PINBALL NEWS DIARY

Our first special exhibition in the Showcase Gallery at the Joseph Brant Museum, is the Canadian premiere of Part of the Machine: Rock & Pinball from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

The interactive exhibition features rock-themed, playable pinball machines alongside merchandise and artifacts related to artists and bands.

Pinball Expo returns to the Westin Chicago North Shore for the 35th anniversary in 2019, including the Stern Pinball factory tour, a huge seminar schedule, an 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 the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville November 8-10, 2019.

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 Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2019, the biggest pinball event in the Netherlands and home of the Dutch Pinball Open tournament, will take place in the new location of ‘de IJsselhallen’ in Zwolle.
On the 9th and the 10th 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?

– About 150 games, all on free play
– Main tournament (open entry, anyone can join)
– Various ‘side-games’ such as the classics tournament
– Seminars
– Vendors

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!

There will be over 300 classic and current coin-op pinball machines, video arcade games, penny arcades, and console video games ready for attendees to play on free play or buy them for their home.

There will be tournaments, events, music and workshops to keep the young and young-at-heart entertained.

Greater Cincinnati’s first annual pinball show featuring over 100 machines from local collections. All machines will be set for free play, so leave your quarters at home. 2018’s show and tournament will occur at the Holiday Inn Hotel of Eastgate.

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 approved tournaments will be held Friday and Saturday, with a gauntlet style tournament Sunday.

Friday 13th December, 18:30-22:00
Friday evening social – £5 per person; £3 for children under 16.

Saturday 14th December, 11:30-19:00
Festive Classics tournament – £10 per person; £6 for children under 16.
Format: Head-to-head play; Five Strike Knockout on the classic games.
Note: There will be no practice on machines in the Classic tournaments but you are free to practice on any other machines.
Registration 11:30 am for 12 noon start.

Sunday 15th December, 11:00-18:00 (qualifying 11:00-15:00)
Main tournament – £10 per person, £6 for children under 16.
Format: Play two qualification games on eight machines of your choice. The top 16 qualify (or even numbered just less than 50% if less than 32 players) for head-to-head play consisting of best of five games (may change to best of three depending on numbers).

Note: Social visits are welcome but no classic play possible on Saturday during the tournament and you may be asked to vacate a machine on Sunday if tournament players require it. Social visit cost is £10 per person, £6 for children under 16.

Please email peter@specialwhenlit.co.uk to confirm you place. State which day or both days.

The INDISC Pinball Festival is a four day pinball arcade party with more fun than you can imagine. Not only do we have 500+ pinball machines and a small selection of classic video games on free play, we are hosting one of the largest Stern Pinball Pro Circuit events of the year, It Never Drains in Southern California™ and The Open IFPA World Championship™—which also happens to be one of the largest open pinball tournaments in the world and has been designated as the 5th major championship.

In addition to hosting The Open, INDISC 2020 will include multiple Classics events along with the High Stakes, Women’s and Youth divisions from previous years. New for 2020, INDISC will now include a Seniors division and will be expanding to a fourth day. More details coming soon.

Come battle the best players from all over the world or simply enjoy the vast collection of machines the Museum of Pinball has to offer. Either way, we’ll see you in Janaury!

The annual UK amusement and coin-op trade show is back at ExCel London in the Docklands area of the capital.

Often a launchpad for various companies’ new releases, expect a presence from Stern Pinball on the Electrocoin stand, Jersey Jack and Chicago Gaming on the Pinball Heaven stand, and some surprise pinball-related products.

The amusement, FEC and allied out-of-home entertainment segments will take a 1,727 mile detour next spring, when the AAMA-AMOA Amusement Expo International (AEI) takes a one-year break from Las Vegas and heads south to New Orleans for its annual gathering of equipment, ideas and industry executives.

“Jazz Up Your Business in the Big Easy!” will serve as the theme for next year’s March 9-11, 2020 AEI, with Expo Education Day to kick things off on Monday, March 9, followed by the two-day of exhibits on Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11. In addition to changing the location for next year, the schedule for AEI will also shift by a day, to a Monday-Wednesday pattern (from the previous Tuesday-Thursday time frame).

Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd March, 2020 (optional warm-up tournament on the Wednesday).
More than 70 machines from all epochs.
Nice drinks and food.
Many tournaments.
Good and cheap hotels and hostels nearby.
Good connections from Frankfurt airport.

More details to be added soon.

Featuring the main Dutch Pinball Masters tournament, a Classics tournament, a Team tournament and a 4-Strikes Knockout tournament.  Maximum prize money of €1,000 for the winner of the DPM and €500 for the Classics winner.

Usually held at the Dutch Pinball Association (NFV) Clubhouse in Veenendaal where there are also free play practice machines and a cafe/bar on-site, there have been some changes in the staffing at the Clubhouse and so the location for the 2020 event has not been confirmed yet.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 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!