Regina pinball wizards carving out space for under-represented players

The clang of a silver ball against the bumper of a pinball machine always left a greater spike of excitement for Shannon Berry-Krieser than any video game ever did.

“There’s something about pinball that is kind of like levelling,” she said. “You don’t have to know every nuanced thing.”

For Berry-Krieser, a member of the Flippin’ Queens Pinball League, seeing more women, trans-women, non-binary, and two-spirit people in front of a pinball machine is a bigger win than getting a personal high score.

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The league hosts women’s tournaments alongside Queen City Pinball League’s competitions, which both have the same goal of getting more people in front of the blinking machines, regardless of their skill level.

Berry-Krieser said the Flippin’ Queens league creates a space to get more people playing the machine with the silver ball that are typically under-represented in the game.

“It’s so punk rock to have a women’s league,” she said. “It’s girls to the front pinball, like we’re carving out our own space for it.”

Queen City Pinball was created by a group of pinball wizards who wanted to see more games played. The group held its first tournament in Rebellion Brewing in 2017.

Shaun Amos, one of the founders of of the pinball group, said the machines are meant to be played by everybody.

“It’s nice to have this common thread to kind of pull us all together,” he said. “Some of my best friends that I have right now are because of pinball.”

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Pinball machines can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $15,000, which not everybody can afford. Amos and other members chose to share the machines instead of keeping them tucked away by hauling the fridge-sized games out of their homes to different bars and restaurants about the city.

“I want people to play the game because it’s been so fun for me to discover and progress at it that I love seeing other people do it too,” Amos said.

Amos routinely keeps the machines tuned up, navigating a rats nest of wires inside the game and replacing springs loading the flippers.

More machines, each with unique pop-culture and music themes can make for an exciting strategy while hosting a tournament, he said.

“It’s nice to keep it fresh…” Amos said. “That’s what they’re built for, is to be played by everybody.”

The group currently runs most of its pinball tournaments inside Birmingham’s Ale & Vodka House on the east side of the city with an alley of 17 machines.

Travis Cameron, member of the group, has always been drawn into the triple threat of artwork, mechanics, and sound design.

Living out of town, he said he appreciates other members that are generous enough to share their machines with others.

“I get to come here and sample all the newest wares,” he said. “Totally worth the money.”

Kelly Salterio has been playing the game since he was eight-years-old, but really got invested in competitive pinball tournaments in April, 2024.

“I really enjoy like memories of me playing older games and also learning to learn the new ones,” he said.

While the machines have him hooked, Amos said it’s the people behind the machines that keep him coming back.

“It’s kind of a beautiful thing when we all got together to play a game and have fun doing that,” he said. “It kind of turns into a lot more.”

Berry-Krieser said it is rewarding to see people bring their friends and family to tournaments after they sample the different machines.

“We found a great community, and that’s what makes it more worthwhile,” she said. “The pinball in fun in itself, but it’s the community that really keeps us coming back.”