Ever since I visited Pinballz to celebrate my 43rd birthday, I have practically been to the joint twice a week. It’s a great way to relieve some of the stress I have from work and I’m probably reliving just the positive memories regarding Aladdin’s Castle in the Seventies.
Last month Somara gave me a belated birthday gift, a gold-level membership card. I was reluctant over it initially when she offered this around August. A hundred bucks is a lot plus I feared the novelty would wear off; the PS3 doesn’t get much game action lately. As you can see, I capitulated due to my attendance and doing the math…it pays for itself easily in 10 months. How? Every month I get $20-worth of tokens for $10, a snack (usually candy, this would be a dollar), a soda (another dollar), a discount on renting the party room (Somara plans on having the big 44 there, local friends be ready for a great time!), something with the tickets (I don’t play those games), advanced opportunities to see/play newer machines Pinballz deploys and here’s the kicker, two tickets in the raffle for a machine they give away at Christmas. Oh, finally as you see above, I get exclusivity on MAG as my handle or initials when I nail the high score. I’m not sure how they’ll enforce it yet I won’t worry, I doubt I’ll ever pull this off again with the systems getting more traffic by the serious players: Spider-Man and Medieval Madness for example.
Anyway, I achieved the thrill and honor on Creature from the Black Lagoon which doesn’t focus on the 1954 movie (despite an incredible essay by Joe Bob Briggs), its ramps, targets and goals pertain to elements in a drive-in theater during the Fifties. I played it a couple times before, did alright while I found the replay goal a bit steep (roughly 200 million), it was great fun. Yesterday I made my rounds on mostly favorites, tried some I never had played and figured I’d wrap up on this, then pick up Somara at work. I was definitely in the zone: numerous successes get the ball up the left ramp, racking up 500,000-plus launching it into the “Move Your Car” gate and two “shoot again” opportunities (making it a five-ball game). Before I knew it, the machine made the infamous “smack” noise indicating a replay. It also shows an animation of a projector on its display stating the victory. The bigger thrill was it awarding me an additional replay for having the highest daily score and letting me enter my initials! MAG has always been what I used since I was a kid in the Eighties, not like I did often, other kids had the time and money on their hands to master Asteroids or Ms. Pac Man. Whenever I did have the opportunity, the videogame had been recently reset by the owners.
I didn’t redeem the games though. I donated them to a guy so I could pick up Somara…I was then running late. When I saw the dude jostling Creature rather forcefully on my way out (I had to share my joy with the staff), I regretted my charitable action somewhat. One thing I rarely do is tilt, I find it rude and disrespectful to the owners’ equipment.
Many of you might be thinking, *sigh!* “so what.” Sure, I give you that. However, pinball is making a small comeback. Arcades may have evaporated over the last decade thanks to home consoles being more versatile with videogames. Pinball is a completely different experience. It’s similar to bowling. The real thing requires more skill, stamina and/or technique versus the simplicity through the Wii. Pinball on a computer or console feels sterile plus kids probably know all the cheats to spoil it. I dare Jack Silder to nail the gate to trigger a multi-ball from the toilet without looking!