Let's talk COAPF! I had been meaning to write something shortly after the event, but recently found some of the photos again, so it's late but let's do it. COAPF is the Central Ontario Arcade and Pinball Festival and it happened June 12st, 2024 near Wasaga Beach, about 2 hours North of Toronto.
I was asked to setup a history booth at the show. I had originally not been planning on going, as my schedule is quite difficult, but the opportunity to run a booth is quite rare. My friend agreed to assist me on the trip and that made the journey possible.
Pinball Ancestry Tour
I made a number of signs so people could do a short self-directed tour. This included a 4-part tour through pinball ancestry.
I do not think these signs were successful. Most people did not stop to read things, and were instead taking in the whole spectacle of the show.
I will have to re-think how I present this kind of information in the future. Perhaps making this into a pamphlet that people could take home and read at their leisure? Until then, here are the signs:
1 - Aristocratic Table Games
2 - Pin Bagatelle
3 - Toy Bagatelles
4 - The Coin-Op Revolution
I had this FAQ sign printed up as well, but it's just as easy to dump the text here in the post.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pinball Ancestry?
Whiffle (1931, Automatic Industries) is generally considered the first ‘pinball machine’. It kept the balls separate from the player, allowed for automatic re-circulation, and collected payment. I use Pinball Ancestry to describe all of the game history that got us to Whiffle.
What are the eras of pinball?
These are the broad eras that I use for my own research:
Before 1931: pinball ancestry (here there be dragons)
1931: purely mechanical coinop pinball starts with Whiffle (Automatic Industries)
1947: the flipper era begins with Humpty Dumpty (Gottlieb). Often considered the start of ‘modern’ pinball.
1977: Solid state era takes hold, with digital displays and integrated circuit control.
1991: DMDs era begins with Gilligan’s Island (Midway) and Terminator 2 (Williams)
2013: the LCD era starts with The Wizard of Oz (Jersey Jack)
Where did you get these and can I buy them from you?
These antiques were assembled over a decade+ across 4 continents, through following auctions and networking with collectors. I am not interested in selling them individually, but I would consider trading all of my antique pinball ancestry gear (non-coinop) for a modern Stern Pro (GZ/DP/AIQ/TMNT/FF/etc). I would include my 1933 Rock-Ola Jigsaw in the deal for a Premium, or equivalent.
Who invented pinball?
Now you’re just being silly.
Pinball History Booth Layout
Here is the layout I designed for the booth:
Friday night setup
We threw together some old wood to create a barrier around The Fort.
These 4 pins (except for the Jigsaw on the right) were all brought by Cliff and Colleen from Illinois!
Saturday - the history booth
Saturday at the history booth was bustling for the first half of the day.
The Fort, a cockamaroo pin bagatelle table, a 9-hole English bagatelle, and a restored French bagatelle. A modern Skittles game is in the back.
Redgrave bagatelle, bakelite bagatelle, Canadian-made Whiffle Playboy bagatelle, and then a 1933 Gottlieb Cloverleaf
carnival rolldown, Rolly Game, Poolette, bar billiards, and at the back a rolling ball table, and a toy version of the rolling ball game
this beautifully restored Joust pinball was one of the stars of the show
right next to Joust pinball was this beautiful Joust cocktail, being played by this lovely couple :)
John Wick was a lot of fun
I forgot to come back and play this when it was on! It's just a reskin of the Stern Home Pin, but it's really rare.
The Nightmare Before Christmas homebrew was one of the highlights of the show. What a marvelous game!
very cool to see another Four Seasons. We pulled one of these out of the basement of an Ottawa antique store, way-back-when.
The pickups...
My friend got tempted by some goodies...
This is how packed the truck was for the trip home:
every cubic foot of airspace had something jammed into it, including the spaces behind and under the seats.
I picked up a number of items, all of which will be digitized. Thank you to everyone who gave me these items and/or sold them to me at a steep discount. When people know that you're going to be preserving and sharing something, they get quite generous.
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