The Flipside Pinball Podcast

Pinball Expo 2026 is officially in the books, and what a crazy year it was!

I’m finally recovering from the dreaded Expo Crud, and there’s a TON to talk about! From Steve Ritchie’s retirement and some incredible new games to my unfiltered thoughts on Multimorphic’s P3, we’re covering it all!

We dive into Bon Jovi, Fallout, Cirqus Voltaire, Yukon Yeti, Sonic, and some seriously impressive homebrew games that stole the show. Plus, why I think the boutique manufacturers are changing the pinball industry for the better.

I’ve also got a pretty big announcement about the future of my Pinball Expo videos.

Lots of stories, honest opinions, a few hot takes, and most importantly, a whole lot of appreciation for this amazing community. Thanks to everyone who made Expo 2026 such an awesome experience!

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LOOKING FOR A NEW OR USED PINBALL MACHINE?

Check out Flip N’ Out Pinball:
https://www.flipnoutpinball.com/

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WATCH THE FLIP SIDE PINBALL PODCAST

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#pinball

It’s the last Flipside before Pinball Expo, and there is a LOT to talk about.

I’m sharing my first impressions of Bon Jovi, Fallout, and Tales of the Arabian Nights Remake, including what surprised me, what disappointed me, and which game I can’t stop playing.

We also get into Dutch Pinball’s Back to the Future announcement, the $3,000 deposit, production concerns, pricing unknowns…and whether I actually gave in to the FOMO and put money down.

Plus, a look ahead at Pinball Expo 2026, Circus Voltaire, the growing homebrew scene, possible surprises, and why this might be one of the most interesting Expos yet.

There is officially too much pinball right now. 😂

Let’s get into it.

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LOOKING FOR A NEW OR USED PINBALL MACHINE?

Check out Flip N’ Out Pinball:
https://www.flipnoutpinball.com/

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LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL

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WATCH THE FLIP SIDE PINBALL PODCAST

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LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

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LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS

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#pinball

This might be the craziest year pinball has seen in a long time… and I may have made it even crazier for myself. 😂

In this episode of The Flipside Podcast, I break down the insane number of new pinball machines hitting in 2026, including Fallout, Bon Jovi, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Yukon Yeti, Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers, Circus Voltaire and more.

I also reveal the major changes happening in my own pinball collection, the games I’m selling and trading, what’s arriving next, and how I somehow ended up with multiple new machines showing up at basically the same time.

Plus, we talk Pinball Expo 2026, Yukon Yeti, Pinball Brothers and Predator, boutique manufacturers, and which new games could steal the show at Expo.

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LOOKING FOR A NEW OR USED PINBALL MACHINE?

Check out Flip N’ Out Pinball:
https://www.flipnoutpinball.com/

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LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL

Your message might be played on a future episode:
https://www.speakpipe.com/RetroRalphVM

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WATCH THE FLIP SIDE PINBALL PODCAST

https://www.youtube.com/@TheFlipsideRetroRalph

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

https://open.spotify.com/show/62ZF6rZGos5tFI77MaznZY

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flipside-pinball-podcast/id1753621594

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

https://rb.gy/uqi2an

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RETRO RALPH MERCHANDISE

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FOLLOW RETRO RALPH

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For product reviews and other business inquiries:
retroralph1980@gmail.com

#Pinball #PinballPodcast #PinballExpo #FalloutPinball #BonJoviPinball #YukonYeti #SternPinball

The highly anticipated Fallout pinball machine from Stern Pinball is finally here, and I’ve played it! In this episode of The Flipside, we break down Keith Elwin’s latest creation and ask the big question: Could Fallout be his greatest pinball machine ever?

Stern opened the wallet and gave the team the freedom to build one of its most ambitious and feature-packed games to date. Does that make Fallout worth the higher price? Could it also change what players expect from future Stern Pinball releases? More importantly, could this machine inspire pinball fans to explore the Fallout universe while bringing Fallout fans into pinball?

We also need to have an honest conversation about Stern’s Media Day. A few things happened that made me question whether Stern should restructure the event, establish clearer expectations for attendees and do more to keep the focus on media access instead of allowing it to become someone’s personal pinball tournament.

