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THE BUS TO TACOMA 2023

What if you want to go to the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show in Tacoma this weekend (June 2nd – 4th) but you don’t have a car?

It is fairly easy to take public transportation from Seattle to the Tacoma Convention Center. Sound Transit Express Bus (ST) #590/594 begins on Stewart St at DSCF7610Yale/Denny and has stops on 2nd Ave downtown, 4th Ave in the ID, and the bus corridor through SODO. These busses are much nicer than a regular DSCF7648Metro Bus, and the trip takes about an hour and will take you a short block from the Convention Center. Get off at Pacific and 15th in Tacoma and you can see the Convention Center from the bus stop.

Fare from Seattle to Tacoma: $3.25/adult (youth 18 and under ride for free on all Sound Transit services). Use an Orca card if you have one (they also accept cash).

Both routes run on Friday but only ST #594 runs on the weekend, with busses running every half hour throughout all of the days. DSCF7651

Running right in front of the Convention Center on Commerce is the Tacoma Link, which is a free light rail train. The Link runs from the Frieghthouse Square near the Tacoma Dome to the Theatre District many times daily. The Link is a convenient way to visit local food options and businesses that are more than a few blocks from the pinball show. Note: when this line extends later in 2023 it will no longer be free.

DSCF7704Commerce is also the street where you will catch the bus back to Seattle. There are many bus boarding zones on this street and not all busses stop at each one, so it’s a good idea to scope out which boarding zone the ST #594 stops at just in case you need to run for it (like we did). WARNING: The last bus leaves Tacoma at 10:20 PM.

If you miss the last bus, the only option that we know of is to take a cab or ride-share to Sea-Tac literailairport’s Light Rail Station and catch the train to Seattle. The last train leaves at 11:44 PM for Seattle/Northgate (there are trains leaving the airport until 1:43 AM but they only go to the Stadium Station).

If you need to do a ride-share here is the exact address for the airport’s light rail station:
SeaTac/Airport Station
International Blvd & S 176th St
Seattle, WA 98188

Consult Sound Transit for more details on times and bus stops. Here is a direct link to Light Rail’s schedule to Seattle: http://www.soundtransit.org/

A version of the above was originally posted on June 3, 2013. The dates and fares have been changed to this years event. – ed
(updated May 28, 2023)

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features news & gossip

Skill Shot Under (re)Construction

We recently experienced a hack and are in the process of repairing the website with a new WordPress theme. Some pages or features may take a bit longer to fix because the Events Calendar needs to be focused on first:
https://www.skill-shot.com/calendar
Thank you for your patience and for visiting our website!

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features news & gossip

Shorty’s 25th Anniversary

May 10th was Shorty’s 25th Anniversary and to celebrate it they will have $1.25 PBR pints and 25c pinball (just like they did when they opened) until the end of the month –  and yes that is all of the games!

This will make the annual Powder Puff tournament on May 22nd a great deal whether you are playing in it or just hanging out.

We remember when Shorty’s opened because of the buzz amongst our Belltown friends: pinball and vegan hotdogs! Back then all of the games were in the front room because neither the Pinball Cove nor the Trophy Room existed yet. Too bad we didn’t take any photos!

Luckily they found a new space one block north at 2316 2nd Ave: https://shortydog.com/

Happy Anniversary Shorty’s!

The photos in this post were taken in 2009 at Shorty’s original location.

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Skill Shot 56

Team Skill Shot unfortunately did not get our spring issue #56 to the printer before the virus pandemic started. Given that most of our distribution points are now-closed bars and arcades, we’ve decided to publish issue #56 online in the print layout format. Please note that we have not updated any of the ads or text since the outbreak started and you should assume any events mentioned for March and April have been canceled. On desktop browsers, click each spread to open, then click the top-right corner to zoom in. Text versions of each post coming soon.

November 2020 note: the WordPress updates may effect the slideshow feature and you may need to open each image in a new tab to see it clearly. 

Printable version of the crossword: Initial Thoughts

Online playable version of the crossword: Initial Thoughts

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features reviews

Location Spotlight: The Machine Shop

NW Location Spotlight on:

The Machine Shop

Since 2016, The Machine Shop has slowly become one of the premier pinball arcades in the Pacific Northwest. Located about an hour north of Seattle on Whidbey Island, The Machine Shop is located in what was once the Langley Lumber Supply building, built in the 1940’s. Over the years, the building has contained a number of businesses, including an antique store, a health food store, a dance studio, and a bakery. It was the owner of the bakery who first invited Machine Shop proprietor Tim Leonard to use an underutilized space in the bakery to set up a few of his games, which eventually led to the arcade taking over the whole building!

