Categories
news & gossip reviews

100 Pinball Game Equation

An Interview with Math Professor Luke

BB:   X = a player. Z = the number of games played. Y = the number of games needed to win. Can you write this out in math? Basically, for the best two out of three, three out of five, etc.  This is for a two player pinball tournament article in Skill Shot.

Luke:   Hey skipper! I can do my best. Let’s see here. You want to play an odd number of games, so things can’t end in a tie, so for some number nZ = 2n+1. (That is, we can let n be any whole number we want, and then Z will be the n-th odd number; if n=1 we get Z=3games, if n=2 we get Z=5 games, and so on.) So then it’ll takeY=n+1 games to win. I introduced n as a convenience, but we can easily remove it now. As we see, Z = 2Y-1, or equivalently, Y = (Z+1)/2.  Does that help?

BB:  AWESOME!!!

Luke:  I’m glad all those years I spent in grad school weren’t wasted after all! How’s it all going, mister?

BB:   It’s going great. Working on Skill Shot 16.  So Gordon and I played a 2-player 100 game pinball tournament. It took about a week, and he won 71, I won 29.  Afterwards, we played a 10 game tournament, and I won 6, he won 4. So 100 games or 10, we’re still close in skill. How’s your life?

G2:  Hi Luke. We need another pinball equation for determining a fraction or percentage of a pinball tournament where it is possible to have a tie score.  For example: If player X and player Y played 100games of pinball, the equation would express the results as percentages. The equation could also be used in a tournament of 8games or 7 or whatever. We’re thinking about calling the article “Percentages”. It would help people rank themselves.

Luke:  Hey Gord! Let’s see here. Suppose you play a total of T games (100, or 8, or 7, or whatever) and win X of them. Then you’ve won100*X/T percent of your games. We can turn any fraction into a percentage this way, just by multiplying by 100: 0.6 or 6/10 is the same as 60%, etc. Just type 100*X/T into Google and press enter (replacing X and T with the actual numbers, of course) and it’ll even do the computation for you. I freaking love Google.

BB:   Hey Luke, one more question. Do these equations apply to tournaments with more than 2 players?

Luke:   Oh! Good question! The percentage one, definitely. In a tournament, if there are T games played in all, and a certain player wins X of them, he’s won 100X/T percent of all games in the tournament. If a certain player wins X games and that same player plays a total of say D games (maybe he doesn’t play every single game in the tournament; if there are a total of say 30 games in the tournament but this player only plays in 10 of them, then T=30 butD=10) then he’s won 100X/D percent of the games he’s (or she’s) personally played.

The formula for the number of games required to win will still work in a multi-player tournament, *if* a single player has to win more than half of all games to win the tournament. If you just have to win more games than any other player it’d become a lot more complicated! I’ll have to think about that one.

BB:  Anyway, this type of tournament isn’t really all about winning, it’s more of a way to rate your skill against other players. I mean, winning is great, but every game has to be played, even after one player has won the number of games required to beat the other(s). In the 100game tournament, Gordon and I played all 100 games, long after he had already won the tournament by winning 51.

Categories
news & gossip reviews

Pinball Tournaments Are Rad!

by Gordon

Readers of Skill Shot may have noticed that Seattle has a lot of pinball tournaments. Whether at bars, private homes, or public arcades, if you play pinball you’re bound to come across either a tournament while it is happening or a flyer for one that is going to happen soon. This is a good thing because tournaments are fun and they make pinball more exciting than any other arcade game. But for new players, or those who have never participated in a tournament, they can be a little intimidating.

Head-to-Head pinball tournaments are popular in Seattle and the kind of contest you will find in bars like Shorty’s and at the Annual Georgetown Pinball Tournament (which is held at multiple bars). Head-to-Head tournaments put two players against each other in what is a best two-out-of-three match-up. During a single elimination Head-to-Head tournament, the winners keep advancing until there are only two players left for the final game that decides the winner.

In a Double Elimination Head-to-Head tournament, two different brackets are used: a winners’ bracket and a losers’ bracket. The first time a player loses they move into the losers’ bracket and continue to play matches (against other losers) until they lose again and are eliminated from the tournament (hence the name Double Elimination). The players in the losers’ bracket keep advancing until there is only one player left, and the top loser then plays against the final winner from the winners’ bracket. During the final match of a Double Elimination Tournament, the final loser has to win two of the games while the final player from the winners’ bracket only has to win one.

Yet another variation in Head-to-Head is sudden-death, which is simply a single game match instead of the best-of-three. This version is mostly used when time is running out (because the bars close at 2AM).

