For fuck sakes

It’s like a combo of spooky show games and spooky reverse fang club. I like the idea, but think structure kind of weird. If your hardcore enough for this membership your probably aware enough to not need to use it. Seems like these would be last to be made, so would have to wait longer.

Nope. We run 50% our orders, 50% Distro each week. So no, you won't be last...

But would you be after the people who ordered direct before it sold out?

You can order a game the minute it drops if you want it. The whole reason for the club is you won't get left out, not the sequence it ships in. This component of the club is basically an insurance policy. If you want it earlier, order right away.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong but basically if they announce a game at 500 units and it sells out within 7 days... members get 7 more days to up the limited number which goes against the whole reason the game sold out in the first place?

Games sell out because they are good? No one is being mislead here, they are stating exactly how it works ahead of time, so you can't assume it will be 500 and use that as a reason for buying.

While I'm sure that pinside members are going to react negatively...

It is arguable that the best time in the history of pinball is TODAY. We have multiple manufacturers making amazing, interesting machines.

I have my concerns about the serviceability-reliability of Barrels of Fun pinballs, but MORE PINBALL MACHINES especially as good as Barrels of Fun pinballs play is an unqualified win for the hobby.

Before you react negatively, remember... in 40 years, when we have to cannibalize these pinballs to use two machines to get one working, the extra production of rare machines is going to keep a lot of pinballs working.

Pinball 'flipping' for profit doesn't interest me, other than keeping prices high enough that it's worth it to keep pinballs running. I don't care about your collectability. I care about the pinball hobby as a whole, and this is good news.

Ya it’s an odd structure, reminds me of spooky unlimited show games. We won’t really know the edition size. People can pretend it doesn’t matter, but it has a massive impact on long term value. I guess barrels could transparently say edition run is 500 plus we have 200 members that have option to buy (but I doubt they disclose). I have seen interviews where David talks about how he understands the collectible nature of the hobby and that they don’t do show games. A number means a number. This runs contrary to that.

This really rubs me the wrong way. If you say a game is limited and is a 500 unit run, then that should be it. This trend of "only 999 units, except the extra 150 we made for shows (which weren't even at a show)" is not great for collectors. Pitching it as a benefit is irritating.

I'm fine if Barrels doesn't want to limit the production on popular games, just say it's an unlimited run.

Meh, you're collector mindset is the problem here. "oh no the value of my limited item" it's a game that is meant to be enjoyed, not a speculative asset purchase.

No, Barrels trying to pretend like these are collectors items is the problem here. Why not just say it's an unlimited run? Why the whole song and dance if they aren't trying to turn it into a collectible?

You should really watch some interviews with their leadership. They themselves say it’s a collectible.

I like this model Brian!! Good work Barrels.

No one is going to be happy. Program exists, the flippers and collectors who prize rarity will be upset. Program doesn't exist, people who miss out on a pin they wanted at a reasonable price will be upset.

Barrels needs to just do what they do and figure it out as they go. I'm sure there's a compromise somewhere that works. Trying to find it is better than shrugging and doing nothing.

Because it's not an unlimited run.

The maximum number of games produced would be (announced run size + total number of people in the barrels program). That's not unlimited; quite the opposite.

Sounds like a great idea to me. More fans get what they want and reduces scalping too.

In his defense, its the first thing they say.
Screenshot_20260616_144235_Firefox.jpg

I think pinball players are happy. This is the compromise that works lol

Yes and probably many fewer because plenty of those people in the program can't resist buying before it sells out

Right, its just a simple way to pump more monies out of people...which they arent forced to do so more power to them.

It will probably function more like insurance for flippers. Hard core BoF collectors will buy the pin before membership is needed. Flippers will now have the ability to see if there is a lot of hype and if it sells out before committing.

imagine explaining this to a normal, rational person

Dude. There aren’t going to be 5,000 members of this Barrels Reserve. Maybe there will be 200.
We might as well call this the Dune Club because it sure suggests to me that when BoF announces a final run of 280 machines to reach 1,000 total, there are going to be more than 1,000 Dunes made.
As a Dune owner, that’s fine by me. Spread the joy! It’s a great game and it’s not a game that’s for an arcade. It’s best at home.
I could see BoF running into the Dune situation again with other machines. Dune was a sleeper hit. Didn’t gain a lot of demand momentum until nearly a year after it was launched. That could definitely happen again.
And certainly this prevents another WMH situation: a sellout of limited run within 72 hours.

More people being able to buy a machine that they want is a good thing

Normal rational people have all sorts of wackadoo subscriptions to things.

