Silverball Chronicles (TPN) - Pinball

Zaccaria was a unique touchpoint in pinball in the 1970s and early 80s. They were built with an Italian flare for style, art and passion. They were more than a simple fly by night pinball firm and one which remains distinctively interesting to pinball collectors today.

Sources:

Podcast: Pacific Pinball Museum - Wayne Neyens and John Osborne Part 1 - Oct 2 2013

Wikipedia Zaccaria Pinball. Here

Pinball News. Natale Zaccaria Interview. Here

The Roger Sharpe Tapes – Unpublished

Lorenzo Pinside Thread. Here

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The pinball industry is like a mirror to society. Pinball is not immune to scandal or terrible people. Case in point, John Trudeau. One of pinballs most creative and wacky designers, but also the worst person in pinball. Can you separate the art from the artist or should you?

Join us this month as we review how John was introduced to pinball, his early career, working at the shoe string budget years of Gottlieb and then the boom in Williams. We also review why John is a considered a piece of garbage and how he destroyed the legacy of his games.

Sources:

Topcast Podcast

- Ep 10 – John Trudeau

- Ep 17 – Roger Sharpe

- Ep 37 – Joe Kaminkow

TNT Amusements Youtube

- Caribbean Cruise. Here

Pinball News. John Trudeau Charges. Here

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The pinball industry does a lot to try to innovate and stimulate sales. Things like a mechanical bell, solid state boards, the wide body pinball machines, DMD screens and even stereo sound! But one of the strangest pinball machines out there was the Cocktail, a small almost round coffee table size working commercial pinball machine.

Join us this month as we chat about bad marketing ideas, Roger Sharpe's advice, John Trudeau's start in pinball, and the rise and fall... and rise and fall of Game Plan!

Sources:

Game Plan Pinball Fan Site. Here

Game Plan Wikipedia. Here

Topcast Podcast

- Ep 10 – John Trudeau

- Ep 17 – Roger Sharpe

- Ep 37 – Joe Kaminkow

Pinball News. John Trudeau Charges. Here

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Last time we spoke about where JJP came from and the rise of Jack Guarneri in Ep 44. When we left JJP they were having financial troubles or 'needed recapitalization to get off the preorder model'. Enter the investors with the Abass family.

Let's talk changing business models, saying 'Brent' Abass instead of Brett Abass a few times (oops), changing artist and creating masterpieces, taking stuff out of games, amazing themes, criminally underrated games and the license to rule them all!

Sources:

Jersey Jack Pinball. Here and Here.

Jersey Jack Pinball Podcast Ep 1 – Brent Abass

2025, Dirty Pool Pinball Podcast Ep 16. Here

2011, Pinball News. New Pinball Manufacturer. Here

2013, Huffington Post. Jersey Jack Pinball CEO Explains How He's Making The Beloved Arcade Game Cool Again. Here

2013. Pinside. Early Review of Wizard of Oz. Here

2015, Pinball News – Jersey Jack Pinball Gets New Investors. Here

2017, Modern Magazine. Nature and Nurture by Beth Dunlop. Here

Brent Abess LinkedIn. Here

Jersey Jack Pinball Game List. Here

2013, Slate Magazine. Can This Man Save Pinball? Here

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https://silverballswag.com/collections/silverball-chronicles

Segasa or Sega S.A. Sonic (or was it just Sonic?) Pinball was Spain's major contribution to the golden age of pinball. Its products evolved from licensed electro-mechanical arcade designs to original solid-state pinball machines under the "Sonic" brand.

Established 1968, Segasa (later Sega S.A. SONIC) initially, imported and distributed American amusement machines before transitioning to local manufacturing due to import restrictions.

Production ceased in 1986, marking the end of Spain's efforts for world domination and it's pinball adventure…

Sources:

SEGA-SONIC, una historia entre el éxito y la nostalgia (Spanish) - Here

1937 Hollywood movie Way Out West. Here

Segasa/Sonic Games list. Here and Here

Easy Paella Recipe. Here

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Check out Flip N Out Pinball for all your pinball needs!

Topic begins at 12:28

Episode Summary:

Pinball has had a dramatic change since the end of the modern DMD era at Stern. The designers we all know and love from the 80s and 90s have begun to retire, slow down, or leave the industry. A new wave of designers has started to slide in and learn from the masters… The first major new designer to come along was the tournament player Keith Elwin.

Some say Keith Elwin is the second coming of our lord and saviour Steve Ritchie. Others say 'in Elwin we trust'… but is that all hype? Has Keith Elwin changed the pinball designer game as much as some believe?

Join us this month as we chat about the second coming golden age of pinball, Keith's dominance of tournament pinball, his deep understanding of repair, play, code, and design, his first pin, and his second smash hit follow-up!

