Here we are again in windy, snowy Rosemont just on the edge of Chicago's O'Hare airport but things are a bit different this time.

For one, we're not at the Ramada because parts of that have been demolished and the whole hotel is closed. 

So we're a short walk up the road at the Wyndham.

Secondly, the Bumper Blast welcoming get together the night before Expo officially starts has been put on steroids to become a decent pre-Expo party.

There wasn't a whole lot to distinguish it from the rest of the show - a good number of people chatted and played pinball on show games in one of the show halls.  It was a bit more intimate than the main show and sandwiches, nibbles and fizzy drinks were provided but it was really a chance to meet up with old friends and perhaps those you've only talked to through e-mail.

Games set up and playable tonight were:
Eight Ball, Stellar Wars, Haunted House, WhoDunnit?, Judge Dredd, The Addams Family, Banzai Run, Demolition Man, Evel Knievel, Flight 2000, Fish Tales, Frontier, Big Game, Seawitch, Quicksilver, Mexico `86, Fathom, Medieval Madness, Magic Castle, F-14 Tomcat, Godzilla, Scared Stiff, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Monster Bash, Junkyard, Whirlwind, Special Force, Dungeons & Dragons, Strange Science, Bride of Pinbot, Breakshot, Congo, Judge Dredd, Motor Show, Harley Davidson (Stern), Twilight Zone, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Black Knight 2000, Flintstones, White Water, FishTales, Tommy, Breakshot, Count Down, Fathom, Rollergames, High Speed 2, Elektra, Strange Science, Thunderball, Judge Dredd and Electra.

One of the most interesting games was the Mr Game-made machine, Motor Show.

The radical cabinet and built-in video monitor help make this an interesting game to both watch and to play. It certainly got a lot attention.

The proceedings finished at 11pm when people retired to either the bar or the drive home ready for the real start of Expo - the factory tour.

We'll be back soon with more updates from that and the show but that's all for now.

Back to the Pinball Expo page

Back to the Shows page

Back to the front page

© Pinball News 2005