“This is the greatest time ever for pinball in Vancouver,” states Billy Bones, a local pinball machine restoration expert. Besides loving pinball and repairing old machines, Billy is also a vintage motorcycle enthusiast and the lead singer of local garage-surf-punk band the Vicious Cycles. “There’s something about all three of those things – pinball, motorcycles, and rock ‘n’ roll – that’s intrinsically linked. It’s hard to explain, but I often get the same rush when doing any of them”.
Just a few years ago, pinball lovers in Vancouver used to have search out games to play. They were often located in the back corner of some of the sketchiest bars in the city. These days, Vancouver pinball is back and the game’s fans are flipping out. You can now easily find banks of pinball machines everywhere from the Library Square Pub downtown to the pop-up vintage pinball arcade at LandYachtz in Strathcona.
“There’s a physicality to the game that I love, the rolling motion, the skill involved in controlling the ball, all of that. It’s so much beyond a regular video game,” says Billy.
When speaking to any Vancouver pinball lover, the world “physical” is brought up again and again. Paul Done is a spokesperson for the historic Lamplighter Pub in Gastown and he agrees.
“It’s true, pinball is an intensely physical game. There’s a tactile, hands-on appeal that comes with pinball that I think we’re seeing in a lot of the vintage culture that’s coming back these days.”
The Lamplighter will attempt to make history this week by breaking the all-time Guinness World Record pinball marathon. They’re setting their hopes on White Rock pinball wizard Eden Stamm. The world record attempt is a spin-off of the pub’s very popular weekly pinball tournament, Replay Pinball, which Paul goes so far as to call “the world’s biggest weekly pinball tournament”. This is all happening right here in Vancouver. Who knew? Pinball lovers, that’s who.
“Eden Stamm is not only a BC pinball champion but also a national champ, and he’s ranked very highly in the world statistics of pinball,” says Paul. “We’re putting him up on a pedestal here at the Lamplighter and he’s going to go for the world record. We’re staying open around the clock to get it done. Eden needs to play for 28 hours straight to beat the record, but he wants to go a lot longer than that.”
Eden will begin his quest for the world record on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 8pm. If the marathon goes to plan, Eden will reach the recording-breaking time at 7pm on Wednesday, conveniently right in the midst of The Lamplighter’s weekly Replay Pinball Tournament.
For those that have never caught pinball fever (such as yours truly), Billy Bones has some advice for the novice or nonbeliever. “Pinball is a very social game. Go out and play with pinball with a friend. It’s like swimming. It’s lots of fun, and you shouldn’t do it alone”.
Vancouver’s pinball hotspots: LandYachtz (1446 Union Street), Pub 340 (340 Cambie Street), The Lamplighter (92 Water Street), Library Square (300 West Georgia), What’s Up? Hot Dog! (2481 East Hastings).
