Learn how you can volunteer at this year’s NWPAS! Whether you’ve helped out before or this is your first time all are welcome to the kick off pizza party on January 21st at the Round Table in Burien. More details: Here
Author: Gordon2
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Pinball: Free-Play
Everyone likes a free game of pinball – here is a list of where you can go to play a few games around Seattle! We’ll try to keep this updated as time goes on so let us know if you notice any incorrect information: editor@skill-shot.com
Free play is great for working on various different pinball skills such as drop catch, live catch, dead passes, post passes, shot accuracy, etc without burning through your entire quarter jar. – John Garnett
Sundays have five pins on free-play at Tik Tok’s in Bremerton. They often announce what they are on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TikToksWorkshop/
Monday – Another Castle Arcade Edition (Edmonds) has three games on free-play which rotate each week (one in each room). All-ages https://www.facebook.com/AnotherCastleArcadeEdition/
Tuesday – every 3rd Tuesday night the NW Pinball Collective host an open house where you can learn more about the organization atThe Sanctuary of the Silver Ball (Northgate). 5PM – 9 is open to the public for both free entry and free-play!
Tuesday – Crave 80s in Marysville has free-play pinball which coincides with a free amateur pinball tournament. Doors open at 5pm and the tourney begins at 8. https://www.crave80s.com/
Thursday: Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at The Sanctuary of the Silver Ball (Northgate) is open to the public for both free entry and free-play. (which begins at 7pm) There’s a tournament this night also ($5 buy-in). All-ages https://nwpinballcollective.org/
Weekdays at Waterland Arcade in Des Moines every pinball machine gets two free credits at 6pm. Since they have over 20 pins you’re sure to get at least a few freebies no matter how busy they are. The arcade opens at 12pm. All-ages https://www.facebook.com/WaterlandArcade
Weekends: The NW Pinball Collective hosts a public open house where you can check out The Sanctuary of the Silver Ball and learn more about the organization. The first Saturday – Noon to 4pm. All-ages https://nwpinballcollective.org/
Want to know what pinball machines are at these and other Seattle area locations? Check out our pinball list here.
Thanks to John Garnett for the inspiration!
Orignally posted on April 2022-updated Sept2022
What if you want to go to the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show in Tacoma this weekend (June 3rd – 5th) 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 
Yale/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 
Metro 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 $1.50/youth. 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. 
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.
Commerce 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 
airport’s Light Rail Station and catch the train to Seattle. The last train leaves at 11:44 PM for Seattle/Northgate (although there are a few trains after that 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. According to the King County Metro and Sound Transit sites all of the information is still good but we haven’t taken this bus ourselves since 2019. The dates and fares in the article have been changed to this years event. – ed
(updated June 2, 2022)
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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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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Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show 2022
June 3 to 5 at the Tacoma Convention Center – Fun for the whole family! Go to their website for tickets and show details: www.nwpinballshow.com/
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Add-a-Ball 420 Tournament
The annual 420 tournament at AAB is back! Sign ups and more begins at 4:20 pm… Skill Shot Calendar: annual-addaball-420-tournament
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Proof of Vaccine Locations
These are the pinball locations in the Seattle area that currently require proof that you have had the covid vaccination before you can enter their business:
Updated Sept. 6, 2021
Shorty’s
Flip Flip Ding Ding
Hounds Tooth Pub
Coindexter’s
Hellbent Brewing Co
Kraken
Another Castle Bremerton (beginning Sept. 9)
Lucky Liquor (only on live music nights)
The Meyer (Pioneer Sq)
If you know of other pinball locations that ask for proof of your vaccination please reach out to us so we can add them to this list.
Avout from Shorty’s included the below details which most likely apply to most (if not all) of the other locations…
We require a proof of vaccination, this can be:
- Vaxx card matching your ID
- Photo of your vaxx card matching your ID
- Screenshot off the app.myirmobile.com, showing your vaxx status matching your ID. This is handy for folks who are vaxxed but forgot to bring their card.
We also ask folks to wear a mask once indoors when not seated and drinking, per governor’s mandate.
