If I can better nail down the whole loading/bringing/which vehicle I'm using process, I'm down to bring my games every year. If the first time's the hardest, the rest should be a breeze. Right?

I'm actually trying to think up a part that you can put under your machine, like a socketed-fit piece of some kind, that the game will sit in and let it be the sacrificial piece so your game doesn't take the abuse of sliding on whatever dolly you're using. It'd also protect the edges and corners from catching on things and flaking off bits of wood. Doesn't seem like it should be too hard to come up with, just need to sit down and draw it up.

Not as expensive as something like that. Plus, it'd just be mainly for flat-loading(although I'm sure something could be drawn up for vertically loaded games as well). Probably just a thin sheet of 1/4" plywood with all four sides on it and the corners cut out for removing and installing the legs. Perhaps even with a corner cap of some kind that goes in place of the legs once removed that helps lock the piece in place and allows you to keep the legs bolts with the machine.

Something like this:
Untitled-1_(resized).jpg

You could even put a thin foam liner inside the upright sections of it for those that have new, restored, or redone artwork on their cabs just to have that extra level of protection.

It'd just be nice to have something that you could put your game on/in and not have to worry about the truck bed, van floor, or whatever foreign objects might be lying around mucking up your pin when you flat load and slide them in and out of something.

Still brainstorming here….

You could even extend the back of it another 1/2" and router the bottom corner to be a nice curve that aids in tipping the game up, too. Or even build a back onto that piece that the game can slide on once it's upright.

Lots of possibilities.

We need a Fall PAGG. This wait is killing me...

My brother and I always talk about the possibility a fall, Central Valley based arcade/pinball show on our way back from CAX and where it could be held. Figuring out a venue has proven to be harder than it sounds. Valdez Hall downtown would be nice with the hotel right across the street, but I'm sure there are better spots available that we're not familiar with. I, too, would prefer something in Clovis or Visalia, but it's got to have a nice hotel by it for those that'll travel.

I've got a strong feeling that there are WAY more collectors here in the Central Valley than even we realize…

I brought my two games this last year and I am so glad I did. I really want to bring them again next year, too. I think it was Vid who started a thread about how to ready a game for a show. In it he mentioned a bunch of tips that benefit both the owner and the players at the show. Here is what my takeaway from that thread was and what I did to my games:

-Deep cleaning just short of a shop out.
This is mainly because over the course of a few months, I had fully shopped each of my pins so they really didn't need much at the time. But a serious, thorough cleaning and waxing/polishing is highly recommended. It keeps gameplay up to where it should be.

-New balls just for the show.
If the balls in the machine are old at all, they'll "age" even faster when they're played non-stop for 8+ hours straight. Nicked and chipped balls can tear up a playfield pretty quick. Especially at a show where they'll get played WAY more than in your home.

-New rubbers on flippers, slings, and high traffic posts.
Don't try to clean them, just replace them. Home use machines might see 100 plays in a month, or longer. Machines at a show will see that in a few hours, or less.

-Reset all the gameplay settings to factory defaults.
This is important for a couple reasons. 1) You may have a few things set harder at your house because it's your game and you made it harder to beat since you're so used to it and can practically do it with your eyes closed now. 2) The vast majority of people that play games at shows are collective novices at best. They'll hardly ever approach your number of ramp shots to light the extra ball or even come close to your personal high scores. Case in point: My TAF's replay/extra ball score was up to 175mil at home. Because it's set to a percentage based setting, it'll adjust up or down depending on the frequency of it being awarded. At the end of PAGG this year, it was down to 54mil. No joke. Furthermore, people that come to shows do so to play the games they remember way back when and want to have fun doing so. Making the game harder than it should be sours their fun ever so slightly.

-Play test the crap out of your games before you bring them.
This is pretty self-explanatory, but it still needs to be mentioned. Fix ANY little niggling bits before you load them up. It might also be a good idea to just turn them on and leave them on for about eight hours straight just to make sure nothing's going to burn out or fail just from being on for so long.

-Play test them once you get there and have set them up.
I found this one out the hard way. I transported my games flat on their bottoms and while my TZ made the trip fine, my TAF had a micro switch that shifted in transport(Thing kicker roll-over). I had to adjust that switch about four times the first day before it was finally happy and lasted the rest of the weekend.

