Diplomatic Immunity!
Events
JPA PinGolf Fall 2010 Tournament
begins September 8th
Sep 4th
Spring 2010 JPA season starts on September 8, 2010.
The PinGolf Final will happen one week after the end of the JPA League season.
The JPA PinGolf Tournament is WPPR certified! All players who participate will receive
World Pinball Ranking Points depending on how well they finish. You can be ranked among the best pinball players in the world!
A new season of the JPA PinGolf Tournament will run in conjunction with the JPA League starting September 8th. Last season, I was able to give away $300.00 in prize money and, of course, I hope that the pool will be larger this season. For more information about the way the tournament runs, what games are used, and how you can sponsor the tournament, go to the JPA PinGolf Tournament page.
JPA Fall Season begins September 8th
Sep 4th
The 24th Season of the Jersey Pinball Association is set to begin on Wednesday, September 8th at Eight on the Break in Dunellen, New Jersey. Twenty people have already signed up to play this season. I am excited to see that former PAPA president and current IFPA official, Steve Epstein is slated to compete. Our current champion is Jim Fordham from Springfield, NJ.
Here are the games that are currently at The Break:
- Star Wars: Episode 1 (not operational)
- FunHouse
- The Addams Family
- Big Brave
- Monster Bash
- Iron Man
- Johnny Mnemonic
- Lord of the Rings
- Demolition Man
Seasoned league players know about a certain row of seldom used, dead games that took up a lot of space in the room which housed the pinball machines. Well I am glad to report that those cabinets are now gone. In fact, they have been gone since the Jersey Pinball Open. At least now we will all have a little more room to breathe in there.
Congratulations, Joshua Henderson!
Aug 23rd
Via Arcade Heroes
Last weekend the Profession & Amateur Pinball Association (i.e. PAPA) held their 13th annual World Pinball Championships and out of 406 players, seven stood victorious in their separate division. That includes the youngest Class B player in PAPA’s history, 12-year old Joshua Henderson from Plainfield, IL(pictured). Josh was ranked as the 51st top player in the world after an IFPA tournament in May and now he can add this win (along with a $3,500 cash prize) to his list of accomplishments. They have all of the scoring tables and winners listed on the PAPA website but so far media from the event is fairly sparse. The cash prizes they had available were quite good – the 1st place winner from the A division, Keith Elwin walked away with the title World Pinball Champion and $10,000 in cash. I know that there is a lot of focus on competitive video gaming around the world these days but pinball certainly can’t be ignored as it’s taken just as seriously.
UPDATE: Josh has put his winnings to good use already – by purchasing a NIB Spiderman pinball machine.
Via Arcade Heroes
Spider-man. An excellent choice! Welcome to the A-division, Joshua! As far as the sparse media is concerned, I’m sure the journalism would pick up if the prize money increased magically. Not that I’m complaining in any way, of course. I’m just saying this is one reason why I need to hit the Mega Millions or Powerball lottery. Unfortunately, it may be “all about the money” to the general public, even if we Pinheads(tm) know otherwise. Hey, I even saw a $100,000 darts tournament on ESPN. ONE-HUNDRED-AND-EEEEIIIIIIGHTYYYYYY!!!
Speaking of which, pinball needs a catchphrase. Darts has that one-hundred-and-eighty thing that gets screamed by the fans. What kind of catchphrases could pinball have?
Pinball on-a-Stick | Aug. 26 – Sept. 6, 2010
Aug 3rd
Via Pinball on-a-Stick:
Who?
The Pinball-on-a-stick crew is a group of pinball enthusiasts and collectors from the Twin Cities metro area that donate their time and loan their pinball machines for use at Pinball-on-a-stick during the Minnesota State Fair.
What?
Pinball-on-a-stick is a “Pinball Only” arcade featuring around 30 pinball machines from the electromechanical (EM) era through the newest dot-matrix display (DMD) titles just released. Game pricing is set from $.50 to .75 per play.
Pinball-on-a-stick was the brainchild of several local pinball collectors who wanted to share their love of pinball with others, especially the younger generation who increasingly don’t get the opportunity to play or sometimes even see a real mechanical pinball machine “in the wild”. The inaugural Pinball-on-a-stick arcade was opened during the 2009 State Fair.
Where?
Pinball-on-a-stick is located at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds right next to the Butterfly House and The Arcade on Dan Patch Avenue (just 1 block east of the Grandstands). Open regular Fair hours.
Get Ready for PAPA 13!
Aug 2nd
Jorian Englebrektsson in the 'A' Division Finals
Thanks to PinGame Journal, Trent Auguenstein, and Mish Paull
PinGame Journal reposts an excellent article written by Mish Paull on last year’s PAPA competition. If you have never been to PAPA, you owe it to yourself to visit the greatest pinball facility in the world and compete against the best for cash prizes.
California Extreme Finals Watchable via TourneyCam
Jul 26th
CAL Extreme 2010 Pinball Tourney Modern Finals – Dr. Who from Randy Elwin on Vimeo.
Via TiltWarning:
Two time defending World Pinball Champion Keith Elwin at California Extreme earlier this month on Dr. Who versus Jim Belsito. Spark behind TourneyCam is coming courtesy Randy Elwin of Pinball 101 fame.
Seeing this video made me smile. You could actually have commentators do play-by-play during competition, if we had this perspective. I was watching this wishing I could do some sort of play-by-play and strategy talk with a Telestrator. Forget the EVO tournaments, lets live stream THIS.
