{"id":3102,"date":"2016-12-14T11:28:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-14T11:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/?p=3102"},"modified":"2017-08-26T00:03:51","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T23:03:51","slug":"arcadia-hungarian-pinball-open-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/2016\/12\/14\/arcadia-hungarian-pinball-open-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"ARCADIA: HUNGARIAN PINBALL OPEN 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year<\/a> we reported from the Hungarian Pinball Open which was held at the Hungarian Pinball Museum<\/a> in Budapest. That event was such a success that the number of players increased and the HPO outgrew the Museum’s confines.<\/p>\n

So for 2016 the organisers moved to the larger D\u00fcrer Conference Centre in the north-west of the city, a short walk from Heroes’ Square.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The entrance to the D\u00fcrer Conference Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the move to a larger space, the opportunity was taken to expand the event beyond just the pinball tournaments, to make it appeal to gamers of different types. Thus the Arcadia show was created, combining pinballs, video games and assorted coin-op amusements, as well as retro console gaming.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Arcadia show banner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Not<\/a>
Not forgetting the Hungarian Pinball Open<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The D\u00fcrer Conference Centre is a single-storey complex comprised of several rooms of various sizes. We arrived on Friday evening when it was dark outside and the building was nicely illuminated.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The D\u00fcrer Conference Centre at night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The D\u00fcrer Conference Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once through the entry doors and past the registration\/payment desk, we come to the lobby where all the cool kids hang out and the warm coats hang up.<\/p>\n

\"Chilling<\/a>
Chilling in the lobby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Coat<\/a>
Coat storage cost 200HUF ($0.70\/?0.64\/\u00a30.55) a day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gaming furniture company Altar<\/a> had a nice display in the lobby featuring two themed coffee table pinballs – Data East’s Star Wars and Phantom of the Opera games – alongside several less-playable but equally stylish pieces of gaming furniture.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Altar area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Altar's<\/a>
Altar’s two coffee-table pinballs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Star Wars table<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Phantom of the Opera table<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also in the lobby was a stand selling Hungarian Pinball Museum T-shirts and other merchandise. We picked up a couple in orange and purple to give away as prizes.<\/p>\n

\"Hungarian<\/a>
Hungarian Pinball Museum merchandise<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The largest of the three rooms in the D\u00fcrer was the free-play area which contained a nice mix of pinballs, video games, skill games and retro computers. It also contained the larger of the two bars.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hercules<\/a>
Hercules – big as ever<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Head-to-head<\/a>
Head-to-head pinball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Collaborative<\/a>
Collaborative pinball on Granny & the Gators<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The retro computing section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The retro computing section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The retro computing section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Retro<\/a>
Retro consoles and handhelds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kids<\/a>
Kids these days wouldn’t understand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Video<\/a>
Video games and video\/pinball combos in the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Video<\/a>
Video games in the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Video<\/a>
Video games in the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Video<\/a>
Video games and other skill games in the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The hockey games were popular<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Some<\/a>
Some older mechanical games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A four-player racing game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here’s a list of all the free-play pinballs:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n
    \n
  • Lord of the Rings, The<\/li>\n
  • Bride of Pinbot, The Machine<\/li>\n
  • Fish Tales<\/li>\n
  • Whitewater<\/li>\n
  • Judge Dredd<\/li>\n
  • Dr. Dude*<\/li>\n
  • Twilight Zone<\/li>\n
  • Roadshow, Red & Ted’s<\/li>\n
  • Elvira & the Party Monsters<\/li>\n
  • Demolition Man<\/li>\n
  • Godzilla<\/li>\n
  • Addams Family, The<\/li>\n
  • Cirqus Voltaire<\/li>\n
  • Roadshow, Red & Ted’s<\/li>\n
  • Indianapolis 500<\/li>\n
  • Teed Off<\/li>\n
  • Super Mario Bros<\/li>\n
  • Safecracker<\/li>\n
  • Dracula, Bram Stoker’s<\/li>\n
  • Congo<\/li>\n
  • Champion Pub, The<\/li>\n
  • Scared Stiff<\/li>\n
  • No Fear<\/li>\n
  • Shadow, The*<\/li>\n
  • Corvette<\/li>\n
  • World Cup Soccer<\/li>\n
  • Streetfighter II<\/li>\n
  • Freddy – A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/li>\n
  • Mario Andretti<\/li>\n
  • Jolly Park<\/li>\n
  • Flipper Football<\/li>\n
  • Pinball Magic<\/li>\n
  • Breakshot<\/li>\n
  • Striker Xtreme<\/li>\n
  • Shrek<\/li>\n
  • Lord of the Rings, The<\/li>\n
  • South Park<\/li>\n
  • Apollo 13<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s*<\/li>\n
  • Guns N’ Roses<\/li>\n
  • Last Action Hero<\/li>\n
  • Batman (DE)<\/li>\n
  • Baby Pac-Man<\/li>\n
  • Granny & the Gators<\/li>\n
  • Star Wars (DE)<\/li>\n
  • Star Wars Episode 1<\/li>\n
  • Happy Clown<\/li>\n
  • World Fair<\/li>\n
  • Mayfair<\/li>\n
  • Power Play, Bobby Orr<\/li>\n
  • Space Shuttle (Zac)<\/li>\n
  • Locomotion<\/li>\n
  • Caveman<\/li>\n
  • Haunted House<\/li>\n
  • Genesis<\/li>\n
  • Road Kings<\/li>\n
  • F-14 Tomcat<\/li>\n
  • Heavy Metal Meltdown<\/li>\n
  • Robocop<\/li>\n
  • Orbito 1<\/li>\n
  • Attila the Hun<\/li>\n
  • Banzai Run<\/li>\n
  • Funhouse<\/li>\n
  • Bride of Pinbot, The Machine<\/li>\n
  • Whirlwind<\/li>\n
  • Taxi<\/li>\n
  • Diner<\/li>\n
  • Earthshaker!<\/li>\n
  • Indiana Jones<\/li>\n
  • Terminator 2<\/li>\n
  • Alien<\/li>\n
  • Full Throttle<\/li>\n
  • Terminator 2<\/li>\n
  • Hercules<\/li>\n
  • A G Soccer Ball<\/li>\n
  • Hearts & Spades<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
* denotes game was not working at the time of the survey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Inside the free-play hall there were several vendors with demonstrator games for visitors to play or gaming-related goods to buy.<\/p>\n

