A Day Out at Pinball Republic London ⋆ Jupiter & Dann

[Updated on March 16th, to reflect the venue’s new name] Previously under the name Flip Out London, Pinball Republic London is a place where you can play a large number of pinball machines, all at the price of an entry fee. If you are a pinball fan, this club is a place where you can really play a variety of machines, and unlike arcades at the pier, it doesn’t cost you 25p or even a pound a go.

Claire and David invited us to Pinball Republic, to check out the machines, after one of David’s semi-bi-monthly pinball tournaments at his home. You see, he has a bunch of pinball machines inside his home, and so Dann has been getting pretty into pinball, playing digital versions whenever he has a spare moment. Pinball Republic feels like a really good deal, as you can play all day for just £10 (with membership options, to pay £20 a month to enter whenever you want for free). There is some parking right by the building, though driving there, you end up driving off of a paved road onto a dirt road, and it almost feels like you might be going the wrong way, but then you are there. When we went, there wasn’t a massive sign or anything – felt like finding hidden treasure down a strange road, really.

Pinball Republic has a bunch of different machines, from classics like The Addams Family to machines I’ve never seen like Farfalla. There is one main room, with a little out cove, which contains more machines, then a hallway with newer machines – like the Avengers – at the back space. These different rooms are just full of noise, color and clinking noises! You can walk up to any machine and simply start playing them, reading the rules if you’d like. We ended up downloading an app, called Scorbit, which allows you to save and share your scores on various pinball machines.

Pinball Republic is in the app, and you just need to navigate to the machine you are playing, and see if it has Scorbit integration. On machines where there is integration, you can select which player you are, before the end of your game, and watch it update automatically. Many of the machines in the back most room are on this app, and there is a TV showcasing all of the app high scores. For machines that do not have integration, you can play through your round and then take a picture at the end, entering the score manually to the machine within the app. Then, your score will appear on Scorbit, allowing you to see how other people at Pinball Republic have done previously, as well as where you stand globally. There are actually a lot of pinball places listed on this app, which is pretty cool.

We went to Pinball Republic at around midday, and opted to eat lunch there. Attached to the back most room, there is a room with tables and chairs. This room feels sort of thrown together – couches shoved in corners, an entire TV, a fridge. It makes this place feel like a friends house, almost. There are tea, coffee and small snacks, done on an honor system where you place your money into a piggy bank on top of the counter, but you are welcome to bring your own lunch and eat it there! Pinball Republic has a big casual vibe. It feels a lot like a bunch of people who really love pinball and had machines, decided to put them all in one place, and why not charge a little fee to have people come and play with them? Most of the machines are in good quality, with the occasional bit of bounce back on balls or missing decals inside the machines, but as there are so many to choose from, I am sure you’ll be able to find something you enjoy.

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!