Queen Victoria Hotel

Note: The current machine at the Queen Vic is an Attack From Mars.  Another classic that has been hard to come by recently.


The Queen Victoria Hotel is located at 167 Enmore rd.  They have an Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure and a Scared Stiff machine.

It was as pleasant suprise to find the original Indy machine after our disappointment with the update (read all about that here), a shame though to find that the Scared Stiff machine was turned off.  Will have to update after next visit to report if it gets replaced or fixed, till then I'll get my fill of saucy Elvira quotes at Bill & Toni's.

The QVH has an impressive TAB, pool tables, courtyards and a bistro.  I've never eaten here though , or been upstairs.  In fact I've only headed in here on a handfull of prior occassions, usually before a show at the Enmore theatre.  It's not a bad pub though and worth a stop in on your next Newtown pinball odyssey.

Indiana Jones is a bit of a classic machine with plenty going on.  If you haven't played it before head to the QVH and give it a go.  Click here for a look at it in action.



The Warren View Hotel

The Warren View Hotel is located at 2 Stanmore rd, Enmore (cnr of Stanmore and Enmore rd).  They have two pinball machines - A Red and Ted's Road Show  ($2 for 5 balls) and a Monster Bash ($3 or $5 for 2 credits - 5 balls)

Update: The Warren View now has Theatre of Magic, The Avengers (Hulk LE) and Spider-man machines

We arrived at the end of the night, not realising the Warren View had a midnight curfew, so only got a quick go on each.  But they are both great machines.

Road Show is fairly distinctive for its two creepy heads and its tendency to shake like a bulldozer during play.  I've only played this briefly once before and, as stated, only got a quick go this visit. There is plenty going on, seems to have a fairly deep rule set, is in good condition and I will be coming back to have a proper go when I get the chance.

My time will be split though, as Monster Bash is also a great machine that I look forward to spending more time with. I won't go into details about the machine as I only got one play through, and had had a few beers by this point, but it seemed simple with a lot going on.  Perhaps I'll peruse this tutorial video before i return and learn the rules to get the most out of it.  After all it is $3 a go, which, along with Medieval Madness at the Landsdowne makes it the most expensive Pinny in town

On the positive side I felt that it was worth the little extra money, or at least I'd be willing to pay the same again for another go.  On the negative this just made it all the more frustrating that the staff, or at least the security staff, seemed to not understand.  Last drinks were called and then we were asked to move on, but we were in the middle of a game of Monster Bash.  We managed to hold out till we were done but with the security asking us to leave every couple of minutes, clapping to get our attention while we were mid-ball it was all very distracting and ruined a great little game.

The Warren View also has two pool tables, a Big Buck hunter and a 2012 Goldeen Tee machine.  But I wouldnt bother sinking any money into them any later than about 11:45pm or you may not get your moneys worth.

Anyway, a bit of a shame that the closing time ruined the experience but I'll go back to try these two great machines again... I'll just start earlier in the day next time.

The Golden Barley Hotel

The Golden Barley Hotel is located at 167 Edgeware rd Enmore. They have a Grand Prix machine and an Indiana Jones (2008) machine.  Both are 3 ball and $1 a credit or $2 for 3 credits.

UPDATE:  The Indiana Jones machine has been replaced with an Addams Family machine.  As you can tell from my opinion of the Indy machine below, this is a good thing. It is also $2 for 3 credits.



So, lets start with the machines.  I'd been curious about the new Indiana Jones machine for a while.  The original (Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure) is something of a classic so maybe expectations were a little high but this latest Indy pinny, much like the latest movie instalment, dissapoints.

The four movies seem to have inspired four things to do.  Near field left there is a scoop representing The Last Crusade, to the right of that is another scoop, this one needs to be opened by hitting it first, representing the Temple Of Doom. Straight up the middle is the Ark from Raiders with a magnet in front to mess with the ball and to the right of that is the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull ramp. there are two orbits and a closed off section that requires you to hit the pinball into some captive balls to spell MAP for bonus multiplier. And that seems to be about it. 

