The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show is an annual pinball and arcade game festival held in Tacoma,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show draws between 3,000 collectors and fans each June to the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

area. The festival began as a small annual event held by Washington pinball collectors, but in 2008 became a full-fledged regional convention featuring hundreds of pinball machines, arcade games, electro-mechanical games, speakers, vendors and tournaments. In 2013 the show expanded in size, prompting a move from the

Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needle ...

to the Greater Tacoma Convention Center.

2020

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show was cancelled. The decision to cancel the show came two months before it was originally scheduled. The action was specifically taken "in the interest of public health safety.”

2019

The 12th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from May 31, 2019 June 2, 2019. There were over 400 playable machines.

2018

The 11th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 8–10, 2018. There were over 400 games that were free to play. Seminars were held by Dave Okert, Victor Tan, and others.

2017

The 10th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 9–11, 2017. There were 218 playable machines, 192 of them being free to play on the show floor. Several seminars were held, given by Mark Ritchie, John Youssi, Greg Freres, and others.

2016

The 9th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 3–5, 2016. There were 215 playable pinball machines, 185 of them being free to play on the show floor. Several seminars were held, given by

Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consu ...

, David Theil, and others.

2015

The 8th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 5–7, 2015.

2014

The 7th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 6–8, 2014.

2013

The 6th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 7–9, 2013. The new venue was larger and accommodated more games, more vendors, more exhibits and more people. Pinball designer and artist

Python Anghelo Python Vladimir Anghelo (January 1, 1954 – April 9, 2014) was a graphic artist best known for his work on Video game, video games and pinball machines. Anghelo was born in Transylvania, Romania, and moved to the United States when he was 17. ...

came to the show for the first time and hosted an engaging fireside chat, moderated by pinball historian and collector Gary Flower, as well as doing a seminar later on "The Future of Pinball." Angelo's game credits include arcade games

Joust (video game) ''Joust'' is an action game developed by Williams Electronics and released in arcades in 1982. While not the first two-player cooperative video game, ''Joust''s success and polished implementation popularized the concept. Player 1 rides an ostr ...

and

Sinistar ''Sinistar'' is a 1983 multidirectional shooter arcade game developed and manufactured by Williams Electronics. It was created by Sam Dicker, Jack Haeger, Noah Falstein, RJ Mical, Python Anghelo, and Richard Witt. Players control a spacecraft ...

, as well as dozens of pinball machines including

PIN•BOT ''Pin-Bot'' (styled ''PIN•BOT'') is a pinball machine released by Williams in October 1986. It was designed by Python Anghelo and Barry Oursler. Rules The main objective of ''Pin-Bot'' is to advance through the planets of the Solar System, ...

Taxi (pinball) ''Taxi'' is a pinball machine designed by Mark Ritchie and Python Anghelo. It was released in 1988 by Williams Electronics. Gameplay The goal of the game is to pick up five passengers: Pinbot, Gorbie, Lola (or Marilyn Monroe in the origi ...

, Cyclone, Bad Cats, Fish Tales, The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot, Police Force (pinball), High Speed and Comet. Kevin Kulek and Aaron Klumpp of Skit B Pinball brought out their new Predator pinball machine to talk about it, both it and their one of a kind Duck Hunt pinball machine were available to play throughout the weekend on the show floor. Gerry Stellenberg, owner of Multimorphic, spoke about the new P3 Pinball and P-ROC. Pinball artist Kevin O'Connor designed the 2013 show poster and spoke about his experience in the industry, O'Connor's game credits include Monster Bash, Kiss, Creature From The Black Lagoon and many more. Jersey Jack Pinball's Butch Peel did a seminar on the "Making The Wizard Of Oz Pinball" and brought a finished

The Wizard of Oz (pinball) ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. pinball machine designed by Joe Balcer and released in April 2013. It is the first US pinball machine with an LCD in the back box as well as the first one to have color on the monitor produce ...

for everyone to play during the show. Longtime Washington State game operator Bill Masterman spoke about operating games on location and arcade high score sensations Todd Rogers and Steve Wiebe, star of "The King Of Kong" movie, also spoke. There was a premiere for the movie "The Space Invaders: In Search of Lost Time" with a Q&A with director Jeff Von Ward and locals Aaron Davis and Barry Shilmover gave a talk on "Turning Your Pinball Design Ideas Into A Real Machine!" and their new pinball company Skillshot. Gary Stern, owner and president of Stern Pinball gave a seminar and drew the winning raffle ticket at the end in which someone took home a new X-Men Pro pinball game. For the first year NW Pinball and Arcade Show trophies were presented and the show awarded a number of scholarships to local college students going into game design related fields.

2012

The 5th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show drew 3,000 visitors to the

from June 8–10, 2012. The show featured "Jersey Jack" Guarnieri speaking about the making The Wizard Of Oz Pinball, as well as the first public peak at a prototype of the game. Gary Stern of Stern Pinball talked about his history in the pinball industry. UK pinball author Gary Flower talked about his history with pinball. Rich Lint from This Old Game did a talk about replacing the artwork on arcade and pinball machines. Pinball designer Steve Ritchie (AC/DC, Spider-Man, Terminator 2, Black Knight, High Speed, Star Trek: The Next Generation) talked about his experience in pinball design. Pinball artist Doug Watson (Attack From Mars, Indiana Jones, The Shadow, Terminator 2, F-14, Black Knight 2000) spoke about his experiences as a pinball artist. John Popadiuk (Circus Voltaire, World Cup Soccer '94, Tales Of The Arabian Nights, Theatre Of Magic) spoke about his history with pinball design. Eugene Jarvis, video game and pinball designer and programmer (Robotron: 2084, Defender, Firepower, Narc, Smash TV, Gorgar, Cruis'n) gave a talk about his experience and history in the industry. Rick Bartlett, owner Planetary Pinball talked about new pinball parts. Lindsey Rupertus spoke on the basics of solid state pinball repair methodology. Twin Galaxies was on hand to judge world record high score attempts and presented their Trading Card Expo. There were also panel discussions on game collecting and repair seminars. The NW Pinball and Arcade Show Pinball Tournament drew top players from around the world and the Seattle Pinball Museum put on a series for more casual, fun and family oriented pinball tournaments throughout the weekend. One lucky winner per day won a pinball or arcade game, prizes this year included a Wizard of Oz, Centipede, Galaga and Terminator 2 pinball machine. There is a great recap of the 2012 show with photos on Pinball News.

2011

The 4th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Seattle Center from June 3–5, 2011. Guest speakers included: pinball artwork designer John Youssi (

The Addams Family (pinball) ''The Addams Family'' is a pinball machine released in March 1992. It was designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar and released by Midway (under the '' Bally'' label). It was based on the 1991 film of the same name, and features custom speech ...

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, f ...

Twilight Zone (pinball) ''Twilight Zone'' is a widebody pinball machine, designed by Pat Lawlor and based on the TV series of the same name. It was first released in 1993 by Midway (under the Bally label). This game is part of WMS' '' SuperPin'' line of widebody game ...

Whirlwind (pinball) ''Whirlwind'' is a pinball machine produced by Williams in 1990 and was one of the last Williams System 11b games. It was designed by Pat Lawlor, who created a previous natural disaster-themed pinball for Williams, '' Earthshaker!''. Gameplay ...

Red & Ted's Road Show ''Red & Ted's Road Show'' (also known as ''Road Show'') is a 1994 widebody pinball game designed by Pat Lawlor and released by Williams. It is part of WMS' ''SuperPin'' line of widebody games. Country singer Carlene Carter provided the voice of ...

, No Good Gofers,

Medieval Madness ''Medieval Madness'' is a Williams pinball machine released in June 1997. Designed by Brian Eddy and programmed by Lyman Sheats, it had a production run of 4,016 units. As of April 3, 2022, the Pinside pinball community lists it as the #2 hi ...

, The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot), Steve Wiebe from the movie '' The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'',

Walter Day Walter Aldro Day (born May 14, 1949) is an American businessman and the founder of Twin Galaxies, an organization that tracks world records for video games and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. Biography Day was born in Oakl ...

(founder of

Twin Galaxies Twin Galaxies is an organization and social media platform for people involved in the culture and activity of playing video games. It facilitates their interaction as well as their competition and recognizes their achievements. Twin Galaxie ...

, the International Video Game Hall of Fame and star of the movie Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade), and pinball designer John Popadiuk (

Cirqus Voltaire ''Cirqus Voltaire'' is a 1997 pinball game, designed by John Popadiuk and released by Williams Electronics Games (under the ''Bally Manufacturing, Bally'' label). The theme involves the player performing many different marvels in order to join th ...

, Star Wars Episode I (pinball), Theatre of Magic, Tales Of The Arabian Nights,

World Cup Soccer (pinball) ''World Cup Soccer'' is a 1994 pinball machine designed by John Popadiuk and Larry DeMar and released by Midway. It is based on the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Digital versions This table was formerly available as DLC for ''The Pinball Arcade'' un ...

). Special guests included pinball and arcade designer Steve Ritchie (

Firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potenti ...

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation,

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...

, Spider-Man), ex-NBA player

Todd MacCulloch Todd Carlyle MacCulloch (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 47th overall pick in the 19 ...

and arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel (

Q*bert ''Q*bert'' (also known as ''Qbert'') is an arcade video game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a Video game graphics, 2D action game with Puzzle video game, puzzle elements that uses Isometric video ...

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

, Family Guy, Pirates of the Caribbean). The show also featured world record attempts and the IFPA (International Flipper Pinball Association) sanctioned "Northwest Pinball Championships" tournament, drawing top pinball competitors from around the world. Three world record high scores were set at the 2011 show: Video arcade games: * ''Donkey Kong 3'' 3,538,000 by George Riley * ''Mr. Do!'s Castle'' 240,820 by Patrick Scott Patterson (Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings) * ''Space Duel'' 109,570 by Ken House and Elijah Hayter (2-Player Only Variation, Double Ship Style)

2010

The 3rd annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Seattle Center from June 11–13, 2010 and featured 260 pinball and arcade games. Guest speakers included Steve Wiebe from the movie '' The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'', pinball and arcade designer

George Gomez George Gomez is an industrial designer, video game designer, and pinball designer who has worked for Bally, Williams, and Stern Pinball, among other companies. He worked on the team that created the ''Tron'' video game, and headed the team that cr ...

(

Satan's Hollow ''Satan's Hollow'' is a fixed shooter released in arcades by Bally Midway in 1982 and subsequently ported to the Commodore 64. The arcade game uses the same flight-controller style joystick with built-in trigger as Midway's ''Tron'', released ...

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action- adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...

Spy Hunter Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

Johnny Mnemonic "Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...

, Monster Bash, Revenge From Mars, The Lord of the Rings, Batman), arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel (

, Family Guy, Pirates of the Caribbean), and pinball designer John Trudeau (

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

, The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot,

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...

Black Rose Black Rose or Black Roses may refer to: Books * Black Rose (.hack), a fictional character from the .hack media franchise * Black Rose (magazine), ''Black Rose'' (magazine), an anarchist magazine published in Boston during the 1970s and 1980s * Bla ...

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

, Congo). Show featured IFPA (International Flipper Pinball Association) sanctioned "Northwest Pinball Championships," drawing top pinball competitors from around the world. Nine world record high scores were set at the 2010 show: Video arcade games: * ''Lunar Lander'' 1,705 by Dan Whitmarsh * ''Mario Bros.'' 418,870 by John Bartkiw and Ross Benziger (No POW Challenge, 2-Player Team, Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings) * ''Metal Slug X'' 1,286,660 by Jordan Vick * ''Popeye'' 1,238,110 by Perry Rodgers * ''Punch-Out!!'' 18,999,970 by Sean Sandnes Pinball games - * ''24'' 94,596,880 by Zach Sharpe * ''Centigrade 37'' 371,850 by Keith Elwin * ''Firepower'' 1,154,600 by Keith Elwin * ''Four Million BC'' 37,900 by Neil Shatz

2009

The 2nd annual show at the Seattle Center was held June 12–14, 2009. The show was expanded with the addition of a second room filled with classic arcade video games, and the combined total of arcade and pinball machines reached 250. Guest speakers included game designer Dennis Nordman ( Scared Stiff,

White Water Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and w ...

, Demolition Man, Pirates of the Caribbean,

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

), game artist and sound creator Greg Freres (

, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Revenge from Mars, Scared Stiff), music and sound designer

Brian Schmidt Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU). He was previously a Distinguished Professor, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and astrophysicist at the University's M ...

, star of the documentary movie ''High Score'', Bill Carlton, and Clay Harrell from ''This Old Pinball''. Steve Wiebe returned, but instead of speaking, he made his 6th public attempt to reclaim the world

high score In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points (except in game shows, where scores often are instead measured in units of currency), and events in th ...

Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...

. David Nelson from

was on hand to referee Wiebe's high score attempt and watch many other world record high score attempts, as was Mark Alpiger from ClassicArcadeGaming.com.

hosted a press conference to present the International Video Game Hall of Fame's inaugural ceremony with 12 world record

holders. Seventeen world record high scores were set at the 2009 show: Video arcade games: * ''Kicker'' 1,958,000 by Chris Mansfield (Twin Galaxies Extreme Settings) * ''Vs. Excitebike'' 3,205,205 by Jesse Corrington Pinball games: * ''2001'' 12,617 by Shane Pace * ''4 Square'' 6,591 by Logan Johnson * ''Bank-A-Ball'' 1,673 by Brian Cady * ''Big Casino'' 1,993 by Warren Eng * ''Domino'' 7,910 by Rick Espe * ''Flip-A-Card'' 8,933 by Warren Eng * ''Flying Carpet'' 8,437 by Steve Fein * ''Grand Prix'' 1,060,300 by Eden Stamm * ''Jacks Open'' 209,180 by Zach Sharpe * ''Joust'' 79,432 by Tim Hansen * ''King Kool'' 102,610 by Trevor McDonald * ''King Pin'' 81,040 by Steve Fein * ''Shrek'' 53,204,390 by Neil Shatz * ''Sky-Line'' 1,295 by Shirley Cady * ''Theatre of Magic'' 7,323,064,830 by Neil Shatz

2008

The show's first year at the Seattle Center was held June 6–8, 2008, featured 125 games, and drew 1200 attendees. Steve Wiebe from the movie '' The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'' spoke about his experience competing against

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

for the world

, which was documented in the movie. Wiebe also demonstrated on a

arcade game some of his moves for scoring higher points and how to navigate harder levels. Other guest speakers included pinball and arcade designer Steve Ritchie (

, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation,

, Spider-Man, pinball software programmer Greg Dunlap (

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

, RollerCoaster Tycoon), electro-mechanical pinball restorer Tim Meighan, and arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel (

, Family Guy, Pirates of the Caribbean).

References

"NW Pinball & Arcade Show(2009)" (The Pinball Blog)

External links

Official Website

Official Facebook Account

Official Twitter Account

Official Flickr Pool

Seattle Weekly slideshow of 2009 NW Pinball & Gameroom Show
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