/dev/joe's Boston-area Pinball Page

This page lists Boston-area pinball machines I've played or at least seen. When possible, information about the condition and pricing of the machine is given. (Sorry it is so out of date.)

Boston

The Arcade at Downtown Crossing

9/14/02 - A bit south of Downtown Crossing, on Washington St. All games 50c + various options for discounts on multiple games, which I didn't write down. Poor maintenance.

Jillian's

At the end of Lansdowne St. behind Fenway Park. Have not been there in quite a while. Games run on tokens.

Ryan Family Amusements

5/3/03 - Basement bowling alley with small game room on Brookline Ave. between Lansdowne St. and Yawkey Way. Game room entrance on Yawkey Way. Games run on tokens.

Cambridge

Tommy's House of Pizza

As of April 2003 Tommy's has been remodeled and no longer has pinball.

MIT Student Center

Across Mass. Ave. from the tall flight of steps leading to Lobby 7. Haven't been in a while but they have a few pins in decent shape.

Flat Top Johnny's

Kendall Square, usually have 1 newish pin.

Danvers

fye

5/11/03 - Liberty Tree Mall. A music store and an arcade operating under this name on two different wings of the mall are connected in back. Game room entrance on the wing with the movie theater.

Framingham/Natick

Fun and Games

5/15/03 - I never did figure out if this is actually located in Framingham or Natick, but it's in the big shopping area on rte. 9 near the Natick Mall and across from Shoppers World. Lots of extremely flashy lights & neon; spacey-looking doors. Strobes in the entrance area between the two sets of doors seem to be turned off these days. Laser Tag and kiddie/redemption area in back. Usually has some of the newest games available. Games run on tokens.

Peabody

Putt & Pinball Palace

5/11/03 - Take Lowell St. exit from Rt. 1, go east under I-95, and turn left into shopping center immediately. Indoor minigolf, with a small, clean, new-looking arcade. Uses small-size tokens.

Country Cue Billiards

5/11/03 - Rt. 1 southbound shortly before the 95/128 interchange. Dim pool hall with small arcade. Games look like they never get any maintenance.

Salem

Salem Willows Arcade

9/20/03 - Salem Willows amusement area. There are two game rooms here, the "Willows Casino" which has kiddie and ticket games, and the arcade a bit further down. This arcade has the best maintenance of any I know of in eastern Mass. Usually there are one or two games behind the center booth and a whole line along the back or side wall. Games here are 25c unless noted.

Salisbury

Salisbury Beach amusement area - from rte. 1 in Salisbury take rte. 1A to the coast. There are at least four game rooms with pinball in a very small area, but two of them have big garage-type doors on the front and are only open in the summer.

Joe's Playland

4/12/03 - Open year round. At the end of the main strip. (Broadway?) A large arcade that has several separate rooms; pinball is in the back off to the right plus 2 curiosities upstairs. Maintenance is average.

Joe's Midway Arcade

7/7/02 - Run by the same management as Joe's Playland. This arcade closes for the winter, and was closed when I was there in 4/03. Across the street and up the main road a little from Joe's other place. Report from last visit; at that time there were two separate Funhouses, one in each Joe's arcade.

Carefree Arcade

4/2/03 - Facing the beach, a few doors down the road from the main strip. Poor maintenance.

Carefree Arcade (2)

7/31/02 - Closes for the winter. A few doors past the other one in what seems to be a converted warehouse. The garage doors open directly toward the beach, which means the salty sea breeze comes right in and that can't be good for the games. The floor slopes down toward the back of the machines, so they need to have the rear legs jacked all the way up to reach a normal playfield level.

Somerville

Good Time Billiards

5/4/03 - Assembly Square shopping area, behind and across the street from Circuit City. Large kiddie park/laser tag/arcade/sports bar. Yes, all of those things are located in different parts of one building. Pins here were never very good but have degenerated considerably. Games run on tokens. Used to be the home of the only Safecracker I ever played much, got 4 of the special tokens.

Places I Haven't Been

This section lists places noted as having pinball, but which I haven't visited ever or in a very long time, or in some cases I haven't even located. Most of them are from old Mass. pinball pages that no longer exist, dredged up from archive.org.

Boston

Boston Billiards Club (126 Brookline Ave., Fenway park area) (3 pins 5/99)
Richards Food & Drink (maybe 314 Stuart St.?) (1 pin 3/99)
Little Stevie's Pizza (1114 Boylston, Back Bay) (2 pins 4/99)
Tc's Bar (??) (2 pins 5/99)
Model Cafe (7 N. Beacon St., Brighton) (1 pin 12/98)
Sullivan's Tap (north station) (2 pins 5/99)
Boston Bowl (820 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester) (5 pins 1/99)
Pockets (981 Bennington St., East Boston) (1 pin)
Barroom (Irish Pub) (??, East Boston) (1 pin)

Cambridge

Lanes & Games (Rte. 2, near Alewife station) (9 pins 3/99, but very dirty)

Danvers

Mad Maggies/Salem Village Billiards (3 pins 7/99)
Andy's Sunnyside Bowladrome on Rte. 35 (1 pin 5/99)

Lynn

Mass Merchandise Mart (Lynnway, between Building 19 and Walmart) (2 pins 2/99)

Lynnfield

Circle Bowl (4 pins 10/99)

Malden

Town Line Bowling (4 pins 3/99)

Mass Pike

Look for games at the rest stops: Charlton westbound, Framingham both ways.

Natick

Aladdin's Castle, Natick Mall (1 pin 6/99)

Peabody

Metro Bowl (2 pins 3/99)
Volcano Park (indoor minigolf) (2 games 5/99)

Quincy

O'Lindy's (1 pin 4/99)

Revere

August Moon (2 pins 4/99)

Salisbury

Hoyt's Cinema 6, rte. 110 (2 pins 3/99)
Winner's Circle (next to Hoyt's, 21+) (2 pins, 3/99)

Salisbury Beach

The Pavillion (1 pin 6/99)

Saugus

Fuddruckers (1 pin 10/99)
Kowloons (1 pin 5/99)
Saugus Mini Golf (3 pins, closed winters)

Wakefield

Wakefield Bowladrome (2 pins 5/99)

West Roxbury

Big League Bowl (3 pins 3/99)