Definitely not cool for someone to do that. I'd be f*cking pissed big time if those were my games!

I’ve seen someone pick a machine up from under the front of the cab, lift it about a foot off the ground off it’s legs and drop it after draining ball 3. I was appalled...

I saw someone nudging the hell out of the Iron Maiden. He was mashing the flipper buttons so hard I'm surprised they still work. I told my friend I can't imagine bringing one of my games to this let alone something rare or brand new.

Horrible! It’s the responsibility of those who run the shows to kick people out with no refund who do that. You don’t see stuff like that happening at TPF, for example (at least I haven’t).

If you want to contribute to a show but don’t want your game opened up to general population, your other option is to have it in the tournament section. They get treated better there.

In Texas they probably just pull out a .45 and blow the coin door off of the machine.

I saw a little kid put a booger on a flipper button.

My 1979 Gottlieb Pinball Pool early ss machine has been a tank for me over the past 4 to 5 years or so when bringing it to TPF and to Hou Arcade and Pinball Expo for the free play areas. No issues.
Most people don't beat up the machines too badly.

Lmao...thats awesome!! Not really but its still funny!

I see tournament players bash machines pretty hard. Maybe they lost their pacifier after a bad game?

What about crop dusting? Is it ok when people walk by and crop dust like an entire row of games?

I take games to shows and have only ever seen people treat them with respect. Yeah it’s a little scary that someone COULD do something... but they are commerical equipment after all, they’re designed to take the punishment.

What I have seen
Is when the tech comes over to get a stuck ball, he does the exact same thing . Shakes , lifts , bangs on the machine .
No sense to take the glass off . So I asked once why dont yoi take the glass off .
" its crowded not enough room "

Crop dusting as in put 4 games on and walk away?

Uh Nope ...
Think more on the lines of a Stink Bomb .

I'm not sure how this can be avoided after eating at BT's Smokehouse.

This is why we (pinsiders) the guys who bring the machines have to insist that when tickets or bands are being sold at the counter a friendly reminder is given to please have respect for the machines as they are someone else's property. Maybe even a few signs here or there.
Again I do not drink alcohol and think that it fuels stupid actions at events because too much is served. I see too many attendees leave at night that would blow over .08 guaranteed, wait for the first time that comes back on a show! =no more shows
-Mike

Exactly! I always hear people complaining about getting crop dusted at these pinball shows all the time, almost makes me scared to go to one! I have tickets to Pincinnati, may put them on craigslist with all this talk about putting boogers on the flipper buttons and all of the crop dusters that attend these pinball shows.

If you go bring a little bottle hand sanitizer

While I have seen some jerks treat games poorly at shows the games are only available because collectors are willing to bring them. The shows won't happen if people stop bringing games. I enjoy taking games to shows and letting people play them. It's nice for people to get to play finely-tuned examples of machines.

All of that said, I think it is more than acceptable to have more rules posted around and give people the boot if they refuse to follow the rules.

Sadly, every game through the years Ive brought, came back with damage.
Scratches, chips, missing keys, and general repairs, some above my skill level....but I still hope to contribute.

I might suggest whats done at other businesses....likely while in line, or as a group before entrance, a video with humor,
about proper pin etiquette, behaviour, and consequences....works at lots of gatherings to remind people.....

What about people with big old rings beating the shit out of the cabinet near the flipper buttons.

That's why I only bring obscure Bally or Williams games to the shows.

No decals on the sides: You can leave your rings on, handicapped people can play with their feet, slap the flipper buttons as hard as you want - with as much flair as you've got. You can't hurt them.

SS rails and lockdown bars: Again leave your rings on, slam the lockdown bar upon your drain. No paint to scratch. You can't hurt them.

Cheap Plywood Cabs: Show off your Bangback, drop the game a foot to dislodge a stuck ball, yank the game with all your strength in a desperate save. These game have already been glued by operators several times in their lives. You can't hurt them.

Mechanical flippers: Chimp flip forever (well, at least until your kids get bored that the ball won't leave the shooter lane). They will not overheat. You can't hurt them.

You just can't hurt older games that were manufactured as vending equipment.

I was just chatting with another show organizer....perhaps a vendor/sponsor, could create a "how to behave video", that also serves as a corporate reminder (commercial) and it can be shared across all shows.....

People are lazy. They're not going to read anything, they aren't going to watch something. That is just human nature, nothing to do with pinball.

Likely the only thing you could do is the front desk as they are giving out the wristbands distill instructions to a single sentence. That is the only way people might remember.

Yeah something like "if you are seen trashing a game you will be THROWN OUT". Short and sweet.

My limited experience bringing games to shows has seen none of this stuff. Scratches, chips, or anything missing like keys is ridiculous. Regular repairs should be expected, but nothing beyond what should happen at home after a few hundred plays. I think the worst thing that I've "endured" is a broken rubber, but I do try to bring bullet proof, battle tested machines when I bring them.

Big thanks to all the vendors, free play game bringers, volunteers and show staff for putting on a great show. Other than the broken stuff -- and who can say whether a game was working when it left someone's house or not -- my big WTF was seeing the horrible playfield glass on a handful of the free play games. Do people put "beater" glass on the games they bring to shows to avoid scratches on their good glass, or is this really what their games have on them at home? To each their own, but... go on and treat yourself to a $30 sheet of glass. You deserve it.

