The University Student Union Games Room hosts a variety of consoles, PC’s and games that students can enjoy in between classes. Throughout November, the room introduced two new additions to play with, pinball machines. Every Tuesday throughout the month, students had the chance to learn about pinball and play on the machines for free, which culminated in the Flippers and Fun Mixer on Nov. 26. The event offered players the chance to compete for high scores along with the opportunity to win raffle prizes.

Students signed in and competed with one another to achieve the high score. The two pinball machines featured in the Games Room were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cactus Canyon. Participants could enter a raffle where snacks, shirts and pinballs were given away as prizes.

The plan to bring the pinball machines for the month was a long process. CSUN Student Affairs Technical Project Manager and pinball player, Benjamin Plotkin, reached out to pinball host and pro Tyler White, in hopes the two could join together and get pinball machines into the Games Room. It was a six-month journey that led to a month-long pilot program, where two machines were temporarily placed in the corner of the Games Room to gauge student interest and explore the possibility of permanent placements.

“We want to get pinball in the hands of the youth, because pinball’s 100 years old. And the only way pinball’s going to survive another 100 years is if young people care about it,” said White.

He continued, explaining his current issues with the current state of the game and why there needs to be a change. “Because, this is something that in my opinion has been gate kept. A lot of rich old white people get to play pinball, because they cost $10,000,” explained White. “I actually got to like the professional level of pinball playing, and I started going to these pro tournaments. And I’d walk into these big rooms, 300-400 people, and it’s like all white dudes in their 50’s and 60’s. And it really bummed me out because I was like damn, there’s no diversity, not many people of color at all whatsoever.”

As White and Plotkin realized the current inaccessibility that stops newcomers from playing, the Flippers and Fun Mixer, along with the weekly meetups, were opportunities to break that barrier to entry and give those interested a chance to play for free.

“Nobody does this because people don’t even know they [can] do it. I’m really trying to make this accessible. Because if people have access to pinball, spoiler alert, they’ll play it. They’ll get into it,” said White. “People can’t get into shit that they don’t have.”

Plotkin shared similar thoughts, expressing their goal of getting pinball into new hands. “We wanted to not only get young people into pinball, but we wanted to diversify who’s playing pinball. Because pinball really is, traditionally, a bunch of old white guys like me, and I want to see more young people of color, more women, more queer people, which there are a lot of,” said Plotkin. “We want to see more, and a college campus is a great way to get people into it and diversify the hobby.”

The overall goal of the event was to share pinball with the younger generation and give new faces the chance to try. White explained that pinball is a social activity, where events and competitions held can bring people from different walks of life together. Without the help and interest of the youth, he believes the game will die out in the coming decades.

“Pinball’s brought me a lot–friends, travel. I’m about to get a job at a pinball company. Pinball’s been super good to me, and I want that for everybody,” said White.

Art major Kameron Hamilton, explained that he’s played pinball on and off growing up, but noted that he feels lucky to know about it, as many others have no idea it exists.

“I’m really enjoying it. I’m really liking how these people who have played for so long are really trying to push this onto the newer generation. Pinball is something really unique, and it’s something really old, that is continuously being brought back,” said Hamilton. “And that’s something I really enjoy, just people that are passionate in something as old as [pinball]. Because it brings something new to kids, or even just generations that never even experienced it… This event overall has been really nice, trying to introduce that to people like us.”

The event had a survey where attendees were urged to share their interest in the machines becoming permanent additions to the Games Room, which White and Plotkin are hoping for.

“Even if it doesn’t hang around, Tyler and I are both very grateful that we had this opportunity to put this in front of so many people, and hopefully get the kids hooked on something that has its own unique charms different from console and PC gaming,” said Plotkin.

The machines will be removed at the end of the month, but those who want them to stay indefinitely should voice their opinion to the USU Games Room. Without student input, these machines may never return to campus, losing the chance to spark interest in a whole new generation of players.

To find more upcoming events in the Games Room, click here. Their Instagram page can be found here.