This is a time where you have to break every rule there is. Conventional pricing, etc. out the window.

See some of my earlier posts in this thread for some ideas on creating some exclusive packages that are meant to maximize dollars with the smallest number of churn. You are creating a safe out-of-home experience for a family. There is tremendous value in that in this moment. Then find the audience that will pay it.

All the best.

Local repitle-focused animal rescue place kept it's lights on by doing parties and such, but are now booking private tours. https://raysreptiles.com/
you can also book SLOTH ENCOUNTERS and go hang out with their sloths and other animals for 90 minutes.
Very tempting splurge...

What’s not included in the reservation
Tickets for each attendee.
A required $150 minimum food purchase, which does not include tax and gratuity.

I feel bad for operators and establishment owners that really are trying to create a safe environment. Unfortunately the lack of a cohesive message with clear direction (in the US) is not helping to create the perception of a safe environment overall. There are too many individuals that are going to do whatever the hell they want and that makes social places less safe than the risk tolerances that many have. I would never drive my motorcycle again if we didn’t have traffic laws or red lights or stop signs because I recognize that my safety also depends upon the consideration of the laws by other drivers.

Many people will not assume the extra risk to be entertained whereas they have to accept a little more risk to get groceries. Far fewer people are shopping for things that are not necessities. If the overall political direction was based upon a collective march towards reducing risk (Not eliminating because that isn’t possible) by creating healthier spaces then more people would be willing to be entertained. The government has failed at the one thing it is supposed to do which is to bring people together and unite them under a common cause. Too many politicians only care about being in power and never think about what they should be doing with the powers and privileges they were granted by their electorate.

Good luck to all the arcade owners. I really hope you all make it to the other side.

Definitive information on what is “safe” does not yet exist. This coronavirus is new to humans. Best practices are currently a moving target. And even if a provider has best practices the public at large hasn’t been convinced they work, nor are they able to make an accurate assessment of the risk profile.

Science takes time to provide accurate information. It’s coming, but I don’t expect a return to past societal norms. There will be a new normal and no one yet knows what that will look like.

I love both dining at restaurants and playing pinball on location. Since March I have done neither, preferring to cook or get take out and to play pinball at home. I won’t be dining out, even at 25% capacity restaurant until there is a vaccine. I’d consider playing pinball at anyplace that took precautions and enforced the rules, once it becomes easier to take and receive test results in a day. To me that looks like a December timeframe for pinball.

Wildwood Highlands by any chance? Used to love that place when I grew up in Hampton. Saw that it was no longer operating and I’ve been curious what’s going to happen to it.

It's sad but IMO 2020 is toast, and we have to deal with that. I won't be doing anything 'non-supermarket' until 2021 earliest, and even supermarket is mostly online currently unless I absolutely have to enter a shop. Thanks to this plague, I currently have zero desire to 'socialise' ever again. Ask yourself- is it worth going on a ventilator for? Fuck that.

Definitive information? Safe? That isn’t what my comment was referencing. It is about management of the situation. It is clear that wearing a mask properly reduces risk significantly. Does that mean safe? Certainly not 100% safe but clearly safer.

It is about the management team having a common goal and message. If you were in a boat and everyone was rowing the same way and you determined that you were rowing in the wrong direction then a course correction is easy. If everyone was rowing in different directions (then going in any direction becomes random) and correcting course becomes much harder as nobody is on the same page.

Nothing is 100% safe but we keeps things safer by following a coordinated set of rules. Take driving. Is it safe? IMHO yes. But people die. What is the top causes of car accidents in the US? In no particular order they are distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, reckless driving, bad weather conditions, night driving. Now we have rules against most of these and most people follow them which keeps most people safe but some people obviously don’t so they are less safe (and disobeying puts other people at risk). Some of these rule breakers think they are safe because they think they are very good drivers - sometimes they are right but mostly it doesn’t matter because in the real world shit happens when so many people are on the road with you.

So we need a central government that better manages and coordinates the situation no matter what the direction. It is the lack of coordinated direction and message that is killing people. Look at New Zealand as a good example. Now of course it was a little easier for their government to manage - they are on an island with fewer large cities. But isn’t that what we pay politicians to do - manage difficult situations as anyone can manage simple situations (at least I used to think so).

Keep on flipping folks.

