We visited
Pinball PA with a group from one of our homeschool co-ops. It's just one of Pittsburgh's many hidden gems, and we were excited! They boast of over 400 machines, with many vintage video arcade games in the center and pinball games on either side.
I don't know if there's a strict order to them, but games from different eras are clearly grouped together. Visitors pay an admission fee, and the games are all set to "free play" so that you can play to your heart's content. Jasper of course loves to actually play the games. I do enjoy them, but what I really love is to check out the mind blowing artwork. I love the combination of a static image and moving lights, which go with a full array of sound effects, and the awesomely retro (and sometimes head-scratching) themes. Why do so many pinball games have themes based on other games, so you can pretend you're bowling, shooting pool or even playing Space Invaders while you're playing pinball? My favorites are probably the oldest ones, from the 60s and earlier. Their colors and sounds are really evocative of a different time.
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This game is based on The Who's rock opera movie "Tommy". Ann-Margaret and Roger Daltry are depicted here,
and you would never guess she plays his mom. (Yikes!) Also I honestly don't know what's up with the
phrase "Memento Mori" on the vest of the girl on the far right. |
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| The Wiggler???? IDK what is going on here... |
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| The true mark of superstardom, when you have your own pinball game! |
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| Pregnancy has its own pinball game. |
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| "Centigrade 37" refers to body temperature. Kind of a Frankenstein theme? |
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| The theme of this game is that you are a taxi driver approaching Pinball Palace who is being hailed simultaneously by Marilyn Monroe, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pin-Bot, Dracula and Santa. If they all want to go different places, what a dilemma! |
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Fireball is an awesome game. There is a spinning disc in the center that randomly
redirects the ball's trajectory. |
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Hercules. This game is super-sized (18 square feet!) for 1 to 4 players.
It's considered the largest pinball game ever made. |
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