Skillshot at Pinfest Weekend for Pinball

We had a fantastic time at Pinfest, spending the weekend surrounded by pinball machines, players, collectors and enthusiasts from across the country. Skillshot took along a selection of machines from our club to support the event and add a little bit of South Wales flavour to the line-up. Seeing our machines being enjoyed by so many different people made all the effort of getting them there worthwhile, and it was great to be part of such a busy weekend of pinball. Events like Pinfest are also a brilliant opportunity to meet people from across the pinball community. We caught up with plenty of familiar faces, met new players and made some useful new contacts along the way. Pinball is a relatively small world, so having owners, operators, repairers, collectors and competitive players all together in one place makes for some excellent networking as well as plenty of conversations about machines, repairs and what everyone is planning next.

Of course, one of the best parts of Pinfest is simply getting to see and play machines that you might not normally come across. There was a huge variety available to play, from older classics through to some of the latest releases. It is a great opportunity to discover a machine you have never played before, compare different eras of pinball and get some inspiration for what you might want to add to your own collection or, in our case, perhaps what might eventually find its way onto the floor at Skillshot!

There is also plenty to interest anyone looking to buy a pinball machine. Being able to see machines in person, speak to owners and sellers and actually play different titles is much better than making a decision from photographs alone. Naturally, we spent some time seeing what was available for sale and keeping an eye out for anything interesting. With our own collection constantly changing, events like this are a very good place to see what else is out there. For anyone who enjoys the competitive side of pinball, Pinfest also provides the chance to get involved in competitions. Whether you are an experienced tournament player or have never entered one before, playing competitively adds a completely different dimension to pinball. There is always that extra bit of pressure when every ball matters, but the atmosphere and the people involved make it great fun regardless of where you finish.

The icing on the cake for us came when our Stern Flight 2000 won Best Pinball in its class at the event. That was a particularly nice surprise and something we are genuinely proud of. Flight 2000 is a machine we are very fond of, so seeing it recognised at an event packed with fantastic pinball machines made bringing it along even more worthwhile. It returned to Skillshot with a little bit more bragging rights than it had when it left!

A huge thank you to everyone involved in organising Pinfest and to everyone who played the machines we brought along. We had a brilliant weekend, enjoyed catching up with the pinball community and came home with plenty of ideas and an award! We are already looking forward to the next opportunity to load up some machines and do it all again.