Sponsor: Titan Pinball

Schedule Sponsor

12 pm to 12 am -Marriott Westchase-

Load in and set up

Load in/out and Setup

Load in and set up for Vendors and people who brought Games for free play.

7pm - VIP ONLY! - Hang out while we set up!

VIP show preview

Doors Open!

VIP ONLY!!!

12 am until 9am -Marriott Westchase-

On site over night Security

Security

Expo hired security and hotel security guarding the inside and outside of expo.

Noon - Doors open to the Public - Marriott Westchase-

Welcome!!!

Doors Open!

Doors open for people to purchase tickets and enter the show if you have per-purchased your tickets.

4pm Pre-war pinball -Seminar Room-

pre-war pinball seminar and question and answer.

History of Pinball

Historic pre-war pinball seminar and question and answer.

5 pm -Seminar Room- Q & A with Anna Bella of BOW WOW WOW

Q & A with Anna Bella Moderated by Blake Dumesnil

BOW WOW WOW

Come by the speaker room and have a 20-minute Q & A seminar with the lead singer of Bow wow wow Anna Bella it will be Moderated by Blake Dumesnil. This is not a meet and greet.

6 pm Mikel Allen - Seminar Room-

Gamer Cosplaying and how I do it! you can too!

Mikel Allen

I am a cosplayer who was born in Chicago and moved to Houston. Since I was a big guy when I started cosplay I had to build my own armor and props as well as sew my own cosplay outfits. I started cosplaying in 2017. Later I learned how to build and design wigs for afro centric hair. I have won cosplay competitions on stage at cons and online. I am the Co-Creator of Chicago POC cosplayers. A group created to bring inner city Chicago Black children together who want to learn how to cosplay and build props. I won the Cartoon Network Adult Swim cosplay contest in 2021. I won the cosplayer of the year award 3x from Urban Anime Lounge. I have appeared and was published in cosplay magazines, newspapers, and a cosplay calendars. My cosplay journey has been a very fun one and I don’t believe I will ever stop living this dream.

7:30 pm - Oscillation Communications - Main Stage

Oscillation Communications

Oscillation Communications

Ras David Synthesist is Oscillation Communications presents: Live Classic Arcade Soundscapes.

7 pm - Seminar Room- Ryan Sizemore

Virtual Reality Mighty Coconut Artist discusses VR and his work

Ryan Sizemore

Senior technical artist at Mighty Coconut specializing in 3D model optimization, shader creation, animations, and visual effects. Always on the look out to surprise and delight players with stunning visuals and fun hidden secrets.

8:00 pm - Karaoke night with Rob Layne - Speaker Room

Broken LED Karaoke

Robert Layne

Robert’s Broken LED Karaoke is the place to be if you’re ready to unleash your inner rock star! Swing by and grab a mic – we’ve got two of them, so duets are definitely on the menu. Whether you’re belting out power ballads or rocking out to classic hits, our broken LEDs add a touch of rebellious charm to the stage. So gather your friends, channel your favorite artists, and let loose at Robert’s – where every note is a chance to shine!

8:00 pm - Uncle Barry's Big Smoke- Located by the breeze way by expo

the Big Smoke!

Have a break and kick up your dogs and have a nice big fat cigar, chat with friends and of course Uncle Barry!

8:30 pm - JG and the Robots - Main Stage

JG and the Robots is EDM extreme

JG and the Robots

Exploring themes of transhumanism and sentience, JG and the Robots is a conceptual EDM multimedia experience that blends AI technologies with dance music performance and film. Its leader performs as a RoboSapien cyborg, accompanied by various other robots. The minds behind the ambitious project have now dropped their newest video, which utilizes "deepfake" artificial intelligence and computer-generated vocals to reconstruct the prominent 80s musician Thomas Dolby.

9:30 pm - Bow Wow Wow- Main Stage

Bow wow wow Live!

BOW WOW WOW

We're cranking up the party to 11 on Friday night, Nov 14th with our headlining special guest band that will be joining us for the 2025 Houston Arcade & Pinball Expo in just over a month! We're thrilled to announce that 80s icon Annabella Lwin and her band Bow Wow Wow will be performing on the main stage at 9:30 pm, bringing with them some fantastic hits such as "I Want Candy," "Baby Oh No," and "Do You Wanna Hold Me!" Bow Wow Wow will be performing FRIDAY NIGHT ONLY so make sure you've got a spot up by the stage for what's guaranteed to be a blast of a show!

