You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider irishbastard.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Quoted from 1974DeltaQueen:Some background info please. On the dispensary what is the legal ID requirements to
Purchase from the store. Asking for a friend.
I don't have personal experience, but from what friends have said, just show your license and buy away. It's legal in MA.
Quoted from PinballAir:I will be wearing pink cargo shorts.
I believe I had a "salmon" polo on last year, if I could find pink "vintage" Abercrombie cargo shorts, I'd wear them.
Quoted from Gotemwill:I laugh at how this show is literally right down the road from one of the best breweries in the country who is making some of most sought after beers in existence, and it never gets mentioned.
VISIT TREE HOUSE BREWING COMPANY
I really don't understand the obsession with TH, don't get me wrong, they produce good beers, but there are so many other breweries producing good, and better beers locally. I honestly liked TH better when they were in Monson, but, I will admit, we did leave the show last time to head over to TH for one..
On another similar note, the liquor store in the lot at the show has an Awesome selection of excellent beers, and you can walk to it. This show definitely has a great location, I'm glad it stayed in Sturbridge.
Quoted from beelzeboob:Hang tight: Someone will be by to feed you mid-October.
Sweet... standing by. Going to survive off McDonald's, hotdogs, and Yankee Spirits till then.
Quoted from sethbenjamin:What Covid safety protocols will Pintastic have in place for the protection of your guests?
Deodorant and Gas-X will be handed out at the door
Quoted from ejg10532626:Is there a Pintastic Buy/Sell/Trade/Wanted topic out there anywhere for this year's show?
Nope....kinda odd huh
Quoted from ejg10532626:Is there a Pintastic Buy/Sell/Trade/Wanted topic out there anywhere for this year's show?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pintastic-2021-wtb-fs#post-6553377
There we go.... Every other show usually has this thread (including Pintastic normally), so...
I'm curious, how does it work if you could only attend Friday, but wanted to bring a game? If it didn't sell, what time could you remove it from the floor? I only ask because that is what I planned on doing this year, but an injury has sidelined that plan, but would be good to know for next year.
Quoted from dannunz:CVS right next door to the hotel
Good luck with CVS, look for a Walgreens. Had to do the same 72hr deal for my daughter recently for an event, CVS was useless. Walgreens was simple, self swap at drive thru, results that day.
Quoted from beelzeboob:I'll set up a kissing booth at Pintastic, but only if people request it.
$1 each. All proceeds go to the Make Rhode Islanders Happy Again Fund.
Let me know.
Free bump for a great show and cause.
$2 include a reach around, if so, I'm in.
Quoted from dannunz:Time is running out to get 2 tickets in our thank you promotion. You could win $500, $200 or $100 in cold hard cash. Plus we gave away $4,000 in prizes from our vendors and sponsors in 2019. Tomorrow is the last day to register games and get 2 tickets!
I asked a few posts back, but didn't get a reply. Just curious, say you could only attend the show on Friday, but wanted to bring a game. What time could you remove it from the floor that night, if you were taking back home?
Thanks guys! Was planning to bring two games this year, but the job screwed that. Haven't had surgery yet, so if I lugged them there this year, I probably wouldn't be able to walk for the rest of the day. Hopefully next year...
Speaking of food, what's good in Sturbridge? I always go to Teddy G's when in town, but maybe I should branch out. I know everyone says the BBQ joint nearby is good, but what else?
Quoted from CrazyLevi:The BBQ is very average, didn't care for it much. If you just want some meat slathered in sauce I guess you could do worse but it's nothing a real BBQ fan is going to be impressed by.
Walking distance options:
There is a thai place across the street that's not bad.
There's a hot dog / hamburger stand next to the liquor store. I think they have chowder and some other stuff.
There's a decent seafood place as well if you want some lobster.
And of course McDonald's as well.
No idea if they'll have the snack bar at the show open or not but you'd think they will.
Unfortunately sounds like the Oxhead tavern (which was a good spot to grab lunch / chowder) on site is closed, as is the restaurant inside the hotel. Let's just say the recent reviews for the Host hotel haven't exactly been kind...but hey it's Pintastic! Let's party!
