.Best Place to Play a Mean Pinball

Ever since you were a young kid, you played the silver ball. However,
these days the game seems exceedingly more stimulating but less
invigorating. You pull the plunger, the ball barrels down the chute and
countless lights go off, alarms ring, characters in the machine dance,
a short film plays on the scoreboard, and before the ball hits the
flipper for the first time, you’ve scored 7 billion points. Good for
you, you just did nothing. At Lucky Ju Ju Pinball, the emphasis is on
the game of pinball, not the flashy lights. With a collection of forty
vintage machines, you can lose yourself in the simple clicks and clunks
of your childhood. Though they’re only open on the weekends, $10 ($5
for kids under twelve) buys you unlimited free play on machines dating
back over forty years. The scoreboards range from old-school analog to
latter-day solid state, the flippers can be sluggish, the balls are
heavy, and it’s all wonderful. Doubling as a museum exhibit, each
machine gives a glimpse into the progression of the game and puts a
mirror up to our society of decades past. Older generations will lose
themselves in childhood memories, and the kiddies may learn to
appreciate a game based on skill and timing rather than special
effects. They may not be as stimulating, but these old machines are
certainly more visceral.