Los Angeles, CA
Pinburgh and the TPF are the same weekend. I've never been to either, but I think it's time to step up to a national tournament.
Which one would be better for a decent, but not stellar player like myself?
Where is everyone going?
(Topic ID: 77001)
Pinburgh is the best tournament there is. Period.
Especially if it's your first big competitive event. The social element and number of games you'll play is second to none.
Quoted from sleethering:Pinburgh is the best tournament there is. Period.
Especially if it's your first big competitive event. The social element and number of games you'll play is second to none.
Ditto
You will not find a more friendly group of people in the world than here in Texas. It is the friendship state after all. If all you want to do is play tourney events that is one thing, but if you are going for the overall package then TPF can not be beat. We have great tourneys too with really good players.
Granted the top ifpa players seem to be concentrated closer to the Midwest part of the country so most of them will be at Pinburgh.
I say come to Texas 
but, I am sure Pinburgh is a great event too. I'm not going to fall into the trap of bashing anyone's event or tourney as I know how hard they are to put on and organize. Isn't it nice there are multiple events for people to attend?
Ken
Www.pinballrebel.com
Pinburgh is recognized as the best pinball tournament there is. If that is what you are after, there you go.
If playing over 400 machines, seeing awesome customs, meeting new people and playing what you want.... when you want... for as long as you want... is what you seek: come on down to the TPF.
TPF is positioned to be the largest pinball event in the nation in regards to attendees and machines. I believe that the event in Frisco 2014 will be one for the record books.
You cant go wrong either way bud.
Quoted from pinballrebel:You will not find a more friendly group of people in the world than here in Texas. It is the friendship state after all. If all you want to do is play tourney events that is one thing, but if you are going for the overall package then TPF can not be beat. We have great tourneys too with really good players.
Granted the top ifpa players seem to be concentrated closer to the Midwest part of the country so most of them will be at Pinburgh.
I say come to Texas but, I am sure Pinburgh is a great event too. I'm not going to fall into the trap of bashing anyone's event or tourney as I know how hard they are to put on and organize. Isn't it nice there are multiple events for people to attend?
Ken
http://Www.pinballrebel.com
Classy response!
And please please please never schedule these 2 phenomenal events on the same weekend ever again....
Yes. Two different type of events. TPF is a very nice festival with a tournament. Pinburg is THE tournament. Both are on my must do list. Geography brings me to TPF for now.
Quoted from zsciaeount:Pinburgh and the TPF are the same weekend. I've never been to either, but I think it's time to step up to a national tournament.
Which one would be better for a decent, but not stellar player like myself?
Where is everyone going?
Honestly, I would go to TPF than Pinburgh -- and then come to the PAPA World Championships in August.
1. Pinburgh is one of the best tournaments in the world and it's social aspect is really fun, but it has a defined schedule that you'll be following. The WC really doesn't, besides the start and end times of various tournaments. You can play at your own pace, enjoy the practice banks for as long as you wish, go get dinner, go back the hotel to nap, etc.
2. Way more games are used for Pinburgh, so at PAPA WC you would have many more games to play when you are not playing competitively
3. Pinburgh is full
No doubt Pinburgh is a great event. I believe 400 players is the cutoff? If you are number 401 and up, you can come to Texas and get your family of 4 in for less than what 1 entry cost at Pinburgh.
If you are a hardcore tournament player and and that's all you're into, Pinburgh is where you want to be. If you want a pinball show with hundreds of games to play, special guests such as Steve Ritchie, Roger Sharpe, John Borg, Dirty Donny (and more to be announced), parts suppliers & vendors from all over the USA, a chance to win a new Star Trek Pro benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project, a first look at PPS's MMR, collectors from all over sharing the best of their collection with you, the largest pinball only auction in history, a swap meet on Saturday morning, you can stay at at the event at the beautiful Embassy Suites hotel (it's so nice to be able to walk from the event up to your room and back down to the event), lots of shopping and restaurants surrounding the event, and of course TPF has tournaments.
TPF and Pinburgh dates overlapping was not intentional. We've explained it in other threads. It's a BIG country with a lot of states between the two events. I have no doubt both wil have successful weekends.
