EASTON, Pa. — Pinball may have hit peak popularity nearly three quarters of a century ago, but don’t tell that to anyone at Mystery Box Games in Easton.
On Monday night, the cozy game shop at 1458 Northampton St. opened its doors for the area’s most dedicated pinball wizards to explore a collection of machines borrowed from Stroudsburg's Mayhem Amusement Arcades.
With a fan base spanning generations and social scenes, Monday’s initial pinball tournament showed the classic arcade staple still has a die-hard fan base.
The flashing lights, frequent chimes, explosive sound effects and visual feasts playing across the five pinball machines in the shop held players transfixed with smiles on their faces throughout their playtime.
According to Mystery Box Games co-owners Babs Vasconez and Mik Matiss, their crew reached out to Mayhem's Cliff Albert when guests at their shop began asking about pinball in the Lehigh Valley.
An opportunity to meet worked out, and Albert and Mayhem Amusements Arcade owner and operator Alex Last and operator Zak Haffner were on board.
“It just seemed like the perfect opportunity to find some kind of partnership,” Vasconez said.
Last said he had been lending out some of his machines to other locations in Easton, and once Vasconez and Matiss joined his league, it was only a matter of time before they decided that Mystery Box Games was the perfect spot to drop a few pinball machines.
Now, Mystery Box will host their own special featured events on Mondays, with a little help and equipment from their friends at Mayhem.
“They're called Mayhem Mondays, and we're going to be running them here now. So we have leagues, and then we have one off tournament. For only five bucks, you get to come and play whatever tournament format that you can play, and it's all [International Flipper Pinball Association] ranked,” Albert said.
The love of the games
The love of the game varies, with Albert citing his time touring with bands and experience playing pinball across the country, and Last stating it was just a standard part of kids’ parties at bowling alleys and pool halls.
Matiss said when he was a kid, he would always ask his parents for a few bucks when they were at the bar so he could play pinball.
“And then we opened up this space, which is meant to be an alternative to a bar scene and give people some sense of nightlife without going to a club or anything," Matiss said.
“And pinball is just always flashing lights, the entertainment value out of it all. And then when we joined the league and saw the potential to really bring a community together… it's awesome to see this many people show up to play games."
Vasconez said she’s always enjoyed playing pinball, even if she isn’t a pro just yet.
“I played it, but I’m awful at it, but I know that it’s like something that not only will I get better at it, but I also know that it brings a lot of people a lot of joy,” Vasconez said
With over two dozen people signing up for Monday’s competition, it seems like Mystery and Mayhem have struck gold.
'Its own little world'
And there’s a machine for nearly every taste: Monday’s offerings included The Avengers, Dr. No, Godzilla, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Jurassic Park.
The crew mentioned that each machine’s aesthetic and layout produce a slightly different dynamic: Jurassic Park has the player navigate the terrifying dinosaur island while rescuing those under attack, for example.
“Each machine has its own rules and its own little world."Cliff Albert
But each machine also has an internet connection, which allows for updates and changes to the gaming system, including special shots, bonuses, and more. You could easily play one game, come back a few weeks later, and enjoy a completely different experience.
Albert said his team aims to provide machines sales and rentals to match their host: they once had a Harley Davidson machine that went to a dealership; a rock and roll-themed machine seemed to fit well with Wallenpaupack Brewing Company.
“Each machine has its own rules and its own little world,” Albert said.
“And we might say, ‘Hey, this machine, we should put it here if we’re going to run tournaments, because this machine isn’t good for tournaments, or it plays too long, or you can exploit certain shots to just keep hitting that same spot. And it’s no fun, because we try to bring out all skill levels – so we don’t want anything too hard and too crazy or too exploitative to the point where a player like me goes up against a new player and just completely exploits the game.”
Last said it’s a lesson the pair learned from starting their league, and one they’d like to continue with to encourage more players.
“When we started, I still considered myself a novice, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with how good I needed to be to play, It was beginner-friendly. It was very much like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just about playing — this is about handing and having a fun time,” Last said.
Vasconez said their dedicated fans who normally swing by to play some board games and tabletop role-playing games also enjoy pinball, and their connection to their base on Discord allowed Mystery Box to pump up the event and draw a good crowd for the first night.
Belles and Chimes Lehigh Valley's Marissa Weighknecht was at Mystery Box on Monday, enjoying a few rounds on the Jurassic Park machine.
Belles and Chimes LV is just one chapter of a national women’s and nonbinary pinball league which creates a welcoming space for women in the world of gaming.
“So the group formed to kind of make women feel more comfortable playing these games. But I really wanted to start it because t's just it's a scary time to be a woman right now, so I thought this was a cool time to start a place where we could all come together, and people who just aren't comfortable playing in a regular league can come and try it out,” Weighknecht said, adding she could easily imagine hosting a Belles and Chimes tournament or get-together at Mystery Box in the near future.
Even Easton City Councilwoman Crystal Rose even showed up, despite describing herself as a “pinball novice.”
“I think the West Ward really needed a community space like this..."Crystal Rose
“I think the West Ward really needed a community space like this, and to see them thriving and doing well and bringing so many people together on a Monday night, I think it speaks for itself,” Rose said.
Vasconez said league play will go to end of February, then Mayhem Mondays will go into effect, featuring one-off tournaments.
But you can always just swing by to play a round of pinball or test a board game as well.
“You don't have to be amazing at it, it’s just about having fun," Vasconez said. "We'll do our own personal events, but there will whatever Mayhem does, there will be other events, but even aside from events, when we're open, just come and play pinball."
