Hello loves. Here’s what’s happening in and around North Coast Pinball this month.
Events
Thanks to Christy Kay and HUGGS for operating and sponsoring Teen Night, Friday 4/17 6-8 PM (third Friday each month), where teens play pinball for free. We also have free packaged snacks and soft drinks, and it’s a pleasure to see the art the kiddos make while they’re here. For more information or to donate in support of this program, reach out to Christy at (503) 800-1092.
Our March tournament was overrun with kids! It was our best turnout in awhile and it was so much fun. I’m grateful to everyone who came. We carved out a prize for the top scoring kid, and big congratulations go to Drake for winning the impromptu youth division. And congratulations to Mick for playing great pinball and taking home the trophy. See you this Sunday 4/19 5-8PM (third Sunday each month) for the friendliest pinball tournament on earth. Ask me anything!
Daily pinball tastings have resumed every morning at 10 and I’m glad to be doing them again. We cover pinball history, culture, technology, and skill in a free-flowing combination of show-and-tell and hands-on play. Book online: Airbnb.com/x/pinball
Two special new games are here
Pokemon has arrived at North Coast Pinball! I’m not much of a Pokemon devotee myself but I’ve been excited about this game since rumors started emerging a year or two ago. And I’m telling you—it’s fun. It’s really good and it’s fun. It might be the best game in the NCP collection. Come play it!
And I get asked about Medieval Madness more often than any game I don’t already have. My answer has always been “amazing game, I want it, too collectible, too rare, can’t afford.” Well, I finally found one and it’s here and it was worth the wait. If you’re a fan of late ’90s pinball you’ll understand my excitement when I say that we now have Medieval Madness, Attack From Mars, and Monster Bash all lined up together under one roof. And here they shall stay. Come play them!
Q1 donation results
There are two little donation jars by our front door for cash, coins, or leftover tokens. Each quarter I reset the jars and log the results, and once a year we select beneficiaries for your generous donations. This quarter the total came to $200, including a little extra I put in to make it even. This is down a little from last year and that’s the way it goes sometimes. You can learn more about the money we’ve raised and where it’s gone (and donate online) by visiting northcoastpinball.com/community .
Game of the Month: World Cup Soccer ’94
Congratulations to Kris (KMM) for his epic Whodunnit score of 7,302,154,190 in March. He received a one-of-a-kind “Grand Champion” medallion valued at 100 tokens. This month we’re competing on World Cup Soccer ’94. What I like about WCS is that it has fun ramps, a cool moving goalie, and a guy who shouts “GOAAAAAALLLLLL!!” If you take the top score and it holds till May, I’ll make a special medallion for you too.
Do you need pinball games? We have pinball games
We can rent a game to you for your private use, and we have games that can be made available for visitors to your business at no cost to you. Also we sell games sometimes. Get in touch if any of this interests you. Our stable of games that may be available includes Pin*Bot (and his bride), Star Trek (2013), Elvira (2019), Space Station, Hokus Pokus, TMNT (2020), Avengers Infinity Quest, and Mousin’ Around.
Maintenance tidbits
Did you know that we host a weekly “Tech Day” session every Tuesday at 3PM? It’s a free event but to participate you must RSVP before Tuesday morning by texting (503) 343-4783. No experience required, ask me anything. In the last few weeks we’ve cleaned Jaws, solved an electronics glitch in Getaway, improved the reliability of Uncanny X-Men’s autoplunger, ordered new bookcase optos for Addams Family, finally fixed the “auto-flip” feature on Monster Bash, fixed Rudy’s droopy eyelids, and moved a few games around to accommodate Pokemon and Medieval Madness. Come help and learn!
Community topics
International Workers’ Day, Friday May 1, 2026, is a day of solidarity: no work, no school, no shopping. North Coast Pinball will be open. After paying Dallas, I’m pledging all proceeds from that day to Consejo Hispano, which serves Latinx/a/e/o, Immigrant, Indígena, and Afrodescendiente youth, womxn and families across Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, and Pacific Counties. Own a business? Take the pledge yourself at DayWithoutAnImmigrantOR.com .
And finally I was recently approached by the team at Pride in Numbers, a community-led project gathering stories and experiences from Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ people across Oregon to inform programs, services, and policies. You can participate in their survey (which closes on May 31) by visiting prideinnumbers.org .
Welcome to Spring. Thanks for being part of North Coast Pinball. ♡
Eudaemonia ex sphaeriludio electrico,
Will Irace
WillFromNehalem.substack.com
