Stopped in on Saturday. Great beer and pinball! Even better people!

Deadpool is at our Helicon McDonald location only a few minutes away from the brewery. There are 15 games at our McDonald location definitely worth checking out! https://pinside.com/pinball/map/where-to-play/15098-helicon-brewing-mcdonald-mcdonald-pa

Sadly, there is an issue with the alien grabbing balls. Hope to get it fixed one day this week.

Sorry!
Chris B.

Thanks Tim always great to see you!

After a short break, we have scheduled another free play event at the brewery! Come join us Monday, June 27th at the brewery in Oakdale:

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/helicon-brewing-18060469475
https://www.facebook.com/events/1255933878543772

Chris, that is the alien's job . . .

cjmjmm2006 is at it again! Not one, but two Toy Story 4 (LE) pins are available to play at the brewery! The second game will be around for a week or so before finding a new home to be announced. As always, much thanks to Chris M. for making this all happen.

Cheers,
Chris B.

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Chris and Chris, let me know what the concensus is.

I got games #2 through 12ish on one of these machines. Canada Ramp shot goes through every time as long as you shoot between the posts. Hardest shot is the skill shot to start the game. Only got it once.

So far it seems that if you like Wonka and JJP in general, you will love this game. I have heard several comments about it being on the easier side, which is definitely appealing for our casual crowd. As cconway84 mentioned in a previous post, the skill shot is a bit tough but most people don't know that you get three shots at it.

#cgc-cactus-canyon-le has landed! It will be streamed tonight by our friends at HUPChallenge if anyone is interested in a thorough dive into the game.

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Catch Stern's latest "Brewcade Hopping" video featuring Helicon, with great interviews with Chris & Chris, of course, and plenty of recognizable pinsiders. Superb video showcasing the best beer and pinball combo location anywhere!

That hoppy golden hazy goodness looks awsome. On the list for a pilgrimage.

Did you guys get a Weird Al yet?

Great video guys! #1 place in Pittsburgh, argue the country. We're lucky to have you.

Awesome video!

You guys both look great and did an awesome job promoting Helicon and pinball in general.

James Bond on route. Missing bond on a wand though.

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#weird-als-museum-of-natural-hilarity has arrived at the brewery! It has been a while since we have had a Multimorphic game and we are excited to see what folks think!

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did something change at the brewery recently? just wondering we stopped in last weekend while in town, and several games were off (and unplugged) , and the ones that were on looked like they could use some tlc... not bashing, just wondering. I have played there a few times in the past (love to support operators) and the machines were in better shape back then.

didnt know if maybe they lost their service person? or they are just behind a bit as of late. was bummed, i really wanted to play weird al...

Weird al back on? I just noticed they had it - wanted to def try it out.

Our apologies for the slip in the attention to the machines. A few of the more problematic games have been taken back to the shop where the techs can spend more time on them. As of today, all games in the brewery are powered on, have few, if any, known issues, and have received a good cleaning. The list of games for the Helicon Brewing Location here on pinside has an updated list of all current games at the brewery for anyone wondering what games were removed.

Sadly, Weird Al had to be removed. The walls and scoops never really worked correctly out of the box.

-Chris B.

ok, thanks for the response, we will stop in again next time we are in town. we love the burg, so much fun stuff to do there.

So my day today was pretty fun. cjmjmm2006 is at it again and we love it! Thank you!!! The James Bond 007 (Pro) Launch Party tournament is scheduled for 2pm on Sunday, December 11th.

Also, the Helicon Open is back this year after a two year hiatus. The tournament will run December 15th through the 18th. There is a guaranteed $2500 cash prize pool plus much more! Additional details are available on the Helicon Brewing website pinball tab.

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I stopped in tonight while in town for work. Thanks for keeping such a great lineup. I'm glad I got to try bond, toy story and cactus canyon.

The Helicon Open tournament is back and starts this Thursday!

Main Tournament qualifying is Thursday-Saturday with finals on Sunday. PAPA-style format with $5 cards plus coin drop. There is a guaranteed $2500 in the Main Tournament prize pool.
There will be separate one-day Classics tournaments held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Herb format / open qualifying with a one-time $10 entry fee plus coin drop. Each day is on a separate bank of 8 games.

Full details including the game banks are available at: https://heliconbrewing.com/pinball/#heliconopen.

Hope to see many of you there!

-Chris B.

#james-bond-007-le arrived today! It will be set up for play tomorrow during the Helicon Open.

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Great game and great event! Thanks for putting together a great tournament!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Helicon Open 2022 and everyone who helped make it a great event!

