This year was our third UK Pinfest, Luke and I were there from Thursday through to Monday, but this year we decided to do something a little different — we took two of our own pinball machines with us: World Cup Soccer and Lethal Weapon 3.
It was the first time we’d ever taken machines to an event. In fact, it was the first time I’d ever transported a pinball machine anywhere! We hired a van, loaded up the two pins and headed to Pinfest, feeling excited but also slightly nervous about whether they would survive the journey and a full weekend of constant play.
When we arrived at the event, we had some much-needed help unloading the machines, which was an absolute lifesaver and massively appreciated!
Our machines at Pinfest
Both machines held up brilliantly and seemed really popular. They were switched on from 10am until midnight, and nearly every time I walked past, somebody was playing them. It was especially funny hearing groups getting completely carried away with the matches on World Cup Soccer. There were some truly epic footy battles taking place throughout the weekend! ⚽️
On Sunday morning, WCS developed a problem with its ramp diverter sticking. Paul and I had a go at fixing it and managed to improve it a little, but with so many members of the public playing the machine, it needed to be right.
We submitted a repair ticket, and one of the brilliant Pinfest engineers came over and sorted it for us. The machine was down for around 60 minutes, but as soon as it came back online, people jumped straight onto it again. Apart from that short spell, WCS ran throughout the event without any further problems. Lethal Weapon 3 was an absolute workhorse and played all weekend without missing a beat!
Watching so many people enjoying our machines was a brilliant feeling and made all the effort of transporting them completely worthwhile.
Taking part in the competitions
As well as playing all the machines on the main show floor, Luke and I entered both the Classics Competition and the Open Competition. We did okay and even managed to pick up some IFPA points — International Flipper Pinball Association ranking points — so we were both really pleased with that!
Luke also volunteered to help with the Classics Competition and completed several scoring slots. I was really proud of him, especially when he volunteered to do even more to help out.
So many great games
There was an awesome selection of machines at Pinfest this year. Pinball Heaven and Retro brought along loads of the latest games, including Transformers, Pokémon, Sonic, Harry Potter and Bon Jovi.
There was also Beetlejuice and the new Star Wars machine, alongside a huge selection of older games and classics. There was always something different to discover or another machine demanding “just one more game.”
For the first time, lots of the Stern machines were also online through Insider Connected. It was brilliant being able to log in and have our games recorded while playing at the event. It seemed to be a massive success and was really popular throughout the weekend. Seeing so many connected machines together added something extra to the experience and made the whole event feel even more interactive.
Luke’s top three games of the weekend were:
- Pokémon
- Rollergames — which Paul ended up buying!
- Bally’s Night Rider
My favourites were:
- The Shadow — there was an amazing example on the show floor, and it played better than any Shadow I’ve ever played.
- Pokémon — mainly because Luke and I played it together so much.
- Alien Star — a machine I’d never seen or played before. I discovered it during the Sunday-night after-hours session and absolutely loved it.
Total Nuclear Annihilation, it was set up in its own tent, which made the whole experience even better. With the lighting, music and incredible sound, you could really get into the zone and become completely immersed in the game. Watching Luke battle his way to multiball was great fun! ☢️
Andy B joined us on Sunday afternoon, and we had a good wander around the show floor together, playing plenty of machines along the way.
The people make Pinfest
As much as we loved playing the machines, the best part of the whole weekend was the people.
It was brilliant catching up with so many friends from the pinball community. We had loads of great chats, shared plenty of laughs and spent far too much time talking about machines, repairs, new releases and everything else pinball-related!
We also met lots of new people throughout the weekend. Whether we were playing together, chatting beside a machine, helping each other out or just having a drink, everyone was so friendly.
The after-hours sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights were some of my favourite parts of the event. The atmosphere was fantastic, and it gave us even more time to play, relax and properly catch up with everyone.
There was lots of flipping, drinking and laughing, but it was those conversations, catch-ups and new friendships that really made the weekend special.
The machines are obviously a massive part of Pinfest, but it’s the people and the community around them that make us want to keep coming back.
I finally bought a Jaws!
I also managed to pick up some cool pinball gear over the weekend…and treated myself to something slightly bigger! After thinking about it for a long time, I finally pulled the trigger on a Jaws Premium. I collected it after the show, loaded it into the van and brought it home with us.
I’m really happy with it. Jaws is an awesome game, and the particular machine I bought is so nicely dialled in. It plays brilliantly and was definitely a fantastic way to finish the weekend! 🦈
On Sunday night, Paul and Andy helped Luke and me load our pins back into the van. A massive thank you to them both — it was a big help and made the job so much easier after a long weekend!
We had an absolutely brilliant time and are already looking forward to UK Pinfest 2027! 😄
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