Wow, just started reading a few reviews on Tripadvisor...Like the Jack Nicholson reference in one lol.
Quoted from jackd104:I’ll never forget at last Pintastic ordering a fish taco at the hotel restaurant: frozen fish stick wrapped in velveeta cheese slice in a tortilla. It was so bad it was worth it for the laughs. The breakfast was passable though. Too bad oxhead is closed.
Hahaha, that's different. We have a local restaurant that we gave three chances, failed every time. Last time we went, my wife ordered a turkey Reuben. They made it with a frozen turkey burger patty, we were like WTF? And as we were looking at it puzzled, the waitress was like "O hell no", apologized, and went and yelled at the manager.
Sounds like Teddy G's it is, not a chain restaurant fan...
Quoted from jrpinball:I totally agree with you. I've stayed there every show as well, and the rooms are adequate, but I'm thinking maybe with the new ownership and possible lack of staffing, the already tepid condition of the rooms maybe have slipped further. The reports of moldy carpeting, drapes, etc. are a little unsettling.
I booked the first year I believe, I remember the hallway stunk of bleach, room was musty and someone had punched a hole in the wall. I could feel the mold in the air (have a strong mold allergy). My buddy and I decided not to stay. Aside from that, I love the location of the show, so hopefully they start remodeling the rooms soon after they finish the outside.
Quoted from mudflap:[quoted image]
Is this available for everyone to play/view, or is it in the special room, that the peasants, like myself, don't have access to?
Quoted from mudflap:The picture is free.
The game is in the Extra Ball Lounge. (Vip)
Weak
Quoted from jrpinball:Missed ya' , boob.
And, I'm still trying to meet Irishbastard. I asked about four or five guys, and only two of them took a swing at me!
Ha! Sorry, was at the show from 10:45am-5pm ish (with a trip to Teddy G's in the middle, for a very good Philly cheese steak). My buddy and I Usually leave the show late at night, but a few drinking/pinball buddies couldn't make it...and we played the games we wanted to play (except a few that were off). I usually find myself in the pictures that get posted, but played "where's Waldo" and didn't see myself.
Oddly enough, I enjoyed that custom Rock pin a lot, had a great music selection on it, blasting in your face.
Had fun playing the puck bowler as well, wish I had the room. I've turned down so many free ones over the years. Only ones I took, were just to salvage the sys 11 boards.
Quoted from GreenMachine19:Did they announce the winner of the Riverboat Gambler raffle?
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPinball/videos/1563157520710645/
Quoted from ForceFlow:Yep, there was one in the extra ball lounge.
[quoted image]
Unfortunately I only arrived with two, so I couldn't enter 
(I usually sneak in easily anyway, but didn't have interest this year)
Quoted from djreddog:RatShack made the home brew using a “Rock” play field.
Is there a link to the build? Great music choices
Okay, so I wasn't the only one. Was interested in a game but had zero clue about the green/white thing. Almost broke my neck trying to scan the QR, then had to scroll down to the pin # from a drop down, then it says "For Sale" with no "Yes or No" (waste of time and energy)...A minute later I figured out "Green" meant a game was for sale, but I couldn't read the prices without mounting the cab.
Quoted from dannunz:I think making the FOR SALE and PRICE big and bold on the cards will work best.
Yes, and games that are not FS should also state it in large print. The color difference means zip if many don't know.
Quoted from dannunz:What conflicting event could possibly be more important than Pintastic lol? Thank goodness Pintastic is open much latter than other events.
The possibility of 2 shows a year is something we have talked about. Maybe the main show in June and a secondary smaller show in November. Let’s see how things go with covid this year. But a November show is a possibility in the future if the community can bare it. For 2021 the show got pushed back due to covid but people seemed to like it in November as well.
Only thing with November is, like last year, it's cold. That cut down on hanging in the parking lot and nuked any outside flea market ideas (I like the break from being inside and to look through crap for sale). If it goes to twice a year, I'd definitely skip the November show.
Quoted from MutterFudder:But EVERYONE loves Jello!
