Pinball Map FAQ
This page contains helpful app and website support information. If you have a question, comment, or suggestion, contact us.
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How do I add a machine to a location?
First, log in. On the website, lookup the location, then click the "Add a machine" button. Choose a machine. Click Add.
On the app, lookup the location, then click the + (plus) icon. Then select a machine and add it.
How do I remove a machine from a location?
First, log in. On the website, lookup a location then click the red trash can icon that's to the right of the machine name. On the app, click on the machine name, and then look for the "remove" button or trash can icon.
Fill out this form. Our administrators moderate submissions, so please allow 0 - 7 days or so for it to be approved. The more accurate and thorough your submission, the quicker it will get added.
This location closed/no longer has machines. What do I do - do I need to tell you?
Simply remove all the machines from it. Empty locations are periodically removed.
This location is temporarily closed. Should I remove the machines from it?
No. If a place is seasonal or closed due to restrictions, and is expected to re-open, please do not remove the machines from it. Just edit the location description to say it's temporarily closed. You can also make sure the phone number is listed so that people can easily call and check on the status.
Location name has changed. Can I change it?
Only administrators can edit location names. Contact us, and make sure to tell us the name of the location.
Neither. Administrators can change the address. Please let us know if a location has moved, and make sure to tell us the name of the location that has moved. It's preferable for us to simply change the address because that retains the location history.
What does the Free Play tag mean at a location?
Free Play generally means a place where you pay an entrance fee and then the games within are free to play for a duration of time. If a place has a combination of a door fee and coin drop on some machines, then Free Play is likely still an appropriate tag.
There is not a demand to track different types of payment aside from Free Play.
Can I use Pinball Map data on my own site?
You can use our API to fetch data and use it for your app. An API key is required. When using Pinball Map data, according to our data license you must include attribution and a link back to this site.
If your app displays data for a specific location, the attribution link must point to that location's listing, not just the homepage: https://pinballmap.com/map?by_location_id={location_id}. Given Pinball Map's role as a source of truth for many, it's important to explicitly direct people to the site so that they can update it. If possible, we encourage your link to include some kind of explanatory language, like "update this location listing at Pinball Map."
The primary purpose of us providing easy access to the data is to extend its value for your particular use. Examples include a localized "Springfield League" page showing nearby locations, or a location's website listing their machines, or an operator showing their locations, or an app that populates a tournament line-up, or a cool analytics visualization.
But if your functionality is a large-scale "where to find pinball" feature, then you're essentially cloning our core functionality. This is not acceptable use, except in specific circumstances (get in touch about it).
Thousands of people have been contributing their time and effort to this site since 2008, and this is the data's home.
If you have questions, get in touch. We have collaborated with many folks on their projects, from student projects to services by major pinball companies. We are happy to give recommendations for optimal use (remember that our server resources are not infinite). We also have an llms.txt file to help guide your assisted coding.
Can you include bat games, or other non-pinball but pinball-adjacent games?
We fully understand that pitch and bat games resemble pinball machines and the collectors that collect them also usually collect pinball machines. The short answer is, no, no bat games. In general we use OPDB.org as a guide for what machines to include. The overall goal of this site is to map pinball, and though we understand that you may passionately think bat games should also be included because etc etc, please note that in our polling of the general public basically no one else wants bat games on the map. At any rate, thank you for that question and your feedback, and if you want more details about this decision, please read this blog post. Please do not send us a message about this without reading that blog post.
Do not add machines to locations as proxies for other games (or coin machines) that are not listed in the machine database. We want good clean data and we only want to map pinball. For example, do not add the 1952 Williams pinball machine, Slugfest, to the map as a proxy for the 1991 Williams pitch and bat game, SlugFest.
We do include some pre-pinball flipperless games. Are we missing some?
Can I add my private collection to the map?
No. Pinball Map only lists publicly-accessible locations. The definition of 'public' varies - some places have entrance fees, or limited hours. But overall, the location has to be inclusive and accessible. So please don't submit your house or a private club that excludes people from becoming members. We also exclude short-term house rentals.
These are data entry mistakes. Please contact us so we can fix them.