And obviously the more old and confused they get....

So why not just leave the ordering open to everyone for 14 days?

I see your position, but I think just the existence of the program allows medium core BoF fans a few days to think about the purchase. Meaning that the flippers will have a small audience for an immediate turnaround sale.

Seems like a neat idea. I'll give it a shot, knowing I can get the next pin even if it sells out instantly.

Plus, I get a collectors item as a bonus. Hope it's not a lanyard pin.

I’ve read this multiple times & I still don’t get it. If club members want to buy a sold out game within 7 days, they’ll up the number & make more? Or do club members just get first dibs and distrib allotments get figured out after the 7 days?

I like the idea. It sure beats the current structure of having to put your name on every distributor's interested list to have a chance at a game. It also gives you a little more time to make a decision. I think Spooky and other boutique manufacturer's should do something similar. Although Spooky kind of gets around this by doing their "show" games which may or may not actually go to a show.

I can't afford $75 a year to be a fan.

LTG : )

Didn’t think about it that way. Definitely would be harder to flip in short term since members have this option. At least some of the potential flippers market won’t exist.

If you have the ability and are willing to make more games after the supposed deadline, why not just do it? Is forking out the amount of the game not enough? This is complete BS

Respect to BoF if this works out for them, but I definitely do not like this. There really is no actual service attached (sure, a discount on swag and tours if you are in a specific location), so in reality it is nothing more than paying an annual free for the potential of buying their products at full price. I might expect this to be something that is included to people that have purchased a game as a perk to proven customers (I guess even how exotic sports car manufacturers work), but this instead just looks like charging people to be on a guest list. As someone who actually has purchased a game from them before and like their products, this doesn't mean I wouldn't buy again, but if it makes it more difficult for me to purchase because someone officially paid to jump the line... it definitely hurts the brand in my eyes. If people need to pay admission to get in to your store, maybe just raise your prices or produce more instead?

If a game “sells out” in less than 7 days, what’s preventing a club member from ordering a dozen games after the deadline?

Want to become an unofficial dealer? Become a club member.

Want a couple games to flip in hopes to get a deal on the one you keep? Become a club member.

Want exclusive extra stock on a limited product? Become a club member.

Why not just keep initial purchases open for 7 days and don't charge for it?

It would be nice if all companies did this and just make a few more if need be based on the results.

What I think we all don't like seeing is a game console for sale on Ebay the day after release for twice the price because of flippers and because you didn't get lucky signing into to 7 pc's trying to buy one.

Example and I'll use winchester.

Old model
525 to be made. Sells out, lots of really mad people. I am still getting calls and emails as of today.

New model
525 to be made, sells out out in 28 hours. The 7 Day window opens for members to place their order. Say 250 members order in that extend 7 days. The final edition size would be 775. Once that member window closes, the number is locked. No more are added.

The goal is simple, we want more people who genuinely want to play and enjoy our games to have a fair shot at getting one, while still keeping the production run defined and transparent.

Barrels Reserve is also intended to create opportunities for events, community experiences, and other cool things we can do together as a group. We are not trying to create confusion. We are trying to solve the problem of people getting shut out immediately.

David

All of this gets more machines made. This is a good program.

Because they explicitly say you can buy 1... certainly critiques to be had (I have none) but this one isn't based in reality

" Memberships are limited to one per person as are any machine offers during the Reserve Period."

"...created to make sure our biggest fans never miss the opportunity to purchase a sold-out Barrels of Fun game directly from us."
Yeah, you can do that without charging $75. If sticking to the hard number of games is clearly not important, you can just make games for everyone that wants one...for another week.

This is gonna get ugly.
How to destroy built up goodwill with 3 early hits?
This.

Future:
Well, we had to cut it short and not make more titles.
Here's your $75 bucks back! ---unlikely---

The shortsighted arrogance. My goodness.

And so the, nothing is actually limited, because we love money, pinball company trend continues.

I can see this backfiring. People who like barrels will buy the membership and then wait when a new game is released. That actually takes away from the number of people that were going to buy day 1 and make the machine a sell out, meaning the machine may not even sell out whereas before, without the membership it would have.

It's pretty simple, you don't limit it to begin with.

The problem is, it's not transparent for the first 525 people who ordered, they have no idea how many will actually be made.

What gets me is the 3.2% credit card fee recovery and the sales tax . . . $83.79, not really $75.00
Ain't no fury, like Pinside fury . . .

Is this some type of Marketing project from a 19 year old at the local Houston area community college?