Pop Culture: Find Your PNW Pinball Family

Your grandparents might have joined a bowling league. Today, you can join a pinball league. A pinball renaissance is happening across the Northwest, thanks to a fervent community (called Pinheads) that frequently gathers, holds tournaments, and keeps these machines flipping. Seattle now ranks second in the United States in terms of how many pinball games the city has (590) and how many establishments offer pinball (95).

Both Ashley Weaver and Dwayne Collins are transplants to Seattle. It’s pinball that has kept them there. Weaver hosts weekly pinball tournaments at 8-Bit in Renton. Collins hosts another at Jupiter in Belltown. They talk about why these games are so popular, why a community has formed around it, and why you should spend your next night out with friends in front of a pinball machine.

Check out the Washington State Pinheads Facebook group for local happenings.

Some quick tips for where to start:
Try the Pinball Map app to see where the pinball machines are around you. Then have fun. Weaver and Collins recommend playing Addams Family, Attack From Mars, Cactus Canyon, and Medieval Madness to start.
Then check out a beginner-friendly tournament, such as the Tuesday and Thursday night tournaments at Jupiter in Seattle, or the Tuesday night tournament at 8-Bit in Renton.

Also! The region also boasts a massive, annual pinball convention. The 2025 Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show is June 6-8 at the Tacoma Convention Center.

A few pinball hotspots to try in the Seattle area:
ADD-A-Ball: Hip, artsy spot in Fremont.
Ice Box: All ages spot in Ballard.
Pinball Museum: All ages in the Chinatown-International District. Pay an entrance fee, then all games are free to play. No quarters needed.
Shorty’s: The 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.

And for a transit-friendly pin crawl in Seattle: 

Take the 40 bus ,which stops at or near almost all of the Seattle pinball places listed above!

Other events to check out: 

Kevin Diers Benefit Show, May 23, El Corazon Seattle 

HONK! Fest West, May 30-June 1, Georgetown & Columbia City

Kent Nerd Party, June 7, Downtown Kent

Have you checked out an event we recommended? Tell us how it went! Leave us a message at 206-221-6100. Drop us a line at meetmehere@kuow.org.

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