Kineticist
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The preferred website of pinball nerds everywhere. https://www.kineticist.com/ Newsletter = This Week in Pinball. Awards = The TWIPYs For pinball community content feeds, see @pinbott.gg
"There was bad software and bad art before AI. It's just way easier to make now." That's Ed Giardina of Pinventory, one of three developers Benjamin Plotkin and I talked to about the 15 new pinball apps and websites we've tracked so far this year. www.kineticist.com/news/pinball...
AI and Pinball's 2026 App Boom: Meet the Builders
Developers Conor Wilson, Ed Giardina, and Will Oetting talk about their latest projects amid an explosion of new services.
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NEW at @kineticist.com: After five decades of playing pinball, Tasker Smith has learned a lot about how to play better — and now he's sharing his advice in a new hardcover volume, Pinball: A Quest for Mastery, published by Schiffer Books.
Tasker Smith Talks Flow, Focus, and Bad Luck in Natick
Tasker Smith launched Pinball: A Quest for Mastery in Natick — flow states, focus rituals, split flippers, and the 1974 Strato-Flite he brought in.
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Bonus coverage of Tasker Smith's book launch event in Natick, MA, and our first article from Andrew Quemere. www.kineticist.com/news/tasker-...
Tasker Smith Talks Flow, Focus, and Bad Luck in Natick
Tasker Smith launched Pinball: A Quest for Mastery in Natick — flow states, focus rituals, split flippers, and the 1974 Strato-Flite he brought in.
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This Week in Pinball, we're going places: three weeks to catch up on, three new games, and one rough start. twip.kineticist.com/p/along-for-...
Along for the Ride
Three new games launched in two days, plus why the Bon Jovi reveal landed hard, a Galactic Tank Force send-off, and Tasker Smith's new book.
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New! Chatting with the newly published author, Tasker Smith, about his new book, Pinball: A Quest for Mastery, as he heads out on an exciting book tour. www.kineticist.com/news/tasker-...
“I Had Started Writing the Book I Wanted to Read” — Tasker Smith on Pinball: A Quest for Mastery
Tasker Smith on the decade he spent writing Pinball: A Quest for Mastery — the sensory deprivation tanks that didn't survive the edit, what his editor changed, and why he says pinball comes down to pl...
kineticist.com
American Pinball announced Galactic Tank Force: Victory Edition this morning, a final run of one hundred units, alongside a hefty code update and some interesting clues as to where the company may be headed. www.kineticist.com/news/gtf-vic...
American Pinball Launches New Victory Edition of Galactic Tank Force
American Pinball announced Galactic Tank Force: Victory Edition this morning, a final run of one hundred units, alongside a hefty code update and some interesting clues as to where the company may be ...
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Barrels of Fun drops Bon Jovi pinball on a (mostly) unsuspecting pinball crowd. We've got all the details and more here: www.kineticist.com/news/bon-jov...
Bon Jovi Pinball Machine by Barrels of Fun Revealed
Everything we know so far about the new Barrels of Fun pinball machine, Bon Jovi.
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For the first time in its history, Multimorphic: Pinball Evolved launched two new P³ games on the same day: Dungeon Crawler Carl, the LitRPG adaptation we've been tracking since February, and Ender's Game, which nobody saw coming. www.kineticist.com/news/multimo...
Multimorphic Launches Dungeon Crawler Carl & Ender's Game Pinball
Multimorphic launches two P³ games at once — Dungeon Crawler Carl at $12,350, Ender's Game at $11,750, or $5,250 and $4,400 as kits for existing owners.
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The ten best EM games ever made, as rated by users of the Internet Pinball Database. solar_espeon runs down what makes each one great, from Gottlieb's drop-target classics to a surprise #1 from Williams. www.kineticist.com/news/top-em-...
Top 10 Electromechanical Pinball Machines, Per IPDB Users
The ten best electromechanical pinball machines ever made, as rated by users of the Internet Pinball Database.
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New! Part two of our interview series on licensing in pinball. American Pinball owner J Bryan Vincent on taking AP into licensed games, a candid Hot Wheels post-mortem, remake economics, and the themes he's avoiding. www.kineticist.com/news/j-bryan...
J Bryan Vincent Interview: American Pinball's Licensing Plans
American Pinball owner J Bryan Vincent on taking AP into licensed games — a candid Hot Wheels post-mortem, remake economics, and the themes he's avoiding.
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New! Paul Melio got a chance to talk about pinball licensing with Stern Pinball's CCO George Gomez. He covers getting rejected on a line in Batman, deals Stern walked away from, and why pinball doesn't fit anyone's licensing categories. www.kineticist.com/news/george-...
George Gomez Interview: How Pinball Licensing Works
Stern's George Gomez on working with licensors — 100% approvals, walked-away deals, and why pinball doesn't fit neatly into anyone's product categories.
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Last year, on the 30th anniversary of the slew of pinball machines released in 1995, Matt Owen ranked them all. Now, 1996 hits 30, and he's back with a fresh ranking of all 12 major releases. Agree? Disagree? You know the drill! www.kineticist.com/news/every-p...
Every Pinball Machine of 1996, Ranked
Matt ranks every pinball machine released in 1996 from worst to best — Flipper Football to Tales of the Arabian Nights — as the whole class turns 30.
