Pokémon Pinball: a new high score, and the 0.83.0 update
A fresh personal best on the Pokémon Premium (1,208,820,370) and some honest notes on Stern's 0.83.0 software, which dropped this weekend.
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pinball
20 entries
Spring league: up to A Division, a point short
My second competitive season at Two Plumbers. I climbed into A Division and stayed there, then missed the playoff cutoff by a single point on a strange final night.
Read entry →My first season of competitive pinball
I finally stopped being scared of league play, joined the winter league at Two Plumbers, and finished 2nd in C Division.
Read entry →New pinball: Pokémon (Premium)
A 2026 Stern Pokémon (Premium), my latest and tenth machine, plus some honest thoughts on where the collection goes from here.
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Kansas City, A Labor Day Weekend of War Memorials, Pinball & Sushi
A Labor Day weekend across the state in Kansas City, doing the off-the-beaten-path version: the National WWI Museum, a pay-by-the-hour pinball hall, the Nelson-Atkins shuttlecocks, and our two reliable road-trip rituals, Kura Sushi and that Another Broken Egg French toast.
Read entry →New pinball: Godzilla (Premium)
A 2021 Stern Godzilla (Premium), a top-rated Keith Elwin game that bridges my pinball and Japanese hobbies, acquired February 2025 in a trade.
Read entry →New pinball: Jurassic Park (Premium)
A 2019 Stern Jurassic Park (Premium), my first machine with an LCD screen, acquired April 2020.
Read entry →New pinball: Road Show
A 1994 Williams Red & Ted's Road Show, the machine that started it all for me as a kid, finally mine and fully restored, December 2016.
Read entry →New pinball: The Shadow
A 1994 Bally The Shadow, my second-ever grail, fully restored by Troy's team, acquired September 2016.
Read entry →New pinball: Game of Thrones (Premium)
A 2015 Stern Game of Thrones (Premium), the first machine into my newly finished basement, later traded for the Godzilla.
Read entry →New pinball: Tales of the Arabian Nights
A 1996 Williams Tales of the Arabian Nights, on long-term loan from my friend Troy's collection, acquired July 2014.
Read entry →New pinball: Star Trek (Pro)
A 2013 Stern Star Trek (Pro), my next new-in-box machine, later traded away.
Read entry →New pinball: Tron: Legacy (Pro)
A 2011 Stern Tron: Legacy (Pro), my first brand-new-in-box machine, acquired February 2013.
Read entry →New pinball: Funhouse
A 1990 Williams Funhouse, acquired June 2012, my first machine in a house I actually bought space for.
Read entry →New pinball: The Lord of the Rings
A 2003 Stern The Lord of the Rings, a home-use-only beauty I picked up around the same time as my Funhouse project.
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Buying my first home
At the end of 2011 I had a job, two cars, two pinball machines, and just enough saved for a down payment. This is how I bought my first house in March 2012, the jammed front-door lock that nearly sank the deal, and what fourteen years in one place actually looks like.
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New pinball: Johnny Mnemonic
A 1995 Williams Johnny Mnemonic, my second machine, acquired May 2011 and later traded away.
Read entry →Data East Death Star speakers
Custom speaker art for the Data East Star Wars pinball. From the old hertzelle.com blog.
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Pinball night, 2011
My first real pinball party. From the old hertzelle.com blog, and, as it turns out, the start of something.
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New pinball: Star Wars (Data East)
A 1992 Data East Star Wars, the machine that started my collection, acquired August 2010.
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