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Pintastic NE 2021 Day 4 Final Day and Catching up

Posted: November 22, 2021 by datechguy in Uncategorized

The last day of Pintastic NE is always a bit of a mix. Checkout time is 11 AM but Pintastic runs till 4. I didn’t book for sunday night so there was a rush in the morning to go to breakfast at Cracker Barrel get back check out and run back in to cover what is there.

Between the band concert and the last day of the extra ball lounge (which runs to about 6 AM) it can be a tad odd.

I didn’t get to the Extra ball lounge till 11 AM and it was empty…almost:

They should take a bow this game had a line in front of it constantly. I only had a chance to play it twice during the entire four days myself.

The games were gone but not forgotten. I left this room to eyeball the vendor lounge where the packing up was far advanced but the SNH Pinball club was still rolling on.

The Free play room was still going strong and there were quite a few people playing. It’s a quieter day for the security team as there is only one room to really watch so Lisa had time to talk to me.

Without this staff mostly volunteers none of this takes place.

Some games still had lines the big one was the homebrew game Sonic the Hedgehog I talked to the creator who is from the Southern New Hampshire Pinball Club

Brian made good use of his lockdown time and I suspect that this will be a big draw for club membership.

With Pintastic done there is a lot of work to do to move machines, there is also a need to find places to play. Southern NH Pinball is one solution but there are others. I talked to Josh Allen of the Bitbar in Salem as he got ready to pack up the Hercules game who operators a restaurant/arcade

You need a team to move this giant.

I spent the rest of the day in play until they started to shut down the games and when that moment comes it’s time to speak to Gabe D’Annunzio one more time.

My Pintastic was done but he had hours of work ahead of him then he can rest but not for long, because when June comes along we’re going to do it al over again.

Pintastic Day 3 We’ve Got the Band Back Together

Posted: November 21, 2021 by datechguy in culture, entertainment, fun, gaming, special events
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Saturday at Pintastic NE is always a busy day. You tend to draw the largest crowds and there is plenty going on.

One of the more popular games was the Beatles 1964

Not only is the gameplay of this machine great but it of course has the best sound track of all the games here

A lot of people bring Pinball games here to sell but one of the problems is: If you sell a game how do you get it home? Well that’s where Dino of Shipmypinball.com comes in

Getting the machine from point A to point B is something that always needs to be considered when buying a machine.

Of course there are those who offer an alternative to buying game, RENTING THEM

I’m thinking the Bushey Brothers may cut the Gordan knot for many guys like me whose wives don’t want a game in their house or big money spent but might actually go along with getting a game in the house if it’s only for a month or two and someone else moves it in and out for you.

Of course there are some thing that shouldn’t be forgotten during Pintastic NE and such as God and the Sacraments. Luckily for a Catholic like me there is St. Anne’s Shrine only a mile away down the road.

If you’re wondering where the hat is , hey I’m at a church of course I have it off.

Of course if you’re buying an old game or even if you need an newer one there is always the need for the parts, that’s where Mayfair Games (not to be confused with the old wargame maker) comes in.

You will see them as the first dealer on the left at every Pintastic

Of course while the old game are big here It’s the new ones that draw eyeballs. One of those new players is American Pinball and I talked to their man David Fix.

He was in high demand and I didn’t have a chance to talk to him until the vendor room was closing. But it worked out very well because he moved one of the Legends of Valhalla games to the Extra Ball Lounge were my youngest and I started playing.

Alas my son is too good so we couldn’t show the full game

Of course I’m not the only guy filming here Todd Tuckey was Livestreaming

While the Guns and Roses Tribute Band: Welcome to the Jungle who played the event played on…

They came in to celebrate the release of the new Guns and Roses game from Jersey Jack who for some reason I didn’t manage to interview this year (more from the band later).

You might recall I talked to Michael two years ago when he brought a bunch of games, well he and Emily have graduated from hobby to Pinball Museum Proprietors in Pawtucket RI

You heard that right 28 of the machines people were playing came from them and it’s worth noting that on day four those machines were still here to play as they’re invariably the last folks out (next to Gabe of course).

But while the hobbyists and game providers are big the real question is what did the folks who paid their money to play think. I ran into four such folks who were attending Pintastic for the first time

When people are willing to come 3000 miles and say they’ll do it again next year you’ve got it right.

