Wizard’s World on the road
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Join pinball enthusiasts and IFPA members in celebrating the vibrant community spirit that keeps our beloved game flipping strong! In this latest update from the road, The Wizard dives into Florida’s pinball scene, connecting with fellow fanatics and embarking on exciting outings. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or a casual player, stories like this remind us why pinball unites us across generations.
The Villages Daily Sun
Monday September 15, 2025
By: Andrea Davis
Managing Editor Recreation and Community News
THE VILLAGES PINBALL CLUB
On Thursday, The Villages Pinball Club partnered with Wizard’s World Pinball Arcade, also known as Fort Wayne Pinball, an arcade in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a night of discussion with a guest speaker—Jonny Fairplay. Fairplay is known from the reality television show “Survivor,” where he gained notoriety in season 7 for lying about his grandmother dying, and the show “House of Villains.”
The club began the meeting with a discussion about pinball and the types of games they like most. Richard Boy, president of the club, said the group started just before COVID-19 caused the world to shut down.
“We started by playing a few games at Tom Wible’s house,” the Village of Pine Ridge resident said. “It was great because it was just a couple of people who loved pinball getting together to play.”
Before they introduced the club’s guest speakers Fairplay and Mike Burgess, of Wizard’s World Pinball—Wible threw some Wizard’s World merchandise out to club members.
Burgess said he recently moved to The Villages and was excited to learn there was a pinball club.
“I have been playing pinball since I was knee high,” the Village of Summerhill resident said.
When Fairplay came up to speak, he sported a name tag that said Wizard Jr.
“Burgess and I met because he sent me an email asking if I wanted to come to Indiana to play pinball,” Fairplay said. “I sent him an email back with my number and told him to call me. But no, seriously, I love pinball.” Fairplay explained that he got into pinball when he was young.
“I play with my fiancée and my daughters,” he said. “Pinball to me is a representation of my family. I love my family and I love pinball. When I play, it is a way to relax because it reminds me of times of when I play with my family.”
When it came to being on “Survivor,” he said he only briefly watched a few minutes of one episode before he was asked to be on it.
“I got asked and I was like ‘OK, whatever,’ and then I went on like eBay and bought every single episode on VHS,” he said. “I created the whole ‘dead grandma’ scenario before I even went out there.”
He said while some people may think it is horrible to lie about your grandma dying, his grandma thought it was funny.
“I did not expect them to go call for funeral details and her answering the phone,” he said with a laugh.
To learn more about The Villages Pinball Club, attend a meeting at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at Everglades Recreation.
For more information see our Facebook page:
Contact: villagespinballclub@gmail.com
