Pinball News provides coverage of the new Big Buck Hunter Pro pinball game from STERN, Inc. So far there are high res pictures of the playfield along with an introduction on the rules and features of the game. Keep this page on Pinball News bookmarked. As with previous Pinball News reviews, I expect that this initial coverage will soon be accompanied by recordings of the game’s sounds as well as a more detailed description of the game’s scoring features and modes. This game looks promising so far. Plus, this new pinball game is a natural compliment for any bar/amusement area that already has a Big Buck Hunter light gun arcade game.
Breaking news from Pingame Journal: Big Buck Hunter from STERN Pinball, Inc. will start rolling off the assembly line at the end of January, 2010. Included is a link to a preliminary analysis of the game including playfield shots and targets. There’s also a deer that “runs” diagonally across the playfield. It’s looks like a prime target for smacking with pinballs, maybe during some sort of “bash the deer” mode. I hope such a feature is better than the “Bash Balrog” on the “Lord of the Rings” pinball game, because most players end up timing-out modes like that.
Also, the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada has finally moved to it’s new location. It’s way larger and closer to the strip than the old building. I can’t wait for my next visit to Vegas. Forget gambling, I want pinball!
At the Cupids and Canines Casino Night and Pinball Tournament on February 7, 2009, over 350 people played blackjack, poker, craps, roulette and pinball at the Professional Amateur Pinball Association’s (PAPA) headquarters in Scott Township (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. Tournament players and pinball enthusiasts could play over 400 pinball machines from all eras, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Batman (The Dark Knight), two of the newest offerings from STERN Pinball, Inc. In addition to the admission fees, all coin-drop from the pinball machines went to charity.
Every paid attendee at the event received $20,000 in “play money” to use at the casino gaming tables. Each $5,000 in “play money” earned you one ticket to use for the chance auction and raffle. You could also re-buy “play money” if you were tapped out.
Among the charities that benefitted from this event were: Bob Wow Buddies (Camp Bow Wow) and the Pittsburgh-area Humane Societies with the goals of promoting canine cancer research and animal adoptions.
Want some "Candy"?
Though the event officially opened at 8:00 PM, PAPA President, Kevin Martin opened the facility at 11:00 AM for the pinball tournament competitors. Multiple time World Pinball Champion Bowen Kerins organized the event.
Among the games involved in the tournament were:
Batman (The Dark Knight)
Harlem Globetrotters
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Family Guy
The Simpsons
Flip Flop
Paragon
Jungle Queen
Medieval Madness
Judge Dredd
Joust - 2 Player Versus Pinball Game
A $10 entry fee bought you a slot in a group of 8 players for a satellite tournament/preliminary round (though, your admission into Cupids and Canines came with one free entry into the tournament). Each group of 8 players was split in half. These two groups of 4 played a “best of three” series where first place in each game earned 4 points, second place earned 2 points, third place received 1 point, and fourth place got zero points. This was later changed to a “best of two” series because of the high amount of people who wanted to enter the tournament.
Finishing first or second overall in your group meant you advanced to the next round of four players with the winner of that group reaching the final round. A great feature about this system was that as soon as you lost a round, you could immediately reenter. A new preliminary round began as soon as eight more players were ready. A portion of the entry fees for the pinball tournament also went to charity. Trent Augenstein, ranked number 6 in the world as of this writing, won the tournament and took home an electromechanical pinball machine donated by PAPA.
It was a fantastic event, and I encourage all, who are looking for a slice of pinball heaven, to come out to the PAPA world headquarters when it reopens for the PAPA 12 World Pinball Championships this August.
I realize now that it is not a particularly good idea to record by walking around with the camcorder at belt-level. It seems to produce a bouncy, first-person shooter type of effect on the video. “The More You Know…”
