Pinball Expo 2024: 40 Years of Flipping Fun

The Pinball Expo could be considered the “Super Bowl-level” event of the pinball world, drawing in thousands of visitors from around the world each and every year. Now held at the Renaissance Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, IL, right outside of Chicago, this trade show/celebration of pinball has been running strong since 1985. Recognized as the “longest-running pinball event” by none other than Guinness World Records, it's a show unlike any other, and a true spectacle for any pinball fan. With Pinball Expo 2024 being the 40th year of the convention, founder Rob Berk knew that he had to put on a larger-than-life show. Between the incredible show floor, excess of all-star panels, and the most competitive tournament I've ever taken part in, it's safe to say that Pinball Expo 2024 did not disappoint.

A Pinball Player's Paradise

Pinball Expo is the one place where, without fail, you can find every major manufacturer in the pinball industry, all prepared to present their latest and greatest machines. Stern, Jersey Jack, Spooky, Chicago Gaming Company, and many more are all represented in full, showing off the best that their brands have to offer. But the booths of the big companies are just a small part of the massive show floor, which increased notably in size over previous years.

Vendors aplenty line the rows, selling everything from pinball machine mods to pixel-art fridge magnets. Pinball isn't the only thing on the menu, as ample game stations housing classic video games are open for casual play, while a fair share of retro game vendors are ripe with rare titles to purchase. That said, scattered between the booths, lining rows, and tucked in every conceivable corner, hundreds of pinball machines are waiting to be played. It's an onslaught of excitement and endless things to inspect, where the only reasonable option is to dive in headfirst.

Stern Debuts Two New Titles

Stern brought not one, but two new machines to Pinball Expo 2024, with the big focus being on The Uncanny X-Men. The latest pin from recent-hire designer Jack Danger, The Uncanny X-Men combines an incredibly unique layout with pop-off-the-playfield comic book art from Zombie Yeti, making for an unforgettable first plunge. Though I had the pleasure of playing an LE copy of the game before the event, this was my first chance to try out the Pro and the Premium models, both of which were a blast. Despite some awkward setup problems, like balls failing to make it all the way around wire forms and some weird plunge issues, I still found myself enjoying the pin quite a bit and am excited to see what further code updates will bring.

Stern's second new game (or not new, depending on your perspective), brought to the floor a few days into the show, was none other than Metallica Remastered. Long rumored but only officially revealed the week before Pinball Expo 2024, this new version of John Borg's classic pin features stunning new art, a modern LCD display, and new modes with code tweaks. While I only got one chance to play Metallica Remastered, my prior experience with the DMD-era Metallica served as a solid point of comparison. In short, the remastered version is the Metallica pin that everyone knows and loves, but it feels notably faster, slightly more excitable, and with an art package that's as badass as can be.

It also helps that Stern's booth was one of the best on the floor, with ample space, a huge variety of modern Stern machines to play, and a party atmosphere constantly in effect. Oh, and it had carpeted flooring. After spending all weekend walking around the hotel and concrete show floor, the lush red carpet of Stern's booth felt like heaven on the heels. Perhaps the coolest part of the entire booth was the “Danger Room”, an enclosed area with several Uncanny X-Men machines, drenched in exceptionally cool lighting, and easily the best way to experience this fresh new pin.

Jersey Jack Takes Us to Pandora

Not to be outperformed by Stern, Jersey Jack Pinball also had a big presence at Pinball Expo 2024, firing on all cylinders with their latest pin: Avatar: The Battle For Pandora, designed by company newcomer Mark Seiden. Completely embodying the concept of a “world under glass” The Battle for Pandora is a beautiful machine to both watch and play, with exceptional lighting effects, countless path balls, and a few bonus playfields to find while playing.

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With six flippers at your disposal, you'll be ripping shots across Pandora, engaging in multiballs, and even fighting a crab-suit mech in one of the lower playfields. The game also features a day and night cycle, but don't expect a dimly lit playfield, as nighttime reveals some awesome glow-in-the-dark elements of the art, along with purple and blue accent lighting that perfectly emulates the distinct atmosphere of Pandora's darkest hours.

DPX Goes Down the Rabbit Hole

DPX, a spin-off company of Dutch Pinball, had a small showing of their debut game, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. More so than many other machines, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was generating a lot of buzz at the show, leading to long lines of attendees that wanted to check it out. By the time I waltzed up to the machine, the game had been set to two balls only in an effort to limit wait times. I was lucky enough to play a four-player match that included the game's designer, Melvin Williams, who was more than happy to discuss his design philosophy for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. “I approached this project wanting to create the complete package. New, interesting shots. A real world under glass.” Melvin was more than excited, to say the least.

