Where: Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA.

When: Saturday, September 16. Qualifying from 6 – 8:45 PM, Finals at 9 PM

Entry: Entry in the tournament is free with admission to Chabot Space and Science Center.

Who may enter: We invite players of all ages and skill levels to participate, and whether you win or lose, you will become a world-ranked pinball player!

Chabot Space and Science Center and the Pacific Pinball Museum have partnered to showcase over 30 pinball machines, kinetic exhibits and pinball artwork by local artists. Join us for an evening of pinball under the stars and show off your pinball skills in this fun, competitive event.

Rules

The Short Version: Play four games during qualifying from 6 – 8:45 PM to determine your rank. The top 8 ranked players and top 4 kids will go on to play in a Final at 9 PM.

The Long Version:

Qualifying Round: The qualifying round will run from 6 PM to 8:45 PM and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. In the qualifying round, each entrant will play four machines one time each and their performance will be ranked. The top 8 Open Division and top 4 Kids Division players will then face off in a Finals Round. Kids Division players who happen to play well enough to qualify for the Open Division Finals will have the option to do so.

(Note: for ranking purposes, the Kids Division Finals do not affect overall standings, only qualifying standings. However, the Open Final will affect standings, if an eligible Kids Division player chooses to compete in that Final instead of Kids.)

Ties: If two or more players tie at the end of qualifying, a tiebreaker game will be held to determine which players will advance.

Finals: The Open Division consists of two 4-player semi-final games which will be seeded and ordered as follows: 8-6-3-1 and 7-5-4-2. The top two players from each game will advance to the 4- player Final and will be seeded based on the Qualifying round. The Kids Division Final will consist of one 4-player game and will be seeded based on the Qualifying Round.

Nudging: Nudging is part of pinball and is encouraged. Slap saves, slide saves, and bumping/nudging the machine are allowed. A nudge may end the ball in play, however, in extreme cases the nudge may carry over to the next ball (a “tilt-through”). During the Final rounds, if a tilt-through occurs, the player committing the tilt through receives a score of zero. The affected player will finish their game and then receive a single additional ball to play which shall be added to their score.

During single-player play, the tilt-through will not be compensated with a restart or additional ball.

Abuse: Abuse of the machines is not allowed. Abuse includes, but is not limited to, hitting/slapping the glass, kicking the legs, picking the game up or excessive shoving of the game. Abuse of the machines, depending on the nature of the infraction, may result in a warning, disqualification of a single game or disqualification from the event.

Coaching: Coaching is allowed from outside the tournament area (i.e. behind the guide ropes). Players who are not actively playing a qualifying game must vacate the playing area.

Malfunctions: It is the player’s responsibility to report malfunctions, stuck balls or other events that affect play, as soon as possible. The player should “trap” the ball if possible, or report the malfunction at the end of the current ball.

What constitutes a malfunction is ultimately up to the tournament organizer, but what will not be considered a malfunction includes, but is not limited to: A “tilt”, a ball jumping over the flipper or lane guide into the trough, a tilt-through in a single-player game (when the game is moved sufficiently to end both the ball in play and the following ball).

If a malfunction occurs that negatively impacts the player but the player continues play, the player has consented to play on with the malfunction. No compensation will be provided (such as being allowed to replay the game). This is still the case regardless of whether the player was aware that a malfunction occurred.

For example, if a ball becomes stuck and the player attempts to free the ball via nudging which in turn causes the game to “tilt”, the tilt stands. However, if a ball becomes stuck and an official is notified, the ball will be freed and placed either on the upraised flipper or in the shooter lane.

If a malfunction occurs which benefits the player and the player does not report it, the tournament director will make a ruling based on the circumstances, which may include replaying the game, disqualification of the game or disqualification from the tournament.

For example, if the player has not earned any extra balls but the game continues to feed balls into play, the player is required to report the malfunction as soon as possible.

Player Conduct: This is a family event to promote fun, friendly competition, and players are expected to comply with Chabot Space and Science Center’s rules and staff. Misbehavior by players including, but not limited to: excessive swearing, abuse of the machines, arguing with staff, bullying other players, or otherwise acting excessively outside of the spirit of the event may be disqualified from the tournament.

Congratulations to Johnny Briggs for winning the first season of the Pacific Pinball League!  Full results below.

