Tournaments, worship, Prayer & Pinball

The pinball drops and the board springs to life. Technicolor lights race across the edges as the speakers twang with arcade music. One, two, three, four balls slide between the flippers and the player hangs their head, defeated by a gravity-based machine and slow fingers.

Prospective and professional players alike will soon be poking and pulling at pinball machines at Prayer & Pinball on U.S. 70 in Morganton.

The arcade shares a building with Metawood Design Company, both founded by Josh Singleton under Metawood Incorporated.

The new hangout opened its doors to the public for the first time on Thursday, April 23, welcoming people of all ages in for a few hours of gameplay, from 3-6 p.m.

The pinball emporium hosted its first tournament on Saturday, April 25, opening for $10 unlimited freeplay from 1-5:30 p.m., before beginning the competition, running until 10 or 11 p.m.

“We encourage people that have never played before, or people that are really good, (to come) because you can learn a lot,” Singleton said. “Pinball’s making a comeback, big time.”

HOW IT CAME ABOUT

Singleton started personally collecting pinball machines about eight years ago.

When his wife, Amanda, dropped the hint that the hobby was taking up too much space and money, he brought the machines to his business and put them out for his employees to play at break time.

A comment from a younger congregant at his church got him thinking about how he could offer a safe, alcohol-free space for people in his community to gather and play games.

“I’ve got all these machines and I’m gonna use them for the glory of God,” Singleton said. “If I have anything, if it can’t be used for the glory of God, then I don’t want it. That’s what we’re doing — is creating a safe place for people to come and play in tournaments.”

Singleton explained that many places where tournaments are held serve alcohol, meaning people under 21 have to leave by 8 or 9 p.m.

To further bolster their reputation as a tournament space, Singleton said Prayer & Pinball is sanctioned by the International Flippers Pinball Association (IFPA) and is also part of Stern Army, allowing players to compete and update their world rankings.

INSIDE PINBALL & PRAYER

From a metal woman reminiscent of Aerosmith’s “Just Push Play” album cover art to Jaws and Godzilla terrorizing boats, trains, and planes, machines ping across the room, challenging every skill level.

The machines, ranging anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 each, span the decades, with the oldest being a Harlem Globetrotters-themed game from 1979.

For those who aren’t keen on pinball, arcade games like Contra and Golden Tee sit in opposite corners, under a thread of string lights and multi-colored flying fish bone cutouts.

Although the varying ages of the machines mean maintenance and subsequent costs, Prayer & Pinball is a nonprofit.

All profits from sales will go directly to Adult & Teen Challenge, a faith-based, residential addiction recovery program in Sanford.

HOURS

Singleton keeps a tight schedule with Metawood, so the hours are currently slim on Prayer & Pinball, with the potential for growth depending on player turnout.

The arcade will be open every Thursday and Friday from 3-6 p.m. and costs $5 for entry, with unlimited freeplay.

On the last Friday of each month, hours last from 3-10 p.m. Entry is free and “starting at 6, will be official prayer and pinball,” Singleton said. “What we’ll do is we’ll come in, people will bring snacks, we’ll fellowship, have some worship, we’ll pray, and then we’ll play pinball.”

On the last Saturday of each month, Prayer & Pinball opens at 1 p.m. and entry is $10. Tournaments are on the same day and cost $10 to enter.