Stern’s latest pinball machine is a loving tribute to Dungeons & Dragons

Every year at CES, Stern Pinball introduces a new game to show off. They’re one of the oldest and most popular pinball manufacturers (not to mention one of the few remaining in 2025), so it’s always fun for me, as a pinball geek, to check out what they have to show off. This year, it’s a new machine meant to celebrate 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Tyrant. As with many pinball games, you can just walk in and play without knowing the intricacies of the game, but there’s a lot here to discover over time.

The thing that caught my attention was the fact that you can choose a character and level them up over time, provided you use Stern’s Insider Connected app. This app actually lets you create a profile and track achievements, games in your area, your high scores, and other features (you can “log in” by scanning the QR code from the app). But with Dungeons and DragonsYou can actually improve your character over time and save your progress through the game’s many modes. When you first start, you choose a character and a location, and these choices will affect the objectives you need to accomplish. Stern specifically says that its new “PinSave” system will let you save character experience points, inventory items, and game campaign progress across multiple games.

This is a subtly wild move in pinball – you usually get three balls and that’s it. It’s a sign of how complex newer games can get these days, and Stern has already tried something similar on his own console Poison A game from 2023. The same lead designer built both Poison and dungeons And Dragons, A representative from Stern said he had seen the progress saved on… Poison As a way to experiment and experiment with the larger system implemented for the latest game.

I must take Dungeons and Dragons For practice (a Stern rep told me I was the first person who wasn’t an employee to play the game), and while there’s only so much you can glean from a couple of games, it’s very similar to other recent Stern machines. That’s not a bad thing – the playing field is nice, and the large dragon on the left side offers some interesting challenges. Stern told me it can attempt to block shots, and it also enables the eight-ball multiplayer mode, where the dragon actively tries to knock your balls back down the drain. I didn’t get to experience it, but I look forward to seeing it sooner or later. There is also a gelatin cube that can freeze the ball in place via magnets.

Finally, there’s an impressive voice cast in this game, including Michael Dorn (Worf from Star Trek) and Kevin Smith, as well as Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, and Laura Bailey from Critical role. These are just a few of the players involved in the game; You can Check out the full list here.

I’ve never bothered using Stern’s Insider Connected app before, mostly because I’m lazy — but if there is Dungeons and Dragons Machine near me maybe I’ll try it. While you can easily enjoy the game and play your three-ball without creating an account, more hardcore players will likely enjoy the process of leveling up over time, a feature that makes perfect sense given D&D’s focus on progression over time.

As usual, this machine isn’t cheap – Stern is producing only 740 pieces, with prices ranging from $6,999 for the Pro Edition to $12,999 for the Limited Edition. Start memorizing those quarters, D&D/pinball fans. Or, more sensibly, start monitoring your local arcades. The Stern app will help you find games near you, too, if you want to go the more modern route.