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LA comedian Matt O'Brien on the pinball obsession that turned into viral videos and got Stern to loan him a machine. Benjamin Plotkin met him at Walt's Bar to talk comedy, getting hooked on pinball, and the road to "getting good." www.kineticist.com/news/matt-ob...
From Callbacks to Kickbacks: An Interview with Comedian Matt O'Brien
LA comedian Matt O'Brien on the pinball obsession that turned into viral videos — and got Stern to loan him a machine.
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A Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Launch Feels Imminent www.kineticist.com/news/dcc-lau...
Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Machine Looks Imminent
The Dungeon Crawler Carl pinball teasers are escalating fast, from the book's own creative team, and a launch now looks like 2026. Here's who might be building it.
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'Creators Gotta Create': James Cardona on the Business of Pinball 2.0 Kits www.kineticist.com/news/james-c...
'Creators Gotta Create': James Cardona on the Business of Pinball 2.0 Kits
James Cardona of Cardona Pinball on the business of building officially licensed 2.0 upgrade kits for classic Bally/Williams machines.
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New on The Score Card: diving into a pair of competitions unlike any other: one that pulls hundreds of players to Alberta, Canada, as well as a brand new tournament on the Stern Pro Circuit that was held at the hottest new spot in Chicago, Illinois. www.kineticist.com/news/score-c...
The Score Card 16: Flipping Up North and a Super Showdown
On this edition of The Score Card, we're diving into a pair of competitions unlike any other: one that pulls hundreds of players to Alberta, Canada for a hefty amount of Match Play, as well as a brand...
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This Week in Pinball, we're turning on speed mode: a faster read after a few heavier issues, as we soak in Sonic release week. twip.kineticist.com/p/gotta-read...
Gotta Read Fast
Sonic the Hedgehog finally revealed, Slash hits the HoF, Transformers tutorial, and a fast spin through the rest.
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Slash was inducted into the U.K. Pinball Hall of Fame earlier this month. Hear from Chairman Gary Flower, and watch video from the award presentation with Slash. www.kineticist.com/news/slash-u...
Slash Inducted Into the U.K. Pinball Hall of Fame
Slash enters the U.K. Pinball Hall of Fame. Hear from Chairman Gary Flower, and watch video from the award presentation.
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Jersey Jack Pinball launched Sonic the Hedgehog pinball today. Here's everything we know so far about the release, including features, rules, design team credits, and more! www.kineticist.com/news/jjp-lau...
Jersey Jack Launches Sonic the Hedgehog Pinball
Everything we know about the release of Jersey Jack's Sonic the Hedgehog pinball machine so far!
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Is this an oops? It could be an oops. Either way, enjoy a full cabinet image of Jersey Jack's Sonic the Hedgehog a few hours before its official release. www.kineticist.com/news/first-f...
First Full Image of Jersey Jack's Sonic the Hedgehog Pinball
Get a sneak peek of the full Sonic the Hedgehog game before its official release in a few hours.
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New! Bruce Sheldon self-publishes Pinball Frenzine, a low-tech DIY zine of handmade pinball rules guides. He talks about its origins, process, and what's next in our latest interview. www.kineticist.com/news/pinball...
Pinball Frenzine Is a Hand-Made Zine for Pinball Rules & More
Bruce Sheldon self-publishes Pinball Frenzine, a low-tech DIY zine of hand-made pinball rules guides. He talks origins, process, and what's next.
kineticist.com
New! The latest edition of The Score Card from Matt Owen covers IFPA21 World Pinball Championship and The 2026 Epstein Cup. www.kineticist.com/news/score-c...
The Score Card 15: IFPA21 World Championship
On this special edition of The Score Card, we're taking a quick dive into IFPA21, tracking the close calls, surprise finishes, and of course, this year's big winner.
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Barrels of Fun's new $75-a-year Barrels Reserve club gives members a guaranteed second week to buy any machine that sells out in its first seven days. www.kineticist.com/news/barrels...
Barrels of Fun Launches Barrels Reserve Collectors' Club
Barrels of Fun's $75-a-year Barrels Reserve club gives members a guaranteed second week to buy any machine that sells out in its first seven days.
kineticist.com
Pedretti revealed its Tales of the Arabian Nights remake in two editions, from a faithful Legacy build to a 399-unit Anniversary with new Brian Allen art. Full pricing and specs inside. www.kineticist.com/news/totan-r...
Tales of the Arabian Nights Remake: Editions & Pricing | Kineticist
Pedretti revealed its Tales of the Arabian Nights remake, a $10,999 Legacy Edition and a 399-unit, $11,999 30th Anniversary Edition with new Brian Allen art.
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Spooky Pinball rules designer Hilton Jones on operating, his four tenets of ruleset design, Evil Dead, TCM, and building his new arcade game Aliens of Destruction. www.kineticist.com/news/hilton-...
Hilton Jones on Pinball Design and Indie Arcade Games (Aliens of Destruction)
Spooky rules designer Hilton Jones on operating, his four tenets of ruleset design, Evil Dead, TCM, and building his arcade game Aliens of Destruction.
kineticist.com
Pokémon eats the pinball market, 2025 runs down 2024, and a first public look at our Production Estimation Model in Moving Units #7 twip.kineticist.com/p/moving-uni...
Moving Units: Pinball Sales Tracker (#7)
Pokémon eats the market, 2025 runs down 2024, and a first public look at our Production Estimation Model
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