I have to say the graphics are quite impressive in this game but the play looks a tad floaty.  Anyone who owns the game care to comment?

To watch this video in HD click here: youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWjicmtBlLg&hd=1

An excellent mini-doc by 30lbs Skunk Productions: http://www.30lbsskunk.com/

p.s. I pointed out the phallic-ness of Jumping Jack to Michael S. one day.  Just look at the flyer:  http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1329&picno=4898

Don’t even get me started on Kings and Queens.

Where: Playland not at the Beach in El Cerrito

When: Registration and warmup starts at 10 AM, play begins no later than 11 AM. Registration closes at 1PM.

Entry Fee: Kids are FREE. Novice/Open Division: $10. All tournament entry fees paid back to players. ALL PLAYERS ARE INSTANT WINNERS: All entrants will receive a 2-for-1 pass for a future visit to Playland not at the Beach (a $15 value).  Note: Tournament Entry is separate from admission to Playland, however, multi-day, free passes, 2-for-1 passes are accepted.

Format: Pin Golf

Full rules and details below:

Format: Pin Golf

Tournament Rules – The Short version:

Kids: The Kids tournament will not be run on the Pingolf format.  Each player plays three designated games two times each.  Their highest score on each game is recorded.  Players are awarded points depending on their rank.  The player with the most points wins!

Novice/Open: In Pin Golf, objectives are set on each machine.  For example, score 3 Million points on Scared Stiff, or complete the FILM letters on Creature from the Black Lagoon.  The player attempts to accomplish each objective with the fewest number of balls (like strokes in golf) as possible.

Tournament Rules -The Long version:

Kids Division:

1.    Eligibility: Entrants may be up to 13 years old.

2.    Each entrant plays 3 designated machines twice and the highest score determines the player’s rank for a particular machine.

3.    Points are awarded to the player based on their score rank for each machine and correspond to the number of players in the tournament.
a.    For example, if 15 players enter the tournament and Player A has the highest score of all players, s/he shall receive 15 points for that game (plus Bonus points – see next).  If Player A had come in fifth place, s/he would receive 11 points.  If player A comes in 15th place, s/he would receive 1 point.
4.    The winner of the tournament is decided by whoever has the highest cumulative point total across the four machines.  For example, if Player A scores 10 points on Game 1, 5 points on Game 2, 8 points on Game 3, and 15 points on Game 4, his/her point total would be 38.  If this is the highest total score of all players, Player A would be declared the winner of the Tournament.

Novice Division:

1.    Eligibility

(If the following requirements look at all odd or unfamiliar, you can probably compete in Novice.  These somewhat extensive rules are to prevent/discourage highly skilled players from entering a division below their ability)

a.    Entrants may be any age.  Players playing in Kids may also play in Novice.
b.    Entrants may not have, or have ever had, a World Pinball Ranking of 500 or better,
c.    And/or have ever competed in a major tournament playoff to the final bracket (typically for positions 1 – 4)
d.    And/or “placed” (finished 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in a league finals such as at EBPL, BAPA or any other major tournament or established league.
e.    And/or “placed” in a final in a division other than Novice (PAPA C division, for example)
f.    Where the player’s credentials are “borderline”, the tournament judge will consider the player’s credentials and render a decision as to whether or not the player may compete in the Novice Division.

Open Division:

Eligibility:

1.    Anyone can enter.

Qualifier Format:

1.    Players will be organized into groups of 4 or 2 as needed to play each game.
2.    Each player attempts to complete the goal for a particular game in the minimum number of balls.  Goals will be announced the day of the tournament.
3.    Each game will have one or two goals.  On games with two goals, meeting either goal will complete the round for the player.
4.    The maximum number of balls (strokes) is 10.
5.    The top 8 Open competitors will advance to the Final.
6.    The next top 4 novice competitors will qualify for a Bonus Final.  Novices that happen to qualify at the Open level (i.e top 8 overall) will compete in the Open final.  This means novices have 12 spots to qualify!

