Michigan is a huge pinball state, didn’t you know? The Mitten is graced with tons of pinball gems, for casual pinballers and major enthusiasts alike. Here’s the official, non-exhaustive, unranked, Michigan Enjoyer Pinball list:

The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids

A mainstay of the GR scene, this is a music venue and alternative-styled pinball bar. Usually a good selection on tap, and while they don’t have a ton of games, the slate they have out is pretty stellar.

Medieval Madness, Attack From Mars, Elvira, Ghostbusters. Tons of classic gems. Mixed with new tables—say what you will about the show, but the Rick & Morty pinball table goes hard. You can run through 20 bucks of quarters here in no time.

It’s a great place for a date with a girl with an eyebrow piercing and a beanie. Probably not the place to take a Hinge girl, unless you really want to test out her vibe. Even better place to meet your buddies, or catch a band in the back venue.

The Coin Slot, Traverse City

NOT a strip club, to my surprise, despite the euphemism. Before you come at me for my dirty mind—I went to a bar in Houghton Lake called the “Backdoor Saloon” the same day and could not, for the life of me, believe it wasn’t a gay bar. Just friendly people and good food, and the entrance was genuinely in the back! Michiganders are wholesome folks, indeed.

This is simply TC’s resident pinball bar. Usually buzzing, too—you’ll find yourself hard pressed to even get on a table on the weekends. Decent slate of tables, some notable ones, nothing too crazy. More a place for vibes and socializing. 

A genuine barcade vibe without the pandering. Local beers on tap, painted wooden booths to sit in. Younger crowd, men and women. Cool place to hang out before hitting the club (the only club) in TC, though I can’t recommend going there unless you like dubstep DJ sets from 10 years ago. Word of advice: If your night spirals, and you find yourself looking for the actual TC strip club… trust me fellas, you’re better off playing pinball.

There’s good pizza too. Faygo Rock & Rye on deck, real Michiganheads know. Obligatory beverage if you’re gonna shoot some stick with the locals on the pool table.

Klassic Arcade (1.0 and 2.0), Gobles

Klassic Arcade is a mainstay of the small west Michigan town of Gobles. On the main drag, it’s one of only three things, really: a tractor supply shop, a sandwich shop, and Klassic Arcade 2.0. There’s also an insanely good Mexican restaurant half a mile down the road, but not much else.

You wouldn’t expect to find it here, totally out of the way, but it’s worth a stop. Their vintage collection is the most impressive bit. The slate of old-school EM (electromechanical) games is dizzying. Just wires, relays, and solenoids—no circuit boards! The real pinball heads geek out over the history—for me, a more casual enthusiast, I definitely noticed a difference in play style. 

The EM games have a very solid feel to them, balanced by a softer pace. My pinball freak buddy told me the angles of the playfields are less steep than modern games, leading to a floaty, softer style of play. The ball comes off the flippers solidly, and then floats around, dances at the top of the board. EM games have weird little quirks to them too, unique game elements like spinners usually lacking in modern games.

Klassic Arcade 2.0 also has a variety of other arcade games—original Atari and Asteroids units and such. It’s worth playing the originals, rather than the fake modern emulations more commonly found in urban “barcades.” Asteroids, in particular, looked like nothing I’d seen before. The original units used a vector-based display, as opposed to a pixel-based screen like we’re all used to today. Every line of the ship and asteroids glows intensely on the black screen. 

Klassic Arcade has another, more exclusive location with more limited hours as well. Klassic Arcade 1.0, the franchise’s original location before they opened 2.0 in downtown Gobles. It’s another mile down the road, out in farm country, with a dirt parking lot. It’s only open on weekends, but it’s worth checking out. There’s an even larger array of pinball games, more esoteric and strange older arcade games, mixed with a modern slate.

Pinball Pete’s, Ann Arbor

Legendary Ann Arbor (and East Lansing? Apparently?) establishment Pinball Pete’s serves up its basement arcade setting with every level of panache one would expect from a genuine pinball landmark. A wide variety of pinball tables, and a huge slate of other arcade games.

Pete’s may not have the largest stable, but it has all the classics pinball heads rave about. Medieval Madness, often described as the best pinball game of all time. Attack from Mars, a personal favorite, definitely in contention as a legendary game. Elvira, a game that real pinball heads are always stoked to see. 

More important, Pete’s owns the sort of classic, kid-friendly arcade vibe that hits the nostalgia meter even for adults. Many of the games dispense tickets, and there’s a ticket counter where you trade them in for little prizes. Is there any better feeling than nailing a game of skee-ball, and trading in those tickets for some candy and little plastic army men? If there is, I’ve yet to find it. 

Make sure to visit Pete’s soon—the Ann Arbor location is closing and moving to a new building next year, pushed out when new developers bought the building they’re in. Luckily, they’ll move to a new spot instead of closing outright.

Vintage Flipper World, Brighton

VFW isn’t a venue—it’s a museum. Literally. An issue with their zoning restrictions forced the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum, aka VFW (Vintage Flipper World), to classify itself as a private museum from the start. They boast an incredible array of modern and vintage machines, with one enthusiast describing it as, “the literal heaven of pinball.”

The big catch: It’s only open to the public four weekends of the year, and you have to buy tickets well ahead of time. Keep an eye on their Facebook for show dates and tickets. Absolutely worth it to make the trip to Brighton for the day, just a few miles north of Ann Arbor.

VFW staff also do in-home pinball repairs, in case you’re a real die hard with a basement table in need of a tune up. 

One Well Brewing, Kalamazoo

The hippest barcade in Kalamazoo, with a ton of their own beers on tap. More of a brewery than a pure pinball destination, but don’t be mistaken. They have 54 games on the premises, covering a full slate of 80s/90s classics and some modern games.

One Well also hosts seasonal pinball leagues and tournaments throughout the year. From what I hear, the competition is steep. Don’t get it twisted: Pinball is a game of skill, not chance.

Great regular social space for the local Kalamazoo scene too. My pinball-crazy buddy from there considers it a genuine haunt, a place for pinball and hanging with friends alike.

Sparks Pinball Museum, Chesterfield Township

You’ll find Sparks in Chesterfield, near the shores of Lake Saint Clair. A bonafide pinball destination for SE Michigan, boasting 50+ games ranging from 80s solid-state classics like Space Shuttle up to new games like the 2024 Stern table, JAWS. 

FunHouse, a ’90s table by Williams, is the signature game at Sparks. A personal favorite of the owner, and a personal favorite of mine as well. Something about that creepy ventriloquist dummy, Rudy, taunting and heckling me motivated me to actually learn the rules and get high scores.

Fridays are the best time to visit Sparks, with $10 unlimited play nights. Believe me, you’ll run through double that in quarters in no time otherwise. Sparks also hosts a regular Sunday pinball league, and Friday tournaments once a month.

Bobby Mars is an artist, alter ego, and former art professor. Follow him on X @bobby_on_mars.