In the days of console gaming and computers fast enough to play video games that look so realistic it’s almost uncanny, there’s still something these machines can’t replicate; the tactile feel of playing an old arcade cabinet or a pinball machine.

Now, arcades in the Pittsburgh area are a dime (quarter?) a dozen. Ace’s Break Away and Play is the only one left Downtown, but Victory Pointe in the South Side and Coop De Ville in the Strip District are two close-by options available by bus or a somewhat long walk.

However, none of these places operate at quite the magnitude of Pinball Perfection in West View, which is just a few minutes outside of Pittsburgh.

And unlike every other place mentioned, Pinball Perfection operates as both a place to play games and also as a museum, detailing some of the history behind pinball machines and how they’ve evolved from games of chance with limited interaction beyond pulling a lever to the highly advanced, reactive machines of today.

Dan Hosek, the owner of this part museum, part play place, said his story of getting so into pinball is simple.

“I started collecting in the 1970s, liked it, couldn’t stop, and now I’m here,” Hosek said.

Hosek’s own description puts his collection lightly. He doesn’t have 10 pinball machines, 50 or even 100 – try over 350. And that doesn’t even count the arcade games in his collection.

And despite the astronomical portion of games he owns, it isn’t hard for Hosek to tell stories about every game. Each machine has an important backstory to him, such as a Super Mario Bros. pinball machine starting its life at the Chuck E Cheese on McKnight Road, a Galaga arcade game from a music and video store in Martinsburg, W.Va and a Pac-Man game found in the West End.

“Some of these games are scrappy, but that’s the charm of it, I think,” Hosek said.

Not every game works, which Hosek said adds to the idea of the place being part museum, part gaming spot. Though, he said he actively works on any broken machine or looks to order parts for them when his shop isn’t open.

Pinball Perfection does have a few of its games for sale and Hosek is willing to help other businesses out which want to have arcade or pinball games available to play. While almost always a staple in bars, these games have become easier to find and own in the city, as owners no longer have to pay a $150 fee on each coin operated game licensed in Pittsburgh that was in effect until 2022.

And curiously, Pittsburgh has a high number of pinball machines compared to other cities, according to crowdsourced data from Pinball Map. Still, no place in western Pennsylvania compares to the collection Hosak has amassed.

In the evolution one can see in these machines, pinball was not always seen as just a way to pass time. In the 1940s, the game was viewed by politicians, such as then-NYC mayor Fiorello La Guardia, as a form of gambling for irresponsible people and a way for children to waste their money too easily. It was subsequently banned in NYC until the mid-1970s, where “pinball probation” officers would conduct raids on locations with the machines and subsequently smash them to bits, according to the New York Times.

While no records exist of a Pittsburgh-specific ban, the Beaver Valley Times reported in 1960 that pinball games were completely banned in Pennsylvania until around the same time NYC lifted the ban.

Notes about the bans and pinball’s tumultuous history are on display at Pinball Perfection. But you won’t have to worry about the warehouse-sized emporium of old gaming getting raided anytime soon.

For those living on campus, Pinball Perfection is only one bus ride away. To get there, walk to the bus stop at Liberty Ave and Sixth Street, near Agnes Katz Plaza. Catch the 8 Perrysville and get off at Center Avenue and Township. After that, the pinball spot is practically right in front of the bus stop.

Pinball Perfection is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. The space also opens for three additional hours from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays.