PinFest is a major pinball industry event and trade show that serves as a venue for machine demonstrations, tournaments, and community gathering. The event has evolved to include both international iterations (notably the UK's dedicated pinball festival at McCure Daventry Hotel featuring 150+ machines) and appears annually as a significant showcase for new releases from manufacturers like Stern. PinFest functions as a key touchpoint for content creators, enthusiasts, and industry representatives to experience upcoming titles and engage with the pinball community.
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Pinfest now requires pre-payment before doors open rather than at entry
Thursday at Pinfest is the primary day for dealer 'horse trading' of games and parts
Pinfest is the UK's only dedicated pinball event
Pinfest is an annual two-day event featuring hundreds of modern and classic pinball and arcade machines
Festival in Newcastle at Caves Beach that occurred approximately 10-11 years ago, reignited Robert Charles's interest in pinball
UK pinball show experiencing distribution conflicts, room availability disputes, and distributor competition
UK's major pinball event, hosting European Pinball Championships (EPC) this year at new venue, experiencing logistics controversies around room availability and machine contributions
Pinball festival in Allentown, PA happening the weekend Don recorded this podcast; Hexa Pinball Zone is being displayed there
Pinball tournament in Allentown, Pennsylvania, 68-player event with A and B finals
Major pinball trade show and convention in Allentown, Pennsylvania; features dealer trading on Thursday, main show floor Friday-Sunday; known for flea market and arcade elements
No linked glossary terms
Pinfest includes an IFPA-sanctioned Stern Pro Circuit tournament
Pinball festival in Allentown; attended by Craft Brew Sally's friend; features vintage machines and vendor booths
Pinball expo in Allentown happening the weekend after podcast recording; planning Scorbit tournament deployment
Annual pinball and arcade show held in Allentown, PA; May 1-2, 2026; known for swap meets and playable games; no formal manufacturer presentations
UK pinball event; Neil brought Evil Dead to show
Pinball event where Neil McCraver purchased a Venom machine.
Pinball festival/event where Martin Robbins played two This Is Spinal Tap machines and observed community reception
Major UK pinball tournament and showcase event; held recently; featured games, tournaments, and challenges with venue management
Allentown pinball tournament that changed format after Certified event status was introduced
Major pinball show and swap meet in Pennsylvania (formerly Allentown); historically part of Stern Pro Circuit; evolved from flea market to social gathering; upcoming event discussed in episode
Major pinball show in Allentown; TNT Amusements attendees visited and took fans to dinner
Major pinball competition in Allentown, Pennsylvania; cancelled during COVID-19; Final Round hosted substitute tournament
Annual pinball show in Newcastle, Australia; featured new releases and homebrew machines
Australian pinball event where Jessie J played Godzilla and revised opinion
Annual pinball show and tournament in Sturbridge, Massachusetts area; 2024 edition occurred prior to podcast recording
Australian pinball show featuring ~70 machines; smaller scale than multi-collector events; Ryan C. has not attended, prefers traveling to Expo
Pinball festival/convention in Allentown, PA
Pinball event; Baldrige uncertain about attendance a couple weeks away from air date
Pinball tournament/event; Scott planning to bring Jaws Premium and Pulp Fiction
Annual pinball swap meet and dealer event; scheduled for first Saturday of May (Kentucky Derby Day); emphasizes buying, selling, dealing, and casual play; draws wheelers and dealers looking for bargains
Pinball event Don was trying to pay attention to during trip; outcome mentioned as pending
Annual pinball show in Allentown, Pennsylvania; scheduled for week after April 25; Pinball Brothers' primary distribution partner exhibits there; venue for Predator public reveal.
Australian pinball event; mentioned alongside other 2026 expos driving market growth
International pinball festival mentioned as happening the weekend of this podcast episode recording
Pinball show in Allentown; attended by Spooky back-to-back with Midwest Gaming Classic; described as 'super great time'
Pinball festival where Spooky had a booth with open layout; Luke met many Pennsylvania fans and plans to replicate booth style
Pinball festival in Alabama; Todd filmed nearly 4-hour video that is pending post-production/editing
Tournament where Greg Pavarelli performed well; now more prominently displayed in rankings after Super League removal
Pinball collecting/enthusiast event; Dave attended in May; triggered his visit to George in Virginia.
