B
alázsPálfiwasfiveor six
whenhe fell in love for the
first time. “Itwas inahotel
nearBudapest,when I
climbedontoasmall chair
toplaypinball. Itwas loveatfirst sight–
every time I sawapinballmachine, Iwanted
toplay, though Iwasn’talwaysallowed. It’sa
simple joy that’snever leftme.”
Today, Pálfiownsand runsPinball
GalleryBudapest (orPbal), thefirstpinball
museum inHungaryand thebiggest in
Europe. It ishome toaround 170machines
thathe’s collectedover thepastfiveyears.
Visitors can turnupandplay 130of them,
including someof theall-timepinball
classics, aswell as legendaryarcade
games, fromSpace Invaders toPac-Man.
Aboveeachmachine isa little sign telling
you itshistory.
“Every time Iplay, it takesmeback to
mychildhood,”saysPálfi,now42,whoquit
a jobasa fundmanagerbeforehestarted
collectingpinballmachines. “It’s totally
different toavideogame–you’re in the
realworld, andyou’reusingmechanisms
rather than technology. Idon’t see thatasa
retro thing, I see itassomething timeless.”
AfterPálfiboughthisfirstmachine,
1986’sStrangeSciencegame, in2009,he
couldn’t stop. In2010,hespent€30,000
(NOK245,000)buyingabatchof50
machines fromapinballoperator inPoland
–andbeganstruggling tofind room to
househispurchases.The ideaofapublic
space formed,but it tookuntilApril 2013
tofindasuitablespace, abasement right
in thecentreof town inDistrictXIII,not
far from theHungarianparliamentand
the iconicSzéchenyi thermalbaths.After
that, it tookanotheryear togetpermission
from theministry,prepare thespaceand
fix themachines , asmore thanhalfweren’t
workingwhenhegotholdof them.
While it’s fun to simplycomehere for
agameonmachineswith themes such
as IndianaJones, theAddamsFamily
andArabianNights, it’salsoagoodway
toget ahandleonpinball’s surprisingly
colourful history.
Itarguablyall startedwitha lavishparty
in 1777at the royalChâteaudeBagatelle
outsideParis.QueenMarieAntoinette
hadchallengedherbrother-in-law, the
Comted’Artois, to renovate thedilapidated
maisondeplaisance
within threemonths
–with thehelpofmore than800workers,
LouisXVI’sbrothermanaged it in63days,
creatingastunningestatesurroundedby
manicuredgardens.
Thechâteauneeded toopenwithabang,
soaswell ascourtesansand illusionists,
thecounthadanewgamecommissioned,
anarrow inclinedbilliards tableonwhich
playerswouldusecues toshootan ivory
ball towardsfixedpins.Thegamewas
dubbedbagatelle, andbecameahitwith the
Frencharistocracy, eventuallyspreading
andmorphing into
billardJaponais
(Japanesebilliards),which replaced thecue
withacoiledspringandplunger (andhad
very little todowithJapan).
But itwasn’tuntil 1871 thatmodern
pinballwasarguably invented,whenUS-
basedBritish inventorMontagueRedgrave
wasgrantedUSPatent#115,357 forhis
“Improvements inBagatelle”,whichshrank
thegame toa tabletopsize,withmarbles
insteadofballsandsmallmetalpinsas
»
“I don’t seepinball as a retro thing,
I see it as something timeless”
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