kineticist.com

# Kineticist

> Kineticist is the pinball industry's most comprehensive database, hype tracker, and editorial publication. It covers pinball news, game reviews, manufacturer profiles, competitive pinball, and maintains a database of 1,700+ pinball machines from 129 manufacturers.

## Games Database
- [All Pinball Machines](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball): Database of 1,700+ pinball machines with ratings, specs, design team credits, and location data
- [Best Machines](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/best): Community-ranked top pinball machines of all time
- [Best Modern Machines](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/best-modern): Top-rated modern era pinball machines
- [Best Stern Machines](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/best-stern): Top-rated Stern Pinball machines

## Hype Index
- [Hype Index](https://www.kineticist.com/hype): 347 pinball themes ranked daily by community hype, nostalgia, and cultural signals

## News & Editorial
- [News](https://www.kineticist.com/news): Original pinball journalism — news, interviews, tutorials, and analysis
- [This Week in Pinball](https://twip.kineticist.com): Weekly newsletter covering pinball industry news

## Where to Play
- [Locations](https://www.kineticist.com/locations): 8,400+ actively-updated venues with pinball machines worldwide
- [State Guides](https://www.kineticist.com/location-states): State-by-state guides to pinball locations

## People & Industry
- [People](https://www.kineticist.com/people): Profiles of pinball designers, artists, and industry figures
- [Manufacturers](https://www.kineticist.com/manufacturers): Active and historical pinball manufacturers
- [Promoters](https://www.kineticist.com/promoters): Tournament organizers and pinball event promoters
- [Power 100](https://www.kineticist.com/promoters/power-100): Top-ranked pinball promoters

## Mods & Accessories
- [Mods & Toppers](https://www.kineticist.com/mods): Aftermarket pinball modifications and toppers with reviews

## Developer Surfaces
- [API Documentation](https://www.kineticist.com/docs/api): REST API, CLI, and MCP server reference. Bearer-token auth, read-and-write access to game data and the key owner's own library.
- [Interactive API Reference](https://www.kineticist.com/docs/api/reference): Try-it-out console for every endpoint.
- [OpenAPI Spec](https://www.kineticist.com/openapi.json): Machine-readable spec.
- [CLI (@kineticist/cli)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@kineticist/cli): Terminal access with 12 commands — read the catalog and track your own plays, ownership, wishlist, fun scores.
- [MCP Server (@kineticist/mcp-server)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@kineticist/mcp-server): Model Context Protocol server with 11 tools for AI agents (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT). Read catalog plus act on the key owner's library.

All surfaces support read and write with a bearer token. Three rate-limit tiers (free, builder, partner). All tiers are free during early access; email colin@kineticist.com for a higher ceiling.

## About
- [About Kineticist](https://www.kineticist.com/about): Launched in 2022 by Colin Alsheimer. A digital publication and community resource for pinball and physical gaming, built by a small, self-funded team.
- Values: good ambassadors for the community; accessible and approachable; positive and fair; fun; good at business.
- [Contact](https://www.kineticist.com/contact): Get in touch.

## FAQ

**What is the Kineticist Hype Index?**
A daily ranking of pinball themes by community signal — wishlist count, nostalgia, cultural pulse, and rank movement over time. Themes graduate out of the index when they ship as a real production game. Methodology lives at /hype.

**How are the "Best Pinball Machines" rankings calculated?**
Community fun-score ratings on a 1-100 scale, aggregated across all rated games. Games need a minimum sample size to qualify. Rankings update on read; sort key uses a Bayesian-smoothed average so low-sample-size games don't dominate. Three views: all-time, modern (1990+), Stern-only.

**Who makes pinball machines today?**
The active manufacturer set: Stern Pinball (largest), Jersey Jack Pinball, American Pinball, Spooky Pinball, Multimorphic, Chicago Gaming Company / Planetary Pinball Supply, Haggis Pinball, Dutch Pinball Company, plus smaller boutique builders. Historical manufacturers (Williams, Bally, Gottlieb, Data East, Sega Pinball) shipped most of the 1970s-90s catalog. Full list at /manufacturers.

**Where can I play pinball?**
Search /locations by zip-code radius for arcades, barcades, restaurants, and venues with location-data-confirmed machines. Data is mirrored daily from Pinball Map plus user-submitted edits and photos.

**How much does a new pinball machine cost?**
New production games from Stern, Jersey Jack, and American Pinball typically run $7,000–$13,000 USD depending on tier (Pro / Premium / Limited Edition / Collector's Edition). Boutique runs from Spooky and others price $9,000–$13,000+. Used machines vary widely — see /games/pinball/[slug] pages for retail tier breakdowns.

**What is OPDB?**
The Open Pinball Database — the canonical machine-identifier source most pinball software (Pinball Map, scoring apps, virtual cabinets) uses. Kineticist's game catalog syncs from OPDB daily so identifiers stay aligned with the rest of the ecosystem.

## Optional
- [Pinball Glossary](https://www.kineticist.com/tags): Tag taxonomy covering pinball terminology, themes, and game features.
- [News RSS](https://www.kineticist.com/news/rss.xml): RSS feed for editorial coverage.
- [Sitemap](https://www.kineticist.com/sitemap.xml): Full URL inventory.
- [Agent Discovery](https://www.kineticist.com/.well-known/agent-card.json): MCP / agent capability manifest.