For years, Tilt was one of the best bars for hanging out with mates in Birmingham. It combined craft beer, speciality coffee and pinball perfection until it sadly closed last summer after nearly 10 years in the City Arcade. But don’t stress, pinball wizards, you can still get your slingshot fixes in the city.
Bereft at Tilt’s closure, a bunch of local pinball players (who used to meet up on a Tuesday for the league night when it was free play) have got together to create their own pinball hotspot. The non-profit Pinball Factory opened earlier this year at the Zellig Building in Digbeth—open four times a week, with all staff volunteers from the founders’ group.
Just turn up and play for £10 on Tuesday and Friday, while on weekends, it’s £20 for the full day—and a monthly membership is £50 for unlimited pinball. All machines are donated by members, and all the money goes back into renting the space and buying and maintaining machines.
You can play many kinds of pinball machines, with the Pinball Factory housing over 25 at the arcade, ranging from the 80s right up to the modern day. And once you’re in, you’re in; there’s no extra cost to play any of the machines, while volunteers are on hand to help you improve at the hobby.
What pinball machines will I find?
You can face off with King Kong and destroy Tokyo with Godzilla; rock out with Kiss and Elton John; or get your sci-fi fix with Johnny Mnemonic, Star Trek, and Star Wars. You can even simply go fishing with Fish Tales, but the line-up is growing all the time.
Sadly, The Pinball Factory isn’t quite Tilt with its incredible craft beer range, but located within The Custard Factory, refreshments aren’t far away—with the also recently opened Alfred Works food hall serving a wide variety of global cuisines through its 15 independent kitchens and bars.
“Digbeth has always been a place where creativity and community thrive, and it’s incredibly exciting to see even more new businesses choosing to put down roots here,” said Michelle Irving, general manager of Zellig. “These new openings are a real sign of momentum for Digbeth.”
🌐You can learn more about The Pinball Factory here.