Major annual nonprofit pinball show held weekend after Mother's Day in Dixon, California; features 300+ machines, tournaments, vendors, seminars, swap meet, and family activities
Pinball convention/event in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Ultraman and other games showcased
Pinball convention in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Ranked #3 by attendee. Characterized as 'state fair' vibes with predominantly old EM machines in poor condition, burning coils, machines brought for free admission. Described pejoratively.
Pinball tournament/event where Don first played Terminator 2 and became interested in acquiring one
Pinball festival in Allentown; Don attending this weekend; Matt unable to attend; both hosts interested in playing rare/unplayed games there; planned as potential annual destination for Bash with Black Panther Experience as 2025 HQ
Pinball festival/convention; hosts mention attending to play new and old games including Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Looney Tunes, Princess Bride
Major pinball event in Pennsylvania; both speakers attended; featured multiple classic games and vendor booths including Cardona Pinball
Annual pinball convention held in Allentown, Pennsylvania fairgrounds; runs Friday-Saturday; claims 250-300 game capacity; includes tournament, vendor area, adjacent farmer's market
Large-scale pinball festival (300+ machines) with significant noise issues; venue for gameplay and new machine demonstrations; held in Texas area (implied from Princess Bride discussion with Texas Pinball Festival reference)
Australia's largest pinball show founded 2012/2013, held annually (primarily September, briefly November 2021-2022); grew from 60 machines/15 contributors to 90 machines/65 contributors; held at Club Macquarie, Argenton, Newcastle since relocation; 11th edition in 2024
Australian pinball convention in Newcastle where the game debuted on September 16, 2022
Allentown, PA; Predator whitewood displayed
Recent pinball show in Newcastle, Australia; featured Stern, Haggis, Homepin, and Jersey Jack games
Annual pinball convention held at Allentown Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania
Annual pinball festival in Newcastle, Australia; venue for public debut of This is Spinal Tap on September 18-19, 2022
Annual pinball festival held in Allentown, PA; major community gathering
Pinball enthusiast event held in July 2021; attended by Jack Raniéri; noted as return to pre-COVID gathering
Pinball event where Dr. Pin and Mrs. Pin sampled multiple machines (Houdini, Meeble Madness, three others) for potential home acquisition decision.
UK pinball festival; hosting Labyrinth stall ball competition next year; Scott first played Labyrinth there
Event in Allentown where same new manufacturer startup tease sign appeared
Pinball show/convention where Dune units were distributed to dealers and Flippin' Out Pinball
Pinball expo event where Pepe plans to debut Pinsnake Junior product
Pinball festival ending Saturday; Ron and Zach returning to Rochester by Sunday for August 1 IFPA tournament
Pinball festival spawned from Pizza and Pinball in Newcastle, Australia; Jessy Jay attended first event 8 years ago
Pinball tournament where Julie Dorces finished top female competitor; semifinals ongoing when episode was recorded (May 4th)
Major pinball tournament and marketplace event held in Allentown; nearly 240 players competed; changed playoff structure to top 32
Stern Pro Circuit event in Allentown; moved from original 2020 date
Event where Gonzo brought Star Trek TNG and received positive player feedback
Pinball event/trade show where Dune Pinball is being shown and played for the first time
Major pinball trade show; venue for Evil Dead, Dune, Kong gameplay observation; hosts attended to document content
UK's only dedicated pinball festival held at McCure Daventry Hotel, featuring 150+ machines, multiple tournament formats, charity fundraising, and streaming infrastructure
Pinball trade show/event where Dirty Harry was being demonstrated; venue for acquisition of reviewed machine
Annual event that was cancelled, prompting Fresh crew to pivot to Pinball at the Beach sponsorship
Pinball show in Pennsylvania, Joe's first show experience
Major pinball show where Kaneda played new games, observed community demographic, and noted Stern's absence of representatives