If they change locations for some reason, then one of the biggest priorities should be carpeting in the main hall. I hear so much about the foot and back pain from Chicago Expo.

Well uh yah.... except I stay at Courtyards all the time and have a much better experience.

Ultimately we slept well and it was fine. We didn't spend that much time in the room.

If you didn't leave with bed bugs your doin' just fine...

I think most would agree that the Embassy is due for a remodel. Especially the rooms.

This is so ridiculously incorrect it's downright laughable. ES has never been on the level of one those. Come on.

I've never stayed at the Frisco hotel. Maybe it needs renovation. The exhibition hall certainly does. But to even try and compare them to LaQuinta is a joke.

I love that Embassy has a living room with a pull out sofa bed. We usually end up using it unplanned.

I'm not trying to disparage the Embassy Suites. I actually like them. I always thought their rooms were comfortable and quite large (and I generally like LaQuinta Inns as wel)l. For the most part these hotel chains are well run, clean and efficient.

I think the venue and hotel in Frisco were very good.

By calling them a Courtyard you are. They're a full service hotel vs Courtyard which is limited service and a step below.

My wife was a hotel executive for 30 years and worked for a time for Hilton. The fact that it's attached to a conference center tells you what it is.

Had a great time at TPF. Big thanks to organizers, staff, volunteers, those who brought games, vendors .......
Bravo Zulu.
Missed the awards at 2pm Sun. Did the results get posted anywhere?
Wally

Do they still have free alcohol and beer for people with TPF lanyards?
The two times we went the had free booze for two hours and a very complete breakfast service including an omelette bar?

I stayed at Embassy Suites last time I came to TPF - this year we stayed over the road at Hyatt House.

Much cheaper. Much nicer. Better rooms. The room we had had 2x Queens, a huge corner sofa (we had 6 people in there drinking) and a real kitchen.

And actually closer to the Pinball than the rooms in the embassy.

Yep - it was a bummer when it was raining, you have to cross the road. But it never usually rains in Texas, right?

Only 1 issue with the hotel, the shower water pressure was crappy. Don’t know if that’s a permanent thing, but worth saying.

I would 10/10 stay there again.

rd

Embassy Suites was once a premier brand with its grand indoor glass elevators and indoor atrium. Now just run down franchise just like the rest.

I usually stay at the Hyatt House. It’s across the street but super convenient.

I didn’t get to play half of the games I wanted to try out, but Elton John was definitely a highlight. TCM was fun, though I didn’t get too far in the game. The booths were fun, and people watching is always awesome. There were some returning characters and NPCs that definitely make the trip worthwhile.

I played pinball, reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. What else can you ask for? Looking forward to next year.

That's what I was wondering....... Embassy used to be a higher end brand. The one here is very nice...... much higher end than the interchangeable box hotels you can put any brand name on (I hate that industry trend).

For those that were at TPF, was there anybody with any stock on the newly released Foo Fighters accessories (toppers, expression lights, shooter rod, armor) to purchase on-site and take home?

Thanks for counting!

We were thinking of attending this year but many people posted that the line wait time for the newer machines were extremely long last year. How was it this year?

I don’t think we have waited more than 30-40 min in the longest line on the newest machines at The Allentown Pinball Show but we get there early and play the new machines before it gets packed.

There weren't any for sale yet

Quoting Craig from Fun from earlier in the thread - "We will have an example/prototype of Ff accessories on one of our display games for all to see first hand as well as we’ll be taking preorders. This game will also be for sale, minus the topper. Topper is going to MGC after TPF

None have shipped from the factory yet, eta 2 weeks per Stern."

It just dawned on me there was a Bitronic Super Hoops in the listed games. Was it there? Been interested in seeing that thing.

It all depends on when you are there. For the last two hours of Friday and for much of Sunday the lines were very manageable and sometimes non-existent. (I was very surprised at the low traffic from 11PM Friday-1AM Saturday.) Saturday is pretty full throughout the the day, though earlier is better. Also, there were a group of pretty solid games in the hallway this year, including "Ritchie Row" with lots of classic Mark/Steve games, including Elton John. Lines for those were never long, and you don't even need a wristband to get to that area!

