Gifts for Gamers: Ideas That Go Beyond the Screen (Pinball Edition)

Giving a video game to someone who already owns four hundred video games is like pouring a drop of water into the ocean. The idea behind this guide is the opposite: to suggest gifts that exist physically, that slam, that vibrate, and that get the player out of their chair. The pinball machine is the best vehicle for that — and there are pinball gifts from 20 EUR to 400 EUR. Here are the ideas, organized by budget, with prices verified in July 2026.

Transparency: Pinballs Store manufactures and sells only replacement circuit boards for vintage pinball machines. We do not sell toppers, T-shirts, posters, or machines. Everything else in this list is impartial advice — check out the shops cited at the end of the article.

Small budgets: 15 EUR to 80 EUR

A book about pinball

The selection is richer than you might think: illustrated histories of the golden age, designer monographs, repair manuals. Expect 20 to 50 EUR for a beautiful hardcover book. It is a gift that gets re-read, and that speaks to the player and the curious alike. Flippers.be maintains a book review section that helps avoid disappointments.

A poster or flyer reproduction

15 to 40 EUR. The original advertising flyers from the 1970s and 1980s are stunning graphic objects, and high-quality reproductions exist for almost every machine. Tip: find the model the person owns or covets (the IPDB catalogs every flyer), and the gift becomes personal rather than generic.

A T-shirt

20 to 35 EUR. Effective, but only if the design references a machine the person actually loves. A generic "pinball wizard" T-shirt will end up in the back of a drawer; a Black Knight T-shirt given to someone who owns a Black Knight will not.

A rubber ring kit

Starting from 16 EUR at French retailers (Flipper Antics lists this entry price depending on the model). This is the number one consumable in pinball: rubber rings harden, yellow, and completely change how the ball behaves. A complete kit, referenced for their machine, with the placement diagram: that is a gift only someone who knows the hobby thinks to give. Guaranteed impact.

An LED kit

From a few euros per bulb to about 160 EUR for a complete kit referenced machine by machine (example noted at FlipperLED in July 2026). Converting an 1980s playfield to LED visually transforms the machine — and eliminates the heat from incandescent bulbs, which eventually bakes the inserts. One caveat: on some older systems, poorly chosen LEDs can interfere with the lamp matrix multiplexing. Get a kit designed for the specific model.

A cleaning kit

25 to 50 EUR for a set of products (three-grit plastic cleaner, wax, microfiber cloths). This is the quietly brilliant gift: every pinball machine owner should clean their playfield twice a year, and almost nobody has the supplies on hand. Our pinball machine maintenance guide explains exactly what to use and in what order.

A tournament entry

From free to about ten euros for a weekly or monthly tournament, 10 to 30 EUR for a major event, more for large opens. This may be the best gift on the list: it costs almost nothing, and it introduces a community. The IFPA calendar and French pinball sites list the dates.

Mid-range budgets: 100 EUR to 500 EUR

A custom shooter rod

At Stern, official shooter rods are listed between $169.99 and $199 (noted on the Stern store, July 2026). It is the first part the player touches at the start of every game: customizing it makes sense. Independent workshops offer beautiful ones, often at lower prices.

Side blades or side armor

"Art blades," which decorate the inside of the cabinet on each side of the playfield, run around $99.99. Official Stern side armor is pricier: $269.99 to $399.99 depending on the title. It is purely cosmetic, highly visible, and fairly divisive — make sure the person actually wants one before spending 300 EUR.

A topper

The large illuminated object that sits on top of the backbox. Official Stern interactive toppers are expensive: $999.99 for the Star Wars and The Walking Dead Remastered versions, $1,499.99 for the Pokemon one (prices noted in July 2026). Let us be upfront: at that price, it is a group gift, or a gift you simply do not give.

A serious maintenance toolkit

100 to 250 EUR: a good multimeter, a temperature-controlled soldering iron, desoldering braid, a set of wrenches, a headlamp. For someone who just bought a vintage machine, this is an infinitely more useful gift than a decorative item. It is what will keep their machine alive for twenty years.

The big gift: 300 EUR to several thousand euros

Option A: an entire pinball machine

The ultimate dream. But let us be factual about the costs (noted in July 2026):

Machine	Manufacturer price (USA)	Actual price delivered in France
Stern Pro (Godzilla, JAWS, Pokemon...)	$6,999	approx. 9,000 – 9,600 EUR incl. VAT
Stern Premium	approx. $9,699	approx. 11,650 – 12,700 EUR incl. VAT
Stern LE	approx. $12,999	approx. 16,000 – 16,500 EUR incl. VAT
Jersey Jack (Arcade Edition)	$9,999	approx. 12,190 EUR incl. VAT
American Pinball (Classic Edition)	$5,995 – $6,995	Varies by importer
Vintage pinball machine 1977-1989, non-working	—	400 – 1,200 EUR

In other words, a new pinball machine is a five-figure gift in France. A vintage pinball machine, on the other hand, is accessible — provided you accept that it does not work yet. Which brings us to the second option, and by far the most interesting one.

