Author Topic: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023  (Read 1917 times)

Offline hawknole

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Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« on: November 19, 2023, 10:00:41 PM »
Just returned from Free Play Florida in Lakeland.  Had a great time, all positives for me.  Venue was superb, the loading dock area was chill and everyone was helpful. Event was well organized with some fun activities on the main stage.  Setup of clustered games with pins located throughout forced everyone to roam around and see it all.

Easy access to Downtown Lakeland with some great food options and no hassle parking.  Great seeing friends and LAUGHING!  Awesome to meet some new folks too.

Looking forward to next year!

Offline PunkicCyborg

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2023, 10:40:36 PM »
Yeah this show rocked! the location was great and there was lots to do within a short distance from the convention center. The layout was especially awesome!

Offline Taygeta

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2023, 05:49:23 AM »
I was initially hesitant about the venue change, but I loved downtown Lakeland after hours and the convention center was plenty big and suited FPF well. Looking forward to more shows in Lakeland in the future.

Offline dgray341

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2023, 06:38:06 AM »
My son and I went Saturday.  It was our first time at Free Play and we're glad we went.  We lost over 6 hours in the middle of the day due to some family business we had in Orlando and that Orlando traffic was as bad as usual.  We got back to Free Play at 8pm and left just before 10.  We really liked the center and the parking.  I hope future events are held there too. 

Hawknole's Star Trek pinball was there and we really enjoyed playing it.  Always had to wait in line for it lol.

I liked playing some of the older games with my son who had never played games like that.  He was not happy with how quickly he died playing Tron but he is now addicted to the Ice Cold Beer game by Taito!  That thing is pretty neat and i had never seen one before.  He now wants to buy one!  lol

We did not take part in the competitions but they seemed fun.  The next time there is a show, I hope to be able to bring games though I'm not sure we'll ever be able to get our Baby PacMan to work again.
Baby Pacman, Stern Galaxy Pinball, Galaga, Atari Tabletop Football, Space Invaders Deluxe, Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball, Mortal Kombat 4, Premier Claw Machine, Bride of Pinbot, House of the Dead 4 DX, Smack-N-Alien

Offline MilitiaMan

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2023, 09:12:27 AM »
Another great event! Always great to see friends I only get to see once or twice a year.

We messed up and didn't book our hotel early enough and wound up in a hotel all the way out near I-4, which was kind of a bummer. But we made the best of it, and everything worked out just fine in the end. Next year, we will book much earlier and try to get into one of the hotels onsite - I think that would have made things even more enjoyable.

Big thanks to all that run the event, volunteer, vend, bring games, run panels or do anything to make these shows the best that they can be. It is a special feeling to see that many machines operating and being enjoyed by so many people all in one room. It honestly never gets old for me.

I was both surprised and humbled when Tutankham was awarded Best in Show - Arcade. To anyone that voted, thank you. I was completely surprised when that was announced and humbled that it was selected from so many high-quality machines.

Until next year,

Steve
MM

Sidenote

For anyone that had a machine for sale at Freeplay this year, I am curious to hear whether or not you sold your game. We always try to bring a mix of "keepers" from our collection and a few games to sell. In past years, I have never had any problem finding someone to sell or trade with and almost always sold every machine I put a price tag on. This year (and last year), I was only able to sell one game (last year a cocktail multicade and this year a Cruis'n Exotica). This isn't exclusive to Freeplay. I didn't sell anything at all at SFGE this year either. Just curious if others are experiencing the same.

And to the two collectors generous enough to bring those Warlords cocktail machines, I will never stop stalking you until I convince one of you to sell one to The Barn!
Current Barn Want List: Quantum, Timber, Star Castle, Zookeeper, Congo Bongo, Journey, Black Widow, Warlords C/T, Williams Duramold, Nibbler or Eyes.

Hit me up if you have any of these for sale, complete, project, or otherwise.

Offline hawknole

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2023, 10:27:01 AM »
Had a good time playing that Warlords!

Offline Neal_W

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2023, 02:24:27 PM »
Dons Pinball Podcast reported that a Stern, JJP, and AP(?) distros were at IAPPA, but I did not see any distros at FPF, so that was weird.  (were they setup somewhere I didn't find?)

The show and venue were nice, and I enjoyed the tourney.  Big BBQ sandwich and fries for $14 hit the spot.

I arrived early Friday and Sunday, so no $10 parking fee those days if they were charging at all on those days.

I used Marriot points and stayed in a hotel 10min away which was no issue IMHO and my car and cooler/snacks were parked near the entrance.   They had a sign to not bring in outside food/drinks.  *note to self - bring stealth backpack next year!

Congrats everyone on the great show!


Offline ibis

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2023, 03:13:00 PM »
Thank you for all the kind words, please know that I will share these wonderful comments and memories with the rest of the FPF board and volunteers who are not on this forum.

I want to thank you all personally for contributing and supporting this show, it is an honor to be apart of it and without your generosity it could not be possible to produce it for you and the general public.  A huge thank you from me to you all! 

I did want to share this link with the board.  Its a decent article but I do find it interesting that when you give an interview you really dont know what its going to turn into after they write it lol.  So enjoy the article and NO I was not a 'mean pinball player' when I was young lol!

https://orlandotechnews.com/2023/11/nostalgic-arcade-show-brings-organizer-back-in-time/

Offline SUPER 20G

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2023, 10:58:00 PM »
Had a great time with my daughter.  It was awesome to see the game lineup increase over the previous year.  We will be back again next year.

