Overview

Pinball Map is a free, crowdsourced API that shows where public pinball machines are located around the world. You can search by location to find nearby machines, venues, and machine condition reports. No API key is required, making it a fun and easy API to start experimenting with.

Beginner Tip

Use the /region endpoint first to get a list of valid region slugs (like "chicago" or "portland"), then query machines or locations within that region. All endpoints return clean JSON with no authentication needed.

Available Data

The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.

Pinball Map data via REST API

Example Response

Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.

JSON Response · Illustrative
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Pinball Map",
    "description": "A crowdsourced map of public pinball machines",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

id Unique identifier for the location.
name Name of the venue or bar where machines are located.
street Street address of the venue.
lat Latitude coordinate of the venue.
lon Longitude coordinate of the venue.
num_machines Number of pinball machines currently reported at this location.

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://pinballmap.com/api/v1/region/portland/locations.json";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

404 Not Found for region slug The region name you used does not match the expected slug format.
Fetch the full list of regions from https://pinballmap.com/api/v1/regions.json and use the name field as your slug.
Empty locations array There may be no mapped pinball machines in the specified region yet.
Try a larger or nearby region. The API is community-driven, so rural areas may have sparse data.
CORS error in browser Some browser environments block cross-origin requests to external APIs.
Test with curl or a server-side script first. The API does support CORS, but your environment may need a proxy.

Metadata Score Breakdown

Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested

This score is estimated from observable metadata — HTTPS support, authentication model, declared CORS, and documentation reachability — because the API requires authentication or exposes no publicly testable endpoint. The five-signal breakdown is only shown for live-tested APIs.

Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS YES
Category Geocoding
Difficulty Beginner
Listing details not endpoint-verified

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