(Topic ID: 225509)

Midwest Gaming Classic (MGC) 2019 - April 12,13,14 at the Wisconsin Center

By Crashnburn

5 years ago


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    There are 863 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 18.
    #1 5 years ago

    It looks like tickets are up for the Midwest Gaming Classic 2019. Woho!

    #2 5 years ago

    Excellent. *Rubs hands together in secret lair*

    First time bringing a game for me, so that'll be a slightly new experience.

    #3 5 years ago

    oh yeah I'll be there with a game or 2. Note to self. got to get my V.I.G. ticket early.

    #4 5 years ago

    Lets pack the house completely. I think there was 31,000 square feet not used. We can fill it , no problem.

    #5 5 years ago
    Quoted from chad:

    Lets pack the house completely. I think there was 31,000 square feet not used. We can fill it , no problem.

    I thought I heard from Dan this years MGC during the after party, that they were going to expand to another hall next door, next year. and the electrical grid was going to need more work. we maxed it out this year.

    #6 5 years ago
    Quoted from cavalier88z24:

    I thought I heard from Dan this years MGC during the after party, that they were going to expand to another hall next door, next year. and the electrical grid was going to need more work. we maxed it out this year.

    Electric grid ran at about 35% on one of the two and the other ran at about 25%. We just need more cords!

    And, hey! Yeah! We haven't actually said tickets are on sale yet, but tickets are on sale!

    And yes, those with a good memory, we'll have another hall this year. Not the entire thing - There was about 93,000 square feet not used on the third floor by itself. Overall, there is something like 170,000 square feet we didn't use.

    We booked another 31,000 square foot hall for the game room, and we will be explaining how we are going to fix game moving in and out issues (except no guaranty on the snow, which really screwed us, but we have better plans for already!!) from last year, and we definitely want to fill it! We also have some tentative reservations on even more space!

    Lots more to come. If you want tickets for Tom Taylor's Open House, do grab those sooner than later. Only 100 available as usual, and that in particular always fly out the door. I was just at his place on Saturday, and it's incredible as always... 300+ games, all set up and all available for play. All proceeds to charity.

    https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/buy-tickets/

    Hotels can be booked here:

    https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/location/

    Feel free to ask questions on here, I'll try to follow it as always!

    #7 5 years ago
    Quoted from Gornkleschnitzer:

    Excellent. *Rubs hands together in secret lair*
    First time bringing a game for me, so that'll be a slightly new experience.

    that is awesome!

    it is the best show ever when you bring a game!!!!

    excited already for you!

    #8 5 years ago
    Quoted from goatdan:

    no guaranty on the snow, which really screwed us, but we have better plans for already!!

    I remembered hearing a rumor last year that MGC was considering moving back towards summertime. That would definitely address the snow problem - any thoughts about doing that in future years or are there preferences/technicalities keeping you from a warmer season schedule?

    Quoted from Whysnow:

    that is awesome!
    it is the best show ever when you bring a game!!!!
    excited already for you!

    Can't wait! I loved seeing your Fireball last year. Hopefully my homebrew will be well received.

    #9 5 years ago
    Quoted from Gornkleschnitzer:

    I remembered hearing a rumor last year that MGC was considering moving back towards summertime. That would definitely address the snow problem - any thoughts about doing that in future years or are there preferences/technicalities keeping you from a warmer season schedule?

    Can't wait! I loved seeing your Fireball last year. Hopefully my homebrew will be well received.

    thanks and what homebrew are you bringing?

    I need to decide what winter game hits the docket this year for MGC restoration.

    April 13th average MKE temps range 40-55. The snow last year was an anomaly for sure. Fingers crossed we never have to deal with that again!

    #10 5 years ago

    Bringing Undertale with me:
    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-very-physical-undertale-fangame

    Switches are a tiny bit glitchy but otherwise it's pretty presentable, especially once the wire ramps get installed.

    #11 5 years ago

    very cool!

    #13 5 years ago

    It’s really a testament to the show that it was a freakin blizzard and tons of people showed up!

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    #14 5 years ago
    Quoted from Phat_Jay:

    It’s really a testament to the show that it was a freakin blizzard and tons of people showed up!
    [quoted image]

    That was s pretty scary drive home

    #15 5 years ago
    Quoted from lordloss:

    That was s pretty scary drive home

    Yeah, frozen slush across most of the freeway for most of the trip back to Upper Michigan wasn't a fun driving experience. Not sure how it was for those living south and west, but anywhere north was pretty rough.

