Pinball Update for June

I think it's time for a new pinball update. My last update was back in March so we're definitely overdue for a new update of the latest pinball happenings in Toronto.

A FINE HUNT up in the Glencairn and Bathurst area. Bathurst Bowlerama is host to several machines. In their ranks is a Spider-Man...

What's that strange and dark machine next to Spider-Man? Oh I think that is Nightmare On Elm Street!

Nightmare is one far out table. It does not have a traditional playfield layout whatsoever; almost every table has an outside orbit but instead there's a small orbit around Freddy's head. There is also instant multiball off the plunger if you hit the skillshot into the furnace.

That and Freddy has some wacky callouts like "PARTY ON DUUUUDE!"

When I arrived at Bathurst Bowlerama, it was around 5 or 6 in the evening and they had the main lights on. Halfway through my visit, it was time to turn down the lights and get the Rock'n'Bowl going. It was like being awake then falling asleep and having a nightmare about Nightmare on Elm Street!

As cool as it was to have the lights turned down, it was a little tougher to play the table in the dark though; it is pretty beat to hell and there are quite a few lights out as well as lots of chipped bits and pieces. There are supposed to be these really cool "Lost Soul" covers on the stand-up targets as well but they're not on this one. Lots of the toys are broken and the table in general is falling apart.

Bathurst Bowlerama also has a Street Fighter II table in their lower arcade, which is another odd-ball Gottlieb/Premier table like Nightmare. I wasn't able to snag a picture when I was there as I wasn't aware of it but My buddy Adam brought it to my attention during his visit.

I have another FINE HUNT that is a little more in the downtown area. Football Factory on Bathurst, just south of Queen St. W. has Striker Xtreme! How appropriate!

This was another great instance of Pinball Intuition. Shane and I were cruisin' along Bathurst when we passed by Football Factory. I said to him "I bet ya there's a pinball machine in there!" As we walked by, it looked like the bar was pretty small and wouldn't be able to house a pinball machine. Then, through the open doors, we spotted a machine tucked away in the corner! Very nice!

Now it's time for some updates!


May Cafe had Harley Davidson...

... but replaced it in short time with Iron Man

California Sandwiches has switched it up once again, replacing Star Trek and Sopranos with the newest Stern release, Mustang, and Batman.

If you want to learn more about Mustang, you could always check out my trip report of Michigan Pinball Expo. It's all about cool cars and cool pinball! But ... Batman is now gone and replaced by a tricked out Spider-Man! Dig those LEDs!

Monarch ditched Tommy and now has TRON Legacy!

It is in damn fine condition and always nice to play on although the left ramp hasn't been working too well and doesn't register shots. I think it might even have updated code. Normally when you score the Flynn's Arcade mystery, it just shows the awards as text but now it actually displays a little picture of each award. I have never seen that before on TRON, even on May Cafe's TRON.

I have a good story to go along with TRON too. So, I was out one Saturday night at Unlovable, playing a little bit of Star Wars. My previous #1 high score got wiped...

So I went to work on hitting that center ramp and got back on the board at #2!

I posted it on Instagram as I am wont to do and Monarch Tavern had this to say...

So I set out to Monarch Tavern on Sunday and put up a good score, enough to get me on the high score boards at #2!

Too sweet! I went back a couple of weeks later and beat my own score!

But I wasn't satisfied with #2 on Star Wars... I had to be Number 1! So I set out doin' what I do best and that is hitting the center ramp... I hit that ramp more than 100 times (ramp shots roll over after 99) and got allllll the way to the top!

If you read my one of my reports on Pinball Sundays, you would know that Get Well has replaced their old Captain Fantastic with a fantastic Pin-Bot!

You would also know that I won one of the tournaments!

If yer observant, you will notice that I'm on the board twice... Why is that? Maybe you should check out the report on the final Pinball Sunday at 3030! There's a great story behind it all.

Sad news on St. Clair West. Glamour Sports Bar got rid of X-MEN and replaced it with another video poker machine. Maybe it is for the best because that X-MEN got beaten to hell and back in no time.

so long!

As always, I have updated my pinball map on Google, Pinballin' in the Big City, with new additions and updates.

I've been outside of the city a bit lately and have ran into some pinball! I went to Giggles Arcade at Sauble Beach and found Wizard of Oz and The Addams Family. I will have a trip report ready soon!

I also dropped by Guelph for a night at Guelph Pinball Club! You can catch a preview of what's to come right here!










You can also check out Bright Lights Bumper City: The Tumblr. I'm just over there posting a bunch of real cool pictures that you may not catch here on the blog! There's a new picture every day to feast your eyes on! Click on the image below to get to the Tumblr!

I have also started up a little something over on Facebook! Say hello to the Toronto Pinball Crew! I put a facebook group where pinballers all over Toronto can get together and talk about pinball in the city as well as meet up for a few games. I created the Toronto Pinball Crew in order for people to find others that like to play pinball and create a more centralized group in the downtown Toronto area. Feel free to join and post all you like! If you're going to be out and about playing pinball, let the Crew know where yer going to be and how to get a hold of you if you want them to join up and play a few games! Post about any new finds or updates on machines, too. It's all about fostering a better pinball community in Toronto and building up a real cool scene. There's so much pinball in the city and what better way to enjoy it all than with some friends?

I am a latecomer to the whole Twitter thing but I have getting a bit more active with the tweets and posting about pinball. Follow me at @THUNDERK666 to catch me tweeting and where I'm playing pinball, tips about the game, quick updates, what's going on in the pinball scene, and stupid jokes.

I have been posting hella stuff lately and I don't plan on slowing down too much so keep tuned in for lots of pinball in Toronto!