Wedgehead Pinball Podcast

It's the year 1980, and the US Olympic Hockey team shocks the world and beats the Soviet team in a stunning 4-3 upset in Lake Placid, NY during the height of the cold war.But another miracle happens in pinball that same year too, as a fledgling Stern Electronics releases 9 excellent machines in 1980. They were the clear last place manufacturer behind Bally, Williams, and Gottlieb,

In this episode Alan sits down to talk with Ian Matheson, operator at Propeller arcade inside of Propeller Brewing in Halifax, Canada.We talk about how he got started, including some incredible stories about the old school underground Nova Scotia pinball scene before opening his public arcade which include stories of setting machines on fire in the front yard, peeing in sinks, and

In this episode, Alan and Alex discuss the outlier machines released in the last 7 years without ramps, and with simpler rulesets.We talk about Total Nuclear Annihilation, Beatles, Bond 60th, and Pulp Fiction, and why we love seeing the variety added to modern pinball offerings.But sometimes we use swear words.

In this episode we finally talk in depth about "Modern" pinball, where it started, what defines the modern era, and the different innovations or changes to the classic game that we all know and love.For all the listeners out there that have been asking us to talk more about modern games, this episode is for you. And if you want to hear more about modern pinball and enjoy this show,

In this edition of our popular "Die on this Hill" series, we are rejoined on the show by Mitch Curtis, the operator known as 'Pinball Over Boston' as he jumps onto the show to defend one of his favorite underappreciated games, 2000's Sharkey's Shootout made by the fledgling Stern Pinball.Mitch is a very passionate boy, and speaks at length about how much he loves this old/new mashu

In this episode of our 'Operator Spotlight' series Alan and Alex speak with Mitch Curtis of Pinball Over Boston, about his decade of running a pinball route in the Boston area. We cover what it was like starting out, how he grew it, how he handled the covid 19 shutdowns, and what it's like for him nowadays on the other side.We talk about his locations Flat Top Johnny's, Roxy's, and

In this edition of our "Die on this Hill" series, John Dozier of Inner Orbit Pinball rejoins the show and steps up to defend Sega's 1996 pinball machine based on the hit movie, Space Jam!This game is actually the LOWEST rated game that we have featured thus far on the show, and the internet has some strong opinions!And despite this being a family friendly theme, we definitely use s

In the latest addition of our Operator Spotlight series, Alan speaks with John Dozier of Inner Orbit pinball about his pinball route based in Springfield Missouri. John began operating pinball machines about 10 years ago, and was drawn in due to a familiar refrain of the modern pinball operator - there just weren't any good machines to play in his area.Hear about John's move from p

In what will surely be the most controversial episode of the podcast, Alan and Alex discuss all the different ways that people can choose to customize the setup of their pinball machines.Pitch, tilts, outlanes, rubber types, toy and lighting mods, as well as software settings, we go through them all. We discuss the differences in setups, and we share our preferences for each catego

In this episode we discuss how to get to know your friendly neighborhood pinball operator, including tips for making a good first impression, and how to find the proper channels in which to communicate with them about machine malfunctions.Alan speaks about it from the Operator's point of view, while Alex shares his insights as an expert Operator Whisperer on how to befriend these s