    #16 5 years ago

    Can’t wait, made hotel reservations!

    #17 5 years ago
    Quoted from Gornkleschnitzer:

    I remembered hearing a rumor last year that MGC was considering moving back towards summertime. That would definitely address the snow problem - any thoughts about doing that in future years or are there preferences/technicalities keeping you from a warmer season schedule?

    There is a much longer answer than this that I'd be happy to share if anyone really wants more details, but the short version is... I don't know where that rumor would have come from because it was never discussed by us.

    The show actually used to run in the summer a long time ago, but there is a plethora of reasons it doesn't make sense. While the risk of a freak snowstorm is definitely more there in April, the benefits of having it during that time vastly outweigh the negatives, still.

    That isn't to say that we would never do something during the summertime, just that the MGC proper wouldn't be there.

    #18 5 years ago

    Rumors are weird like that. Well, thanks for the clarification - we'll just make sure to drive carefully!

    #19 5 years ago

    Dan, what kind of tournaments are you planning for Friday night? It was listed on the web site.

    #20 5 years ago
    Quoted from Mikala:

    Dan, what kind of tournaments are you planning for Friday night? It was listed on the web site.

    For pinball, pingolf and clock chaos, although chaos is now going to take on a team play aspect.

    #21 5 years ago

    VIG tickets, Tom Taylor, Hotel, done.

    #22 5 years ago

    What is the closest hotel to the Wisconsin Center with a pool? I checked about 5 hotels surrounding and no pool at any of them...

    #23 5 years ago

    We're actually thinking of passing this year, for the first time in years. That was a LOT of walking back and forth from the hotel to the show, skyway or not. "Oh, we're gonna go grab a bite to eat? Let me go get my jacket - be back in half an hour".... To me, part of the fun of the other venue was it's "underground" feel, walking through the halls in the hotel with a beer, not knowing what you were gonna find around the corner. It was like a treasure hunt. Last year it just felt like a buncha games in a big room like any other show. Loading/offloading definitely needs to be addressed too. Let me close by saying this show quickly became my favorite, and the only year I missed was the first one, but not a fan of the new venue. Unfortunately probably a deal breaker for my (older) crew and myself.

    And I know nobody can tame Mother Nature, but last year WAS a mother........

    #24 5 years ago
    Quoted from pinzrfun:

    We're actually thinking of passing this year, for the first time in years. That was a LOT of walking back and forth from the hotel to the show, skyway or not. "Oh, we're gonna go grab a bite to eat? Let me go get my jacket - be back in half an hour".... To me, part of the fun of the other venue was it's "underground" feel, walking through the halls in the hotel with a beer, not knowing what you were gonna find around the corner. It was like a treasure hunt. Last year it just felt like a buncha games in a big room like any other show. Loading/offloading definitely needs to be addressed too. Let me close by saying this show quickly became my favorite, and the only year I missed was the first one, but not a fan of the new venue. Unfortunately probably a deal breaker for my (older) crew and myself.
    And I know nobody can tame Mother Nature, but last year WAS a mother........

    I had the exact opposite experience.

    #25 5 years ago

    API's Third game, April Fools, will be revealed there as well. If anyone asks you didn't hear it from me.

    #26 5 years ago
    Quoted from pinzrfun:

    We're actually thinking of passing this year, for the first time in years. That was a LOT of walking back and forth from the hotel to the show, skyway or not. "Oh, we're gonna go grab a bite to eat? Let me go get my jacket - be back in half an hour".... To me, part of the fun of the other venue was it's "underground" feel, walking through the halls in the hotel with a beer, not knowing what you were gonna find around the corner. It was like a treasure hunt. Last year it just felt like a buncha games in a big room like any other show. Loading/offloading definitely needs to be addressed too. Let me close by saying this show quickly became my favorite, and the only year I missed was the first one, but not a fan of the new venue. Unfortunately probably a deal breaker for my (older) crew and myself.
    And I know nobody can tame Mother Nature, but last year WAS a mother........

    If you decide that, I totally get it. Having said that, a few quick things that we *are* addressing and in many cases already have addressed this year...

    On food, we have a much better sense of how to have on site food next year. One of the big problems that we had is that in a new venue, it was extremely difficult to figure out what was the right amount of food to have. Jersey Mike's, who we've partnered with for like 5 years at this point, brought food for Saturday based on their sales from last year plus 10%. It was *entirely* sold out by 1pm, and they called in people to remake and redeliver as much food as possible, but there was a delay because of that. The on-site food locations experienced much of the same sort of issues, but in some ways worse because they had absolutely nothing to go off of. There was more options, but the amount of people eating there shot up this year.