Except the guy who has to lug the trash bags full of Jello to the dumpster at the end of the night...(I used to have a side gig as a bouncer at a shady "18+" club decades ago)
Hosing the girls off after was a plus tho 
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:Which is the best time to attend Pintastic if going for a single day excursion? Friday or Saturday?
Friday
Quoted from Pinash:I don't think the average person knew what the cards were for last year. Maybe if they are closer to the player, that would do the trick.
Exactly, or knew if a game was for sale or not.
Quoted from dmarston:There are two ways to find out if the game is for sale. One is the card. Last show, we had a separate card color for games that are for sale, in addition to the wording on the card.
The other way to see what's for sale is to look at the registered games list on our MyFlipR system. That's why we ask the game bringer to mark the game as being for sale, if it will be, at the time of registration. If they do that, the game list is helping them build awareness that the game is for sale.
.................David Marston
Yup, but the average person has no clue about the color coding, there was no visible writing on the card indicating sale status, and no clue what the MyflipR system is (if it was the QR, that just brought me down a useless rabbit hole, which ended at the game listing with a blank area for sale status)... I mounted the beast to scan the QR, just to waste five minutes scrolling through nothing helpful. THEN I realized it was a color coding thing.
A simple "FOR SALE" or "NOT FOR SALE" displayed clearly on the machine would be much more helpful for the average visitor to the show. I'm not scanning anything, or searching a database just to figure out if something is for sale or not.
Btw, my comment is not meant to offend, just explaining my personal observation.
Quoted from dmarston:Not true!
.................David Marston
O, very true. I even asked my buddy if I was blind. I'll look through my phone, I took a pic. I've never lied about something as absurd as this, and don't appreciate the accusation. (Should I add an exclamation point as well?)
Edit: Just checked my phone, of course I had to delete a plethora of unnecessary pics due to storage overload, only pics from the show are the DeLorean in the lot, my buddy with the cardboard Fabio, and the Seawitch scratch build. Guess it's your assumption against mine. I really don't care, it just wasn't clearly listed, anywhere on the machine. Contact Ripley, but believe it or not.
Just looked at the list for the first time, what are the small black paintball splat after the titles of some of the games?
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:It means that machine is in the "extra ball lounge" which I think is an exclusive area for certain passes? Could be wrong.
Ahh, I would guess they should add an " ** " on the bottom of the webpage to let people know they won't be able to play those with basic entry.
Quoted from Butch2099:Sorry about that
No, I screwed up and posted in the wrong thread. Just didn't want to leave a blank post when I deleted it.
Sorry for the confusion.
Quoted from VALIS666:Huh. I just watched two youtube tours of the 2021 show (which I unfortunately missed) and it was shuttered in both. Both videos seemed to be afternoon though, so I suppose it opened later in the day.
I believe they were short staffed? Staff had to close to assist in another area, then it reopened.
Quoted from ForceFlow:I caught a large spider in my room. If you want, I could bring it over to take care of your bug problem
I just spit my water all over myself reading this lmao
My opinion and observations:
Show was good. Freeplay area had the least amount of pins I've seen so far (been every year), but the sponsors of the show can't control that. Vendor area was also lacking, which I'm sure is also out of their control. Hotel area appeared clean in regards to the area the average show visitor sees(I didn't, and would never again actually book a stay overnight at the host hotel). Everything I played worked pretty well, with just a few hiccups here and there. One game I wanted to play was frozen (Stern Star Wars). Took a walk over to the help desk area (whatever you call it), stood there for a bit (helper was in a conversation), gave up walked back, tried to un F it, no luck, went back (he was still in full conversation, didn't notice me). Excellent dude I know sitting next to him suggested I power cycle it. Walked back, couldn't find the F'n power switch (not familiar with Stern's new power switch location (70+ years in the same spot, and they have to move it), gave up and walked away.
As for food, I usually eat elsewhere, but also usually grab a beer or two and a hotdog etc from the hotel. No beer this year?? (Odd) So I grabbed a "hotdog". It was cold, and oddly hard. Honestly, worst I've ever eaten (and I've eaten 3am Cumberland Farms burnt sticks that identify as hotdogs in the past).