The highlight would be the 8 ball multiball. triggering the Ark shot opens the Ark and drops balls onto the playfield, which is cool the first time it happens, but 8 balls just feels a bit redundant, overcompensating perhaps? This and other multiballs seem to just require you to "hit flashing shots" and from what I could tell, every shot was flashing.

I think another reason this didn't play well for me was the waiting.  As an Indiana Jones machine it seemed packed with sound bites from the various movies, but in a loud pub, the sound not up too high, these were basically inaudible which meant waiting for the ball to eject for an inordinately long time till the sound bite I couldn't hear had run through.  I'd give the benefit of the doubt and say this would probably be much more enjoyable if it could be heard. 

So, in summary, four things to achieve, each one triggers a multiball that requires you to hit everything.  Rinse and repeat. Its just a bit boring.

Oh, one more thing.  The ball got stuck going round the orbit twice during my play through of this machine.  It took a tilt to dislodge it.  I don't know if this is becuase the machine isnt set at a high enough angle or just a little quirk of this machines design but it was one more mark against it.

Anyway, before I go on to the pleasant suprise that is Grand prix I might just cover the Golden Barley itself. Instant points when we found out it was $10 for jugs of Coopers all Saturday.  The Barley is a big pub, though I've rarely set foot outside of the front bar.  There is a bistro out the back as well as a beer garden that I've heard good things about.  Along with the Pinnies in the front bar theres a juke box and two pool tables.  There's also a TAB and plenty of screens showing various sporting events depending on the season.  Check out whats going on each day of the week here.

Now, onto Grand Prix.  I'd played this briefly once before as there is one at the Timezone near the Hoyts on George st. That one requires you to get a Timezone rechargable card and, as seems the norm in for pinball machines in arcades, was in pretty average condition. I had enjoyed it though and a shiny, fully working machine like the one at the Barley was fantastic.

The track around the outside of the playfield is a great touch. The ball does a few laps before ejecting it into the play field and during multiball a ball does laps, keeping the tension up and acting as a ball save, ejecting onto the playfield once you drain the ones in play.

The shots are all relatively simple but the game flows quickly and theres something about it that is just fun, especially the multiball with its cheesy 90's rock song and ball flying around the outside of the playfield.

All in all the Barley is a great bet and I think I'll be here drinking $10 jugs of Coopers and playing a new favourite machine quite often in the future.

Kellys On King

Kellys on King is located at 285 King st, Newtown. Upstairs it has a Tales From The Crypt machine .



Kellys is an Irish pub so that means Guinness... though I was quite disappointed it was served in a plastic glass, though this may of been a Saturday night thing. I'm sure I've had a pint in a glass here in the past. 

Anyway, along with the pinny there are also two pool tables, a Big Buck Hunter machine and a juke box, all upstairs.  Downstairs there are plenty of monitors for the footy and also a TAB.  They have a decent pub grub menu with the sort of fare you'd expect from an Irish pub.



The Pinball machine is in good nick, its $2 a go for 5 balls.  Its been a long time since I've played tales from the Crypt and I didn't remember much about it.  There's plenty going on and multiball isn't too hard to come by and neither is the "Axe-tra Ball" (I do love a bad pun), but those ramps are quite steep and can be deadly.  Over all it's a good machine that seems to have a fairly easy entry level but there are plenty of different modes and some tricky shots that feels like it would reward some more time spent with it.

I plan to come back, probably during the day (there was a bit of glare on the glass that Ill give the benefit of the doubt to and blame on Saturday night lighting) and have a guinness (hopefully in a glass this time) and a few more rounds with Tales From The Crypt. 

Being in the middle of Newtown, Kellys is pretty easy to recommend for a quick stop in, perhaps next time your looking to kill 20 minutes before the movie starts.

