Karl Marsicek collects pinball machines. But he doesn't accumulate them. His basement has room for seven machines, and there's room for an eighth to be worked on in the garage. So he buys them, fixes them up in the garage, cycles them down to the basement for a while, and sells them to make room when he finds a new one he wants.

Ars Technica has a great interview with Marsicek, who points out the hassle you have to go through when you get a new machine.

"Before I try to turn it on, I check to make sure that all the correct fuses are installed and look over the machine for obvious problems like battery corrosion and wires that are broken or have missing/burnt insulation." The next step is checking any included diagnostic menus for errors, and on older machines he checks each switch and coil to make sure everything is still in working order. Broken parts are fixed or replaced. "After that I clean and wax the playfield, replace any missing or worn playfield rubber, replace burnt out light bulbs and install a new ball."

But that's just getting started. Then there's the longer-term maintenance.

"Look through the manual and get familiar with lifting the playfield and opening the backbox so you can change burnt bulbs. Keep the playfield clean and waxed. Replace the ball if it is pitted or worn. Never use lubricant or contact cleaner on moving parts or switches; just keep them clean. Find out what other maintenance tasks you can perform on your game so that you can preserve it."

It kind of puts in perspective how hard it is to get the shrinkwrap off a new videogame or keep up with your PC's graphics drivers. It also helps disabuse me of an occasional pipedream to buy a pinball machine. I'm happy to make do with the excellent Williams Pinball Hall of Fame and Gottlieb Pinball Hall of Fame for the PSP and Zen Pinball for the PS3.

And if you have any notions about getting just a single pinball machine, Marsicek offers a cautionary tale that reminds me of people considering a tattoo.

"I know about 25 people in the Chicago area that own pinballs, only one of them was able to stop at just one game. Once you become familiar with fixing the games, polishing and tinkering with them can become as addictive as playing them," Marsicek told Ars. "If you don't have room, you have to get creative with making room as pinball machines start to accumulate in your house."