July is a busy month for arcade collector events and so let’s take this opportunity to highlight a few of them. If I am missing any, please let me know and they will be added to the ‘roster’.
July 6th & 7th: Salt Lake Gaming Con (Sandy, UT)
First let’s start off with one that begins today and it just so happens to be taking place about 15 minutes South of where my arcade calls home. The Salt Lake Gaming Convention celebrates all things gaming, from board gaming to consoles to arcades and pinball. I am not setting up any games although I could have taken a pinball machine over there if I had wanted to. In previous years there was almost no focus on arcades but this year someone seems to have realized how much such games add to an event. A local pinball gaming group, the Salt Lake Area Pinballers, have organized a few tournaments and additional pinball machines have been provided by the Game Exchange Of Colorado. The official website for the con can be found here.
July 7th & 8th: New Jersey Gaming Con (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Out East in New Jersey is another event that also has a focus on all forms of gaming although I’m pretty sure that the two conventions here mentioned have nothing to do with the other. The New Jersey Gaming Con starts tomorrow and goes through Sunday with plenty of arcade gaming goodness to enjoy. Also, Doc Mack from the Galloping Ghost Arcade and Brian F. Colin of Game Refuge and formerly Midway will be there to show off the arcade fighter Dark Presence and the remaster of the unreleased The Spectre Files. Visit the official website here.
July 26th-29th: Replay FX (Pittsburgh, PA)
Also out East, but later this month, is the next Replay FX event in Pittsburgh. This one has been going for a few years now, boasting a massive collection of arcade and pinball games among other attractions. A list of probably arcade machines if found here; pinball found here. This event is promising over $100,000 in prizes between the many tournaments that are being run, from the games themselves to cosplay. Visit their official website here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuzKKctZXB4
July 28th-29th: California Extreme (Santa Clara, CA)
While I’m not sure if I’ll be making it down to the Salt Lake event this weekend, I am locked in for this one in California. One of the longest running arcade collector events will be taking place in the Bay Area and once again you can expect to find hundreds of arcade/pinball games, tournaments, seminars and more to enjoy. It should also be noted that this will mark the first official appearance of Exa-Arcadia and their ExA board hardware in the United States; six games will be available to play for this one. Their games list can be found here; the official website here.
July 28th-29th: Let’s Play Gaming Expo (Irving, TX)
Last but not least is an event happening the same weekend as Replay and CAX but for those in the middle of the USA. This one will also have tournaments, seminars and so on like the others although it does sound like their arcade is not quite as large as the RFX/CAX events do. You can check them out here.
That’s all I could find for now. If you have the opportunity, go and have a blast at one of these events!
