Budapest’s Pinball Museum is the only one of its kind in Europe, where the flickering lights and bleeping jingles of 150 machines fill a dark basement in Újlipótváros. Many can be tried out, allowing visitors to do battle with Godzilla or Homer Simpson.
They form part of the private collection of Balázs Pálfi, who decided to open his own museum to solve the problem of where to store his treasured machines.
Some are for display only, most notably the first one produced in Hungary and one of the original pinball machines from 150 years ago.
Originally from Lambeth, south London, Montague Redgrave filed his patent for a ‘Parlor Table Bagatelle game’ in Cincinnati, Ohio on 30 May, 1871. Although there had been earlier versions of billiard-style pinball, Redgrave added one vital element: the spring-loaded launcher that pinged the balls towards the holes.
To mark the sesquicentennial of this popular arcade game, the Pinball Museum is publishing a book, guiding readers through the domestic history of the game and picking out random tidbits of information. Did you know that famous 20th-century writer Frigyes Karinthy was a keen player?
Look out, too, for special anniversary events to be hosted at the Pinball Museum throughout the year.
Pinball Museum
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District XIII. Radnóti Miklós utca 18
Current opening hours: Wed-Fri 4pm-11pm, Sat 2pm-11pm, Sun 10am-10pm
Admission: Day pass 3,500 forints/under-26s 2,500 forints
