Those sneaky PAPA people actually started broadcasting last night.  Fortunately, the whole thing is available for your viewing pleasure with commentary by Bowen Kerins and others.

Check it out here:

http://www.twitch.tv/papatvpinball/b/442917179

Note – on one machine I tried it on I got muted audio after the ad.  This is apparently a common problem.  If I find a solution I’ll post it.

UPDATE: One possible fix is to click into the second half of the footage.  If the audio turns on for you, it will stay on when you click back to the beginning to watch the rest.  Weird but whatever.

Also of PAPA note, local player Josh Lehan is currently leading the B Division Qualifiers.  Andre Massenkoff is currently in 6th place in the A Division Qualifiers so there’s a very good chance he will also go on to the Finals.

Standings here:

http://papa.org/papa16/live/index.php?disp=division&sel=A

After the Finals on Sunday, a few of us are heading down to Legionnaire Saloon and the Hi Life in Oakland.  Come down and join us if you like.

You Demoman fans don’t want to miss this.  One of these players is going to score a ton of points.

For you uber geeks and hackers, this is a fairly technical and engaging hour-long series that covers electro-mechanical pinballs. Great stuff.

This is a pretty good profile video of Rockola’s World Series.

World Series is one of the most sought-after pre-flipper pinball games, and goes for over $1000 in restorable condition.  The mechanics of this game are simple but amazing.  It’s like an analog computer leveraging gravity, levers and gates.

Day one of the PAPA World Championships Qualifying is underway.  You can see the standings here:

http://papa.org/papa16/live/index.php?disp=division&sel=A

Don’t forget that the final games of qualifying will be live-streamed, as well as the finals on Sunday.  Keep an eye on http://papa.org/blog for more information.

PAPA and Bowen Kerins bring us this Banzai Run tutorial.

Banzai Run was designed by Pat Lawlor and it was his very first game.  Even if you don’t know that name, you probably know his games – he also designed Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Fun House, Road Show and many others.

Regrettably, he designed Roller Coaster Tycoon.  I guess they can’t all be winners.

Anyway, Banzai Run is a very unique game with a double playfield.  This obviously cost a ton of money to build and it’s pretty amazing that they took the risk with a then-novice designer.  Obviously they bet on the right guy and Pat Lawlor is considered to be one of the best designers ever.

…then this one of a kind pinball-themed watch is for you.  It will be auctioned for charity on September 28th in Monaco.

Press release with technical specs here: http://static.watchonista.com/sites/default/files/watchographer/1/watches/claret_x-trem-1_pinball_only_watch_eng.pdf

This Sunday, August 11 the new kickstarted PAPA TV will stream the finals of the World Championships with commentary.  You can also catch the tail end of qualifiers on Saturday.

Finals are scheduled to begin at 10:45 AM EST so that means 7:45 for us west-coasters, so that means HELL NO will I catch the first round matches.  It’s likely they run until at least 3PM EST, so even if you tune in around 10 AM you should be able to catch most of the action.

Check out the PAPA blog for more info as it develops.