We ate actual food at Teddy G's up the street as usual, excellent steak&cheese and gallon size beers.
I did like seeing that games in Freeplay actually stated "FOR SALE" "NOT FOR SALE", finally common sense prevailed, unfortunately most that were "FOR SALE" didn't have a price? (I'm not scanning a code, or wasting my time looking at a website, don't care).
The flea market was pathetic as usual, but it's clear the sponsors of the show are not interested in a flea market. I do give credit to the two people who tried, A for effort.
As for the vendors, I was surprised to see many missing, and don't understand the quantity of vendors who sell crap completely unrelated to the hobby. I understand they paid for their spot, but if I go to a "pinball and gameroom " show, I'm only interested in pinball and gameroom crap (pins, arcade cabs, wall mounted, table mounted games, flea market for parts and signage etc.
All in all it was a good show. I understand each show is different and has its own vibe. I don't care about a special lanyard, or a room of pins hidden behind a pay wall (especially when you have rows of pins missing from the freeplay area, thats just stupid), or websites I have to search to figure out what's going on (or how much a pin is for sale for), seminars, concerts, etc. I go to enjoy the show, the games, and good friends. I understand the host hotel it a borderline hostel, but, like it or not, Sturbridge is still a good location. Plenty of parking, decent restaurants and breweries nearby, no one busting your chops for open containers etc, central location, great game of "guess that smell" in the bathroom (but not the open sewage smell of Allentown). As long as the weather is good, I'll return each summer.
Again, my opinion and observations.
Quoted from ForceFlow:The registration desk outside the freeplay room entrance, or the repair area in the back corner?
The best way to report malfunctioning games was to scan the QR code and select the appropriate option.
However, I did notice that when someone reported my game as malfunctioning, I didn't get any notifications about it. I just happened to walk by and see that someone had turned it off, then I signed in to the website and saw the trouble report.All the for sale signs I saw had prices. They were just in smaller print than the "for sale" text.
Sometimes there are overlapping interests with collectibles and whatnot. And the general public may be interested in those things too. Personally, I don't mind seeing a few of those booths, as long as it doesn't turn into the main focus. But most of the time, if a vendor does well, they return for another year, but if not, they usually don't.
On one hand, I can agree with that sentiment. On the other, it's nice to have a separate space that isn't completely mobbed, and where you actually have a small chance at hearing the audio on the game that you're playing. It's impossible to hear anything on the freeplay floor. Well, aside from the screaming crypt keeper. You could hear that from clear across the room.
I saw plenty of people walking around with beer cups. I saw one of the workers in the concession stand pouring a bottled beer into a cup at one point.
Apparently, it was some prankster messing around with fart sprays.
I tried to report the game issue to a guy in the back corner wearing a Vest. Again, I'm not mounting a machine to scan anything.
There were prices listed? I must be blind, only one I noticed was the $7500 POTC.
My beer comment was in regards to beer on tap. "Craft beer" is usually listed on the signage for the show with a local brewer's beer on tap at the show. Did not observe that (I had my own in my vehicle, not buying a bottle from them).
Quoted from ForceFlow:Someone said they found empty spray bottles.
Was that here or at Pinfest? I know people said they found evidence at Pinfest, but I didn't smell that smell at Pintastic. Idiots who do that should be drawn and quartered if caught, or at least banned from shows for life.
Quoted from dannunz:That is not true. You could not see the tap when standing at the concession stand they had to walk to the side were it was. I ordered multiple worm town be hoppy bears during the show
I would have grabbed a Wormtown if I knew they had it, didn't see the taps, and the only signage was for wine (And I'm not classy enough for that lol)
Quoted from brimc:Please understand that we have processes in place to have repairs attended to. First is to scan the QRC code which you stated you did not want to do, got it. Second, when you walked up to the big yellow and blue station board there was a white board complete with marker for you to log a needed repair. The repair team gets hundreds of repair requests and someone walking up to a tech to get a repair done unless it is late night will probably get forgotten.