Side note:

Does anyone know if the Mortal Kombat 3 at the show was for sale?
Mortal Kombat/Mortal Kombat 2/Mortal Kombat 4/Killer Instinct/Killer Instinct 2/Marvel vs Capcom 2/CarnEvil/X-Men 4p/House of the Dead/Rush 2049x2/Wrestlemania/Ms.Pac/Street Fighter 2:CE/Aliens/TMNT 4P/Marvel Super Heroes/Fast & The Furious/Bad Dudes/NBA Jam TE/Alien vs Predator/Alien 3: The Gun/Area 51

Offline RussG

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2023, 01:44:29 AM »
Another great event! Always great to see friends I only get to see once or twice a year.

We messed up and didn't book our hotel early enough and wound up in a hotel all the way out near I-4, which was kind of a bummer. But we made the best of it, and everything worked out just fine in the end. Next year, we will book much earlier and try to get into one of the hotels onsite - I think that would have made things even more enjoyable.

Big thanks to all that run the event, volunteer, vend, bring games, run panels or do anything to make these shows the best that they can be. It is a special feeling to see that many machines operating and being enjoyed by so many people all in one room. It honestly never gets old for me.

I was both surprised and humbled when Tutankham was awarded Best in Show - Arcade. To anyone that voted, thank you. I was completely surprised when that was announced and humbled that it was selected from so many high-quality machines.

Until next year,

Steve
MM

Sidenote

For anyone that had a machine for sale at Freeplay this year, I am curious to hear whether or not you sold your game. We always try to bring a mix of "keepers" from our collection and a few games to sell. In past years, I have never had any problem finding someone to sell or trade with and almost always sold every machine I put a price tag on. This year (and last year), I was only able to sell one game (last year a cocktail multicade and this year a Cruis'n Exotica). This isn't exclusive to Freeplay. I didn't sell anything at all at SFGE this year either. Just curious if others are experiencing the same.

And to the two collectors generous enough to bring those Warlords cocktail machines, I will never stop stalking you until I convince one of you to sell one to The Barn!

Steve, I enjoyed playing your beautiful Tutankham arcade very much.  One of the nicest examples I've ever seen and played. It was great getting together and challenging one another on Congo Bingo and other games. There were some gait great plaing arcade this year over last year thankfully.
Some other standout arcades for me personally were: Omega Race, Star Castle, Turbo, Burger Time, and my friend's son killed Cubert Cubes.

Great show.  I hope next year we get more brand new pins to try.  I was hoping to see the newest Sterns, JJP, Spooky, American, Haggis, and others.  I really missed that this year.
What can we do to motivate the distributors and vendors to provide have next year?


Offline ArcadeAction

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2023, 02:42:25 PM »
The location/building/facilities worked out really well, I heard and overheard lots of positive comments. It was relaxing to have parking so available and easy. Saw and talked with lots of friends from around the state and beyond and met new ones too. Had a great time.

Offline ibis

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2023, 04:25:56 PM »
Had a great time with my daughter.  It was awesome to see the game lineup increase over the previous year.  We will be back again next year.

Side note:

Does anyone know if the Mortal Kombat 3 at the show was for sale?

I believe all the MK games are owned by Mike Bowers.

Offline ibis

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2023, 04:31:15 PM »
Great show.  I hope next year we get more brand new pins to try.  I was hoping to see the newest Sterns, JJP, Spooky, American, Haggis, and others.  I really missed that this year.
What can we do to motivate the distributors and vendors to provide have next year?

We would love to have those manufacturers represented too!  Unfortunately because of IAAPA the dealer of most of those manufactures is tied up to that show and unable to present them.  We have talked about moving the date to accommodate LSOG/Marshal and move away from IAAPA but either way we will continue to find a solution so the state can experience those great games at FPF.

Offline RussG

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #13 on: November 21, 2023, 10:51:49 PM »
We would love to have those manufacturers represented too!  Unfortunately because of IAAPA the dealer of most of those manufactures is tied up to that show and unable to present them.  We have talked about moving the date to accommodate LSOG/Marshal and move away from IAAPA but either way we will continue to find a solution so the state can experience those great games at FPF.

Leon, I think it's smart to move the date away from the same week as IAAPA.
Thanks

Offline deadlander

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Re: Good times at Free Play Florida 2023
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2023, 08:04:36 AM »
The event went very smoothly. Pinball lounge did a fantastic job with the tournament. Lots of scorekeepers and the games were brutal so wait times were at minimum. Staff at the event were welcoming and the loading dock was easy to negotiate. Stayed at the Spring Hill next to the event very nice newer room easy walk to show. While not everyone liked the move to Lakeland I think positives outweigh the extra i4 traffic. Thanks to all who voted for my TNA for best pin. A pleasant surprise I’m glad I cranked the volume. Co op mode is a fantastic option while playing with friends.  Good to see 2 tnas at a show.
Danny,  there's a lot of.... Well badness in the world today. I see it in the court everyday. I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber.... didn't want to do it.... felt I owed it to them.