By this time is was late and I finished my work day talking to the tribute band after their 2nd performance.

after that I finally got to play the popular Sonic the Hedgehog homebrew which won best Homebrew game and can be played either via flippers or from a Sega controller

2 AM came very quickly and checkout is 11 AM so it was time to crash and prepare for the final day of Pinball.

Pintastic Day 2 Shake it up and Make Your Own Pinball

Posted: November 20, 2021 by datechguy in fun, hobbies, special events
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Day two of Pintastic NE is always interesting because machines keep coming in the vendors are set up but its not yet the weekend so there is still a bit less of a crowd to compete for time.

I talked to Greg and Shawn who were not here together but met here,

There is a lot of meeting people who are into the hobby here and hanging out, after all why watch a game alone when you can play two, three or four and socialize a bit (and rest your wrists).

One of the things that I’ve seem this more than any other has been the rise of “Homebrew” games. These are games that are designed and made by individuals for themselves. One such creator was Zachary Frey who created a rather unique game called Poker that rather than a backglass has it’s screen built into the body of the game. We talked about his creation:

This is one of the cleverest games I’ve played in a while. it has an interesting extra two button feature with a Maga save on the left and a pop up that can save a ball about to drain on the right.

A much fancier and more recognizable game was Ferris Bueller’s day off I talked to the designer and the artist.

There are only two copies of this game (which is double the production of Zach’s Poker game) and I must admit I felt very old when Redi (who is a delightful lady who I shared a game of Twilight Zone with later) said she had to watch the movie when Brian approached her about doing the game as it came out the year she was born.

There was a constant line in front of this game and I didn’t get to it until late that night. One should always play homebrew games at events such as this as it’s likely the only time you will ever see these games.

Later on in the day I ran into Jeff the hot sauce guy. He had been set up at Pintastic NE2019 and I thought at the time it was an odd mix for the place, but he was back and with an expanded product line.

Apparently hot sauces and Pinball mix pretty well. It was also interesting to hear how COVID effected his business.

There are all kind of accessories available for pinball machines one of the coolest ones I saw was a vest to be used with a sound system that was being demoed at the Pinnovators booth

It looked too cool not to try myself so Sandra kindly took over the camera and I got strapped in and gave it a go while playing Areosmith.

The Venders hall was packed and one of the big games was Legends of Valhalla. I played it a couple of times and found it my favorite of the new games there (so far). I talked to Shawn of Maine Home Recreation that was carrying the game.

The American Pinball company (which made one of my favorites from 2019 Octoberfest) is creating some excellent games for the hobby.

And old favorite is Stern Pinball was well represented by special guest and pinball designers John Borg who I was able to get a few minutes with:

Their brand new Godzilla machine was everywhere and all with lines in front of them. The lines were well earned as it’s an excellent game.

Of course Pintastic would not be Pintastic without Todd Tuckey. He gave a seminar on how to avoid buying a pinball Lemon online which was too long to put here but he gave me ten minutes during the afterparty.

Alas I could not embed the link in the video he was referring to put I’ve got the clip here from Pintastic 2017 that he was referring to here.

ah the days when I still had both of my front teeth but on the bright side I’ve finally stopped calling Todd: “Tom”

Well that’s all for now it’s just after 10 AM on day three as I’m finishing this and there is pinball to play and interview to do, so we’ll be back tomorrow with day 3 stuff.

It’s November of 2021 Pintastic NE is Back!

Posted: November 19, 2021 by datechguy in Uncategorized

It’s been a long wait, 2 years and five months but Pintastic NE is not only back but back at the Sturbridge host Hotel

That space behind me that’s behind me is a bit of bad news, one of the vendors cointaker who have been a regular here had to pull out at the last minute but that will have little overall effect on what going on.

As always I started the coverage with an interview with Gabe D’Annunzio who I inexplicitly kept calling D’Ambrosio during the interview.

Note that he is wide awake and full on energy. This will not likely be the case when we get to our closing interview in four days.

A big feature of Pintastic NE the Extra Ball lounge which is not accessible with a mere day pass. Here are the games there

A 24/7 pass or one that allows access overnight is required for this room.

The Pinball Hobby also has a charity called Project Pinball that places pinball machines in children’s hospitals

I’ve been telling people that a Pinball machine is a great way to relieve stress and these people prove it every single day.

As always there will be seminars and exhibits as well but right now the machines are calling me so you’ll have to settle for this image for now.

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