Date: 3rd January, 2020 Visited: 14th December, 2019 Location: 1625 County Highway 10, Suite D, Spring Lake Park, MN 55432, USA Back in November of 2018 we visited the Blue Sun Soda & Sweet Shop (BSSSS), and, as we wrote then, “…we will be back to Blue Sun to play their eclectic collection of older and newer pinball machines in the near future. And, of course, to enjoy more of the world’s most flavorful soda – and try other flavors too.” We went back several weeks later and again this past December. The second time we went back we noticed some changes which we thought might interest you, the dear readers of Pinball News. If you’ve been to BSSSS recently, you’ll know what this new feature is . . . Know or care to guess? Leave us a comment below… Unlike last year’s roundabout and meandering sweet distraction, this time we meant to provide you with a somewhat quick-and-short update. Well, that was our intent… Even though the BSSSS website boasts “One of the Largest Retro Arcades in MN“, we panicked when we could only see one solitary pinball machine. Poor lonely little guy Of course we went to visit him. A solitary Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory We discovered that the Blue Sun Fun price on Willy Wonka was upped from last year’s 25¢ per game to this year’s $1.00 per play on this new game. In desperation, we searched everywhere for a sign of more pinball. The only pinball sign we saw However, BSSSS still did have all the candy and soda one could desire. Candy and soda Yet more candy and soda A wall of soda It appeared that this year a full old-fashioned soda fountain and food had been added in place of the pinball machines. Pizza was available for purchase, but we didn’t partake Instead, we milled around for some of the bottled-on-site ‘Whistler’ soda to drown our sorrows. Soda bottling on the premises Just a sign, but not the sign we were hoping for But wait, what was this? A sign of something more? Was that a “GAMEROOM” sign? We investigated closer and discovered another clue. There, besides the sign, did you see it in the dark background? Pinball! The left side of the pinball room More from the left side The right side The classic pinball machines were still only 25¢ per game and were now placed in their own darkened room. Classic Blue Sun Fun for just a quarter Many games were played and many sodas were consumed that day. A kiss of soda, a game of KISS Of course, we did bring back something to wet our whistles. Whistler soda flavours Fun fact – the deposit on each Whistler Soda bottle is 50¢. That’s pinball play’n money! Drink a Whistler soda… return the bottle… play pinball… lather… rinse… repeat! We were glad to see that BSSSS had expanded their services. We were not glad about the few non-working (dark in previous pictures) pinball machines we found. However, due to the fact that non-working or even problematic games could quite easily be reported, we are sure the reported games will be fixed in no time at all. We wish every establishment has a system such as this We were grateful for such a fun place to visit and play pinball. We found ourselves not the only ones. Notes of appreciation were posed all around BSSSS Now that the Christmas holiday is over, we will return to BSSSS with empty Whistler soda bottles in hand. And play more pinball. And drink more Whistled sodas. And . . . We’ve only tried a handful of these; We’ll have to try ’em all Or, maybe we’ll try one from the soda fountain and enjoy it with a slice of pizza? Sooo many flavours; I wonder if they’ll make us a Suicide Soda? Well, that’s it for now. Be sure to leave a comment if you know what the picture was at the beginning of this article, and stay tuned to Pinball News for all the pinball news of 2020 and beyond!