Where to Play Pinball in Albuquerque: Bars, Breweries, and Venues with Machines
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Albuquerque's pinball options cluster around the craft beer scene, with multiple breweries and taprooms maintaining small collections across the metro. The largest concentration sits downtown at a live music bar, while Boxing Bear operates two taprooms with machines on opposite sides of the city. An hour north, Santa Fe adds a bowling lounge and a unique kava bar to the mix.
The scene here favors modern Stern releases, with most venues running recent titles alongside occasional classics. Craft beer and New Mexican food pair well with pinball at several spots.
Here's where to find pinball across the Albuquerque area.
| Venue | Area | Machines | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sister | Downtown ABQ | 15 | Bar |
| Boxing Bear Tramway | East Side | 11 | Brewery |
| The Alley | Santa Fe | A few | Entertainment |
| Calavida Cantina | Corrales | A few | Bar |
| Unhinged Brewing | West Side | A few | Brewery |
| Roots and Leaves | Santa Fe | A few | Kava Bar |
| Boxing Bear Firestone | Northeast | A few | Brewery |
| Rio Bravo Brewing | Downtown ABQ | A few | Brewery |
Live music bar and restaurant · Downtown
Sister anchors downtown Albuquerque's pinball scene with 15 machines alongside live music, craft cocktails, and bar bites. The independent venue hosts a rotating calendar of local and national acts in an eclectic, vintage-inspired setting. The collection spans modern releases like Dungeons & Dragons and JAWS alongside classics like Centaur and Lord of the Rings.
Brewery taproom · East Side
Boxing Bear Brewing Co. Bridges on Tramway offers the largest brewery pinball collection in Albuquerque with 11 machines at their east-side taproom. The rotating selection of house-brewed beers complements a diverse pinball roster including Monster Bash, Dungeons & Dragons, Iron Maiden, and The Mandalorian.
Cantina and taproom · Corrales
Calavida Cantina Corrales operates as a brewery-style cantina with craft beers, cocktails, and New Mexican bites in the village of Corrales. The popular outdoor patio and lively atmosphere complement a lineup of 6 modern machines including Dungeons & Dragons, Foo Fighters, and Rush.
Brewery and distillery · West Side
Unhinged Brewing Co combines a brewery and distillery with artisan pizza and 6 pinball machines on the west side. The taproom hosts trivia, bingo, and board-game nights alongside handcrafted lagers, ales, and small-batch spirits. The lineup features recent Star Wars releases, Godzilla, and X-Men.
Brewery taproom · Northeast
Boxing Bear Brewing Co. Firestone Taproom rounds out Boxing Bear's Albuquerque presence with 5 machines at their northeast location. The lively taproom hosts Bearaoke, Bear Bingo, and Pints & Poses alongside the rotating beer selection and a mix of classic and modern pinball.
Craft brewery · Downtown
Rio Bravo Brewing Company offers a secondary seating area with pinball alongside their scratch kitchen and rotating draft list. The spacious downtown taproom includes private parking, large-screen TVs for sports, and a welcoming atmosphere.
Bowling lounge · Santa Fe (Downtown)
The Alley combines bowling, pool, shuffleboard, and darts with 7 pinball machines in downtown Santa Fe. The full-service bar and El Sabor restaurant serve the entertainment hub, with a lineup heavy on rock-themed machines including Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, and Aerosmith.
Kava bar · Santa Fe (Downtown)
Roots and Leaves: Casa de Kava offers a unique non-alcoholic alternative with kava and kratom beverages alongside 5 pinball machines. The 18+ social lounge provides a relaxed, community-focused atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating and a roomy pinball area.
Albuquerque's brewery-heavy pinball scene offers something at every compass point. Sister provides the deepest collection downtown, while the Boxing Bear taprooms anchor east and northeast. Santa Fe adds worthwhile stops for those traveling the hour north.
Colin is the chief pixel pusher at Kineticist. He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version). Since then he's bought, sold and repaired many machines, competed in all kinds of tournaments, and contributes to This Week in Pinball, the New England Pinball League, and Pin-Masters of New England. Previously, Colin spent over a decade working in marketing for agencies and tech startups. He also started and ran a music blog, happy hour website, and wrote a regular craft beer review column for Central Track in Dallas. Once aspired to be an artsy film director.
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