In an era when video games regularly outsell DVDs, the release of a new pinball machine is something of a rarity. Hence the party atmosphere at Good Company bar in Williamsburg recently, when pinball aficionados from as far away as New Jersey gathered to square off in a tournament on the brand-spanking-new “Avatar” machine.

“It takes a little getting used to. Any machine does,” says tournament host Joe Said as he racks up points. Steven Bowden, currently 27th in the world (yes, there is a site that ranks players), was not totally blown away. “Avatar” manufacturer Stern Pinball “just decided to take a bunch of stuff from other games and throw blue paint over it,” he says.

“But,” he shrugs, “it works.”

Bowden and Said, self-described serious pinball nerds, are well-versed in where — and how — to play the game. But mere civilians are increasingly getting into playing as well.

“People are into the retro culture thing, and pinball definitely is part of that,” says Said, a 32-year-old event promoter. “There are more tables around, and more people know it exists, and are playing more.”

At Asbury Park, NJ’s Silver Ball Pinball Museum, home to more than 200 machines, owner Rob Ilvento is also seeing a spike in interest. “There is a resurgence going on in pinball,” says Ilvento, whose machines are set to “free play” (for a one-time admission fee, which varies based on how long you want to stay).

Here in space-limited New York City, you won’t find an arcade with hundreds of machines. But if you know where to look, there are several hot spots — bars and shops with multiple games that are well-maintained (see photos for our top locales and machines). If you’re extra lucky, you’ll find a machine that still costs only 50 cents instead $1 for three balls — or even a game that gives you five balls instead of three.

Jon E. owns East Village-based Reciprocal Skateboards, a tiny skate shop that’s also home to four impeccably tuned machines. “ ‘Doctor Who’ is really popular, but I prefer ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon,’ ” says Jon, who has three games in his East Village apartment and eight more in storage.

The New York City Pinball League meets at Union Square’s Amsterdam Billiards, which now features an “Avatar” machine and the two other Stern pinball releases from this year, “Iron Man” and “Big Buck Hunter.” Go there to find other pinball players — see nycpinballleague.com for times and dates. If the competition is a little too intense, skip the team stuff and head straight for the machines.

Incidentally, ladies, if you’re looking to meet guys, joining the local pinball scene is one way to do it; the male-to-female ratio at the tournament we attended was about 30-to-1.