so I bought a pinball machine: the Whiterose pinball + gameroom show aka The York Show

Today I got home from an epic trip to the Whiterose Gameroom Show aka The York Show. It was an 8.5 hour drive and oh god that was numbing. At least the highway was well maintained and unremarkable for the vast majority of the drive. I had planned to do it over 2 days, but didn't want to spend the extra money on one more night at a motel. Though I did stop at a hotel on the way home as to maximize my time at the show.

I had arranged a fairly epic trade. I traded 3 prewar machines and a game stand from the 1930s for a toupie hollandaise table, estimated to be from the late 1800s. Click the toupie tag at the bottom if you want to see more examples, but quick answer is that it is a spinning top game where you fire off the spinning top and hope to knock down the skittles.

While setting the table up I was approached by the curator at the Roanoke Pinball Museum that was as infatuated with the table as I was. He wanted to know if it was for sale and I said no, I just traded for it. He made a very compelling case for the museum acquiring it. I believe something like this deserves to be widely seen and appreciated. This is a distant cousin of pinball, meeting at the lineage of "aristocratic table game". The original slanted pin-table bagatelles were similarly sized and gilded affairs, with few affording them outside the moneyed classes. He wanted to use this as the beginning of the museum's historical timeline, and it is perfect for that. As far as we know, toupie tables like this came well before pin bagatelles, with spinning top games themselves being ancient. Aristocratic Table Games are exactly where I begin my own lineage of pinball ancestry. The museum would expose thousands of visitors a year to the concept of pinball ancestry, to thinking beyond flippers, beyond Whiffle.

I told him that I would trade it for a working World's Fair Jig-Saw by Rock-ola, but he didn't have one. But this was the opening and he offered to buy it right away, and that was the tipping point where I realized it be so much better for it to go to the museum. I have a galley arcade and would have had to have it standing upright behind my Skill Roll. It deserved a better fate.

This beautiful table will be set up at the Roanoke Pinball Museum, and I get to be a small part of that story. It is a similar feeling as when I help friends find machines they wanted, and to get to be part of that story too.

There were many wonderful games that the show that I was thrilled to play. A wonderful variety: prewars, bingos, a large woodrail lineup, 60s+70s EMs, 80s, 90s, a few aughts, and then plenty of modern era.

Of the new machines, there were 2 major highlights for me: The Godfather and Drained / P3. The build quality of these machines felt wonderful. They are in another league compared to Stern machines, but R.I.P. anyone wanting to move them up or down any stairs.

All of the shots on Godfather felt like an adventure. I love the feel of them. The theme integration was spot-on in my opinion, and really showcasing what a machine focused on adults can be. I love my Stern games, but after years of comic art themes the Godfather feels incredibly refreshing. Gameplay wise, it almost feels like a modern Twilight Zone.

The other highlight was getting to play a number of P3 games thank to Nick Baldridge. He was there with his beautiful P3 module Drained. The left machine in the photo includes the full art package with an incredible speaker plate art package.

The build quality is surreal on these, but what won me over was the idea that pinball could capture that smaller-scope fun again. Let me explain: Modern pinball machines start at $7500 USD for a Stern Pro and go up far higher, and players demand epic game depth for that kind of coin. But talk to the hordes of people who spent the weekend primarily playing games from the 50s to the 90s, and sometimes you just want pinball to be a 3-7 minute game, not potentially a 30+ minute epic quest. (Sure, balls times are quick on location on new machines, but if you have a modern machine at home you're going to learn the shots quite well)

With the cost of a new module at $3500, P3 lets you swap in entirely new games for less than the price of a poorly-playing Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 rows away. A game like Drained is tonnes of fun and harkens back to the ethos shared by the EM machines the playfield is inspired by. The only other modern game I can think of that channels that earlier-era pinball experience is Total Nuclear Annihilation. Perhaps Pulp Fiction (and would Bond 60th count?) also has that feel, but I haven't played it yet. If you appreciate the game play of TNA, definitely give Drained a try.

