@frobozz, thanks for the Firefly. I'm sure it was a lot of work. Very fun to play even if not all the way done.
@frobozz, thanks for the Firefly. I'm sure it was a lot of work. Very fun to play even if not all the way done.
Quoted from tilted81:Snapped a pic of this yesterday. I was laughing as the chickens clucked the 1812 overture, then this caught my gaze.
And who knew a turtle has a starfish.
Quoted from DylanFan71:And who knew a turtle has a starfish.
Yessir, plenty of fun and laughs to be had at the vfw this year
Quoted from paddlepaw:frobozz, thanks for the Firefly. I'm sure it was a lot of work. Very fun to play even if not all the way done.
I would like to second this. Thanks frobozz! I rather enjoyed playing the Firefly as well. The magnets give a cool "hovering" effect to the ball above the flippers. The "C" drain is a killer though!
And thanks to all the volunteers at VFW for keeping things running smoothly, anyone else who brought cool stuff to share with us all, and everyone who attended! I had a great time! [And the weather was perfect, and I didn't have too many encounters with "player funk" either ]
Quoted from DylanFan71:And who knew a turtle has a starfish.
Quoted from paddlepaw:frobozz, thanks for the Firefly. I'm sure it was a lot of work.
You have no idea... I'm so happy to NOT be stripping and soldering wires the last couple of days.
Our first VFW trip. Overwhelmed!! Good heavens, complete pinball mecca!! Never thought I'd get to play BBR and so many other stellar games all in a single day. Congrats to Clay and the entire staff for a great time. Can't say enough how much we enjoyed the day. Crowds were just enough to be able everything we wanted to play, and then some. Almost missed the 'Secret Nuclear' outbuilding in the back, but we stumbled upon it, and it had some real spleeper games back there. Thanks again, guys - we'll be back next year.
So glad the Saturday tournament was kept,me and the wife had a blast.the format was fun and fast paced and I got a shit ton of games in against some really good players and learned some new real pinball skills.Thank you Bill,Jim and the helpers in the buildings for volunteering for our enjoyment and Clay for keeping a couple buildings open and just letting us all in to infiltrate the compound all weekend.also thanks to the volunteers throughout the day from the parking lot guys to the older gentleman working the Marv on Friday cleaning all the glass on machines not being played I for one appreciated it.now for a few hours of sleep and some more pinball.
I found Alien was really Slick.
Good luck keeping it up and running as I look forward to playing it in the future.
My wife missed: woz, aerosmith.
I missed whoa nellie and full throttle (to put beside alien)
Great as always.
The best show for playing and game variety within a 4 hour drive.
Special mention for the washrooms. My wife was impressed with the heated seat and a bit taken back by the bidet function. Some of the best washrooms located down a sketchy dirt road to no-where EVER! She had been avoiding them for years now.
Alien has got to be the most awesome pin I have ever seen! That dark eerie playfield and those video screens and those awesome glowing egg pop bumpers set the scene like no other. What a shame Heighway is now defunct.
I agree, Alien is the one machine I keep wishing I had more time with. Super dark playfield, have watched videos that seem better lit but I loved it the way it is at the VFW.
Quoted from swillie:I agree, Alien is the one machine I keep wishing I had more time with. Super dark playfield, have watched videos that seem better lit but I loved it the way it is at the VFW.
Super dark is being charitable. It was so dark, that with the black flipper bats, we couldn't tell there were upper flippers for a bit. A dark theme is nice but you have to actually SEE the game to play the game. With better lighting, I would think the experience would be far better.
I loved the theme and think the integration and videos were spectacular. Not sure of the game play because the pf was too hard to see.
BTW - my favorite quote from VFW came from a teenager that happened to see me play a few different games where I put up high scores or grandmaster scores.... "Dude, you are going to get arrested for vandalism. Your initials are all over these pinball machines!" I'm stealing that line, like forever.
Thanks to Clay and the crew of volunteers for working tirelessly on the games. Played 45 games this year, up from 33 last year, so I either stayed longer or have gotten worse . Looking forward to next year... and thanks for having it on the same weekend as Allentown, you save me a bundle .