WSLS 10 was here this morning... at 4:30am! Way early, but we covered pinball, arcade games, and our shutter fan system. Then, back to bed!

https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2020/08/20/having-fun-while-staying-safe-at-roanoke-pinball-museum-and-starcade/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wsls10

That is Awesome and Sincerely hope with all you have done to make this work that it rewards you with a rush of new customers Confident in a safe and enjoyable outing! Small (yet huge) steps like this can Hopefully quickly spread the word of confidence. Best of luck to you and your crew.

Bishop Cidercade (https://www.cidercade.com/home) in Dallas has a pretty good crowd tonight. Plus I got to play the new TMNT.

NY is the worst place to do business off any kind. Never again!

Kudos for leading the charge. Indeed, everyone should be paying attention to the room they are in and the amount of air turnover per hour... if any is being done at all!

I am now giving masks to guests who are not wearing "qualified gear". Neck gaiters and bandanas and thin homemade fabric = not a mask.

Also have to remind people to keep their noses covered. This is getting to be more of an issue lately.

"Do it right, or don't do it at all"

Yeah, I'm seeing a ton of this. Not sure if it's a tiny protest, laziness, the mistaken idea that you can't breathe through a mask, or what. I can't imagine it's for comfort. Way more comfortable for me to have a mask rest on the bridge of my nose vs. crammed under my nostrils.

Even worse, I see a lot of people with their mask over their chin. This thing doesn't spread through chins.

This would only be acceptable if you have gills etc.

The primary purpose of (cloth) ear loop masks (like the type represented by the picture of packaging seen above) is to protect other people by blocking large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays, or splatter containing infectious agents that the (infected) wearer might release through coughing, sneezing, talking, and the like.

Sigh. Here we go again.

Properly wearing a face mask is one facet of a multi-faceted approach for reducing the spread of diseases like Covid-19.

Many people use face masks incorrectly... as described by others here, they wear the mask below their nostrils or on their chin. Or even if someone is wearing a mask properly part of the time, perhaps they go to a club in close proximity to tons of people for a few hours, then carelessly remove the mask to have a snack or a smoke without washing their hands. That's not gonna end well.

There is a very strong CYA tendency on the part of manufacturers of face masks, and rightfully so. Are the mask manufacturers going to say that the masks prevent Covid -- having no idea if you're wearing them properly, or washing your hands, or anything else -- and then be subject to a barrage of lawsuits when "wearers" of those masks contract the disease? Or will they disclaim all responsibility to try to avoid the problem? Ooh, I bet I know what answer they'll choose for their 25 cent masks.

Just because the mask makers are denying responsibility doesn't mean that masks aren't helpful.

Corona-talk just cant be contained, I guess. You guys are fucking annoying....

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-official-coronavirus-containment-thread

In everyone's defense, it's very hard to compartmentalize talking about how arcades are being decimated by something, without talking about the something. Especially when it's also the biggest news event since 2001.

Only solution I can think of would be super-strict moderation where only arcade owners are allowed to post. Those are the only relevant, interesting posts in this thread anyway. Jackasses like me can just read and empathize.

I was in the local Baskin-Robbins for about 5-6 mins the other night. This one girl serving ice cream had her mask on that way the entire time, nostrils uncovered. And the very top edge of her upper lip exposed.

Almost considered walking out (probably would've if the other girl hadn't served me instead).

So wearing mask good? Not sure yet...

No, the *virus* is annoying. We are trying to stay in business and protect our guests.

Play more pinball. Wear a mask.

Seems the “neck gaiter” issue -MAY- not be as critical as once believed. I’ve been sent a few conflicting articles. Still sorting out the data & sticking with masks until the science settles out.

Science has a tendency to piss off those with lazy minds... because dealing with constant change is hard, and hard often loses to simplicity regardless of the truth.

Hence, the perpetual need to fight for what’s right. Applause to all of you who do just that.

From the articles I have seen, the study only tested 1 of the neck gaiters and it was made out of fleece. No other style tested was made out of fleece. Then instead of using the expected conclusion that the materials had a large part to do with it, they jumped to the conclusion that it was the style that caused it to be worse than nothing. The study was terrible science (extremely low sample sizes, not trying to rule out other variables). Pretty much the only thing you can safely assume out of the study is that different materials and styles can have an effect on mask effectiveness (something we already knew). I am a runner and use ones made out of polyester, and I have seen ones made with cotton as well. My guess is different materials have different effectiveness and will continue to use them until a reliable study shows otherwise.