I still haven't played the big games for the platform: Weird Al, Heist, and Final Resistance, and even without considering them I still have to gush about the quality of the P3 platform. For someone like me with a galley arcade, I have to add P3 to my list of dream machines. (though I doubt I could get it down my stairs without breaking it down into smaller pieces)

Nick Baldridge next to Drained on a P3 with the art package installed. The right machine was running Drained: Bite-Sized, a boss-rush mini game that can be bought for the custom Drained module.

Of the other new games out, most were no-shows. No Pulp Fiction, Scooby Doo, Galactic Tank Force, etc. I did get to try Venom for the first time and I definitely like the Premium over the Pro. The shots on the Pro just don't feel as enticing. Overall I was underwhelmed, even on the Premium, but probably because I suck at fan layouts. (I loathe playing No Fear in a tournament)

Venom Premium by Stern

Some other game highlights:

1947 Singapore by United
Not only was this game flipperless (though some copies that exist were retrofitted, since this game was released shortly after Humpty Dumpty) this game also has no plunger. The player must roll the balls up the glass where the fall into the playfield at the top.

rule card

this game would normally have an upper plane of glass preventing a player from dropping the balls in directly at the top, greatly increasing the difficulty.

the wonderfully unique ball lifter & ejector

Years before he designed games for the P3 platform, Baldridge created the Multi-Bingo (right) and Multi-Races (left). These remarkable machines let you play all of the bingo and one-ball horserace games with the original gameplay hardware, with the backglass and logic done by computer. I spent a lot of times around these two games, helping people learn about these gambling machines from the 40s and 50s+.

There were a number of EM bingo machines there, with 1961 Bikini by Bally being my favourite. This is packed with all of the Magic Screen goodness of similar games around 1960+, but also has the "OK" game option which earns credits for the Futurity Game. It's not quite so straightforward, but here's how that goes:
if you qualify "OK", to the left of the Magic Screen letters, you can shift the screen to the right 2 positions, revealing an orange section. 2 balls in that solid orange section (5 number options) let's you win Futurity Game credits. The number of credits you win is shown on the top left section, and aligns with the green scoring odds advancement at the bottom. When you get the 2 in the orange and press R, that number of Futurity Game credits is added to the Futurity Game counter on the right.
you can "spend" these credits by pressing the orange button on the lockdown bar. This starts a game where you get generous odds and options, guaranteed. The more Futurity Game points you have, the more lucrative the features and odds you're guaranteed. It is a very cool feature.

there were actually 2 Soccer Kings (by Zaccaria) side by side, part of a small Zaccaria lineup

I love Sinbad, and kind of wish I hadn't sold it (but also wish I had more space). This modified version with LCD screen and movie footage had me smiling ear to ear. Loved it.

1951 Globe-Trotter by Gottlieb
my favourite woodrail of the show, and perhaps one of my favourite woodrails. If this was for sale at the show I'd have had a hard time resisting. Like Volley, the 4 rollovers at the top each light a bumper. The game also has kickers beneath the flippers, meaning you have to be patient and wait for the ball to bump back up into play. The center hole at the bottom also kicks the balls up to the bumpers.

Gottlieb Derby Day

the nicest Water World I had ever played. This reminds me of years ago when someone brought a beautifully restored Frankenstein to the Ottawa show.

very early flipper layout, ala Humpty Dumpty

the world needs more crossword puzzle themed arcade games. Maybe a Scrabble pin from Stern.

yarrrrrrrr

this game is always at the top of the heap for woodrail collectors, but I don't think it's in my top tier. Very fun game, I just don't like that number of trap holes.

My favourite part of any convention is going to the flea market area and seeing what kind of parts can be had. Here is what I returned home with.

On the way home I also picked up a box of books I had purchased. These are some incredibly rare and obscure titles, and basically takes care of every remaining book on my want list. You can see my list of arcade + coinop books here. I already had copies of On Location and Arcade 1, but these new copies are actually signed by Dick Bueschel.