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Episode 319: Bulls & Balls

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago43 min listen
From the creator

The home to great pinball tournaments and whoppertunities! This venue is one of the best places I've ever been for pinball competitions. Hear from some of many people at this Fulda, Germany...

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Highlights

  • Bulls & Balls runs multiple large tournaments throughout the year, with events coming up in November and December, and the big Pinball Olympics usually held in June
  • Guns N' Roses from JGP is the hot seller in Germany/Europe; Monsters from Stern is good for casual players due to easy ruleset
  • Godzilla has very high demand for Premium and LE due to the moving building toy and complex playfield
  • Switzerland has major pinball clubs: Silver Ball in Zurich with ~80 machines, location outside Zurich with ~100 machines, and formerly Outlane with 60-70
  • European import tax of 25% (plus VAT) was applied from November (last year) to July, increasing pinball prices ~30% for end customers
  • Robert Suter has won the Epstein Cup 4 times out of 5 entries and aims to play it at IFPA World Championships 2023
  • Pinball Alps tournament is held at ~2000 meters altitude in the Swiss Alps; machines are driven up mountain via truck and gravel roads
  • Helen de Haan has been playing IFPA competition for 12 years, started playing in 1998, and is ranked around 400 globally

Notable quotes

“Every single game, every ball mattered. There is no try again. Seven events over three and a half days, and the competition was unlike anything I've ever seen.”
Jeff Teolis
“I hope that they come as a stranger to us and go as a friend. And I think it's amazing that all the guys come back.”
Matthias Kluber
“It's like in Germany, the taxis are all with a foil on it. So they get not so many chips on it and they keep the value. And pinball machines are quite expensive.”
Stefan Riedler
“You always meet the same people so it's like a small world it really is even if you go to Indies or if you go to Pinburg it still is a small world”
Helen de Haan
“I was so happy. Like, usually those two guys win, you know, Peter and Robert. I don't know what got him to be. I was able to do that”
Flavio Bateria
“The demand for this topic is very high, especially because of the layout of the game. The demand for the premium and LE is very high because of the moving building in the middle of the playfield”
Dirk Eitzholz
“So with only alcohol and a little bit cranberry. Yeah, very little. Very little cranberry. So we changed a little bit and think with the hash fruit inside, you don't smell the alcohol.”
Matthias Kluber

Entities

  • JGP· company
  • Multimorphic· company
  • Pinball Universe· company
  • RS Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Bulls & Balls· event
  • Dutch Pinball Masters· event
  • Dutch Pinball Open· event
  • Indisc· event
  • Pinball Alps· event
  • Pinburg· event
  • Big Lebowski· game
  • Godzilla· game
  • Lethal Weapon 3· game
  • Silver Ball· organization
  • Talwil· organization
  • Dirk Eitzholz· person
  • Flavio Bateria· person
  • Helen de Haan· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Matthias Kluber· person
  • Robert Suter· person
  • Stefan Riedler· person
  • Wolfgang Hyde· person

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