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

Every year at CES, Stern Pinball has a new game to show off. They’re one of the oldest and most famous pinball manufacturers (not to mention one of the few left in 2025), so it’s always fun for me, a pinball geek, to check out what they have to show. This year it’s a new machine designed to celebrate 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons called Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye. And like many pinball games, you can just go and play without knowing the ins and outs of the game, but there’s a lot to discover over time.

The thing that caught my attention was the fact that you can pick a character and level them up over time, provided you use Stern’s Insider Connected app. This app now allows you to create a profile and track achievements, games in your area, your high scores and other features (you “log in” by scanning a 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 those choices will affect the goals you have to complete. Stern specifically says that his new “PinSave” system will allow you to save character experience points, inventory items, and game campaign progress across multiple games.

This is a slightly wild move for a pinball game – you usually get three balls and that’s it. It’s a sign of how complex newer games can get these days, and Stern is already experimenting with something similar to his own Poison game from 2023 The same lead designer built both Poison and Dungeons & Dragons, and a representative for Stern said he reviewed the reserved progress in the Poison as a way to experiment and try out the larger system for the latest game.

I have to take it Dungeons and Dragons for a spin (the Stern rep told me I was the first non-employee to play the game), and even though you can collect so much from a few games, the feel is similar to other modern Stern machines. That’s not a bad thing—the playing field is beautiful, and the large dragon on the left side presents some interesting challenges. Stern told me it can try to block shots, and it also allows for a multi-ball wild eight-ball mode, with the dragon actively trying to bounce your balls into the channel. I didn’t get to try this, but I look forward to seeing it sooner rather than later. There’s also a gelatin cube that can freeze your ball in place using magnets.

Finally, there’s an impressive voice cast on this game, including Michael Dorn (Star Trek’s Worf) and Kevin Smith, as well as Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray and Laura Bailey from A critical role. These are just a handful of those participating in the game; you can see the full list here.

I’ve never bothered to use Stern’s Insider Connected app before, mostly because I’m lazy – but if there Dungeons and Dragons machine near me, I’ll probably give it a try. While you can easily enjoy the game and play your three balls without making an account, more hardcore players will probably enjoy the leveling process over time, and it’s a feature that makes perfect sense to have given D&D’s focus on progressing over time.

As usual, this machine doesn’t come cheap—Stern is making 740 in total, with prices ranging from $6,999 for the Pro Edition to $12,999 for the Limited Edition. Start saving those quarters, D&D / pinball fans. Or, on a more sensible note, start keeping an eye on your local arcades. Stern’s app will also help you find games near you if you want to go the more modern route.