Get Your Game On at the Best Pinball Spots in Seattle

JOSHUA SCOGGIN • THE SPECTATOR

People of many different backgrounds can enjoy the ice cream, atmosphere, and games at Full Tilt Ice Cream.

Seattle is home to a multitude of unique game lounges and arcades that are packed with not just the classic pinball, but also pinball with its own unique edge to match any kind of person.

Looking for a way to kill an afternoon on Saturday? Got an hour for lunch? Don’t miss out on the most accessible way to stretch a couple bucks into hours of fun: pinball.

Residing in the International District, The Seattle Pinball Museum is known to even the newest pinballers. At the intersection of history and entertainment, the museum offers vintage pinball games that are nearly a century old, as well as more modern machines. It is not called a museum for nothing—each machine has the date of the game and information specific to that unique machine.

Notable pinball machine “Godzilla,” glows green in the corner of the second floor, opposite of Williams Line Drive Game—a two-player game that places one player in the position of a baseball pitcher and one in that of a batter.

“In here, we probably have around 58 or 59 [pinball machines], but our collection is probably around 200,” co-owner Cindy Martin said.

It is easy to get lost in the incredible variety of pinball machines since $15 gets you unlimited plays for each machine.

If you are looking to beat the heat and enjoy a nice day in Northern Capitol Hill, look no further than Full Tilt Ice Cream. On the way to Volunteer Park, Full Tilt boasts not just delicious ice cream, but a multitude of arcade games including pinball, House of the Dead, and skeeball.

Visitors are greeted with colorful artwork over the glass encasing the ice cream, depicting comic book heroines and aliens.

“It’s a really diverse clientele,” employee Sally Baldwin said. “We have parents who come in and the kids play the games, we have people who just come in for the ice cream.”

Once past the ice cream, visitors can check out the two-player Mario Kart driving game. Entirely in Japanese and with a wheel, adjustable seat, and pedals, this game is quite the novelty. Farther down the long stretch of pinball machines resides the “Batman The Dark Knight” machine, filled with moving parts and extra flippers– it is quite a site.

Easily one of the coolest places in Seattle, the Raygun Lounge resides tucked away on Pine St. with walls covered in comic book posters, video game decals, retro anime, and1980s cartoons playing on the television screens.

Got a quarter? You can take a crack at Missile Command, Ms. Pacman, or Galaga. Fifty cents? That gives you a shot at the Dungeons & Dragons RPG or Simpsons arcade game. All of these can be played by up to four players, so bring your squad.

For 75 cents, visitors can play any pinball machine in the lounge. One machine is the phenomenal “Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast.” Selecting an Iron Maiden classic for each ball, the game plays wicked metal guitar riffs, which makes for an experience like no other.

If all of that still isn’t enough, you get unlimited access to an overflowing cupboard of board games with any purchase . The lounge also sells cards and hosts “Magic: The Gathering” tournaments. Tables are seemingly always in use with a D&D session.

“It was kinda like, another way to serve the community of geeks that were around here- to give them somewhere to be and something to do,” Manager Atticus Wiman said. “It’s nice to give enough feeling like this is, ya know, just another place you’re hanging out at a table, not a big fancy bar where people are watching.”

As otherworldly as the lounge is, it’s all friendly faces and the staff are still very down-to-Earth.

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