{"id":5148,"date":"2016-11-07T10:25:09","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T10:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/?p=5148"},"modified":"2017-08-26T00:03:53","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T23:03:53","slug":"play-expo-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/2016\/11\/07\/play-expo-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"PLAY EXPO 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are back in Manchester at the EventCity exhibition complex for the annual Play Expo gaming show.<\/p>\n

\"EventCity<\/a>
EventCity in Manchester<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although the show didn’t open until the next day, we were here for the set-up so we can get a preview of what’s in store for the thousands of visitors who will line up outside the following morning.<\/p>\n

With the public entrance closed, we headed round the back to the loading bays to get in.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The rear of EventCity – our way in<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heading into the main hall we found work well underway on setting up the scores of pinballs expected at the show, as well as the thousands of square metres of games of all kinds.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The pinball zone at Play Expo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The organisers of the pinball zone – Northern Lights Pinball – were expecting more than 100 pinballs, and with many machines already here they were confident of reaching that target.<\/p>\n

\"Setting<\/a>
Setting up machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"There<\/a>
There was a good mix of older and the very newest titles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The newest titles were there courtesy of Pinball Heaven who had the latest offerings from Stern, Jersey Jack and Chicago Gaming, as well as some restored games.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>
New Stern Pinball titles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jersey<\/a>
Jersey Jack Pinball’s first two titles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Medieval Madness remake alongside two high=end restored games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heighway Pinball’s Full Throttle was also here.<\/p>\n

\"Heighway
Heighway Pinball obviously take their game servicing very seriously<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before it is allowed to be played, each machine has to be tested for electrical safety (PAT tested).<\/p>\n

\"No<\/a>
No shocking events here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was also a nice line-up of Gottlieb solid-state machines here, including several lesser-spotted varieties.<\/p>\n

\"Gottlieb<\/a>
Gottlieb games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Tag<\/a>
Tag Team Pinball – one you don’t see at shows very often<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"We<\/a>
We have more on this later, and in a separate article<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The tombola is always a popular part of the show<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As important as it is, the Pinball Zone is only a small part of Play Expo, so let’s have a quick look around the rest of the hall.<\/p>\n

\"There<\/a>
There are hundreds of PCs and older 8-bit computers for visitors to play<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Don't<\/a>
Don’t throw those old tube TVs away – someone wants them<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Plenty<\/a>
Plenty more CRTs in the Video Game Zone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Pinball and Video Game (Arcade) Zones sit side-by-side<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Look<\/a>
Look out, it’s the cops – or is it?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Transformers<\/a>
Transformers fans will know the meaning of this slogan on the cop car<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"We<\/a>
We are assured this isn’t showing the way to the toilets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Elsewhere,<\/a>
Elsewhere, food trucks are set up to cater to the masses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gamer<\/a>
Gamer food aplenty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Play Expo show opened to the public at 10am on Saturday, and as usual there was a large crowd queueing outside eager to get through the doors.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The queue outside just before opening time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The queue continues<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The doors open and the first guests are admitted<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It didn’t take long before the aisles between the pinball machines became crowded and all the machines were occupied.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The scene in the Pinball Zone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The machines were soon fully occupied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Nautilus EM machine had see-through panels on the cabinet and backbox sides<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The machines stood up to constant playing well, with very few casualties<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Pinball Heaven machines were especially popular<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here’s the list of free play pinballs at the show:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Free Play Machines<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
4 Aces<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AC\/DC Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Addams Family, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Addams Family, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aerobatics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arena<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Austin Powers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Avatar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Avengers, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baby Pac-Man<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Barracora<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Batman, Dark Knight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Batman, Dark Knight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big House<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Black Knight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Black Knight 2000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Black Knight 2000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Black Rose<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blackwater 100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bone Busters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bride of Pinbot – The Machine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bride of Pinbot – The Machine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Centaur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Circus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Congo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Creature from the Black Lagoon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Creature from the Black Lagoon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CSI<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deadly Weapon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Demolition Man<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Diamond Lady<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dirty Harry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dracula, Bram Stoker’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Earthshaker!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eight Ball Deluxe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Excalibur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Family Guy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fireball<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fish Tales<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Full Throttle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Funhouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Funhouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Game of Thrones Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genesis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Getaway, The: High Speed 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ghostbusters Premium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ghostbusters Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Godzilla<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gold Ball<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gorgar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Grand Lizard<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Guns N’ Roses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hobbit standard, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hollywood Heat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indiana Jones (custom)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indiana Jones (WMS)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indianapolis 500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iron Man<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jackbot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Johnny Mnemonic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jokerz!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Judge Dredd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kiss Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Last Action Hero<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lord of the Rings, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lord of the Rings, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Medieval Madness Remake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Medusa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Metallica<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mousin’ Around<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nautilus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NBA Fastbreak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pinball Magic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pinbot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pirates of the Caribbean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Police Force<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Police Force<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Popeye Saves The Earth<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Raven<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Revenge from Mars<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Revenge from Mars<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Road Kings<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Roadshow*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robo War<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robocop<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rock<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rocky & Bullwinkle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rollergames<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rolling Stones (Stern), The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Roto Pool<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scared Stiff<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sorcerer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Space Invaders<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Space Station<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Space Station<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spider-Man<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spirit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spring Break<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Star Trek Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Star Wars (DE)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Star Wars (DE)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Swords of Fury<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tag Team Pinball<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Terminator 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Theatre of Magic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Twilight Zone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TX Sector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Walking Dead, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Whitewater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wizard of Oz 75th, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wizard of Oz standard, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
World Poker Tour<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
X-Files, The<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
X-Men Pro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

