Jeff Sanders sees pinball as being like golf in a way. "Every now and then you have that great game and that's the one you remember." With a collection of more than 30 pinball machines, Sanders, a 51-year-old Huntsville-based scientist and technologist, should know.

Ringing-up a high-score is likely to be even more memorable at Pop-up Pinball, which will put actual pinball machines on a downtown Huntsville sidewalk. The Downtown Huntsville Inc. event is set for 6-10 p.m. July 10, 11, 17 and 18. Pop-Up will feature nightly tournaments for both "beginners" and "serious" players, and take place outside DHI headquarters at 111 Washington St. S.E., near the Holmes Avenue intersection. And it's totally free to play.

"Even if you haven't shot pinball in a decade you can come up there and be in the beginners bracket and maybe take away a prize," Downtown Huntsville Inc. CEO Chad Emerson says. "The way it's set up you can get there early and play your game, walk down to Humphrey's or Below the Radar and eat, come back and check where you are (in tournament standings), if you're still in the leading maybe walk down to Old Town Beer Exchange and grab a beer. It's not like you have to stay the whole time. Since the entertainment district will be open we're encouraging people to go shop at the local establishments, get your purple (to-go alcoholic beverage) cup and get your to-go food. There are eight restaurants within just a couple blocks."

Lights, action, pinball

For Pop-Up, Sanders looked for some of the "sparkliest" specimens in his pinball collection, meaning ones with particularly impressive lights and sound. He came up with three. "Spider-Man," Monopoly and rock band AC/DC-themed pinball machines. The AC/DC machine, adorned with a she-devil, has been designated for the serious players tourney, Sanders says. "It's got some serious straight-down-the-middle issues and you've got to be a good player to not get frustrated playing that machine." The "Spider-Man" pinball is emblazoned with imagery of that Marvel superhero as well as arch-villains like Doctor Octopus and has been designated for the beginners tourney. "It's easy and fun and everybody gets it. It's just a wide-open, blast to play," Sanders says.

The Monopoly-themed machine is "kind of complex" and will be available for auxiliary play or to swap out at Pop-Up Pinball if necessary. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the three machines will be moved inside DHI and the event take place there. Prizes for the pinball tournaments are in the process of being finalized, but may include local gift cards, cash and brewery swag.

Pinball cheat-sheet

Green at pinball? Sanders offers a few tips: "The main thing for new players is learn the rules of each game, know what to aim for, control your ball, usually with trapping, go for multi-ball modes - that's where the jackpots are - and gentle nudging. When in doubt the game will help you by flashing lights near targets that will get you lots of points.

"'Aim for the flashing stuff' is good advice for a beginner."

Emerson and Sanders have been discussing pinball-related event ideas for about 18 months and went through maybe five concepts before settling on "the simplest but most interesting," Emerson says. Sanders actually brought the Monopoly pinball over to DHI, a development non-profit organization, this winter. Emerson and Sanders got to know each other through Huntsville brewery Straight to Ale.

Brewery connection

For about three or so years, Sanders has supplied pinball, including "Star Wars" and Metallica-themed machines, and arcade games, like Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man, at Straight to Ale's taproom, address 3200 Leeman Ferry. He'll expand on that idea with Ronnie Raygun's Arcade, featuring 15 pinball machines ("Iron Man," "Lord of the Rings," etc.) and six or so arcade games ("Mortal Kombat 4," "Primal Rage," etc.) targeted to open in early 2016 in conjunction with STA's new home at Campus No. 805, the entertainment complex being built at Stone Middle School's former Governors Drive grounds.

"Pinball is going through a huge resurgence right now," Sanders says. He cites Portland, Ore. as a present-day hotbed. "It will never be where it was in the late-70s, early-80s but it is really coming back strong."

An 'arcade junkie'

Sanders works by day at Trideum, a government contractor. The firm designs targets for the U.S. Army and the Trideum office, located in the same downtown building as AL.com, evokes a mad-scientist laboratory, complete with 3D printers, electronic parts on desks, etc. "I get to build fake Russian tanks and then we get to go blow them up," Sanders says. Sounds a bit like a large-scale version of an arcade game, right? "Conceptually, yeah," Sanders says. Asked how the skill sets overlap for his day-job and his hobby, he adds, "I've got a PhD in electrical engineering, so I'm into diving in to electronics."

Growing up, Sanders was a self-described "arcade junkie." He was particularly fond of the spaceship game "Tempest" and now owns six of those machines. He began collecting arcade games in the mid-90s but didn't get into pinball until about five years ago when he got the chance to pick up a fire-damaged "Addams Family" machine and enjoyed repairing it. About 15 years ago as a side-job Sanders ran a couple small local arcades, and he still has the 1,000-pound-lift-equipped truck and pinball "skates" used to transport the heavy games.

Not surprisingly Sanders has come to see pinball has more than just a sum of silver balls, plastic flippers and flashing bumpers. "I don't want to say perfect, but to me it's the best blend of popular-culture, technology and art. As well as entertainment."