Looks like having both events on the same weekend didn't slow Pinburgh down at all. In fact, TPF attendance will probably go up since a lot of players that wanted to get into Pinburgh failed to do so.
Tpf and pinburgh aren't very similar and aren't really geared toward the same type of experience. TPF is great at what it does and so is pinburgh. My guess is no matter which you attend it will still be a blast.
Quoted from mhs:Tpf and pinburgh aren't very similar and aren't really geared toward the same type of experience. TPF is great at what it does and so is pinburgh. My guess is no matter which you attend it will still be a blast.
If they weren't scheduled simultaneously, we wouldn't have to choose!
The Texas show is really hard to schedule due to the venue size we need. Very few venues in north Texas are bid enough. Then you have to find a date at that venue that will work. Keep in mind in Texas we can go to early in the spring due to the chance of ice. (I know it sounds crazy but it does happen
--
Ken In Texas
http://www.pinballrebel.com
Custom Pinball Cards, Jukeboxes, Drive In's
"Never ask a man if he's from Texas.
If he is, he'll tell you on his own.
If he ain't, no need to embarrass him."
Quoted from alveolus:If they weren't scheduled simultaneously, we wouldn't have to choose!
Ok, seriously, of the 400 players going to Pinburgh, 350 have probably never been and most likely had no intention of coming to TPF anyway. I could easily compare the past TPF guests list against the Pinburgh players list to show this. About 30 Pinburgh players may or may not have come to TPF. Only about 20 had to make a serious choice. We know who the top tourney players are that come to TPF. I would venture to say less than 15 are skipping TPF this year to go to Pinburgh. It's ok. I believe Pinburgh has sold all of their 400 spots? Which is great! So what should the other 20,000 pinball enthusiasts do that weekend? Except for the 20 of so players that had to choose, TPF and Pinburgh being on the same date do not affect each other at all. We love having the top tourney players at TPF, but honestly for every well known player that doesn't come to TPF, 10 lesser known players step up if they feel they have a better shot. TPF and MGC overlapped a couple times and both shows did great. This year, MGC and Rocky Mtn Show overlap and I'm sure both will do great. The main thing is there are so many pinball events today and not enough weekends in a year. I believe Pinburgh owns their location and machines? I would think it would have been a lot easier (but not necessary) for Pinburgh to change their date. TPF and other shows are at the mercy of trying to find a venue that works for them and an available date.
Quoted from alveolus:If they weren't scheduled simultaneously, we wouldn't have to choose!
I think this year is the exception, rather than the rule. Conflicts happen occasionally, but in the end, both events will be successes, and I have no doubt everyone involved is interested in avoiding the overlap in the future.
I personally would like to attend TPF at some point, so there's even personal incentive to make the schedule work. In the end, it's all about having fun, so no matter where you end up, keep that in mind.
Quoted from Ed_in_Texas:Ok, seriously, of the 400 players going to Pinburgh, 350 have probably never been and most likely had no intention of coming to TPF anyway. I could easily compare the past TPF guests list against the Pinburgh players list to show this. About 30 Pinburgh players may or may not have come to TPF. Only about 20 had to make a serious choice. We know who the top tourney players are that come to TPF. I would venture to say less than 15 are skipping TPF this year to go to Pinburgh. It's ok. I believe Pinburgh has sold all of their 400 spots? Which is great! So what should the other 20,000 pinball enthusiasts do that weekend? Except for the 20 of so players that had to choose, TPF and Pinburgh being on the same date do not affect each other at all. We love having the top tourney players at TPF, but honestly for every well known player that doesn't come to TPF, 10 lesser known players step up if they feel they have a better shot. TPF and MGC overlapped a couple times and both shows did great. This year, MGC and Rocky Mtn Show overlap and I'm sure both will do great. The main thing is there are so many pinball events today and not enough weekends in a year. I believe Pinburgh owns their location and machines? I would think it would have been a lot easier (but not necessary) for Pinburgh to change their date. TPF and other shows are at the mercy of trying to find a venue that works for them and an available date.
Your argument fails to account for players like me who would love to go to Pinburgh but can't stomach the idea of missing the TPF. I just want to attend both, darn it!
