(Topic ID: 220291)

2018 Pintastic-post show reviews and comments

By Grizlyrig

5 years ago


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    There are 198 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 4.
    #1 5 years ago

    I'll start this off with a THANK YOU to the organizers and everyone else involved that makes Pintastic the show that it is. With that being out of the way,

    I would have purchased three 1 day premium passes if available.

    Seminars are very good, so keep them coming.
    I saw more than once new pinball players not knowing how to start an EM and walking away. I showed more than one person the little faded red button on coin door for a Gottlieb machine.
    Maybe we can have a poster showing different coin doors of machines pointing to the reset/start-up button. Some of the SS machines have a push button wired to coin up switch dangling out the coin door to put credits on.

    Bathrooms- much cleaner than last year.

    Not to offend anyone but there was a lot LESS alcohol being consumed and made for a better experience.

    I don't think multi-player games should be allowed during prime hours,waiting till later in the evening would be better so that no one is standing there for an hour to try a machine. I understand friends want to play together and it's fun but this is a show to share, you guys are not at home.
    I'm overall very happy with the time I had at show and look forward to next year. Thanks again.
    -Mike

    #2 5 years ago

    Personally, I had a blast. I can barely walk this morning, my hands hurt, and my voice sounds like a dump truck that won’t start. Can’t wait until next year.

    Oh, and to whoever turned in my phone at the box office after I lost it, a huge thank you.

    #3 5 years ago

    Had a blast Friday from 9am to close.

    Played a lot of first time pins (don't get out much so don't judge). I played xmen wolverine edition with some gentlemen and it was very fun. I was blown away by tron in the headphone jack people's booth. I can see why that game has a following. Music rocks. Tna was fun. Wish I could hear the music better. First time playing pinball magic and the toys/ mechanics rocked. Not sure why zero lights worked on game but art was great.

    I never liked playing fish tales but someone had a nicely set up one in vendor hall and I really enjoyed it that day. Very fun.

    More firsts:
    Twister- I love sega pins and the multi ball start rocks but the art is so cookie cutter ugh. Played really well though.

    Rbion- very fun.
    Gotg. Fun
    Ngg in freeplay- I want one of them someday. So fun. It did not plunge into left ramp from start and I think it's supposed to so you can aim at ramp shot.
    Lah. Love art love game. Shaker in beginning for a few minutes is annoying
    Tmnt- damn you data east for making such a perfect theme and bsckglass such a crap game.

    A few games I wish I saw/played.

    No IJ, T2, or TZ

    Overall liked show and setup. I agree Friday morning seemed like 1/2 games were broken so I did install a QR code reader to alert with issues. I could only imagine techs running around all day so hats off to you guys.

    I did see an older gentlemen start 4 player games by himself which was annoying.

    I liked waiting inline for a game and the person before asking if I would want to play with them. Met very nice awesome people that way.

    Met some people (I suck at names so I dearly apologize) associated with Rhode Island pinball and another group from Vermont and it was a blast chit chatting with them.

    Spent my usual $100+ on freaking little LED's. It looked like coin taker didn't have their individual bulb assortment out so I tried the other company selling bulbs. Installed a few so far and seem good quality.

    wish I found a 7 digit numeric display there. I really need one.

    I'm just sad I need to wait another year for next show.

    #4 5 years ago
    Quoted from Langless28:

    I'm just sad I need to wait another year for next show.

    Actually, we had a micro-show, or call it a big pinball showcase, at CT GamerCon in March. Watch our website and Facebook page for pop-up events like that.
    .................David Marston

    #5 5 years ago
    Quoted from Grizlyrig:

    Maybe we can have a poster showing different coin doors of machines pointing to the reset/start-up button.

    Great idea! A fun project for open source, IMHO. We need to go back to the push chute days, because that seems to be the most baffling: that you could push the chute in without a coin.
    .................David Marston

    #6 5 years ago

    Overall another great show. I had fun and made the best of the one day I could go. I understand weather was bad on Thursday so I take that into consideration. I know for a great show a lot of people have to chip in and bring games. I also know it takes a lot of effort, time, and money to restore games to their former glory. I personally complete full game tear downs and repairs for my own collection so I appreciate what it takes. So please consider my “areas for improvement” for just that. I am not a hater. I really love coming to this show.

    1. I can only come on Friday. I was able to get to the box office by 9:45 after dropping my daughter off at UCONN. Many games in free play were not assembled, not turned on, a lot of “holes”. Not sure if it was because games were immediately sold on Thursday or people just setting up in random locations. It would have looked better if the games were all together.
    2. Vendor hall access for non Premium people is 11:00 am. Vendor hall wasn’t fully set-up. Many games not turned on or not on free play. Premium people had been in there since 9 or 10 so I figured it would be in full swing. I didn’t feel like it was 100% running until like after lunch.
    3. I basically already had all the shirts available so I wasn’t going to buy more. I really like the Pintastic logo, but maybe add a date some where on there. I would buy a new shirt every show if it was different. Like “Pintastic 2018”, to make it unique to that show.
    4. I won’t pay $175 for one day just to get into the Extra Ball Lounge where all the best games were most of the time. I would however pay like say $10 to $20 more for a one day pass into the extra ball lounge. Just the lounge, not the after party and all the other extra stuff. I basically would want the ability to play all the games on a single day ticket. Some people can’t stay all night or all weekend.
    5. The flea market seemed non existent. I realize this is tough because sellers want to enjoy the show too. The first or second year someone came with a tractor trailer full of project games and populated play fields. That was great but it all went so quickly I missed out on it.
    6. Not many games for sale. I know their is no controlling this , just an observation. Was Automated here this year? They had a boatload of games for sale last show. I understand the vendors aren’t coming if they can’t make money. The other guy from NYC had like 15 to 20 games for sale last year too.

