One of the things we like best about the Greater Cleveland area is that no matter what direction you head, you will always come across something interesting, and Pinball Planet in Parma Heights is certainly an example of that.
Owners Chris and Brianna Weber opened the Parma Heights location (6277 Pearl Rd.), in August 2024 after starting the dream in the event room of the old Southland Lanes in Middleburg Heights with Chris’s first machine purchase, Pin*Bot, in 2015. Chris’s collection grew to fifteen games, which allowed him to slowly develop his dream while also hosting pinball events in the Lanes location to learn the business side of things.
Flash forward to when Chris and Brianna started dating in 2019. It was definitely a learning curve for Brianna, as she had to embrace the passion that Chris had for pinball and his machine collection, which can get pretty expensive to say the least. Eventually she also became passionate about the game, so during COVID they spent most of their time playing, what else, pinball, leading to them going all-in on growing their passion into a full-time livelihood.
Chris and Brianna are now a young married couple with a young son, working their dream together that today has grown to around forty machines. All of the machines at Pinball Planet are between twenty-five cents to a dollar to play and span eras as far back as 1975's Super Soccer to a 2025 machine, King Kong-Myth of Terror Island Premium.
Award-Winning Pinball Right Here in Cleveland
All this is exciting enough, but what really caught our attention is the fact that Pinball Planet was awarded “The Best New Location” award at the 2024 TWIPY Awards, which recognizes achievements within the pinball community and is yet another example of Cleveland excellence.
The awards cover categories within the industry such as Best Podcast, Best Video, Content Creator, Game of the Year, and many more (including the Best New Location award that Pinball Planet secured). It is based on a nationwide vote and Chris said it best when he told me that he really did not know they were in the running let alone had a chance to win.
The awards streamed live on YouTube on February 22, 2025 and the trophy Pinball Planet won is now proudly displayed on location, and to that we extend our heartiest congratulations and welcome to the club of what makes Greater Cleveland so special and unique. For complete details on the TWIPYs and the show they present on YouTube, visit the TWIPYs site here and see for yourselves just what a really big deal this is around the country.
Something for Every Type of Pinball Player
Pinball Planet features league play in a variety of forms, including a selfies league and women’s league. There are also match-play opportunities and knockout events to satisfy most every level of skill level and expertise.
Another unique thing to Pinball Planet is their “Hands of Champions” wall, where those who have won an event of any kind can dip their hand in paint and place it on the wall. But it doesn't end there. Beginning in 2026, anyone who has placed their hand on the wall will face off in for a “Best of the Hands” competition. Sounds pretty exciting for sure!
Pinball Planet also has some nice-looking merchandise and - hopefully you are sitting down for this one - a bar that features five draft beer options and mixed-drink opportunities. They also host events such as birthday parties, and you can even rent out the entire facility for a private event, so be sure to visit www.pinballplanetohio.com for more details on this.
Our congratulations go out to Chris and Brianna, and we wish them nothing but continued success. Rest assured, you will see us and our quarters soon. Cheers!