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Learn to love Speakeasy

by Jawn Wakefield

Speakeasy is the saddest game at Shorty’s. Look at the backglass: no one is smiling. It’s also the saddest game because it’s the least played pin in the room. This means most people aren’t very good at it and that means the games are over quickly, so you’re statistically more likely to play a tournament match on Speakeasy than any other game. Learn to love it, and learn to play it well so you can crush your opponents with your huge and numerous balls.

Speakeasy is all about the add-a-ball. Master the shots that lead to the extra balls and you can play for hours on fifty cents. There are five ways to get extra balls. Here’s how it’s done:

Roulette Wheel – The simplest and most random. Spin the wheel, hope you hit an extra ball. The downside is that there’s a subtract-a-ball as well, which you’re just as likely to hit. To spin the wheel, hit either of the two kickout holes when lit. The roulette wheel also spins at the end of each ball if you haven’t tilted. You can’t avoid a subtract-a-ball by tilting — once the wheel starts spinning, you’re stuck with the results.

Jokers – Along the right side of the table is the joker lane. Each time the ball rolls through, a joker is lit, and four jokers equal an extra ball. The easiest way is to hit the right kickout hole, which drops the ball right down the lane.

Spades Flyaway Targets – In the center of the playfield are five flyaway targets, the Ten through Ace of Spades. Flip those up in sequence to earn an extra ball and advance the bonus multiplier. Out of sequence will advance your bonus multiplier as well, so they’re great targets to shoot for. These targets reset at the beginning of each ball. 

Hearts Rollover Targets – At the top of the playfield are five rollover targets, the Five through Nine of Hearts. Hit these in sequence and get TWO extra balls. They are persistent between balls, but the sequence detector resets with each ball. This means if you light the first four out of order, drain, then hit the 9 lane you get your balls.

Specials – Speakeasy only allows one replay per game. After that each special will add-a-ball. The best way to exploit this is the right orbit shot. Each time you hit it and finish the Hearts rollovers it advances towards special. When the special gets lit you get an extra ball. Hit the orbit to get a special, then continue to hit it to rack up the extra balls until you max out.

There are three other opportunities for specials. The dice target on the lower left playfield is the first. Hit it to light an arrow, light the arrows toward the outlane until the red one is lit, and roll over the outlane to collect the special. The second is the Chip value lights in front of the flyaway targets. These advance one light each time you flip all five flyaways, and when they are all lit, the red arrow on the right outlane lights for a special. Roll over to collect it. The easiest special is to score 850,000 points. This value is fixed and relatively easy to get with any decent game.

All the extra balls in the world won’t do you any good unless you know how to maximize your score on each one. This game is all about the bonus. The value is persistent, and tops out at 119,000. The real points come from the bonus multiplier, increasing each time you complete all five flyaways or the upper rollovers. The multiplier also affects the points awarded by the roulette wheel, so your best strategy is to go for the 10x bonus on each ball.

With effective ball and bonus management, Speakeasy becomes an endurance game, limited only by how long you can stand to continue playing.

 

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Skill Shot #18 News & Gossip

On Feb. 5th the Seattle Pinball League (SPL) held their first tournament of 2011 at the Seattle Pinball Museum, bringing in about 40 contestants. Despite the ample room at the museum, it felt crowded because most of the players seemed to gravitate towards the back of the room where the late 70’s – early 80’s games are located. Maka and Todd Mac created an interesting twist by having a tie score on Hang Glider which they settled with a one ball play off. The event ended with an excited Sean Burrus taking the #1 spot. The March SPL was held in Bellevue WA at a place called The Great Room. It was also Andrew Nunes’ birthday and George Lally won the tourney. Fun!

SPL President Rod Olsen had his annual Janufest in February this year and there  was lots of beer, sausages, and pinball! Added to the Rod’s usual great line up of games was a Data East Simpsons and a white wood Stern Indiana Jones. Very cool. Also cool was Kevin who picked us up at the Light Rail Station, and Bobby and Kayla who gave us a ride home.  And speaking of Andrew Nunes, he is hosting the 420 Greenwood Pinball Open on April 20th and the grand prize is going to be a Future Spa pinball machine! Nice!

The Seattle Pinball Museum (SPM) had been holding monthly tournaments and getting a good crowd for them. Steve Ackley took 1st at the February tourney and in March, James Edes won first. Unfortunately the SPM tournaments are taking a break and proprietor Charlie Martin is considering a quarterly format as a way of inflicting less wear and tear on the machines, while still keeping the exciting buzz. Yeow!

