Heya Friends! Over the holiday break, I took a trip to one of my favorite places on earth, and decided it needed to be shared with everyone. Silverball Museum, located on the Asbury Park boardwalk, is a "pay-one-price" style arcade loaded with a plethora of classic and new pinball machines, as well as some staple game cabinets. 



Silverball has an extensive collection of pinball games from every manufacturer that you can think of. All of the staples are there: Medieval Madness, Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Eight Ball Deluxe, etc. More impressively however, is that they are all in great shape! The action on the flippers and bumpers feels good, and shows that the staff really cares about the shape of each machine.


Each machine also has a brief history synopsis, as well as a high score board set on top for you to shoot for. In addition to details about make and manufacturer, they sometimes include bits about historical significance of the machine, oddities about the playfield, or even details specific to the machine you are actually playing on (one appeared in the background of a Bruce Springsteen video, for example).


Speaking of how many machines they have brings up one of the downsides of the place: There are so many machines, they have to be packed in like sardines to get them all to fit. The building itself is a relatively small boardwalk store, and as such does not leave much room for things. This doesn't stop the staff from squeezing a ton of machines, a snack bar, and a whole party area inside, but it does leave much to be desired in the way of personal space, especially on a busy day.


They also have a small smattering of standard arcade fare. A few Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Super Mario, and Pac-Man variations make up a small section near the middle of the arcade. They even have a Pong cabinet in all it's neon yellow glory! Each arcade cabinet has the same treatment as the pinball machines: working buttons, tight joysticks, and vibrant displays; exactly how anyone would want to play them.



Considering how poor I am at pinball, the pricing structure seems more than fair. I caught an early special where I paid 15$ from their open until 5pm to play as much as I wanted and to come and go as I pleased! Considering how many games I played, it was a steal. The rest of their pricing, even on snacks and food, seemed just as reasonable.

Overall, Silverball is a must visit for anyone even remotely interested in pinball. from a wide variety, to well maintained equipment, no one should be disappointed.

Until next time!
~ Neo

P.S: If anyone wants to go play some pinball, I'm always up for a trip!

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