Wow.

Congrats to all those who made it to the finals.

Well of course. With Keith moving there, there is nowhere harder than that.

Thanks Mark. Congrats to you for making A. In our competitive scene that alone is a heck of a task. I just had a lucky day.

I was largely spurred on by Kirby. He kept giving me shit, so I decided I was gonna give it to him
For the side event it was myself and 3 of the MN guys. They all decided prior to the match that they were going to 3 way split the winnings (i.e. hedge the bets and work together against me). I decided I was left with no choice at that point.

fun times!

For all the Minnesotans we have not 1, but 2 Official Aerosmith Launch Parties coming up. One on March 18th and the other on March 26th. The one on March 18th will be a standalone event at Sun Ray Lanes featuring the Aerosmith pin. Grand champion trophy, custom VIP backstage lanyards with your name and picture (only if you pre-register so they can be completed), Cash prizes and lots of other donated pinball prizes as well from Mezel Mods, Titan Pinball, Speaker Light Kits and more! All games will be on free play throughout the entire event.

The event on March 26th will be part of the normally monthly event at Mortimer's and have it's own Grand champion trophy as well with cash prizes and more.

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details on each event!

Resized_20170306_134209 (resized).jpeg

Anyone know of good places to purchase and or play used pinball machines in the MN / WI area? I like older EM and early SS time periods.

Apparenty Al at Pinball Warehouse is getting rid of all his remaining EMs.

We all tried to win. We failed. I suddenly couldn't hit the easiest shot on the game, the left orbit and it was over. I don't think we could 'work together against you' though. How does that work?

Does that mean good prices? Is there a list?

Do I gets first dibs due to asking the question? Would seem like the Minnesota nice thing to do

You had all agreed prior to starting finals that the 3 of you were going to combine your winnings and then split them equally 3 ways. Basically making a plan that all any of you needed to do was beat me in order to maximize your payouts. i.e. the 3 of you against me.

Technically though there is no way any of them benefitted point wise from making that agreement as it is an individual game and they couldn't make each other's score better. You had to beat those three to win if they did or did not make that agreement. I wasn't there though maybe I am missing something I just caught a part of it.

I have no idea. You of all people should know my knowledge of EMs is not extensive Chris. Tony would know since he helps Al maintain his website and he just picked up an EM off Al too, so I would definitely ask him.

The first part is true. We agreed to split. Yes, beating you would have meant more money for each of us. I split with others at home all the time, and it doesn't mean I'm 'working against' another player. Maybe this just seems oddly worded to me.

Was there some kind of way a split was disadvantageous to you, or maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning.

I asked to be in on the split and was denied. That was 3 playing together as a team with the sole objective to beat 1.
As you know pinball is as much mental as skill based competition.
No worries. It was all part of the fun of smack talking and worked as a nice motivator for me to take home the win

You asked? I'll take your word on that as I was focusing on my goals in the game (which I didn't come close to achieving. I just don't remember it. I honestly only agreed to split because they asked me to, not because it was my idea. I should revise my previous statement of splitting all the time and say it would be more accurate to say I split with John for Super League and have done so at SS Billiards years ago when it only paid off the winner at Pinball Circus. Seeing as all four of us were going to be paid, I didn't see the point, but for the harmony of the drive home...

Barkz sent me the link and I looked over the EM list and nothing really jumps out at me. I guess it would come down to condition. Two player games don't get much love on the collector market, and unless it would be really mint, I wouldn't bother with those. And King of Diamonds doesn't do that much for me. Jolly Roger might be interesting. The shots look better than a lot of Williams from that era where you can't get the ball back to the top.

no worries all fun and game Chris

it was fun playing wit you guys and smalk talking along the way! All part of what makes the event a good time.

One of these years a WI person is going to win the main event also

I talked with Aaron and helped a friend buy a starter em. It was $100 (no backglass for that one, but the dude didn't mind.) Seemed like most were in the $100-300 range? and they were sold as is for the most part.

#
4 Queens
B
Big Ben
Big Casino
Bon Voyage

C
Card Whiz
Cover Girl
D
Darling
F
Flying Chariots
Flicker
Flip Flop
G
Gin
Golden Arrow
H
Hearts and Spades
High Hand
Hi-Lo Ace
J
Jolly Roger
K
King of Diamonds
King Rock
Kilroy
Electro-Mechanical Pinballs

L
Little Chief
M
Mademoiselle
N
Nifty
O
Olympics
P
Puddin Head
Pro Football
R

S
Satin Doll
Space Time
Sunset
Super-Flite
Super Soccer
Swing Along
T
Tropic Isle
Triumph

Just talked to them. Most are $300-$400 and not working. Fair to worse condition.

Just an update on the EM topic. I was told to pass on in this thread that Pinball Warehouse isn't having a big blowout sale on EMs or anything like that. They just have a bunch upstairs at their location that are in various states of conditions and are priced accordingly, so keep that in mind if/when you contact them about inquiries.

Is there an event near us coming up where people bring machines to sell? Im getting to a point where I'm going to buy a cardboard box and roll marbles up and down it I want a new machine so bad. I love my C37, but one machine in my household is not enough. The new pin itch is fierce.

^^ There's always em stuff popping up on Craigslist... maybe some folks will have a greater leeway on price?

MGC. And watch the machine can bring thread.

Come out to the Aerosmith Launch Party on the 18th at Sun Ray Lanes. There will be lots of fellow pinball fans there that have games and know others that do too. Network with the locals, I have picked up lots of games at great prices that way. Best way to buy a game is through direct connections IMHO. MGC is a very good option as well and super fun even if you aren't going to buy a game.

