Kineticist

Spooky Pinball Teases The Goonies for Friday, November 13 www.kineticist.com/news/spooky-...

Steve Ritchie retires. www.kineticist.com/news/steve-r...

The Pinball Primer has just reached the milestone of having rulesheets for 1,000 games! The website has come a long way from its first publication in November 2023, when it was still called Pinball Rest Stop and featured tutorials for 12 games.

After a bit of a wait, here's everything we know about Stern's AC/DC Remastered release. www.kineticist.com/news/stern-r...

A long-awaited feature arrives in Pulp Fiction Pinball's latest code update, v1.03. Details in our write-up. www.kineticist.com/news/pulp-fi...

This Week in Pinball, we're looking down the road. twip.kineticist.com/p/where-were...

New on The Score Card! Recapping an eventful September in competitive pinball with PAPA, EPC, and The UK Open events. www.kineticist.com/news/score-c...

Doc, about the future... www.kineticist.com/news/dutch-p...

Do the Dew!

New! Paul Melio chats with artist Brian Allen about his big year in pinball, his creative process, thoughts on AI art, and more. Listen or read this one; we've got it in both formats at the link! www.kineticist.com/news/brian-a...

New Moving Units tracker. Nothing has moved like Pokémon did in the spring, and Transformers led the summer at less than half that pace. Full numbers for paid subscribers at the link! twip.kineticist.com/p/moving-uni...

New! In honor of Stern Pinball's 40th celebrations, we're taking a look at Data East's first release, Laser War, in our latest tutorial from @solar-espeon.bsky.social www.kineticist.com/news/laser-w...

New! In this edition of The Score Card by Matt Owen, we're covering the last pair of summer tournaments on the Stern Pro Circuit, starting at a storied Wisconsin arcade and wrapping up on the West Coast. www.kineticist.com/news/score-c...

New on Kineticist! Ted Zale designed for Bally from 1963 to 1973. Here, we look back at eight of his machines and what each one introduced, from lock-and-release multiball on Star-Jet to the Balligator on Nip-It. www.kineticist.com/news/ted-zal...

This Week in Pinball, we're looking for a Stimpak. twip.kineticist.com/p/vault-dwel...

Getting hands-on with Stern Pinball's latest release, Fallout, from yesterday's media day event. Words and photos via James Fremont. www.kineticist.com/news/fallout...

This Week in Pinball: American Pinball's Cirqus Voltaire remake is official, PinAccess relaunches, and Stern's Fallout is near. Plus a month of pinball stories you may have missed. twip.kineticist.com/p/step-right...

American Pinball announces Cirqus Voltaire in Classic and Ringmaster editions, $9,989 and $12,589, shipping October 2026. Paul Melio reports. www.kineticist.com/news/america...

New! Paul Melio talks pinball licensing with Multimorphic founder Gerry Stellenberg. They cover a lot of ground: walking away from licenses, the philosophy behind selecting IP, and why the pinball community rarely guesses Multimorphic's upcoming releases. www.kineticist.com/news/gerry-s...

We've got a double dose of pinball history today with the latest entry in solar_espeon's Exploring EMs series, taking a look at the storied career of Gottlieb designer Wayne Neyens. www.kineticist.com/news/wayne-n...

Fresh from the desk of Joe Ciaravino, one of the most heavily researched pieces we've ever published on Kineticist. In it, we take a trip through pinball history with a look at 150 of the most historically significant pinball machines ever made. www.kineticist.com/news/150-pin...

Pokemon pinball home model hits Costco

New! On this edition of The Score Card, we're covering three big-ticket July tournament battles, including the iconic Pinburgh, the Women's International Pinball Tournament, and the continuation of the Stern Pro Circuit at The BEAST. www.kineticist.com/news/score-c...

New! Our second entry of the On Location series from The Arcade Hunters crew takes a look at Toys From The Attic in New Hampshire, including a chat with owner Don Berrios. www.kineticist.com/news/toys-fr...

"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...

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.

Bonus coverage of Tasker Smith's book launch event in Natick, MA, and our first article from Andrew Quemere. www.kineticist.com/news/tasker-...

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-...

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-...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

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...

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-...

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...

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...

A Dungeon Crawler Carl Pinball Launch Feels Imminent www.kineticist.com/news/dcc-lau...

'Creators Gotta Create': James Cardona on the Business of Pinball 2.0 Kits www.kineticist.com/news/james-c...

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...

Autobots, Transform and Roll Out! www.kineticist.com/news/transfo...

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...

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...

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...

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...

This Week in Pinball, we're thinkin' about the '90s. twip.kineticist.com/p/back-to-th...

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...

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...

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...

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...