Shoot for the high score at this Madison County arcade with over 100 pinball machines

My job takes me to some pretty great places.

Sure, most of them are restaurants – I mean, I know how much we all love a good restaurant.

But I’ve also been to and written about craft breweries, a variety of awesome shops, and places with games, including one where I learned how to throw an ax.

This week my reporting led me to Atomic Pinball Arcade at 102 N. Whitelaw in Wood River.

This. This is why I love my job.

There was no way I was going to be content with just a phone interview with owner Chuck Sanderson.

I needed to go there. My inner child – heck, my adult self – demanded it.

So I did. And friends, it was glorious.

A feast for the senses

Upon entering the main gaming area, I marveled at the perfect rows of colorful pinball machines.

Then, when the power switch was flipped, the machines all came alive as lights flashed and the clicks, bells and music filled the air.

I don’t think I’ve been this giddy in years. (Not since I met Goofy at Disney’s Epcot. In my mid-30s. Giggling like a loon.)

Looking up I noticed multiple printed banners and pinball playfields (the playing surface of a pinball machine) hanging from the ceiling like little canopies.

Spiderman, Darth Vader, Metallica, Elvira (Mistress of the Dark), The Avengers and many other characters looked down at me.

How is such a place even possible?

Well, it didn’t happen overnight.

Getting started

On his website, Sanderson shared a brief history of how his business started.

He played pinball at bowling alleys and bars to help pass the time while his wife worked nights as a nurse.

“Most games are either broken or close to broken, so I decided it was time to buy my own games,” Sanderson shared on the website.

He bought his first game, Hurricane, for $800. Next were Fish Tales and No Good Gophers.

Sanderson learned about shopping for games as well as how to repair and sell them.

In 2007, Sanderson opened CP Pinball in South Roxana.

The 3,000-square-foot arcade housed more than 80 of Sanderson’s pinball machines, as well as videos and other games.

Eventually, the arcade outgrew its home.

Earlier this year came the announcement that CP Pinball would move to a new place, a “new GIANT building with over 100 pinball machines and dozens of other arcade games,” stated an April 21 Facebook post.

And Sanderson was not exaggerating.

A bit of nostalgia and loads of fun

Now in Wood River, Sanderson has 8,000 square feet to play with, and guests will find 110 pinball machines (not counting the 20 or so that are still in storage), a bunch of standing video game kiosks, skee-ball and other games.

This place brought up all kinds of memories for me.

I remember playing skee-ball (a great favorite) and video games at ShowBiz Pizza Place, long before it became Chuck E. Cheese.

Hanging out at Aladdin’s Castle in St. Clair Square in my teens and early 20s.

And that Star Wars pinball machine at New Baden Bowl.

Great times.

As I looked around in one of the smaller game rooms in Sanderson’s new place, a familiar sound reached my ears.

Folks, they have Donkey Kong.

As a little kid, I played Donkey Kong on our Atari 2600. Along with Pac-Man, Space Invaders and numerous other games.

Many of those games can be found at Atomic Pinball Arcade.

Sanderson gave a quick tour of the building, starting with the 800-square-foot basement, which is a work in progress.

He recently acquired multiple new-in-the-box cocktail table arcade games from 1982 that will soon line the walls of the basement and provide some unique seating.

The room currently has a shuffleboard table in the middle of it.

A couple of older pinball machines also are there, including a World War II-era machine.

It doesn’t have flippers.

Sanderson said flippers weren’t a regular feature on pinball machines until the 1950s.

According to Wikipedia, the first flippers appeared in 1947 on a game called “Humpty Dumpty.”

The way the flipperless game works is you launch the ball, like you would on any pinball machine, and it rolls down.

The playfield has multiple pins to direct the ball and targets with different point values. Wherever the ball lands is how many points you get.

Kind of like Plinko from “The Price is Right.”

There’s also a stage area for live bands.

It turns out that Sanderson plays bass guitar in a Rush tribute band. He said a lot of pinball guys are in bands.

He said that eventually there will be live music and assured me that it wouldn’t be too loud or disruptive to game players.

Back upstairs, Sanderson insisted on showing me the men’s restroom.

He wanted to show me the dividers between the urinals, which are actually pinball playfields instead of plain old, boring boards.

It was pretty cool … as far as restrooms go.

The arcade is BYO snacks and beer/soda. Soda and snack vending machines are available on site.

There’s even a small kitchen area for customer use. It has a fridge and everything.

Seating areas are available along some of the walls. Most of the pinball machines are equipped with cup holders too.

So keep your drinks off the tops of the machines. We are not uncivilized.

Off to a great start

Atomic Pinball Arcade opened, with its new name, in its new location Saturday, Aug. 5.

The arcade is only open three days a week, and at the time of the interview, the arcade had only been open four days.

Sanderson said at first the thought of sitting at the door collecting $10 bills (per entry) didn’t strike him as a great time.

But with the turnout in that short time, he changed his tune a bit. He said the arcade already brought in what it took three months to earn at the previous location.

Not that it’s all about the money, nice as that is.

He also has a full-time day job. The arcade is a way to share his collection and enthusiasm for pinball with others.

Sanderson is a member of the International Flipper Pinball Association and is currently ranked 296th in the world. He’s also the fourth best player in Illinois for the North American Championship Series.

I asked Sanderson the cliché question: Do you have a favorite game(s)?

His reply was that he is the Hugh Hefner of pinball.

His preference changes from one day to the next, and as much as he enjoys the classic games, he also enjoys getting to know the new ones.

“The newest games are the funnest,” Sanderson said, immediately questioning whether or not “funnest” is a word.

He said, “Every pinball machine tells a story,” and the new games tell new stories.

About Atomic Pinball Arcade

Atomic Pinball Arcade is located at 102 N. Whitelaw in Wood River.

Hours are 5-10 p.m. Wednesday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday.

Admission is $10 for an hour of play and $20 for a full night pass on Wednesday and Friday, and $10 an hour, $20 for four hours or $30 for a full day pass on Saturday.

League play starts Wednesday, Sept. 6, according to the arcade’s Facebook page. There will be 10 weeks of play and then playoffs.

For more information, call 618-255-9007 or visit atomicpinballarcade.com or the Facebook page.