Quoted from mhs:I think this year is the exception, rather than the rule. Conflicts happen occasionally, but in the end, both events will be successes, and I have no doubt everyone involved is interested in avoiding the overlap in the future.
I personally would like to attend TPF at some point, so there's even personal incentive to make the schedule work. In the end, it's all about having fun, so no matter where you end up, keep that in mind.
Not to mention that March-April seems to be pretty packed with shows and tournaments now.
What a problem to have.
Quoted from limelime20:Will there be 400+ pinball machines at TPF.? just checking
That's the goal. 400+ pinball/classic arcade games (with the majority being pins). In the end, the number of games at the show depend on the collectors and vendors that bring them. I think we will hit our goal.
I think a lot depends on what you want at a 'show.' The papa facility does have 400+ machines, but there's a ton of duplicates (so much they may only really have 200 discrete game titles.) So the Texas show (assuming it has 400 machines too) may have more actual game title variety. Also if you could have a complaint about papa (stretching here), their EMs generally don't really play well. Heck they have a lot of machines to attend to. At Texas the work load is spread out more (people bring 1 or 2 games generally), so you may get better quality. That's just a guess though.
Also i'm not a big tourney person, so for me, the Texas thing seems better. But papa is only 4 hours from me, and i could always go during the summer. So since papa is open twice a year, Texas sure seems like a better idea...
Actually the Papa Facility has way less duplicates than it did a few years ago and has a greater variety of titles as a result. Many more early SS's and Em's present.
The woodrails at PAPA do need some serious working on, hope they get to those eventually.
My decision was made for me when pinburgh sold out in less than 2 hours. I have off from work and I was planning a pinball weekend, so I'm going to check out the texas pinball fest this year. Really looking forward to it.
Quoted from pinballrebel:It is the friendship state after all.
The pinball community maybe. (*EDIT* Actually, you know what, I'm going to partially rescind that statement after the antics of the last few days...we're about as friendly as a pack of hornets when it comes to competitions. Outside of that..perfectly okay.) Just don't talk about politics unless you have a death wish..
I think one thing that will make TPF interesting this year, and I've kind of done an about-face on my feelings about this, is that there should be a *massive* number of games for sale. I know I've got my eye out for a few.
Tournament area should have some nice upgrades as I'm sure there's been a good amount of focus put on improving that after last year, and I intend to take advantage of it.
I love both and I've been to both but since competitive pinball is higher on my list than speakers and browsing vendors... Pinburg will always win.
I hope to the heavens you guys have a better tournament this year... last years was a total train wreck.
TPF is more of a fun tourney with smaller payouts.
Pinburgh pays out more than any other pinball tournament in the world.
the lowest division at pinburgh pays out higher than the main division at TPF.
TPF is a show.....with tournaments
Pinburgh is a tournament using 200 ish games, (with another 200 more games set up for non tourney play.)
Pinburgh cost zero to enter the building and you can play the extra games on coin play, you don't have to play in the pinburgh event.
TPF you pay a door entrance fee and games are on free play.
tpf has vendors with parts and games for sale.
Pinburgh does not..
you are really comparing apples to oranges.
pends your personal interest.
Me personally, i choose the higher payout tournament aspect over anything, so pinburgh wins by a longshot.
Even if i won first place in main and modern and classic divisions at texas, the flight and hotel fees would cost more than the winnings.
TPF is closer for me, so I'm planning to go there in late March and bring a pinball machine.
I made it to TPF in 2012 & 2013, and much enjoyed it. 
Entering tournaments is not high on the priority list for me, but I may enter this year.
Quoted from mhs:I think this year is the exception, rather than the rule. Conflicts happen occasionally, but in the end, both events will be successes, and I have no doubt everyone involved is interested in avoiding the overlap in the future.
Just being honest here, with more and more shows and the locations for them being tougher and tougher to reserve, I think that it's pretty regular that shows will overlap. The MGC conflicted with Texas for like four years and then Ohio for like four years before that, through nothing other than those were the dates that the shows had. This year, the MGC was *supposed* to conflict with both of these shows again, but thanks to some lucky maneuvering, we were able to move the MGC.
