Hello!

I am excited to bring this announcement to the group concerning the expo free play area this year.

As in the previous few years, we have been taking feedback from attendees, staff and the Expo organizers to make the free play area the best it can be!

As such, we have made a few changes this year, as follows:

We will continue to have staff available Wednesday. However, this year we are expanding our staff coverage to include Thursday, Friday, Saturday and again Sunday AM. We are signing up staff members, which I will post about shortly.

Staff will be available onsite as follows:
Wednesday 10/12:
Registration desk setup from 12:00 PM until 9:00 PM
Load In help from 12:00 PM until 11:00 PM

Thursday 10/13:
Registration desk setup from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Any time after this will be handled by staff, or by calling the Expo hotline at (224) 279-1545
Load In help from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM

Friday 10/14:
Load In help from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM

Saturday 10/15:
Help from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM

Sunday 10/16:
Load Out help from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM

If, for some reason you cannot find someone to help (we will all be wearing red shirts again) or it is outside the times I have listed, please contact me through the Expo hotline at (224) 279-1545

There will be dollies and pinball moving equipment on-site to help move games.

We will have a limited amount of pinball sundries on hand should you forget something at home.

Arm bands will still be handed out as games are brought into the show, no need to wait!

All machines will continue to have to display a small registration sticker on the game. This will include the information as previously seen at expo as well as owner information.

You can pre-register games if you like, simply email [email protected] with details.

The old banquet hall is still the free play area. This will make load in much easier as we are far closer to the dock.

We truly appreciate people bringing games to the show, and there are rewards for helping make expo great.
Games must be in the free play area, and be setup on free play for all to enjoy.
Games must be functional when they are brought in.
Games must be safe when brought in. Cut ground plugs and broken leg bolts should be addressed pre-show.
Once registration is complete we will provide an armband for general admission into the show.
If you are planning on bringing more than 3 games, please let us know in advance!
If you have questions, feel free to drop us a note, or give us a call. I can be reached at (224) 279-1545.

Special thanks to Mike, Rob and the Pinball Expo organization for working so hard to bring this show to us. Also, thanks to all the folks giving up time to make the show great, in particular my friends from the Pinball Mafia days.

Andrew Barney
Mike Pacak
Rob Berk
Pinball Expo

Also, for those that bring a game, we will be running a best in show contest.

More details to follow! I will add to this post as we finalize our plans.

Andrew

Thanks guys! See you soon.

Andrew

Everyone,

I forgot to mention this in the original post, but if you want to bring a game but cannot get there easily on setup day I am available to meet up at the Hotel Monday and Tuesday. We have a secure storage room in the hotel and will gladly set the game up Wednesday, or store it until you can get into the hotel.

Drop me a PM to arrange. I will be at the hotel a decent part of Tuesday, but can meet any time Monday or Tuesday.

Thanks everyone for bringing games for everyone to enjoy!!

Andrew

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the delay in getting this out, but here are the details!

We will be awarding best in show for the following 3 categories:
Best EM (1931 – 1977)
Best Solid State (1977 – 1991)
Best DMD/Modern Era (1991 – Present) - Includes P2K

Anyone who brings a game to the show will be able to vote for best in show games. 1 ballot will be given out to every person bringing a game.

We will have an award to present to the winner to call out their achievement, as well as some pinball bits and swag to go with it.

Votes will be tallied at 5:30 PM on Saturday and the winners will be notified of the award around that time. Your game must still be present when the votes are tallied to win.

Also, thank you to the ExpoBrawl folks for recognizing the hard work it takes to get games to the show. Very cool.

A week out! I look forward to seeing everyone, and thank you to all who are bringing games, volunteered to be staff or both. It is truly appreciated!

Andrew Barney