Friends who flip together, stick together: Seattle area's pinball family

The Pacific Northwest is known for a handful of pastimes — outdoor activities, DIY bands, debating why this IPA is somehow more IPA than another IPA. You can add pinball to the Northwest identity, thanks to a fervent community that frequently gathers under the translite glow of backglasses throughout the region.

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"A lot of people come to Seattle and they experience what they call the 'Seattle Freeze'," said Dwayne Collins, who hosts weekly pinball tournaments at Jupiter Bar in Belltown. "Personally, I did not experience that because I got into the pinball community. That eliminates the Seattle Freeze. Once you're in that, you have friends. You have people to hang out with. You have people to play pinball with all the time... great friends, some almost family."

This article comes from an episode of KUOW's Meet Me Here. Listen to the full episode below.

Yes, pinball. For years, a pinball renaissance has supported local pubs, pinball teams, and new machines fresh off the factory floor. Your grandparents might have joined a bowling league. Today, you can join a pinball league. It's so popular in the Northwest, each year, pinheads from near and far gather in Tacoma for the Northwest Pinball Show. It has hundreds of games, equipment, tournaments, and comradery. The 2025 pinball show is June 6-8 at the Tacoma Convention Center.

"I've lived in a few cities around the country and I've met wonderful people in each one, but the [Seattle-area] pinball community is the first time that I ever joined a community and instantly felt comfortable with a large number of people and made good friends quicker than I really ever had in my life," said Ashley Weaver, who also hosts a weekly pinball tournament at 8-Bit in downtown Renton.

"You can talk about pinball, but it's also people that I call when I'm upset about life or whatever. I think the value in that is pretty huge," she said. "My Renton pinball family is everything to me. I'm also captain of a team, and my team is my family. I love them."

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Seattle ranks second when it comes to the number of pinball machines in the city (590) and the number of establishments offering pinball (95). Only Portland outranks the Emerald City, according to data from the Pinball Map, an app with a singular purpose: Show where all the pinball machines are. And note: That’s just Seattle. If you’re in Western Washington, or Oregon, you’re likely not too far from a pinball game (except if you’re on the Eastside for some reason. What’s up with that Bellevue?). Vashon Island has 26 games. Marysville has 48 machines spread across three spots. Bremerton has 60 games across eight locations.

Quick tips for trying pinball:

• Use the Pinball Map app to find games near you.
• Attend a local tournament and just have fun. Ashley hosts events Tuesday nights at 8-Bit in Renton. Dwayne hosts events Tuesdays and Thursdays at Jupiter Bar in Belltown.
• Some good games to start with are: Addams Family, Attack From Mars, Cactus Canyon, Godzilla, Medieval Madness, and Stranger Things.
• Just play, and then, play some more.

Seattle area pinball primer: Find your pinball family

Starting a pinball adventure is easy. Go find a machine and start pumping quarters into it. Use Pinball Map app to see which places have a decent number of machines. If they have more than 10, that’s a good sign.

Dwayne and Ashley both encourage everybody to try a pinball tournament.

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"I think it's really welcoming, and even if you go in and get destroyed for three games, I still see people having a good time," Ashley said.

"And they come back," Dwayne added. "So we know they had a good time. ... They show up again next week ready for more. And the week after that."

The benefit of the tournament approach is that you are more likely to learn from others about the games and pick up a few tricks as you mingle. Along the way, you learn how to aim the ball, even stop the ball, and perhaps nudge the machine in the right way.

"Two weeks ago, I had two newcomers tie for fourth," Ashley said. "They were ecstatic. It was so much fun to see. All my regulars were sitting there cheering them on. You’ll have a ball.”

What pinball games to try

Not all games are created equal. Some are more straightforward and easier to understand (ex: World Cup Soccer). Others make you beg them for mercy, and it almost feels like they are mocking you (ex: Black Knight: Sword of Rage).

Ashley's recommendations: Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars from “that era of Williams.” That refers to games in the 1990s made by the Williams company. Some of the most popular pinball machines were made during this era. Medieval Madness is often said to be the best game of all time. Williams stopped making pinball games after the ’90s.

Dwayne's recommendations: Cactus Canyon and Addams Family. Both were also made by Williams in the 1990s. Cactus Canyon proved to be a cult hit, and in recent years, a new pinball company (Chicago Gaming Company) started issuing remakes of this classic, so it’s easier to find these days.

Dyer’s recommendations: For some more modern games, I recommend Godzilla and Stranger Things. They are easy to pick up. Just shoot the ball up the middle and learn from there. Try to play Godzilla where you can hear the audio. This game sounds amazing with voiceovers, music, and more. You can even play it with a Japanese narrator and with the original score from the 1954 film.

A few Western Washington pinball hotspots to try

8-Bit: All ages before 8 p.m. in downtown Renton.

Airport Tavern: Pinball up front, club in the back at this south Tacoma bar.

ADD-A-Ball: Hip, artsy spot in Fremont.

Ice Box: All ages spot in Ballard.

Jupiter: Hip bar with great artwork and plenty of pinball in Belltown.

Olaf's: In north Ballard on 24th Avenue.

Pinball Museum: All ages in the Chinatown-International District. Pay an entrance fee, then all games are free to play. No quarters needed.

Raygun Lounge: All ages in Capitol Hill. When you're not playing pinball, you can also play board games or D&D here.

Shorty’s: Seattle's original pinball joint in Belltown.

Time Warp: Feels like you're playing pinball in a Blade Runner movie, but you’re really in Capitol Hill.

Triple Knock: Skeletons hang from the ceiling and mock you at this Tacoma pinball bar.

Try a pin-crawl and this pinball bus in Seattle

I like to go on what I call "pin-crawls." Like a pub crawl, you pick an area and hop from pinball bar to pinball arcade. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon or evening walking through a neighborhood.

Dwayne has a tip for taking this to the next level: King County Metro’s 40 bus line. It takes you by a stretch of pinball hotspots from Ballard to Belltown.

"If you start in Ballard it takes you by Olaf’s, you go by Ice Box, you go by 4Bs, you go by Add-A-Ball, then you get to Belltown, and down there you have Just the Tap, Shorty’s, and Jupiter," Dwayne said.