I recall reading the number of the SE being around the 180 mark but perhaps I'm wrong.

Selling those backglassess is kinda bad form IMO, it should be exclusive to the SE.

They're gonna make so many whirl-o-balls there won't be any tank turrets left! Each one that goes out the door, that's 2 GTF's worth of turret parts

When I bought my PF, I really wanted the topper, and I knew they wouldn't sell it separately, so I had to buy a BMF edition to get it.

I don’t disagree. I’m game 130 (I haven’t seen a higher one yet. From the looks of it, they are numbering the signature plate when they finalize the game and it has a serial vs being pre-printed. My 130 number on the apron was barely legible both from the writing and the light/faded looking ink. I had to go over it again with a good pin to get it to look nice and hold vs a the paint on a 87 red firebird that’s been parked outside for 49 years in the desert.

Why this game was even a thought when Skee-Ball, Ice, and I believe even Raw Thrills have much better and cheaper options is beyond me.

They probably made a bunch of extra 3D back glasses, to account for breakage, or someone wanting to upgrade. AP used real glass, not translights, so they would have to account for breakage.

The 3D GTF backglass art IS a translite. The non 3-D version is a real glass backglass.

I dunno that you'd call it a translite. It's a 3d lenticular sheet of plastic. I would assume there's very little breakage..

I think its crazy they stopped all of their pinball games because they just had to release BBQ that no one even remotely was asking for which tanked the company along with the awful management. I dont even want to buy any AP pin now because of how horrible everything turned out

actually they "tanked" the company with GTF
they "cooked" the company with bbq
they didn't "roll the dice" with cuphead and that would have been their best seller

My son and I are visiting their still functioning factory on Monday to pick up some stuff.

We're excited to see how things are going!

And we are all eager to read your glowing review of their fantastic operation!

I will be curious about the PizzaTime theater animatronics deal. Maybe it's setup in their lunch room? 8-)

Mitesh got a haircut! He looks happy! There were at least 3 people working! Excited for what's next!

Stopped by the factory today. Saw some really cool stuff! Ron showed us their woodworking area where they are building Whirl-o-ball machines. They sound very excited about the future of that one! He said they spoke to Sega about possibly giving it a Sonic theme and some ideas they had if they ever make that happen.

Also got to look around the pinball area. Lots of machines on the line and plenty being tested. They said their goal is to have a new machine ready for TPF. My son said he caught a few glimpses of what could potentially be two new unlicensed games. He saw the titles and everything, but I'm not disclosing anything.

Also saw two prototype machines that aren't pinball, so they are definitely branching out! Very excited for them and everything they are building.

Oh, and Mitesh looked great! Not sure if he got a haircut recently, but he looked well.

Their goal was to have a new machine ready for TPF this year; then Northwestern;
then Expo, and nothing ever materialized.

Who is developing said machines for them? That would be my question. I’ll believe it when I see it.

I'm actually going back tomorrow because the knocker kit I got for my Oktoberfest is faulty. I'll ask Mitesh who is developing their new game. Also forgot to ask about the Rock-a-Fire Explosion. Wouldn't mind getting an update on that one!

I don't know about new builds, but I can tell you that the parts department is alive and well. One of the treads on my new GTF SE was defective, as well as one tank spotlight fixture. I wrote to AP, and a couple of days later Ben Zink traded emails with me to narrow down the issue. He then sent me a new tread and new spotlight. The new tread was defective too, so I wrote him again. A couple of hours later, he wrote to say that they had tested another one for me, and found it was defective too, so he had the parts department test yet another, and sent me a video of it working. Minutes later, I got notice it had shipped. Nice guy and great service, which gives me some confidence in AP.

So glad I pulled the trigger on GTF. I really think it's one of the best looking and playing games out there. I wish they could finish cleaning up the code, and maybe add some more depth to it, but it's still a blast. The light/sound show on MB is awesome.

GTF is easily AP’s best game IMO . Congrats !

