Amid a sea of blinking lights and whizzing sounds, a crowd of middle-agers and students alike came to experience the annual Michigan Pinball Expo at Oakland University. The event began on Thursday, April 3, and goes on through the weekend.

Pinball machines of all types and ages were set up on display inside and outside of the Banquet Rooms in the Oakland Center, transforming the atmosphere into that of an arcade. Different businesses and owners of the games came together to show them off at the exposition.

The machines were all set up for the public to play, free of charge.

“[It’s a] little bit of nostalgia,” said Brent Edwards, a non-student who took the day off from work to attend the exposition. “I kind of grew up with them.”

John Kosmal, the show president of the Michigan Pinball Expo, estimated there were about 110 machines being displayed this year.

“This is our fifth year at Oakland,” he said.

Kosmal said it always gets a bit chaotic when the game owners first converge at OU to set up their machines, but he noted their passion.

“It’s just people that are really into the hobby,” he said.

The exposition will stay at Oakland until Sunday, April 6.