We can’t all be pinball wizards, but this weekend gaming enthusiasts can surround themselves in a blissful barrage of flippers, bumpers, pixels, and joysticks at the 2012 Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show. For three days, the Seattle Center’s Northwest Rooms host the region’s biggest collection of retro gaming goodness.

Highlights of the 2012 NW Pinball and Arcade Show include:

— More than 300 gaming machines set up for free play. This collection includes over 100 pinball machines ranging from one’s you’d expect to find at a bar (Star Trek, Twilight Zone, etc.) to the totally obscure (they made a Phantom of the Opera pinball machine?). On the arcade cabinet side, the show features a slew of classics (Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong), ’90s favorites like Street Fighter 2 and NBA Jam, and a few newer (relatively speaking) machines like Marvel vs Capcom 2. (Come challenge me at MvC2. I will break you.)

—A referee from Twin Galaxies, the official scorekeepers for the video game and pinball world, will be on hand to monitor numerous world record attempts. It’s important work. "The referee verifies the switches and settings for all the different games that people are setting world records on," Grace Snoke, Twin Galaxies’ events and community manager, told me today. "Then we just watch them achieve the records, making sure they’re not using any glitches or hacks or anything like that to cheat and get a better score than they should. Certain games have different things where you can hide in the corner and not take any hits from any creatures and survive a long time. That’s the type of thing that you don’t want players to be doing." Record attempts will be made on Donkey Kong Jr., Vs., Super Mario Bros, and Mr. Driller.

—On Saturday some of the best (pin)ballers around will battle in an official International Flipper Pinball Association tournament. Competitors play 12 games on five different machines with the top four finishers winning cash prizes. The entry is open to anyone willing to throw down $20 and all players receive World Pinball Player Ranking points (Mom will be so proud).

—Seminars, seminars, seminars. Our favorite: "Buying Your Own Video or Pinball Game."

—The Seattle Pinball Museum will host some creative mini-tournaments throughout the weekend, including children’s tourneys, a pairs competition (one-play on each flipper), and a "Tommy Tournament" (based on the Who’s Tommy ) where gamers play blindfolded.

—Raffles can make a childhood fantasy a reality; enter to win Centipede, Galaga, and a Wizard of Oz pinball machine.

Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show
June 8–10, Northwest Rooms, Fri noon–midnight, Sat 10am–midnight, Sun 9–3, Seattle Center, $15–$20 (single day), $50 (weekend pass).