In other SPM news, at the time of this printing they may have finally signed a lease. You might remember that they originally moved in as part of a city art project, and the museum has proven to be a success in its location, so they are going to stay (hooray!). The SPM hosted a pinball repair class taught by Dominique of Silver Age Silver Ball, who is an EM pinball repairing wizard. 14 people attended the first class and a second one is happening soon, so ask them about it next time you are there (or check on facebook).  There are always new games and interesting things happening at the museum and we think Seattle is lucky Charlie and Cindy have decided to keep the space going. Awesome!

The latest Stern pinball machine, The Rolling Stones, was introduced with Tournament/Launch Parties across the country on March 11th and three of them were in the Pacific Northwest! Portland had one, as well as Dorky’s in Tacoma, and the Seattle Waterfront Arcade downtown. We complained about the Avatar launch party at the Waterfront Arcade in our last issue, but The Rolling Stones event was actually quite fun. It wasn’t as crowded because a lot of people decided to go to Dorky’s, making more room for those of us without cars or the motivation to travel to Tacoma. Cayle George and Chase Nunes won the main tournament, and Skill Shot’s own Bernard Blvd topped in the novice category! Your trophies are in the mail, fellas. Right!

Of the three Rolling Stones pins used at the event, one of them stayed at the Waterfront Arcade, one went to the SPL tourney held the next day, and one of them went to the SPM where it is having an extended stay! Shorty’s got one too (but we think they got it from Dorky’s. The Funhouse decided to replace their pool table with more pinball (3 so far) and they’re all Shorty’s machines! Silver Age Silver Ball has also picked up a new spot, with three pins at the Seattle Tattoo Emporium. Twin Win is one of the tables and it is a tattoo shop, so many were hoping for the bare-bosomed version of the game, but no such luck. Boobs!

The monthly Sunday Pinball Tournament at Shorty’s had a great turnout in March and it was a lot of fun.  The 3PM starting time was delayed because of Timmy’s birthday potluck down the street, but once it got going the tournament moved at a fast pace. ELF won, with Paul and Skill Shot’s newest staff member Graham in 2nd and 3rd respectively. We’ve said it before and we’ll say again, these earlier monthly tournaments are a good thing, even if only 3 people showed up to the one on Super Bowl Sunday. What do you expect when the Black Eyed Peas are playing the half time show? Good Good Night!

A Shorty’s tournament we wish we would have gone to is the Beard and Moustache Pinball Tournament that happened Feb 13th. It was a benefit for foster kids, and all the contestants had to have a beard or moustache (fake ones were ok) and the grand prize was a free tattoo! MAK won and it sounded like fun. This is good time to remind people having pinball related events to send us an email so we can list them on our calendar and web updates. Inviting!

The Ballard Pinball Tournament on Feb 21st had a great turn out of both regulars and newbies. As usual the tournament started at Snoose Junction and then moved to different venues in Ballard. One of the spots was Claire and Headley’s Condo where they have five sweet games in the den (Space Invaders!), with final matches held on Fish Tales at the 2 Bit. It was Metal Night at the Bit and loud, so Julie Gray’s head phones came in handy, especially when she had an epic ball two that included multiple extra balls. That wasn’t the final match though, and ultimately Jawn Wakefield took 1st and Julie took 2nd. The next Ballard Tournament is scheduled for April 25th. Exciting!

Dorky’s Valentine Couples Tournament drew a bunch of romantic-types down to Tacoma. Naturally, Groper and Katy won. Dorky’s goal is to have 100 arcade and pinball machines and while we haven’t made it there yet, we want go. Having a major pinball location in Tacoma has created a challenge for our Seattle Pinball List, in that we don’t have enough space to include locations outside of Seattle. For locations outside of Seattle city limits check out our website: www.skill-shot.com. Sweet!

In other Skill Shot News: Our last Folding Party was a big success and again we thank everyone very much who showed up to help us fold the zine. Mike the new owner of The Lookout was impressed with our volunteers and has planned some kind of pinball related food specials for our next folding party. (Maybe you are reading it there right now?) Distribution is another area where we have been getting some much needed help lately and again, thank you. WE COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP!

A new Skill Shot T Shirt is in our production schedule and will feature a modified version of our last cover, which had Silverball Mania on it. We will have these shirts available sometime before the next issue, and maybe even in time for Powder Puff (May 22nd). The Skill Shot Lighter of the Month sticker was released a short while ago. Designed by Skill Shot’s Nosebleed Larson, this sticker features a full color modified version of issue 15 (Black Hole) and fits perfectly on a Bic Lighter. LOTM stickers are a monthly event and you can find out more about them on line (www.lighterofthemonthclub.com). Fancy!

