[ Machine whirs ]
-Pinball for me is old-school fun.
-These are like interactive, functional works of art.
-You got all the flashing lights.
Kind of like be a kid again for a few minutes.
It's great.
-Hi, there. I'm Cindy Martin,
-I'm Charlie Martin, and together with my wife,
we opened the Seattle Pinball Museum in late August 2010.
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We have pinball machines from 1960 all the way up to 2025.
So you're always going to find one that speaks to you,
and you get in the groove with.
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-I've been coming here since I moved to Seattle
seven years ago, so I'm about to move
and it's always nice to have one last trip.
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-A really good pinball machine has to have it all.
When you have a good intellectual property,
when you have a good playfield, when you have good art,
when you have good programming, that kind of brings it all
together to make it very, very special.
And I like to call it lightning in a bottle.
-Oh, there's definitely a learning curve.
I've been playing for seven years, pretty much straight.
Um, joined the pinball league and yeah, I'm still learning.
-I think it's the hand-eye coordination.
Right? Like you're so busy.
Like your subconscious mind is busy watching the ball,
and your hands are moving,
and trying to get the flippers moving.
So just, you're too busy to care about what's outside.
-When you're tuned in to the machine,
you're right there with the ball.
You are the ball zooming around the playfield,
and going in and out, and up and down,
and trying to find out how you get the next score level.
It really brings you into its world.
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Pinball is growing,
and we look forward to the new generation
of players and enthusiasts.
And I like to tell people,
"Play pinball. It's always fun."
And it is.
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