Physically, the arcade reflects the varied past of the building with many distinct areas. When you first enter, there are two different directions to go: a café area with tables and a food counter, or a nicely lit pinball room with a variety of games mixing newish Sterns like Tron and Kiss with older games like Road Kings and The Addams Family. Heading towards the back from there is a large dark room packed full of arcade games of all sorts; from shooter games like House of the Dead to early classics like Missile Command and Burger Time.

In a long back room of The Machine Shop is the crown jewel of the arcade, with a great number of electro-mechanical pinball machines (and a few solid state ones) mostly from the 70’s. There are rarities such as Fire Queen, Big Ben, Target Alpha, and Skylab; most of which you won’t find anywhere else. The next area of the arcade is a large room with a mirrored wall (from the building’s dance studio days) that contains more games as well as space for occasional live music. Lastly, in the very back area, you’ll find a large virtual reality game room, usually only open on weekends. This room has lots of padding, and a warning sign to watch out for flailing limbs!

If some of these pins sound familiar, it is probably because a lot of them are brought to the NW Pinball and Arcade Show every year. Tim didn’t own any pins until after his first visit to the show in 2013, when he became interested in the older machines. Since Tim is a metal fabricator and artist by trade who also works with neon lighting, The Machine Shop contains many examples of his work, both as lighting for the arcade and as art on the walls – all of which are for sale or available by commission.

The Machine Shop, 630 2nd St, Langley WA, 98260

www.themachineshop.org

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features

EXTREME PINBALL: THE ADD-A-BALL WRESTLING FEDERATION

The Add-A-Ball Wrestling Federation is a series of pinball tournaments held amongst friends (and rivals) at Add-A-Ball Amusements in Seattle. There are no buy-ins, pay-outs or IFPA points as the main (and only) point of it is the fun. There is also no actual wrestling. It’s a unique format which has attracted as many fans as it has participants and can be seen as an example of not only an outside-the-box way of enjoying pinball, but as one of the activities that makes Seattle the real center of the national pinball scene. WOOOO!  -ed

EXTREME PINBALL:

THE ADD-A-BALL WRESTLING FEDERATION

By Ro Chelle

In Seattle there are endless pinball entertainment choices, but Add-A-Ball (AAB) is the only sanctioned arena in the World Wide Pinball Wrestling Entertainment Association (WWPWEA). Developed among Seattle’s pinball underground, the Add-A-Ball Wrestling Federation (AABWF) is a dedicated effort by two friends to bring true drama and high stakes competition back to pinball as a sport. Challenges are public and targeted, most often initiated via the internet, so a healthy rivalry is established to the benefit of fans and players alike. You may ask, what do wrestling and pinball have in common? Start pulling that thread and it becomes clear how seamlessly the two sports fit together. Fast-paced action, head-to-head competition, fearless athleticism, shocking victories, jaw-dropping upsets, and most importantly: shit-talking. Bragging rights for the AABWF are more hotly contended than any other format in the history of pinball.

Initially devised by Paul Williams and James Frost-Winn, who share passions for pinball and World Wrestling Entertainment, the wrestling concept immediately took on a life of its own. Whether fans of the current WWE universe or nostalgic for last century’s WWF heyday, the player vs. player dynamic of pins lends easily to the parallel. Taking no prisoners in its first season, the AABWF sparked competitive creativity amidst every type of player. Originally offering a Hardcore belt to the singular champion, the Heavyweight and US Title belts appeared soon after. A tag team belt found its way into circulation due to a monthly split-flip tournament held on second Sundays at AAB. Over time, four more titles were added to the milieu as new contestants established new criteria for victory.

While some belts have caveats to challenge, most of them are open to anyone that can make a case for themselves. That said, it takes a delicate balance of suave and skill to easily walk among the belted. Many challengers have only held leather for minutes before another comes to claim their prize. Even with the One True belt, where the current holder gets to choose custom rules of battle, opponents can steal titles unexpectedly. One retired Hardcore champion offers this advice to rookies: “Establish your character before anything else. Offer challenges without even worrying about belts. Just be there for pure competition.” He believes that is the best way to establish yourself as a true contender. When asked why he chose to retire, the anonymous AABWF veteran would only say, “I decided to stop fighting Paul and let him do his thing.”

