Warm Up Your Crazy Flipper-Fingers

Today’s gamers have it so damn easy. You no longer have to go anywhere to play a top-of-the-line video game. You can sit at home, download one right from your console and play it until your thumbs turn to taffy. The fact that anyone can beat these games isn’t even...

By Danny Gallagher

March 26, 2015

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Today’s gamers have it so damn easy. You no longer have to go anywhere to play a top-of-the-line video game. You can sit at home, download one right from your console and play it until your thumbs turn to taffy. The fact that anyone can beat these games isn’t even the worst part. You get unlimited lives! Remember pinball? You didn’t have the rules and goals read to you like you a kid who’s been tucked into bed by his mummy and you only had three friggin’ tries. If you wanted more, you had to use your last quarter and forgo a drink to wash down your Hot Fries from the vending machine. Thank the gaming gods for the organizers of the Texas Pinball Festival, who will show the modern gamer what it’s like to take on a true challenge. The annual gathering of pinball-heads will fill a floor of the Frisco Convention Center (7600 John Q. Hammons Drive, Frisco) with over 350 new and vintage pinball machines, all set to free play. Players can also take a few of their favorite arcade video-games for a whirl, compete in tournaments and meet some of pinball’s greatest designers and artists. The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday and lasts all weekend. One-day passes start at $25; weekend passes are available for $60 for adults and $35 for kids. More information at texaspinball.com.
Fri., March 27, 5 p.m.; Sat., March 28, 10 a.m.; Sun., March 29, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., 2015

Danny Gallagher has been a regular contributor to the Dallas Observer since 2014. He has also written features, essays and stories for MTV, the Chicago Tribune, Maxim, Cracked, Mental_Floss, The Week, CNET and The Onion AV Club.

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