Was Stern Media Day a bust? Is Fallout Keith Elwin’s best game ever? Does this release set a new standard for Stern Pinball?

Let me know what you think in the comments and whether you would choose the Fallout Pro, Premium or Limited Edition or if this one is a “pass” for you. 

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LOOKING FOR A NEW OR USED PINBALL MACHINE?

Check out Flip N’ Out Pinball:
https://www.flipnoutpinball.com/

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LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL

Your message might be played on a future episode:
https://www.speakpipe.com/RetroRalphVM

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WATCH THE FLIP SIDE PINBALL PODCAST

https://www.youtube.com/@TheFlipsideRetroRalph

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

https://open.spotify.com/show/62ZF6rZGos5tFI77MaznZY

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flipside-pinball-podcast/id1753621594

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

https://rb.gy/uqi2an

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RETRO RALPH MERCHANDISE

https://bit.ly/2YS5ukX

FOLLOW RETRO RALPH

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For product reviews and other business inquiries:
retroralph1980@gmail.com

#FalloutPinball #SternPinball #pinball

Fallout is coming… and if the rumors are true, Stern might be about to drop something pretty damn wild.

On this episode of The Flipside Podcast, I’m fired up and we’re covering a TON.

We get into everything we think we know about the rumored Keith Elwin Fallout pinball machine, why I still don’t think Elwin has made a bad game, the rumored lower playfield, vault, Nuka Cannon, possible Stern pricing changes… and whether Fallout could be one of those games people buy simply because Elwin’s name is on it.

But that’s just the beginning.

We also talk about the Pokémon Home Edition showing up at Costco and why, whether you want one or not, I actually think products like this could be incredibly important for bringing new people into pinball.

Then we go down the rabbit hole of affordability in this hobby. I talk about Pawlowski Pinball’s mission to build a legitimately GOOD affordable pinball machine, the newly announced BUMP 001, and the bigger question:

Do we really need ANOTHER pinball company making $10,000+ machines?

And somehow we still have more…

🔥 Spooky Pinball and the heavily rumored Goonies machine
🔥 Could Goonies actually show up at Pinball Expo?
🔥 Why I’m nervous about Back to the Future and Dutch Pinball
🔥 My Transformers Megatron Cannon problems
🔥 New Transformers mods and the transforming Optimus Prime ideas
🔥 Bon Jovi, Barrels of Fun and the problem with unpredictable delivery timelines
🔥 Tim Sexton’s awesome interview with Jamie from JBS
🔥 Why new players matter WAY more to the future of pinball than we sometimes realize
🔥 And why there are officially WAY TOO MANY FREAKING PINBALL MACHINES coming out right now 😂

Plus, because this is The Flipside, I eventually completely derail the show talking about Cannon Beach, getting older, working out, energy drinks, friendships, life priorities and apparently everything else bouncing around inside my caffeinated brain.

So yeah… pretty normal episode.

The big question:

If Fallout dropped tomorrow and it looked amazing… are you buying one?

And are you buying it because you love Fallout… or because it says Keith Elwin on the game?

Let me know in the comments.

Thanks as always for watching, listening and supporting the show. I seriously appreciate you guys.

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LOOKING FOR A NEW OR USED PINBALL MACHINE?

Check out Flip N’ Out Pinball:
https://www.flipnoutpinball.com/

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL

Your message might be played on a future episode:
https://www.speakpipe.com/RetroRalphVM

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

WATCH THE FLIP SIDE PINBALL PODCAST

https://www.youtube.com/@TheFlipsideRetroRalph

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

https://open.spotify.com/show/62ZF6rZGos5tFI77MaznZY

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-flipside-pinball-podcast/id1753621594

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

https://rb.gy/uqi2an

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RETRO RALPH MERCHANDISE

https://bit.ly/2YS5ukX

FOLLOW RETRO RALPH

X/Twitter: https://bit.ly/39mdqzy
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3fU1Dew

For product reviews and other business inquiries:
retroralph1980@gmail.com

#Pinball #Fallout #FalloutPinball #SternPinball #KeithElwin #SpookyPinball #Goonies #Transformers #RetroRalph #TheFlipsidePodcast #PinballPodcast #PinballMachine #Arcade #PokemonPinball