not obligated to talk between sessions. Then what’s great about pinball as a competitive event is that it’s a solo game so you never have to worry that you sucking is going to bring everyone else down (which is why I don’t do team sports), and there’s enough randomness involved so that you have a chance of winning no matter how skilled your opponents are. I’ve seen pinball experts rack up multi-billion scores on one game and then accidentally drain three balls almost instantly on the next. The whims of the table can’t be outskilled!

So, despite finishing my first league, I’m still a newbie and a casual fan who is primarily drawn to a table based on its theming. Big shout out to Godzilla and Evil Dead as my faves (in Evil Dead you get to knock the ball into two shotgun shells to load the gun and then get to blast Ash’s skittering hand along the side of the machine), though in a piece of proof that I’m starting to evolve into a more mature player, I’m also really into the World Cup Soccer machine based solely on its playability. I’ve learned the rules of like three machines, and am still trying to get my “ball control” good enough that I can actually make the shots I want to make. I’ve evolved from just not letting the ball drain to at least trying to make shots, which I call a win!

World Cup also reminds me of the days of being a kid in Ocean City and playing the pinball machines at the Princess Royale hotel we’d always stay at. They had the Star Trek TNG machine and Attack of the Martians right next to the pool area, and I still remember both being very bad at them, but loving them. I have a memory of getting a high score on TNG, but I’m also pretty sure those got reset every day, so who knows, I was probably just the first player of the day.

This all reminds me of the early days of my wrestling era. When I got into wrestling, I remember having the thought, “Ok, it’s not like I’m watching Raw and Smackdown every week” until I was. Then I thought “Well, at least I’m not paying for PPVs” until I was. Then I thought “Well, I’m certainly never going to go in person” until I did. It all came together with me driving up with my pals for Wrestlemania in 2018 just in time to see Becky Lynch win the first ever women’s main event.

My first week at the league, I met a fellow newbie, and I was like “ah, someone who’s also a beginner” until he started talking about the pinball YouTube channels he watches and I thought “Oh, well I’m not at that level of obsession yet.” Until I was. Then I thought “Well, I’m only playing once a week at league nights” until I downloaded Pinball Fx for my PS5 so I could practice when not in front of an actual machine. I still don’t think I’ll ever own a machine myself, but I also know myself well enough to realize that I’m only 10 weeks in to this, and I shouldn’t write “not owning pinball machine” checks future Jacob can’t cash.