Automated Roulette game with a pinball-like plunger.  The spring-loaded plunger is just a prop, though.  An internal isolated launcher actually fires the ball, removing any possible “skill” element to make this purely a gambling game.  Still cool.

There are a few old school bingo machines that also used a roulette wheel instead of bingo cards, so this is actually an old idea being re-imagined, but in those games, the plunger was real.

http://vimeo.com/114231303

The top 16 battled it out at the Pacific Pinball Museum for the IFPA California State Pinball Champion title.  The winner of the tournament goes on to play in a National-level competition later this year.

The final match was a great North versus South matchup between Karl DeAngelo of Fontana in So Cal and Andrei Massenkoff of San Francisco.  Karl recently won the It Never Drains in Southern California PAPA Circuit event against a tough field, and led out the Final match against Andrei with two quick wins.  Andrei rallied back with a huge ball 3 on Eight Ball Deluxe to almost double Karl’s score.  From there, Andrei went on to take the next three straight and the title.  Congrats!

Thanks to the Pacific Pinball Museum for the hosting the event, Damien Charlety as Tournament Director and Andy Kuntz as pinball tech.

Andrei in action on the final game in the best of 7 series

Karl DeAngelo sizing up on Ironman

Karl (left) finished 2nd

Pacific Pinball Museum Founder Michael Scheiss congratulates California State Champion Andrei Massenkoff

The Pacific Pinball Open is a little over two weeks away!  Here are eight of the twenty games that will be used in the Round Robin tournament. Go practice up!

MODERN:

Funhouse

Ironman

SOLID-STATE:

Seawitch

Gorgar

LONG-FLIPPER EM:

El Dorado

Spin Out

SHORT-FLIPPER EM:

2001

Target Pool

Games are subject to change.  Rake and tilt will also change prior to the tournament.  If you notice problems, please let me know via the contact form.

ALAMEDA, Calif. /California Newswire/ — The Pacific Pinball Museum (PPC) today announced that the body that ranks the world’s best pinball players, the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA), is coordinating the second annual State Championship Series finale, a competition held simultaneously across 33 different states on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015.

This year’s competition in California will be held at the Pacific Pinball Museum (PPM) from 1 to 5 p.m. at 1510 Webster St. in the San Francisco Bay Area’s charming island city of Alameda.

According to the IFPA press release, “After a year of grueling competitions, with more than 1,000 tournaments staged from coast to coast and more than 6,600 players putting their flipper skills and endurance to the test, it all comes down to a single day for 514 of America’s finest pinball wizards.”

Full story HERE

Where: Pacific Pinball Museum. When: 2/21/15

Hey folks, I’ve decided to get off my lazy ass and do a tournament.  Actually, there’ll be two. If you’ve played in the PPO in the past you know the basic format: play each game once and either get a top score or finish high enough overall to advance to the finals.  As always, this ‘main’ tournament is FREE with regular museum admission and this is a very beginner-friendly event.  Register and play your qualifier games starting at about 4 PM, but you can show up as late as 6 or 7 and still get in.

This year I’m adding a new format as well: Round Robin.  This tournament will cost $30 on top of regular admission but all money will be paid out.  It will be limited to 40 players.  This Round Robin has a twist I think you’ll really like!  Be sure to read the rules on the tournament page to see if this is for you.  Also, note the different, much earlier start time (around 11:30 AM) for the Round Robin event.

If you want to play in the Round Robin, email me at jonnynacho@gmail.com.  I will send you my paypal address where you can send the $30 to reserve a spot.  If you don’t have/want paypal your best bet is to pay through someone who does.  Worst case I’ll take your name down, but paid spots will be filled before name reservations.

Both of these tournaments will award WPPR points but under the new IFPA rules will not be combined as a “main” and “side tournament” as was done previously.

I can always use volunteers, so if you can pitch in and help for an hour or two I’m eternally grateful (email me), and the next time Mads Kristensen is in town he’ll give you a free piggy back ride (no weight limit!).

Have a drink.  Have fun.  Try a new brew.  I’ll be there with some fun competitions.

COMEDY NIGHT
Friday, Jan. 23 at 7:30pm
At the PACIFIC PINBALL MUSEUM
1510 Webster St., Alameda, CA 94501
$15 Adult tickets
Includes pinball play!
Free Flipper Snacks and No Host Bar.
Come early and relax at the PPM.
A Benefit for the Pacific Pinball Museum
and the Corie Gibson Kick Cancer Fund!
With Mean Dave, Nina G., Sean McKenzie, Phil Griffiths and Headliner John Hoogasian.
Click here for advance tickets: 
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-night-and-benefit-tickets-15087288486

The Gentleperson’s Pinball Society (GPS) is a friendly, low-stress pinball club. We cater to players of all skill levels, with a specific focus on novice and beginner players.

GPS will be playing on Wednesday evenings at Hi-Life in Oakland. Seasons will be brief, with season finals played at Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda. Our league is “middle investment”, meaning that members will be able to enjoy a complete league experience without long term commitment.

Rick Stetta runs a How to Play Pinball training

Not many websites have gone unchanged in the last two decades, but there are a few.  For example, for god knows what reason, the Space Jam web site is still out there, and is exactly the same as back in 1996.

The Pinball Expo site from 1994 is also one such site.  Not sure if this is an archive of it or the original, maybe someone who remembers back that far can comment.

http://www.lysator.liu.se/pinball/expo/

“The pinball experts at British game room retailer Liberty Games have made a strong start in that direction by converting a 1975 Segasa “Baby Doll” pinball table into “Meme Ball,” a repository for all of human culture’s hopes and dreams and grumpy faced cats. Using 3D printers, a Raspberry Pi computer, and a lot of hard work, Liberty Games has created the only pinball machine in the world that features a “Winter is coming” reference and Rickrolls you when you lose a ball. The overall impression given by the fully functional table is a chaotic grab bag of random jokes and visual elements, all hurled at the viewer’s eyes in a desperate bid for recognition and attention—in other words, a perfect embodiment of “meme culture.” It’s a first step into converting the relics of the past into something relatable to modern eyes, creating a glorious future where we can all haz cheeseburger.”

Full article here.