Finals Format:

1.    Finals will begin at 3PM or as soon as possible following qualifying.
2.    Open Finals will be played in two groups of four players.  Pin Golf Games and objectives will be announced at Finals.
3.    Finals will consist of two pin golf rounds (two machines)
4.    The top four scorers will compete in a final round of pinball golf to determine winners. (one machine)
5.    The bottom four will be ranked based on scores in finals.

6.    Bonus Tournament for Novices: Finals will begin at 3PM or as soon as possible following qualifying.
7.    Novice Finals will be played in a group of four players.  Pin Golf Games and objectives will be announced at Finals.

8.    The top two players will go on to play a final round of pinball golf to determine the winner.  The loser of this round will be 2nd place.
9.    Third and fourth place will be determined by playoff score.

For both divisions, ties will be decided in a head-to-head or 3-way tie breaker as needed.  Likewise, ties in 5th – 8th place (in the case of Open) and 3rd and 4th place (in the case of Novice) will be determined the same way.

10.    If a player does not show for finals, the next highest entry will be allowed to play, and so on, until the brackets are filled.

Prizes:

Open Division will award a cash prize with all money paid back to players:  40% for first, 30% for second, 20% for third and 10% for fourth.

Novice and Kids Divisions will be awarded with passes to Playland, ticket prizes, and other special prizes to be announced!

Plaques are awarded to the top 3 in all Divisions.

Etiquette:

1. No foul language.  Playland Not at the Beach is a family environment with many young children present.  First incident of foul language voids remainder of game, or, if the incident occurs at, or near the conclusion of a game, voids the next game.  Second violation results in disqualification.  Depending on the severity of an incident, the tournament judges may, at their discretion, disqualify a player on a first violation.

2. Cheating. The decision as to what constitutes cheating is ultimately determined by the tournament judges, but may include restarting a game when no one is looking, resetting a game to give the appearance of software/hardware malfunction, exploiting a known software bug in the game, or utilizing a bang back or death save technique. Depending on the severity of the cheat, the penalty may be the voiding of the next ball in play, void of game or disqualification from the tournament.

3. Abuse of machines or facility.  Bang backs, death saves and similar techniques are not allowed.  Bumping, nudging and sliding the games are allowed, however, if any of these activities is severe enough to present a risk or damage to the game, other players or the facilities, penalty (loss of game) or disqualification (repeated abuses) may occur.  For example, sliding a machine violently enough to cause it to crash into an adjacent game or wall, or sliding a machine violently enough to disrupt play on an adjacent machine.  Or violently enough to disrupt play for the next player.

4. Players are expected to generally behave with good sportsmanship.  Any player who excessively complains about tournament conditions, harasses or distracts judges or other players, etc. may be disqualified and asked to leave.

Machine Malfunctions and Failures:

The DEFINITIONS (but not necessarily the outcomes/rulings) of machine malfunctions/failures shall mirror those defined in the most recent PAPA (Professional Amateur Pinball Association) rules (see Section VII at http://www.papa.org/papa12/rules.php).  Please note that the specific outcomes in Section VII, Point 8 will not apply.  All decisions are ultimately decided by the tournament director.

In the event of a Major or Catastrophic failure:

1.    In the event of a machine failure during the Kids, Novice and Open Qualifier which cannot be repaired in a timely manner, the remainder of the tournament shall proceed on the working machines and the player’s point average for the other machines shall be substituted for the non-working machine, rounded to the nearest whole point.  Example: Player A scores 10 points on game 1, 5 points on Game 2 and 6 points on Game 3, 5 points on Game 4 and 10 points on Game 5.  Then it is discovered that Game 6 has failed.  The player’s average score rounded to the nearest whole point (10 + 5 + 6 + 5 + 10 = 31, 31/5 = 6.2) of 6 is used for Game 4, giving the player a Final Score of 37.

2.    In the event of a machine failure during the Open Division single-elimination portion of the tournament the round shall be replayed on a different machine.  However, if the failure occurs near the end of a game and one player has an extremely decisive lead over another, the judge may, at his discretion call the game in favor of the leading player.