Option B: resurrect the broken pinball machine they already own

Here is the most common situation in the pinball world, and the one least often considered as a gift idea: someone owns a machine that no longer works, it has been gathering dust in a garage for years, and they have never dared tackle it. On machines from the 1980s, the cause is almost always the same: the Ni-Cd battery soldered to the CPU board leaked, the electrolyte corroded the copper traces, and the board is dead.

Giving the replacement board is giving the spark. It is a gift that is simultaneously useful, spectacular (the machine lights up again), and lasting. And it is a gift that the person will probably never buy for themselves, because they have been putting off the repair for ten years.

How to know which board to give?

This is the only real difficulty with this gift, and it can be resolved in five minutes. You need to identify the machine's system, not just its name:

• Gottlieb System 80, 80A, or 80B (1980-1989): Black Hole, Haunted House, Volcano, The Amazing Spider-Man, Mars God of War, Genesis, Arena... → see our System 80 board guide and the one dedicated to System 80B.
• Williams System 3 to 7 (1977-1984): Flash, Firepower, Black Knight, Gorgar, Alien Poker... → our Williams System 3-7 guide.
• Bally (1977-1985): Eight Ball, Mata Hari, Xenon, Space Invaders... → our Bally MPU guide.

When in doubt: the identification plate on the back of the cabinet, or a photo of the open backbox, is enough to identify the system. Our technical support is free — even before purchase.

Three gifts to avoid

• The "tabletop pinball" at 80 EUR. It is not a small pinball machine; it is a plastic toy. It delivers none of the sensations that make real pinball appealing, and it always disappoints.
• A flashy cosmetic accessory without asking the person first. A topper, colored side armor, a light mod: these are bold aesthetic choices. Many collectors insist on keeping the original look.
• A machine bought in a rush, sight unseen. A pinball machine weighs between 90 and 180 kg, stands nearly two meters tall, and a bad deal is expensive. Our article on how to buy a pinball machine without costly mistakes details the pitfalls, and the restore vs. buy new comparison breaks down the costs of both paths.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best pinball gift under 50 EUR?

A rubber ring kit referenced for the person's machine (starting from 16 EUR), or a playfield cleaning kit (25 to 50 EUR). These are gifts the recipient will actually use, within weeks, and they show you understand their hobby.

Can you give a new pinball machine for under 5,000 EUR?

No, not in France. Manufacturer prices start around $5,995 (American Pinball Classic Edition) and $6,999 (Stern Pro), but once shipping, import duties, customs, and VAT are added, a new pinball machine realistically starts at around 9,000 EUR incl. VAT from a French distributor. However, a non-working vintage pinball machine can be found for 400 to 1,200 EUR.

Is giving a replacement board a strange gift?

To a non-enthusiast, yes. To someone who has had a dead pinball machine in their garage for ten years, it is the gift of the year. It is the precise item that unblocks a stuck situation, and it produces an immediate, spectacular result: the machine lights up again. Few gifts at 300 EUR achieve that.

How do you identify the system of an old pinball machine before buying a board?

The name and year of the game are almost always enough: the IPDB (Internet Pinball Database) lists the system for every machine. A 1982 Gottlieb will be System 80 or 80A, a 1980 Williams will be System 6 or 7, a 1979 Bally will be MPU-35. When in doubt, a photo of the inside of the backbox sent to our free support team clears up any ambiguity within minutes.

Is a replacement board enough to get a machine working again?

It repairs the electronics — that is, the CPU board, the driver boards, and the sound. This is the most common and most crippling failure on 1980s machines. But it does not repair a burned-out coil, a broken switch, a worn playfield, or a cracked ramp. On a machine that has been stored for a long time, plan for an additional budget of 250 to 500 EUR for mechanical parts and consumables.

Is a Stern topper at $1,000 really worth it?

It is a collector's item, not a gameplay improvement. At that price, it represents about one-tenth of the cost of the machine itself. Many players prefer to invest the same amount in maintenance, in a second vintage pinball machine, or in tournament travel. It is a personal decision, but ask yourself the question before pulling the trigger.

Sources & further reading

• Stern Pinball — official accessories (toppers, shooter rods, side armor) (accessed July 13, 2026)
• Stern Pinball — catalog and machine prices (accessed July 13, 2026)
• Good Vibes Pinball — "How much does a pinball machine cost? New or used in 2026" (January 2026)
• FlipperLED — LED kits and spare parts for pinball machines (France)
• Flipper Antics — rubber ring kits by model
• IFPA — pinball tournament calendar and rankings
• Internet Pinball Database (IPDB) — identify the system and year of a machine
• Flippers.be — pinball book reviews

Prices noted in July 2026, in euros and US dollars depending on the source. Accessory and machine prices change frequently: always check the vendor's website before purchasing.