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Louisville Pinball Expo (in Kentucky y’all) 2017 was this past weekend. I went all day Saturday 10am–about 10pm. Okay, I broke to have lunch and to take my kids home…but they actually made it from 10–4:30pm and had a blast! So, my thoughts on some REAL games and a revelation that may change my life follows. Take this as you will from an amateur pinball player.
Jersey Jack Pinball: Jack was there! I got to meet him and he and I talked for about 15–20 minutes casually as other folks played his games. Real nice, down to earth guy. He just hung out there and if you didn’t know him from his photos, you wouldn’t have known he was the president of a pinball company. There was a WOZ RR, Hobbit Smaug, Hobbit SE (Black Arrow), and Dialed In game there all displayed together and all for free play except black arrow Hobbit that was display only (it was modded up by the distributor FlipNout pinball). Have never seen or played these in real life, so was an absolute treat. WOZ, kinda lived up to my expectations. Pretty game to look at, but game play did not overwhelm me. I have read that it grows on you as you learn the rules. Played it twice without much desire to play again. Most frustrating thing for me was that the image on the backglass is blurred when scores are displayed (like a camera focused on foreground with blur in background). I hated that for some reason. Hobbit…wow! Such a beautiful game with sights and sounds. Game play was phenomenal. I LOVED THIS GAME. More on this later. But, I will say that I had the game of my life as I played for like 40 minutes straight, multiple multiballs, free balls, and yes…Grand Champion at 9:30pm on second night of an Expo. So, if you were there and saw TOM grand champion…that was me. Dialed In…played it. Long lines so only got to play once, but watched a lot of people play this. I’m not the biggest Lawler fan out there. I hate funhouse…and I have tried to love it. Twilight Zone is fun, but I like it more for the show, not the gameplay. It’s too many toys for my tastes…but I know lots of people love these games. If you love them…you’ll love Dialed In despite the horrible title. My son, who loves technology, loved it. It has an emoji mode where shots earn emojis that fill the screen and was silly fun. There is a selfie mode, that is pretty great as the camera snaps selfies of the players and since crowd was gathered watching, a lot of us. There is a spot just below center drain that you can place your phone for some type of interactive experience, but never got to see that in use…not sure if app is ready yet or not. At one time I thought Jack was going to show us as he had his phone out, but instead was just setting up some Facebook streaming. I think this game will be fun once the rules are learned. But didn’t grab me…especially not like the Hobbit…but more on that later.
Stern: Played Ghostbusters Premium and Pro. It is a shame that there is such a difference between the two in terms of features and price tag. The two biggest being Slimer’s movements and the subway. On Pro, Slimer just hangs there and on the Premium he moves right to left (both go up and down). Just seemed cheap on the Pro compared to the Premium. The subway is a left ramp that leads to elevated rail that crosses left to right and then dives under the playfield to reappear above and dropped into the right in-lane. Very cool! Unfortunately this is replaced by a clear ramp that drops into a kicker on the Pro. If you go Ghostbusters, go Premium or LE. The game play was , meh. And this comes from a movie buff who remembers seeing Ghostubsters 3 times in the theater back in the ’80’s. The music was drowned out by other games and crowds, so that may improve experience. But, like most modern Sterns, seems like the same game, but different toys (my opinion). AC/DC was amazing! Just like the VP version I play, I rocked it and it rocked me. This is a fantastic game! The one I played was modded so that it had a small lcd in back right that played the live concert footage of the song that was being played….holy crap that was cool! Game of Thrones, saw it, didn’t play it. Have no interest in the show, so didn’t stand in line for the game…but looked nice. Unfortunately no Star Trek or Tron. Did play Spider-Man (not Vault). It was okay. I expected to like it more. There were two and I played them both. That Venom ramp is really hard to hit in real life from the right upper flipper. That surprised me. And the Sandman “wall” if hit in center will drain…every time.
