I'm fascinated by bingo pinball machines.
Many traditional pinball players and collectors write off bingo pinball machines as gambling games, but there is a tremendous amount of control that the player must exert in order to win.
I am very interested in bringing games for more people to experience and enjoy with a thorough tutorial to teach new players how to play the games. I'd been attending pinball shows since 2012, and each year, Jeffrey Lawton brought a few bingo pinball machines for players to enjoy to the White Rose Gameroom Show. In speaking with other collectors and friends, I thought about how fun it would be to have a big showing of the various types of games every year at the White Rose Gameroom Show. In 2015, I was able to convince multiple people to bring machines, and word of the event got out through the For Amusement Only Podcast and others.
The first year, I brought five games and bought another to be delivered at the show. Another 8 games were made available through the kindness of the collecting community.
Each year, friends new and old have brought games to share. To help keep things fun and show a diversity of gameplay experiences, I try to determine which games might arrive so that we don't have many (if any) duplicates. There are, of course, last minute substitutions and other changes in plan that occur, but on the whole, every year has been a great new display of games.
Bingo Row has traditionally been the place where I reveal new games I've been working on. It was the first playable reveal of the Multi-Bingo, as well as Multi-Races.
In 2018, collector Dennis Dodel was able to find something very unusual - a 1962 Bally Silver Sails still in the original box! He was happy to bring the game to Bingo Row to unbox, which we did in front of a crowd of attendees. The game, as with all games in Bingo Row, was immediately available for free play after review of the internals to ensure no damage would occur. The game fired up right away!
There are many special memories I will cherish from each Bingo Row. I am always present to give tutorials to new players. Some previous players have even gone on to purchase their own games!
As Bingo Row got off the ground, I wanted to add something to the excitement of learning a new game. I came up with the idea of a giveaway for anyone that could play the game well enough to earn a four or five in a row.
2015: Signed copies of one of Jeffrey Lawton's books about Bingo Pinball.
2016: Bingo Row T-Shirts with the artwork at the top of this page, by Ryan Claytor of Elephant Eater Comics.
2017: A Multi-Bingo keychain, with the same artwork shown here, by Ryan Claytor of Elephant Eater Comics.
2018: A limited print of the Bingo Row artwork by Ryan Claytor of Elephant Eater Comics.
2019: Custom tokens dispensed from Multi-Races. While not a bingo pinball machine, the horserace-themed one ball pinballs influenced the development of bingo pinball greatly.
I expect to continue to bring games to the show, and help with repair on the show floor to help keep games running for as long as I'm able. It's wonderful to be able to share the joy of playing these games and the depth of their rulesets with new players. If you'd like to bring a game to Bingo Row, please get in touch!