Even when lines were tough on Saturday, it was mostly for the newest games, for certain games in the Homebrew section, or for Safecracker. (Always people trying to score that magic token!) When things were really bad we could always get on a number of the classic games with little to no wait. Our longest waits were probably for Princess Bride and Eight Ball Beyond, though TCM, Looney Tunes & Labyrinth were up there. Still, it was nothing like our wait for the BMF Pulp Fiction last year.

Agreed, I had a great time at Nitro on several occasions.

You could play them on 1 or 2 machines. $2000 for that topper doesn’t make sense to me - Labyrinth’s is better for half the price

Man, I wish I'd tracked you down, too! With no organized Pinside meet and greets this year it may have felt too "stalkery" for my tastes. Also, half of our fam didn't arrive until nearly 2AM on Saturday, so things were a bit crazy logistically on my end.

Ironically, the vegetarian kid proceeded to trounce us all at Barry O's BBQ Challenge on Saturday. Got "Pitmaster Multiball" and everything.

I did talk to Chris Turner a good bit on Sunday. He seems very genuine, and I really dig the art on that game. Since they seem to have taken to heart a lot of the feedback from Expo, I feel good about its prospects. I think the new price point and standard components will go a long way towards pulling in new customers. [I'll go read your thread now...]

im just the opposite, i want to get away from the madness after being around hundreds of people all day.

It's funny seeing people that have never been to TPF saying "if I can't stay at the event hotel I'm not going!"

Lol, ok. I've been to TPF like 12 years in a row and for the past 4 years have purposely stayed at a different hotel across the street. It's so much better and like many have said, it's a closer walk to the show floor.

You really look ridiculous with that claim.

Embassy Suites is a great brand. I enjoy the Frisco hotel, there just aren’t enough rooms…they simply can't accommodate the show.

I’m glad people like rotordave enjoy staying at the neighboring property and don’t mind the hassle - to each their own to be sure - but the point remains the same, the small hotel is limiting the show for many people. Lots of would be guests won’t go to an expo/conference to not stay at the event hotel…there are many reasons for this.

Anyway, I am glad I pulled the trigger and went this year in spite of the hotel issue. That homebrew row was incredible, Friday the 13th in particular was a blast. Since I missed last year this was my first opportunity to play GTF and Pulp Fiction and those games blew me away…though the GTF’s all seemed to have various issues throughout the show.

Just false. Embassy suites was upscale, before any of those other "branded" chains were extant.

I attended TPF 2017-2019, we always stayed at the Granite Hilton across the freeway. Yes it's more expensive, and you gotta drive 2 minutes back and forth.
But it's a gorgeous hotel with a great bar and patio with a firepit ,that's perfect for decompressing every night from the Convention
Crazy.
If price isn't a factor I highly recommend it, getting quietly drunk around the firepit was a TPF highlight.
Hopefully I'll be back 2025.
Thanks to everyone who posted pictures and videos.
Cheers

For me after 11pm Friday was the most frustrating. A lot of games didn’t have lines but those games also didn’t have credits and or weren’t working!!

I texted every number on those games and got a few “sorry I was asleep” replies they next morning.

I never did get to play dr who because it was out of credits Friday and had people on it all day Saturday. (Why wasn’t it put on freeplay?!)

I know I’m now officially old, because my feet hurt even after walking on the carpet all weekend!

I was also disappointed and frustrated by the number of games that were not on freeplay and were out of credits (especially the newer ones where it's just a simple setting). There were many games throughout the weekend that I never could play because they consistently were out of credits, and it happens every year. They are supposed to be on freeplay, and that can be done one way or another (settings, replay score value, a jumper or 2 on an EM, adding credit button, etc...). I made sure my Night Moves that I bought was on freeplay. There isn't a setting for it on the system 80 games, but you can set the replay value at the lowest possible setting, ensuring that you would get a credit back for every game you played.

They need to better enforce the freeplay rule in the future. I hope they add it to the check in process when you are getting your game checked to make sure it works.

I don't understand.
I go to TPF to socialize and play pinball machines.
I was in the room less than 8hours a day for sleep.
As long as their aren't insects running across the room or stained furniture ... I really don't care how "dated" the room is.
I honestly had no issue with embassy room given the time I was in them. Well; other than price that is.

