The Texas Pinball Festival is back in Frisco this weekend after a two-year break. The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of concerns about COVID-19.
"It was incredibly disappointing both times," festival organizer Paul McKinney said. "We're elated to be back."
The event features hundreds of pinball machines, all set to "free play". It's an opportunity for fans to play some classic games and try out new machines.
"The Texas Pinball Festival has been kind of instrumental in creating new manufacturers that have built new pinball machines," McKinney said. "When we started in 2002 there was only one manufacturer left. Now we're up to about 10 all over the world, and several of them got their start right here at our show."
While pinball may not be as popular as it was in the 1960s and 1970s, McKinney said there has been a surge of interest in the past few years as people stuck at home looked for new entertainment options.
"They didn't have a place to go, so they spent their money fixing up the house and building out game rooms," he said. "There was already kind of a surge in people purchasing pinball machines for themselves back when COVID hit and things slowed down, but it actually kind of picked up during that time frame."
The event will also feature presentations from game designers and manufacturers, pinball tournaments, and celebrity guests.
The Texas Pinball Festival runs Friday afternoon, March 25 through Sunday afternoon, March 27 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in Frisco. Tickets are available at the door or through the festival's website.
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