I submitted a new location but it never showed up on the map. What is wrong with you?
There are numerous reasons why a new location was not added to the map. Here are some:
- Not enough time has passed. Please allow 0-7 days before a location is approved. Submissions go to different people, depending on where the location is in the world. And these people work at different paces. Reminder, we're all volunteers with the goal of having a very clean data set.
- The location you submitted isn't open yet. Many locations are submitted by the business owners themselves (and people helping out those businesses), and we are honored that they think of us when they are prepping to launch their business. But guess who are also eager folks? Pinball players! So if a location gets added to the map before it's open to the world, people will drive all the way there, discover an un-opened business, and then... you guessed it! They then yell at us about it. It doesn't matter if there's a location description saying "Opens on May 5." People do not read (except you).
- The location you submitted is a private residence. Or private in some other way. See this FAQ item.
How do I add non-IFPA events to the event listings on Pinball Map?
For over 15 years, we have maintained both an automated list of IFPA events as well as the ability to manually add individual events. In the early days we spent a lot of time adding leagues and other calendar items. However, the IFPA got more and more popular and people stopped submitting events to us.
Anyway, what we've learned is that manually managing events is not sustainable. If you want non-IFPA events listed, then you need to provide a JSON source for us to automatically fetch and parse. We would rather write code that works with your exports than do manually work.
Contact us if you want tips on how to format your data. And take a look at the public.events table in our database to see the fields we use.
Some upcoming IFPA events are not listed in a location's event list.
Every day we pull six months of events from the IFPA calendar. The IFPA does not tag events with Pinball Map location IDs, so we have to do our best to automatically tag the imported events based on address, lat/lon, and tournament name information. It's not a perfect system, and it's made more difficult because the IFPA tournament information can be messy or wrong.
Contact us if you want to see if we can fix something, or give you tips on how you can fix it on the IFPA-end.
483 operators are listed on Pinball Map. They use it to easily track and update all of their locations, and also get notified via email when users leave comments on their machines. In our system, "operators" are distinct from "users", though we can associate the operator listing with your user so that you get a little wrench icon next to your name.
Check this blog post about the benefits of being listed in our system, and the tools available.
How do I get listed as an operator?
Contact us and we'll add you. In your message, tell us:
- The name of your operating business.
- Whether you want to be notified via email when users leave comments on your machines (once a day email digest containing the previous day's comments).
- If you have a website, give us the link and your business name will appear as a hyperlink.
- If you want users to be able to directly text/call you (if so, include your number).
- If you want users to be able to directly email you.
How do I tag myself as the operator at a location?
If you are in our system as an operator (if you're not, please see the question above), do this:
Log in with your user account, lookup the location, then click the "edit location details" link that is below the address. That is for editing some location details. Find the operator field, and choose your operator business from the list. Then save.
The short answer is that we can't disable comments at an individual venue or for an individual user. We understand that users and operators sometimes want conflicting things. Most operators find reports of technical issues to be very useful; and a few get upset about them. Some operators wish that folks would only leave very specific types of comments (we can't control this, and it's perfectly fine for users to leave comments about, for example, machine price). On the other hand, most regular users find machine comments to be a very valuable feature. It is difficult to perfectly cater to everyone, and we cannot control the comments that people make.
In some circumstances, comments may be removed and/or accounts can be disabled (see the FAQ items further below). We will always look into your concerns. But please try not to waste our time with your requests.
To users leaving comments:
- Most operators prefer you directly tell them about problems. For example, in person or with a note to staff at the venue. Many pinball issues are minor and temporary, and leaving a comment about them on the map puts it "on the record" and it may remain there long after the issue is resolved unless you, the operator, or someone else adds a new comment.
Some suggestions to operators:
- A comment about a machine issue is not going to hurt your business in the short term. Pinball Map often gets blamed for "making" operators rush across town to fix and issue and write a comment saying the issue is fixed. Pinball Map does not make you do this.