Beneficial Malfunctions, Player Errors and Stuck Balls:

1.    Beneficial Malfunctions, Player Errors and Stuck Balls shall be defined and addressed in accordance with the most recent PAPA rules (Section VII, points 6, 7 and 9 at http://www.papa.org/papa12/rules.php)

Mads Kristensen and I put on a seminar called “How the Pros Play Pinball” at Pacific Pinball Exposition.  We noted, foremost, that we’re not Pros by any stretch!  However, we have the good fortune to play with some of the best players in the world on a regular basis here in the Bay Area of California.

Neil Shatz jumped in to help.  Enjoy!

Click here to watch the video in HD (High Definition): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlLjhoarx9c&hd=1

Todd Tuckey produced a great series of videos to explain the rules on several games from the 80s.  To watch more videos in the series, click the link below the video to go to Todd’s youtube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/tntamusements

Thanks to Mark Malmberg (Sparky) for the heads-up (via RGP)

Apparently there’s a new pinball ‘zine out there.  For $6.25 (including shipping), how could I refuse?

Issue 1 features:

– Pinball Glossary
– TILT TALK: Interview with Multiball editors Brinda Coleman and Sam Soule
– THE REPLAY REVIEW: Star Wars: Episode I (pin2k)
– DREAM MACHINES: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Lawrence of Arabia
– PINHALLS: White River Junction, VT
– VIDEO MODE: Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball
– From Zeros to Heroes: Part 1 – OBSESSION

http://www.droptargetzine.blogspot.com/p/drop-target-shop.html

Volvo is running an online competition with a video pinball game until Nov 18 2010.

*Like any contest of this sort there’s a catch.  Here’s the big catch with this one:

Apparently, you have to live in one of the above countries to compete!  You can still play the game, of course, but whether or not your entry would count for anything is anybody’s guess.

What’s also different about this competition from others I’ve seen is that your score actually counts in this game.  It’s not one of those “play it once – now you’re entered in the prize drawing” kind of thing.  That’s pretty cool.

http://www.letsplays60.com/Home_en_gb.aspx

Here’s the latest promotion video from STERN pinball for their new game Avatar.

Tonight or tomorrow I should have some overhead cam footage of this new game from the San Francisco launch party.

Believe it or not this is an artist’s exhibition:

In 2007, I commissioned the production of a life-like sex doll, a RealDoll, made of a posable PVC skeleton and silicone flesh, in my exact likeness. My doll, Amber Doll, began as a Styrofoam print-out of a digital scan of my head. Her face was then custom-sculpted and later combined with the doll manufacturer’s existing, “Body #8” female doll mold. After completing, “The Making-Of Amber Doll” and “Las Vegas Wedding Ceremony” (both 2007), Amber Doll and I went on to disrupt wedding receptions, roller-skating rinks, football tailgating parties, theme parks, and adult industry conventions. In the resulting series, “To Have, To Hold, and To Violate: Amber and Doll,” ideas surrounding agency and objectification are questioned, as are ideas about the success or failure of negotiating power through one’s own participation in a cultural narrative that declares women as objects. My work with Amber Doll, herself a literal object, deals with such themes through an oftentimes-complicated feminist lens. Similar concerns emerge in my series, “The Feminism? Project” (2006). The script for each video in the series was generated from interviews with women across the state of Iowa on the subject of feminism.

My question is… can I uh… borrow it?

More info here: http://www.youtube.com/user/amberhawkswanson

Walter Hurwitz versus Tim Hansen on Indy 500.  I can’t remember if this was in the Winner’s bracket or the Loser’s bracket.

To view this video in High Definition(HD), click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_3ucqluegk&hd=1

Walter plays Andrei Massenkoff to determine the winner of the Winner’s Bracket.  Since the tournament is Double Elimination, even if Walter loses he still has a chance because he’ll face off in the Loser’s bracket.  The winner of the Loser’s bracket plays the winner of the Winner’s bracket to decide the winner of the tournament.

Walter has his work cut out for him. While all skill levels are represented at BAPA, from novice to expert, Andrei is definitely representative of the high end.

To view this video in High Definition(HD), click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFC-dGQWX1U&hd=1

A little out-take with Mads and Eugene

To view this video in High Definition(HD), click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSyq7dqvPYg&hd=1