    Anyway thanks again for the show. Thank you to all the people that make it possible. I would have brought Demo Man to sell in free play but based on the forum posts I expected 3 or 4 to already be there so I decided against it. Looking forward to next show.

    #7 5 years ago
    Quoted from GreenMachine19:

    ...Was Automated here this year? They had a boatload of games for sale last show....

    Mike (Automated Services) was there with Jack (JJP). If you faced the Silverball Tournament area he had the whole area on the left. I'm pretty sure all of those game were theirs. All 4 JJP games and a ton of the latest Stern games setup in groups of 4 with heads together.

    I only went for a few hours early Friday. Free Play area until the vendor area opened at 11:00 so I went in to get blinded by LED mods. Good selection of parts and pieces (lots of backglasses). I wanted to play a little more of Jack's Pirates since I only played an early version. I got behind 2 guys putting in 4 player games. Pointed it out and was told "everyone else is doing it".

    I joined the Silverball Tournament. The Sanctum crew doing a great job as always and a great turnout of familiar faces. The poor people gathering the scores must have sore feet. The games used were mostly short ball time games so by the time they took down one score they were running to someone else finishing a game.

    Highlight for me was finally playing Houdini. Great feel and smooth shots. Ball times can be long but an awesome first game from AP.

    #8 5 years ago
    Quoted from Taxman:

    I wanted to play a little more of Jack's Pirates since I only played an early version. I got behind 2 guys putting in 4 player games. Pointed it out and was told "everyone else is doing it".

    Again something that needs to be talked about to resolve. It should be common courtesy and I see that those doing it really don't care.
    I now see the reasons for volunteers as we need babysitters walking the floor to help with these issues.
    -Mike

    #9 5 years ago

    Let me preface by saying that I worked on promoting the first Pinstastic NE and give Gabe huge amounts of credit for putting on a good show. I've been to PNE every year, and, until this year, had a great time.

    But this year I was really turned off by a number of things, really none of which had to do with the way Gabe ran the show and more to do with just the way things went. I went on Saturday, when usually I go on Friday, and maybe that's the difference.

    Good things:

    1. The folks who brought all of the JJ games there. It was great to be able to try out POTC and Dialed-In, games you almost never see in the public.
    2. The Cointakers folks for bringing Houdini there. But they did a lousy job of trafficing play (more on this later)

    Bad things:

    1. The freeplay room's selection was the worst it's even been. It's been going downhill each year, but this was by far the first. Very few A-list DMD games there. The only real surprise was the Cactus Canyon, and I'm amazed that the owner would actually allow such a rare pin to be subject to the abusive play of player (see below). If you are into EMs or 80s era games, it was perfect. But if you were looking to play top-notch DMD-era games you had little selection.

    2. There were fewer games in the vendor area than in past years, and the lines for most of these were long.

    3. The quality of the vendors seemed to decline. Far too many people selling non-pinball stuff like old video games, plush toys and tschoches. And, really, do we need to have the same old maker of cardboard games there year after year?

    4. The pure selfishness of many players. This was most evident with the Houdini and JJ games. I waited in line for 45 minutes (with many people behind me) while a foursome of clearly expert players averaged about 10 minutes a ball. after 45 minutes, they were finally getting to the third ball. I couldn't stand it any more any more left. Every time I came back there, more "experts" were hogging the game. I never got to play it. The Cointaker people should have managed this better--either giving one ball per game per player or telling the hoggers to get away. Similar things happened with the JJP games. Okay, we know that some people are great players, but it's really rude if you're sitting there playing one ball for 10-15 minutes while others are waiting.

    5. The pure abuse of games. I saw machines lifted, hit, slammed and shoved around--mainly by the same "expert" players who were hogging the top-notch new games. I also saw a number of people putting full plastic cups of beer right on top of freeplay games--how obnoxious! And the cockiness of these people was terrible. I was playing one game--the only TSPP there--and a guy next to me, playing a LOTR, obnoxiously kept shouting, "I have the high score! I dare you to try to beat my high score!" To which I replied, "I'm not here to compete, I honestly don't care about your score." But he wouldn't let up.

    6. I realize the "VIP lounge" is a money-making enterprise, but I really feel is wasn't sure for the best games (usually the great ones Gabe brings) that in past years have been accessible to all to be kept in a place where your only way of playing them is to buy an expensive weekend pass. It creates an "us vs. them" situation that just leaves a bad taste, especially given that Gabe's games are usually the best ones in the house.

    6. There were just too many people. Lines for the few top-notch games there were long, and, as said before, the experts hogged them to oblivion.

    The experience me feeling depressed, something I've never felt at a PNE event before. I honestly think this will be the last one I will go to. It's just not worth spending the money to play, at best, 10 games on the machines you want to play because of limited selection and boorish, untrafficed behavior.

    #10 5 years ago
    Quoted from GreenMachine19:

    Not many games for sale.

    There were a lot for sale in the free play room, but many in a sort of stealth mode. When the bringers initially registered their games, they had the opportunity to specify whether or not each game is for sale, and an asking price for those that are. There was also a way for the bringer to change that status online, though there may be obstacles to some people using their online accounts. What surprised me was how many bringers changed status from Not For Sale (NFS) to For Sale when they arrived with their games. I just counted 18 game cards that were pre-printed with Not For Sale, hand-altered to For Sale, and the game sold at the show, and I may not have all of the ones in that situation. I think there are more pre-printed NFS cards that sold than pre-printed For Sale that sold! Of course, we have to make NFS the default when you register the games on-line, but I think the option to change sale status was reasonably visible.