Totally agree, Oktoberfest is a close second but gtf is bolted to my floor

Haven't talked to Ben yet, but so far every single person I've talked to at AP, either past or present, has genuinely wanted to help me and gives me great service. And the people behind the scenes seem to have/had a real passion for making a great game. It just seems to be the managerial aspect where the struggles happen.

The rumor I've heard is that Ferret is still working on the code for another update in the future; we'll see if that ever materializes, but I hope it does.

I own and love my GTF, it was my first pin I ever bought, but I think I might like Oktoberfest even more. Haven't updated in a while but the Oktoberfest we put in my office is still getting roughly 200 plays per week, everyone is loving it, and we're running a split flipper tournament next month.

This whole "Cuphead Cancellation" thing had me thinking of a few different scenarios:

1.) They incorporated the dice mech without getting permission from Josh and it caused problems.
2.) They were nearing the end of the terms of the licensing agreement and either didn't want to pay to renew it or it simply wasn't an option because no games had been sold during the duration of said agreement.
3.) They got hit with some kind of legal action for not holding up their end of a contract to manufacture and sell the game.
4.) The license holders signed a new agreement after seeing nothing from AP and it blocks this game from seeing the light of day.

I may be way off base on a few or all of these, obviously. I'm not trying to assume anything or speak ill, just trying to make sense of this whole thing.

Probably one of those…

My hope is that the license holder is shopping the game to someone else. I heard that AP owns the playfield design and is likely going to re theme it entirely. Thats a shame because it seemed like the theme was perfect for what they created.

I have to admit that this kind of follow up and customer service is a complete 180 compared to what has transpired in the last few years. It's a step in a direction that shows there is some effort is being put forth. Maybe the rebrand and re-orginzation is the enema this company needed?

I really cannot see this as anything more than a put up or shut up type deal here.

My Oktoberfest is a keeper, I just wish I could actually play a GTF that properly works. All 3 I have played have all been not working correctly in one way or another.

I think mine is finally in a "fully working" state (fingers crossed), but it's taken a lot of effort. Things I've done:

-Updated the code to the version that came out a few months ago
-Replaced the power supply that was causing incorrect lights to light up
-Reduced power to the lab vuk that was way too high, causing sensor issues in the ball lock area
-Turned on virtual locks
-Installed two separate tank target brackets, one below the playfield and one behind the targets
-Had to tighten the coin door interlock switch, it's very loose and sometimes comes undone just reaching into the coin door for the USB
-Bought the pinballs that AP sells, because most others get magnetized really quickly, and magnetized balls cause lots of weird issues in AP games

I'm betting most places on-site have issues with at least one of these things. It's really a great game when it's working.

I'm sure I've posted this before, but at the 2024 Chicago Expo, I told the guys from AP that I liked their games, but every single one I played had issues. At the 2025 Expo, they had one of each set up (exc. Oktoberfest). Most had some issues, tho nothing major. But it was the kind of stuff they should have taken care of, if they were trying to sell games. The people left at AP are probably just overwhelmed.

I will say that my GTF arrived with only the 2 issues I mentioned above -- one tank tread had a loose connection and was out of color synch, and one tank spotlight needed to be replaced. (Of course, there are still programming issues.) That's pretty good for a pinball machine.

My treads have a few lights out; did you get replacement LEDs that are available in the shop somewhere, or should I message support? Didn't see them when I looked recently, but their shop isn't great about searching.

I reached out to support, the T molding they sent me was just a little too short, left a 2 inch gap at the bottom - I just slid out the LED strip from the molding on my tank and slid in the new one. Was pretty easy.

Reach out to them. Mine was under warranty, so no charge. But the invoice showed it was only about $20.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Screenshot_20251209_015223_Gallery (resized).jpg

Merry Christmas to everyone here! Including those of you who down vote me for no reason or are actively cheering for AP's demise.

I will choose to see the bright side of everything pinball. Here's to a great 2026!

I couldn't bring myself to downvote you just to be an ass. It was Christmas!