Quite frankly, that sort of move chance has NEVER happened to us before. We currently have dates until 2017. And when a show organizer walks in and they tell them, "Hey, you can have these dates for next year, but that's all that we have with the full space," generally that organizer doesn't go, "Well, shoot, that intercepts with a show 1000 miles away, guess we'll cancel."
From what I understand, both shows are great. If you're ONLY going for the tournament and spots are still available, I'd tell someone who was talking to me to pick Pinburgh over the MGC (the show I run) even if you were in my backyard. If you want anything else out of your show, I'd probably suggest Texas.
Quoted from Replay:I went to TPF last year, the festival was incredible, absolutely loved it; the tournaments - not so much. The experience did provide me the motivation to commit to going to Pinburgh this year though.
That's a bummer about the tournament set up at TPF last year. Too bad it left a bad taste for you.
Good luck at Pinburgh, Phil.
Mike O.
For the overall experience TPF is the choice and is where I will be that weekend. If you are a big tournament player then Pinburgh is the obvious choice.
The potential for warm weather in TX is another plus that is not lost on me.
Mike O.
Quoted from MikeO:The potential for warm weather in TX is another plus that is not lost on me
That's why we're getting a truck with a ramp this year...so I don't die of heat stroke. Bringing what looks like 5 pins and probably a Ghettocade.
Quoted from goatdan:...The MGC conflicted with Texas for like four years and then Ohio for like four years before that, through nothing other than those were the dates that the shows had. This year, the MGC was *supposed* to conflict with both of these shows again, but thanks to some lucky maneuvering, we were able to move the MGC.
Quite frankly, that sort of move chance has NEVER happened to us before...
But, you of course know you're on the same dates as RMPS this year.
--
Rob Anthony
Pinball Classics
http://LockWhenLit.com
Quality Board Work - In Home Service
borygard at gmail dot com
nicely put GOATDAN. with shows and tourneys on the rise, more than ever, there is bound to be overlaps.
you just have to pick and choose what fits for you.
Oops, make that 4 pins and a ghettocade....but technically I will still have five pins there...puzzle that one out. 
Quoted from Borygard:But, you of course know you're on the same dates as RMPS this year.
AND Zapcon, I think it is, so now we intercept more shows than ever before!
Having said that, again, it's just basically impossible. The dates we moved to were basically the only dates that we could, and the chance to move backwards by two weeks into a time frame where there is warmer weather since we're going to be paying to heat a MASSIVE structure, well, it made sense. Even if I had known that the other show's dates were on those same days, I don't think that I could have made any different choices, except to not hold the show, which really wasn't an option.
And so again, it would be awesome to be able to not intercept anyone, but it's an unfortunate reality dealing with the size that these shows are, the convention space available, and the number of weekends in a year that work for hosting such an event. I'd love to run on a weekend where no one else is running, but it all comes down to sheer luck.
Someday I might get into tournaments.
For now, I am into having a beer, walking around with a pocket full of $1 bills and challenging strangers to $1 games on machines I have never owned or played before. LOL. Extremely entertaining. With a $1 on the line... you play to win!
Quoted from Jared:Someday I might get into tournaments.
For now, I am into having a beer, walking around with a pocket full of $1 bills and challenging strangers to $1 games on machines I have never owned or played before. LOL. Extremely entertaining. With a $1 on the line... you play to win!
Bangerjay would approve of this message.
Quoted from Jared:Someday I might get into tournaments.
For now, I am into having a beer, walking around with a pocket full of $1 bills and challenging strangers to $1 games on machines I have never owned or played before. LOL. Extremely entertaining. With a $1 on the line... you play to win!
Challenge accepted! 
Quoted from Jared:Someday I might get into tournaments.
For now, I am into having a beer, walking around with a pocket full of $1 bills and challenging strangers to $1 games on machines I have never owned or played before. LOL. Extremely entertaining. With a $1 on the line... you play to win!
I accept the challenge as well but you better have more than a $1 bill with you. If we play we play for more than your lunch money!
Quoted from Marc:I accept the challenge as well but you better have more than a $1 bill with you. If we play we play for more than your lunch money!
Fine by me....
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