The Simpsons Who Shot Mr. Burns Pinball: Marco Bucci's Homebrew Whodunit Machine
Who Shot Mr. Burns Pinball: Marco Bucci's "Whodunit" Simpsons Machine
Who shot Mr. Burns? In this pinball machine, the answer is different every game.
Homebrew builder Marco Bucci (the "other Marco," as host Jordan from Fliptronic jokes) brought his Who Shot Mr. Burns Simpsons machine to our homebrew village for PINDEVCON inside Pinball Expo 2026. It's a fan-built homebrew, not an official Simpsons game. Isaiah played while Marco walked us through a rotating cooling tower, a floating ramp and six suspects.
"I'm a professional artist. The art was the one thing I knew I could do," Marco says.
Why build a Who Shot Mr. Burns pinball machine?
Marco built it because it's his favorite episode, and nobody had made a machine like it. He's a diehard Simpsons fan. His very first idea was Day of the Tentacle, his all-time favorite computer game. He decided that was a little too niche. There's still a subtle easter egg call-out to it in the game though!
He knows and loves the other two Simpsons pinball machines (Data East’s The Simpsons and Stern Pinball’s The Simpsons Pinball Party) and wanted to create his own Simpsons game. So he themed his game after the one episode he loves most.
The mechs behind the mayhem
Marco likes a busy upper playfield. As the physical build came together, he found room for more features and themed them afterward. The result includes a rotating cooling tower that holds the ball and directs it to one of three exits using the flipper buttons.
A floating ramp drops into position while posts rise to protect the shot. The ramp and tower also provide two distinct physical locks for Meltdown multiball. Marco designed them to take some work: “I love to work toward locks.” Ya gotta work for those multiballs, kids!!
How does the game pick who shot Mr. Burns?
The coding on this game is awesome. Marco chooses one of six suspects at random at the start of every game. The suspects come from the alternate endings the animators made when the episode first aired, to confuse anyone watching. They're laid out in the middle of the playfield. The list in the interview includes Skinner, Willie, Homer, Krusty, Moe and Smithers.
It's not hard coded, so it's always one of those six and always different. And it's never Maggie, because she wasn't in the alternate endings. That gives the machine a real whodunit pinball feel.
What other modes are in the game?
The game has a four-part Treehouse of Horror mini wizard, plus major modes like Beer Baron and Flaming Moe's. Treehouse of Horror sits at the lower right of the playfield. You work through zombies, Homer and the donuts, escaping Homer in The Shining, and an alien attack. Marco says he once considered making the whole game a Treehouse of Horror - maybe his NEXT homebrew???
You can also choose your route. You can play just for the Kwik-E-Mart, or go after Moe's or the cooling tower.
How did a professional artist learn to code a pinball machine?
Marco learned it as he built, and he played the game virtually for months before he had the physical machine. He's a professional artist who did all the art. Electronics and coding? "No idea," he says. He wrote the game code in Mission Pinball Framework while he built the machine.
He praises the documentation. Asked how learning the new skills went, he says the docs from Mission Pinball Framework and FAST are "so thorough." giving him the steps he needed to create his game from start to finish!
Building ramps like these? Start with our metal ramps
Ramps are the heart of this layout. The floating ramp that circles Grimes' office comes down on demand and the ball has to hit it clean, so the ramp has to be right.
Our Ramps-Metal category is where we'd send you when you're laying out a ramp of your own. Browsing through our ramp selections will start giving you ideas for your homebrew playfield design!
Shop Marco Specialties Ramps-Metal
Shop Marco Specialties Ramps-Plastic
What’s Next for Marco Bucci?
Marco started as a professional artist with no experience in electronics or coding. He learned as he built, and now owns a complete game HE made himself, The Simpsons Who Shot Mr. Burns pinball.
That doesn't mean he's done tinkering. “I never have to ship this thing. It's mine,” he says. He may add a few extra modes down the road, but for now, his Springfield is ready to play- we just hope he brings it out to more shows so we can all play it too! 😄
To everyone starting a homebrew of your own: good luck, have fun, and keep building. We can't wait to see what you create!
🧰 Pair our parts with Trident & FAST for the Full Homebrew Experience
Take your build to the next level by combining our parts or a Homebrew Loot Crate with:
This combo empowers you to wire, design, and code your machine from start to finish.