Edit: Not sure if it was just me but I found the crop dusting and horrible smelling weed folks to be down from last year. And considering how nice it was outside all the rooms were well cooled, quite a feat considering all those bodies and machines.
Quoted from robotron911:Super dark is being charitable. It was so dark, that with the black flipper bats, we couldn't tell there were upper flippers for a bit.
I had the exact same problem, even mentioned it to the person standing next to me. Don't think I ever used the upper flippers once even tho I tried. Gorgeous looking, but boy, the playfield was dark. Perhaps in a better lit room, it would be OK. But we will never find out w/the demise of HP! Just glad I found one to play.
Quoted from MrBally:Hope everyone had a great time.....
Would have been hard not to.
Thanks guys!
Quoted from roar:Thanks to Clay and the crew of volunteers for working tirelessly on the games. Played 45 games this year, up from 33 last year, so I either stayed longer or have gotten worse . Looking forward to next year... and thanks for having it on the same weekend as Allentown, you save me a bundle .
Edit: Not sure if it was just me but I found the crop dusting and horrible smelling weed folks to be down from last year. And considering how nice it was outside all the rooms were well cooled, quite a feat considering all those bodies and machines.
Def a great show, had a lot of fun this year. I love the multiball version of Nitro Ground Shaker. It was nice to play EMs that weren't weak flippered. The fart stank was down from last year, last year we called the room that had all the Zaccaria pins "The Chamber of Farts". Didn't really get a chance to play anything new, always seemed to be a lineup, but didn't really mind. That is just so much to see, its overwhelming. Amazing show!
My wife and I attended for the 1st time this Sunday, and we were absolutely blown away. She is already talking about "when we come back next year".
Great venue, awesome games, and everyone on the staff was very helpful. We can't wait for next year (and more days)!
Quoted from roar:Thanks to Clay and the crew of volunteers for working tirelessly on the games. Played 45 games this year, up from 33 last year, so I either stayed longer or have gotten worse . Looking forward to next year... and thanks for having it on the same weekend as Allentown, you save me a bundle .
Edit: Not sure if it was just me but I found the crop dusting and horrible smelling weed folks to be down from last year. And considering how nice it was outside all the rooms were well cooled, quite a feat considering all those bodies and machines.
As an ex-HVACR guy, I have to concur! Quite an accomplishment!
Clay and crew were hard at it the whole time I was there. Awesome crew!
I also did not experience the crop dusting horror of previous years!
Quoted from Buffooned:The fart stank was down from last year, last year we called the room that had all the Zaccaria pins "The Chamber of Farts".
It's those garlic loving Italian pinball machines!
Quoted from hlaj78:That game could use some stadium lighting
Aint gonna happen at the VFW, I can assure you that.
Quoted from stooped:VFW room with TNA, IM, PFTCJJ,and Aliens... How would you rate them? I lean towards TNA but I don't do rules...
I agree with this ranking and glad I got to play them all at the show (aside from iron maiden which I've already put a few hours on elsewhere)
Quoted from stooped:VFW room with TNA, IM, PFTCJJ,and Aliens... How would you rate them? I lean towards TNA but I don't do rules...
JJPOTC>Houdini> .... >IMDN>Alien> .... >TNA>Dominos
Thank you Clay and all of the many orange shirts for putting on one of the best players pinball shows in the country - very well organized top to bottom. They all knew their roles ... Please keep doing it. Machines that had something go wrong with them or got out of adjustment were fixed quickly. My wife and I played many, many games from open until close both Saturday and Sunday with only a half hour break for lunch each day. We took it all in, had a blast, now we hurt from playing so much - something we will do over again next year and each year after that.
Great time had today at this event. My wife is luke warm to pinball, and i wasn’t sure how long she would put up with it today. Needless to say, had to pry her away from a machine at ‘closing time’.
Great fun!
