Apologies in advance for the length of this post, but I am trying to make sure everyone has the same info.
I am looking forward to hosting FLiPs at my home on Saturday, October 13 from noon until 6pm, with a high probability for people to stay and play after the official event (and the IFPA tournament) 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. Last year, we had approximately 90-100 people and it was a bit tight. So, it is somewhat first-come first-serve, with FLiPs members getting first priority (as it is a FLiPs event). I do not open the event up with the 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 too 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 use the RSVP system to gauge the food and beverage buying, so it is helpful if everyone let me know how many are coming. It is easier for me to keep track of things if you use the direct email rather than the Village system I welcome guests, not everyone has to be a player. Based on past history, there will be plenty of spouses in attendance.
We are having an IFPA approved tournament this year and everyone is still welcome to play. If you are worried that you are not a serious player, don't. Your participation will have no impact on the players who are more concerned about points, unless you beat them. If you do beat them, good for you. Perhaps this event will encourage you to jump in on future tournaments. The IFPA tournament will have 48 spots initially, but we may upsize that if we have interest from more than 48 players. The format is simple, and will be explained prior to the tournament commencing. If you do not wish to play in the tournament, you can play any of the non-tournament games. I ask that all are respectful of the tournament and the time constraints it imposes. In addition to the IFPA tournament, there will be several mini-tournaments and a kids tournament, with trophies for all tourneys (including IFPA) provided by your host. I will be paying all IFPA fees, so there will be no entry fees of any kind.
Please reach out to me individually about kids attending. If our kids do attend, as always you are responsible for keeping an eye on them and keeping them entertained. I do expect that my kids will be there (along with some guest kids). This is primarily an outdoor event (with the exception of the game room) so if your child is not good with being outdoors most of the day, this may not be the event for them. I note that 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 and it provides a lot of support to our local Cub pack. It is not by any means a value purchase, but most of the money goes to the local Pack.
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. If there is something in particular that you enjoy and want to bring for your own consumption or to share with the group, you are free to do so. I have a large commercial grill, so we should be fine with getting food out in a timely fashion. If you bring drinks, you might try to bring a cooler and some ice or another way to keep them cold, as I will fill every cooler and fridge I have with drinks the day before the event and may not have a way to keep your drinks cold. I will ask that if you wish to recognize 4:20, please do so prior to or after the event, rather than at my place.
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 most likely be by 8 pm. We will put out appetizers early and fire up the grill around 1pm/The tournament will start at or around 2 pm and proceed until there is one player left. The games will not be going away, so folks are welcome to play after the event is over. If you get there early, it is no big deal but be prepared to be put to work. I have a crew that routinely shows up to help and they are an invaluable part of the process, particularly the Loxahatchee boys and the Friday set up crew.
My intention is that there will be free play early on in the festivities (all welcome to play), followed by food prior to the tourney starting, then the tourney, and the remainder of the time will be open play on whatever games you choose to play. There will also be some side tournaments, with the number and character to be determined. My address is in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, 33418. I will provide an exact address when I reply to the RSVP. I am heading out of town on Thursday this week and will be back on Sunday, so there may be a slight delay in my acknowledging your 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 game room is approximately 1,000 square feet and there are 30+ 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 games are made available for sale, I will try to have them listed on this thread,
A partial list of the games that I expect to be there and operational are as follows:
Taxi
Banzai Run
Spiderman (Stern)
Attack from Mars
Target Pool
Jack in the Box
Bullseye Baseball
Paragon
Jacks Open
Pinbot
Diner
Eight Ball Deluxe
Terminator 2
Terminator 3
Genie
Air Aces
Lord of the Rings
Haunted House
Addams Family
Sweethearts
Judge Dredd
Centaur
Elvis
ACDC
Medieval Madness
Royal Flush
Joker Poker
Iron Man
Hurdy Gurdy
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 one or two skeeball machines, a shuffle bowler, a claw machine, an EM Gun Game, Ms. PacMan Galaga Reunion, two Megatouch games and the manikin EM Baseball Game called Batting Practice (if I get it fixed in time), plus a pitch and bat machine. There will also be a couple of 30's games from Jeff in Vero. I note that there are usually at least one or two surprise new or unique games brought in for the event. I would expect Curly to bring the newest Stern and other friends to bring a special or rare title. I expect that to be the case for this event, but there are no guarantees at this point in time. When I know the guest games, I will let you know.
I have about 2 acres, so parking is not an issue, although you may be required to park on grass or at a modest distance from my home. Let me know the count and names when you RSVP. I need to know the full name of anyone planning on playing in the tournament, so the names can be put into the software in advance. That saves a lot of time. Again, if things get too 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. 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