-Bring a level or use the PinGuy leveling app.
Every place's floor is different, especially at convention halls or community buildings. They are also guaranteed to be different from your house or garage's floor. Nothing is less fun to play than an improperly leveled pin.

-Check up on your machine(s) every so often.
Most shows use post it notes or index cards for people to make a note of what's wrong with a machine and they'll usually turn it off. I cruised by my machines every two hours or less just to make sure everything was kosher. It usually helps to watch someone play a game or two as well, just to make sure everything's working properly, too. Most people at a show don't necessarily know how everything is actually supposed to work on any given game.

-Clean your games at the end of the day or at the start of the next day.
Some shows will let the people who brought games get in before the show starts each day for maintenance and cleaning. Get there as early as they'll let you in and go to town on cleaning/fixing your game(s). Once they're good to go, you end up with some free time to just go over to the other games and start playing without waiting in line.

-Bring a tool bag with some essential tools and various extra parts.
The range of tools needed for most pins is pretty limited, let's be honest. So, it's pretty easy to bring enough to cover most standard fixes. It's more important, though, to bring a varied array of parts. Everything from the standard bulbs, coil sleeves, and rubbers, to and kind of special nuts, bolts, plastics, mechanisms, or whatever that you can think of that the parts vendors might not have readily available for sale at the show. (It's also a good opportunity to replenish the new items you put into your game just for the show and at the same time support the vendors who come from so far away.)

And lastly….

-Reap the benefits of sharing your games with others who might not have been able to play that particular game, had you not brought it.
Speaking personally here again: I've been going to PAGG for years, now. I was so happy to finally be able to bring my games and share them with everyone. Sure, they're the two most common titles around, but they were my games and they play ever so slightly different than that other one a few rows over. Sometimes, they play drastically different. Either way, they get played and enjoyed. That's all that matters to me. Oh, and the free admission for the weekend was nice, too.

Bringing you game(s) to a show is really a great way to see just how good your repairs are and to see just how "bulletproof" your games really are. My TAF was out on the open show floor and over the course of the show, got 702 plays. My TZ was in the tournament on Saturday so it didn't get played Friday, but between the tournament and free play on Sunday, it got 365 plays. That roll-over switch on my TAF was the only problem I had for both my games all weekend. I was quite pleased with that!

-Mike

It was definitely easier than I thought it'd be to bring games. Tons of people wandering around at the start and the end of the show just looking to help you load or unload your games. Plenty of dollies, plenty of hands. I don't really know how much better or easier it could be. Honestly.

I plan on bringing two. It's all I own.

What's the PAGG rate for the BW?

Just a heads up:

For those that still need a hotel, if you get on Hotwire.com and search for a hotel in Dixon, when you get to the results page, under the filters section on the left, select the "3-star" option, then select "Dixon". From that, you'll only get one option at $84/night.

There's only one 3-star hotel in Dixon, the Country Inn & Suites.

(It should be noted that when I just did this, it was for Friday AND Saturday nights. YMMV for booking just Friday OR Saturday night only.)

According to Priceline and Hotwire, the BW is 2.5 star. I really don't care, I've stayed at both. The CI&S has better parking on Saturday night since most of the British car show guys stay at the BW, but I'll stay at which ever one is cheaper.

Hmm….

F-14 and Mustang.

How many "official" guesses do we get?

BK2000 and Quick Draw/Fast Draw

Do I have even one of them correct?

Taxi and El Dorado

Definitely bring Skill Pool. Please.

If I ever hit the lotto, that'd be the main theme I'd collect: Pool/Billiards based pins. I have no idea why I enjoy those games so much. Plus, it seems like a good way to spend my winnings and would be neat to see all those games in one row along the wall of my arcade room in my 5,000sq mansion on 50 acres.

Guess I should start playing the lotto...

I'm starting to tingle a bit…

Any word on theme/poster art?

Just signed my games up for this year again and noticed that it put up both my games in one line instead of two separate lines like everyone else. Is this right?