I have to admit, this thread would be a lot more boring without your optimism.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FfE3sVddt/

The FIRST "big announcement" needs to be that American Pinball has finally paid all the employees and contractors they stiffed for payment. Then they can talk about new pins.

Several podcasters seem to have inside information about a new AP pin that is indeed coming before TPF, so by March or so. AP will not be waiting until Expo this year is what I’m now hearing.

I have heard rumors of a contract build for a company that has maybe worked with them before, but anyone’s guess is as good as mine.

What I don’t understand is why AP hasn’t renewed their trademarks as they are still listed as “dead”. Guess we shall see.

THIS!!!

Deluxe topper?

Me too and I haven’t ever played one.

Really good game, but a couple of the shots are really tight.

“Barry O’s Evade Your Creditors Challenge” could thread that needle.

Yeah, that and the milk can shot geometry are the things that held this game back for me. The key lane is a tad clunky but at least the pops are awesome to interact with. I kinda wish the standups were angled more as well. I really dug everything else in this game though. I'm picking up a GTF SE on Sunday.

Adjustable and able to dial in through posts or nerfing the rule set in settings or not so much?

I'm at a loss as to how I could make any adjustments on Houdini to loosen up the shots but I'd love to hear any answers.

I was asking. I got nothing. Just like the theme and I like tough tables because I’m not great and owning hard tables has forced me to get better.

For the price, it's loaded. There's a lot of fun modes in the game. Probably not the best pin to route, but for home - it's fine.

Plenty of games have tight shots, there's one that comes to mind on the right side of the GB I owned that drove me nuts.

I've owned a Houdini just about since it came out, far longer than any of my other pins. It's a nice change of pace from a Stern. Not knocking the Stern's (I have 7 of them), but they all seem to have that 'Stern feel', if you know what I mean. Houdini is a nice change of pace. The 'tight' shot on the right I can nail it a very high percentage of the time, I don't even think about it. The milk can is a bit tougher, but I can make - just not as often.

There are plenty of little things you can do to dial in Houdini - I think I, and others detailed all of them in the owner's thread when I first got mine when it was brand new. It's still challenging but not as bad as it's reputation would indicate IMO. I had a few 25+ minute games on mine the other day, still love it and it's never leaving as long as I'm still around.

Went to play a Houdini on location today at Mom’s Organic Market in Abington, Pa. It’s the only one anywhere near me. All the other machines were in good condition but the Houdini looked beat.

The milk crate was shooting the ball off the middle of the back of the playfield. A ball was trapped behind the wire form funnel. The crate was propped open. The screen on the playfield above the stage was off and the sound was tuned all the way down. It was hard to gauge what the machine would be like if it was complete.

My two cents on houdini :

1. Subwoofer (external) is a must! It brings up the lower frequency of that amazing music. You will never get more sound out of any game. Older houdinis don't have a cabinet subwoofer.

2. Lower you Flipperbats a little bit and milk can shot can be repeated all day long and gets easy.

3. Learn how to shoot the "tight" shot for the trunk multiball from the right flipper. It is a very early shot but if you know how, it is easy to make without any risk, even when you miss.

4. Get all upgrades like EOS switches, new power supply and the capacitor kit. And MOST important, get fresh flipper mechanics. This game is a lot in multiball modes (with fascinating effects from the three hidden magnets) and the mechanics getting a lot of use.

5. Get never ever to the wizardmode... The code is loaded... OMG, there are modes everywhere and most of the best players I know will never see the wizardmode in years. So don't be shy, make this game a bit easier with the presets you can choose.

Houdini is not to compare with any other game. It is absolutely unique! Not a lot of flow, but the orbits are magical! So if you search for a flowing game... Walk on. It is a game that needs precision in every second.
I love mine, especially for the price of a pro.

Any "realistic" 2026 speculation for American? Seems like possibility of getting announcements in the near future. Thoughts on what the 2026 game could entail? Thinking original IP? Licensed theme? Contract build for someone else? Ultimate question, as a consumer what would you have to see for you to purchase a game in 2026 from American?