FWIW I would say Houdini, IMDN, JJPOTC, TNA, Alien, Dominos. Alien just felt weird, like a home version machine and was way too dark. Wish I had more time with Houdini. Pirates had a lot to it but just couldn’t get into it. Triple disc spin a lot but only really affected the ball during my final game. I am seriously considering buying IMDN as well
I guess I'm just missing the TNA love. I played it and it was "meh". Houdini, JJPOTC and IMDN were all excellent and I would likely rate them in that order. Dominoes theme just kills it for me. A pin themed after a crappy, bland pizza. And Alien is just WAY too dark to be enjoyable (but absolutely loved the video clips).
Again, another awesome show. Did Friday and Saturday again. I don't know if/how anyone could do all three days. I need physical therapy for my wrists after just two days of play. To quote many others.... the gastric distress was far less this year.
And thanks also to the guys manning the grill. Nice touch to be able to get a decent burger or brat rather than have to leave the premises. Please, Dr. Pepper next year. It's the ONLY way to caffeinate.
Quoted from roar:Not sure if it was just me but I found the crop dusting and horrible smelling weed folks to be down from last year.
Probably due to the fact that i did not attend this year!
Also what was horrible smelling; the weed or the folks?
Quoted from Groo:FWIW I would say Houdini, IMDN, JJPOTC, TNA, Alien, Dominos. Alien just felt weird, like a home version machine and was way too dark. Wish I had more time with Houdini....
Houdini was my 'fav'. But the software used to generate the JJPOTC images on the backglass was stunning - very impressive. Likely cost a fair amount of coin for JJ.
I dont think alot of people get EXACTLY what Dominos is.
Its a pinball machine for pizza people, not a pinball machine for pinball people.
It does its job of relating the fun of pinball to people who normaly dont visit the pinball world, and it does that very well.
It has some cool stuff going on like "handle the rush multiball" where there is no HOLD on the flippers, only the initial flip, good flow, some pretty nifty dots, and spinner on a ramp for shits sake...
Yeah I get it, its not the best game in the room (we all know that award goes to FIREFLY)
So Id like to thank the Dominos people for letting us take their game to a pinball show so that pinball people can complain about it
If I had to rate them, I would say I was most impressed with Houdini and JACK SPARROW (thanks Gary from Abel Electronics!) but TNA and Dominos are more SILLY FUN.
Last place IRON MAIDEN, (Thanks Trent!) not that it is a bad game, I love the layout, and Im sure it will be a MONSTER given some time and polished code.
Then again what do I know, Im just in it for the mini-bikes...
Quoted from Sarge:Then again what do I know, Im just in it for the mini-bikes...
And rough carpentry....
Quoted from Sarge:Yeah I get it, its not the best game in the room (we all know that award goes to FIREFLY)
Not to judge from the nasty texts I kept getting from Clay!
I would like to THANK everyone for helping/attending the Ann Arbor 2018 pinball show this year.
We can do some bragging too...
Started with 410 UNIQUE working games (no doubles, well except NBA fastbreak, because the two are linked.) We ended the show with 410 working games! Not even one dead game. In all seriousness, i don't know any other show that can state that. Very few shows can state 400+ games (no duplicates.) And then say that they *all* stayed working for all days of the show. (that is, Sunday, the last days, has just as many games as the first show day.)
Also if you look at the pictures from the show, notice the lack of lines. Even the super popular games had at most, one person deep. Again i don't know any show that gives the attendee that.
The vfw team (and it is a team) works hard all year round to make this show happen. And again, i would like to thank everyone involved. And thank the people that make the effort to come to the show. THANK YOU.
Quoted from frobozz:Not to judge from the nasty texts I kept getting from Clay!
That's just how he shows he cares...
Quoted from cfh:I would like to THANK everyone for helping/attending the Ann Arbor 2018 pinball show this year.
We can do some bragging too...
Started with 410 UNIQUE working games (no doubles, well except NBA fastbreak, because the two are linked.) We ended the show with 410 working games! Not even one dead game. In all seriousness, i don't know any other show that can state that. Very few shows can state 400+ games (no duplicates.) And then say that they *all* stayed working for all days of the show. (that is, Sunday, the last days, has just as many games as the first show day.)
Also if you look at the pictures from the show, notice the lack of lines. Even the super popular games had at most, one person deep. Again i don't know any show that gives the attendee that.
