I am looking forward to hosting FLiPs at my home on Sunday, October 19 from noon until 5pm, with a high probability for people to stay and play after the official event is over. As is my norm, this is an open invitation to the broader pinball community, although at some point I may need to control the number. I can typically handle up to 40-50 people, with FLiPs members getting first priority (as it is a FLiPs event) I have no intention of turning anyone away, but there is some number where it simply will not work. Hopefully, we will have a nice full (but not over full) house. It would be a great help if people could RSVP directly to me at rdonohue at hoyt dot org as soon as is practicable. I welcome guests, not everyone has to be a player. I will probably have to ask that this is a no small children event, with exceptions possible for close friends and family. Sorry, but it can get a bit hectic and too many kids with not much to do is a problem. I expect that my kids will be there, and my son has asked for, and received permission, to sell popcorn at the event for his Cub Scout troop. No one is required to purchase, but if you like popcorn, the Trail's End popcorn is pretty good..
I will be providing food and drinks, and would really appreciate an RSVP from those who will be attending so that my wife, Jeanne and I can make sure that no one goes hungry or thirsty. We will have snack foods, various appetizers and burgers, brats and dogs or barbecue from the grill. I will have beer, soft drinks, bottled water and fruit juices available. If you have any particular dietary needs or restrictions, please let me know and we will do our best to accommodate those needs. For those who smoke, there is no problem with smoking outside, and there is plenty of room to do so.
Again, the event will start at 12:00 noon at my home and has no defined ending time at the moment. although the end of the formal FLiPs event will be at 5 pm. The games will not be going away, but at some point there needs to be an official end. If you get there early, it is no big deal but be prepared to be put to work. There will be some FLiPs tournament (rules to be announced) will be early on in the festivities (all welcome to play), and the remainder of the time will be open play on whatever games you choose to play. My address is in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, 33418. I will provide an exact address when I reply to the RSVP. I assume that most of you have GPS or the ability to map from your location, but if you want directions, please let me know where you will be coming from and I will be happy to send individual directions. As a check of your GPS or mapping software, I am just off the Donald Ross Rd. exit on I-95. If you need to reach me in connection with this event, or get lost on your way up (or down), my cell phone number is (561) three zero eight zero five five six.
My gameroom is approximately 1,000 square feet and there are approximately 31 pins available for play at the moment. There will likely be additional games set up for play in another garage, and there are likely to be a few games available for purchase, as one or two people have asked if they could bring a game for people to see and play and potentially purchase. If gmes are made available, I will have them listed on this thread,
A partial list of the games that I expect to be there and operational are as follows:
Taxi
Black Knight
Banzai Run
Spiderman (Stern)
Theater of Magic
Target Pool
Jack in the Box
Bullseye Baseball
Paragon
Paul Bunyan
Pinbot
Diner
Eight Ball Deluxe
Terminator 3
Genie
King of Diamonds
Lord of the Rings
Haunted House
Addams Family
Terminator 3
Sweethearts
Judge Dredd
Centaur
Elvis
ACDC
Medieval Madess
I may be missing a game here or there, as I am going from memory. There may be some other pins there, depending on various factors. Also available will be two skeeball machines, a shuffle bowler, a claw machine, Golden Tee, an EM Gun Game, Ms. PacMan Galaga Reunion, two Megatouch games and the manikin EM Baseball Game called Batting Practice another pitch and bat and at least one or two surprise games brought in for the event.
I have about 2 acres, so parking is not an issue. Unlike some of the other events, there are no major space limitations, so you are welcome to bring a guest/spouse/etc. Let me know the count when you RSVP. Again, if things get to big, I reserve the right to cut off guests and/or non-FLiPs members. Once you have RSVP’d for a guest and I have replied, they are in and the invitation will not be retracted. So, this is an incentive for you to RSVP as early as possible. Clearly, we have some events where quarters are a bit tighter, but we should take advantage of the larger space for this event. I may also invite some of the Northern guys who are not generally able to attend FLiPs events. There will be enough games and enough space that some causal players should not impede the tournament.
So, please let me know, via email , if you plan to attend or will be unable to attend as soon as possible. Your cooperation in this regard is greatly appreciated. Also, if you can make it, but not until later than the approved starting time, please let me know.
If you figure out you can make it at the last minute, you are still welcome. You might miss the tournament, but you will still be able to play plenty of pinball, shoot the breeze with friends and put on the feed bags. Again, just let me know you are coming.
Thanks,
Ron