The Clare Hotel

Update - The Clare is now "The Old Clare Hotel"  and they don't want pinball playing scum in there messing up their funky fresh new look. 
Actually, I have no idea if they have a pinball machine in there.  While I highly doubt it, I haven't peeked inside since the renovations, but click through to their website and I think you get the idea.
Another one bites the dust

The Clare is located at 20 Broadway, Ultimo.  Just a quick walk down from the Bus terminal near Central.

UPDATE: There is now also a The Champion Pub machine at this venue.


They have a good history of having Pinball machines at this location and currently there are two -  Austin Powers and The Getaway: High Speed II.  They are both 5 ball machines at $2 a credit.

The Clare is notable for its old lounge chairs and lamps style seating arrangement.  Not a bad place to sit around on an afternoon and drink a few beers.  The proximity of the UTS means a fairly young crowd most of the time.  Theres also a pool table.  But on to the machines.

I'd seen and played Getaway at a few places around town over the years and this one seemed like it was in good condition.  Don't take my word for it though as all my coins went into Austin Powers as I had not had a go of it before.

Again, it's in good condition and it seems like a fairly forgiving machine.  Looking  at the reviews on ipdb.org a lot of them are pretty negative, but most seem to centre around technical issues with the machine.  This machine seems in 100% working order though so a lot of these can be ignored.

The Austin Powers schtick started to wear a bit thin by the third movie but enough time has passed (for me at least) that I didnt mind the sound bites, some even raised a smile.  If you still feel the need to punch people in the head who ask you "Do you feel horny, baby?" then I'd steer clear of this machine.  Just play The Getaway instead.

I did notice that the "Fat Bastard" multiball had a very familiar dot matrix graphic to start it off.  It shares a toilet theme with South Park...

Overall I enjoyed Austin Powers (and The Getaway is worth a play as well) and The Clare is definitely worth a stop in on your next Pinball and/or pub crawl. 

Hotel William

UPDATE:  No Gunners, No Fish Tales, No POTC - Currently the William has a Tron Legacy machine and a Terminator 2: Judgement Day .



The Pirates machine is $2 a credit or $3 for 2 and is 5 ball.  Fish Tales is $1 a go or $2 for 3 credits and is 3 ball.

Fish Tales is in pretty good condition. It's a good machine but can be pretty unforgiving. Miss a shot and there's a good chance the ball will roll back straight down the center.  The extra ball shot seems pretty hard to hit, enough so that I wondered if it was actually working or not.  Overall it is a fun, though challenging machine.

Pirates is a machine I was quite skeptical about at first but I've come to love it.  It's easy enough to get a good go at, lining up multiple multi balls is a good strategy, but it's deep enough that there's always another target to go for - I'm yet to kill Davy Jones for example.

The Pirates of the Caribbean machine seems to have become quite popular.  I've seen a few around lately (including one around the corner from The William at Bill and Toni's) and this isn't a bad thing as it's a reliably fun game.  The one here has a couple of issues that might take a little to get used to, but are also easy to exploit once you know how. 

The table seems to have a lean. A ball rolling back towards the flipper that may seem like its going between them will veer to the left flipper.  This can be a blessing, though that ball you thought was going to hit the right flipper that veers off and drops between the flippers can be frustrating.  The saving grace is the very very lenient tilt setting.  You can drag the machine about a foot either way before the tilt kicks in.

Another annoying quirk is the kick out of the left orbit onto the upper table doesn't always register.  The machine will kick it out when it does a ball search after a period of time, which can be a good chance to have a sip of beer, but it can break up the game.  Again though, this can be used to your advantage.  Once multiball is lit if you can flip a ball round the left orbit you can continue your multiball knowing you have a ball safely locked away till you lose the rest.

At any rate, these two machines make this pub well worth a visit.  Read on for the old review when the Guns and Roses machine was the only option here...

