PINBALL NEWS DIARY

The 2020 Texas Pinball Festival will be held the weekend of March 27 – 29, 2020 in a HUGE 40,000 square foot game room! We’ll be at the Embassy Suites Dallas – Frisco Hotel and Conference Center in Frisco again, and we want to top what we did last year and fill this space with more than 400 pinball machines, classic video games and other game room goodies set up on free play for everyone to enjoy the entire weekend. Leave your quarters at home!

Children under 5 get in free. Pre-register for the 2020 Texas Pinball Festival starting October 1st, or find out how get in FREE when you bring a game! T-shirts, tournament tickets, and other merchandise will be available for pre-order and sale at the show and of course at the door. And don’t forget to book your room.

The Texas Pinball Festival opens it’s door Friday evening at 5pm and will stay open until 1am on Friday and until midnight on Saturday. The hotel offers multiple options for food and drink.

Do you have what it takes to be a pinball wizard? A variety of adult and children’s tournaments will be held throughout the weekend to test your skills. Compete against others for trophies, ribbons and cash prizes. You could walk out a superstar!

As if inside wasn’t fun enough… Check out the bargains outside! Saturday, March 28, 2020 starting at 8:00am, the DFW Pinball and Arcade Club will be putting on an outdoor flea market and swap meet featuring coin operated collectibles, project machines and more! Admission is free to all guests. Got a machine taking up space in your garage? Too many projects? Too many parts? Bring ’em to the swap meet!

The show will conclude Sunday afternoon after the Awards Ceremony scheduled for 2:30pm. Though we give out door prizes all weekend long, one lucky winner will take home the Raffle Drawing grand prize: a brand new pinball machine!

This show draws people from all over the United States and beyond. It is one of the largest shows in the industry and we want you to experience it first hand. So come on out and join us!

As every year, we return with our STR-Pinball Tournament sponsored by the company of our friends Orlando and Cristina.

This year will be the weekend of 28 and 29 March, the weekend before Easter. It will be held at the facilities of our association in Biar.

Registration can be done from now on: pinballbiar@gmail.com

We’ll have fantastic trophies sponsored by STR-Pinball.

This year we will eat at our headquarters. The price is €65 which includes food.

The Midwest Gaming Classic is a trade show featuring 100,000+ square feet of retro and modern home video game consoles, pinball machines, arcade video games, computers, table top gaming, crane games, collectible card games and air hockey, and that’s just the start!

The Midwest Gaming Classic is about celebrating gaming, trying new things, learning about the gaming hobby, about meeting others who share the love of gaming, and having fun doing it!

No matter if you have one console and a handful of games or thousands of games in every room of your house, you’ll find something to celebrate with us!

We are showcasing Pinball Machines, Arcade games, coin-ops and all the cool things you need to complete your gameroom including neon signs, gas pumps, and more.

2:00 PM Thursday – 10:00 PM Thursday.
1:00 PM Friday – 10:00 PM Friday.
9:00 AM Saturday – 6:00 PM Saturday.

Adults $15.00 per day
Kids 5-13 $8.00 per day
Kids 4 and under Free

Come out and join us for our 21st year!

The public is cordially invited to attend the largest antique show of its kind! Curious about what the Chicagoland Show has in store for you? Check out our ticketing options, and join us at this one-of-a-kind event!

Our facility is the one of the largest dedicated pinball venues (by unique game count) in North America and has games from the 1950s “woodrails” to the latest games from Stern pinball. Every decade, manufacturer and game type is represented at the museum. There are many rare and hard to find games set up and ready to play. All machines are free play, so one entrance ticket allows unlimited play for the day. There’s something for every pinball fan here (we are the one of the largest dedicated pinball facility in North America.) But unlike other pinball museum type facilities, we are here every day working on our machines, making sure they play perfect! Arguably this makes us the best working/restored pinball collection in North America.

Tickets for the showcase will be available in advance only. We want to ensure that all attendees have the absolute best possible experience and have plenty of room to mingle and experience and play the pinball machines. To do this we have a limited number of tickets available for each day. Once the limit is reached, we are sold out, and no more tickets will be issued. Hence generally speaking there will not be tickets available at the door.

Play Expo returns to Manchester but at a new location, featuring the Northern Lights Pinball Show with around 60 pinballs, competitions, prize raffles and much more.

The UK’s favourite arcade, indie and retro games show will return in 2020! Close to 1000 consoles, handhelds, computers, arcades, pinballs and PCs all running the very best in classic and modern video games and all free to play!

Organised by experienced video game events specialists Replay Events the show will be full with features, exhibitors and more gaming mayhem than Manchester has ever seen.

Jam packed with everything you love about gaming and popular culture, the show has something for everyone.

Dear pinball friends,

We would like to inform you about a year in advance that the GPO 2020 will take place in our beautiful city of GIFHORN, on the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath.
So mark the following period very thick in the calendar.