    If you're looking for off-site locations, honestly I think that we were just about equal to the past. In the past, there was the food court in the mall that you could walk across the parking lot too, and then some other locations in the same area. At the WI Center, there is a mall with a food court kitty-corner from the event, and a bunch of locations within a block of it. To me, it's a horse apiece on that front. And I actually like the fancier food near the WI Center, but that's personal taste.

    So, I agree it could be improved, and the history of having a year with actual sale data will do a *lot* of that for us.

    For the treasure hunt aspect, I totally appreciate what you're saying. I can only say that we fought to retain what of that we could. We managed to find smaller rooms for every one of the smaller rooms that we had at the previous location. Those rooms were all bigger. Some people had issues finding these rooms, which we have worked out a fix for next year (moving the ticketing location). The big room did combine two halls into one at the show, but it sort of is what it is.

    If you were walking with a beer, however, it means my guards weren't doing their job...

    Loading definitely needs to be addressed, and it already has been. Long story short, we had "powers that be" that held us back from operating the load out how we wanted. That, combined with a ton of snow that meant that the only place people were willing to load was on the ramps (which, for the record, made perfect sense) meant it was crazier than we had wanted it to be, for sure. Having said that, while it could have been done smoother for sure, the line of cars to pick stuff up was totally gone by 8:30pm.

    While the line was not great, a small number of tweaks to this should allow us to greatly fix this issue for next year, and we confirmed before we even sniffed our contract that we would be able to do this in the way that we thought made sense - and the location both agreed to let us and agreed that our plan should greatly increase speed.

    The first year at a new location definitely wasn't everything we had hoped it would be, but I also think for the most part it was decently smooth. Gary and I created a laundry list of things to address, and I hope that most people's issues are on it and being addressed already. The good news is that a lot of the biggest problems are pretty easily addressable. Maybe keep an eye out, and if we can prove that we've done enough, give us another shot

    #27 5 years ago

    I thought it went pretty well. you can't compare the Sheraton to the wisconsin center. totally different animal. but at least you something to start with. the place is 10X bigger. more people, more space, more expenses, more problems. mo money, mo problems!

    I thought it went ok for the first year. next year will be better. then the next, and the next. but i honestly think MGC landed a great location. The bucks arena that just opened is drawing BIG name concerts. The new entertainment district surrounding it is going to be the best thing that has happen the milwauker since miller park. It is right across the street from the wisconsin center. lots of shops and brewery going in. goodcity brewery for sure. so give it some time. also it's usally nice around MGC time. so you can get out and walk around. not in snow.

    I thought the game hall was nice. wasnt crazy about the concrete though. but look forward to next year already. It will be better for sure I already know that. happy to support

    #28 5 years ago

    My advice, get rid of that tall dude who was at the dock. That guy was odd. You'd be better off without him.

    #29 5 years ago
    Quoted from Goonie:

    My advice, get rid of that tall dude who was at the dock. That guy was odd. You'd be better off without him.

    I kind of wanted to see that guy on the dock kick some ass .

    #30 5 years ago

    I will be bringing one maybe two pinball machines to this show again . If I can take them out the same way I went out last year I don’t see load out being too much of a problem for me .

    #31 5 years ago
    Quoted from trilogybeer:

    I kind of wanted to see that guy on the dock kick some ass .

    That guy on the dock almost did kick someone's ass. Well, um, from what I'm told anyway.

    #32 5 years ago
    Quoted from Goonie:

    My advice, get rid of that tall dude who was at the dock. That guy was odd. You'd be better off without him.

    I seriously sat here thinking about who in the world would have been the tall guy on the dock. I could only picture one person in my head, and tall isn't what I would have used to describe him as.

    Then I got it.

    #33 5 years ago

    He is tall though, and I think he could kick some ass if he needed to . No more screwing around on the dock , you’ve all been warned.