Sorry, I only walked up to them to let them know it was F'd up, I obviously wasn't expecting someone to run right over and fix it. The second time I walked over I mentioned it to Eric, who I didn't realize was volunteering. Eric and I have known each other for years, so he suggested I power cycle it and told me where the power switch was (I know my way around many things in this hobby, and do 99.9% of all my own repairs, which Eric knows). Stupid me still couldn't find the damn power switch, as I don't own, and haven't worked on the newer Sterns with the relocated power switch.
So again, I wasn't expecting them to fix it, just wanted to let someone know. I'm sorry I didn't notice the board to write on either.
And yes, I refuse to scan anything to do so, as first off, the system failed me miserably last year after I had to mount a machine to scan that stupid thing tryingto find out if a machine was for sale(drop down menu led me to "For sale, Not for sale" with neither checked off, and second I have a new phone that I'm ready to smash as I hate it. Thanks for the heads up though, next time I'll move on to a machine that works and let the next person scan the thingee.
We have eaten at Teddy G's every year (right up the street, walked one year, don't recommend). They have decent food, great cheesesteak, and 32oz (?) Beers (good beer selection too). It's unfortunate the host hotel blows, I like the location and distance from home. If the show changes to late fall, or too far away, I'll probably just do Allentown (Yes, it's much further, but I enjoy the large flea market, farmer's market, etc).
Quoted from dannunz:I don’t understand why you would just go to Allentown if we moved to November? I would think getting further away from Allentowns May date would make you go to both. Being 50 days after Allantown I believe hurts our vendor sales considerably
I like the summer, warm aspect as I like to hang outside there to escape from being inside. I haven't missed one Pintastic show yet, and attended the show that was held in the fall. We froze our butts off trying to hang outside and there were not many vendors (I noticed there were not many vendors this year either, but assume with our current economy, it wasn't economical for some of them to attend). I can understand what you mean about vendor sales. Also I said "late fall", maybe September?
Quoted from jrpinball:You WALKED to Teddy G's!!! That's a decent hike![quoted image]
O, beer was involved, it was a STUPID decision on our part, wouldn't do THAT again.
Quoted from dannunz:Attendance down from last year. But I think the gas prices and surrounding hotel prices hurt us this year. To many wedding in June drove hotel rates way up.
I can't believe humans get married at that hotel, Gerbils, I'd understand...Humans...No
Quoted from drsfmd:If the hotel can't provide fully staffed restaurants with enough for for full menu options for 3 days, who cares if they will allow it or not?
The hotel lost out on a fortune in sales by not having food.
What are you talking about, I had a "hotdog" from the hotel. A line from "The Great Outdoors" came to mind as I consumed it....(Was not good in any way).
Hold it at a hall like Allentown, line wraps down the street every year and it doesn't have a "host hostel".
Quoted from somenerd:Just to chime in- as someone who lives in Littleton (literally the next town over) I'd LOVE to see it in Boxborough... however having experienced the vibe at the Sturbridge show, and the convenience of being so close to food & Tree House beers... it's in a convenient location to the things folks would want and need.
Boxborough really is an isolated little town with basically nothing going on. You'd need to venture to Maynard, Westford, or Hudson to experience anything outside the hotel, and as others have noted, we don't know how relaxed their "open bottle" policies would be.
At the end of the day, if I have to drive to Sturbridge again, I'd be okay with that if it means we can keep the same sort of atmosphere we know & love, that makes Pintastic such a good time.
I noticed that when it was first mentioned, actually had never even heard of the town. I'll probably skip it if it goes there, definitely skip if it moves to NH.
Quoted from hool10:I'm getting really disgruntled at some comments here.
1) The hotel is terrible. You can pay $150+ or whatever and tell your yourself or your significant other to "suck it up buttercup" but that hotel needs to be demolished.
2) This is Pintastic New England & Game Room Expo. This isn't a show geared towards making the show a convenient drive for PA, NJ, NY or any region outside of New England. You folks have your shows which are very nice such as Allentown, Saratoga Pinball and Arcade Show, etc. Personally I would love to see the show in NH because as Pixels and Pinball pointed out there is no sales tax. It's also more centrally located. Personally I live near Lowell, MA and will be going to Pawtucket, RI tomorrow for the EMP party. It doesn't bother me travelling an hour to RI but if it bothers you, you likely didn't want to go to the show in the first place. People from VT and ME travel 2-3 hours for the show.