The date is already fixed: Friday, May 15, 2020 – Sunday, May 17, 2020.
Location: Stadthalle in 38518 Gifhorn, Schützenplatz 2
Link: Stadthalle-gifhorn.de

Further information follows.

If you already have questions, ask …

Greetings from your organizing team “on site”:

It is like the comicon for pinball, retro console, classic arcade video! Gameroom exhibitors of all types of games, parts, and collectibles are under one roof at this once-a-year festival for you to play, buy and sell. If they are a major name in pinball and arcade gaming, they are here.

Play all the games you want with admission. Interested in honing your pinball play and improving gaming skills? Want the industry low-down and to be an insider on innovations? We have that covered. Take a break from playing to join meetups and seminars hosted by industry insiders and celebrity guests – designers, modders, programmers, artists, and entrepreneurs galore.

Note: Same location and Memorial Day weekend dates as last year.

This is our 12th year and it’s one of the biggest and smoothest running shows in the world!
-Featuring over 400 pinball and arcade games from the 1950s to the newest games!
-5 pinball tournaments!
-Over a dozen satellite pinball tournaments leading up to the show where you can win prizes, weekend passes, and tournament entries!
-The Northwest Show draws over 4,000 collectors, players and fans of classic coin-op games!
-Top national and local vendors and sponsors!
-One of the best seminar and speaker lineups of any show, run by our top notch video and audio team!
-World record high score attempts!
-Tons of raffle items, prizes and merch! Win a pinball or arcade game each day the show!
-Dozens of one of a kind homebrew games, whitewoods, prototypes, rare games and the debut of newest games from pinball and arcade manufacturers!
-Nice modern air conditioned convention center with 2 hotels within a block of the venue, situated near bars, restaurants and in a town with a dozen microbreweries, many within walking distance!

Dear pinball friends,

The GPA proudly presents…

With great pleasure I would like to announce to you that there is a very high probability that this pinball event will take place again in 2020.
The weekend would be June 6th and 7th, 2020 at Pinball Universe in Bünde featuring artist Doug Watson. So, pinballs, listening to the guest, eating together, etc. etc. Technology talk is also not possible and there will be no tournament.

The entrance fee will be € 40.00 for GPA members and € 65.00 for non-GPA members.
This includes the buffet meal on Saturday similar to 2018.
We cover the full travel expenses from Doug Watson – Economy Plus from SFO to Germany with Lufthansa – several days hotel, Essen travel expenses, as well as the real expenses of PU for cleaning etc. We do not have to pay rent to PU!

As soon as Doug has booked the flight I will announce registration details

Even if you have never thought about Doug before Panthera, Barracora but also BK2000, T2 and Indiana Jones.
It pays to take items with you to sign and, unlike Elvira, autographs for the show visitors cost NOTHING.

PS: The number of visitors will be limited to 120!

The Pintastic New England Pinball and Game Room Expo announced that its sixth-year event in 2020 will take place at the Regency Hotel in Boxborough, MA.

Show owner Gabriel D’Annunzio said, “We are pleased that  we get an additional 5000 square feet, more function rooms, and we don’t  give up any aspects of the show that people like.”

The Pintastic show has  free play rooms, tournaments, seminars, a vendor hall with commercial booths, an auction, entertainment for kids, and an outdoor flea market for casual sellers. All will be accommodated in the Boxborough facility, which will undergo a substantial renovation between now and showtime in June 2020.

More details nearer the time.

Note: New location

Are you looking for a little relief from the hot summer sun? Look no further than Pintastic New England, which is the first of its kind, centrally located in Boxborough, Massachusetts. This expo is 30,000 square feet of fun for the whole family. The kids can have never-ending excitement with a caricature artist, face painting, friendly clowns & balloon animals. The adults can bring out their inner child with over 200 pinball machines set on free play, all while enjoying an ice-cold craft beer.

Featuring the Pinburgh Match-Play Championship with over $100,000 in total prizes and more than 700 pinball and arcade machines.

The World’s largest pinball tournament with close to 800 competitors.

The Southern-Fried Gaming Expo (SFGE) is a 3-day fan convention focused exclusively on gaming.

The Expo is held July 10-12 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel and Cobb Galleria Convention Center in Atlanta, GA, and boasts over 300 full-sized arcade games, pinball machines and console systems, along with tabletop gaming, vendors, special guest speakers, a film fest, wrestling, tournaments and more!

SFGE is a family-friendly event that will be fun for all ages.

Event Times:

• Friday, July 10, 2020: 3pm – 12am (w/ later night events & all night tabletop)
• Saturday, July 11, 2020: 10am – 12am (w/ later night events & all night tabletop)
• Sunday, July 12, 2020: 10am – 4pm

Hotel rooms available for $132 per night. Book early as these usually sell out.

Online registration is now open, but only for full three-day passes until the end of 2019.