10:30 pm - Atari Matt - Main Stage

Atari Matt kicks out the 2600 jamz LIVE!

Atarimatt

Atarimatt is rad. Biography: I make cool songs by reprogramming multiple Synthcarts. Band Interests: dreamcicles, new underwear, mowing the lawn, stupid shit, happy mayonnaise

11:30 pm - Gandalf the DJ - Main Stage

80s Dance Party!

80s Dance Party!

6400 / Numbers Mix! Classic 80’s New Wave, Goth and Industrial Dance! - get your 80s SWAG!!!!!

2am Doors Closed -Marriott Westchase-

Doors closed to the Public

Doors Closed!

2am - 10am -Marriott Westchase-

On site overnight Security

Security

Expo hired security and hotel security guarding the inside and outside of expo.

8 am - 12:00 pm Free Swap Meet -Front Hotel Parking Lot-

Free Swap Meet

Free Swap Meet!

FREE! Parking Lot Game Swap meet!

Bring your Arcade, Pinball, Console Stuff to swap and sell!
Saturday the 11th @ 8am, you can bring as much as you want for free!* First come First Serve!

9am to Noon: Barrels of Fun Factory Tour! Hotel Entrance

Barrels of Fun Factory Tour!

Barrels of Fun

JOIN US FOR THE 2025 BARRELS OF FUN FACTORY TOUR
SATURDAY, NOV. 15TH
Back by popular demand, we are opening our doors to the public for tours of our facility here in Houston, TX during the 2025 Houston Arcade Expo! EXCLUSIVE TO GUESTS OF THE HOUSTON ARCADE EXPO, we will be offering tours on Saturday, November 15th giving folks a peek behind the curtain at how our pinball machines are made from start to finish.
New to the 2025 tours, guests will have an opportunity to see our cabinet and metal fabrication shop, a 10,000 sq. ft. addition to our factory since our previous public tours in 2024.
NEW MERCH & SWAG BAGS FEATURING OUR 2025 FACTORY TOUR DUNE ART!
Tour guests will each receive an exclusive swag bag and have the opportunity to purchase factory-exclusive t-shirts, playfield seconds, game banners, merch, and more!
GET YOUR TICKETS BEFORE THEY SELL OUT!
Tours will be $25.00 per person and include charter bus transportation to the Barrels of Fun factory from the Houston Marriott Westchase, as well as an exclusive swag bag.
TOUR TIMESLOTS
Saturday, November 15, 2025
9:00 AM Tour (Bus Departure to the Factory)
10:30 AM Tour (Bus Departure to the Factory)
12:00 PM Tour (Bus Departure to the Factory)

10 am - Doors open to the Public - Marriott Westchase-

Doors Open!

Doors Open!

Doors open for people to purchase tickets and enter the show if you have per-purchased your tickets.

10:30 am Brett Weiss -Seminar Room -

Countdown: The 10 Most Magical Video Game Consoles!

Brett Weiss

11:30 am Tim Kitzrow & Paul E. Niemeyer -Seminar Room -

the Voice of the Game and a Game Artist & Designer talk shop!

Tim Kitzrow

Paul E. Niemeyer and Tim Kitzrow chat about their awesome careers in Arcade and Pinball Art and Voice Acting!

12:30 pm Activision/Audacity crew -Seminar Room -

FROM PITFALL TO CASEY'S GOLD - DESIGNING NEW RETRO GAMES FOR THE ATARI 2600

David Crane

Garry Kitchen, David Crane and Dan Kitchen will have a panel and it will focus on the following two areas:

  • Our extensive history in the video game industry from our working with Nolan Bushnell who founded Atari, to our founding of Activision and the hundreds of games we've developed over the years. We'll focus on stories and anecdotes pertaining to some of our most successful games such as PITFALL™, PITFALL II™, KEYSTONE KAPERS™, DONKEY KONG™ (2600) and GHOSTBUSTERS!™.
  • What it's like to design and develop new games in 2025 for retro systems such as the Atari 2600. How development differs and how it's the same as when we were creating classic games in 1980.

1:30 pm - Kevin O’Connor - Seminar Room

Famed pinball Artist Chats about his historic pinball art!