This event would be not possible with the contributions and an amazing effort by @cjmjmm2006. Chris M. actually drove metal brackets from two different games in the Main bank of games around the city to get welded and repaired on the same day. He also committed to onsite techs for the majority of the event.

It was wonderful to have the help and direction of Pete H. with running the tournament and the scorekeeping help was also amazing--thank you to Lauri M., Virginia H., Sandy G., Sarah K., Cherie B., Brian B., Wayne B., and also Pete H.! I probably missed a few helpers--not intentional and please let me know.

Special thanks also to Karl D. at neverdrains who was able to get us set up despite not feeling well and also answered several questions throughout the event.

All results have been submitted to the IFPA and will hopefully be approved soon. Given the holidays I expect it might take a little more time than usual.

The final results for all five tournaments is available on the Helicon website at https://heliconbrewing.com/pinball/#heliconopen.

We have also posted the dates for 2023!

Much thanks again to everyone,
Chris B.

The pinballs are back on at the brewery and the matters have been settled once and for all. Thanks for the patience and understanding to everyone who came out while they were temporarily off. Thanks most of all to cjmjmm2006 for the time and effort to get it done.

Our next free play night at the brewery in Oakdale has been scheduled for Monday, 2/13. Tickets and additional details available at:

eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-play-pinball-february-13th-2023-tickets-532510973657
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/506616128266951

Free play is also scheduled at our McDonald location on the first and third Mondays of every month. No tickets are required. $10 per person, all ages welcome, no drinks included, pool and darts ARE included. Additional details are available on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/662142832332466/662142845665798/

Scooby Doo headed to Helicon anytime soon?

The game has been set up and has been ready to play since yesterday! Folks seem to really be enjoying it so far!

Time to stop by again!

Nice. See you Saturday!

#jjp-godfather-le arrived today and Scooby Doo (Collectors Edition) arrived a few days ago! Both are playing great! The collection has also seen a nice refresh in the past few weeks with lots of fun and popular classics being rotated in. The pinside.com location list of games for the brewery is always up to date.

As always, much thanks to cjmjmm2006 for making this all happen!

Cheers,
Chris B.

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HELL yes. So lucky to have you guys. See you tonight!

Heading to Pittsburgh for work this week and throwing in an overnight so I can visit Helicon on Thursday night. Really looking forward to some flips on both Scooby and Godfather if they're still there.

Stopped in this weekend. Two completely different games. They were both a lot of fun!

Good to know. Is the Godfather a widebody?

Nope. It actually shot very similar to a Stern. The flippers felt great!

Nice to hear. I'm sure it still weighs more than a Stern and is packed underneath, but I'm not a widebody fan. Thanks again, and looking forward . . .

They will both still be here! Hope to see you!

Chris B.

The Foo Fighters Launch Party tournament has been scheduled for Sunday, April 23rd at 2:00pm. Four hours of best game qualifying with a finals bracket at 6:00pm. Stern usually kicks in some great prizes for these events.

We are also hosting our strike tournaments on the 3rd Sunday of every month at 2:00pm. The next one is this coming Sunday, 3/19. There are no entry fees and cash and gift card prizes courtesy of Helicon Brewing and Starport LLC.

Also, the Helicon Open 2023 has been scheduled for December 14-17 this year. Save the date!

All tournament dates and details are available at www.heliconbrewing.com/pinball.

Cheers,
Chris B.

Thanks, Chris. I'll be there on Thursday night, along with a colleague. Wish I could make the tournaments. Maybe the Open in December . . .

Thanks Chris for the updates!

Hey, not sure if this has ever been asked here, but any chance you or Chris M. can activate the Stern Insider functions?

I've finally got to use it, and it's a real blast, really addicting!

Is there a fee to run that software?

This is a question for @cjmjmm2006. We haven't had too many people asking about it but I will pass it along for sure. Thanks and see you at the next free play!

We will be hosting three Launch Party tournaments Sunday, April 23rd, starting at 2pm: Foo Fighters, Godfather, and Scooby Doo. Finals brackets start around 6pm with the top half of the field moving on. Cash and gift card prizes dependent on participation. Full details are on the Helicon Brewing website pinball page. The facebook event is here. Hopefully, some folks can make it out!

Cheers,
Chris B.

Awesome! Thanks for doing that Chris!

(It's a really fun added feature!)

See ya then!

Our next free play event has been posted--one week from today. Tickets and additional information available at:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-play-pinball-march-27th-2023-tickets-595080179837
https://www.facebook.com/events/586587706738642/

Cheers,
Chris B.