Buffalo, NY
PINBALL EXPO 2018 DELIVERS A WEALTH OF TOURNAMENTS
Whether you are a casual player or a proficient gamer, Pinball Expo 2018 is featuring the most competitions ever to test your skills. With over $25,000 in cash and prizes to be won, this year’s event is a cornucopia of 10 different tournaments. It is the most diverse collection of tournaments in the 34 year history of the longest continuously running Pinball Exposition. And, for the very first time, it will not only be pinball wizardry on center stage.
For those who fancy themselves able to “stand like a statue, becoming part of the machine, feeling all the bumpers and always playing clean”, well there is the annual Flip Out tournament with both A and B divisions based on player rankings. More than $10,000 in cash and prizes are up for the taking with the winner of the A division taking home $3,500 and a Stern pinball machine. The B division winner will pocket a top prize of $500. In addition, a Classics pinball tournament is also on the schedule with $750 awarded for finishing 1st. But there is still more for intrepid silverball wizards.
American Pinball is staging a competition on Houdini: Master of Mystery. Located in the Chicago suburb of Streamwood, the company is one of the newest manufacturers in the growing resurgence of pinball. Their premiere effort captures many of the greatest illusions and escapes from the legendary performer with a design incorporating five different multi-balls, ten stage modes and much more to be discovered and mastered.
The winner of this tournament will take home a brand new Houdini: Master of Mystery pinball machine. And for those under the age of 16, there is a special Junior Tournament with trophies to the top three players.
Located just outside Chicago in Brookfield, IL resides the world’s largest arcade. Featuring over 550 games, Galloping Ghost Retro Aurcade is pleased to present a dazzling array of the latest and classic video games for an exciting tournament that is guaranteed to put all skills to the ultimate test. There will be a lineup of 10 different machines with the winning video gamer taking home a trophy and a special Galloping Ghost tournament belt.
Founded in 1972, Atari introduced a machine that would ultimately change the world of game playing forever. The company’s and the industry’s first commercially successful arcade video game helped establish an entirely new medium of leisure time entertainment. Pong was a simple black and white table tennis sports game featuring two-dimensional graphics. But it spawned a revolution which continues today. But now Pong is back in a completely new form and Pinball Expo 2018 is excited to present the inaugural Atari Pong Coffee Table tournament that takes the basic game play to an entirely different level inspired by the classic but without screens or digital software. Instead, the game is recreated using motors, rails, pulley and magnets to simulate the 2D physics of the original game. There are not only bragging rights for winning but also a trophy and a prize package of official licensed Atari merchandise.
Another classic comes into the tournament mix courtesy of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of coin-operated amusement games. Innovative Concepts in Entertainment enjoys a rich history dating back over thirty-five years as the producer of some of the best sports games for the home, arcade and office. However, even more so, is the broad range of machines created by the company, led by the game that first put it on the map: Bubble Hockey. Still manufactured today incorporating all the latest technology, bells and whistles, Super Chexx remains in a class by itself. At Pinball Expo 2018, the Super Chexx Pro Hockey Tournament, will be a non-stop competition to determine who can rise to the top and win the trophy and prize package.
And for those hoping to strike it rich, Pinball Expo 2018 is serving up a Big Ball Bowler tournament where the winning kegler will take home their very own vintage Chicago Coin Monte Carlo. Introduced into the market back in 1971, this 13-foot Big Bowl Bowler was a coin-operated amusement game stalwart that has endured for over five decades. Although many may be familiar with shuffle alleys and puck bowling, it was the original, using a 4 ½ inch ball, which captivated a generation of players. Who has the skills to maybe roll a perfect game and take home the prize? It will go down to the final frame of the final game.
Players will set their sights in the Midway Haunted House Electro-Mechanical Game Challenge. Introduced in 1972, this game helped define an era for coin-operated amusement games. Featuring an exciting three dimensional playfield of such moving targets as witches, cats and grave robbers, the backlight lighting provided a unique visual experience. This was ably enhanced by a special 4-channel 8-track player for background sounds along with custom sound effects for each of the targets. At Pinball Expo 2018, we will see who can aim for the winning prize package and trophy.