    #34 5 years ago
    Quoted from pinzrfun:

    We're actually thinking of passing this year, for the first time in years. That was a LOT of walking back and forth from the hotel to the show, skyway or not. "Oh, we're gonna go grab a bite to eat? Let me go get my jacket - be back in half an hour".... To me, part of the fun of the other venue was it's "underground" feel, walking through the halls in the hotel with a beer, not knowing what you were gonna find around the corner. It was like a treasure hunt. Last year it just felt like a buncha games in a big room like any other show. Loading/offloading definitely needs to be addressed too. Let me close by saying this show quickly became my favorite, and the only year I missed was the first one, but not a fan of the new venue. Unfortunately probably a deal breaker for my (older) crew and myself.
    And I know nobody can tame Mother Nature, but last year WAS a mother........

    I had the opposite experince. Easy to walk across the street from springhill, a few really good food options in a short walk, and lots of new exploring on multiple floors with even crazier rooms.

    If you did not explore anything but the big game room then You only saw a fraction.

    Give it another year. The first one will always be a few bugs. Second will surely improve.

    #35 5 years ago

    Geez - I didn't even know there were other floors or smaller rooms & still really enjoyed the experience. The "long" walk to & from the linked hotel was such a small price to pay for being able to walk around comfortably, have our own room as a break base & avoid the crappy weather outside. When I know about all the other areas it will be even better but I was very happy with it as is. I can't wait to do it again!

    #36 5 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    a few really good food options in a short walk

    Is there a good list of nearby restaurants? I ordered waaaay too much pizza delivery last time.

    Edit: Well, apparently if there are a bunch within a block, I can probably just walk around and look. But I suppose a reference would be nice.

    #38 5 years ago

    Probably should have seen that one coming.

    #39 5 years ago
    Quoted from Gornkleschnitzer:

    Is there a good list of nearby restaurants? I ordered waaaay too much pizza delivery last time.
    Edit: Well, apparently if there are a bunch within a block, I can probably just walk around and look. But I suppose a reference would be nice.

    Docs smokehouse is right across the street. I at there a few times during MGC , food is pretty good and a great selection of beers.

    #40 5 years ago
    Quoted from bkfiv:

    Geez - I didn't even know there were other floors or smaller rooms & still really enjoyed the experience.

    Yeah, and we're acutely aware that this happened. The ticketing process, especially because of how it played out on Saturday morning, more or less "hid" the 15 rooms of stuff that we had. We have a slightly different layout for next year - sharing the space with another group that had signed up first - that will actually significantly improve the flow of the show. There was a severe learning curve, made more difficult by certain things that were out of our hands, this year. We should be able to fix all of that for next.

    Quoted from Gornkleschnitzer:

    Is there a good list of nearby restaurants?

    It looks totally plain, but my family LOVES Build a Breakfast - Build a Burger which is one block away.

    #41 5 years ago

    If you missed the smaller rooms on the second floor (the main hall was the third floor) you missed a lot of what makes MGC so great. Definitely plan to explore more outside of the main hall.

    Docs Smokehose right across the street was amazing!! Great barbeque, great beer, and some of the best chili I've ever had anywhere!

    --
    Rob Anthony
    Pinball Classics
    http://LockWhenLit.com
    Quality Board Work - In Home Service
    borygard at gmail dot com

    #42 5 years ago

    We will be back for sure. Working on some fun "other games" for this year. Probably only going to bring 10 kiddie rides instead of 28 (while it was a lot of fun,it was also a lot of work). The two Sega farm games might return (udderly tickets and wac-a-doodle doo). Obvuously we will have pinballs from all of the manufacturers we proudly represent (and possibly a few from those we dont represent). Open to any suggestions on how we can make our "booth" more attractive (minus better looking staff in the booth.. I can only do so much with what I'm given to work with).

    Always a fun (long) weekend. We loaded the semi and our truck and were out of the building by midnight. A 3 hour drive home, instead of 2, and a return trip at 8am for 2 kiddie rides we just couldn't fit on the trucks. All in all, great show!

    Note to self, may e some anti-fatigue mats for in the booth.

    #43 5 years ago
    Quoted from KingPinGames:

    We will be back for sure. Working on some fun "other games" for this year. Probably only going to bring 10 kiddie rides instead of 28 (while it was a lot of fun,it was also a lot of work). The two Sega farm games might return (udderly tickets and wac-a-doodle doo). Obvuously we will have pinballs from all of the manufacturers we proudly represent (and possibly a few from those we dont represent). Open to any suggestions on how we can make our "booth" more attractive (minus better looking staff in the booth.. I can only do so much with what I'm given to work with).
    Always a fun (long) weekend. We loaded the semi and our truck and were out of the building by midnight. A 3 hour drive home, instead of 2, and a return trip at 8am for 2 kiddie rides we just couldn't fit on the trucks. All in all, great show!
    Note to self, may e some anti-fatigue mats for in the booth.