Sources:

Kineticist Keith Elwin Profile

Head2Head Pinball Podcast Ep. 45 - Iron Maiden

Head2Head Pinball Podcast Ep. 106 - Jurassic Park

Just Another Pinball Podcast - Godzilla

Flip N Out Podcast with Joel E - Jaws

Loser Kid Podcast - King Kong

Pinside Keith Elwin Designer Profile

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Check out Flip N Out Pinball for all your pinball needs!

Topic begins at 7:35

Episode Summary:

In the third part of our Pinball Downunder series, we look at Homepin. Homepin was established in 2013 and was born from the hobby business of Mike Kalinowski. It seems like a really smart idea to set up manufacturing in the world's largest manufacturing country, China, but it turns out to be a mixed bag.

Ron and Dave play it as straight as the possibility can from a manufacturer who struggled out of the gate, overcame some very difficult situations, knows a theme is a must, understands costs are king, and whose owner went on a podcast charm offensive, which was more offensive than charming for the pinball community.

Correction: In a previous version, Taiwan was mentioned as a semi-autonomous state in the same context as Hong Kong. The episode has been edited to have this reference removed to remain politically neutral. You can read more about Taiwan here: https://tinyurl.com/b7x69hbp

Sources:

HomePin Games List. Here

The Aussie Pinball Podcast, Ep 16 – Mike from Homepin

YouTube. Mike Kalinowski. Here

HomePin Facebook Page. Here

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Episode Begins at 16:52

Episode Summary:

Ron and Dave Return to the Gottliebs, one of the best-known names in pinball. But did you know about Michael Gottlieb and the company he started with his father Alvin? Let's chat about Gottlieb's sale (again), the changes at the company and why they happened, Cheater the Gottlieb delivery driver, how Michael Gottlieb ended up in pinball following his family's exit, his famous pinball last name, Alvin G. & Co, when did Clowns becoming creepy, and finally what he does now!

Sources:

Expo Speech – Here

The Gottlieb Name Change (Mylstar)- Here

The Gottlieb's Picture - Here

Alvin Gottlieb Obituary – Here

AAMA Induction Video - Here

Alvin Gottlieb Game List - here

Youtube

· Pistol Poker Video - here

· Richard (Dick) M. Bueschel - The Pinball Historian. Pinball Expo 1985 Seminar. Here

TopCast, Ep 13 Michael and Alvin Gottlieb.

Pinball News. Expo 2006 Recap. Here.

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Episode Begins at 10:10

Episode Summary:

Join us this month where Dave says 'Swing on Over' like 40 times in the preamble, Ron spoils JJPs next game with the help of Jersey Jack himself, reviews of 70s style, Jack's business building and evolving that business over and over, pinball needing to move to the home consumer market, stripped down Sterns, building a company from scratch, their first game Wizard of Oz and how it changes pinball forever, and the Abass Family.

Sources:

Jersey Jack Pinball. Here and Here.

Jersey Jack Pinball Podcast Ep 1 – Brett Abass

2011, Pinball News. New Pinball Manufacturer. Here

2013, Huffington Post. Jersey Jack Pinball CEO Explains How He's Making The Beloved Arcade Game Cool Again. Here

2013. Pinside. Early Review of Wizard of Oz. Here

2015, Pinball News – Jersey Jack Pinball Gets New Investors. Here

2017, Modern Magazine. Nature and Nurture by Beth Dunlop. Here

Brett Abess LinkedIn. Here

Jersey Jack Pinball Game List. Here

2013, Slate Magazine. Can This Man Save Pinball? Here

Want to Support the Show?

Visit our Patreon at www.patreon.com/silverballchronicles

Or pick up a tee shirt at https://tinyurl.com/kz5xt4hc

Episode Begins at 18:08

Episode Summary:

Have you ever heard the saying, "pinball is hard?" Well, the team at Barrels of Fun hasn't, and they decided to smash on ahead and impress pretty much everyone. It's been over 24 months since they launched their company and their first licensed game… and (as of this recording) they've manufactured all the games they said they would.

Join us as we chat about the loving relationship between two pinball fellas, building a new company from nothing, Transformers, art, ramps, picking the bones of Deeproot Pinball, and Dave's unhealthy love for David Bowie in tight pants.

Sources:

Pinball Profile Ep 378 - Labyrinth-pinball-from-Barrels-of-Fun

The Aussie Pinball Podcast Ep 18 - David Van Es

Australian YouTube:

- Sherbet, Howzat. Here

- VB Victoria Bitter (Australian ad) 1988. Here

- "C'mon Aussie C'mon" Aust. Cricket TV Ad Original 1979. Here