Pinball Expo: The Heroes, the Highlights, and the Ones Who Stood Us Up
Summary
Pinball Expo 2026 recap: shorter lines, strong remakes, homebrew growth, Steve Ritchie retirement, and no Spooky reveals.
A solo video recap of Pinball Expo 2026 from Grownup Adjacent, focusing on community vibe and which manufacturers and vendors impressed or disappointed. Highlights include American Pinball large booth and Circus Voltaire Ringmaster, the growing homebrew village, Stern's 40th anniversary presence and AC/DC tease, Jersey Jack's Sonic and Steve Ritchie retirement announcement, and Multimorphic's Dungeon Crawler Carl. The host notes shorter line times this year and reports Spooky had no booth or announcements.
Just got back from Pinball Expo 2026 in Schaumburg and my body is still negotiating with the floor. Between the Homebrew Village, the factory tours, the smoke-detector evacuation, the late nights, and the sheer number of machines on free play, it was the usual beautiful chaos. This one is the honest version. Who stepped up and made the trip worth it. Who stood out on the floor and actually brought something worth talking about. And who… well, stood us up. The people, companies, and booths that promised presence and then delivered a whole lot of nothing. No sugarcoating. Just a middle-aged dad with a camera, zero filter, and a rapidly fading ability to walk in a straight line after four days of pinball and hotel carpet. You’ll see the stuff that actually moved the needle, the conversations that mattered, the machines that stole the show, and the ones that left us waiting. If you weren’t there, this is the closest you’re going to get without the sore feet and the post-expo recovery playlist. Hit the like if you’ve ever been stood up by a vendor or a hype train. Drop a comment: Who stood out for you at Expo this year? Or who stood you up?
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