Wedgehead Pinball Podcast

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Special guest Zoe Vrabel joins Alan and Alex as they discuss the history of the popular casual team based pinball tourney format "Howdy Pardner!"
We discuss what it is, how it works, and what makes it so much different than standard pinball tournaments, and describe how Alan created the format from scratch to host each Thursday night at Wedgehead.
Zoe speaks from her background as a top IFPA player and tournament director, and why Howdy is such a great breath of fresh air into organized pinball, including why she enjoyed playing in and running it so much.
It's a rootin' tootin' good old time!
...with some swearing. *%$#

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In this episode Alan and Alex talk about the rise of the little guys in pinball, and what it means to have so many small and independent pinball makers. We discuss our experiences with some of these manufacturers and their games from both the operator and the home collector's perspective, and we talk about some of the positive and some of the negative aspects of this rapid rise in small scale pinball manufacturing.
It's a brave new world in the number of active pinball manufacturers, and we talk about what to expect, and what to avoid when buying boutique games in general.
As always, we're adults here so there's some swear words in this episode.

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Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast
Sample Definition
Pop Bumper : The round (usually) mechanism on the playfield of a pinball machine, often found in clusters, that contracts when the ball hits it, and slams it off into another direction, typically into another pop or two on the way out of the cluster. It's a randomizing mech found on most pinball machines from the 1950s until today.
This episode is here for some players who enjoy pinball, but are new to the hobby and don't yet understand all the nerdy pinball jargon that us pinball super-nerds spout off about without even thinking we are doing it.
I talk about eras, and attempt to define common acronyms like EM, VUK, and DMD, as well as talking about playfield parts and pieces like slingshots, drop targets, orbits, and more. I also discuss common pinball techniques like slap save, soft plunge, nudge, and tilt.
I hope that this audio glossary of terms will help you quickly understand what the hell the rest of us are talking about, and it should clear up any confusion that you may have from listening to some of our other episodes!
Special thanks to Derek, Laura, Azucena, and Gus for inspiring me to make this episode. This one is for y'all, and to any others new to the hobby yet eager to learn more.
For anyone that would care, there's just a little bit of adult language used in this episode FOR EMPHASIS!

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Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast
In this episode Alan interviews Daniel and Ty, two buddies and pinball operators from New England. We speak about how they started operating games, what types of games they choose to operate, how to find locations and how they keep them happy, as well as some more nuts and bolts talk about fees and permits for running a route in the Boston suburbs and townships.
Plus we get to talk about their flagship location, Pop's Pinball Parlor in Somerville, Mass. and talk about the vibe of the place, and how they balance running serious pinball events like the New England Pinball League, with their weekly series of casual tournaments.
...also, we're all big boys so we swear sometimes throughout the episode.

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Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast
In this episode Alan and Alex talk about what Alex likes to describe as the "best thing that has ever happened to pinball!". Hear about what they are, when they started, and whose fault they are.
We discuss our opinions on them in general and talk about some of our favorites, and which ones should be deleted for good.
Are they fun and engaging, or inherently a bad idea?
...also we're adults, we swear sometimes.

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