California Extreme is the “Classic Arcade Games Show”. It’s an annual celebration of coin operated pinball machines, video games and other novelties you once found in game arcades. All games on display are set for free play, so leave your quarters in the ash tray in your car. You won’t need ’em.

PinBrew is a three-day fun filled event with the emphasis on pinball. Come join us at the show and for the price of the ticket you will be able to enjoy a full day or all three days playing over 100 pinball machines new and old. We will have a selection of arcade games there that you may have played in younger days as well. Our show combines the fun of games with great craft beers and local foods. Each day we will have different breweries set up giving you the opportunity to try a variety of their best brews.

We will be enjoying different foods from some of the region’s best Food trucks. Everything from barbecue to pierogis. Also, some of the areas best coffee will be represented there by Stonefruit Coffee Company.

And for you serious pinheads we will have vendors displaying some of the newest pinball machines, Mods and parts. There will be games there for sale that you can take home from the show. And plenty of tournaments for all you serious pinball wizards.

The UK’s national pinball show returns for a third year to the familiar surroundings of the Mercure Daventry Court Hotel.

Around 100 machines are expected, with more details on special events announced nearer the time.

VIP-only sessions are held on Friday and Saturday evenings, and the UKPinfest Battle tournament is also expected to return.

The Austria Comic Con is a regular event in Austria with around 25.000 visitors.

For the last four years there has been a large pinball area at the event. In 2020 there will be an area with around 500m² full of pinballs and arcades games organizsed by RS-Pinball and the Vöcklabrucker Flipper Sport Verein – FlippArena.

As last year, there will be a lot of new games such as Rick and Morty from Spooky Pinball, Heist and others from Multimorphic, as well as the latest from Jersey Jack Pinball, Stern Pinball, American Pinball and others.

Some pinball tournaments will also be organised across the weekend.

This annual event has long been supported by pinball enthusiasts from all over Northern California and helps local youth charities. Many people bring their pinball machines to share, the organizers and volunteers are not paid to put on the show, we spread pinball joy and everyone benefits!

No advance ticket sales – just pay on the door.

Pinball Expo returns to the Westin Chicago North Shore for the 36th anniversary in 2020, including the Stern Pinball factory tour, a huge seminar schedule, IFPA-ranked tournaments, a wide range of parts, machine and add-on vendors, two large games rooms, exhibits of the latest games and products and much more, starting with a free banquet on Wednesday evening.

Pinball News will be video recording all the seminars and they will be made available on the Pinball News site and YouTube channel soon after.

Note:  Normally only the tournaments continue into Sunday.  Pinball Expo vendor, games and seminar halls are all expected to close Saturday night.

Welcome to the GRAND OLE GAMEROOM EXPO, Nashville’s annual Arcade, Pinball, and Video Game Expo. We are back for year four at a new 50,000 sq ft venue on November 13th-15th, 2020.

The Grand Ole Gameroom Expo is a public event for gamers of all ages. Join us for a weekend packed with over 200 arcade and pinball games all set to free play. Play classic arcade games like Donkey Kong, Centipede, Ms Pac-Man, Double Dragon, Street Fighter II, and many others. Also play many classic pinball games like Black Knight, The Addams Family, and even some of the latest pinball games from Stern like Aerosmith, Star Wars, Deadpool, and Black Knight Sword of Rage. We also have air hockey, skeeball, and other family friendly games.

The Expo also has over 80 game consoles spanning the Atari 2600 to the latest Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, and Playstation VR. There are multiple tournaments for casual players and competitive players on games like Super Smash Bros and Mortal Kombat 11, and we host the largest IFPA pinball tournament in Tennessee.

The public is cordially invited to attend the largest antique show of its kind! Curious about what the Chicagoland Show has in store for you? Check out our ticketing options, and join us at this one-of-a-kind event!

The Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2020, the biggest pinball event in the Netherlands and home of the Dutch Pinball Open tournament, will take place in the new location of the ECC (Event and Conference Centre) in Leiden.

On the 21st & 22nd of November all are welcome to play on the more than 100 games set to free-play, or attempt to go home with the title.

What to expect?

– More than 100 games, all on free play
– Main tournament (open entry, anyone can join)
– Various ‘side-games’ such as the classics tournament
– Seminars
– Vendors

Greater Cincinnati’s first annual pinball show featuring over 120 machines from local collections. All machines will be set for free play, so leave your quarters at home.

Machines from the ’70s through the present will be well represented. Several machines will be available for purchase with contact and pricing listed on these machines.

Tickets will be limited to avoid overcrowding. Buy early to guarantee your spot. If the show does not sell out in advance, tickets will be sold at the door. If tickets do sell out prior to the show, the website will be updated to reflect such. Free entry for children 12 and under (1 per paying adult). IFPA registered tournaments will be held Friday and Saturday, with a gauntlet style tournament Sunday. There will also be an IFPA registered Women’s tournament on Sunday.