Location Play and New Machines: 4B's Tavern and The Ice Box

Last month I decided to take a trip to Seattle to visit my dad on Father's Day. I told my dad that I was willing to come up for a couple of days, but I wanted to check out some new pinball machines (some have been out for a while but are new to me), and new locations that I had never been to before. My dad indulges my quirks with some amusement, but if there is good beer involved, he is all for it. So with a couple of hours to kill before visiting my sister (but unfortunately half of that time stuck in Seattle traffic), the first destination we rolled up to was 4B's Tavern.

The front entrance to 4B's

An unassuming place from the outside, you can go right by 4B's Tavern if you're not on the ball. When we pulled in and parked, I wasn't sure we were in the right place - other nearby buildings looked a little sketchy. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photo of the outside and the inside as well, so I've used some stock photos from Google to give you an idea of the appearance. Pub tables and 5 pool tables dominate the interior, and the pinball machines are mostly arranged in a "L" shaped bank, with Galactic Tank Force off to the side on its own.

4B's interior

Because we were pressed for time, I tried to focus mostly on the games I had little to no play time on, so I skipped most of their lineup. Here are my thoughts on the games I played there, and as always, games I've played before I titled in green, while games I never played before are red:

Alien LE - I'm still a bit sad that I had cancelled my SE order, as this theme is so awesome! I had a good game and earned a couple of multiballs. But dang is this pin dark, I could barely see what was going on. I walked away feeling like it's a good game, but not great. There are many other games I'd rather own.

Foo Fighters - I'm impressed by Jack Danger's design. I played his Jurassic Park Home Edition at the NW Pinball and Arcade Show, but this game is so much better. It reminds me of Godzilla a bit, in some of the innovative paths that the ball travels around the playfield. It was brutally fast, so much so that my reflexes couldn't keep up. The Scooby-Doo like theme is pretty cool, but I'm not a big fan of the band, although I think a couple of their songs are okay. This was probably my favorite game out of the 3 new games I played at this location, I kept pumping quarters in. Awesome pin!

Galactic Tank Force - I'd put this one above Godfather but well below Foo Fighters on the enjoyability scale. I liked the shots in the game and thought it was fun, and the Christopher Franchi art is gorgeous. But there were 2 big issues I had with it. One is the terrible acting on video sequences - it felt like over the top cosplay. The other issue was a stuck ball that would not break free. It happened on my third ball during multiball, and the worst thing was that it seemed like the game completely lost track of the fact there was a ball missing...it did no ball searches. I had to tilt the game to get it loose. I walked away thinking that the game had so much potential, it could have been everything that Deeproot's RAZA should have been, but American Pinball really dropped the ball on this one. The build quality doesn't seem as good as their past games, and their software, acting and writing were subpar. 

The Godfather - I don't know what's going on at JJP, but I think they have not been making good decisions, from playfield issues and questionable theme choices, to a lack of assets on some games compared to what they got for WOZ and The Hobbit. There are rumors that they have the Harry Potter license, but if they don't get assets and instead it's a generic experience in the world of Harry Potter, that's a big mistake. This game seems okay, and looks pretty, but I played it once and did not have the desire to play it again. The choice of theme is ridiculous. They would have been better served choosing a generic gangster theme like Kingpin from Capcom (had it seen actual production) and cutting the price. This was my least favorite of the new pins I played. C'mon JJP, step up your game!

As far as the location itself, it's great to have a fair amount of games (19) in 1 location with a good variety of some of the newest games mixed in with DMD-era Sterns, Bally/Williams 90's classics, and a few early solid state games. But the vibe was just - strange. I'm not sure how to describe it. The feeling probably came from the fact that there was hardly anyone there and I was the only person playing pinball. I thought perhaps it might be due to hitting it in the early afternoon...maybe the place comes alive during the evening. The decor is fine. But the beers? Well, let's just say that I think 4Bs needs a different distributor. My dad had an Amber that he said was not very good. I had a hard cider that was also not very good. After I had played my fill of games, we each left about half of our drink unfinished and walked out.