The Victoria Hotel

The Vic is located at 176A Young st Annandale.

UPDATE: The CSI machine has been replaced with an AC/DC machine (not sure which version).  If anyone knows where the CSI machine has been moved to please comment.

They have a CSI pinball machine.  Its 3 ball, $2 a credit or 2 credits for $3.

The Pub has a bistro, a TAB, trivia nights and, well, check the website and see for yourself.

The CSI machine is in good condition and is, so far, the only one I've seen in Sydney.  It's pretty harsh though and I was left wishing it was a 5 ball machine so I could get a bit more going on.  Thats not to say its a bad machine, on the contrary, its just that it's more for the pinball regular than the first timer. 

It has a couple of cool features.  Lock two balls in the skull and they pop out his eyes to start the Skull Multiball. 

The centrifuge spins the ball around and after a few times delivers another multiball, just be carefull it doesnt drop it straight down the centre once it stops spinning.I lost more than a few balls this way.

Hit the microscope shot and start collecting evidence to get the third multiball.  Again, be careful of the microscope shot, sometimes it throws the ball straight back between the flippers.

So if your up for the challenge, and a few cheeky beers, the Vic is a good bet.

The Lewisham hotel

Update: The Lewisham, now trying to be known as "The Louis Hotel", (and I hope that doesn't take off) no longer has a pinball machine, or anyone who can pour a decent beer.

The Lewisham Hotel is located 794 Parramatta rd Lewisham

They currently have a Pirates of the Caribbean pinball machine.  Its 3 balls at $1 a credit or $2 for 3.

Note: There is now Spider-Man machine here - currently in good working order.

Its in good condition though did seem to have a sensor stuck at the time of playing causing it to rack up a few extra points and replay part of a sound bite.  Hopefully this will be fixed soon.  Theres also a Big Buck Hunter machine.

The venue itself is quite large.  There's a pool table out the back in the larger beer garden, and it's also the home to the Sydney Livehouse. There are usually bands on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Check the link to see who's playing. You can also find them on Facebook.

Theres a cheap and cheerful bistro with the usual Pub Grub and all in all its not a bad little place to come and have a game of pinball and see a live band.

The Newington Inn

The Newington Inn is located at 292 Stanmore Road, Petersham.

 It has a South Park pinball machine.  Its in good nick and for 3 balls it's $2 a go or $3 for 2 credits.

Its a good litle pub with plenty to recommend it.  Along with the Pinny there are 2 Pool tables (at $3 a go), an "Extreme Hunting" machine, an 80's retro arcade emulator and a jukebox..

They have Fox Sports if you looking to watch the game in between multiballs and theres a TAB on hand if your partial to a flutter.

I havent' eaten there but they have cook-your-own steaks along with the usual pub grub. 

 They also have a karaoke night. I should of paid more attention to which night so i would know when to avoid the place.

All in all it's pretty easy to recommend.  South Park is a decent, pretty forgiving machine and if you're in the area stop in for a beer a bet and a quick game of pinball.

Bill & Toni's

Note: Last sighting here there was a The Sopranos and a Spider-Man machine

Bill and Toni's cafe is located at 74 Stanley st in Darlinghurst.

Grab a coffee and take your pick of a Pirates of The Caribbean or Family Guy Pinball machine.

They are both $2 a credit, 5 ball machines and in good condition.

Theres a chocolate claw machine next to them and a table top arcade machine.

Pinball In Sydney

This blog is an attempt to keep an up to date record of Pinball machine locations, and machines available in them, in Sydney.

I'll start basic but hopefully I'll build up a little database of reliable locations with updated information when machines are replaced, broken, moved etc.  I'll see how quickly my interest wears thin to how detailed I'll go into regarding the machines themselves and the locations.

To start things off heres a map with currently known Pinball locations and the machines in them.  As I update the blog I hope to link the relevant pages to the map to make things easy.

Enjoy!




View Pinball Locations in a larger map