Pinball Tidbits: The Black Knight 2000 at the Grizzled Wizard is fixed and no longer the saddest pin in Seattle! That honor now goes to Iron Man at the Madison Pub, which defies all attempts at being repaired; and Mad Pub is thinking about starting a weekly pinball event. A Cap Hill Tourney, perhaps? Stay tuned; Full Tilt is opening a new location in Ballard and Justin says that there will be “tons of pins”; The Georgetown Pinball Tournament has been “postponed”;  Cartoonist Jim Woodring is creating a custom-made pinball machine (art work); Check out the remodeled Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show (PAGS) website: www.nwpinballshow.com; Have you been to our website yet? www.skill-shot.com

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Do You Listen To Music While Playing Pinball?

Skill Shot:   There are many great players out there that listen to headphones. Did you see Julie Gray’s epic game on Fish Tales at the Ballard Tournament? She was wearing headphones and she won 2nd place!

Julie Gray:  Thanks for the mention. I listen to music with noise canceling headphones. I find that it really relaxes me being able to tune out what people are saying around me. Themachines are usually too loud when they are together, and you often can’t even hear your own game. So, I have gotten used to not listening to the audio cues of the game. And, if a game has sound issues, it doesn’t affect me. I do have to look up at the display more, so I try not to do that as the ball nears the flippers. ; )

Cheeseboat:  I started wearing headphones at Shorty’s mainly to help me ignore people trying to talk to me (usually guys trying to hit on me). I quickly realized it helped me to block out the noise of the other people and games around me, so I can conce…ntrate on the game in front of me & not get distracted as easily. It also helps me relax & not get nervous while_playing in tournaments. I try to choose music that ‘goes with’ the type of game I’m playing: fast music (rock n’ roll) for fast games and slower music (rockabilly) for slower games like EM’s.

Sometimes it does hinder my playing on games that give verbal clues, like Junkyard telling you which junk you need next, but the benefits of listening to music far outweigh the negatives for me.

Ivy Eads:  I slam the machines so much, IF I wore headphones, they’d be falling off during each ball!

Nosebleed Larson:  Pinball machines should have a headphone jack so you can listen to what it’s saying.  This is Sweet Chris Bell’s idea, not mine.  Something he wants to incorporate into his future game.

 

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Friday tidbits 4/8/11

The new issue is out and mostly distributed. If you haven’t seen one yet you soon will. Or you can subscribe.

The Seattle Pinball List is now updated and reflects changes made since Skill Shot 18 was published. I’ve also added some new tournament dates to the calendar for this month. Check it out.

Thanks to everyone who came to my birthday party at Shorty’s. It was a lot of fun and The Biggest Loser Pinball Tournament was a blast!

Support Local Pinball!

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Friday Tidbits 4/1/11

The new issue is back from the printer (finally)! Look for the first copies to be released this coming Monday at Gordon’s birthday party! There will be a Skill Shot Benefit Pinball Tournament, karaoke and lot’s of zines. We’ll be there around 8 and the tournament starts at 10PM. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=160522254004253

Also: Don’t miss The First Sunday Tournament at Shorty’s this weekend. This will also be the first pinball brunch of the year, so bring something to share if you want to eat and mingle before hand. 1PM for brunch and 3PM for pinball: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144803388920775

We just got back from the Seattle Pinball Museum and they have a lot of new/different games since the last time we were there. A Cyclone and a Hurricane; No Fear; Twilight Zone; they change the pins so often here that you should just expect our Seattle Pinball List to always have some errors! Of special note is Skill Shot 18 cover model Tri Zone having a special spot all to itself in the back. Here’s a link to their hours: LINK Special!

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New Stern Rolling Stones at the Seattle Pinball Museum

We already mentioned it in last Monday’s tidbits, but it bears repeating: if you’re curious about the just-released new Stern Rolling Stones table, it’s currently in the lineup at the Seattle Pinball Museum in the International District.  This is the perfect setting to get familiar with the game — pay the $7 cover and play all the games til the lights go out!  No need for $0.75 per play.

I personally was happily surprised with the game.  The moving Mick Jagger toy was not nearly the nuisance I thought it would be, and made for a fun target.  Parts of the ruleset seem a little arbitrary, but the table flows well and is worth a gander.

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Monday Tidbits 03/07/11

The Sunday Tournament was a lot of fun and had a  lot of people participating. ELF won. It was also Timmy’s birthday.

The Seattle Pinball League is having their next meeting/tournament this Saturday at The Great Room at The Bravern (in Bellevue). Check out their website for for more details: http://seattlepinballleague.com/

The latest Stern pin is The Rolling Stones and there will be two release party/tournaments this Friday! One will be at Dorky’s in Tacoma and the other will be at The Seattle Waterfront Arcade (downtown). Then on Saturday and Sunday two of the Rolling Stones pins will be located at the Seattle Pinball Museum for public play (with the cost of regular admission).

Speaking of the SPM, I’ve heard that this next tournament (2nd Thursdays) is going to be the last one. Further details are not known at this time.

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Calendar updates

I’ve added a few things to the calendar for the next week or so.

More to come…