Here are some pictures not seen by the general public. I bet you're going to say "oh bah it's not seen by the general public".
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Is that a local bath house? If it's the hotel it seems fine, as I can see the ac is working. Again, another hotel is at the end of the parking lot, with no complaints..stay there.
Quoted from dannunz:I appreciate all the comments weather they are good or bad. We are making some good progress on finding a new venue. We are not moving to NH the population numbers are not in our favor. Boxboro is very unlikely due to the shortage of hotel rooms and feel of the surrounding area. When we move some things will change but I refuse to change to over all feel of the show. So that makes things more difficult. But rest assured we hear all the comments and complaints and are taking them into consideration.
It has to be a HUGE headache to deal with for sure. Can you share any of the other possibilities with us? I know RI doesn't have anything decent that i can think of. My union has its kids Christmas party at the Crown Plaza in Warwick, its decent, but you're not going to get away with things you can in Sturbridge (outside alcohol, open containers outside, etc).
Quoted from dannunz:Yup got a price from them and toured it. Beautiful facility. But it’s very expensive to rent the facility and I was quoted $500 a night for my room block. Plus they can’t even host it on a weekend. Would need to be during the week. No go
Wow, my union has its adult Christmas party there and our block was $150/night last year, on the weekend.
Quoted from dannunz:Ya but did they block off 200 rooms a night? That’s the issue. They can not accommodate us on a weekend. It’s there busy time.
Sorry, was $179 with resort fee waived (was $150 prior), has to be over 200 rooms as there are well over 1500 possible members that could attend. They flip-flop from Mohegan and Foxwoods over the years.
Quoted from dmarston:And when we pick that venue, we will have to do some adapting. We might have to divide up operations into some smaller rooms, or combine two aspects of the show (the way we combined vendors and tournament in Sturbridge) in a novel way, or some things may have to happen at the same time that didn't before, etc. We may have to build some new apparatus, like we built our famous Repair Station. That means we may need more volunteers than ever before! We might need some of those volunteers in the next few months as we plan our usage of the new space. If you live in or near "central" New England, think about what you could do to help our show be even better in a better venue.
.................David Marston
Isn't the center of New England in NH? Dunbarton, New Hampshire to be precise.
Quoted from gdonovan:It maybe the "geographic center" of New England but boatloads of people come from PA/NJ/NY.
The "geographic center of NE" is a thin argument for "I want it closer to my house"
I wish York was closer to my house as well, but it would be a bad call for the show guys to make moving it.
I was just responding to Dmarston's post mentioning if you lived near the "center of New England" to volunteer, but not saying where he figured the "center of New England " was. So I Googled it, because I wasn't sure either. Hell, my local Walmart is located in "The center of New England " shopping Plaza, on "Center of New England Boulevard"
Quoted from gdonovan:They had several computer shows in the past, might be worth checking.
Wow, I forgot all the computer shows I used to go to with my father years ago. Mystic doesn't sound like a bad idea, love Mango's Pizza.
Was just in the area today visiting a brewery(Oakholm)(no, not Treehouse, no fanboy here)...We watched a junkie OD at a red-light in Southbridge on the way(not a good location for the show, but...Allentown is definitely worse for that kind of thing) Made for great family entertainment tho...Swung by the Host Hostel for a few glamor shots..
Dirt pile/plywood entry in all its glory, rear sandbox build coming along nicely, and who forgot their Jesus sandals? (Random trash can lying in lot and truck tire on curb).
There was an event going on too...
20220807_172550.jpg20220807_172731.jpg20220807_172818.jpgQuoted from 1974DeltaQueen:Crack pipes and poop? Seriously hard pass on that shit.
It keeps life exciting
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider irishbastard.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-real-official-pintastic-new-england-show-info?tu=irishbastard and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.