I've stayed at the Hilton garden in across the street in years past. I'd do it again if I couldn't get a room at Embassy.

My issue with the show this year was the lack of communication of policy changes for exhibitors.
I did not like the fact that my game had to be "ground tested" and be functional. It's my game that I drove 4 hours to bring... and I wouldn't have brought the 5 games I did if I knew that policy was in effect.

I had one game with a broken ground pin on the plug and had to pay 10usd to put on a new plug. I get it's about safety... and had I been TOLD UP FRONT that this was a requirement; I would have been sure to fix it before the show for 2.50 from Lowes.

Don't get me started about the wasted 30minutes on Saturday night because they had to "Clear the floor".

I've bought 5 games every year since like 2007 or 2008... every year I've been sure to bring functional Star Trek games to the event. And every year the show gets more crowded with more rude people and more red tape. I'm thinking it may be time to retire from being a Machine bringer at this event. Ya'll don't care and want to whine about "shit happening" and making it bad for the rest of us. Not that it matters to you; but I brought 5 games and used 1 ticket/bracelet/weekend pass. My DE Star trek cracked a Flipper coil stop late morning on Saturday. With ERS's used parts; I was able to find a substitute used coil stop and had the game back up in a few hours. I was happy to get it back up for people to enjoy; but, there appears to be a lot of ungrateful people posting here on Pinside and it's tiering.

The amount of abuse my machines get from these events is just not worth it anymore.

I was walking around on Sunday and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how many of the machines were still up and running.

TPF is a pretty big stress test for a 40+ year old pinball machine. I think a lot of the people complaining need to ask themselves if their own home games could stay up and playing without any issues for three straight days of continuous play. That's WAY different than the usual home environment where a game gets a few plays a week. We are talking about a year or more worth of play in a home environment packed into three days.

As for the check in process, I am all for it. First of all it's a safety/legal issue. If someone gets shocked at TPF because a game wasn't grounded properly they could come back on TPF with legal proceedings. That could kill the show.

Secondly, last year there was apparently a pretty ugly incident with someone who brought a non-working game to the show and then proceeded to escalate a conflict with those who volunteer to fix games. TPF is not a free pinball repair shop and those who volunteer to troubleshoot games during the show shouldn't have to deal with drama.

There are plenty of valid complaints to be had but "I needed to be told in advance to make sure my game is safe" is not one of them.

For others saying freeplay should have been a check it was supposed to be.

I'm surprised it took 5 years for a basic electrical safety rule to be implemented. For every_ show in Europe games have to have a portable appliance test cert.

For us pin fans, the embassy is fine, but a lot bring families, and they aren't so happy in the TPF room for 14 hours. The hotel needs a refresh no question about it and the bar could do with more staff on the Friday and Saturday night.

Neil.

can you list the games? I played loads of games and didn't come across a single one that I couldn't play. There was some games powered down I'm guessing because they where hosed.

There were a couple of games (a Bally Kiss and one other one I don't remember off hand) that were intentionally put out on the show floor without credits due to their high value and collectible status. There was also a Gottlieb Rocky that may or may not have intentionally not had credits on it. One of the exhibitors had a Metallica used just to show off mods that was not able to be played.

Yes, games obviously in a non-playable state are powered down at events like this, often by players that notice the issue.

The tournament room opens for practice 8:30am to 9:30am, then qualifying starts at 10:00am, for tournament players only. The actual show floor doesn't open until 5pm (or noon if you have an early bird pass). With the exception of the early bird pass that's how it has been for the last three years, and I would expect it to be the same next year.

I played Rocky and yes I saw the Metallica that you couldn't play.

Zitt Thanks for bringing your Star Trek games. A non-pinball buddy was dragged to the show with his family. He is big into ST and it was a thrill for him to get to play them.

Dr. Who was not on free play initially but seemed to be fixed later. The Stern Batman 66 from Craig couldn't be played but that makes total sense unless you think it shouldn't have been out there to begin with.

I'm surprised that people think it is OK to bring ungrounded games to a show in the first place.

Whew!!!! Holy smokes!

