The Stern Led Zeppelin Pro Pinball Table features six pinballs, three flippers, three metal ramps, a custom Icarus toy that “flies into the air when smashed by a chaotic pinball”, and 10 different Led Zeppelin songs to choose from including “Immigrant Song”, “Kashmir”, and “Whole Lotta Love”.
The pinball table itself is gorgeous – even to someone who knows very little about pinball machines – wrapped in artwork from the Led Zeppelin III album cover. Designed by Steve Ritchie, a renowned video game and pinball game designer lovingly referred to as the “King of Flow”, whose voice has been immortalized as the iconic announcer in the classic fighting game, Mortal Kombat.
The Led Zeppelin Pro Pinball Machine
The Led Zeppelin Pinball Table was designed to mimic the experience of attending a Led Zeppelin concert during the band’s heyday in the ’70s. At the top of every game, players can choose a song from the setlist, but that’s not all, you can also play through different “tours”, allowing for a smooth transition from song to song, as you play.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this specific pinball table is the fact that there is a Led Zeppelin pinball machine at all. The band is known for being protective of their IP, rarely releasing the rights to their songs for commercial purposes.
The Pro version of this table can now be found at Trapper’s Pizza Pub, thanks to our friends at United Vending Services, who own and operate the machines found at our restaurant and several others in the Central New York region. The Led Zeppelin table isn’t the only one at Trapper’s, either. We’re also currently home to both the Avengers: Infinity Quest and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball machines from Stern Pinball, which manufactures all of its tables in Chicago.
Pinball Culture in Syracuse
For many of us, pinball machines are simply colorful relics of a bygone era. After all, recent years have seen the rapid growth of virtual reality gaming systems like Oculus and Playstation VR. A whole new realm of gaming that, back when pinball machines were at their height in the U.S, was nothing more than a glimmer in the eye of early Science Fiction novelists.
Despite the advances in gaming that have taken place since 1931, when the earliest version of a coin-operated pinball table was built, the pinball scene in Syracuse and other Upstate New York cities, is still alive and well thanks to passionate spokespeople like Syracuse-area teacher, Ryan Zlomek.
“Syracuse is wherever you are. It’s a mindset more than a physical location.”
Ryan Zlomek
Syracuse PINheads
We spoke with Zlomek over the phone this week to discuss his undying love of everything pinball and his equally as ardent love for the city of Syracuse itself. “Syracuse is wherever you are. It’s a mindset more than a physical location,” he tells us when asked where PINHeads’ followers are generally located. “My goal is to consistently demonstrate to people that Syracuse is a hub of people with great passions. Mine happens to be pinball. It’s important to be proud of what we’re most passionate about.”
Syracuse PINheads, which Zlomek runs, is a lifestyle brand intended to grow the pinball audience in Central New York.
Although the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit PINheads just as hard as many other local businesses and brands, with the recent lifting of restrictions on bar games Zlomek is hoping to get the (pin)ball rolling once more. Specifically, Zlomek imagines hosting more big events around the city to put Syracuse on the map. He also called out the popular Facebook group CNY Pinball, which is full of pinball hobbyists who put on tournaments at local establishments.
Zlomek explains that thanks to Trapper’s Pizza Pub’s centralized location, great food, and the fact that we have multiple pinball machines, has made Trapper’s a popular spot for these pinball tournaments. Trapper’s is also the premier location to test out the newest pinball machines in Syracuse.
For the Love of Pinball
For Zlomek, pinball found him fairly early in life. He recalls playing pinball and other games with his dad at Buttons Arcade in Eastwood as a kid. He also remembers a family friend who had a pinball machine right in his basement. “Childhood has a way of staying with you,” Zlomek muses. “When I got my first full-time job and was looking to buy a house, the idea of having a pinball machine was part of me. One [pinball machine] turned into two turned into three.” As he dived more into collecting, he also became immersed in the culture. “There’s always been a subculture [of pinball], even going back to the ’40s.”
A Pinball Prohibition
For more than 30 years, pinball machines were actually banned in New York. From the 1940’s to the year 1976, pinball was considered a form of gambling. A game that lacked any real skill, Mayor LaGuardia in New York City ordered the destruction of thousands of pinball machines throughout the city, and, up until 1976, illegal pinball game rooms continued to be raided. Something to consider the next time you see a pinball machine tucked in the corner of a laundromat or displayed at your local bar.
The Making of a Pinball Machine
While Zlomek admits that most people aren’t exactly “clamoring” for the latest pinball machines, he still believes that they have an important place in American history and insists that they’ve developed a robust cult following over the years. After all, there’s a lot to love about pinball machines. Consider what it takes to create just one. You need engineers and fine artists working together to design the game, making decisions about the way in which the gameplay interacts with the physical art. Then, you need all kinds of workers with all different skill sets, working together to make the pinball table.
The average machine costs around $6,000 to purchase, but it can cost the company producing them upwards of a million dollars just to get the concept off the ground. They’re also one of the few items that are still 100% American-made.
“The designer was familiar enough with the comics that every time you play the game you’re inside the universe.”
Ryan Zlomek
What Makes a Game Great?
Pinball machines are ranked on playability, invention in engineering – meaning the different ways you use magnets and ramps – and theme. We asked Zlomek what the most memorable pinball machine he’s ever played on was. The answer? The 1993 Judge Dredd Pinball Machine developed by John Trudeau.
“The designer was familiar enough with the comics that every time you play the game you’re inside the universe,” Zlomek says. “Someone decided to take this obscure British comic book character but made it so you can interact with every aspect of the actual comics. You’re immersed in that world and living as that character.” This total immersion in the theme of the pinball machine is part of what draws pinball fans to the game in the first place, and it’s also what makes the Led Zeppelin table so special too.
Playing the Led Zeppelin Pro
We asked Zlomek for some tips on playing the new Led Zeppelin pinball machine for all of the pinball newbies out there. “Oftentimes we have to give something a try not one, not two, but three times to really fall in love with it,” he tells us, clearly urging all of us beginners not to give up too quickly.
As for the Led Zeppelin game itself, he admits that it was more challenging than he thought it would be, and says that it even took him more than three tries to really get the hang of it. This particular game was also the first time Zlomek was personally invited by United Vending Services to test out a new pinball machine before it was released to the public. The fact that he was one of the first people in the whole country to play a brand new game was certainly not lost on him.
Thinking about getting involved in Syracuse’s pinball community? You can follow Syracuse PINheads on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news and behind-the-scenes peaks into pinball culture, and keep your eyes peeled for big events and tournaments on the horizon.
You can also check out the newest pinball machines right at Trapper’s Pizza Pub. “Right now, pinball subculture is full of the most creative, entrepreneurial minds I’ve ever met,” Zlomek says. “Over the last five or six years, I’ve met some of my best friends through this cheesy hobby.”
Christie Donato is the Marketing Manager for Trapper’s Pizza Pub and a freelance writer. She’s a co-founder of Rogue Dialogue Productions and a writer on the podcast Windfall. Originally from Syracuse, she now resides in Queens with her dog, Piper. You can find more of her work here.
Hi
Keep it up and always share informative stuff like this.
I never knew that he was introduced to pinball at a young age. I never thought that it would be like this, I’ll share this with my aunt. Thank you for the information about pinball machines.