Dutch Pinball Museum in Rotterdam - 2023 visit

This is my review of a 2023 visit to the Dutch Pinball Museum in Rotterdam.
It’s located on the west side of the city in the historic harbor district, at Voorhaven 12, 3024 RM Rotterdam.
Easily accessible by subway. It's just a few stops from the city center to 'Delfshaven' on lines A, B and C.

My last visit was 2 years ago. Quite a bit has changed, as you'll soon see. Due to COVID, they had relocated but were only recently able to realize their original concept. The entrance has been redesigned, the museum layout reorganized, and the playable machine section expanded across two additional floors.

The museum’s ground floor is where the historical exhibits are located. Some rare pinball machines here require a fee to play. On the upper levels, all machines are set to free play, so you can enjoy unlimited games during your visit.

Admission gives access to a two-hour time slot. You can purchase multiple blocks. Within your allotted time, you’re free to play as many games as you like. At the end of your time block, staff will kindly ask you to wrap up your game and make space for the next group.

All compatible Stern machines are linked to Stern’s Insider Connect system. A quick visit to the museum is a great way to level up your profile and earn badges across various connected Stern games.

You can’t get more Dutch than this: water, a windmill, and the Dutch Pinball Museum housed in a massive old warehouse on the left. As shown, it’s a sizeable building with plenty of floor space.

The entrance has been revamped. Visitor traffic now follows a different route compared to previous years. Previously, guests could choose immediately between heading left to explore the museum or upstairs to the games. Now, everyone starts in the museum section before continuing up to the playable machines. This approach feels more natural and ensures a full experience.

Right past the entrance lies the museum zone. This is where the oldest machines are exhibited, though not playable. Great care is taken to explain the history of pinball. In the center stood a remarkable new addition: a transparent Williams Star Dust machine, which took two people over four years to complete.

Display cabinets feature historic components used in pinball machine production.

Information panels line the walls, detailing the general history and showcasing stories of specific machines. They are sometimes accompanied by QR codes linking to video clips.

The recreated Twilight Zone backglass, which also featured in the previous museum layout, has been relocated to the next room.

Here, you'll also find some rare machines and historic coin-operated games.

Rare historic coin op games.

This room previously served as the old entrance and now focuses more on pinball’s history.

It was nice to see the lyric artwork on the stairs from the original location make a comeback.

One of the first playable machine rooms houses mostly WPC and WPC-95 era games. The rug really ties the room together.

On the left side, John Popadiuk-designed games are grouped together, including a rare Magic Girl.

Another standout piece is a custom-made Matrix pinball machine.

he next level features games from the 1980s.

Scattered throughout the museum are more display cases containing mechanical parts from various pinball eras.

Popular electromechanical pinball machines like Fireball and Wizard are also represented.

You'll also find favorites such as Twilight Zone, The Addams Family, Indiana Jones, and many more.

Some machines are quite literally out of this world.

Show, don't tell. In clear cases, you’ll find basic pinball mechanisms like flippers, pop bumpers, score reels, and chime units. These can be operated by visitors—an interactive way to learn how they work.

Antique mechanical pinball machines that are still playable occupy their own dedicated room.

One of the latest additions is the dinosaur room. There are so many dino-themed machines, they fill an entire section.

And last but not least: the music room. All music-themed pinball machines have been grouped together in this new space.

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