Gotta keep them separated!

This seems to be an issue at all the shows now. The EMs should be in their own section for sure, and reasonably out of earshot from the loud cacophonous SS/DMD games.
EMs sound great together, whereas SS/DMD games even clash with each other, let alone the EMs. Their constant repetition can really be annoying if you have to camp near one of them.

There should be if it wants to come even close to the variety of pins.....talking about EMs that are at the Museum of Pinball in Banning.

Expo 2016 had two Dr. Who's close to one another, near some EM's I was trying to play. I honestly almost lost my mind hearing that constantly repeating sound that kept coming out of the machine. Anyone who has been around a Dr. Who knows what I'm talking about.

I'm hoping MGC will take note and maybe make a change.

Yup. Should have skipped Texas for Banning if you wanted a ton of EMs together.

Playing games in the pinstadium lights area, I couldn't hear the games I was playing because the EMs on the other side were so loud. So yes, take them to another room.

I'm for it.

We've kept cfh padlocked & chained away from his computer, phone and iPad for several days so he can't point out the advantages the VFW Showcase has over traditional pinball shows. However, he knows how to pick locks so look out....

I prefer games to be intermingled as it helps expose me (and other people) to more games. If EM guys want to sequester in the room off to the side then watch the hobby die for EMs even quicker.

I also like having popular games flanked by less popular games as it helps keep things spread out a bit and less crowded in one area.

I think the real issue is that so many people crank their games up so damn loud and then it over powers everything else.

Shows should just run through with a decibel meter, note the largest offenders and have the owners turn them down. At a show like TPF, the volume just keeps getting turned up throughout the weekend.

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Im afraid I have to respectfully disagree, play a few great modern titles then go play a little chief or something similar. Having em’s amongst ss is worst thing I believe. If all the em’s were together on the other hand, they could be judged equally according to their merits from games of their period.

P.s. I like little chief, just no competition to a mm or met.

Sounds like a pain in the ass to me, routing all the EM traffic into one room for little to no actual benefit of the show.

We actually talked about this on the way home. It would help with space also as this years TPF was maxed out.

Four years ago at TPF the Dallas / Ft Worth Pinball Club had an EM section and it was visited quite a bit by young and old alike, I know as I had brought two machines. The EM's were not dying there, they were doing well. The Pre War 30's machines have had a separate area now for about 3 years and have only been growing, so this proves there is a real interest from folks young and old when it comes to M and EM technology at TPF. Not my opinion, just a fact and my 2 cents.

LOL. I personally own multiple EMs (more than you list in your pinside collection), route and maintain about 6 other EMs, and am currently neck deep in a full restoration of an EM from the ground up.

Not trolling at all. I love EMs and love them right alongside my other solid states, DMDs, and even LCDs.

Thank You for clarifying.

When I first pondered this question my very 1st thought was yes to an EM room sharing it with the parts/mods vendors. IMO its no biggie for me either way.

My OCD would prefer if a show could actually organize in order from year. I would LOVE to be able to walk through a game hall and play favorites form each era that I love. How amazing would that be!!!

Would also allow some degree of isoloation from the noisier games (granted i cant hear anything at a show)

This is a quote from an exhibitor about the two games he brought to TPF stated in the TPF 2018 thread:

"Golden Arrow had 460 plays on Saturday and Sunday (I forgot to write down the counter on Friday morning after setup). Batman 66 had 498 plays."

I played his Gottlieb Golden Arrow and it looked and played beautifully and was not far behind the New Pin in plays (I like Batman 66 by the way and played it too).

No dying EM here, but rather a strong contender with the new kid on the block.

Golden arrow is a good game in my book, but had it been a Gottlieb Atlantis or Abra Ca Dabra I'm sure the numbers would have been even as 70's drop target games get a lot of love at TPF.

Just more proof that EM's are doing well at TPF and deserve a separate area in my book so they can be heard as well as seen.

my point was that the EMs got more plays and exposure because they were int eh same rows as the modern games.

If you want EM exposure, then you dont want them hidden away in the old fogey room

How old do you got to be to be considered an "old fogey"?

you guys are getting dusty...

It was said in jest and in reference to the age of the games. EMs are old fogeys. I am an old fogey also.

I just think it is a bad idea to have EMs all segregated in a single room.
Intermingling for the pins is good for them. They can meet new friends and play with each other.

Reality is i just really enjoy being able to play an EM, step to the next game over and play a SS Bally classic, step to the left and play a DMD, turn around and play a new game. And by having them all in 1 room, the people that would normally only seek out the DMDs are going to say "hmm line is too long, what is this old one about?" and then "hey, that was fun!"

If the EMs are all tucked away then they will get way less exposure and plays.

Side note, that Golden Arrow was awesome! My wife rolled it and I was one switch away from rolling it.

Not a room but we did set up a EM corner, 50s, 60s, 70s, 3 of each, right across from the beautiful Golden Arrown

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No one would want them hidden away.
Just put them in a separate, but equal space. I'm sure young and old would be playing them.

Pinagogo had a separate em room when the show was in Dixon. It was beautiful at night and sounded great. A few em titles were mingled in with the solid states in the bigger rooms because the em room was much smaller and filled up. I loved it. It was a big part of my falling for the em world.

EM’s, especially multiplayers, offer the most socially dynamic pinball experience, period. They belong together... but not in a way resembling isolation on a desert island.

