The Jersey Pinball Association is beginning a new season of competitive pinball play this Wednesday, March 10. Among the games available are: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Whitewater, Demolition Man, Monster Bash, Fish Tales, FunHouse, The Addams Family, Star Wars: Episode One, and Attack from Mars. Along with traditional league play, there will be another side tournament in the style of “Pinball Golf” where you have up to ten balls to reach a target score. Each entry builds up a cash jackpot which I will award at the end of the season. PinGolf replaces the Gauntlet from last year. I hope that many players, from inside and outside of the JPA League, will try to qualify for the PinGolf Final so that there will be a huge jackpot prize pool.
The Cupids and Canines Casino and Pinball Night has been rescheduled to Saturday, March 27, 2010. Updated details about the event can be found here. Cupids & Canines Casino Night 2010 will benefit the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, and Bow Wow Buddies.
Where: PAPA World Headquarters in Scott Township, PA (directions)
When: Saturday, March 27, 2010, from 7pm to 10pm (or later) (pinball tournament opens at 11am)
Why: A fun Valentine evening for you and your date!
Price: $30/person, $50/couples (also available at the door)
Parking: Free shuttle! Follow this map to the lot.
EDIT: Cupids and Canines has been postponed due to the huge snowstorm. It will be rescheduled.
STERN’s Big Buck Hunter Pro Pinball is In the Wild!
STERN’s newest pinball game, Big Buck Hunter Pro, has been released to market. For those of you in the New York metropolitan area who want to try out the game, it will be on route at Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan. Big Buck Hunter Pro, along with Twilight Zone by Bally, will be the games used for 2010, Season #1 of the New York City Pinball League. Commissioner “Max Pinball” is now accepting players to sign-up for this season. League rules, format and more information can be found at http://nycpinballleague.com. Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome.
Pinball + Gaming + Pooches = Charity!
On Saturday, February 6, 2010, the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) will host is annual Cupids and Canines Casino and Pinball Night charity event to benefit The Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and Bow Wow Buddies. The event will be held at the at the PAPA World Headquarters near Pittsburgh, PA. The facility is home to over 400 pinball games from every era. Along with the opportunity to sample all of these great machines, you can participate in the pinball tournament organized by world champion Bowen Kerins, and play blackjack, craps, roulette, and poker all for charity. The event starts at 7PM, but pinball tournament participants can get in as early as 11:00 AM.
Last year, more than $10,000 was raised for charity. Here are videos from the 2009 event.
Part One: Before the event
Part Two: Let the games begin!
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I’d like to give respect to Geraldo Beedog and Señor Perrito del Burrito for inspiring me to produce this tiny nugget of sweet journalism :`-)
Presenting… the official Jersey Pinball Association Gauntlet Tournament T-shirt. The tournament sponsors will each receive one of these shirts at the beginning of the Spring 2010 league season. I would like to take time to congratulate the winners of the JPA Gauntlet tournaments: Andrew Drabik – winner of the Spring 2009 tournament, and Jim Fordham – winner of the Fall 2009 tournament. I also would like to thank those players who sponsored the tournament: Koi Morris, Jim Fordham and Ed Zeltmann. Next season there will most likely be a PinGolf style tournament in addition to traditional league play. I’m looking forward to next season’s competition. For those of you who are interested, the Jersey Pinball Association meets on Wednesdays for 10 weeks in the Spring and in the Fall. The next season will begin in early March, and new players are always welcome.
The International Flipper Pinball Association, in cooperation with STERN Pinball and the AMOA Show, held a Par 3 PinGolf Challenge event at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Competitors had to achieve a target score on two pinball games, NBA and CSI, while using the least number of balls as they could.
Players tried each game once, and then selected which of the two games would serve as their third game. The player with the lowest combined score won the tournament.
2009 Canadian Pinball Championship in Toronto, Canada
All those who thought this might have been a small affair were drastically mistaken as over 120+ competitors attempted to qualify for the 2009 Canadian Pinball Championship. Many of the “heavy hitters” were there including Bowen Kerins, Paul Madison, Neil Shatz, Cayle George, Eden Stamm and more. Shrek, NBA, Batman, Dale Jr. were the tournament games, and there were multiple copies of each game. In fact, when a machine went down because of a mechanical problem, it was whisked away and a new one would almost magically be put in it’s place! This kept the action consistently high for the entire event. Gary Stern of STERN Pinball, Inc. was also on hand to present the prizes to the winners, which included a new-in-box NBA pinball machine awarded to Sean O’Neil. With the attendance that this event received, next year’s event may rival PAPA’s attendance. The tournament staff ran the event so well, I believe The Playdium Store will be ready for that.
Pinball News also has a detailed analysis of the event with pictures and results.
World Pinball Champion Bowen Kerins gives a detailed analysis of the pinball game “Attack from Mars” by Midway/WMS. He points out efficient ways to score high and play well especially on a tournament mode machine.
I hope that articles like this will give rise to an advanced version of the “Pinball 101″ DVD that would cover tournament pinball strategies. It worked for poker, why not pinball?
