WARNING: MEGA POST AHEAD!
I had a great time at Pintastic this year, so a big thanks to Gabe and all the crew who made it possible. I think everybody is appreciative of the hard work that goes into Pintastic and we're all grateful to have a show like this in New England. It brings a lot of people together; pinheads, non pinheads, families, and that's always a good thing. In general, giving criticism is pretty easy to do but it all stems from having passion for the hobby and the desire to see a bigger and better show next year. Another job well done, and I'm already looking forward to next year! Some assorted thoughts:
I setup my Bacardi Cuba Libre game Thursday afternoon -- all the volunteer staff were helpful, accommodating and friendly. I really enjoyed seeing other people play my game. I was surprised that children played the game more than anybody else and some of them were really getting into it!
The highlight of the show, for me, was playing the new games. TNA, Houdini and Pirates especially. The MA/RI area has a pretty strong location pinball presence, so seeing some new games was a refreshing change. I do think Houdini should have been set on 2 Ball play, no Extra Ball because the ball times got to be pretty long. There wasn't enough room for an orderly queue in the Cointaker booth so it was basically a swarm of people around one machine waiting to play.
I only went to one seminar, but the overall seminar lineup was very good. Apparently I missed the flyer with the show schedule at the ticket booth because I had no reason to visit the booth, since I had a free play badge.
I'm liking the peoples choice idea for a best in show contest for cash. No categories for different eras, just 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Give each attendee one slip with their wristband that they can deposit in a box next to each entry.
I agree that the free play room was looking a little thinner this year which was surprising, based on the amount of games I saw on the website registered. It may have been that they were spread out more between the vendor hall and EB lounge. Some previous posts indicated that the room across from the seminar hall was an extension of the Free Play room. If that was the case, some better signage would be helpful because I completely missed that -- I thought it was a tournament room. Even a standup-banner saying "MORE GAMES THIS WAY! -->" would have worked.
Since I've seen a lot of uproar about the EB Lounge, I've been thinking about what a good alternative to the extra ball lounge would be. I think a Pintastic After Hours pass could work. You could offer 1, 2 and 4 day (VIP) passes for early access and extended play in the free play room and leave it at that.
I've already given my comments about the online Free Play Registration system. In summary, it could use some refinement so the FS/NFS statuses are more accurate, but as is, it's a neat tool to preview what will be at the show. I'm not sure if there was one or not, but a low tech option should still be in place for any non-tech savvy attendees. A simple dropbox next to some pads of paper listing "Game name and #: _____" and "Problem: ______" would be enough.
The auction was super cramped this year because of the change in location. Quality of the auction items was lower than last year. There were less projects and diamonds-in-the-rough which a lot of people were looking for. The format and rules were clearly explained by the auctioneers and the crew of people helping transport games to cars was much appreciated. I still like the auction because it's a fun "event", even if you don't bid. But, better quality items would help the auction tremendously.
Put the flea market out of it's misery and have those things commissioned for the auction instead. Even if they have reserves, at least there's some excitement there.
As much as I love the show's location, I really do wish the show was in a nicer venue. Having Yankee Spirits nearby is great and I love drinking a beer sitting in the back of a U-Haul when I'm tuckered out for a while. BT Smokehouse is great too (when I can find a parking spot, or even a place to stand in line). But, I always wonder about what kind of impression is made on the show's special guests when they see the state of the hotel. Yes, the bathrooms are better, but it doesn't take much observation to notice that the hotel has seen better days. On Saturday, an employee approached me unsolicited in the bathroom and starting venting to me, barely coherent and swearing, about how he was being blamed for the wet floors. It was very awkward and uncomfortable. I can only hope that the show outgrows Sturbridge and moves into a more deserving venue.
All in all, another great show! I can only imagine what new games and changes we'll see next year.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, love the A/V upgrade for all the seminars. Big props to whoever was in charge of that.
-Doug