Hello RCP, I am currently in Seattle. It has been a while since I have submitted anything to the RCP site and I apologize. No excuses, I have just been playing too much pinball in strange exotic places and kicking too many of your asses at Tuesday tournaments. Seattle, a beautiful city that shares Portland’s affection for pinball and shows its love of the game in many ways. Hundreds of pinball machines are on display throughout the city that you can actually pay a few quarters to play, some of the best tournament players in the world call Seattle home, and the community here hosts challenging, creative tournaments. A handful of Pinstitutions stand out as the premier spots to play in Seattle and in this blog I want to briefly describe three of them: Full Tilt Ballard, Shorty’s, and The Seattle Pinball Museum. All great spots with their own unique atmosphere and style of machines to crush on when you get that pinball itch and find yourself out of your comfortable little Portland pinball bubble.

First off though, a quick tip: there is a new bus line that connects Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver BC that will make tournaments much more accessible with affordable travel. Bolt Bus is offering about a $25 round trip from Portland to Seattle and a $60 dollar round trip to Vancouver, BC. Sit back, watch PAPA tutorials via the free WIFI on the bus and mentally prepare to do battle. Maybe a few folks could use the service to hit up the this tourney in a few weeks –

Half Way There Data East Tournament

I have taken the bus 4 or 5 times now and it is actually pretty dang cozy.

1. Full Tilt Ballard is an ice cream/pinball parlour. The machines are in a line against a long wall that is a swoon-worthy sight when first entering and are operated by Bobby Conover, whom many of us know from local tournaments. Bobby is a bit of a perfectionist, every time I have played at Full Tilt his machines are clean, work well, and are fun to play. Check out his current lineup: Centaur, POTC, Whirlwind, CFTBL, Jackbot, BK2K, Iron Man, Whitewater, Mousin’ Around, JM, LOTR, Dracula, and NGG. All this along with beer, and great ice cream served most memorably by a tattooed metal head in a trucker hat, makes Full Tilt Ballard my choice for best place to practice for or play in a tournament in Seattle.

2. Shorty’s gets a bad rap amongst some Portland ballers, but I fully approve of this pinball den filled with grog, hot dogs, and a good mix of pinball classics/new school Stern machines. Drink whiskey, chase it with a pitcher of beer, smoke a cigarette, play a few games, grub on a veggie dog, stumble into a hipster, this is the place to play when out for a night on the town causing a bit of trouble. Here is the current line up: ACDC, Monster Bash, Surfer, Williams IJ, Centaur, FG, TAF, Revenge from Mars, Elektra, Tron, Batman The Dark Knight, Champion Pub, MM, TOTAN, and Transformers. The games all play fine, sometimes are a bit dirty, but are good enough for some drunken ball.My biggest gripe, a lot of older machines are priced at 75 cents a game and most of the Shorty’s machines you find at other locations will also run you 75 cents a game. Highway robbery. Shorty’s is my pick for best place in Seattle to drink too much, spend too much money, wake up feeling a bit too sick, but have too much fun playing pinball.

3. The Seattle Pinball Museum is run by Charlie and Cindy Martin and has a very diverse mix of machines from all eras of pinball. Charlie and Cindy are great hosts and wonderful stewards of pinball helping people young and old get involved or back involved in the pinball community. You pay $10 for all you can play pinball and really get a lot of bang for your buck on machines made in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s. Charlie and Cindy are real collectors that have literally put their collection on display for the community and for profit. I have only been once, but everything played well and I had a lot of fun. They provide a family friendly pinball atmosphere where you can still have a few beers, and I bet could quietly gamble on a game or two. Her is their lineup: 4 Million BC, AFM, Atilla The Hun, Bobby Orr, Bow and Arrow, Breakshot, Captain Fantastic, Champion Pub, Flipper Football, Funland, Galactic Girl, Hang glider, Hyperball, King Pin, loop to loop, Monster Bash, Mystic, Night Club, Rapid Fire, Revenge From Mars, Ripley’s, Stern Simpsons, Spin Out, SWE1, Swing Along, KISS, Stern Rolling Stones, Wizard, and Pinbot. The Seattle Pinball Museum is a definite must visit on your next trip to The Emerald City. It is also my choice for best diverse collection of on location machines and bang for your buck pinball in Seattle.

Seattle is a hell of a sister pinball city. You can find pinball in just about every nook and cranny of the city and typically the machines work. Play more pinball and you will be happier. Get your ass to a Seattle tourney or venue soon.

-Nate