- According to nearly everyone, it is really valuable to see a history of comments (thing is broken, thing is fixed, etc.). Everyone understands that machines break. Seeing a dialog demonstrates that upkeep is occurring. The "latest comment" noting a problem is not particularly important to users and will not drive them away. Some operators choose to delete machines and re-add them in order to clear out comments rather than simply responding to a comment. This is bad practice - both for your business and for the map - and can result in your account being disabled. It makes it seem like the operator is whitewashing comments rather than fixing issues. Users definitely notice this, and we strongly discourage it.
Can you make it so only the operator can update a location's line-up of machines?
No. It's not ideal to limit the control of a location listing to a small group of people. According to the evidence, that would seriously degrade the quantity of map updates, resulting in an out of date map. The purpose of this map is for all users to have equal power to update the map, and that's what has helped it flourish.
No, and you shouldn't want this. Everyone knows that 100% of machines break at some point. Right? But the missing piece of information is whether a place fixes their machines. A comment about a broken blob is an opportunity for you, the operator, to demonstrate that your location maintains their machines.
It may seem "bad" for there to be a public record of problems with your machines, but we hope the above helps convince you that it's actually good. Users love seeing a record of you fixing machines.
Some actions on the map require authentication. If you want to edit the map, such as adding/removing machines, editing location details, commenting on machines, etc. we require that you be signed in. This is needed, in part, so that we can ban users who make malicious edits (which is very rare).
We also added some fun user perks, like score tracking, counts of all the different types of edits you do, and a feature for tracking every machine you've played. These things can be found in your profile.
I see you have a ranking system for contributors. How do I earn a contributor badge and title?
Great question! As a small token of acknowledgement of your contributions to the map, if you make more than 50 contributions, we christen you a "Super Mapper". After 250 contributions, you are a "Legendary Mapper". And after 500 amazing map contributions, you are a "Grand Champ Mapper"!
Only administrators can change your username. Contact us and we'll be happy to change it.
Go to the login page and click the "Forgot your password" link. Make sure to check your spam for the reset email.
How do I update my password, or email, or delete my account?
These can be done on your Profile page.
Yes. Click the machine and below your comment you'll see "edit" and "delete" buttons. You can do the same for scores, too.
Only some machines in the "life list" in my profile have a trash can icon. Why?
If you have added a score to a machine, you're proving to us that you've played the machine, hence no can. We add trash can icons to machines that don't have a score, just in case you made a mistake and need to remove it. Sure, there's a chance you added a score to the wrong machine. You can remove the score (see above). But if the machine has been removed from the location, and you really need to remove the machine from your list, get in touch.
Why was my machine comment removed?
The machine comment field is for machine comments. These comments are useful for operators to be informed of machine issues, and for other users to understand the general condition of machines. When comments stray, the site becomes less useful to both operators and users. Pinball Map administrators may remove your comment as a means of maintaining the site's goals and value.
For example, if you wrote a comment about a great flavor of potato chips you just discovered, it would be removed (that's not a machine comment and isn't appropriate for this context). Likewise, if you wrote about an upcoming tournament, or treated the machine comments section like a message board or social media site (responding to other users in an off-topic manner for the sake of dialog), or left general trash-talking of operators - those are likely to be removed (those are not a machine comments, detract from the goals, and aren't appropriate for this context). Make sense?
Additionally, Pinball Map administrators may deem your machine comment (or location description) to be inappropriate because:
- It is some form of spam. Spam can be defined as writing the same comment on many machines.
- It is advertising a machine for sale. This is not a marketplace.
- It contains a personal attack.
- It is offensive.
- If your account has been used to mess with data on the site, then we may disable it. Bad behavior includes, but is not limited to: removing machines that are at a location (or removing+adding to clear out comments); adding machines that are not at a location; leaving lots of inappropriate/abusive comments; or adding Slugfest over and over (see above).
- You created a sockpuppet account to hype your location and/or disparage the competition. This is unethical and it makes the site worse. Don't do this. Look in the mirror.
- You signed up with a disposable email account. We sometimes have legitimate reasons for contacting you individually. Disposable emails are most often used by people who abuse the site.
- Everyone who works on this site is a volunteer. If we find ourselves having to moderate your edits, then the simpler course of action might be to disable your account. You will probably get a warning first (though it might not be explicit).