    Sellers should take note that by choosing (or defaulting to) NFS at registration time, they missed out on the opportunity to have the game showing as For Sale in our online list at our website, which some people used in planning if and when to attend the show.
    .................David Marston

    #11 5 years ago
    Quoted from raisindot:

    Let me preface by saying that I worked on promoting the first Pinstastic NE and give Gabe huge amounts of credit for putting on a good show. I've been to PNE every year, and, until this year, had a great time.
    But this year I was really turned off by a number of things, really none of which had to do with the way Gabe ran the show and more to do with just the way things went. I went on Saturday, when usually I go on Friday, and maybe that's the difference.
    Good things:
    1. The folks who brought all of the JJ games there. It was great to be able to try out POTC and Dialed-In, games you almost never see in the public.
    2. The Cointakers folks for bringing Houdini there. But they did a lousy job of trafficing play (more on this later)
    Bad things:
    1. The freeplay room's selection was the worst it's even been. It's been going downhill each year, but this was by far the first. Very few A-list DMD games there. The only real surprise was the Cactus Canyon, and I'm amazed that the owner would actually allow such a rare pin to be subject to the abusive play of player (see below). If you are into EMs or 80s era games, it was perfect. But if you were looking to play top-notch DMD-era games you had little selection.
    2. There were fewer games in the vendor area than in past years, and the lines for most of these were long.
    3. The quality of the vendors seemed to decline. Far too many people selling non-pinball stuff like old video games, plush toys and tschoches. And, really, do we need to have the same old maker of cardboard games there year after year?
    4. The pure selfishness of many players. This was most evident with the Houdini and JJ games. I waited in line for 45 minutes (with many people behind me) while a foursome of clearly expert players averaged about 10 minutes a ball. after 45 minutes, they were finally getting to the third ball. I couldn't stand it any more any more left. Every time I came back there, more "experts" were hogging the game. I never got to play it. The Cointaker people should have managed this better--either giving one ball per game per player or telling the hoggers to get away. Similar things happened with the JJP games. Okay, we know that some people are great players, but it's really rude if you're sitting there playing one ball for 10-15 minutes while others are waiting.
    5. The pure abuse of games. I saw machines lifted, hit, slammed and shoved around--mainly by the same "expert" players who were hogging the top-notch new games. I also saw a number of people putting full plastic cups of beer right on top of freeplay games--how obnoxious! And the cockiness of these people was terrible. I was playing one game--the only TSPP there--and a guy next to me, playing a LOTR, obnoxiously kept shouting, "I have the high score! I dare you to try to beat my high score!" To which I replied, "I'm not here to compete, I honestly don't care about your score." But he wouldn't let up.
    6. I realize the "VIP lounge" is a money-making enterprise, but I really feel is wasn't sure for the best games (usually the great ones Gabe brings) that in past years have been accessible to all to be kept in a place where your only way of playing them is to buy an expensive weekend pass. It creates an "us vs. them" situation that just leaves a bad taste, especially given that Gabe's games are usually the best ones in the house.
    6. There were just too many people. Lines for the few top-notch games there were long, and, as said before, the experts hogged them to oblivion.
    The experience me feeling depressed, something I've never felt at a PNE event before. I honestly think this will be the last one I will go to. It's just not worth spending the money to play, at best, 10 games on the machines you want to play because of limited selection and boorish, untrafficed behavior.

    The abuse was insane. See my thread

    Short guy in sanctum t shirt by tournament area was rude.

    #12 5 years ago
    Quoted from Taxman:

    I wanted to play a little more of Jack's Pirates since I only played an early version. I got behind 2 guys putting in 4 player games. Pointed it out and was told "everyone else is doing it".

    I'm going to apologize right now, I think that was me. I didn't mean to do that, but was unfamiliar with the POTC interface and ended up putting too many credits on the game.

    We ended asking a guy standing behind us to jump in and played 3 guys 4 balls.

    Again, it was unintentional, and I think the only game I did this too.

    I had a better time sharing games with new people on games like Maiden and TNA.

    #13 5 years ago
    Quoted from RonSS:

    I'm going to apologize right now, I think that was me. I didn't mean to do that, but was unfamiliar with the POTC interface and ended up putting too many credits on the game.
    We ended asking a guy standing behind us to jump in and played 3 guys 4 balls.
    Again, it was unintentional, and I think the only game I did this too.
    I had a better time sharing games with new people on games like Maiden and TNA.

    Nice for you to admit this but I dont believe it was you. At no point did you ever say everyone else is or at any point did you not ask someone behind you if they wanted to play.

    #14 5 years ago

    "The only real surprise was the Cactus Canyon, and I'm amazed that the owner would actually allow such a rare pin to be subject to the abusive play of player (see below). If you are into EMs or 80s era games, it was perfect. But if you were looking to play top-notch DMD-era games you had little selection."

    As prices of games go up and these games get into the hands of people new to the hobby, there are fewer AList games at regional events like this. On balance I was pretty happy with the selection this year. Still cant believe there was a Cactus Canyon there!
    Another problem is that this event is now Thursday through Sunday. I spoke to a couple of people with new Sterns in their collections and asked why they didn't bring them to the show. They said they didn't want them destroyed for four days straight and it was too long a time to "keep an eye on them". Four days in my opinion is a lot to ask.