Random tales from this year's show:
1. On Saturday morning, Automated's Walking Dead wasn't on free play. But, the key was in the lock. I looked around and figured the easiest thing to do was set it to free play myself, so I did.

2. I'm not especially handy, at least not without my reading glasses, but I fumbled my way through attaching a flipper spring on the Project Pinball Mustang on Saturday. Dan gave me the OK to make this repair.

3. In the free play room, someone I was playing with got a ball stuck on a ramp return on Dracula. After trying to gently nudge the ball free, I was able to dislodge it by lifting the front legs (and of course setting it down gently). I could have turned the game off and made a repair ticket, but this seemed like a reasonable thing to do. I would have given up and made a repair ticket if I couldn't resolve the problem with a small lift and minimal effort.

The centaur at TPF next to my roadshow had NO apron on the pf the whole show, that's weak. Someone obviously just brought it to get a pass.

I've been to around seven conventions now and I can't ever recall seeing a game abused. If anything, having a game on location with a lot of tournament players around is likely worse for a machine, as we actively nudge and shake. The general public is probably a lot less likely to set off a tilt sensor than I am.

I think a lot of people try to show off, "look how good at pinball I am" by shaking, nudging and hitting way beyond what's needed for normal play. From what I observed, a lot of people also forget how much work it is to fix up, bring a game to the show and keep it working the entire time . Hell, I brought my Bacardi Cuba Libre and it STILL managed to break (ball tray fell out somehow, people stole at least 4 balls from it). And thats just a game with no flippers and no electricity needed!

I think most expect their games to need routine maintenance after the show, or even a minor repair since the rough-player concentration is probably a lot higher at these shows than normal location play, but there's always a limit. Some people don't treat other people's property with respect -- pinball or not, and no amount of awareness will change that.

What didn't help is the "Free Play Rules" banner at Pintastic. It's wayyyy too long and nobody's going to take the time to read it. It needs just a few, bold bullet points with the ground rules and consequences for rough play listed.

As far as crop dusting goes, I don't think I've ever smelled more lingering, sausage-y burps, nasty potato chip farts or wet dog smells in my life. Next year I'm bringing a gas mask.

-Doug

^^^^^ Doug you hit the nail on the head!!!
-Mike

Yep, sounds like it.

Yes, it does get BAD! Problem with a gas mask is it makes it hard to play. A better bet is to apply some Vicks VapoRub on your top lip! Problem solved.

I brought a game this year for the first time. It's my only E.M., a space odyysey. Not a pristine game, but it got play non stop for the first day and a half. It made me happy to see it getting tons of love. I saw two people using the playfield glass as a coaster for their drink. Not a huge deal, but I would never do that.Then it went down. Techs tried to help, but couldn't resolve the issue.
So, after looking at the total experience, I ended up with my backglass flaking off artwork from transport, and came home with a non working game.
It made me appreciate those that bring games, but it also made my decision that I will not be bringing a game in the future. It was an experience, but it just sucks to load up a game that I had no issues with for years, and now will have to have repairs made. I know...it would have happened eventually and all that, but it just isn't for me.

I brought a mint NBA fastbreak to a show and this one guy was on it non stop for an hour straight, the friggin slob was sweating profusely off his nose dripping onto the glass and lockbar. I finally couldn't take it anymore and told him i had to fix something on it just to get him from molesting it.

Welcome to the wonderful world of dealing with the public.

Smoke rolling out of a machine, don't depend on them to turn it off. I saw this at Expo years ago.

At TPF a young man about 16 years old was using his foot, with and without a shoe, to hit the ball launch button. Standing right next to his father. Later Doug Skor asked me when I spoke with young if I was diplomatic or nice about reprimanding him. Yes, yes I was. HaHa. I'd bet the kid won't ever do that again. Probably suffer premature hair loss too.

LTG : )

I've fixed 100s of games at the shows.

So many that I wonder if people bring their broken games just to get free boardwork done by the techs working the show.

"Yeah, the first flip I do blows the fuse! It's been like that for months, but I figure I should bring the game in case no one has ever seen a Paragon...."

The funny part is you "wondering" when you know that cheap asses do it!

I would have a hard time wanting to bring an expensive game in really nice shape to a show and I'm thankful that there are people willing to take that chance and share.

That being said, my Judge Dredd was used on the tournament lineup and there were some rage tilts going on with it during qualifying and it didn't bother me that much but only because it wasn't in pristine shape. If I had my TWD premium in there and people were doing that I'd probably flip out.

Etiquette videos/posters will only do so much because some people just don't have respect for other people's property and some people are oblivious. Tighten up those tilts and only bring what you are comfortable having possibly damaged or are not that emotionally attached to.

Rage tilts are just part of pinball; the cheaper they make them they are still commercial machines and can handle it.

Another example of a weak tourney director. The tourney director needs to make sure people know they can’t do that and if they do they need to be shown they exit from the tourney area.

Show directors should take this stuff into account when selecting tourney directors and make sure the tourney director understands part of his job is to protect the machines in the tourney area and give jerks the boot.

Only a part of location Pinball. No one has ever raged tilted a game in my home for example...at least never in the ways being described here in this thread.

Games at shows should be more like home pinball and less like location Pinball. Ragers should be shown the door.

I wouldn't say anything bad about the tournament director because it was two distinct players who did it when he was on a well deserved break. He's a great tournament director and you don't realize how good of a job he does until you play in other events/tournaments. I was surprised to see it get moved because it's a pretty heavy widebody.