Episode 77_Cruel Summer
Dan gives a review of the 2025 California extreme show. Mark gets more time on Dutch pinball's Alice's adventures in wonderland. Spencer shares the thoughts of D&D players playing D&D pinball. We...
Highlights
- Harry Potter pinball's staircase mechanism diverts the ball approximately 16 different ways and acts as a pseudo-lock.
- Harry Potter pinball is one of the fastest JJP games, with comparable speed to Elton John.
- Mark Ritchie was involved in a documented high-speed car chase (Porsche 944) that ended with a police pullover near Lodi, CA, which inspired the Highway Sign spinners on High Speed.
- Bridge rectifier failures are rare; most reset issues attributed to bridge rectifiers are actually caused by reseating connectors.
- Harry Potter pinball's Sorting Hat voice actor was a good choice and blended well with the universe, avoiding the typical 'sore thumb' effect of poor impersonations.
- Atari Warlords cocktail cabinets sell for approximately $5,000 in the secondary market.
- Kyle Reinhart placed 4th in the B division of the California Extreme pinball tournament.
- California Extreme moved venues at some point, relocating to Santa Clara, which changed the event's vibe.
Notable quotes
“The shot layout is really fun, and it is a very flowy game and fast, probably one of the fastest JJPs.”
“It looks like what it is, which is a chunk of staircase that turns around.”
“The guy has forgotten about pinball than most of us have ever known.”
“It's like the most fun four people can have with their clothes on.”
“Well, come on, boy, you got to pony up.”
“You want to talk about inflation? You want to talk about geopolitical politics? And that fucking pulled pork sandwich out there cost $11.”
“In-person competition is still super fun in its own way, as opposed to, you know, playing somebody a game on the Internet.”
“I don't think California Extreme is a pinball show. I think of it as an arcade show.”
Entities
- California Extreme· event
- Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show· event
- Pinball Wizard· event
- Elton John· game
- Godfather· game
- Harry Potter· game
- High Speed· game
- Pirates of the Caribbean· game
- Warlords· game
- Adam· person
- Al Alcorn· person
- Christopher Franchi· person
- Dan· person
- Eric Meunier· person
- Jamie· person
- Jeff· person
- Kyle Reinhart· person
- Mark· person
- Mark Ritchie· person
- Pinball Pirate· person
- Rob Anthony· person
- Ron Tan· person
- Spencer· person
- Steve Bowden· person
- T.J. Bayer· person
- Travis· person
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