However, now that I've played a couple of balls worth of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I can't say I'm all that impressed. The playfield art is colorful and eccentric for sure, but the cabinet art feels behind the times, sporting a half-naked Alice that's more cringe than seductive. There's not a ton of flow to the game either, as I found most shots easy to backhand, the center ramp ridiculously easy to make, and most of the modes underwhelming. Over the course of my two balls to play, I was able to complete several modes, screw around on the upper playfield, hit most of the major shots, and didn't really mind that my third ball was forfeited. Still, it was good to see some playable units on the floor that were drumming up conversation.

Spooky, American, and More Bring Their Best

As I mentioned before, almost every major pinball company was on the floor and ready to show off their games, and while not every manufacturer was revealing a brand-new machine, it was still well worth it to stop by each booth and flip around. American Pinball had a wonderful thematic display for Galactic Tank Force, the B-movie-style tale of ice cream and exploding tanks, which seemed particularly packed. Chicago Gaming Company also brought numerous copies of Pulp Fiction and Cactus Canyon for attendees to try, further adding to the selection of fantastic new titles.

On multiple occasions, I snuck over to the Spooky Pinball booth to play some Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Scooby-Doo, both highly underrated in my humble opinion. As always, Creative Director of Spooky, Corwin “Bug” Emery, was hanging out all weekend long with the rest of the crew, and I couldn't help but grab a “Bug's Scream n Stream” t-shirt to show my support (thanks, Colin). Another booth I was gravitating toward was the Pinball Brothers, who had brought ABBA to show off. Although I'm not the biggest ABBA fan around, the pin served as a fun shooter that kept me thoroughly entertained.

Turner Pinball Heats Up

An absolute standout of the show was Ninja Eclipse, created by Chris Turner of Turner Pinball. After a somewhat underwhelming showing at last year's event, Chris returned to Pinball Expo 2024 with a completely new model, modified based on player feedback. I got to play quite a few games of Ninja Eclipse back in July at the Sweeper City Pinball Championships in Canton, Ohio, and it was just as fun to play at Expo as it was then. Again, I was blown away by the theme integration, interesting geometry, and fun mode progression, and decided to pick Chris' brain about his design process.

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“When it came to Ninja Eclipse, everything started with the theme”, Chris said, emphasizing the importance of the ninja aesthetic. “There are so many elements of the game that were completely designed around the theme. For example, the outlane ball save was directly inspired by the NES game, Ninja Gaiden.” After he points this out, it's clear as day, with the zig-zag pattern of the ball save clearly reminiscent of the grappling hook movement from the 8-bit video game. In fact, it seems like Ninja Eclipse was the unspoken favorite of Pinball Expo 2024, as many attendees were more than happy to plop down a pre-order. As of now, Ninja Eclipse has completely sold out, due in major part to the excellent showing at Expo.

Rare Games, Free Play, and So Much More

Of course, the show floor was far from the only point of interest available at Pinball Expo 2024. Multiple panels were spread across each day, including career retrospectives from top designers like John Borg, a goofy game show run by Dwight Sullivan, and a top-tier industry retrospective panel including the likes of Pat Lawlor, Steve Ritchie, Roger Sharpe, Jack Guarnieri, and many more. That said, if you wanted to chat with these legends, all it took was a bit of courage to say hello, as many could be found walking around the show floor or in their respective company booths.

At one point in the evening, while playing the wonderful Borderlands 2 machine in the homebrew section, I suddenly felt a large crowd gathering around me. Curious as to why everyone suddenly cared about my game of Borderlands 2, I was stunned when I turned around to see none other than George Gomez, Keith Elwin, and Jack Danger of Stern Pinball, watching on and waiting to take their turn. Between games, I chatted with George Gomez about his favorite homebrews of the show, and though he was inspired by the entire line-up, he couldn't help but share some highlights. “The playfield on Portal is exceptional, Borderlands 2 is super unique. It's just so hard to pick any favorites as they're all so cool.” I share the exact same sentiment.

Across from the show floor, there was also an excellent free play room that was jam-packed with pins to play, and not just your average common machines. Tucked away in one corner was a lineup of five rare pins created by the Australian company, Hankin, including The Empire Strikes Back, Shark, Howzat!, Orbit 1, and FJ. A slew of other lesser-seen games were also available, like Defender, Time Warp (complete with banana flippers), Q-Berts Quest, and more.