Heighway and Spooky: not at the show :(
The rest: Played Pinbot, F-14 Tomcat, Monster Bash, Fire!, Roller Coaster, Dr. Who, Blackout, Flight2000, Bride of Pinbot, and many more. Some in better shape than others. Someone put a DMD on Bride of pinbot and had the playfield all LED’d up and it was beautiful. Monster Bash was beautiful, but stood in line for like 30 minutes just to have 3 balls drain super fast…man that sucks when it happens. But the game was even better in person. I love the VPX version, but the real toys look so good. I have to admit, the owner took great care of this one.
Lots of arcade games. Not going to go into that, just want to give full coverage.
My kids favorites:
12 year old son: arcade- Star Wars, the classic polygon one. We had a blast. First time he’d played it on a classic cabinet instead of my MAME cab. Pinball- Hobbit. Dialed in was second place.
10 year old daughter: arcade- Frogger. The girl likes the classics. Pinball- Hobbit. The Smaug multiball won her over.
LIFE CHANGING EVENT: The Hobbit by Jersey Jack pinball. Before coming to this Expo, I had made the decision to purchase a real pinball machine either this year or next year. So, I’ve been researching like crazy. Currently I have a virtual pincab and a Gottlieb 1964 Big Top EM that I restored. It lived in my Grandmother’s basement unplayed for I don’t even know how many years until she died. Then lived in my Dad’s basement (unfinished side). I then I decided to tinker on it. So, this will be my first pinball purchase. I’ve been warned that one may lead to the desire to buy others and that with one game, I will get bored. Well, I love the Big Top and play it usually weekly. I have unlimited selection (okay, 465) games on the VPCab. So, I think I will be okay, especially since it is at least 1 hour to the nearest pinball machine for coin/card use. I’ve decided to go NIB mainly because I’ve got the others emulated and want something that I don’t have on the cab. My Dad has an Asteroids at his house, but I don’t play it much because I have it on my MAME cab.  The Hobbit was not on my radar. I figured I wanted to see it and play it, but really just wanted to rule out WOZ from my list. Didn’t expect to see Dialed In, but it didn’t grab me. The Hobbit, however, grabbed me good. Just a beautiful game and the use of film clips and sound bites was perfection! Compared to the WOZ, a much better job. And looked better, too…but I bet source material helped…Hobbit was shot digitally where WOZ was transferred from film to digital with some restoration. Playfield lights were phenomenal, just gorgeous. Loved the pop up monsters (Beasts), just like Medieval Madness trolls, but way more often. Smaug multiball is not hard to get and is really satisfying. However, it gets harder to achieve as game progresses (I got 3 of them during my Grand Champ run). I asked Jack about this, and he told me that he made it that way because he didn’t want a feature that just “rolls over for you” throughout the game. It has 31 modes (at this current code). Lots to learn and discover. I never got bored. There were a lot of easy shots, medium shots, and a left and right hole that are tricky to hit. Even if you line it right, sometimes it is with too much power and jumps or rims out…kind of like hitting a put on a golf green. Plus, the whole family loved it! My wife couldn’t come with me, but my sister and kids did and it is the one game they kept talking about. This game is equally fun to play and watch because of all the movie clips, sounds, lights, etc. It is an immersive experience. How so…well, I enjoyed the movies (didn’t love them…not as much as LOT trilogy), but yesterday, my kids and I watched the first Hobbit movie together because it was stuck in our heads. My kids loved pointing out the parts they saw during the gameplay. Some that I didn’t realize were there. As a movie buff…having something that connects movies to pinball where they both enhance the experience of the other…well that was great. So, this is the one. I made a deal with FlipNout pinball (about 2 hours away from my home). I have one week to finalize with a phone call to get the “show discount”. So, I’m about to take a plunge into a real life pinball purchase. The cost, well it kinda stinks. But, if I am going to buy a pin…it should be the one I want and love. Plus the family all loved it (well, my wife I think will like this more than most…although she doesn’t get that into pinball). Just for your info, the rest on my short list were Full Throttle, Alien, Ghostbusters Premium, Spider-man VE, and Medieval Madness re-release. I see Spider-man VE just hit VPX and will download this week. Ghostbusters just didn’t do it for me, and I’ve seen a lot of folks say the same on pinside…lots of folks selling their pins. MM…have it on VPX. Spider-man VE, well, the real Spider-man just didn’t overwhelm me. The Heighway games look great, but no where to play for real to test out. I’ve actually been communicating with Andrew Heighway via e-mail on questions and he is super nice. Maybe in the future I’ll get one of his games. But, I know the family wouldn’t enjoy Full Throttle or Alien as much as me. And I want my kids to have fun with the game.