Do you know when the tournament will start? I'm hoping to drive up from Rochester for the event, but probably won't be able to make it until 3:00.

I'm more into the late 70's early 80's pins, isn't that all new pin stuff?

^^^talking about Aerosmith

www.midwestgamingclassic.com

April 7-9th outside of Milwaukee. If you are into pinball it is a MUST attend event! If you want to play and buy games (from the 1940s to now) then it is THE best place to do so, period!

Yeah, MGC is sweet. Tons of different things to do. Lots of games change hands. I've sold a couple games myself there. Hope you can make the Silver Ball on Saturday.

You will still have plenty of time at 3:00. Qualifying is until 5:00 at least.

They Aerosmith launch party will focus on that game and Ghostbusters, but there are also games like 8 Ball Deluxe, Mousin Around, Elivra and the Party Monsters and Bounty Hunter there that are a little bit older and they will all be on free play.

https://www.facebook.com/events/228697910892012/

For Barkz

I don't think my skill level is where it needs to be to play in a tournament, especially as I have only played one of those machines listed maybe 10 times haha

You'd be surprised. With 1 shot on Aerosmith and Ghostbusters anything can happen. A couple of years ago at the Walking Dead Launch Party, a local guy brought his girlfriend who only casually played pinball when she was with him. She hadn't played the game before and didn't know the rules, but she proceeded to put up 100 million on Walking Dead and this was back on early code when 100 million on Walking Dead was a really, really big score. She ended up top qualifier for the event out of 60+ people. Don't count yourself out without trying.

You don't improve your skill level without playing against others. It doesn't cost you anything more than coin drop (if you opt out of the player funded $5 pool), and if there are enough people, there will be three levels.

The most important thing is that it's going to be fun.

You don't have to go to play either. Networking is the key in this hobby.

Aerosmith is now on route at Sun Ray Lanes in addition to already being on route at Mortimer's. Come on in and get some practice for the launch party in just over a week.

For anyone looking for an inexpensive nice playing game.

Machine - For Sale

Williams - Tri Zone - Sample game (MN) Archived

Fully shopped/refurbished - “Selling a shopped sample Tri-Zone Game has new rubbers Rebuilt boards Decient playfield Nice cabinet Nice plastics Backglass has minor flaking.”

2017-02-23

Wind Point, WI

brenna98

800 (Firm)

Archived after: 24 days

Viewed: 590 times

Status: Not sold

I just wanted to drop in, say hi, and introduce myself as someone new to pinball! I've never done anything other than play pinball before, but since I just finished my home theater, I wanted to add a pinball machine (or two....). I just purchased a T2 a couple of weeks ago, it should be here next week, and I'm really looking forward to it! I've been to Sunray several times and love playing there; never made it to a tourney (don't think I'd be any good... yet?), but since I'm new to the hobby and know networking is important, I'm hoping to make it out there at some point! Unfortunately right now I'm a little gimpy since I had ankle surgery a couple of weeks ago (the narcotics helped reduce my financial concerns ), but once it heals up and I can walk again, I'll see if I can join everyone.

I'm sure I'll have questions going forward, and it looks like there's a great group of knowledgeable people here, so hopefully I won't come across as too much of a newbie.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi... so hi!

Too late.

Hi !

And welcome to the fun.

LTG : )

First off, welcome. This is a great site if you can brush off the occasional troll, lot of people willing to help here.

Second, feel free to post a picture or two of the home theater!

Nice to have you join us, you might not be able to keep it at 2 games ya know.

Since you and Barkz are new you guys will have to come over and play some pin sometime.

I'm kicking around the idea of making an appearance at blainbrook tomorrow (would be in but have a scheduling problem and would only be able to swing through), anyone on here going for sure?

Maybe I can talk one of you into selling me a damn Eight Ball Deluxe in person lol

Thanks for stopping by East Side Pinball. And nice to meet you!

You can come out to Blainbrook today and play in your first tournament. If there are enough competitors, there will be three skill levels, 16 will make A, 16 will make B, and 8 in C. Door prizes too. Free drink ticket. Networking with other players/collectors. Or show up and watch and make some new friends.

Hopefully you can make it. BB has an EBD, it's rough, but it works. East Side has a very nice one (left flipper sticks a little, Tony). New drops, plays fast. It's really hard, actually. But it's a lot of fun when you get it going. It used to be mine, but I didn't have the know how to get it really up to speed, which is why I wanted Tony to be the one who bought it from me (it was a toss up because I also wanted Donny at Blainbrook to have it, but the coin flip was decided the way it was because Donny already had one) because it would still be close, and Tony would finish it so nice, no expense spared. Unfortunately, like other games of it's age, it breaks down from time to time. But I'm sure it has to be doing pretty well too. It's in the bar where all the bowlers can see it.

If I had to do it over again, I might have kept it, because my early SS Bally lineup is growing. Star Trek, Strikes and Spares, Fathom, and the EBD next to those would have looked great.

Thanks for the invite, but I still can't really walk yet and have to elevate my leg, so I'm going to have to hold off. I will at some point though!

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome! As requested, here are a few pictures of my new theater. I want to put a pinball machine or two (or more?) against that back wall. I haven't measured yet, but I'm hoping the minisplit against the back wall won't be a limitation - not sure how high the pinball backs are, or how high the minisplit is, so we'll see...

Theater1 (resized).jpg

Theater2 (resized).jpg

Theater3 (resized).jpg

That's a pretty sweet looking theater, wish I had room to do that.