GameRoom Invaders PartII: Zwartepanter

Few weeks ago we went to Zwartepanters GameRoom at Bonheiden.

It was planned before the Belgian Pinball Championship so it would be done just in time for the first friday of the month, sadly this plan was doomed before execution.
But now we're back with our second part in the GameRoom Invaders series!

Being on the road we had the idea  to hop in with Stefan 'zwartepanter' Verhoelst if there was time left.
Luckily there was some left some left cause it was fun to see his Gameroom in person for the first time and the reception we got was very good.

The GameRoom itself is actually brand spanking new and is almost completely filled with interesting pinball machines from the latest Stern games to early SS and EM.
That this is a 'fresh' GameRoom can be noticed cause there is a lot of space left at the walls for pinball memorablia! But nontheless there are some neons from Family Guy, Haunted House and some pictures from the Ringwraith of LOTR, an alien which refers to AFM I guess and a Spider-Man.

There sure are enough pinball machines with the likes of Shrek, Black Spider-Man, Batman, The Simpsons Pinball Party, POTC, Wheel of Fortune, Revenge From Mars, Star trek the next generation, Indiana Jones, Attack from Mars, JM, Kiss, Jurassic Park, Cyclone, Elvira and the party Monsters and more!

But next to pinball there also is a linked Outrunners machine which means that you can play with 4players at the same time wich of course is a lot of fun!

Our judgment is once again very positive with a good reception and a nice GameRoom with some offbeat titles.
But the technician in me had only one comment and that was the blue lights. They look really nice to create an atmosphere and I wish I had something like that in my gameRoom too cause that's something I still need to do.
But the main problem is that there wasn't any other light so if a game breaks down it ain't easy to work on it cause the blue lights don't give enough light for that kind of work.
So basically we both need to do some changes :-)

Let's start again with our short interview followed up by a videotour and the well-known pictures with comment.

B: What's the first pinball machine you remember playing?

As an 8year old I played soccer and in our bar there was an EM(and the name slips me) and an original Galaxian.

When we went on location to play we came together in the club's café and there also was an EM, this was a Dealer's Choice if I'm not mistaking. This is a game I would like to have in my collection for nostalgic reasons.
With the family we frequently went to the sea, actually Middelkerke if it needs to be correct, in that era there were arcades that grew everywhere. That's the first place where I got to know early SS machines like Space Invaders, Dolly Parton, Kiss, Nitro Groundshaker, Future Spa etc... But also the original arcades like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Galaga, Tron, Space Harrier and all other racers got my attention. So actually I've been raised in pinball and arcades heyday!

Maybe unbelievable but true, my first pinball experience that comes to mind is also in Middelkerke where I played in an arcade, called the Reflex, my first game of RFM(this was in '99 or 2000). I didn't liked it at that time and went on to play some video games. It was too dark and the game couldn't hold my interest for only one game.
Maybe if it was a good DMD game I would have been in the hobby quicker but who knows.

B: What was the first pinball you've played and do you still have this one?

How I actually began I can't remember but a few years ago I bought my first EM, a Dipsey Doodle, which I wanted to fix like it was a piece of cake. The seller told me that it was not so hard to bring back an EM to life so that's why I tried... A big bang followed(I didn't know yet working at a pinball machine could be life threatening) and I decided to sell the machine as is. Shortly after I bought a working EM in Holland and one thing lead to another... The pinballs followed very quickly and I learned step by step, I learned the prices and that's when I decided  to keep an eye on the internet for bargains so I could make them mine. That's when the name Zwartepanter(=Black Panther) was born. I followed everything and could do a bargain quickly... Sometimes I drove a small day through Holland to pick up a few machines in a time(after arranging it with the sellers of course). I jumped, if you will at my prey.
Now that the Panther is showing his gray hair the whole buy and sell stuff has weakened and is has become less important.

This also answers our next question about the birth of the name Zwartepanter.

B: Which pinball is your favorite and why?

I don't really have a favorite machine, I have bought a few machines from which I played during my childhood and I kept good memories of them. Also my first NIB(BSM) will be here a long time cause it is a special experience, especially the tension when opening the box...

B: Which machine would you like to add to your collection?

I would like to add a MB but I think it's a little expensive. I also have a LOTR and a CV on my wanted list.

B: Do you have a favorite arcade and have you bought one yet?

Like I said previously I've been raised between all those dedicated cabinets so I know many. I remember I really liked to play Galaga and Tron.

B: Which would be the last pinball to leave?

Since I've started (I think it's 4years now?) my collection has been made so that I have the pinballs I want to have and also will keep. Every machine that I have has a sentimental or nostalgic reason and that's why my answer is: ALL OF THEM please. Naturally there will always be space for two "changing" pinballs, so these are machines I would like to know and play but will probably be exchanged later for another one.
Actually there are still lots of machines I need to discover, especially the DMD's(cause of other priorities I never had the chance to play them back than) and every machine will get his chance eventually.

I want to thank Stef for his time and I had a good time to visit an unknown Gameroom.

Now you can take a look at our videotour and after that I end the article with some pictures.