Wedgehead Pinball Podcast

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Local pinball player Travis Chesney joins us on the podcast to share with us the story of the Mob, the Teamsters, and the dueling rival pinball pushers in the 1950s in our great city. Travis went deep down the rabbit hole and wrote up a nice cliffnotes version of this history to share with us on this podcast, but if you want to know even more, check out these other references that we listed in the episode below.

Portland Expose The fictional film based upon the real events discussed in this episode, that the teamsters picketed upon it's release at the Hollywood Theatre (our historic neighbors up the street from Wedgehead).

Dark Rose: Organized Crime & Corruption in Portland by Robert C. Donnelly

Portland Confidential: Sex, Crime & Corruption in the Rose City by Phil Stanford

Standard warning: our language is as sordid as any of the tales told on this episode. Sensitive ears be warned.

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No ramps, no ball saves, no bullshit on this one. In this episode our buddy Ty Palmer comes back on the show to tell us why Eight Ball Deluxe is the best game ever.

Standard swearbear warning here, there is adult language throughout so invite the kids to listen and learn some fun new words to bring with them to school!

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Alright, in this episode we are joined once again by our good buddy Ty Palmer and jump right into the fire to try and determine the definitive answer to the age old question: Bally vs. Stern Electronics, which are actually better?

Buckle up, because this one gets everyone riled up, and adult language was used.

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In this second episode with legendary pinball sound designer Dan Forden, we actually go through his career and listen to the music that he composed and created for many well known and iconic pinball machines. This is a good one!

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In this episode I speak with Dan Forden, another legend of both the videogame and pinball industry. Whilst undoubtably known best for the Motral Kombat video game series, he also worked on a ton of pinball machines at Williams/Bally during the late 80s-90s golden era including: Bad Cats, Black Knight 2000, Mousin Around, Roller Games, Bride of Pinbot, Getaway: High Speed 2, Star Trek: Next Generation, The Shadow, No Fear, Safecracker…and a couple real obscure Brian Eddy games called Attack From Mars, and Medieval Madness!

TOPcast Interview from 2010

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On this episode of the show we are joined by an old school pinball collector and international man of mystery, Tom Rader, who came onto the show to discuss his favorite pinball era of all time: Williams single player EM machines with their unusual looking upside down pear shaped heads. Most collectors now just refer to them as the "Reverse Wedgeheads" and we discuss all of them in this episode, along with designers Steve Kordek and Norm Clark, and even get into some long standing mystery over exactly who the artists were on some of these games.

Since these games are pretty rare to see in the modern day, our guest made a handy pdf with links to all the IPDB pages so you can follow along visually: Reverse Wedgeheads

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Alex is doing a second best game episode for best game ever since apparently, he's confused about the definition of "best game ever" actually means...

In this episode we discuss the 1993 Williams Classic Barry Oursler game: Bram Stoker's Dracula and what makes it so great.

But be warned, the swearwolves were in full effect on this episode...this is your adult content warning.

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In this episode we explore the role that physical layout and shot geometry has on the overall feel of a pinball machine. We discuss the classic spectrum of two genius designers who operated largely on opposite sides of the spectrum, Steve Ritchie and Pat Lawlor, and Alan discusses why if he doesn't like the way a game physically shoots, then he will NEVER enjoy that machine at all.

But as per usual, adult language is used. This is your warning.

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Local legend Cory Butcher joins us on the show to defend his love for the 1992 Gottlieb game, Cue Ball Wizard. On paper this game sold well, and earned well back in the day, but for some reason it hasn't aged so well in the 30 years since its release. Thankfully Butcher is here to educate all of us.

As is tradition, profanity is used throughout the episode.

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Seattle pinball player and creator of the kickass pinball ratings website, http://pinballranker.combrings us all his episode that he wrote and recorded all about what he believes to be "The Best Game Ever"

Warning: like all of our normal episodes, Conor has also chosen to use adult language, this is your warning.

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In this episode we dive deep into the pinball career of one of pinball's most successful designers. Barry designed over 30 pinball machines in the solid state era, sold obscene amounts of his designs, single handedly saved pinball in 1984, and was always a team player and a kind and willing collaborator. Despite all this, he's almost forgotten about in the modern-day discussion of pinball design legends, and we talk about why in this episode.

TOPcast Interview w/ Barry: https://www.pinrepair.com/topcast/topcast_35.mp3

But in case you don't know by now, adult language is used in the episode so sensitive ears be warned.

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It took me awhile, but the second episode of my pinball economics series is finally here, and I am exploring the concept of "value" as it pertains to the business of pinball operating. It all starts with: Is looking at the coinbox overrated?

I hope you all enjoy this second deep dive into the life of pinball operating and the underlying economics of the venture, but as usual...some adult language is used in the process.

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We are joined by longtime supporter of the bar and podcast, Conor Wilson who created an awesome new website to make ranking your favorite pinball machines that makes it simple, easy, and fun to do, and allows you to share your lists with your other pinball friends.

You can start your journey here at: http://pinballranker.com

As always, some swear words may be used in the passionate discussion

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We are back and celebrating the best games in all categories and handing out awards for the best pinball machines of 1995!

Warning: Adult Language is used.

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In this episode Alex went into the lab and locked himself away to run the tests and to finally come up with the “Top Ten Games of All Time: No Opinions, Just Facts” list and that's what we're sharing with you on this episode.

Everybody knows the pinside list is deeply flawed and skewed towards brand new games, but the real top ten list is right here… at least according to Alex.

As always though, we are adults and we use adult language. This is the sensitive ears disclaimer.

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Bonus Episode of the show coming at you featuring two local portland players and friends who met through the discord for this show, Rob and Miggy! They recorded this episode to tell everybody why they love Pat Lawlor and his 1992 game "The Addams Family" so much.

You can hear the excitement in their voices and no, the playback has not been sped up, they are just naturally that hyped up all the time! Enjoy!

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There's something very different about Stern's latest game, and for really the first time ever on the show, we're breaking from our normal format and covering a brand-new game from the location player and operator's perspective. This feels like a historic moment, and so we're going to talk about the first couple weeks of Pokémon on location and what they did differently with this title and why this feels like it's breathing fresh life into the pinball hobby.

But if this is your first episode of the show, we use adult language when we speak and I make zero efforts to censor. This is your warning.

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In this episode we cover the 20 machines that Gottlieb made from 1982-1985 and discuss all the weird, strange, wacky, and good games and innovative designs that they churned out during the doldrum years of the mid 1980s.

But buckle up, there's adult language throughout.

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Our friend Lisa, a pinball tech at Next Level comes on the show to defend her love for Stern's Austin Powers machine from 2001, and makes sure to state clearly that she does NOT like the movies at all. We read all the bad reviews we could find online and Lisa educates us on why they are all wrong.

But be warned if this is your first time, we do use adult language on the show.

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In this episode Alan sets the record straight on the true greatest game of all time, Dennis Nordman's masterpiece, 1993's Whitewater made by Williams. Listen to us discuss why Whitewater not only excels in all aspects, but why it truly transcends the medium.

Normal disclaimer: We curse when we get excited, and this episode is about the GOAT, so there's some spicy language throughout.

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