Kevin O'Connor

Kevin O’Connor is a prolific pinball artist whose career spans from the late 1970s to the present day, having created art for more than 60 machines. He started at Bally during the golden age of pinball, where he produced iconic artwork for titles like KISS, Centaur, Flash Gordon, and Star Trek—each featuring his signature use of vibrant color, dynamic figures, and imaginative compositions. O’Connor’s early success helped define Bally’s classic “house style,” yet he remained adaptable enough to work with other manufacturers (including Williams, Midway, Data East, and Stern), continually evolving his approach as technology and player tastes changed.

2:30 pm Homebrew pinball Round Table - Seminar Room

How the heck do I make my own homebrew pinball?

Scott Danesi

So you have a theme or an original idea for a pinball machine — how the heck do you make that into reality? Come hang out and chat with the folks who do it and have done it! This seminar is your chance to ask questions, get tips, and get motivated to make your own pinball homebrew history. Moderators: Imoto (Marco Pinball) & Aaron Davis (FAST Pinball) Creators Panel: Scott Danesi, Kyle Smet, Cayman Kai, Luke & Owen Underwood, and more!

3:30 pm Barrels of Fun pinball - Seminar Room

Houston's 1st pinball manufacture

Barrels of Fun

Come and chat with Houston's 1st pinball manufacture and the Design teams who has designed the Labyrinth, Dune and Winchester Mystery House pinball machines!!

4:30 pm Multimorphic pinball - Seminar Room

Gerry, Steven and Brad discuss the Portal pinball development

Gerry Stellenberg

The P3 is a modular, multi-game, pinball platform that merges the physical gameplay with interactive art, modular shots, and customizable cabinet. Come flip the latest creations at the Houston Arcade Expo

4:00 pm - Arcade/Pinball/ Console Trivia with Blake and Erich! - Main Stage

Trivia!!!

Gaming Trivia

5:30 pm - Mike, Michael and Kevin Chat about Stern pinball - Seminar Room

Mike, Michael and Kevin Chat about Stern pinball

Mike Vinikour

Mike Vinikour is an Associate Game Developer at Stern Pinball. Stern Army Street Team Leader, Driving Grassroots Pinball Community Growth Worldwide at the Local Level | Brand Advocate | Pinball Ambassador Kevin O’Connor is a prolific pinball artist whose career spans from the late 1970s to the present day

4:30 pm - Cosplay Contest at Houston Arcade Expo - Main Stage

Costume Contest!!

Cosplay Contest

Win trophies and prizes! Time to get your super cool Costume on and strut your stuff at the Houston Arcade expo! To Qualify for the contest you can be ANY character from any Console, Coin-Op Arcade game or Pinball This includes themed pinball’s and arcade games!

5:30 pm - Time Traveler Rock set by DJ Gandalf - Main Stage

DJ Gandalf!

DJ Gandalf

DJ Gandalf kicks off the evening with some kick butt Rock n Roll mixes!!

6:30 pm G to the Next Level -Seminar Room -

Growing Up Genesis: How Sega and Sonic Changed Gaming Forever

G to the Next Level

Join Sega Historian and Sonic Enthusiast, G to The Next Level, as they take you back to one of the most exciting times for the house that Sonic built: a celebration of the Sega Genesis! Time for a nostalgic trip down its history, important must-play games, hidden gems, and of course, Sega's influence during the 90s Console Wars. They will also discuss their Growing Up Genesis project: a compendium of every officially released Sega Genesis game across YouTube, Twitch (and perhaps a book!), letter by letter, and have a Q & A.

6:30 pm - Consortium of Genius Live on Stage! - Main Stage

Consortium of Genius

Consortium of Genius

Consortium of Genius controls the vertical and horizontal, they control the beats, and they control you as then rock out to some of their awesome originals and handpicked covers to take over the entire universe!!!!

7:30 pm - Scott Danesi DJ Jamz - Main Stage

Scott Danesi

Scott Danesi

(guest/Musician/Panelist) is the designer of the Rick and Morty and Total Nuclear Annihilation pinball machines released by Spooky Pinball. When he’s not designing games, he’s composing music or working on a number of cool things over at Pinball Life as their manager of 3D design and development.

7:30 pm Speaker - Todd Tuckey -Sat night Coffee Chat

Todd Tuckey

Bring your coffee and come hang out with Todd for a fun intimate relaxed chat about pinball and arcades. Question and answer format

8:30 pm - Karaoke night with Rob Layne - Speaker Room

Broken LED Karaoke

Robert Layne

Robert’s Broken LED Karaoke is the place to be if you’re ready to unleash your inner rock star! Swing by and grab a mic – we’ve got two of them, so duets are definitely on the menu. Whether you’re belting out power ballads or rocking out to classic hits, our broken LEDs add a touch of rebellious charm to the stage. So gather your friends, channel your favorite artists, and let loose at Robert’s – where every note is a chance to shine!

