Pioneers Bar -- New York, NY

So, do you still have the high score?

Ringo's Bar & Grill -- Beaverton, OR

"Small" tater tots is bigger than your head.  Pinball!  Pool!  Koozie!

Horsehead Bar -- Eugene, OR

 

Start here for stew, then head out and try neighbors.

Blairally Vintage Arcade -- Eugene, OR

Classic pinball and arcade games everywhere.  And then there was that night you showed up and they were hosting a chess club.  They love games!  Couple that with a good beer selection and it's no wonder you loved it.

Level Up Arcade -- Eugene, OR

So many pinball machines, many drafts, open late.  You loved it!

Kelly's Olympian -- Portland, OR

This is your go-to spot in the neighborhood, if you aren't in the mood (yet) for the Yamhill Pub.  They have all kinds of old motorcycles hanging from the ceiling, and an overall bike theme.  There's even designated motorcycle parking out front.

Sit near the front of the place though, as the AC is pumped in from the back, and you'll freeze in the cold wind.  Or maybe that's part of the theme -- they just expect you to throw on a scarf, gloves, and your helmet.

Also, pinball.

Commodore Lounge -- Portland, OR

Good morning day drinkers!  They're open at 7 AM, so if you show up in the early afternoon, you're already behind.  They will catch you up.

They have two pool tables and pinball, so while you fritter away the daylight hours, you have something to do other than thumb through Twitter or whatever.  See?  You're being productive.  That high score isn't going to break itself.

Careful though, I'll bet the sock-heads fill it in the evenings to soak up the dive atmosphere ... and post it to Instagram.

The Wurst -- Portland, OR

Sure, why not?  Two pool tables, lots of local beer, and a machine that dispenses Dino eggs for fifty cents.  (Though the one I got had a plastic shrubbery that looked like Plants vs. Zombies.)

Update 20180918: they have added two pinball machines -- currently Mars Attacks and Star Wars -- and a handful of video games.  This is now my go-to when I'm staying at the Jupiter hotel.

Yamhill Pub -- Portland, OR

Finally, a dive bar that doesn't need that in quotes.  The floor is messed up, the seats have stuffing coming out of them, the guy on your left just arranged to sleep on the couch of his friend three seats down on your right.  Some other customers are matter-of-factly discussing needing to find some coke.  Also, there's a pinball machine.  And it's two blocks from the Hotel Rose.

Lyman's Tavern -- Washington, DC

Well, you found the hipsters.  Hooray, you!  But you also found some fun pinball machines.  I think they rotate the beers around -- the drafts all suck -- but you can probably find a bottled beer that is okay.  Or, I guess you could give up and drink PBR.  The brand is enshrined in knick-knacks and metal signs and neon and ... well, you know this place.  It's that place.

Good for an hour or two of playing the crazy Pabst Can Crusher pinball machine.  (Which, incidentally, dates back to only 2016.  Brilliant fake retro.  In fact, don't follow that link.)

If you bring a friend, it could be a whole evening.  Lyft it.  The tasty beers are high ABV.

Vük -- Bethesda, MD

Hell yes!  They bill themselves first as a pinball arcade, and only second mention that they have pizza.  The machines are totally and dearly loved, too.  There's a spiral notebook in which you can leave comments like "release of the ball from the spaceship lock GDTM, may need rebalancing."  I think GDTM is "Goes Down the Middle"  And then they fix it, and log that too.

Any time you're stuck in Bethesda, this is a great place to get some pepperoni and play some flipper.

Gottlieb's Pinball Hall of Fame for PSP (PSN)

I'm totally enjoying the Pinball Hall of Fame on my PSP Go.  You get to pick from a few of Gottlieb's most popular tables, and naturally you have to beat a challenge on the simple ones, to unlock the others.  But also each table comes with a snippet of the history of the machine.  My favorites so far are the Genie machine and the Black Hole machine ... but I keep trying my hand on the love tester (yep, the thing that tells you how hot a lover you are) just 'cause it's, well, weird to include a machine that you can't "win" on a gaming platform.  Well done!