Pinball restoration artist Ashley Ludwig (@ludwigsynopsis) is back on the show to defend her favorite trashy 90s pin, Lethal Weapon 3.

Made by Data East in 1992, and based on the hit series of odd couple buddy cop films, Ashley passionately tells us why she thinks that LW3 is actually better than the Addams Family, and we confront her with the heap of bad reviews we found for it all over the internet refuting her claim.

Obligatory swear word warning here: we cuss a little bit.

Ever wanted to know why operators choose to use quarters vs tokens? Or why so many large arcades have ditched coins altogether and installed card readers on their games? Or why Wedgehead moved over to a freeplay model?

Then this episode is for you. Alan and Alex discuss each payment system in depth and outline the pros and cons of each from both the operator and consumer's point of views. There's a reason for every decision, and it's usually not because your local operator is a crook.

Our hope after listening to this episode, you will leave with a greater understanding of why your local spot chose the payment system best suited for them, and why no matter the system, you should support them.

...but we do swear sometimes throughout the episode.

In this episode Alan and Alex are joined on the show by Ashley Ludwig (@ludwigsynopsis on instagram) to discuss the finer points of restoring old pinball machines.

Ashley restores old pinball machines full time in Rochester, NY and she enlightens us on the skill and craftsmanship it takes to get to the level at which she operates.

Make sure to follow her on social media so you can catch regular glimpses of her incredible work and talent.

...but the three of us are adults, so there may be a couple swears sprinkled throughout!

Ian Matheson, owner and operator of Propeller Arcade comes back onto the show to defend his love of all things Freddy Kreuger, but especially his love for Gottlieb's 1994 pinball machine, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Hear Ian passionately defend Freddy as a great gateway game, with incredible theme integration as Alan reads him scores of bad reviews for the game that he pulled from the depths of the internet.

...don't forget, we use adult language.

It's the year 1980, and the US Olympic Hockey team shocks the world and beats the Soviet team in a stunning 4-3 upset in Lake Placid, NY during the height of the cold war.

But another miracle happens in pinball that same year too, as a fledgling Stern Electronics releases 9 excellent machines in 1980. They were the clear last place manufacturer behind Bally, Williams, and Gottlieb, but in 1980 Stern makes an unbelievable run of machines, a run that we think has never been bested by anyone.

Alas, even though these games were of an undeniable quality, they weren't selling the units that the other big three makers were selling, and they unfortunately did stop making pinball machines altogether in 1982.

The original Stern Electronics company wasn't around for long, and they were highly underestimated. But for this one fleeting moment, Stern Electronics was the greatest pinball company in the world.

1980 was truly a year of miracles.

In this episode Alan sits down to talk with Ian Matheson, operator at Propeller arcade inside of Propeller Brewing in Halifax, Canada.

We talk about how he got started, including some incredible stories about the old school underground Nova Scotia pinball scene before opening his public arcade which include stories of setting machines on fire in the front yard, peeing in sinks, and drinking beers while blasting Van Halen.

But in case that description doesn't hint at the content enough, we do swear occasionally throughout the episode.

In this episode, Alan and Alex discuss the outlier machines released in the last 7 years without ramps, and with simpler rulesets.

We talk about Total Nuclear Annihilation, Beatles, Bond 60th, and Pulp Fiction, and why we love seeing the variety added to modern pinball offerings.

But sometimes we use swear words.

In this episode we finally talk in depth about "Modern" pinball, where it started, what defines the modern era, and the different innovations or changes to the classic game that we all know and love.

For all the listeners out there that have been asking us to talk more about modern games, this episode is for you.

And if you want to hear more about modern pinball and enjoy this show, there are literally dozens of other pinball pods out there that almost exclusively discuss all the newest releases from all the different manufacturers, and we recommend listening to a few and seeing if you can't find one that you enjoy to supplement our normal coverage of older games.

If you're new to the show, we cuss sometimes when we get excited, this is your warning.