Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Pinball Expo coming next week

The 30th Annual Pinball Expo is taking place Oct. 15-19 at the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel. Highlights include a factory tour of Stern Pinball and a launch party for Stern’s newest release, The Walking Dead. Over 100 machines will be available to play, with many for sale. Also on the agenda: an autograph session with past and present pinball luminaries, a two-player team tournament, the Flip Out tournament, and on-site game repair. For more information, call Mike Pacak (330)518-3141; (

Fishbowl Frenzy at EAS

Team Play’s new redemption game, Fishbowl Frenzy, was shown at the European Amusement Show (EAS) in Amsterdam at the end of September. The game features a festive carnival theme and the mechanical action of dropping balls with 3D animation on a 65-inch, high definition transmissive LCD.

Frank Pellegrini, President and Co-owner of Team Play, said, “We were trying to keep the game under wraps until the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in November, but we agreed to let Betson Enterprises take Fishbowl Frenzy to EAS.” He added, “It isn’t even in production yet. We haven’t finalized the pricing structure, and still the orders have been pouring in. Fortunately, everything is progressing according to schedule, and we expect to start shipping Fishbowl Frenzy by mid-October. Our distributors can hardly wait.” For more information, visit (

New Intercard installations

Intercard has been selected as the debit card provider for an upscale restaurant and entertainment venue being developed by Namco Entertainment Inc. The new 40,000-square-foot facility, LEVEL 257, is scheduled to open in January 2015 and will feature a classic game parlor, 16 boutique bowling lanes and entertainment spaces, and a central restaurant.

In addition, Intercard has been selected as the debit card provider for BOWLERO in San Antonio, Texas. This is the first announcement regarding a cashless system provider since Bowlmor AMF became the largest bowling center operator in the country following its acquisition of Brunswick Corp. last month. Bowlmor AMF now operates more than 360 bowling centers in North America, 20 of which host the Intercard system. For more information, visit (

Echaves establishes Retro Activ Games

San Diego-based industry veteran and game designer Carlos Echaves has established a new company, Retro Activ Games. The company has developed Lighting Streak, a quick play redemption game that follows the path of other successful Echaves games including Smokin’ Token, Wonder Wheel, Horsin’ Around, and SpongeBob Squarepants. Echaves said, “Lighting Streak is a quick play, high revenue generating game that is easy to understand and fun to play.”

The game play features one pinball launch through a spinner per turn. Five sets of lighting bolts and triangles spin clockwise with the spinner’s action, eventually stopping on one set. That triangle stays lit as additional turns are taken and new triangles are hopefully lit. The player earns tickets every play, and the operator decides the payout level. When the player lights up all five triangles at the same time, he wins the mega bonus of between 50 to 1,000 tickets. Retro Active Games has teamed with Utah-based DSM Sales & Mfg. to produce Lighting Streak. For more information, call (800)738-8618.

Laguardia joins Play It! Amusements

Carlos Laguardia has joined Play It! Amusements Inc. as the company’s new Latin American Sales Manager for all Sega Amusement Games. Laguardia began his coin-op career in 1992 with Taito. He joined Sega in 1995 and led the company’s efforts in the Latin American market until the early 2000s. He left the industry to fulfill a dream of opening a Cuban restaurant, Cafe Laguardia in Chicago, one of the only Michelin-rated Cuban restaurants in the U.S.

Paul Williams, President and COO of Sega Amusements, said, “Carlos has a well-earned reputation of integrity and professionalism. His rejoining our team gives us a respected bi-lingual sales pro to oversee the extremely important Latin American market.” Laguardia can be reached at (847)899-5663; e-mail ().

Adventure Golf debuts GolfCourtHittingBay

Adventure Golf Services is introducing GolfCourtHittingBay, a golf driving cage to improve golf skills. Hitting Bay features a fabric golf scene behind the back impact driving net to entice golfers into more target-oriented swings and immerse the user into a golf environment. There are standard and deluxe models; custom designs are also available. Adventure Golf will have brochures and details on this product at the upcoming International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Orlando next month at booth #4231. For more information, visit (

Photos:

1 (Fishbowl Frenzy at EAS)

2 (Lighting Streak)

3 (Carlos Laguardia pdf)