8:00 pm - Uncle Barry's Big Smoke- Located by the breeze way by expo entrance

the Big Smoke!

Have a break and kick up your dogs and have a nice big fat cigar, chat with friends and of course Uncle Barry!

8:45 pm - Everything INXS tribute band - Main Stage

INXS tribute band

Everything INXS

About Everything INXS A top flight tribute to the iconic Austrailian rock band whose music inspired the world to live, love, and party INXS. Forged in the decadent parties of the 1980s, and infused with a rock/blues sensual strut, this is the party band for all occasions. This is Everything INXS. Featuring all the sax, swing, and sensuality of the band you know and love. Don’t Change - The One Thing - Guns in the Sky - New Sensation Disappear - I Send A Message - Listee Likk Thieves - Bitter Tears Need You Tonight - Mediate - Beautiful Girl - Elegantly Wasted Not Enough Time - Kick - Suicide Blonde - Original Sin This TIme - The Stairs - Hear That Sound - Mystify Taste It - By My Side - Tiny Daggers - Never Tear Us Apart Good TIme - What You Need - Devil Inside - & More Band Members Thomas Brigham - Bass Curtis Cameron - Guitars Rick Gonzalez - Drums “Saxy” Dave Irvine - Sax Gabe Ruiz - Guitars Rob Smith - Keyboards/Synth Alby Vara - Vocals

10:00 pm - Radio Cult Puts on the Arcade Jamzzzz! - Main Stage

Radio Cult

Radio Cult

Radio Cult plays their house rocking original and awesome cover jamz. Houston's own Chris Palis on DRUMS! Sign up with the band ahead of time and a few cool folks from the audience who play instruments get to jam with them! Stay tuned

Midnight - DJ Gandalf - Main Arcade

Yacht Rock Disco Party

Yacht Rock Disco

Smoooooth with lots of ooos! Non Alcoholic Toast and Dancing to the best 70’s and 80’s soft rock and Disco! Get your Captains hat and Lei’s!

2:00 am

Doors closed to the Public

Doors Closed!

2am - 10am - Marriott Westchase

On site over night Security

Security

Expo hired security and hotel security guarding the inside and outside of expo.

10 am -Marriott Westchase-

Doors Open!

Doors Open!

Doors open for people to purchase tickets and enter the show if you have per-purchased your tickets.

10:30 am Speaker - The Austin Pinball Collective

Community Through Pinball

The Austin Pinball Collective

Flipping the Script: Building a Community Through Pinball

11:30 am - - Seminar Room- Barry Evans

The history of Sonic with the biggest sonic collector on the planet!

Barry Evans aka Sonic 1992

It all began as fun playing a new game from Sega in the fall of 1991,  Sonic The Hedgehog!  The love of the game set off a collecting passion that over the decades has become so big that it now holds a Guinness World Record!

12:30 pm Activision/Audacity crew -Seminar Room -

FROM PITFALL TO CASEY'S GOLD - DESIGNING NEW RETRO GAMES FOR THE ATARI 2600

Garry Kitchen

Our extensive history in the video game industry from our working with Nolan Bushnell who founded Atari, to our founding of Activision and the hundreds of games we've developed over the years. We'll focus on stories and anecdotes pertaining to some of our most successful games such as PITFALL™, PITFALL II™, KEYSTONE KAPERS™, DONKEY KONG™ (2600) and GHOSTBUSTERS!™. What it's like to design and develop new games in 2025 for retro systems such as the Atari 2600. How development differs and how it's the same as when we were creating classic games in 1980.

2:00 pm Trophy's -Main Arcade Room Stage

Awards Ceremony

Award Ceremony

Awards for best games and other categories.

2:00 pm Raffle -Main Arcade Room Stage

Game Raffle Winners!

Pinball Raffle

Pinball and Arcade Raffle Winners Announced!

2:00 pm Doors Closed -Marriott Westchase

Doors closed and end of the show

Doors Closed!

Show is over, hope you had a great time! Load out until 10 pm. See you next year!

2:30 pm - 10pm Load Out! -Marriott Westchase

Load out for Vendors, Exhibitors and folks who brought games

Load in/out and Setup

Show is over, hope you had a great time! Load out until 10 pm. See you next year!