We could even come up with a sticker or small sign of some sort that you could put on any pin that was either bought from, fixed by, restored by, or in any way affected by Steve.

Might be nice for others to see his impact on the hobby in the area.

This will probably be my last year getting a hotel for PAGG. I'll have use of my mother's RV next year and get to stay in the village! They're actually driving it back from Florida in May, but won't be back until the week AFTER Pin-a-Go-Go. Oh well. At least next year I'll have a great place to stay AND a pin transporter all in one(maybe, I'll have to check some dimensions...).

Too bad that truck that rounds up everybody's games to bring to PAGG every year can't start in Visalia, then hit Fresno, then hit Lodi, it's normal starting spot...

We have almost ten games between myself, bicyclenut, and merccat!

Last year I rented a mini-cargo van, a Dodge Ram ProMaster City, or whatever the hack they called that thing. It's a Fiat Doblo with Dodge badges on it, for you foreigners. It fit my two pins just fine and got great mileage on the highway. Not really all that comfortable to drive, but at $35/day with unlimited mileage, I didn't really care. It was a screaming deal, I had to do it. If it were a couple inches taller, I could have stood them up vertically and probably fit a couple more in there. It was great to load up my pins Thursday night, then park that little thing in the garage for safekeeping and just leave first thing in the morning. Dixon is a pretty easy drive from Fresno.

This year, I'm borrowing my brother's E350 van. PLENTY of room in that for my two pins, and it's free. I'm still going to reserve another small cargo van, just in case at the last minute my brother needs his van after all, or it explodes, or something. Always have a backup plan, I say...

We're well under 30 days to go until the best show west of the Mississippi and there's no quick link button at the top of the forum page? There are buttons for shows up there that are months away yet!

'sup wit dat, yo?

Ah, makes sense. And yes, it is nice to see this thread on the first page, so......bump!

When do we start signups for Sparky's BBQ?

I need to know what to bring this year, food wise. I've got a couple different things in mind I'd like to bring, but wanna make sure it's something new so we don't end up with 5 of the same type of dish.

Macaroni and potato salad it is....Thanks Mark!

I've got a spare piece of widebody glass glass you can have. It does have a barely noticeable scratch on it, but when you put it in backwards, it's hardly visible. Definitely usable for the show. Even if you're only going to use it for the show, you can keep it.

In fact, I remember you saying that you're driving up Thursday night. If you want, stop by my place on the way up and you can grab it then!

Is PattyJ bringing the Shasta again this year?

Just checked the list of games being brought and so far there are 5 TZ's and only 1 TAF, mine. C'mon you other TAF owners, sign yours up and bring it. It's always a crowd pleaser!

Last year, my TAF got 702 plays over the course of the weekend. If it ends up being the only one, I can see that number approaching 850 or even more!

Also, if whomever's running the tournament this year needs my TZ again(since there are so many), just let me know. I didn't hear anybody complaining about how it plays so I guess it's up to snuff for what people expect from a tourney game.

Oh well, at least I'll have my games together this year!

I would like to know about this, too, please.

There was some instruction for those that want to play in the tournament AND go to Sparky's BBQ as to when they should sign up for their tee times. I just can't remember what the advice was...if it was to sign up for early times or late times.

Either way, the tournament has been said to take up a lot of your time on Saturday. Fair warning.

According to the list so far, there's actually going to be more Gilligan's Islands than Addams Family's. Crazy.

I actually really like GI, too. Can't wait to play more than one at PAGG!

I thought there was one in the middle row of the larger building. Could've been two years ago, though. I've been enough times now that it's hard to remember one specific year's lineup.

It's a pretty underrated game, most likely from the super short ruleset. Basically a system 11 game with the first smatterings of the DMD era. Fun game, though. I'd love to own one at some point.

Saturday is my "get ready" day. Gonna play a ton of games to make sure everything's working, then replace a bunch of rubbers and clean the crap out of them!

Gonna be a fun day!

I just noticed last night that I'm out of new balls. Gonna have to make a quick purchase before the show starts, I guess! Only having two games, that both use magnets extensively, makes shopping for balls fairly easy, thankfully.

