Monster Bash

This is the machine I fell in love with pinball on.   Monster Bash is fast, has tons of shots, is easy to rack a score up on, offers tons of multi-ball options and has a super long replay.....its a great time!   

At City Coast Comics (http://www.coastcitycomics.net/) lie five of portlands fastest and best kept machines.   These include Nightmare on Elm, Elvira, Dr. Who, Six Million Dollar Man (the OG), Batman (RIP) and the lovely machine in which you are reading about.    Amongst other countless reasons why I like this game is the fact that I have not grown tired of it yet.   Yes, maybe some rigs have more lights, crazier play or bells and whistles, but what other machine features Frakenstien, Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Mummy, the WereWolf, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein and Egor?   None of em. 

 

Another big draw to playing at City Coast Comics: the guys at City Coast Comics.   Tristan (the owner of the joint) is extreemly knowledgeable and passionate about his pinball - not to mention comics, video games, figures, cards ect....   Tristan does a great job of maintaining the boxes too: most machines in town have defects or issues that are never resolved.....never an issue at CCC.   If I mention an issue with one of Tristan's units, he'll take care of it by the next time I visit.   Also, I appreciate that they are into pinball, because pinball is the bomb.   They keep the replay nice and long so that your money goes a bit further - people leave happy.   Plus, the staff are in to me bringing my kid - huge bonus.    She hangs out and steals goodies out of the quarter to dollar bin while I take my frustrations out on a little silver ball.   Classic.

Soon to come with a brief run-down on other machines.

For a full report on this and other machines go to:  http://pinball.org/rules/monsterbash.txt

Pinball Wizard Arcade

On my way to Burlington VT, i took a slight detour to Pelham NH.   Though it took me nearly an hour out of the "way," it was worth every token.   Yes, that's right, I spent three and a half hours playing pinball at the legendary:

I'll just come and say it: i don't know why anyone would need 91 pinball machines under one roof, (as well as 162 other video games) but it is, definitively, the shit.   and overwhelming.   As one walks into PWA, one is faced with the ridiculous quandary: where the hell do I start?   

Four more rows of this....

So i just jumped in.   For twenty bucks you get 100 tokens - each machine costs 2 or 3 tokens - that means a lot of pinball.   I figured that if i was to play each machine that interested me two or three times (as to feel out the complexities of each) that i'd be able to make a dent.  

The more i played, the more i realized that pinball is completely overstimulating.   The only dent i got was a dent in my brain.  

One completely frustrating fact of the matter: PWA turns the ball save off on nearly all machines.   Though this is good for "official scores" and making good on all the local allowances, it makes for a frustrating few hours.   I think I only pulled maybe three Replays over the course of my time.

I found that "BlackWater 100" from Bally was one of my favorite finds of the day.   The game starts by shooting three balls to the top of the course - as the green flag drops, the tree balls are released on to the top "track" which has a set of flippers.   If one's ball or balls falls through this set of flippers it drops down a level to another "track" where lies another set of flippers.   if one falls through this bottom set of flippers, it is the end of the race.....but you get to do it two more times!   Basically, I liked this machine because it was pure madness.  With balls in multiple locations all over the board, its basically impossible.

After playing for like an hour, i took a break and played NBA Jam.   Like three times.

I played this game like six times.  Completly addicting.   and stupid.  So stupid, I played it like six times.   This one is for you Christian.   We love you UC.    Bowl less, play more pinball.    

Check out TRON next to Spider-Man.   I should have played TRON!  Dammit, I got obsessed with TRON like a week after I passed by this machine.   DAMMIT!  Well, its a reason to go back.   I have like 25 tokens sitting in the center console of the car......