Time spent: 30 minutes

Total cost: $6

# of games played: 6

The next stop was The Ice Box. We had no trouble finding this one. Previously the location had belonged to Allied Ice, which in their early years provided blocks of ice for nearby fishing boats, and later expanded their business by delivering ice all over the Seattle area to stores, sporting facilities and festivals. Although Allied Ice left the location in 2012, they were actually a former client of my dad's, so he was able to drive right to it. When the owners of the arcade took over the space, they leaned into the location's history, hence the name. My dad dropped me off after my mom called asking him to make a trip to the grocery store. He did park when he got back and make his way in to watch my last 2 games on James Bond, sticking his head in my photograph as he examined the playfield.

The Ice Box exterior

This time I was aware enough to grab a photo of the outside of the building, but I got so wrapped up in games once I got in that I forgot to shoot photos of the interior, only getting some shots of the games. So I had to Google again for a shot of the interior.

The Ice Box interior

As with 4B's, the focus here was on new games, but we had dinner plans and I had to cut the visit shorter than I would have liked. That meant I wasn't able to get games in on Star Gazer and Stars, a couple of my favorite Stern Solid State games. So here are my thoughts on the new games that I did get to experience:

James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition - I'm not really sure what to think about this one. It's not realy designed for me, both from a price and game play perspective. I put 2 games on it, but got hammered and stood there in disbelief. The game was brutally hard, more suited to a top player than a casual. There are some neat features, like the LCD screen in the playfield and art featuring all the Bonds. I can cross it off of my bucket list as having played it, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it. I'd put behind Godfather on ranking of the games I played this day.

Toy Story 4 - I wasn't expecting much from this game based on what I had read and heard on podcasts. Color me surprised to say I really liked this one! The Duke Kaboom ramp is so much fun, and Pat Lawlor apparently stil has something left in the tank, but this could end up being his last game. I don't think I even paid attention the fact that it was Toy Story 4 only, without assets from the first 3 movies. I take back what I said about JJP earlier, this game is fun and a bonefide hit, but I think Godfather is still a miss. And the price on this one - ouch! I can't see owning it, but I'll put a quarter in it when I see it. I'd rank it between Foo Fighters and Galactic Tank Force.

James Bond Pro "Dr. No" - I'm going to go ahead and say it - this game is awesome! I had a blast playing it. The shot geometries are superb. I like Deadpool, but it is a clunkfest compared to this game. I'd go so far as to say this may be George Gomez's best game. I don't know if the Premium plays the same as a Pro, but I'm very impressed. It seems like lately Stern hits nothing but home runs - Iron Maiden, Deadpool, The Mandalorian, Godzilla, Rush, Jurassic Park, Foo Fighters...they are absolutely killing it. It says something when Elvira's House of Horrors and Avengers Infinity Quest are (in my opinion) their worst games released in the last few years, and they are still really good games. I played 3 games on James Bond, one being a free game from a match. I doubt I'd own James Bond due to theme, but it was so much fun that I may have to seriously consider it at some point. I'd put this above Foo Fighters - that's how much I liked it.

The Ice Box is an incredible location, with a whopping 38 machines spanning early solid state to current machines. The interior is clean and spacious, and unlike 4B's, which feels like a sports bar with pinballs crammed in, The Ice Box definitely focuses on the arcade aspect over all else, although there are plans to add a couple of bowling lanes and possibly a mini-putt golf course on the roof at some point. The beer selection was great as well. I'd definitely love to make a trip back to spend more time there, as I was only able to play for about 40 minutes.

Time spent: 40 minutes

Total cost: $6

# of games played: 6 (one free game)

For those keeping track, here's my ranking of the new games from best to worst, with the limited plays I put on them:

1. James Bond Pro

2. Foo Fighters

3. Toy Story 4

4. Galactic Tank Force

5. The Godfather

6. James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition

It's a shame I wasn't able to make the NW Pinball and Arcade Show this year, as I could have played Pulp Fiction and Puny Factory and added them to these rankings.

That concludes this location play roadtrip. Next up will be more news about changes to my lineup, Godzilla mods, shopping out Popeye, and some maintenance on White Water...