Ottawa pinball show features retro games, antique machine exhibit

Over 150 pinball and arcade machines are brought in to a single room in the Nepean Sportsplex every year for the annual Ottawa Pinball & Gameroom Show, which takes place September 21-22 this year.

It’s a place where pinball and retro technology enthusiasts alike gather to test their trigger finger on a variety of old and new machines.

About 100 of those machines are exclusively pinball cabinets, and about half of the pinball machines are owned by event organizer Josh MacKay.

The event started back in 2011 and since then, the show has developed a community of fans and travelers from across Canada and the U.S to “relive that 70s and 80s arcade experience,” McKay said.

“Some people really like the gameplay. I’m more on the technical side and fascinated with the mechanics and electronics of [the machines],” he said.

MacKay also said the history of pinball is another aspect of what interests him.

“You can pretty much follow the progression of all electronics and mechanical equipment just based on pinball. They’ve existed since the 16th century in France… just a piece of wood with pins in it,” he said.

This year’s event features a museum exhibit of antique machines dating back to the 1920s to 1940s. One machine in the exhibit was even used as court case evidence in the first case of intellectual property and bootlegging in U.S history, purchased by MacKay.

Other antique and notable machines on display include a pachinko machine, a pool-pinball hybrid game from the 1950s and a playing card themed game in a wood cabinet, also from the 50s.

While the show markets itself as an annual event – the largest and longest-running pinball expo of its kind in Canada – last September's tornadoes, which knocked out power across Ottawa for several days, prevented the show from running last year.

“We had set up the whole show last year before the power went out. We had 150 games set up and ready to go,” MacKay said. “With the power out Friday we were hopeful that Saturday it would come on, so we all showed up first thing in the morning.”

Unfortunately the power was not restored in time and the machines were forced to sit in the dark without anyone to play them, prompting the organizers to pack up and wait another year.

But thanks to the many people who refused refunds on V.I.P tickets already purchased and an additional fundraising campaign launched by the expo’s fans, MacKay was able to recuperate his losses.

“[The community] started a GoFundMe and I was able to pay off pretty much everything that I had to pay on the room that was outstanding. It’s a real tight-knit community and it was a real good display of camaraderie in a niche group,” he said.

The Ottawa Pinball & Gameroom Show is currently running all weekend for $20 admission per day and $10 for youth 12 and under.