Prepare again for happy fingers and thumbs.

Get ready again for happy fingers and thumbs, because after more than two years of interruption due to COVID, the Midwestern classic games are competing at its annual game conference.

Starting Friday night, the entire weekend will be held in the Wisconsin Center, the trade show will once again fill this huge space with games and gamers who like them. This year’s conference has more than 250 coin-operated arcade games and pinball machines-including some cabinets for a new American pinball game called "Legend of Valor" and Godzilla Stern Pinball favorites-all These all use a free-to-play mode, no dormitory is required, more than 200 console games, from iconic classic games to new blockbusters and buried gems, a vinyl record jukebox full of iconic video game music, more than 50 table games, A tournament suitable for games of all brands, a large number of vendors selling various geek products and even two Tesla cars, which serve as their own arcade machines to play games on the dashboard.

Basically, if you are a game fan-any type of game-there is a section waiting for you in the Midwest Gaming Classic lobby. (A complete list of vendors, events, and display game types is available on the event website.)

However, for co-founder Dan Loosen, the most exciting part of Midwest Gaming Classic's return is not any of the hundreds of games that plug into the wall, connect to the controller, or fight on the board. This is not even the Kung Lao and the Scorpions party show hosted by Kung Lao himself (or at least the performer who played him in the sequel to the "Mortal Kombat" fighting game). 

This is the return of those who really press start and play the game. 

"The game is completely inferior to the rest of the show," Loosen said. "My business partner Gary (Heil) calls it a social trade show, not anything else. This is a trade show that shows you how to build a community. Have a place where the community can come together."

This attitude makes more sense when you consider the origins of classic Midwestern games: the infamous video game failed. As early as the late 90s, Loosen and Heil heard the wind at the Atari Jaguar Festival, which is a tribute to the forgotten video game console, which has only 50 games in a short period of time, almost all other major games The sales of the aircraft have been hit. Time and help push the industry icon Atari to never make video game consoles again. But even though it lost its legacy, Loosen and Heil still love the console-most importantly, they found others online to share their strange feelings for Jaguar and want to go out and play.

"In 1999, the (music festival) was held in Rochester, Minnesota. This was the first time Gary and I went on a trip together-it was a revelation, I realized that we can like niche things and find people," Luson Recalled. ""There are things like Atari Jaguars, but very little. Mainly to interact with these communities in real life. "

Two years later, Loosen and Heil proposed to host the Atari Jaguar Festival in Milwaukee-this is the first year that later evolved into a classic Midwestern game. Although the event has grown tremendously—from less than 100 people in 2001 to more than 15,000 people in the last time it was held in 2019—this attitude still drove the show: it is related to the console and the cabinet itself. It has nothing to do with the human community formed around it. them. This is why the conference evolved from a disappointing 90s game console (albeit 64-bit!) to dozens of video game systems, to board games, and so on.

"There is an arcade game called'Killer Queen' that is very popular. They will host their global party on our show," Loosen pointed out. "There are more than a hundred people attending - some people might like it, "Oh. , A hundred people; really not that many. "But it's not just people who play games; it sees a window into the world, and this new community is open and welcoming. Suddenly, you never know it's the same thing, look for something similar.

"We try to be a forum for all these different communities-whether it's video games, desktop, arcade or pinball."

Midwest Gaming Classic will continue to be added to this list every year. One group that Loosen particularly likes is the air hockey community, which regularly brings some of the country’s best players to the show to show off their skills and teach their strategies and how people start participating in the game. This year's edition will also expand its footprint in Dungeons and Dragons, and put more emphasis on its Magic tournaments, and provide impressive prizes without registration fees. In addition, Classic also has a large number of game collectors, suppliers, developers and general game enthusiasts, all of them gathered under one roof.

With all these groups and all these events spanning thousands of square feet, this year's Midwestern classic game is a far cry from the small origins of Jaguar and the community spirit that promoted the first event 20 years ago. 

"I never thought we would have twenty years like this," Loosen said. "This is exciting and amazing, and I like the fact that others are pushing us to continue doing this."

Midwest Gaming Classic will be held at the Wisconsin Center on Friday, November 5 from 6 pm to midnight; Saturday, November 6 from 10 am to 8 pm; and Sunday, November 7 from 10 am to 5 pm. Ticket changes For more information and a complete list of expected events, vendors and games, please click here.

Although it is a cliché to say that one has always been passionate about movies, Matt Mueller has always been passionate about movies. Whether it's bringing the latest film reviews for his first-year shows and narrations, or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College era as a high school student, Matt is too obsessed with movies for his own benefit.

When he doesn't write the latest blockbuster or talks about "Piranha 3D" too enthusiastically, he may find that Matt is watching almost any sport (excluding cricket) or working at-get this-at a local movie theater. Or watch a movie. Yes, he may be watching a movie.