Eric S.
Yelp
SLAM TILT
Some of the pinball tables at this Charlotte arcade are looking worse for wear.
While in the area for work, I was looking to kill some time and found Pins Mechanical in a district called South End. The place has an open-air feel with a firepit, roof, full bar, and lots of video games. Having opened in December 2019, they've got a few years under their belt.
They currently have 18 pinball machines ($1/game), as well as a handful of arcade cabinets (free), foosball, and trash can beer pong. Pins Mechanical is also known for their lanes of 'Duckpin', a quirky (or should I say, quacky) bowling arrangement with smaller balls and pins. They're very dog-friendly....in fact, I saw one poochie pinching out a loaf on the floor. Bad dog!
Excited to crack off some high scores, I fished out a handful of quarters and worked my way around the arcade. The newer Stern pinball tables (Godzilla, Deadpool, Avengers Infinity Quest, Jurassic Park) played just fine, but elsewhere I ran into problems:
* Ripley's Believe It or Not was unplayable; issues with code/bad wiring, tons of cosmetic flaws, and a playfield tilted so far out of whack every single ball drained in the left outlane.
*Bram Stoker's Dracula had a launch button (in place of a plunger) that was broken, which made starting a game impossible due to a misfiring coil.
*World Cup Soccer had a super weak and barely functioning left flipper, which is also a coil issue.
*Black Knight Sword of Rage (a 2022 Stern pinball) was cool other than the fact that the playfield was pitched way too shallow, meaning it was not setup correctly and no one took the ~5min to properly level it.
If that wasn't enough, a 22oz Allagash White ran me $13!! When the bartender spun the tablet around to show me the total, I nearly fainted. That comes out to $9/pint, and the only places I know that charge that much are sports stadiums or concert venues. On top of that, service at the bar was brutally slow, as if they were actively avoiding me (what gives?)
* TL;DR *
For a place that has the word 'pins' in their name, you would think they'd take better care of their stuff.
Whoever's in charge of maintaining the pinball tables at Pins Mechanical is fast asleep at the switch. I can't remember the last time I saw machines in such a state of neglect......honestly, they ought to unplug them until they can be fixed. If a place has the gall to charge $1 per game, they better have them in decent condition.
I had 1-2hrs worth of fun, but I would hit up Paranoia Pinball before coming back here.