More information on the nefarious Paulocracy™ and other AABWF details, such as the original constitution, can be found at www.facebook.com/742107149310186/

https://www.facebook.com/PinballWrestling/

http://pinballwrestling.com/

This article originally appeared in Skill Shot issue 54

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features reviews

Comic Book Review: DESTROY CENTAUR

DESTROY CENTAUR
(2019, Bombshell Comics)

By Gordon Gordon (Originally published in Skill Shot 54)

It’s the year 2192: Centaur and Fly-girl are on a quest to get high scores on the remaining Centaur pinball machines still in existence. The earth is now an alien landscape of human mutants similar to those in a Mad Max movie, with some willing to kill to preserve their high scores. Mostly it is Fly-girl who plays the games until they arrive to their final destination: an arcade with a ramp where Centaur himself is able to play the game which they are based on!

Destroy Centaur is a pleasantly strange comic book: The creator Michael Jasorka obviously has a love for the Centaur machine and his drawings of both the title character and Fly-girl are pretty cool. Jasorka does a good job of drawing the desolate mutated landscape of 2192 with lots of surreal features and a panel layout that reflects the chaos of this bleak future. While the motivations and dialogue of the characters seem scattered for much of the comic, once they decide that it is time for Centaur to play Centaur it becomes more understandable. This leads to the highlight of the book, with the characters riding through a landscape that resembles the game while discussing the rules of it.

Printed on 44 heavy gloss pages, with a thick cover and a black, white, and red palette (which is the same as the pinball machine), Destroy Centaur also uses elements from the original promotional flyer of the game, including two reprinted pages from it. If you’re not a fan of Centaur (the pinball machine), your appreciation of this comic may vary, but if you are a fan of the pin you will love Destroy Centaur!

For ordering info go to Bombshell-Comics.com

Images ©2019 by Michael Jasorka/Bombshell Comics

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10 questions with Avout Vander Werf

Since 1997, Shorty’s has been one of Seattle’s premier pinball locations. Located on 2nd Ave in the Belltown neighborhood, Shorty’s is also the only Seattle pinball arcade/bar that survived the heydays of the 1990’s and into the current pinball renaissance that we currently enjoy. This is a rarity not only locally but also nationally, and helped cement its reputation as an internationally renowned pinball destination. Sometime in June of this year, Shorty’s will be moving from its original location one block north to 2316 2nd Ave. We took this opportunity to ask Shorty’s owner Avout a few questions about the move…

When did you first realize that the Shorty’s building was in danger (of being torn down)?  Right before we had the Shorty’s Goes To Belltown weekend in Sept 2015, when it became crystal clear, even though the writing had been on the wall for a while.

What has been the biggest challenge when moving Shorty’s?
Too early to tell, but preserving the Shorty’s identity and feel is very important, which time will tell. Maybe the question should be “What is your biggest fear”, which I would answer the same way. And of course that folks will still find us, even though we’re only 1 block up.

When did you begin looking for a new space?
The very next day! I was kinda poking around already, but that’s when the sense of urgency took the driver’s seat.

How long did it take you to find the new location? 
Long! 3-5 years I think. And I looked at a lot of options, even considering moving out of Belltown? Nah, no way!

Were there any specifications that you wanted for the new location?
Similar in size, old(er) building, in nightlife area, affordable (for Seattle standards).

Is this something that you expected?
I hope for the best and prepare for the worst – on a good day, I think we’ll wind up somewhere in between.

What is the most exciting aspect of moving, from your point of view?
Having new plumbing! A lot of stuff was tired but we couldn’t justify the expenses of fixing or replacing as we weren’t sure how long we were gonna stay at our spot.

When do you think or plan on the new location opening?
As it stands, in June. We just don’t know exactly when, most likely somewhere between the show and the 4th of July, but too many moving parts at this point to pinpoint an exact date.

What is the most popular pinball machine currently at Shorty’s?
The latest greatest Stern, I think.

What is your favorite pinball machine currently? Of all time? I think I’ll always like Bally’s “Golden Age”, which would be the early 80’s Ballys. 8BD, Centaur, Medusa, Fathom, etc. So for me, the dot matrix era takes the passenger seat, even though I Love FH, Dr? and TZ. I do like what JJP has done for pinball, and some of the newer Sterns too, even though I have barely scratched the surface on those. I also like the late 60’s Bally era a lot, when they did the multiball games with zipper flippers. 70s Gottlieb, both EM and early SS, as even though they have different guts, they play the same.

This interview was originally published in Skill Shot 54

We posted a sneek peek look at Shorty’s new space back in April on Facebook. You can check it out Here