Pinball in Maryland

Spinners Pinball Arcade in Frederick, MD is worth the visit any day of the week to play all the games you want on freeplay for $15 or less. Spinners is a classic arcade with a mission: to provide the arcade experience to people with different abilities through its nonprofit, Pinball EDU. You’ll find pinball games from each era with electromechanical machines, Solid State System 9 and System 11, and some current favorites – plus an enthusiastic gaggle of pinheads around who would be happy to chat about these distinctions any time! There are also arcade games, air hockey, Dance Dance Revolution, skeeball, foosball, and TVs set up with gaming systems from Atari to Nintendo. Check their website for current events and specials. Beer, cider, and seltzers are available and you are welcome to bring in food. Spinners also hosts pinball tournaments, skeeball leagues and classes to learn restoration and repair of coin-operated games at this arcade and education center. 

Have you ever had a crush on a grocery store? You might develop one at MOM's Organic Market in College Park, MD. Sure, it is a fresh fruit and veggie store with an in-store build-your-bowl-to-order restaurant consisting exclusively of vegan options. But behind a partition on the left wall of the market, a paradise of silver balls, flippers, and blinking lights awaits you. A local destination for pinheads, this lounge has free coffee and around 30 quarter-play pinball machines. Do try the cooked edible insects like mealworms and crickets while you’re in the grocery store, won’t you?

Why is the best arcade for miles around in a crabshack? To double down on classic Maryland nostalgia! At Crabtowne USA in Glen Burnie, MD you can enjoy heaps of steamed and fried crab, shrimp, and the best crabcakes you’ve ever eaten. Wash it down with a cold beer and head into the arcade where you’ll find all of your arcade and pinball favorites from the 80’s and 90’s, from Frogger and Pac-Man to Tekken and Mortal Kombat. Game costs range from 25 to 75 cents and they hold occasional tournaments. You can’t afford to miss Crabtowne!

Holy Frijoles is a pinball bar with Tex-Mex food, margaritas, and a great pinball collection. Holy Frijoles has an excellent and well-maintained pinball collection spanning multiple eras of games from classics like Alien Poker to modern titles like Stern's James Bond 007.

Taking in a concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD? Be sure to stop in to see the music pinball hall of fame arcade with pins like Dolly Parton, Heavy Metal Meltdown, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. The machines get plenty of use and some playfield paint wear, but are maintained and play well.

Peabody Heights Brewery in the Abell neighborhood of Baltimore is a locally owned brewer of excellent, independent craft beers. Their decor proudly represents the site’s roots as home to Terrapin Park from 1914-1944, a wooden stadium that hosted a variety of teams including the Negro American League Baltimore Elite Giants, Federal League Baltimore Terrapins, and minor league Baltimore Orioles. Next to their taproom you’ll find a small arcade with free video games and a pinball lineup including Godzilla, Deadpool, Ghostbusters, Demolition Man, and Swords of Fury.

Baltimore’s newest lineup of new popular pins is at Wico Street Beer Co., a brewery with an arcade theme where you can sample some great ales and lagers over a tall drink of nostalgia. Get ready to blow on a Nintendo cartridge to play Super Mario the original way. Pinball is celebrated here with happy hours on Fridays and Pinball Madness tournaments the first and last Thursdays of the month. There’s also a great lineup of live local music. 

Round1 in Towson, MD at the Towson Town Center mall offers bowling, karaoke, arcade games, billiards, darts, ping pong, and pinball. Round1 originated in Japan back in 1980 and expanded into the US in 2010, so there are Japanese arcade games, crane games with lots of cute stuffed animals, and both Dance Dance Revolution and the Japanese version, Dance Rush Stardom. Pinball includes popular modern Sterns. Round1 also serves pizza and has a full bar. 

The restaurant at Johansson's Dining House in Westminster, MD is a lovely restaurant with something for everyone, from escargot to onion rings, filet mignon to burgers, rockfish to reubens. The adults-only Down Under Sports Bar and Grill attached is known as a dive bar with DJs, dancing, pool tables, and a pinball lineup including games like No Good Gofers, Ghostbusters, and Deadpool.