Episode 57 - Pinball AirBnB / DOTH Road Kings
Podcast
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast
52 min
Summary
The Kickback operator defends Road Kings as underrated System 11 classic with design firsts.
Alan and Alex host Mike, an unconventional pinball operator from Troy, New York, who runs a 15-machine The Kickback called "The Kickback" as an alternative to traditional arcade operations. The episode explores Mike's collector-to-operator journey, the Airbnb model as a novel venue for pinball exposure, and a passionate defense of the maligned System 11 game Road Kings, which Mike argues features important pinball innovations including the first hurry-up music cue and pioneering ramp-to-inlane design.
Highlights
- Road Kings was the first pinball game to feature a hurry-up music cue
- Road Kings was Chris Granner first game soundtrack
- Road Kings was the first ramp to feed to the in-lane in pinball history
- The Kickback has 15 playable pinball machines
- Mike accumulated 30-40 machines in about a year at a co-op workshop location after COVID
- Road Kings is the third lowest-rated of all 30 System 11 games on Pinside
- Most Airbnbs with pinball have 1-2 machines; The Kickback is noted as having by far the most
- Road Kings is actually better than most Bally and Gottlieb games from its era
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