Everything starts to feel a bit floaty. For one thing, it is just a weird, very mentally taxing environment. You are in a pretty small space with 100 people and a lot of very loud pinball machines. Between rounds you can escape outdoors or to the hallway, but when you’re playing it is really a total sensory assault.
Pinball also demands a very high degree of attention. It’s one of the things I like about it- it’s a very meditative game in so much as it tends to naturally quiet other parts of your brain which aren’t engaged with tracking and affecting the movement of a very small very fast object.
Physically, you’re on your feet on a concrete floor. My lower back suffers from the usual forty year old wear and tear, so that’s uncomfortable. There’s a bit of an adrenaline rush from playing, though, so at least right now I’m not feeling that physically tired. And I’ve got coffee for when I do – saving that for later!