    Here is a list of the #hours of operation for a couple of events:

    Texas Pinball Festival 27.5
    Allentown 20
    Pintastic 50

    Just a heck of a commitment for people bringing games. Can't wait to see the play totals when they come in...

    #15 5 years ago
    Quoted from Multiballmaniac1:

    The abuse was insane. See my thread
    Short guy in sanctum t shirt by tournament area was rude.

    Can you elaborate more on this? Trying to figure out who you're referring to and how you perceived them being rude to you.

    #16 5 years ago
    Quoted from dmarston:

    Of course, we have to make NFS the default when you register the games on-line, but I think the option to change sale status was reasonably visible.
    Sellers should take note that by choosing (or defaulting to) NFS at registration time, they missed out on the opportunity to have the game showing as For Sale in our online list at our website, which some people used in planning if and when to attend the show.
    .................David Marston

    Ahhh obviously not. I registered a game and it was for sale and I never saw a option for sale. Take a cue from other shows and make it simpler. The tech is overly complicated for no reason.

    #17 5 years ago

    Was there any crop dusting going on ?

    #18 5 years ago

    On the funnier side of things. There was a LW3 in the vendor hall and the legs got put on front to back so it was damn near a level playfield. Made for a very interesting ball play.

    #19 5 years ago

    I thought Dave and or Gabe said last year that they were going to have an event calendar on a tv somewhere. Seminars would have been easier to remember if they were prominently listed. Couldn't hear the event announcements in the FreePlay area.

    #20 5 years ago

    I had a great time, the fact that a cactus canyon, batman 66 le and a few other gems were in the free play room is awesome.

    Vendors leaving the show Saturday at 4ish is kind of a bummer but apart from that I saw a ton more awesome behaviour than bad.

    #21 5 years ago
    Quoted from Rondogg:

    Couldn't hear the event announcements in the FreePlay area.

    Are you kidding! I think I may have permanent hearing damage from how loud those speakers are.
    -Mike

    #22 5 years ago
    Quoted from Grizlyrig:

    Are you kidding! I think I may have permanent hearing damage from how loud those speakers are.
    -Mike

    It was LOUD.

    #23 5 years ago

    This was my first time going to Pintastic or any pinball show for that matter so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I agree for the most part on the free play area being sorely lacking on newer games (Fri and Sat) and the vendor area having fairly lengthy lines to try anything, especially Saturday. For that reason I was expecting to check out real early today as I expected the free play area to be barren but today ended up being by far the best day to actually play pinball. Off the top of my head for newer games they had:

    Batman 66
    Aerosmith
    LOTR
    Avatar
    AC/DC
    Spider-Man
    Ghostbusters
    2 Houdini’s
    TNA
    Dialed In

    Maybe a few more I’m forgetting. The lines weren’t horrific and I’m real glad I stayed the extra day. All in all I had a blast though and will definitely be back next year and am now planning on hitting up TPF in March to get my fix sooner. I applaud Gabe for all the hard work he put in setting this thing up.

    #24 5 years ago
    Quoted from raisindot:

    Let me preface by saying that I worked on promoting the first Pinstastic NE and give Gabe huge amounts of credit for putting on a good show. I've been to PNE every year, and, until this year, had a great time.
    But this year I was really turned off by a number of things, really none of which had to do with the way Gabe ran the show and more to do with just the way things went. I went on Saturday, when usually I go on Friday, and maybe that's the difference.
    Good things:
    1. The folks who brought all of the JJ games there. It was great to be able to try out POTC and Dialed-In, games you almost never see in the public.
    2. The Cointakers folks for bringing Houdini there. But they did a lousy job of trafficing play (more on this later)
    Bad things:
    1. The freeplay room's selection was the worst it's even been. It's been going downhill each year, but this was by far the first. Very few A-list DMD games there. The only real surprise was the Cactus Canyon, and I'm amazed that the owner would actually allow such a rare pin to be subject to the abusive play of player (see below). If you are into EMs or 80s era games, it was perfect. But if you were looking to play top-notch DMD-era games you had little selection.
    2. There were fewer games in the vendor area than in past years, and the lines for most of these were long.
    3. The quality of the vendors seemed to decline. Far too many people selling non-pinball stuff like old video games, plush toys and tschoches. And, really, do we need to have the same old maker of cardboard games there year after year?
    4. The pure selfishness of many players. This was most evident with the Houdini and JJ games. I waited in line for 45 minutes (with many people behind me) while a foursome of clearly expert players averaged about 10 minutes a ball. after 45 minutes, they were finally getting to the third ball. I couldn't stand it any more any more left. Every time I came back there, more "experts" were hogging the game. I never got to play it. The Cointaker people should have managed this better--either giving one ball per game per player or telling the hoggers to get away. Similar things happened with the JJP games. Okay, we know that some people are great players, but it's really rude if you're sitting there playing one ball for 10-15 minutes while others are waiting.
    5. The pure abuse of games. I saw machines lifted, hit, slammed and shoved around--mainly by the same "expert" players who were hogging the top-notch new games. I also saw a number of people putting full plastic cups of beer right on top of freeplay games--how obnoxious! And the cockiness of these people was terrible. I was playing one game--the only TSPP there--and a guy next to me, playing a LOTR, obnoxiously kept shouting, "I have the high score! I dare you to try to beat my high score!" To which I replied, "I'm not here to compete, I honestly don't care about your score." But he wouldn't let up.
    6. I realize the "VIP lounge" is a money-making enterprise, but I really feel is wasn't sure for the best games (usually the great ones Gabe brings) that in past years have been accessible to all to be kept in a place where your only way of playing them is to buy an expensive weekend pass. It creates an "us vs. them" situation that just leaves a bad taste, especially given that Gabe's games are usually the best ones in the house.
    6. There were just too many people. Lines for the few top-notch games there were long, and, as said before, the experts hogged them to oblivion.
    The experience me feeling depressed, something I've never felt at a PNE event before. I honestly think this will be the last one I will go to. It's just not worth spending the money to play, at best, 10 games on the machines you want to play because of limited selection and boorish, untrafficed behavior.