    maybe run a high score tourney on 1 game. Even better, do if for the kiddies only on one of the duplicate game. Specifically denote that game is only to be played by those 12 and under. Put high score at 10 digit so they can enter their name. Even cooler if a JJP game where it can take their pic for high score.
    Could be a fun way to engage the kids more (and maybe sell a few games to parents of the kids )

    #44 5 years ago
    Quoted from KingPinGames:

    We will be back for sure. Working on some fun "other games" for this year. Probably only going to bring 10 kiddie rides instead of 28 (while it was a lot of fun,it was also a lot of work). The two Sega farm games might return (udderly tickets and wac-a-doodle doo). Obvuously we will have pinballs from all of the manufacturers we proudly represent (and possibly a few from those we dont represent). Open to any suggestions on how we can make our "booth" more attractive (minus better looking staff in the booth.. I can only do so much with what I'm given to work with).
    Always a fun (long) weekend. We loaded the semi and our truck and were out of the building by midnight. A 3 hour drive home, instead of 2, and a return trip at 8am for 2 kiddie rides we just couldn't fit on the trucks. All in all, great show!
    Note to self, may e some anti-fatigue mats for in the booth.

    The cow and chickens were great! Added a local flavor to the show, family loved them, thanks for the effort!

    35A92663-3390-46F8-92FD-49E61AAE08C7 (resized).jpeg35A92663-3390-46F8-92FD-49E61AAE08C7 (resized).jpeg
    #45 5 years ago
    Quoted from KingPinGames:

    Open to any suggestions on how we can make our "booth" more attractive (minus better looking staff in the booth.. I can only do so much with what I'm given to work with).

    Having Loyd there most of the time for heckling exchanges was good last year. Eric's visiting occasionally and signing stuff was good too, but I don't think many people knew who he was until he introduced himself to people. If you get more room with a table for these guys to sit at to be able to sign stuff like flyer handouts, that would be good. More VIPs, the new JJP pin #5, a Keith Johnson seminar about code rules and tricks for the JJP games (with hidden/unknown easter egg reveals), a cartwheel contest in the corridor hallway - filmed with the funniest and best ones posted on YouTube later but show in the booth, maybe get the spinning pinball platform from the Pinball Life guys.

    #46 5 years ago

    Be glad it's not at the Sheraton anymore. The construction on the mall now would have made it a mess! With Sears now gone (see construction pic -- took the picture from my desk at work) it'd be horrible walking over to the mall for food and dealing with traffic/parking around all the construction.

    IMAG1476 (resized).jpgIMAG1476 (resized).jpg
    #47 5 years ago
    Quoted from KingBW:

    Having Loyd there most of the time for heckling exchanges was good last year.

    No idea if I'll be back. CGC sent me at about the last minute. They did MGC for the first time because they didn't know then if Expo would happen this year. They literally organized this about ten days before.

    And it's a bad time of the year for me to close my business to be there. Especially right after TPF.

    It's a great show. So part of me hopes I'll be back. Dan and crew do an amazing job. As did Chris and his Father from Kingpin games. That was an amazing line up. The kiddie rides, then CGC, then Kingpin Games with JJP and AP, then AP and Pincades. What a sight to see.

    LTG : )

    #48 5 years ago
    Quoted from animesuperj:

    The construction on the mall now would have made it a mess!

    You really think that won't be wrapped up by April?

    #49 5 years ago
    Quoted from LTG:

    No idea if I'll be back. CGC sent me at about the last minute. They did MGC for the first time because they didn't know then if Expo would happen this year. They literally organized this about ten days before.
    And it's a bad time of the year for me to close my business to be there. Especially right after TPF.
    It's a great show. So part of me hopes I'll be back. Dan and crew do an amazing job. As did Chris and his Father from Kingpin games. That was an amazing line up. The kiddie rides, then CGC, then Kingpin Games with JJP and AP, then AP and Pincades. What a sight to see.
    LTG : )

    Fyi, the CGC items we all mine too. Doug Skor was just there to hang out with me and see how we did things at MGC.

    #50 5 years ago
    Quoted from KingPinGames:

    Fyi, the CGC items we all mine too.

    Thank you for clarifying that.

    Which made even more work for you and your Father to make that area great. Thank you both for all you did. Especially making so many kids happy !

    LTG : )
    Disclaimer : I've become a CGC item.

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