I haven't even seen it in person and I think it's a beautiful game. They really hit a home run with TBL.

It damn well better tie that F$^%% room together

I jumped in, too. Bring any leftover pizza and beer to my house.

p.s. As much as I'd like to wait and see what the finished Hobbit looks like in December, it's reckless for me to buy both. Anyone looking for a Hobbit Smaug SE can buy my PIF spot right now for low-$7's. If that price doesn't move it quick I'll just sit on it til post launch. PM for details.

Haha !
-mof

Hey All....Just a reminder for this Saturday.

I will be hosting an Oktoberfest event at the house on October 25th. All Pinheads are welcome I just ask that you rsvp ahead of time if you are able to make it.
Here is the rundown: We plan on bbq'n during the event, having snacks, playing pins and just relaxing with other people who enjoy playing pinball. The catch for the Oktoberfest event, if you attend, will be to bring a 12-pack of some off the wall brand name of beer for all to enjoy during the event and have fun. The event will start at 2:00pm and last until ??.
If you have any questions feel free to send me a message
Hope to see you there.
Loren

Hey Shaun...I need your email....PM it to me

Good decision Bryce

I guess there's one on location up in Sacramento now....

You're looking at the wrong pinball map.

http://pinballmap.com/bayarea

I just got back from Denver, and they had 2 walking deads. My thoughts are similar to all new Sterns. Seems like it COULD be fun with code updates. But as it sits, I didn't want to keep playing it after a few games.

High life in Oakland has one, but it plays pretty brutal. I am sure TJ will address that soon enough if he hasn't already.

Concord (Phoenix games) is getting one at some point, but I haven't seen it come in yet.

The ones i played in Denver were less brutal, and more fun, but still not that great with the beta code in there.

Not sure when you played it, but TJ already has made some major adjustments. He came in last Friday night and fixed the prison dude (gapped the switch closer) and disabled the magnet. Prior to that, he had already adjusted the left orbit to prevent SDTM returns from right orbit shots.

You're right around the corner and Bart stops about a block away. Go play it.

My TWD is at Fanny Anns in Old town Sacramento. I noticed the prison target has to be hit dead on to register. Im going to tighten up switch on next trip, hopefully new code will be out. I leveled pin and inclination is around 7 degrees. It didn't seem to be a drain monster. I also replaced lower half GI lighting with nifty warm retro leds and changed leds above pf in the back. I always adjust flipper rubbers up to limit air balls. Ball saver is at 15 seconds.

Steven

Right on!!! And ya, you're right on the money, at Pinball Expo Trent had to go around and adjust all the prison switches on the tournament games e.t.c.

I think so, too. I'm definitely feeling Lebowski more than Hobbit right now.

Heads up for Bay Area pinheads - I've got two tournaments coming up in the East Bay pretty soon (and also one at Playland in El Cerrito in a few weeks - Sunday, November 16th).

This Sunday, October 26th, I'm hosting a Halloween themed pinball tournament at the recently opened Scarlet City Espresso Bar in Emeryville (3960 Adeline). It starts at 2pm and entry fee is $10, or $5 if you come in costume. The two players with the best sci-fi pinball themed costumes will get their entry fee returned. This is a fun-focused, non-WPPR event. We have a slightly silly format and cool Halloween party games for while you're not playing pinball.

Then next Sunday, November 2nd, I'm hosting a full WPPR tournament at Hi-Life Pizza in downtown Oakland (400 15th Street).

Hi-Life will open at noon and the tournament starts at 1pm. We'll kick off with a group play qualifying round (4 games, 5-3-2-1 scoring) to sort players into A and B divisions, then for round 2 will move on to last-player-standing format. Players will be called into groups of 3 or 4 and play one multiplayer game on an assigned machine, the lowest scoring player gets eliminated from the tournament. Last player remaining in each division is the winner!

FlipforYourLifeFlyer2.jpg

Event sponsor California Capital & Investment Group is providing event t-shirts to all tournament players, and donating $1,000 to the prize pool.

My current expectation for cash prize breakdown is as follows, but I'm not guaranteeing it won't change: A Division: 1st place - $500, 2nd place - $250, 3rd place - $175. B Division: 1st place - $150, 2nd place - $100, 3rd place - $75. The highest placing female player and the highest placing novice player, regardless of division, will also receive awards and a $100 cash prize (women's award sponsored by Belles & Chimes Pinball League). There will also be a $50 cash prize to the highest placing player who has never participated in an IFPA tournament before.

We will have a 1/2 WPPR side tournament and a couple of just-for-fun side tournaments with entry fees going to the Pinball Outreach Project and prizes for the winners donated by Hi-Life Pizza, Scarlet City Coffee and Playland-not-at-the-Beach. There will be specials all day on beer provided by another of our fantastic event sponsors, Oakland-based Federation Brewing.

I hope to see lots of you there!

Hey guys. I'm in Oakland and i'm getting more seriously into pinball. I have board game events at my house and I thought it would be fun to add a pinball to the space. My wife and I have always enjoyed playing pinball. I've been watching CL and I got that Comet that was up for 1000 (got it for 850). I have been having a blast fixing it up, but seems like even at 850 I overpaid, since I am adding parts. Therefore it's a learning experience!

I am reading about these tournaments. Would they be welcoming to a rank beginner (I think the most pinball I have played up to this point is Kirby's Pinball Land and the occasional quarter here and there)?

The wife and I have been out to Playland-not-by-the-sea, Hi-Life, PPM. In fact I am thinking about volunteering at the museum. Does anyone know if they let the volunteers get involved with repair? I think I understand the Williams System 9 board pretty well now!

I'm already looking for an upgrade over Comet, but we really only have room for one machine to be set up (maybe 3 more in storage).

So basically: Hello!

welcome.. its a slippery slope.

It's common to overpay for your first pin. Do it for love and you'll always be ahead. You can't lose money if you don't sell.

You should definitely come out to play tournaments!

Almost all tournaments are beginner friendly, but keep in mind that some tournaments run longer than others. Echa in particular have been running monthly tournaments that are very beginner friendly (prizes for first time participants, 2-3 hour time frame). You can see all upcoming tournaments in the Bay Area at http://hellaheartpinball.com/

Note that the next tournament is on Sunday at Hi-Life! Beware that this one has a sizable prize pool so I would expect many people to show up. That could mean the tournament will run a long time, but I'm not familiar with the format so I really don't know.

Howdy and welcome! You have your first pin under your belt and you are already talking about having to use storage for overflow, sounds like you are a natural fit in the pinball community.

I just have to convince my wife to move our home decor away from mid-century/modern and towards smelly arcade and then I could fit some more. (We don't REALLY need a couch do we?)

im sending my cftbl and monopoly to richmond,ca pretty soon. im looking to trade up/down+/-$ for star trek stern or Indiana jones williams in excellent condition. email me if you wanna talk. [email protected]

Does anyone volunteer for the museum?

You should def come out to tourneys. My first was a PAPA Circuit event (which I didn't know at the time) and I had a blast even though I placed super poorly. Jump in and have fun!

The Comet was fully working but the more I look at it the worse I think the play field is. It has like a cracked alligator skin look throughout the paint as it it is all about to crumble away. The back glass is perfect and the cabinet is pretty good. Plays ok even though the left ramp was mostly tape (I ordered a repro). The center ramp is all melty, but you can still make the shot sometimes. The rest of the time it shoots up and hits the glass! Has anyone tried restoring a ramp with a heat gun?

Blobfish. Contact Kendra at Playland. I believe her email is on the website. Due to the fact that they are open weekends, the repair day is Thursday. Volunteers are given a chance to do repairs. Often it starts with cleaning and minor repairs and can go up to however your skill level allows and that you and Playland are comfortable with you doing.

Ok, I'll give that a try!

I am surprised that there hasn't been any "Let's go Giants" chants on the thread. I was lucky enough to be at a home and home golf competition against the Olympic Club and the night of Game 7 we were at the St Francis Yacht Club for dinner watching the game. We refused to go to the private dining room and leave the TV in the bar until they had a TV in the dining room. They caught on quickly. We watched Mad Bum's exceptional performance to close the series out. We later went on the the Marina Lounge, where the craziness began. It was a good night. The golf the next day was another story. Oh well.

America's most haunted is #25 on pinside top 100
I hope someone local routes one.
Go spooky pinball.

Olympic is awesome but it can eat your lunch. I've played it a few times and I think my best is 76. We have a few of our members at Serrano who are members at Olympic as well.

Anyone ordered AMH in the Bay Area? And will it be on location anywhere? Love that game!

I took your advice and emailed Kendra.

Almost done cleaning the playfield on the Comet. Next is the swap out the capacitors on the board and see if I can reduce the speaker hum through futzing with the screws.

Anyone want an EM adventure?

sfbay.craigslist.org link

The cabinet looks pretty good for sitting on the floor of a barn. If I had room for another project I would consider this one.

Looks like a fun game.

Steve

I like the "fog of war" effect.

Just to tie up my previous thoughts on TWD pro.

High Life's Pro is playing much better, and way more fun. The code is updated as well, so get in there and try it out. Nice work TJ.

Phoenix games also has TWD up and running, with quite a few LED changes to tone down the crazy white LEDs everywhere. The new colors on the playfield make the game warmer, and I think it fits the theme of the show better personally. On order is the topper, which will be cool to see once it is installed!

No I am def missing at least one and I figure I could brighten up the contacts for the others and if that doesn't work use nylon screws. I wanted to change the caps at the same time.

What I have read is that you get hum when a part grounds through the wrong parts due to age related resistance. If you deny the board access to grounds it will ground the proper direction and not hum.

Reference:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/buzzing-light-matrix-noise-on-my-williams-system-11-fire-fixed