I know it's childish but every time I see someone on Pinside post this all I can think is... "Is that so I can smell your farts better?"

If I can make the trip, I will probably bring my backwards playing Defender.

I have been going to video game and pinball shows for almost 20 years. I would say that you are MUCH more likely to actually damage a game in transit than to suffer any damage by players at the show. Even if your game does suffer some sort of damage, it is MUCH more likely to be from regular old play than some one being too aggressive on your game.

Blown transistors and locked up coils seem to happen at shows quite often. That's really all part of the experience for me though!

Best show advice I can give out is to make CERTAIN that you have the proper type and value for all your fuses in ANY game that you bring!

Also, if you have a pre-Fire! system 11 Williams to bring, make CERTAIN that you fuse the bridges and while you're at it, add some special sol. saver boards made by BARAKANDL to any early Williams SS game you are bringing to a show!

I just updated my build thread with some pics from this week. Will be set up at the LOU show as well.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/defender-from-scratch-populated-playfield-go/page/2#post-3457924

One main point that I would like to present here is that "pinball manufacturers" should NOT really show games that are less than playable at any show like this. The Ohio show is not a show like the Chicago Pinball Expo. Neither is LAX, TPF, Cal. extreme, or any similar "show" for that matter. What would a company want to RISK such a thing?

It can put the game AND the presenter in a very bad light when they present a less than complete machine. Spooky, JJ, Stern, H-W pinball... Early code is one thing but a game that's not playable and crashes constantly is a completely different matter altogether.

This should help explain your manufacturer question, to some extent. There is a BIG difference between a DIY, "work in progress" and a "pinball manufacturer" as you put it. Clearly stated, there are honestly only 2 manufacturers in the current market.

Boutique machines and home-brew pin companies are not really "pinball manufacturers", no matter how hard pinball enthusiasts would like them to be. There is a clear division here when you consider a "pinball company" and a "DIY developer" in the pinball realm. Think "business opportunity" vs. "hobby" when you consider what falls in to one category and what falls in to the other category. There is no sense in really trying to make something out to be something that it is not, is there?

I'm bringing a Williams Stargate arcade game to sell or trade. New CPO. Works great. Asking 750.

Eugene Jarvis at his best!

IMG_5972 (resized).JPG

Nope, you can stop searching. Better to scan through this thread.

Cool. Sounds like everything is off and rolling, full steam. TY for update.

I want to commend those who ran the tournament this year. It was the best run Ohio tournament that I could ever remember. Thank you!