FLIP EXPO 2019

Last year marked our return to the Flip Expo show in Le Tréport, France after a few years away. We had a great time then, so returning this year was, to coin a phrase, a “no-brainer”.

Of course there are several other reasons why we’d want to make a return trip – the relative proximity to the Pinball News office in London, the attractive local scenery, the opportunity to stock up on some French wine and cider, the local cuisine, and the friendly nature of both the show and the inhabitants of Le Tréport who clearly embrace the event and look forward to its return each year, as evinced by the many, many posters we saw around town. Even the local paper got in on the act.

So we arrived in the town around 3pm on Friday, checked-in to our hotel (where our rudimentary French language skills proved sufficient to get us a nice room) and made the ten-minute walk past the port to Salle Serge Reggiani – the main hall where the bulk of the pinballs were being set up.

Serge Reggiani is a famed film and stage actor, singer, writer and artist who moved from Italy to the region around Le Tréport at the age of eight before moving to Paris where he went on to become internationally renowned. This hall is named in his honour.

Last year the temperatures were in the mid-20s Celsius (upper 70s in Fahrenheit) which meant there were lots of people lounging around outside, enjoying the warmth and the bright sunshine. There was plenty of sunshine over the weekend this year, but the temperatures were way down into the mid-teens at most which spoiled the fun a little.

So, it was inside the hall was where the fun was happening and when we got there, work was underway to set up the machines and the tournament area.

The Free Play Hall also has a large kitchen which was serving hot food, baguettes, hot and cold drinks and crepes all weekend.

The Salle Serge Reggiani is only one of the two halls used by the Flip Expo show. In earlier years it only had use of the room above, but recently an adjacent sports hall has been added to cater for the expanded number of vendor stands.

In the sports hall, the tables and dividing walls for the vendors had been laid-out so those who were setting up on Friday could make an early start.

With everyone busy getting ready for Saturday’s 10am start we took our leave and visited a restaurant we particularly enjoyed last year where we were able to sit outside and overlook the harbour. The temperature prevented any outdoor seating this year, nonetheless we eventually staggered back to our hotel full of delicious local delicacies, ready to be back at the venue for the opening of the show the next morning.

Last year entrance to the show was split between the two halls, with payment desks at both. For 2019 there was a solitary entry desk which allowed entry to both halls, which made a lot more sense.

Entry to the show cost just €4 ($4.50/£3.45) per day – a genuine bargain. The reason the cost can be so affordable is that the town welcomes the show by giving them the use of the two halls as well as the electricity they use. In addition, the show can run the kitchen themselves and aren’t tied to any approved catering company. In return, lots of visitors come to visit, stay at the hotels and frequent the local shops, restaurants and bars.

If only every pinball show host town or city was so forward-thinking.

So, let’s take a look in the vendor hall first as that’s where the latest titles were available to play.

Next door to Carl was Mirco Steffen who had a large display of playfields, cabinet decals and assorted off-cuts or mis-prints which could be used as decoration for your gameroom.

Christophe Lienard had all four of the current Jersey Jack Pinball machines on his stand along with assorted parts for modern games.

Until about a week before the show it was a secret that the fifth Jersey Jack Pinball title would enjoy its European debut at the Flip Expo show. However, word soon spread and it wasn’t long before people were making the trip to Le Tréport just to catch this new game. More on that later though.

Starting on the second row of vendors, the first stand was from Flip Projects who were offering on-the-spot board diagnostics and repairs.

On the opposite side of the row, Art Cab had some interesting video pinball and other arcade-style games, as well as bare pinball cabinets.

One of the largest stands belonged to Zpeakabonks Pinball Paradis whose 18m stand featured many of the latest titles to play as well as a good selection of pinball parts.

We’re on the home straight now, with the final row of vendor stands headed-up by Jean Philippe Passarieux.

Returning to the opposite corner of the hall, at midday on Saturday the newest Jersey Jack Pinball title was revealed on Christophe Lienard’s stand. In typically understated fashion, there was no announcement, no fanfare or presentation, it was just brought out from the back room where it had been stored so the first games could be streamed on the internet.

There was a large box of chocolate mint miniature Wonka Bars for people to enjoy. Jack threw some of them out into the crowd too.

We recorded some video of the playfield and of the first game being played with Franck Bona on the flippers.

In addition, Pinball News teamed up with Jonathann Joosten of Pinball Magazine to record a special bonus podcast interview with Jack Guarnieri where he talks all about the new game.

To record our interview we took to a back room at the show where the show organiser, Franck, made sure we were well looked after, with chocolate crepes and champagne.

You can listen to the full interview here.

The reveal of the game coincided with the reception drinks in the hall, attended by the Mayor of Le Tréport. Sadly, we were busy with the new game, but managed to enjoy a nice sip of Ricard nonetheless.

As we move from the Vendor Hall to the Free Play Hall, we spotted a couple more pieces of classic Americana outside.

So, let’s go into the Free Play Hall, and as we entered the room the first games we came across were table footballs (foosballs or baby-foots).

Beyond these tables, PinSound had a large stand to showcase their replacement sound board and custom audio packages for a range of games. They had several demonstration machines set up so visitors could hear the PinSound system in action.

There were a few other vendors in the Free Play Hall too.

The rest of the hall was taken up by free-play machines and the tournaments which occupied the area around the stage at the back of the room.

Although there was a good selection, the Free Play Hall was by no means packed with machines. There were a few gaps and several of the machines there had no credits and so couldn’t be played.

At the back of the hall was the tournament area where events were run by Nicolas Linqué.

The main tournament took place on Saturday. Players could choose to play any five of the available machines to try to get a highly-ranked score, plus they had a joker game which they could use (or not) to try to improve their ranking.

The play-offs took place on Saturday evening, with the eventual winner being Samuel Reolid who beat Franck Bona into second place on the final game which was played on Dialed-In!

On Sunday there were two more tournaments. In the morning there was a kids tournament where the winner was Alexandre Bouet.

Finally, there was a side tournament held on Sunday afternoon. The winner of this was Anthony Rorive.

The tournament results conclude our coverage of this year’s Flip Expo show.

We continue to enjoy visiting Flip Expo and Le Tréport each year. Even with the cold weather, the town looked delightful and the show was as well-organised as ever.

Part of that organisation is to make sure it is as relaxing and enjoyable for everyone as possible. It has a great laid-back feel, with visitors coming and going as they please and a general lack of pressure to make sure you see everything. The low price of entry is a big help here, as it encourages family members to come along even if they are not especially into pinball (yet).

The only worrying thing is the possibility that this might be the last Flip Expo, since we heard that the main organiser, Franck Michaux, is looking to step down from running the show. That would be a real shame, as Flip Expo is probably as popular and as successful as it has ever been.

Hopefully it will continue for many years to come, and we hope you enjoyed our coverage of this year’s Flip Expo show. We leave you with our exclusive Eighteen Minute Tour of the show, looking at all the machines, vendors and other attractions for visitors to enjoy.