Another “dip” into downtown Houston and a side trip

So, nothing that my previous Monday (August 30) visit to Little Dipper was such a great time, I decided I’d head back down there this past Friday (September 3) and get in a few more rounds of pinball. This time, all of my play was confined to the three newer machines, skipping The Machine: Bride of Pinbot entirely.

I’m noticing a few more minor issues as I get to know these games better, but all three of the newer games are still very enjoyable in their current state, especially once one familiarizes oneself with the quirks of each respective machine.

I was able to get in some quality scores on Spider-Man and Family Guy. I have yet to crack the actual high score list on Spider-Man at this location. However, I did come rather close on this visit.

Moving on to Wednesday night (September 8). I dropped by Darkhorse Tavern to an unfortunately out-of-whack Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man; specifically, one of the bumper caps was partially detached and the table was horribly off-level (leaning to the left if I remember correctly). I played the one credit that someone was generous enough to leave behind. This time I chose not to get a scoreboard shot like I usually do, given the game’s condition.

So with that dissatisfying experience behind me, I thought I would investigate another point on Pinball Map that had not been updated in a while: Pitch 25 on the eastern end of downtown (a.k.a. EaDo) which supposedly had a World Cup Soccer. The machine was still there. As for condition, it was another story…

I counted two stuck balls that had never been removed from the playfield, one of which was stuck in place of one of the GOAL rollover targets and thus acting as an obstacle (!). So, after one game I left, and even that one game was quite unsatisfying. I wasn’t even able to leave feedback for the operator as none of the games had an operator identification sticker on them as they usually do. Whoever owns and operates this pinball, I hope they read machine condition notes on Pinball Map, because that’s where clued pinball players check before they decide where to go play. (Someone has to be the guinea pig, unfortunately, and sometimes that’s me.)

(Yes, I know I’m a bit behind and this is from last month. I will have more current updates shortly.)

September 3 Little Dipper:

September 8: