What is a hobby you enjoy, but seems too quirky or obscure to bring up in most conversations?
Mine would be creating pen and paper ciphers for my made up secret communication needs.
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Mine would be creating pen and paper ciphers for my made up secret communication needs.
Playing pinball? Sort of nerdy without any cool factor at all (although we pinball people think it's cool and fun)
Wow, didn't expect the first comment I see to be my obscure hobby! Do you have places to play nearby or own any games yourself?
I own one machine, a Doctor Who, which I love. The theme and the play are perfect for me.
I live in Montgomery, Alabama and when I first moved here it was a pinball desert. I met a guy here who ended up opening up a very cool pinball Barcade called "Rock N Roll Pinball" in Opelika, Alabama about an hour away, and it's a real good location. Birmingham also has a few places to play, especially one called Bumpernets.
Very cool!! Nice to be reasonably close to a place like that. Which pins do you play the most there?
I've been collecting for years, myself :)
I've loved Iron Man since I first played it...so that one, F14 Tomcat, Hot Wheels, KISS, Power Play, Star Trek (Stern), Terminator 2, Wheel of Fortune, Attack from Mars...
Heck, I like and try to play them all.
I do too! From the oldest to the newest, they all have something to offer. I just fixed up a 1976 Williams Grand Prix for a friend's family and I can't get over how much action that old game has under the hood. I mean that in 2 ways actually: it's literally loaded with mechanicals, it's considered one of the more complex games of its generation... But it also plays strong and fast, just needed some switches cleaned and adjusted and a flipper rebuild and some other odd tweaks/rebuilds and it plays better than it's probably played in 25+ years. Check out the inlane/outlane setup--it's pretty sneaky, I still lose a ball occasionally trying to trap it on the flipper :)
Nice variety of games on that list! Wheel of Fortune is a very interesting game, also dig Iron Man and definitely Attack from Mars. Dr. Who is cool too -- though I'll admit I don't have too much experience with that game. Always loved the multi-level mechanism towards the back of the playfield--very cool feature!!
I'm personally drawn very much towards the late 70's/early 80's generation of games. For me, that era captures the perfect blend of art, playfield design, sounds, and nostalgia. Not to mention, they tend to be pretty consistent ass-kickers, not usually allowing very long ball times. I like my games very difficult, lol! Someday I'd like to get a 'deeper' game... But space is at a premium at this point and I'm not really looking to get rid of too many of the pins I have, so it'll probably be a while before that happens...
PM me your city, if I get by there we should have a beer or a soda and try out that lineup of yours!
I think it's retro enough you can consider it cool
i love pinball and I've found that every single person I've introduced it to ended up finding it very cool. most people, like myself before I got into it a few years ago, don't even know that there are really objectives and ways to advance the game on most tables, so once you start talking about specific shots and what to do people tend to get really excited about it - especially if you act encouraging and excited when your opponents in a hotseat game are doing well.
the tricky part is getting someone to a table to play 😅
Pinball is cool as heck. The only thing I miss about living in Massachusetts is the New England pinball league and all the places the were to play. Looping three-way combos into the piano on Twilight Zone is orgasmic