Spent a couple days out there tuning EMs & thought I'd share a couple too: image-106.jpgimage-183.jpgimage-205.jpgimage.jpg

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Also a couple notes about Banning:

1) it's not that far! I thought it had a "halfway to Vegas" thing going on when ya drive from LA....nope! It's much shorter than a trip to SD.

2) it is so windy out there! It sounds dumb but be careful opening your car door, or the wind will rip the damn door out if your hand! I was at in n out and I saw the wind catch a young lady's car door as she opened it, and it crunched right into the car next to hers and a very loud argument ensued. So yes it's silly, but be prepared for that desert wind. We'd all rather be flipping than fighting at a burger joint

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I've seen it! The hype is due to rarity

Ha! Yes! They asked for help forever and now that it's a success everyone wants a piece Nice to see some voluntaristic spirit regardless.

I think the thing I found most shocking about the weekend was how little complaining there was about the number of games that were off. That was a LOT of games off, and you know how harsh people on here are about games in need of repair....it was actually pretty excellent to see such an overall good attitude from the crowd about it. Naturally there were a couple ol' tightwads standing there hemming and hawing about how much better their 3 home games and home shows are and all this, but the uptight complainer folks were a staggeringly low % of the crowd at large. People took note of the vastness of the space, the rebuild, the # of titles, the crazy vision...really very few people seemed hung up about some work-in-progress tables on the floor.

The amount of work money and time put into that space is truly insane, I love it! The past couple weeks leading up to the show saw so much development and progress that it made my head spin; honestly two weeks ago I had a real uh-oh vibe. But all the hard work came together beautifully, and it's just so impressive., great work John! And Kenny, RVDV. And all of you who put on that show. I for one had an absolute blast and can't wait to see what these guys do next though I'm a little scared that there's going to be a mile long line to get in next time.

If anyone has pics of me sitting on Sam's lap listening to dirty jokes, send 'em my way!

Shakedown! I'll bring the cooler

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I take back everything I said about how wonderful this event was and would like to resubmit my opinion altogether! Instead of addressing the work and dedication that went into the weekend, I'm just going to complain about how one game wasn't working like mine at home! Good lord.

Well with Joust technically you're complaining about two games. Totally acceptable.

Heh heh.

NicoVolta you came to 82 and didn't say hi? My quip about complaints was absolutely not directed at you; I was just cracking a little joke. I am amused by the one liner guys, who reduce an entire such weekend into some random minutiae...a few pop up after every show and it always cracks me up. "Show was ok but someone painted the Galahad legs black." "Well my family wanted to enjoy the show but my wife likes sparkling water and there was none in sight." "We drove all that way AND had to walk 600 feet on top of that....never again." "I'd give the show ZERO stars, totally flaked backglass on Scorpion." Hopefully you get my drift. "I don't know what I was expecting, just....more"." To me there were far too many rad things happening to get hung up but that's just me.

It's always a risk spending $ traveling to first-effort shows, you never know what you're gonna get so it's hard to adjust your expectations. I personally think first time shows are the absolute best! They're the ones with the best energy, people bust their butts harder, and you don't get the "perpetually over it" knowitall crowd. Zapcon is a good example, in 2013 that room they had wasn't huge and didn't have the hundred trillion game thing going on, but the room felt so alive, and everyone was so jazzed up; to me that's when the community is at its best. Supporting each other and having fun. But yes, there is a lot of room for failure, so I just try to keep my expectations low and generally end up pretty pleased.

NimblePin, time for some huge ups to you, RVDV, Steve T, and Rob! Not only did you guys work like crazy getting things in shape, you stepped up and did it when it really mattered! BEFORE THE SHOW! It's great to see everyone on the Banning Bandwagon now, but I think you fellas in particular deserve some special accolades for being in "before it was cool". Dan Cerny, too, very nice job setting up unique crowd-friendly tourneys, you deserve credit! A father and son went up to Dan and said "we'd really like to try a tourney but we're not good"...and guess who won

I'm already 1100 miles deep in Banning mileage and proud of it, and I will go out any time you guys want to meet up. Hell I'll take y'all to dinner to celebrate the community building we have going on in so cal pinball right now, this is one if the few things I've seen us all rally behind in awhile (well that and our friends at ColorDMD).

As long as there are no topless techs or any such garbage I'll be there with bells! See you kids at INDISC.

Cosmo I'm happy to see everyone helping! Please don't take everything so personally! I'm trying to give props to the guys that went the extra mile here, plain and simple. A bandwagon isn't a bad thing, and it's a bummer that you took it as a negative swipe. No one is accusing you of anything, c'mon lighten up.

These are the sheets that were atop each game when I started going out. I believe these are cribbed from the PPM setup style guide. Another great tech David brought them when he came down. image.jpg

Ha! Yes she's one of multiple adult film stars in our league, but I try to keep a lid on it so she doesn't get perved on. She's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and a true pinball diehard, very sweet. Our league might not be the top performing league score wise, but I challenge anyone to find a wilder mix of Leaguesters anywhere

Oh here we go!

I'm sure we aren't too far away from an app-fueled pinball show experience, but boy is it going to grind my gears when I see a smoking game with a guy in front of it furiously scrambling to get his app opened up.