I have a new found personal respect for anyone who exhibits at any sort of trade show for any industry. This was our first time undertaking such a task and gotta say, it’s far far harder than it looks. Much respect and appreciation for the hard work it took of untold man-hours to pull off TPF. The organizers especially. Tips hat*

We took 8 pins and streaming rigs which required a whole team of people 40 hours of work to make happen while paying handsomely for the opportunity to do so.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and took a swing at our side tournament!, and apologies for not opening Metallica and MMr to public play. A lot of people didn’t appreciate why such was necessary.

Bad ass show! Cant wait to see you guys again next year!

IMG_7230 (resized).jpeg

Zitt If this is indeed your last TPF - it has been a privilege to play your wonderful games. A visit to your Star Trek collection/display has been a highlight each time I’ve been to TPF over the years. As a long time collector I appreciate what’s involved for you and others to bring their prized games to a show solely for the enjoyment of others (free admission is just a drop in the bucket).

Just remember that those of us who appreciate collectors like you far outnumber those that complain without understanding the sacrifice. And thanks.

I had one kid who wanted to play KISS and the other one wants to play anything Batman, so finding a KISS and a BM66 side-by-side, both unplayable, was a bit galling. Understandable (they were beautiful), but still annoying. The BM66 SLE last year may have been seen as roached out, but at least we got to play it. I'd almost rather "museum pieces" be roped off somewhere instead of out in rows of playable games.

There was also a Gottlieb Rocky that may or may not have intentionally not had credits on it.

We played it on Saturday and it had credits and the exhibitor was there attending to it, so I don't think it was intentional. Interesting, unique game. Batman kid is also a Rocky kid, so she enjoyed this one.

On a side note im running into older games with a groundplug but inside the plug its severed from years of abuse. Best to do a continuity check from plug to coin door do for verification

I'm sorry to hear that! I was lucky enough to mostly choose ones that were working. I think I also look back on TPF of years past where it seemed like *many* more games were busted *and* we had to deal with the "sold it Friday night and now it is 'down' or mysteriously vanished" crowd, a problem which has been solved. A Sunday entry in those days was almost worthless because everything was gone or dead. The last few years the number of games has steadily increased and the overall percentage of unusable games seems way lower.

I am still a bit salty about the ToM this year (not the blinged out, seizure-inducing one; the normal one), with the skill shot broken, the piece of plastic that trapped the ball in the rollover lanes nearly every single time, and *something* going on with the flippers that I could never quite figure out. I GC'ed it, though, so that went a long way towards easing my pain.

My issue isn't that they tested for safety or functionality.
My issue is that they never communicated this new change. A simple email a week or two before the show would have been the least they should have done.

I agree- Metallica and BM66 being presented by vendors as unplayable demo machines.
That pisses me off and should be stopped. I know that these booths help pay for the show - but bringing unplayable demo games is just wrong. One year; someone selling LED strip lighting had a booth of 6-10 games all unplayable. Dumb.

Second; There is a trend which needs to be stopped.
Many people bring games for sale. Obviously; this is ok. But what I see is that the original person brings a game for sale. It's on free play (as a free ticket) for that person until the point it sells.

Then the seller "fakes" that the machine is broken so it doesn't get additional wear or develops a new problem for the new owner.
I get why they do it... just that they should forfeit their pass to the show and/or pay for the weekend.
I know this happens. I know Batman forever near me did it on Friday I think... and that pimped Meteor did it early Saturday morning.

I thought it was legit down. If it was just turned off that makes me sad, because we wanted to give it a go.

Vendor booths: They can do whatever that want with their games. It does not have to be on 'free play'. They are paying for a booth to display the item or service they are selling.

Your second issue would be hard to control. When a game changes hands and now belongs to someone else, the second owner usually has the keys to the games once the game is paid for so controlling this would be hard.

Bally KISS and Batman 66 next to it that FUN! brought had signs saying the games were unplayable because of their value. (??) I thought that was so odd and heard multiple general public folks complaining that they couldn't play them. That is something that would never fly at the Denver show.

They should not have been in the normal line up of playable games, at/behind FUN!'s booth would have been a more appropriate place for them.

Sold games not being allowed to be turned off is another thing the Denver show does really well, it's just simply not allowed.