    I pretty much echo everything you said word for word.

    The rude people is a tough one t fix though. My wife told me some guy deliberately played a 4 player game on JJPOTC in front of her and a huge line. Just no common courtesy. Again I have no idea how the show organizers could really fix this.

    I think Automated should put their games on money play. I’d gladly pay a few bucks to play those games line (and douchebag) free.

    #25 5 years ago
    Quoted from brainmegaphone:

    I think Automated should put their games on money play. I’d gladly pay a few bucks to play those games line (and douchebag) free

    I paid enough to get in the door, I be damned I'm gonna put money in a machine to play it too!!!
    -Mike

    #26 5 years ago
    Quoted from Grizlyrig:

    I paid enough to get in the door, I be damned I'm gonna put money in a machine to play it too!!!
    -Mike

    When the BBB was present for previous years, it was on coin play...there was rarely a line for that game

    #27 5 years ago
    Quoted from brainmegaphone:

    I pretty much echo everything you said word for word.
    The rude people is a tough one t fix though. My wife told me some guy deliberately played a 4 player game on JJPOTC in front of her and a huge line. Just no common courtesy. Again I have no idea how the show organizers could really fix this.
    I think Automated should put their games on money play. I’d gladly pay a few bucks to play those games line (and douchebag) free.

    I have played games multiple times in a row. However, after every game, I stopped to look around both sides, and if even for a second I thought someone wanted to play, I asked before I hit that start button. It’s common courtesy. That’s pretty shitty to play 4 games in one session with a line. I saw a few people doing that...and I knew if I said something, it’d blow up real quick.
    People did this at Allentown this year at an alarming rate. Pissed me the F off

    #28 5 years ago

    ForceFlow the reason was obvious and if I remember correctly wasn't the owner even donating the money to charity? I could be wrong but still even if it's for charity it's tough for some to offer the extra, even to play a not so seen machine.
    -Mike

    #29 5 years ago

    Just returned home after a 6 hour drive and it was worth every minute of travel.
    I've been to nearly all the big shows over the years, and Pintastic is now at the top of my list.

    Some of my personal highlights:

    * The extra ball lounge was AMAZING. Great games, air conditioning, dark lighting at all times and never crowded.
    Probably the best addition to the show, and where I spent a lot of my time.
    Suggestion for next year would be the option to add-on access to the EBL for $25-$40/day for folks who can't commit to the 4 day passes.

    *Seminar program this year was also fantastic. Great variety and lots of interesting speakers.
    Apparently some of the seminars will be archived on YouTube, which is super cool.

    *The Sanctum crew did a kick-ass job as usual on the tournament end.
    The live stream setup was also very impressive and professional, so kudos to the whole tournament team and volunteers for pulling that off.

    *Southern New Hampshire Pinball Club room was also a lot of fun, with a nice selection of games and open late night. American Pinball Warrior was a blast.

    *Yankee Spirits / Villiage Hot Dog

    #30 5 years ago
    Quoted from jhoward1082:

    This was my first time going to Pintastic or any pinball show for that matter so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I agree for the most part on the free play area being sorely lacking on newer games (Fri and Sat) and the vendor area having fairly lengthy lines to try anything, especially Saturday. For that reason I was expecting to check out real early today as I expected the free play area to be barren but today ended up being by far the best day to actually play pinball. Off the top of my head for newer games they had:
    Batman 66
    Aerosmith
    LOTR
    Avatar
    AC/DC
    Spider-Man
    Ghostbusters
    2 Houdini’s
    TNA
    Dialed In
    Maybe a few more I’m forgetting. The lines weren’t horrific and I’m real glad I stayed the extra day. All in all I had a blast though and will definitely be back next year and am now planning on hitting up TPF in March to get my fix sooner. I applaud Gabe for all the hard work he put in setting this thing up.

    The VIP lounge games made their way into the free play area today which was a very good add and I suppose helped make it worth it for people to spend some time in the free play area today.

    I don't really have any criticisms, just observations others have made about the free play area not being so hot this year. Fewer games in general. But what can you do? It's not the show's fault. Some years will be better than others, and this was a rough weekend being that it was really the official July 4th weekend.

    This is not a show that needs an outdoor flea market and they should give up on the idea. It's either always too hot or raining. This is an indoor show. I haven't really seen a good outdoor flea market at a show in a decade, back when it was one of the highlights of Allentown. Probably just an idea that has outlived its operating life at this point.

    There's really not much I would change about the show. I mean some of these complaints...rude players? Vendors you don't like seeing every year? There's nothing you can do about this stuff. Vendors pay money to be there so if the cardboard pin guy (whose booth ALWAYS seemed to have lots of people checking out and playing the product) want to come you aren't gonna turn them away. Someone suggested outlawing multiplayer games?! LOL

    The organizers are clearly putting in a ton of effort and putting together a great show and program, but they will always be affected a bit by luck and what and who happen to show up. It was a terrible year for game buyers, the pickings were extremely thin. Most the good stuff was not for sale, I didn't see any bargains (And I was there from thursday night on). That's life. Cards just didn't fall that way this year. In past years, it's been a great buyer's show. This year, Allentown was way better if you were looking to buy but in year's past it's been totally opposite. WHo knows what will happen next year.

