Pinball Is Alive and Well in Rockford

When it comes to pinball in the arcade world, all roads lead to Rockford, Michigan, home of Pinball Land.

According to WOOD, Pinball Land opened up on February 1 on Courtland Street just east of N. Main Street giving families of the region something extra to do.

The owner of Pinball Land, Ryan Thompson said, "In my opinion, Rockford is a lot like a theme park. However, it's a them park with not much to do you know, there's plenty to drink, lots of hot dogs, lots of ice cream but there's not really any activity aside from the bowling alley. So I really wanted to provide something to do when you come to Rockford."

Pinball Land has a large collection of classic pinball games plus some classic video games as well.

Thompson now has a pinball collection of of 25 machines that he has cleaned and got working again. He has been buying them via Craigslist for many years.

Thompson said, "the best is when a father and a son come in and they're both grinning ear to ear when they walk in the door because dad knows what's up and he knows that his kid is going to like it just as much as he does and watching them talk trash to each other, slug each other in the arm, laughing and carrying on, is the greatest thing ever. I lost my dad a year and a week ago and it's all I ever wanted to do with him. It's really nice to be able to provide the father son interaction I always wanted to other families."

What sets Pinball Land above the other places located in Grand Rapids, Gobles, Fremont and Holland is that Thompson has all his game in free play mode so you just pay a flat rate of $12 per adult and $9 for kids 12 and under and you can play all day.

There are 20 pinball machines in Pinball Land and the other half of the arcade is filled with video games so there is something for every gamer.

Thompson already has his eye on getting the new Deadpool game as well as the new Black Knight.

Soon they will add a youth pinball league coming in the summer.