I’m Ryan, and I’ve been chasing pinball machines around basements, garages, and the backs of arcades for longer than I’d care to admit. I’m also, by my own honest measurement, one of the world’s most mediocre pinball players — and not once has that gotten in the way of how much I love this hobby.
How I fell for pinball
The truth is I didn’t really choose pinball — I inherited it. The machine that started everything is a 1978 Gottlieb Sinbad that has been in my family since I was small enough to crawl up inside the cabinet. One day someone flipped it on while I was still in there, I caught a little jolt of electricity, and somewhere in that mix of current and flashing lights the whole thing got its hooks in me. That shock handed me my one true superpower: being a deeply average pinball player. I’ve worn the title proudly ever since.
It wasn’t only the game, either. The woman painted on that Sinbad backglass was — if I’m being honest — my very first crush. The art on these machines got to me long before the gameplay ever did, and to this day I think of a pinball machine as a piece of art you also happen to get to play. That Sinbad is still mine. I’m never selling it.
Why The Skill Shot exists
I started this channel to be the friendly, no-gatekeeping guide I wish I’d had when I was starting out. From the outside, pinball can look like a closed club — the lingo, the prices, the wizards who can stack multiballs in their sleep. It really isn’t. Every week I take one machine and tell you its whole story: who designed it and what they were chasing, what it’s actually like to live with, and whether it earns the floor space and the money. No snobbery, no homework required. Just one collector being honest — about the machines I love, and the occasional one I can’t stand.
How it works
Every episode ends with the FlipScore — my hundred-point report card. Five categories, twenty points each: Shots, Code & Depth, Theme, Build Quality, and Resale Value. I’m opinionated, I rank things, and I get things wrong sometimes. When I do, I say so, out loud, on camera. The collectors watching will fact-check me anyway — and honestly, that’s half the fun.
Thinking about getting in?
Maybe you’re wondering whether you could actually own one of these things, or whether there’s a pinball league or tournament hiding somewhere near you. That’s my favorite kind of question. Stick around and I’ll walk you through it — what to look for in a first machine, what things really cost, how to find your local scene, and how to make the leap from “I just play at the bar” to “there’s one in my garage now.” You don’t have to be good. You just have to be curious. I’m living proof.
Come along
New episode every week. If that sounds like your kind of foolishness, subscribe on YouTube and grab the newsletter — and say hi. I read everything.