Those are my thoughts. Feel free to comment or ask questions. I’ll answer when I can.
So excited to take my journey into the unknown…will be calling Larry at FlipNOut to confirm today or tomorrow.
Dr. Tom signing off!
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Sounds like you had a great time! Any pictures of the show?
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Sorry, no photos. I can’t believe I didn’t take any! Was too excited. And with two kids with thousands of people roaming around in a loud dimly lit place, my eyes and hands were on them. But it was a blast.
Addendum:
There was a band there named “Bit Brigade”. If you were a Nintendo kid from the ’80’s/90’s LOOK THEM UP ON YOUTUBE. They had a guy play Mega Man 2 on a giant projector screen. While he did, they played (rock and roll style with synth) the Mega Man 2 soundtrack along with his gameplay. It was pretty great. On Youtube search for Mega Man 2 soundtrack and they will be like the 3rd option. I was playing ghostbusters pinball and while playing thought I was hearing something familiar. After the last ball, I walked around the corner and saw the band playing with Mega Man 2 in the background. It was a unique experience, especially live. They really got into it.
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Man, i wish we had one of this Shows here in Europe too … or had i miss one ? … whatever, i am dreaming about the Pinball and Arcades, what you tell us here.
Someday i take a Flight to USA (have i ever said: i hate flying), and visit one of this great Places … someday.
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randr, but i think, there are Photos on this Expo Webpage, there is one ? … would love to see too.
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The best photos are on their facebook page “Louisville Arcade Expo”. They probably won’t be up on their website for a while. Also, check out Jersey Jack Pinball facebook page. He shows some of the expo and also folks playing Dialed In (Bowden plays it…had no idea he was there, would have been cool to meet him).
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I was at the show all weekend as well Tom.
Did you play my Williams Funhouse that I brought?
My VP Pincab /MAME Arcade Specs: MSI Micro-ATX Z390m MOBO, Core I5-9600K CPU @ 3.70GHz, 16GB NVRAM, Nvidia 1660 Super,
40" PF Sony gaming LED TV, Dual 23" monitors in the backbox , Pinscape w. expansion board, Full DOF - Full MAME arcade support
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Funhouse was there? How did I miss that one? Where was it? With two kids at my side, unfortunately spent half of my time playing arcade/console games. I would have preferred all pinball. Did you see the Spirit pinball? It was gorgeous. Right next to a Fathom. Didn’t get to play the Fathom..always long lines. Did you meet Jersey Jack? Did you get to play Dialed In? What were your thoughts? For me, there was so much going on and without a clue with the rules, I was just kinda bouncing the ball around. I picked up Hobbit rules much faster…although shorter lines allowed me to play it more. Plus, I kinda fell in love with Hobbit…order placed. Larry from FlipNOut Pinball is excellent…just fyi.
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I was the first machine in the row that Monster Bash was in. Side of cabinet and all was visible and right beside the stage. :) There was a mechanical baseball (Slugfest) machine right next to me. MB got the most action in that row but I was not far behind. I received tons of compliments for FH and especially for the CPR playfield and like new overall condition. I ended up logged 678 plays for the duration of the show. Sorry you missed me.
The Gottlieb Spirit really caught my eye. Damn what a nice looking pin especially the backglass. Cyberpez loves doing Gottlieb so maybe we can do that one in the future. No I did not meet JJ but I did play the Dialed in machine only. Mehhh but it had an awesome light show. I spent more time playing the other pins and meeting folks and keeping an eye on Funhouse.
Do you live in Louisville. I am in Richmond KY.