However, the rarest games in the building could still be found on the show floor in the “Pre-War Speakeasy”, which housed several bagatelle-style machines, the precursor to modern pinball. Usually held at Past Times Arcade as exhibit pieces (no touching allowed!), at Pinball Expo 2024, you could actually play these century-old relics. Quite literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Big Competition in the Windy City

Just a short walk through the hotel, away from the convention floor, you could also stumble upon the tournament room, where the FlipOUT! Tournament Series was underway. Hosting a Main, Women's, and Classics tournaments, this is by far one of the biggest pinball competitions of the year, both in terms of player count and sheer size. The Main and Women's FlipOUT! Tournaments follow a “Limited Best Game” format, which is pretty easy to understand. After paying your registration fee ($110 for Main or $40 for Women's), you are given a limited number of attempts. Lining the walls are dozens of Stern machines to pick from, and you must put up a decent score on 16 different machines in your qualifying round. With enough attempts to retry just a handful of machines, it's a test of both your confidence on a wide variety of games and your ability to consistently put up high scores. On the other hand, Classics follows “Herb-style” format (better known as “pump and dump”), allowing unlimited attempts based on the amount of cash you're willing to spend.

I decided to pass on the Classics tournament, as it seemed like the Main tournament was going to take up enough time already, while my partner Sabrina opted to enter the Women's tournament. Qualifying was fun and went surprisingly well, putting me in 74th place out of 230 players overall, a performance good enough to secure a spot in the A Division playoffs. Unfortunately, when playoffs took place on Friday, I fumbled in my first match, quickly falling into the loser's bracket. Despite the early loss, I was overjoyed to play with a series of wholesome competitors, like Jackie Olson from San Francisco, who gave me a real run for my money on Star Wars Premium. Though I managed to survive several rounds in the loser's bracket, my run ended with an intense match-up against Alex Lecky from Chicago, who took me to school on Jurassic Park and Iron Maiden (though I did get a pretty solid win on James Bond 007 Premium). When all was said and done, I ended up finishing around 64th place in A Division, a performance I am definitely proud of.

With a field of players that included some of the absolute best in the world, the A Division Main Finals were a sight to behold. Thankfully, everything was streamed live on Twitch, courtesy of Fox Cities Pinball! Towards the tail end of the winner's bracket, some true pin masters were flexing their skills, with the likes of Preston Currie, Escher Lefkoff, Zach McCarthy, and Dalton Ely all battling for the final two spots. For the grand finals, Zach McCarthy faced off against Jack Slovacek, who had battled his way back from the loser's bracket for this final showdown. In the end, Jack emerged victorious, with Zach, Escher, and Preston taking second, third, and fourth. 

The Women's playoffs was reportedly a gauntlet of endurance that lasted into the wee hours of the morning, with the grand finals between Jackie Olson and Samantha Bacon. Ultimately, Jackie was crowned the Women's Champion, with Samantha coming in second, Kaylee Campbell in third, and Leslie Ruckman in fourth. For Classics, Zachary Parks clinched the win in a heated match against Josh Sharpe, while Nick Campbell nabbed third place, and Bob Matthews secured fourth. Overall, everyone played their absolute best and it was inspiring to see the enormous talent of these players, the skill ceiling continuing to ascend with no stop in sight.

The Cream of the Crop

With all that considered, the best part of Pinball Expo is the memories you make, as cheesy as that might sound. But it's true. The pinball community has a reputation for being kind, welcoming, and warm, and Expo is a perfect example of that. Ask anyone you meet, “What's your favorite part of Expo?”, and the answer becomes clear. When I dropped that question on John Borg, his immediate answer was “Oh, meeting all the people, 100%. It's always great to chat with all the fans and old friends, I love it.” Nodding my head, I also couldn't help but ask... “Have you ever heard the phrase, 'getting Borg'd'?”, but that's a story for another time.

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Talking shop with designers was fun and all, but it's the fleeting, random moments that stick out most in my mind. Waxing nostalgic about a Ford Mustang with my buddy Dominic Labella, exploring the show floor with cassette aficionado Tyrus Eagle, and guiding Jack Danger to the tournament room (which blew his mind) are all unforgettable highlights of my time at Pinball Expo 2024.

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However, there is one moment that I'll always cherish. Late one evening, I received a mysterious message from an informant who will remain anonymous, and was gracious enough to guide me to one of the best-kept secrets of Pinball Expo 2024. Secluded in a comfy corner in the Renaissance Hotel lobby, the sweet treat savior from St. Louis, “Berz”, had brought homemade ice cream to share. The flavors were numerous: roasted strawberry banana, salted caramel, and an iconic vanilla bean. Robert W from Texas had also brought homemade macarons, and together, made for a blissfully delicious nightcap after a long day of pinball excitement.

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Pinball Expo 2024 felt big, and I'm not just talking about the size of the show floor. Between the world-class panels, massive collection of amazing pins, and a seriously competitive tournament, each day of the convention was a joy to attend. The atmosphere of excitement was thick, machines were packed with players, and it’s becoming obvious that the general interest in pinball is on a steady rise. If you haven't made the trip out to Pinball Expo yet, I recommend making it a priority pinball event for 2025.