The Museum of Pinball is a place you may not have heard of, for the simple reason that it is rarely open to the public. Located east of Los Angeles on an 18 acre plot, the facility plays host to over 1,100 pinball and video arcade games from the classic and modern eras.

The amassed cabinets represent the complete collection of founder John Weeks, and together with a slew of tech volunteers, he operates a non-profit organisation that aims to show young people that games don’t just appear on a screen, but can have a physical presence too. And of course, for those people who remember growing up with arcades, the facility is a great way to reignite their passion for pinball and video games.

Now having heard about thisoccupied, there was plenty more to see and play in the video game area. More than 500 cabinets were on display, and barring a few that were down while I was there (to be expected under the circumstances!), all were playable:

The best thing about the layout was that machines were largely grouped by manufacturer:

A few more highlights:

On the far right hand corner of the video game section was this year’s Kong Off competition. Hosted by Richie Knucklez, the event draws some of the best top-flight DK players from around the world such as Robbie Lakeman, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe:

Here’s my walk-through video of the video game area:

There was much more to do at the expo – dealers were out in the lot, as well as live music