    You never know what you are gonna get. If you really think the games suck, bring your own next year and help out. If you think the vendors suck, don't buy anything, maybe those vendors won't come back, and hopefully someone will step up to replace them. The general production and framework of the show is very solid and has all the right ingredients. I had fun as always playing in the tournament and hanging out late and drinking with folks I see all the time and some I don't see often. The shows are what you make of it and they are always different from year to year.

    Deals of the show? Like I said pickings were pretty slim. There was a nice Space Shuttle with custom speaker panel for $1200, a nice Domino for $600, that cool flipperless with the projection scoring at $500, a nice Incredible HUlk for $700 (I think it got bought and then new owner put a 1200 price on it). A Creature at $4700 OBO which would have been a good deal at $4,000. Really, really slim pickings.

    #31 5 years ago

    Does anyone know what was going on with the nicely restored Medusa that was on the back row? Unfortunately it sat unplayable for most of the event. I had seen the techs were trying to tend to it, but it must have been beyond simple repair.

    #32 5 years ago
    Quoted from Grizlyrig:

    if I remember correctly wasn't the owner even donating the money to charity?

    Yes, I couldn't say which one off-hand, though.

    #33 5 years ago

    This was my first show, as I'm very new to the hobby (just picked up my first pin this year). Came down after work on Thursday and stayed Thursday night and Friday night. Personally, I had a blast. Played a ton of games, tried a seminar and got the most out of my ticket. The only complaints were long lines for the newer games in the vendor room, and 10pm was kind of late to open up access to the extra ball lounge for Premium pass holders. Otherwise, can't wait to go again next year!

    #34 5 years ago

    i bring games every year and i always try to bring something people don't get to play to often - rocky a few years ago - but that didn't work because nobody could figure out how to put it on free play - this year i only brought 5 - but i brought a nice BTTF as i figured people don't see that too often, i also brought my clear coated superman - but that didn't work out as the gi lights quit and you really couldn't appreciate it next to gabe's great games.

    that was my error as i thought people might be able to hear the sounds better in the vip room or whatever it was called. i also brought a favorite em called cowpoke - which broke right away - but the great guy who had games next to it fixed it and it played all weekend - i was there all day friday and cowpoke was always being played.

    i also brought black knight 2000 - so i think that is 4 pretty good games for free play. then i brought a power play that wasn't so nice because it was at the door in my basement and easy to get to. for some reason nobody set it up at first - but saturday night when i went to pick up the games it was played the whole time. people still enjoy games like that. remember the show is for beginners also.

    anyway i thought it was great in the vendor room to try all the new games - i am glad there were so many people wanting to play them as that means there are a lot of people there and the show people are making good money and it will be back next year.

    anyway that is my 2 cents worth. thanks ed

    #35 5 years ago

    3rd time at Pintastic, and I had a great time once again. The state of the bathrooms was MUCH better than prior years. My only grumble is minor... really minor. We skipped Ghostbusters during pingolf because there was a stupidly long one. Make the goal, drain your ball, and move on... you don’t need to play each and every game to completion.

    #36 5 years ago
    Quoted from calsheimer:

    This was my first show, as I'm very new to the hobby (just picked up my first pin this year). Came down after work on Thursday and stayed Thursday night and Friday night. Personally, I had a blast. Played a ton of games, tried a seminar and got the most out of my ticket. The only complaints were long lines for the newer games in the vendor room, and 10pm was kind of late to open up access to the extra ball lounge for Premium pass holders. Otherwise, can't wait to go again next year!

    I agree and we will be opening up the EBL to premium ticket holders earlier next year.

    #37 5 years ago

    Wow what a great show!! Thank you so much Gabe, Dave and the rest of the Pintastic crew for your tireless effort. I can't even imagine the amount of planning and preparation that goes into hosting the show and yet the crew runs around non stop for 4 days while everyone else enjoys the show. I unfortunately missed last year's show for a family vacation but the Pintastic crew continues to improve with each show. The condition of my hotel room was improved with a new bathroom, the bathrooms in general population were well kept and the hotel staff seemed friendlier.

    After each show when people share their experiences, complaints will arise but Pintastic continues to listen and try to address issues when they are brought up. Of course there are issues like extreme weather, people with rude etiquette, and traffic flow that are uncontrollable but the small details that are required to make the show happen seem to be well thought out. The attention to including the family into pinball is fantastic and keeps a smile on your face the whole weekend. I saw kids running around with painted faces, competing against each other and generally having a great time allowing mom and dad to enjoy as well. There were families hanging all day at the lake and Saturday night there was live music. There were a bunch of people taking advantage of the drive in movie theatre that was close by. This kind of attention to family will help keep our hobby alive because they are the future!

    One of my favorite parts of the show were the seminars. Pintastic presents you with an insiders perspective to the world of pinball all while giving your aching legs and feet a rest throughout the day in comfy office chairs and air conditioning. You get to learn how to be a better player, learn how to shop your game or meet the actual people who are responsible for the joy you experience in the industry. I was thrilled to meet everyone, especially Paul Faris and have him sign my Paragon and Centaur aprons!!