The vfw team (and it is a team) works hard all year round to make this show happen. And again, i would like to thank everyone involved. And thank the people that make the effort to come to the show. THANK YOU.
No clay.
We all thank you.
Thanks to the crew.
And thanks for opening the show to everyone.
And I'm just glad bribo showed up. Not sure how the show could go on without him there.
Without ortonvilles finest, the show would be a bust.
Start the thread for the 2019 show! Already looking forward to that one! My GF and I had a blast, food was awesome, was great to meet a few other Pinsiders and the staff were great - friendly and funny!
Went in particular to get a bunch of games on BBB and was able to do that easily with no or 1-2 person wait only.
Echoing what others have said, and probably better. Had a great time, big shout out to all the Crew and Clay, super helpful and friendly. Wish I could put more names with faces. I had a chance to thank Clay as I was leaving. Again, feet hurt, but will do it again next year. Loved TNA, and Had my best games on GNR and Star Trek. Loved getting the chance to play Firefly and Defender. Big thanks to the guys that brought them.
I know it's fashionable to bash on Stern for code, but IM felt further along than Pirates and TNA. Pirates definitely looks to have potential for a really deep game, but definitely felt like a prototype. Some of the characters had a "coming soon" on the selection and really wasn't sure what the triple discs even did. Most of my games the middle of the 3 just spun non stop and never seemed to affect the ball movement. I understand it's not going into the final game, so the excitement of actually playing the original design was not a big deal. I do like the screen by the flippers, but never quite knew when to mash it to collect gold, or if you just push it once to collect. The rocking ship was really cool and added an element to the mini playfield. Also a nice touch were all the holes in the playfield that weren't obvious right away and all of a sudden the ball was gone. The graphics and presentation were excellent, but surprisingly low on video footage from the films.
TNA was a blast to play and you could feel the music and beat and it just added to the tension and urgency I thought. The LCD was almost unreadable though and didn't show a whole lot in terms of graphics. Somebody showed me the co-op mode and it was pretty fun playing a 4-player team game.
I only played Houdini once, but was really impressed. That launching of the ball into the box was pretty cool and the magnets by the hands were a nice touch. What a gorgeous machine though and I'm hoping this gets out there in the wild and finds a lot of fans.
Iron Maiden was drowned out a little by Defender and the other machines around it, but I really liked it. The 2 orbits with the upper flippers were really nice and very satisfying to hit the inner loop with that mini flipper. Definitely a challenge. The metal ramps are so nice, and that pharaoh ramp/jump target was a blast to hit. Really liked the theme and artwork and LCD animations, although I'm not a huge Iron Maiden fan. I'll play some more on location this weekend, but am very tempted to sell my SW pro and grab this one.
The overall venue/show is outstanding and I'm glad I live close enough to attend each year. It's just incredible to see so many pins and they all work. I don't think there was ever a time I could look up and not see an orange shirt either. You guys are on the ball and all very friendly after what must be a very long weekend. Can't wait til next year.
Quoted from Sarge:That's just how he shows he cares...
Even for Clay, this was uncalled for. I'm beginning to think he just can't appreciate prototype/whitewood games for what they are. I should know this, he's the guy that took the only-one-in-existence CC whitewood I sold him, and stripped it for the parts to assemble a production CC. Sigh.
I'm going to have to quit coming to this show. It cost way too much money not the tickets themselves but the fact that I get to play machines I've never really played before at other shows and something always goes on my wishlist. So I'm off on a three and a half hour drive each way to get me a Bally flip flop I need some more bump save in my life.
First time at the show. It was good to see everyone! I didn't play a lot of pinball, but I did see a lot of cool stuff and spent the afternoon in one of the wonders of the world! Thanks VFW!
My second year and truly enjoyed myself. Thank you, Clay and team for a fun day and incredible hospitality. It must be a bit nerve racking having such a crowd “in your home”. What struck me were the many color dmd upgrades on what seemed like the majority of pins. It was a nice, polite crowd with the exception of a guy wearing “ pinball gloves” banging on the new POTC game and yelling out expletives..... Clay wasn’t amused!
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