Rick’s Pinball Resolutions

By Rick Brewster

Written DEC 2025

My pinball life in 2025 was on life support. I barely played competitive pinball, which has been my primary hobby over the last seven years. I also basically didn’t play on location for about half the year. And, you know, the world (specifically in Minneapolis, where Rick lives, — ed.) is kind of on fire, and horrendous things are happening everywhere, and there are a lot bigger theoretical fish to theoretically fry than pinball. Not to get too heavy right off the bat, but I think we’re all over these chaotic, unprecedented, and often pretty fuckin’ shitty, times. Pinball got lost.

I’m thankfully doing well enough, I haven’t lost anything or had anything tragic happen, but it’s simultaneously hard to remember and easy to forget a lot of people absolutely are not. Check on your people. You have more power than you think. And if you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out. To your people, to me, to anyone. You’re not in this solo.

I’m not big on reflection or a New Year’s resolution dude, and never really have been, but there’s a certain magic the new year and what it might bring. So here are our pinball resolutions for 2026.

Resolution are about having fun, being present, and doing what we can.

While we don’t have *that* much control in our lives, I can at least control how I approach and play pinball in 2026.

Bite off something I can chew, right? I guess I can also control finishing the travel piece I promised Doc would be done and sent like a month ago, (editor’s note: no frickin DUH) but hey, shit happens. Without sounding obnoxiously corny and going 2000s Oprah Winfrey or Ellen Degeneres on you all, here are the things I’m gonna do going into next year to make sure pinball stays fun, and doesn’t keep staying weird, or negative, or whatever else not fun it can turn into. Because, the only thing this should be is fun. We’re adults flipping around a metal ball in a cabinet. We’re playing with large toys. If we aren’t having fun, what the fuck are we doing?

Resoltuion: Don’t get pissed when you’re playing.

It’s the low hanging fruit here. Rage tilting, cussing, storming away from games = it’s lame. It does not make people think “wow, that person must be really good, but got unlucky there!” It makes you look like a crybaby jackass. All of the time. Yes, even in tournaments, even in close games, even when you’re one shot away from the wizard mode. Come on. Figure it out. And yes, I’m telling myself that, because I need to tell myself that. If you’re leaving your arcade or brewery or watering hole or movie theater angry after dropping half a roll of quarters in a dirty copy of Fish Tales, maybe take a moment to reassess things. It’s ok to take a break. Find another leisure hobby. We don’t have to rage. There’s enough.

Resolution: Be thankful for whatever pinball is around you.

I’m in the Twin Cities, and I have 3 locations with ~50 games within a half hour of me. That’s insane to step back and think about. I find myself just hating and bagging on them at times. (Some, much more often than others.) Leaning games, dead slings, bad feeds, broken mechs, you name it. Pick your annoyance and I’m sure you can find an example. It’s easy to forget: I have multiple places I can go with 50 games under one roof. And I’m not satisfied? I can’t find a single game to have fun on? What am I doing? No, we don’t need everything perfect, everything to be LE, everything to have a friggin’ $2000 topper to have a good time. Shoot shots, get points, enjoy the experience, and bask in it with your friends. Which is a perfect segue to…

Resolution: Play more with other people.

Pinball, with as much of its single player nature, is not actually a solo endeavor. I’m about as introverted of an ambivert as you can get, and I play solo often. I do enjoy it. Group hangs may not be the best time to gun for Kong GCs. But thinking back on 2025, I can’t really remember any standout solo sessions. But I can remember, very fondly, the days and nights out with my close friends and casual acquaintances. Bar-hopping, game-grinding, beer-guzzling, high-score-chasing, cigar-ripping good times. These are things that gave me the warm fuzzies then, and when thinking back now. Grinding for a GC on Kong solo was fun on whatever day that was, sure, but I already forgot what happened that day and what those feelings were. That’s not true for the days playing with friends. Do more of that.

Me, on a day I could have probably been playing with friends, but was at home watching Mario Kart 64 speedrun videos. And, I kinda love how barely broken my camera is. Sometimes, I ruin good shots. Sometimes, not very good shots turn into accidentally cool compositions.

The Story of Nudge: Went Soft Stayed Soft

I hereby mark the second occasion Nudge went Charmin soft on y’all (even though I’m really more of a Cottonelle household, tbh) and without even talking to Doc I can assure you it’s not likely to happen often going forward. So you get some positivity (insert Oprah pointing meme) and you’re gonna have to deal with it. I have no doubts we’ll be back to our snarky, somewhat grumpy selves in no time, but at least take a second to reflect and make sure you’re not too much of a hater going into 2026. I’ll try. No promises, but I’ll try. Maybe life really is like Seinfeld and no one actually learns and improves, but we can at least try to have some fun and not be grumpy asshats.