There were three competition machines amongst the mix. A Shrek was the junior high score machine, with a No Good Gofers next to it performing the same role for the adult event. A William’s Heat Wave was used for the EM Challenge, where players vied to either achieve the day’s highest score, or raise the temperature high enough to ‘Blow Your Top’ and win a cash prize.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The junior, adult and EM competition machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Tournament Machines<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n
Heat Wave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No Good Gofers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shrek<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A new high score is recorded<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further into the Pinball Zone, the machines were just as popular with a few parts vendors setting up their stalls.<\/p>\n

\"No<\/a>
No free machines in this row<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Scottish Pinball Association and Paisley Pinball were sharing a stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pinball<\/a>
Pinball Daze had a large stand with numerous assorted pinball parts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The North-East Retro Gaming (NERG) team was there to promote their event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jim Askey had his Hacking Lab to show a customised Stern Indiana Jones running a version of the Williams Indiana Jones rules, his replacement Stern flasher boards, custom saucers for Revenge from Mars, as well as demonstration PCBs and assorted pinball parts.<\/p>\n

\"Jim<\/a>
Jim Askey at his Hacking Lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pinball<\/a>
Pinball Heaven also had a stand in addition to the games they brought<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Making a return after its first outing at last year’s show was the Addams Family Challenge shock chair. Players sit in the chair and use the control handles to flip the flippers, but achieving certain objectives produces unexpected results from the chair’s lighting and sound effects, shaker motors and smoke machine.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Addams Family Challenge shock chair was back after last year’s debut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The previous player really smoked the game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"There<\/a>
There were several alternate translites seen in the games, including this Game of Thrones one<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Northern Lights Pinball team use this event to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, and the charity was well represented at the show with their own stand.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Teenage Cancer Trust stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"They<\/a>
They ran a competition to see if you could drop a parachuted toy soldier into one of the plastic cups<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
It’s harder than it looks, but at least one player managed it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A predicted, the tombola stand was especially popular, with any ticket number ending in a 5 winning a prize. Tickets cost \u00a31 for three, \u00a35 for eighteen or \u00a310 for forty.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The tombola stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Pinball Zone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can take our exclusive Twelve Minute Tour of the Pinball Zone by clicking below, or by visiting the Pinball News YouTube channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n