The article jumped to no such conclusion. The news media, on the other hand...

Here's (what I consider to be) the conclusion in question from the article (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083):

We noticed that speaking through some masks (particularly the neck fleece) seemed to disperse the largest droplets into a multitude of smaller droplets (see Supplementary Fig. S5), which explains the apparent increase in droplet count relative to no mask in that case. Considering that smaller particles are airborne longer than large droplets (larger droplets sink faster), the use of such a mask might be counterproductive.

Note that the legend for Fig. S5 (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/suppl/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083.DC1/abd3083_SM.pdf) specifically states "...the decrease of large and the increase of smaller particles numbers for the neck fleece". If you were correct, I'd expect this to say "neck gaiter" or similar. Please read the article before deciding what you think about its conclusions.

I like to use the candle test. Whatever you decide to wear if you can’t blow out a candle with it, it’s legit. I actually just went to my doctor and he recommended the gaiters that have a pocket for a filter in it. I haven’t been able to find one that stays on my face while I talk though.

Mission’s gaiters are awesome, but no pocket.

That's pretty much the only thing I wear. Those regular loop masks get super annoying after a while, when I'm working on stuff. Figure they all do about the same thing as far as coughing and droplets going everywhere. I've seen valve masks all over the place... not sure what to think about those.

Majority of Valve masks = no bueno. Their purpose is industrial, not medical.

Be it pinball or otherwise, running a business isn't all sunshine and daises especially this year so I (and we) appreciate the overall updates of both good and bad. Hopefully the worst is over. Not a good feeling to have to sell off some stuff but you have to do what you have to do.

I just ran a FB ad for the first time in a long while. For a long time (I’ve been Tucson Pinball for about 5.5 years) I’ve been trying to grow our tiny tournament scene, but at this point, spreading the word in general might be best. My add took us from 311 page likes to 353, and after having done ads a few times I’m pretty good at targeting the specific age ranges and similar interests that I want.

Pro tip #1, be aware that if you include the 13-17 demo it will be a huge % if your ad budget. Mine was 95% within that age range when I did it. Never again.

Anyway, I hear ya on trying to find the best way(s) to let your local population know you exist, and that you are a fun and safe experience.

I don't think this is the thought process. it's more like
Arcade = risking death to have fun
Walmart = risking death to obtain food so my family doesn't starve

Even if walmart is less safe than the arcade, many people who don't have the financial means to afford paying the extra $9 to have someone else deliver are going to find it necessary to go there for that reason.

It sucks, I haven't played a ball of pinball since this started as I relied on location for my play, but the reality is I don't want to catch a disease that there is no reliable treatment for.

I really appreciate your breakdown of the business side here

they have real pinball on line the small lag really makes it differnt.
https://www.surrogate.tv/

Fully understand the rant and being upset granted I’m not sure the comparison of people choosing to go Eat or maintain their home is comparable to the necessity to go play a pinball machine?? I will venture out prepared to obtain food for my family (necessary risk), I will not however lock myself in an escape room because it’s something I must do. Hope things turn around soon.

NicoVolta was way ahead of the curve with his ventilation strategy.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/key-to-preventing-covid-19-indoors-ventilation-11598953607

I'm glad this is finally getting traction. A bit late, unfortunately... but better late than never.

Paul was quick to get on the bandwagon too. All arcade operators need to consider this. Customers want to know they are being protected and specifically how this is being done.

I'll be giving this topic a revisit during my panel at Pinball EXPO (virtual edition) next month. It'll cover RPM, "Nic's North American Pinball Tour", what's next, etc.

F00A5749-0C6E-48C9-9EA8-C93A17B7E6EC (resized).jpeg

Governor Northam stopped by our building today. Had an opportunity to briefly talk about our ventilation strategy.

It’s catching on, slowly but surely.

Anyway, back to business. August was notably better than July. But I don’t see enough mask adherence across the city in general... which is worrisome.

Ooof guess we're not doing cross border pin tourism for a while still.
Almost every pinhead I know used to visit USA at least once a year for a pinball trip.

20200905_002848 (resized).jpg

"stable bad"... yep. Heard that. We're squeaking by, but boy do I miss the momentum we had. It was getting really good.

Today Explained nailed it (We need to talk about ventilation): https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/today-explained/e/77424831