The Pacific Pinball League is a new fun, competitive way to play the silver ball in Alameda, CA.  Each week features a different format that tests players’ abilities and teaches new approaches to the game.  We play popular tournament formats such as Match Play, 3-Strikes, Pin Golf and more.  The league is open to all skill levels and we help each other get better at the game we all love.  The next season starts mid-September.

The Pacific Pinball League is a fun, competitive league for everyone. All skill levels are welcome, even first-timers. We explain all the rules so don’t worry if you’ve never done anything like this before. Just come ready to meet new people and have a great time.

The league meets Wednesday nights and play starts at 7 PM.

On league night, Pacific Pinball Museum has special league pricing of $10 off regular admission (normally $20) for non-members, and with your league night entry you’ll get a voucher to come back any other day for just $10 as well.  League members will also get a 10% discount card for museum gift shop merchandise.

View the schedule here.

To see current standings, click here.

To see some of the formats and rules, click here.

Quick Facts:

Where: The Pacific Pinball Museum, 1510 Webster Street, Alameda.

When: Wednesdays beginning May 24 – July 19 at 6:30 PM. Finals on July 26. ( 10 weeks total). Attend a minimum of three of eight regular weeks to qualify for Finals.

Entry: FREE with admission to the Pacific Pinball Museum, and entry on League nights is just $10.  Plus, you’ll get a voucher good for $10 off any other day you’d like to visit.  The PPM has a single entrance admission and all of it’s 90 games are set to “free play”.

How to Join: Just show up on any league night.

Who: The league is open to all ages and skill levels, even first-timers. We’ll show you the basics and even some advanced skills!

How’s It Work?: Each league night players compete head-to-head or in groups in Match Play, Pin Golf or another format. A player can earn up to 16 points per evening. For example, in match play, a player would be placed in a group of four and play four Rounds. First place in a Round would earn 4 points, 2nd place would earn 3 points, and so on.

Your ranking is based on your total score. Also, players with the better attendance records will get first choice of game or player order in formats where the option is available.

At the end of the season, results will be submitted to the International Flipper Pinball Association. All players who compete in the Finals will have a World Pinball Player ranking.

Erin showed up to Pin a Go Go Friday, dismayed there was no cosplay element to the show.  He spent months working on his Mario Bros. Costume.

Check out the California Bracket here:  http://challonge.com/2016CA

Congrats to Karl DeAngelo for winning CA!

Check out the Nevada Bracket here: http://challonge.com/ifpanv16

Salem Ayoob took top honors in Nevada!  Congrats!

From ArcadeExpo in Southern California, check out the tournament finals live here:

Stream link: http://www.twitch.tv/papatvpinball

Spooky Pinball one of the boutique manufacturers that doesn’t suck, and who brought us the excellent America’s Most Haunted, are ramping up to release their next game, Rob Zombie.

Early thoughts: The playfield is a bit spartan but America’s Most Haunted was too, yet great shots, sounds and light show put it over the top. We’ll have to see if that’s the case with RZ.

The cabinet art looks great with obvious work put into it, but the playfield art is just serviceable.  Third party mirror blades or art inserts will go a long way to filling out the macabre carnival atmosphere.

The upper playfield with mini flipper.

The toys and plastics are nicely detailed and appropriately cheeky but seem a little “tacked on” in the same way the more questionable aftermarket toy ad-ons sometimes are.  Again, AMH gave me a similar initial impression but my mind completely changed after playing it.

Like a lot of recent games, this one includes an upper playfield.  I like it’s largely-out-of-the-way placement in the back right corner as it’s less likely to be a flow-killer.  Upper playfields tend to sound good on paper but are rarely much fun to play, and judging by the video (below) that’s likely the case here. I think most of the fun of upper and lower playfields is you often must unlock access to them somehow, i.e. the fun is in the journey not the destination.  When they’re “free all day” they quickly wear out their welcome.

Okay, so my initial impression is a bit critical but I still can’t wait to play the final product, especially after the treat that is America’s Most Haunted. Likewise, Spooky have beaten the rather poor odds that plague boutique manufacturers so hat’s off to them for that.

Rob Zombie is limited to 300 games and priced at around $6000 with $1000 pre-order price to lock in your spot.

More pics and ordering info here and here’s a gameplay video:

Check out coverage of the latest PAPA Circuit Event.

As if you needed another reason to hate terrorism, it turns out Paris suicide bomber, Ibrahim Abdeslam, had a hobby of breaking into pinball machines and emptying the coin boxes.

No word on whether he also started 4-player games and abandoned them after ball 1.

Click here for the full story.