Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show
The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show is an annual pinball and arcade game festival held in Tacoma, Washington, United States.
The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show draws around 3,000 collectors and fans each June to the Seattle area. The festival began as a small annual event held by Washington pinball collectors, but in 2008 became a full-fledged regional convention featuring 125 pinball machines, arcade games, electro-mechanical games, with speakers, vendors and tournaments. In 2013 the show expanded in size, prompting a move from the Seattle Center to the Tacoma Convention Center.
2025
The 18th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 6–8, 2025. There were over 400-500 playable machines.2024
The 17th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 7–9, 2024. There were over 400 playable machines.2023
The 16th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 2–4, 2023. There were over 400 playable machines.2022
The 15th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 3–5, 2022. There were over 400 playable machines.2021
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show was cancelled. The action was specifically taken "...with the current ban on large events at this point in the pandemic, the Greater Tacoma Convention Center remains closed to public events.”2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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, 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 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) and Sinistar, as well as dozens of pinball machines including PIN•BOT, Taxi, Cyclone, Bad Cats, Fish Tales, The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot, Police Force, 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 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 Seattle Center 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 talked about his experience in pinball design. Pinball artist Doug Watson spoke about his experiences as a pinball artist. John Popadiuk spoke about his history with pinball design. Eugene Jarvis, video game and pinball designer and programmer 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, Steve Wiebe from the movie The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Walter Day, and pinball designer John Popadiuk. Special guests included pinball and arcade designer Steve Ritchie, ex-NBA player Todd MacCulloch and arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel. The show also featured world record attempts and the IFPA sanctioned "Northwest Pinball Championships" tournament, drawing top pinball competitors from around the world.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 arcadedesigner George Gomez, arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel, and pinball designer John Trudeau. Show featured IFPA 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 WhitmarshMario Bros. 418,870 by John Bartkiw and Ross Benziger Metal Slug X 1,286,660 by Jordan VickPopeye 1,238,110 by Perry RodgersPunch-Out!! 18,999,970 by Sean Sandnes
Pinball games -24 94,596,880 by Zach SharpeCentigrade 37 371,850 by Keith ElwinFirepower 1,154,600 by Keith ElwinFour 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, game artist and sound creator Greg Freres, music and sound designer Brian Schmidt, 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 on Donkey Kong. David Nelson from Twin Galaxies 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. Walter Day hosted a press conference to present the International Video Game Hall of Fame's inaugural ceremony with 12 world record high score holders.Seventeen world record high scores were set at the 2009 show:
Video arcade games:Kicker 1,958,000 by Chris Mansfield Vs. Excitebike 3,205,205 by Jesse Corrington
Pinball games:2001 12,617 by Shane Pace4 Square 6,591 by Logan JohnsonBank-A-Ball 1,673 by Brian CadyBig Casino 1,993 by Warren EngDomino 7,910 by Rick EspeFlip-A-Card 8,933 by Warren EngFlying Carpet 8,437 by Steve FeinGrand Prix 1,060,300 by Eden StammJacks Open 209,180 by Zach SharpeJoust 79,432 by Tim HansenKing Kool 102,610 by Trevor McDonaldKing Pin 81,040 by Steve FeinShrek 53,204,390 by Neil ShatzSky-Line 1,295 by Shirley CadyTheatre of Magic 7,323,064,830 by Neil Shatz