Bingo. I usually try to buy a pack or two at CAX, but since they'll be there at PAGG, I'll just get them then. Either from them or Borygard . He's always got a nice selection, too. Most likely, Rob, though since Marco sometimes only brings SilverJets, which are no-no's with magnets.

May have to buy a few sets from whomever since I'll want to put some new ones in after the show anyway. Last year, my TAF got 702 plays. It got new balls when I got it home and it's definitely ready for a new set just for PAGG.

I've got no alliances to any one brand or style, yet. I've had good luck so far with balls I've bought from Marco, Pinball Life, and Borygard . With Rob's pinballs, I can inspect them and look for any "preexisting conditions", and I usually find a few really nice ones.

As long as you change them out often enough, SilverJets are fine in magnet games. But, I had some in my TZ for a while and they started getting "stuck" on my lower right magnet, a la the Camera helper function, because of their retained magnetism.

Always inspect balls you've never seen before and make sure they're safe for you to use and to let other people play with them for the weekend.

May I have the trick sword, please!?!?

It's a real sword!

Silence, slave!

...and have bologna sandwich fixings, right?

Or whatever lunch meats you want...

Dude, just how big is this trailer you're bringing?

To anyone bringing their Domino's game:

I've got a couple of Noid figures I'd be happy to sell you for super cheap or trade for some small trinket or knick-knack or something. One is a 5" tall posable Noid and the other is a 2" tall Noid with a bomb in his hand. I've had these guys for many years just sitting in a box of old stuff. When they announced the Domino's game, I dug them out and cleaned them up.

How much do you think it'll take for Jack to leave that DI here on the west coast?

Don't worry, I'll play the crap out of your GI for you. I'm going to play all three of them, actually, but since you're stuck waiting for a kid to pop, I'll put some extra time on yours.

Well, another great year in the books! I'm sure I can't say much that hasn't already been said, but a huge thanks to all the organizers and staff and volunteers for putting together another fantastic show. This was my second year bringing games and while I brought my games to let the attendees play and have fun, the staff made me feel like I was an attendee and was always there for me with how helpful and thoughtful they were.

Had a great time hanging out with and talking to old friends and making new ones(and even connecting the dots of how small a world we truly live in). Got to pet Taro numerous times again. A big shout out to Dave- bicyclenut for hauling my games up for me. It made my life SO much easier. Glad we were able to avoid having those D-rings ding up our cabs!

Taking the opportunity tomorrow night to make some long overdue cab repairs before setting my games back up for the year. As for my games' totals: TZ had around 640 plays and TAF had 660. Not bad for TZ considering there were so many all super close to each other! Nothing major to report as far as issues over the course of the weekend. I changed a coil sleeve on TAF because I felt that flipper was s little sluggish. Changed a couple bulbs on TZ. Had to tighten the right flipper button on TZ and when I did, I accidentally tweaked the opto interrupter, only to notice about ten minutes later that the lower right flipper(and not the upper) was staying up. I was so worried I had a transistor that failed. Turns out it was just me that failed when I tightened the nut on the back of the flipper button.

Right as I was starting to pack up TZ, I noticed someone left TAF with balls in play. I go to plunge and drain the game back to attract mode, only there are no balls anywhere. I open it up to look for a stuck ball and nothing. I reset it from the coin door to start the ball search and nothing. I lift the playfield and I can hear balls rolling around somewhere so at least they're in there! I start looking at kickout coils and I notice that the Thing box's scoop kickout has a wire that came off, the one I didn't resolder back on two years ago. Oh well! I just shut it off and started packing it up. I'll fix it when I get it set back up this week.

All in all, a very tiring, but extremely fun show. Again! Thanks again to all who volunteer, contribute, bring games, and attend! Looking forward to 2018 in Lodi!

-Mike

youre-killing-me-smalls (resized).jpg

Hey, between Baby Pac-Man and Gilligan's Island, I was a happy camper. Two games that a lot of people consider turds, I really like 'em both!

dsuperbee : If that was your Gilligan's in the small building in the last row, I'm the "MIK" that put up the 73mil score. Thanks for the great playing game! Well done with the LEDs, too. Wasn't annoying at all(I'm typically not a fan of LED conversions).

What game? From a pinsider? Do tell...