Think of multiplayer EM’s like other short-turn multiplayer games: Billiards, darts, cornhole, bowling, etc. One shot, one player. Next shot, next player.

Ever notice how these games are always clustered together but still remain within the field of view of the other games? So it is with EM’s. Keep them together but still within eyesight of the others as if to say, “Hey... we’re different... but come over and give us a try!”

That’s only the first part. Other enhancements can be made to the EM experience. I’ll be rolling out some of these design philosophies at RPM soon after I get there.

I really liked pin a go go separating the em’s. Played lots of SS and DMD machines, then was great to turn down the noise by going to the em room. And, yes it allowed you to hear the chimes. Also, lots of kids in the em room. Hope the new location in Lodi does the same.

The Alameda pin museum has separate rooms, really liked it too.

The PPE shows in California displayed their pins all in the same large hall in a rough chronological order
thus effectively separating the woodrails from the 60s and 70s EMS
with Solid State and Alpha/DMD pin and modern era pins
in another general area of the same large hall.
As stated previously the old PinAGoGo show had basically 2 large halls/buildings and one smaller room.
The small room housed exclusively EMs with mostly woodies and wedgeheads
with a few Multiplayer pins thrown in.
About 60-75 EMs in all which also made for a bit of a refuge from the
constant loud din of the the two other large halls .
The two remaining buildings would hold about 125-150 pins each
with a mix of (~15%) EM pins and (~25%) early SS pins (78-85eras)
and (~35%) alpha/DMD pins (86-99 era) and (~25%) Modern pins (2000-present)
All pretty much randomly intermixed, with exception of a few groupings
usually from a few prominent local collectors of say
classic 80s Bally SS pins or GTB sys80 pins from private collections.
I appreciate having a semi quiet refuge to escape from the constant and extremely loud noise and din of the 2 main large buildings, a place/area to where one can actually carry on a conversion talking about pinball without having to yell.
One reason I do not enjoy most shows that have videos and pins in the same hall
with all era pins randomly intermixed into the same hall; it gets to be way too loud.
I would not like ALL EMs to be completely isolated or cut off from the other eras of pins,
some intermixing of all eras of pins is good,
but there should be at least an attempt to have some separation or private area/grouping of EMs to escape the noise.

My friend Aaron and I did the clean up/resto on the Golden Arrow. It turned out well considering it sat in an old grain elevator storage room in NW Oklahoma with absolutely no care or protection since some time in the 80’s. It was covered with thick dust, cat piss, and loaded full of spider debris. An old operator just pulled the plug, stuck it in the building *screwed* the door shut and left it to rot through nearly 40 years of Oklahoma temperature and humidity swings.

Personally I’m amazed at how it weathered all those years. And still plays and looks great.

I find it kind of challenging and fun to skip from era to era while playing a row at TPF. When I get to an EM its like an oasis in among the din of newer machines. I played the Walking Dead and Bride of Pinbot in the PinStadium area several times and could always hear the bells directly behind them. One of the EMs had no back panel and was especially loud right behind the Bride. On the other hand, the WCS and whatever was next to it were WAY too loud and took away from the rest of the pins. Also, the heat and BO levels were much higher under those canopies. Great way to highlight the product(and I like it!) but wow, some of you guys and gals stink! LOL

Shawn

Personally, I think that separating pins types by room (I think you could come of with many more classifications than just EM vs SS) would detract. Part of the fun is being able to walk the floor and see all types of machines, compare/contrast them, play one type right after the other, etc. I did notice that there were certain groupings in some sections (primarily driven by vendor booths) but maybe more of a pod approach on the floor could be considered where not all of one type were together, but 4-5 and then the pods could be randomly spread across the floor to prevent any concentrated gatherings.

It was a gorgeous machine. Loved playing it and talking to you guys.

What makes it difficult is some folks will bring a mixed bag of EM's, SS, DMD games and they generally like to have all their games in one place.

I'd love to have a game map or locator so you can find a particular game.

Right now we have 3-4 groups doing mini pods, the Vector group, the prewar, the dfw club, Bob Herbisons booth (we seem to grow this every year), Tex-arkana club etc.

We could have set aside a show theme area, all space related games, I brought a Jet Spin I would have set up there, but my buddy Howard would not have allowed his F7 to go there.

Tricky to organize (I wouldnt do it). But yea, an EM corner/pod would be a good idea. Vector was predominately EM away.

Nice save of that game. I once owned one that I bought as a "diamond in the rough". It came out looking almost like brand new after I gave it the treatment. I sold it, but it eventually ended up in the hands of a good friend and fellow collector, so I get to see and play it often.

When I lived in Seattle I’d attend the Pacific NW show (large show, very well run) and all the games were in one gigantic hall in the convention center but the EMs were together in one section (probably 60 EMs or more) and it worked out great. You could see and hear the SS and DMD games across the room but you could easily hear the EMs and mingle with other EM collectors and aficionados.

I’m hoping to bring a couple of EMs to the Texas show next year to add to the number of EMs available for people to play. I’d love to have a big EM section adjacent all the other games.

Separate room, no. Separate section, maybe.

I’ve been attending TPF since 2006; Allentown since 2015. If EMs hadn’t been intermingled with SS machines, I doubt I would have played them.

Started playing pins in the 80’s, and at the time, EMs seemed boring. Now, with the intermingling at shows, I have a different opinion.