My VP Pincab /MAME Arcade Specs: MSI Micro-ATX Z390m MOBO, Core I5-9600K CPU @ 3.70GHz, 16GB NVRAM, Nvidia 1660 Super,
40" PF Sony gaming LED TV, Dual 23" monitors in the backbox , Pinscape w. expansion board, Full DOF - Full MAME arcade support
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I probably misses it because that row was full of people. Â Great games including Gorgar and an amazing modded up Bride of Pinbot. Â I’m in E-town. Â I’ll definitely be checking out Zanzabar and RecBar after seeing their selection of games.
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Just FYI, Hobbit LE came in Friday and I played it like crazy over the weekend! I love this game. Stunning visual, audio, and play. So, my life now includes virtual, future, FX2, old school EM, and now modern SS/LCD pinball!
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Getting your first modern SS table must be very exciting, I’m jealous!
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Just FYI, Hobbit LE came in Friday and I played it like crazy over the weekend! I love this game. Stunning visual, audio, and play. So, my life now includes virtual, future, FX2, old school EM, and now modern SS/LCD pinball!
Where is that pictures or it never happened meme…..
Congrats!
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Ha! That’s what I said pictures needed! :) I wonder why I never see a pinball show near my area unless I just always miss them?
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I can confirm Hobbit LE was there. Along with WOZ, DI and Jack himself.
My VP Pincab /MAME Arcade Specs: MSI Micro-ATX Z390m MOBO, Core I5-9600K CPU @ 3.70GHz, 16GB NVRAM, Nvidia 1660 Super,
40" PF Sony gaming LED TV, Dual 23" monitors in the backbox , Pinscape w. expansion board, Full DOF - Full MAME arcade support
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Here it is. Â Snug between my virtual cab and Gottlieb Big TopAttachments:
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Signed on the back by Jersey Jack, himself.
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OHIO PINBALL SHOW
MARCH 30th – APRIL 2nd
Emidio & Sons Expo Center
Cuyahoga Falls, OHÂ 44223Just got home from the show. I got to play Rob Zombie’s Spookshow International, Aerosmith, Dialed In, Batman 66 and the new Attack from Mars, among others. Good times! Though six hours of pins without stopping, it started to bother my legs and feet a bit, the old hands and wrists didn’t do to bad.
I had to laugh, they had Joust, made me think of randr the entire time.
I forgot, they had Brooks and Dunn pinball and some other tables that were never released at the show, was kinda cool.
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Ha! BUT!!!! Pictures or it didn’t happen!!! :)
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Ha! BUT!!!! Pictures or it didn’t happen!!! :)
Meh, not my pictures, but they will do. I had my camera in my back pocket the whole time, lol to busy playing to take pics. But that is Joust next to Spirit, you can’t really see it though in the pic.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ohio-pinball-show2017-buy-sell-trade/page/10
Enjoy
Some guy brought Spookshow from home or it wouldn’t have been at the show. I’m glad I got to play the machine a bunch of times because he had to fix the pin about twenty some times while I was at the show and it was turned off the first three hours, I played Dialed In only once and made it my b****! (I didn’t want to play Dialed In again, it’s like OZ, looks cool but you don’t want to play the pin again for some reason) Batman 66 was meh OK, Aerosmith was alright, I really liked the dmd. I didn’t see a Metallica or Ghostbusters machine at the show, too bad I wanted to play Ghostbusters. The VPIN guy didn’t show up at all and no one ever came with the new Aliens machine like promised. I’m surprised that I can’t find a picture of the Brooks and Dunn machine anywhere, I should have taken a picture of that if nothing else. Glad it was never produced, didn’t look that great, a ramp or two, big billboard of drop target letters and a hugh jukebox. I wonder if the guy from Ohio that sold the playfield on Ebay was the same person that brought the prototype to the show. They had another prototype a few feet from this machine that people were playing but I don’t know what it was because it didn’t have graphics on the playfield. They also had some mirror reflected stand up pinball machine with levers, had like a devils head in the center for the under playfield center table, trying to remember what it was called?
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