Pinball 518

Pinball 518 is an umbrella organization created to support pinball in the Capital District of New York (Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Rensselaer, and surrounding counties).

Why?

The greater Albany area is unique in the US – it’s the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area without a regular, large, well-maintained pinball venue.

There are historical reasons behind this specific to our area, but since the collapse of the pinball industry in the late 1990’s and the decline of arcades, commercial establishments catering to pinball have virtually disappeared from the region.

Nevertheless there’s a dedicated group of flipper sports fanatics. Pinball 518 was established to provide a clearinghouse of information for players, collectors, operators, hobbyists, and any commercial partners (restaurants/bars, repair services, etc.) engaged in pinball in the area.

Pinball is also experiencing a nation- and world-wide resurgence, and we aim to assist this and bring the joy and beauty of pinball to more people in our area.

What Do We Do?

Pinball 518 runs this website and an active Facebook Group (Pinball 518) where more ephemeral news and announcements are made.

The group is used to:
• announce pinball events in the area
• aid members with pinball-related issues (repair, purchase, etc.)
• provide feedback to operators
• share news of members in competition or other related exploits
• organize events, tournaments, and leagues
• post ads for pinball machines locally
• allow regionally-affiliated groups to share similar news (notably: Binghamton Pinball, CNY Pinball, Buffalo Pinball, Vermont Pinball/The Vermont Pinball Co-op, Montréal Pinball, The Western Mass Pinball Club, Orange County Pinball, and adjacent areas in Northern New Jersey, New York City, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts). We try to stay in close contact with neighboring pinball folks, and if you want to share with us, we encourage it.

We also:
• organize regional and local pinball tournaments.
• assist with the Saratoga Pinball and Arcade Show, organized by Adam Deutschmann to benefit YMCA/YWCA progams.
• organize charity tournaments/events for a variety of causes, particularly Project Pinball, a children’s charity that purchases and maintains pinball machines in therapeutic environments for Children’s Hospitals nationwide.
• provide advice to related arcade and game show organizers, operators, and local business owners interested in adding pinball to their establishment.

How Are We Organized?

Loosely! Membership is currently defined by membership in the Facebook group. Most of the administrative work is done by Matt Wall with assistance from league organizers. We may extend and formalize our organization to a more formal structure with the advent of the Pinball Coop/Club (see below) but are currently a committee of the whole.

Pinball 518 was founded in 2018.

The Pinball Cooperative Club

A major project in 2019-20 is organizing a Pinball Cooperative Club (name to be determined) to provide a physical location for sharing resources for area pinball hobbyists and players, as well as to create a family-friendly environment for showcasing pinball to the public. For more information, see this section of our website.