\"RS<\/a>
RS Pinball were representing both Heighway Pinball and PinSound<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This PinSound-fitted Indiana Jones could easily be heard over the other games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Alien<\/a>
Alien Pinball was here together with Full Throttle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Alien's<\/a>
Alien’s playfield<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Full<\/a>
Full Throttle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Krakow Pinball Museum had a stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A bullet-proofed T2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Konzolok<\/a>
Konzolok Szervize were selling gamer toys and clothing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Playseat<\/a>
Playseat were showing their gaming seats alongside some sit-down arcade games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The bar in the free-play hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We generally found the prices of food and drink to be a little higher than we would have expected. Although some of the low-end beers were 300HUF a can, the nicest dark beer was 700HUF ($2.40\/\u20ac2.24\/\u00a31.90) for a can, while cans of Pepsi were 400HUF ($1.36\/\u20ac1.28\/\u00a31) in a country where prices are generally found to be reasonably cheap.<\/p>\n

If visitors wanted something a little more substantial to eat, there were two food vendors set up just outside the main entrance to the building.<\/p>\n

\"Outside<\/a>
Outside the main entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One was selling freshly-made savoury folded flatbreads, while the other sold hot toasted and flavoured nuts and… well, we’re not quite sure what the dishes were exactly, although they did look colourful.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The flatbreads had cheese and meat fillings available<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The hot nut stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Although<\/a>
Although attractive-looking, we didn’t sample them<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So that’s the setting for the competitions, and there were three main pinball tournaments held at Arcadia – the Hungarian Pinball Open (HPO), the Classics Tournament and Pingolf.<\/p>\n

Qualification for the HPO began in a dedicated room on the opposite side of the lobby on Friday with a scheduled start time of 7pm, although there was a delay before the scoring system and the machines were ready and the games could begin. This was to prove to be a precursor to more delays across the whole weekend.<\/p>\n

\"Players<\/a>
Players wait for the start of qualifying<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Organisers<\/a>
Organisers working furiously to be ready to start the qualifying<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More on that later, but the format of the HPO divided players into nine groups (A-I)of twenty-eight, with each player playing in nine rounds of four-player games. In each round their opponents were different, so that by the end they had played against all twenty-seven (nine rounds of three opponents) other members of their group.<\/p>\n

\"Belgian<\/a>
Belgian players check out a Roadshow prior to qualifying<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each group was allocated an area in one of the two tournament rooms with nine machines in area. These were mostly dot-matrix machines with a mix of Williams\/Bally, Stern and Data East titles, plus a smattering of alpha-numeric titles from Williams and Bally.<\/p>\n

Here are the machines in the five areas<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n
GROUPS A & F<\/u><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Star Trek (Stern)<\/li>\n
  • Flintstones, The<\/li>\n
  • World Cup Soccer<\/li>\n
  • Sopranos, The<\/li>\n
  • Hurricane<\/li>\n
  • Scared Stiff<\/li>\n
  • Terminator 2<\/li>\n
  • Transformers<\/li>\n
  • Whitewater<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
GROUPS B & G<\/u><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Shrek<\/li>\n
  • Walking Dead, The<\/li>\n
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/li>\n
  • Tales of the Arabian Nights<\/li>\n
  • Party Zone<\/li>\n
  • Indiana Jones (Williams)<\/li>\n
  • Creature from the Black Lagoon<\/li>\n
  • Sopranos, The<\/li>\n
  • Getaway: High Speed 2, The<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
GROUPS C & H<\/u><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Creature from the Black Lagoon<\/li>\n
  • Twilight Zone<\/li>\n
  • Cirqus Voltaire<\/li>\n
  • Family Guy<\/li>\n
  • Corvette<\/li>\n
  • Demolition Man<\/li>\n
  • Dirty Harry<\/li>\n
  • Ghostbusters<\/li>\n
  • Shadow, The<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
GROUPS D & I<\/u><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Mustang<\/li>\n
  • Creature from the Black Lagoon<\/li>\n
  • Kiss<\/li>\n
  • Dracula, Bram Stoker’s<\/li>\n
  • Earthshaker!<\/li>\n
  • Fish Tales<\/li>\n
  • Monster Bash<\/li>\n
  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not!<\/li>\n
  • Tales of the Arabian Nights<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GROUP E<\/u><\/p>\n