    Best of all was the reuniting with pinball friends and making a bunch of new ones. Every year it seems like there's less playing and more talking. Thanks to all the people who volunteered and helped answer all our questions. My personal pintastic assististant Bill who was so much fun all weekend all the way up till late Sat night. Hank and all the SNHP crew who hosted pin golf and American Pinall Warrior. Loved hanging with my Pingraffix family all weekend. Special shout out to Andrew, Peter and Joey. Actual highlight of my weekend was hanging with Pingraffix Joe and Lenny in the extra ball lounge Saturday night as John Borg was gracious enough to battle Joey on Metalllica LE!!

    Special thank you to COLEHVAC1!! Dennis brought 13 games to the show, his 9 and my 4. Out of the 9 games he brought he only put one up for sale, the rest he brought for others to enjoy. I brought the Space Shuttle with the NASA speaker panel, High Speed, Last Action Hero and No Good Gofers. If it wasn't for his trailer I would have only brought one game. If more of us brought only 1 game the Free Play room would be packed and the Extra Ball Lounge wouldn't seem as extraordinary. Can't wait to see you guys next year!

    #38 5 years ago
    Quoted from drsfmd:

    3rd time at Pintastic, and I had a great time once again. The state of the bathrooms was MUCH better than prior years. My only grumble is minor... really minor. We skipped Ghostbusters during pingolf because there was a stupidly long one. Make the goal, drain your ball, and move on... you don’t need to play each and every game to completion.

    The pingolf thing was EXTREMLY casual. People who have never done this before wouldn't know to stop playing possibly, I think you'd have to tell them. There were also people wandering in and just playing games. It worked out pretty well I think but you can't expect that a tight a ship in that situation. The games were GREAT and at $2 an entry everybody could do it. Worth it just to play the games like Robocop and High Speed.

    And yeah that Ghostbusters was funny - had mods on it to make it play forever and never drain, turned out to be an easy hole in one.

    And hey I won $150 on Friday night so that was nice.

    #39 5 years ago

    Thought the show was good. Not really much to complain about on my part...had no interest in the "members only" room, but would have liked to have seen Eric's Getaway in person. I did notice a few games, even a mini row, were turned off most of Friday and one game I played looked like it was only brought so someone could get in free (poor condition, with high price (and I think a chunk of fuel line on was on the end of the shooter rod?)). I also had a very strange individual (obviously off his/her meds) approach me and start yelling at me for leaving a game on four player.....I wasn't playing at the time, was just wandering. I explained that, and then I believe the language changed to Klingon? I laughed, and walked away.....I believe he was five beers short of a six pack..

    Also, disappointed in the flea market, but it is what it is.....I just like to poke through the crap, looking for hidden treasures..

    Only thing that kinda pissed me off, was the pencil eraser size chunk out of my driver rear door's paint, from a well known pinball individual (I was told by a buddy who had parked next to me)...Maybe it was an accident, but I would assume it takes some force to do that (I wasn't close by any means, plenty of room). I won't mention who, but just use common courtesy, it's not that hard....Yes you may own a vehicle that you don't give two sh@ts about, but some people try to keep theirs looking nice..... Will definitely park further away next time, if that's possible...

    #40 5 years ago
    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    Only thing that kinda pissed me off, was the pencil eraser size chunk out of my driver rear door's paint

    I heard about a number of people who received fresh door dings while in the parking lot. I was gifted with one too, unfortunately

    #41 5 years ago

    CrazyLevi That was my Domino listed for 600obo. I never got an offer until saturday night and that was a 300.00 offer I ended up selling it for 388.00 That is all the person had a least thats what they told me. My low number on it was 400 but never got an offer. all weekend. I sold it for less than i wanted but hey you got to let them go. I think the EBL should have been an optional purchase for folks as a game bringer I had no option to get in there until 10pm. I had an awesome time hanging with folks and we will be there next year as usual.
    Joe

    #42 5 years ago
    Quoted from dannunz:

    I agree and we will be opening up the EBL to premium ticket holders earlier next year.

    I had the LE ticket which got me access to the room all day and I feel that, if the EBL is going to be a thing again, that opening it up to all badge holders at 6pm is a great idea. Once the discount evening prices go into effect at the box office badge holders can escape the masses into the EBL.

    #43 5 years ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    I heard about a number of people who received fresh door dings while in the parking lot. I was gifted with one too, unfortunately

    Ugh I feel your pain. Somebody backed into my new car a few weeks ago. 1,000 miles.

    #44 5 years ago
    Quoted from Grizlyrig:

    I don't think multi-player games should be allowed during prime hours,waiting till later in the evening would be better so that no one is standing there for an hour to try a machine. I understand friends want to play together and it's fun but this is a show to share, you guys are not at home.

    I don't get this one.

    Having 4 one player games or 1 game of 4 players is going to play basically the same amount of time. People go to these things to have fun so I don't get the beef with people playing with their friends. That's kind of what pinball is supposed to be about, being people together to play. When I'm at shows I rarely play a single player game unless their is no line at all. I'm kind of a loser and go to these alone (for the most part) but I always ask the people behind me if they want to join. Most do and meeting those people is often times the best part of shows for me.

    Quoted from raisindot:

    4. The pure selfishness of many players. This was most evident with the Houdini and JJ games. I waited in line for 45 minutes (with many people behind me) while a foursome of clearly expert players averaged about 10 minutes a ball. after 45 minutes, they were finally getting to the third ball. I couldn't stand it any more any more left. Every time I came back there, more "experts" were hogging the game. I never got to play it. The Cointaker people should have managed this better--either giving one ball per game per player or telling the hoggers to get away. Similar things happened with the JJP games. Okay, we know that some people are great players, but it's really rude if you're sitting there playing one ball for 10-15 minutes while others are waiting.

