Hey its Wes and welcome to DinkLife
I headed up to Independence, Ohio, for the Cleveland Pinball & Arcade Show, an event I had not visited in close to 10 years. I remembered going to earlier versions of the show around Northeast Ohio, including events near Cuyahoga Falls and even the Haunted Schoolhouse many years ago. My last experience had not been the greatest, so I was interested to see how much it had changed. This time, the Cleveland Pinball & Arcade Show was held at the Independence Conference Center connected to the Holiday Inn, and admission was $30 cash.
Once I got inside, there was a huge selection of pinball machines, arcade games, vendors, collectibles, and tournaments to explore. I found classics like Donkey Kong Jr., Dragon’s Lair, Cactus Canyon, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Medieval Madness, Big Bang Bar, and plenty more. There were also newer machines I had really wanted to see, including Winchester Mystery Mansion, Transformers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Pokémon. Some of my favorite things to discover were the strange custom machines and heavily modified tables that you just do not see every day.
I ended up spending about three hours at the Cleveland Pinball & Arcade Show and got to play pretty much everything I wanted. Winchester Mystery Mansion was one of the machines I had been especially excited to try, and I thought it was amazing. Sonic the Hedgehog was another highlight and was a ton of fun. Transformers was cool, although it did not impress me as much as some other newer games I had played. Beyond the machines, there were vendors selling retro games, arcade parts, pinball parts, signs, figures, and other collectibles. There were also pinball tournaments happening throughout the show, with one even being broadcast online.
Overall, I thought the Cleveland Pinball & Arcade Show had improved considerably since the last time I attended. The $30 admission felt a little steep, especially with other large pinball collections around Northeast Ohio, but there were enough rare, new, modified, and unusual machines to make the show interesting. If you are a pinball enthusiast in the area, there was definitely plenty to see and play, and I was glad I finally came back to check it out again. Remember, as always, whatever you decide to do, just get out there and do it!
Website:
https://clevelandpinballshow.com
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