Just think how much commentators would help legitimize pinball as a sporting event. Viewers would actually be able to see (and hopefully understand) what we PinHeads are talking about when we discuss whether Jim B. should have continued to go for Sonic Booms or advance toward multi-ball.
The Maryland Pinball Championship | August 1st, 2010
Jul 18th
Another unrelated pinball pic
Via Chris Newsom:
Announcing:
The Maryland Pinball Champoinship
The tournament will be held on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Town Hall Liquors, 8135 Baltimore Avenue, College Park, MD, 20740-2431. Qualifying will begin at 11 a.m. There will be two divisions.
Entry Fees:
$50.00 A Division $20.00 B Division
All entry fees (less ~ $150 for awards and plaques for each division) will go to prize fund as follows:
A Division
1st: 50% and laser engraved award (A minimum of $300 is guaranteed to the A division winner)
2nd: 25% and laser engraved award
3rd: 15% and plaque
4th: 10% and plaque
B Division
1st: 50% and laser engraved award (A minimum of $100 is guaranteed to the A division winner)
2nd: 25% and laser engraved award
3rd: 15% and plaque
4th: 10% and plaque
Games will be priced at 50 cents per game. Extra balls will be disabled on games where this is possible. Ball savers will be turned off on games where this is possible. Bang backs and death saves are not allowed. The format for the tournament is head to head, best two out of 3, double elimination. Each loser from the main bracket will go to a second chance bracket for another match, with the winner of that bracket going to a final match against the winner of the main bracket. In order for the player from the losers’ bracket to win the tournament that player will have to defeat the player from the winners’ bracket in two straight matches (thus givinig that player their double elimination).
First, second and third place will be decided by the double elimination. All other players will be put into a quick playoff round to determine fourth place. Initial brackets will be seeded by a one-ball qualifier. Competitors ariving to the tournament too late for qualifying will be given lower seeds. We expect to have between 5-8 games for the tournaments. Competitors deemed too skilled to play in the B division will be placed in the A division. This includes but is not limited to players who have won pinball tournaments in the past and players who have been successful in pinball leagues. I will be running the tournament but will not compete in them.
Michigan Pinball Expo | FOX
Jul 8th
John Kosmal informs viewers about the Michigan Pinball Expo.
Via MyFoxDetroit
The Michigan Pinball Expo attracts people from all over the world. This year, seven countries have confirmed to play pinball in Michigan July 8 through July 11. Michigan Pinball Expo’s John Kosmal tells viewers all about the event presented by Environment by Design on Fox 2 News Mornings. Over 100 pinball machines will be at the Oakland Center at Oakland University in Rochester. Players pay one admission price that covers pinball for the day. Players can also enter into tournaments by paying an entry fee for a chance to win the title of Michigan Pinball Champion, or for the kids, Wizard in Training. Full size arcade pinball machines will be for sale at the event.
2010 New Jersey Pinball Open at Eight on the Break, Dunellen, New Jersey
Jul 4th
Register now!
The 2010 New Jersey Pinball Open, sanctioned by the National Pinball League, will happen on July 17, 2010 at Eight on the Break in Dunellen, NJ. The format will be a Monthly Masters style event until 6:00 PM. Then, the top groups will have the advantage of double elimination, and the bottom groups will go into single elimination for the split bracket finals. This tournament will run in the “Fast Tournament” format, which simply means no holding a ball for more than 5 seconds in single or multiball play. That’s right, holders and trappers, stay on your toes and play the freaking game!
These pins are currently running at The Break:
- Star Wars: Episode 1
- FunHouse
- Attack from Mars
- Addams Family
- Monster Bash
- Iron Man
- Johnny Mnemonic
- Lord of the Rings
- Fish Tales
Since The Break is an active arcade, this listing is subject to change. Games are swapped out from time to time. Recently, Johnny Mnemonic replaced Demolition Man in the lineup, and Fish Tales replaced Road Show. Also, extra machines may be made available for play at this special event.
All tournament games are on coin drop, which is a reason why it will only cost you $20.00 to register for the tournament.
To give a you a sampling, here is the first in the series of the 2008 New Jersey Pinball Open videos that I’ve produced.
A reminder from the National Pinball League:
Registration is HIGHLY recommended, as it saves your spot in the tournament. It is possible that there will be NO remaining registration available the day of the show, so PLEASE pre-register.
I hope to see you there.
Pin-Maine-ia Finals Video!
Jul 2nd
Special thanks to Jeff Parsons
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Also, the full results from World Pinball Player Rankings
Pin-Maine-ia 4 News Article and Video
Jun 28th
Via WCSH6
Pinball was a real hit in Gorham this weekend. It was Pin-Maine-ia 4, the New England Pinball Championship. John Reuter held the event in his basement. He owns more than 100 pinball machines. About half of them are at his home. The rest are at friends’ houses. More than 50 people took part in this event, where the top prize was $375. The champion, Steven Bowden, says his real prize is the camaraderie of meeting fellow pinball players.
THE IFPA 7 Photo Set | Event Analysis
Jun 21st
The IFPA 7 World Pinball Championship Competitors
Yes, the word “THE” is in all caps on purpose because this photo set of the event by Mark Teskey is the only one that you really need to see.
Also, check out Jason “Crazy J” Rufer’s detailed analysis of the event posted on Pinball News. He gives his perspective on what it was like to host the IFPA 7 World Pinball Championship. Once again, I would like to thank Jason for all of his hard work, and for inviting us into his home for some world class pinball.
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World Pinball Player Rankings