    This I don't get as well. It's not their fault they are good players and their friends are as well. They paid to get into the event and have the same right as everyone else to play the game. I actually think it's selfish to think they should be expected to drain their balls if they are having a good one and having fun. As long as the players aren't being over aggressive with a game I have zero issues with it and often times I enjoy watching them play, especially if it's a new game, as I can learn new skills and rules from them.

    For instance, I stood and watched S. Bowden, Carl DeAngelo and Johnny Modica play BM66 together. It was a long game but I learned a ton about the new rules! Was it rude for them to play together? I don't think so but I guess I could be in the minority their. At the end of the day if ball times are 10+ mins then the person whom set the game up failed in their job. Games should be set hard enough to limit ball times but easy enough to allow fair gameplay (not PAPA A for instance). Tilts should be fairly tight to also help lower ball times but more to prevent the aggressive play you also mentioned.

    #45 5 years ago

    Had a great time as usual, noticed most people were courteous and didn't play 4 player games singly, or restart a game if there were people in line behind them.

    Bathrooms were definitely clean and usable.

    EBL was a blast as always (got my usual premium 4 day pass).

    The swl party was great, plenty of good, quality eats, even for the mouth breathers, haha!

    Didn't qualify for the tourney, but had a great time trying! Congrats to Eric Stone for absolutely killing it!

    Wanted to buy a game, but there was little of interest (to me) in freeplay, and the ones that did catch my eye were priced higher than I wanted to pay. I saw some absolutely atrociously overpriced games, but if people are willing to pay...to each their own.

    I was very close to buying a nib walking dead, but we couldn't get the deal closed; we were close, but not close enough. That said, Mike and Automated are a great crew, and real heroes for the amount of games they bring! I will absolutely deal with them in the future (especially if they come down a touch on that wd, haha).

    I also wanted to thank Jim, Mark, and The Sanctum crew for the great job they do every year running the tournament.

    Gabe and crew, you guys do a great job, I cannot wait for next year's show! Will probably upgrade to the le pass for fulltime access to the ebl alone.

    #46 5 years ago
    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    one game I played looked like it was only brought so someone could get in free (poor condition, with high price (and I think a chunk of fuel line on was on the end of the shooter rod?

    If that was the kings of Steel that I brought besides the makeshift rubber on the shooter rod, that game played solid the whole weekend, unlike many others.. I added LEDs before I brought it and changed all of the rubber but that one ( and the ones on top of the Plastics because I did not have them) It did not stop the game from functioning and playing well.. Cabinet is actually pretty nice on that with a perfect backglass. I put $1,000 or best offer on it which I did not think was out of line.

    I also bought a white water on Thursday night and left it until the end of Saturday when I headed home.

    What games did you bring?

    #47 5 years ago
    Quoted from Gritty:

    Does anyone know what was going on with the nicely restored Medusa that was on the back row? Unfortunately it sat unplayable for most of the event. I had seen the techs were trying to tend to it, but it must have been beyond simple repair.

    The upper left eject hole switch was not registering reliably during game play (but worked fine in diagnostics). We never did come up with a good theory, it could have been something in the switch matrix wiring. Just one of those gremlins that aren't easily addressable on-site at a show.

    Interesting background factoid: This was the first playfield swap done by the owner; having looked at the innards while chasing the eject hole issue, I have to say he did an excellent job on a really complex playfield.

    #48 5 years ago
    Quoted from raisindot:

    2. The Cointakers folks for bringing Houdini there. But they did a lousy job of trafficing play (more on this later)
    Bad Things:
    4. The pure selfishness of many players. This was most evident with the Houdini and JJ games. I waited in line for 45 minutes (with many people behind me) while a foursome of clearly expert players averaged about 10 minutes a ball. after 45 minutes, they were finally getting to the third ball. I couldn't stand it any more any more left. Every time I came back there, more "experts" were hogging the game. I never got to play it. The Cointaker people should have managed this better--either giving one ball per game per player or telling the hoggers to get away. Similar things happened with the JJP games. Okay, we know that some people are great players, but it's really rude if you're sitting there playing one ball for 10-15 minutes while others are waiting.

    Above post snipped for brevity.
    I attended this show with friend who is not a pinhead, but was there to buy/play Houdini. He's into the Houdini theme like no one I've ever known and he loves my pin collection so this would've been a "gateway" pin for him, lol. He brought 14K with him in cash. I informed him that it was 2x what he needed but he replied that if he REALLY liked the pin he'd buy 2! We directly went to Cointaker's booth to play.Some mouth-breather wearing Crocs was hogging the pin forever, playing game after game. Finally when he tired of it we were next in line to play, he's turns around and say's " Just 1 more game" . We left. No sale. No Play. So I agree that some action should be taken regarding game hoggers. BTW, we cut the hogger some slack since I believe he was on some type of spectrum. Regardless, he was still rude & Cointaker should have intervened.

    #49 5 years ago

    Yeah, I wanted to give Houdini a try but the two times I was around the ball times were long and it had at least 3 players on it.

    I had cash in my pocket and room in my truck to bring something home but wasn't to be that day.

    No blame placed here, just lousy timing on my part.

    #50 5 years ago

    Had a good time at the show, mostly meeting old and new friends, brought 3 pins, sold 1 was disappointed in the low amount of pins for sale, felt it was hard to see on the cards if the were for sale also. I felt the points system was very slanted, how my Farfalla only got 1 point for what I consider a rare pin was puzzling as my Vegas got 2 points??? Blew off the EBL , was allowed in after 10 but by then I was wiped out. Still a great show, great time

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