For more casual tournaments that happen regularly (such as in pinball leagues), the Vancouver Regional Pinball Association style of tournament is popular. The VRPA league point system was developed by Eden Stamm of Vancouver BC, and is a group/point format that has been adapted by many and is especially good for social groups and pinball leagues.

The basics: During the qualifying rounds of the tournament, participants are divided by their skill level into groups of three or four to play a series of matches. Players are then awarded points according to how they placed during each match of the series (1st place gets 7 points, 2nd place gets 5 points, etc). At the end of the qualifying rounds, the total number of points each player acquired are added up to determine who goes on to the next round, ultimately leading to the final match-up that determines the winner of the tournament.

The points that all participants received at past events are averaged together and are carried over to the next (league) tournament so that the players with the highest rankings/number of points can be grouped together. This system is a way of making tournaments in a regular group setting a bit more fair, as it usually places players against each other who have similar pinball skills and insures that all participants have a chance to get further in the qualifying rounds, as opposed to the more random head-to-head style, where a first time player could potentially be matched against a champion.

The Seattle Pinball League uses a version of the VRPA style where the points gained from past tournaments are averaged to determine a player’s ranking. But instead of awarding points gained from each individual match, SPL points are awarded according to how a participant placed in each individual tournament. SPL does it this way because the host of each tournament has the ability to decide what kind of tournament style they wish to have (at their house). Many of the SPL tournaments are done in the VRPA style, but occasionally a tournament style is chosen where counting points during matches is impractical, such as a Round Robin tournament (where only a single point is awarded during each match). While this system may seem confusing at first, like the VRPA, the SPL averages the rankings of the players this way to insure that all members of the league have an equal chance to compete regardless of their skill level.

The Northwest Pinball Championship is the yearly tournament held at PAGS (the Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show). This is an Open Qualifying tournament where participants buy an entry for the qualifying rounds, which allows them to play one of the designated 7 machines set aside specifically for the tournament. Once their game has been played, the score is recorded and compared to that of the other players, with the highest scorers receiving specified points for how they placed at the end of the qualifying rounds (which end at midnight on Saturday). On Sunday the players with the most points advance to the tournament’s final matches, where the champion is determined by the player with the most points (usually the winner of the final match).

Because this is an open qualifying tournament, contestants are free to purchase entry games as often as they want, with their highest score on any particular machine being the one that is counted. Often players will continuously play qualifying games during the event in order to maintain (or surpass) their ranking on that game. Besides the NW Pinball Championship, PAGS also has other side contests, such as a classics tournament (held on older machines), the highest ranking woman, the highest qualifying score, and a tournament for novice players.

One of the most influential pinball tournaments in the country, the World Pinball Championship, is hosted each year in Pennsylvania by the Professional /Amateur Pinball Association. This is an Open Qualifying tournament held at the PAPA facility, which is used almost exclusively for this event and maintains over 400 pinball machines. PAPA has an extensive rule set for the tournament (over 20 pages) and many of the specific rules concerning game play, machine settings, malfunctions, and player conduct have been adopted  by other pinball tournaments around the world (including PAGS and VRPA).

Although many pinball tournaments use the PAPA rules governing the machines and players, it’s the rules of the qualifying rounds at PAPA that can truly boggle the mind. Participants buy an entry in the qualifying round, and then play a total of five different pins (from 10 or 11 designated games). Once they are finished with the five games, their scores are used to determine their ranking on each individual machine and these rankings are then awarded points which are added together to determine an individual entry’s total points. Because the qualifying rounds are continuously happening, it is likely that an individual’s ranking on a particular pin will decrease as the tournament progresses, unless they get a really high score.

Since each entry contains the total scores of five games, each time a player submits a new entry it is possible for them to affect their previous ranking on a pin and also lower their previous points. Their earlier scores are not omitted, no matter how many times they may play a particular machine and each individual entry is considered unique unto itself. While it is not possible for contestants to void a single game, they are allowed to void a whole entry, and this necessitates a strategic game play. While it certainly is a confusing system, it was developed by PAPA as a way to award consistently good players and once the qualifying rounds are over they go back to scoring individual players and their rankings in a more recognizable manner. (Whew!)

Needless to say, pinball tournaments can be as easy or as complicated as the organizer wishes them to be.  They may seem intimidating at first but new players shouldn’t be afraid to give them a try, because playing at tournaments is a fun way to learn more about pinball and a good way to meet other people who also love this great sport!

Other Pinball Tournament games and styles:

PIN Golf. Organizers set out (18) pins and then pick a score (par) for each. Players then try to reach that score in the fewest balls (strokes) possible. The winner is the person who uses the lowest number of balls when totaled after all the games are played (just like golf). A danger of this style of tournament is when the scores for the machines are set too high and players need many balls to reach it. If a player needs more than 3 (or 5) balls to hit the target score then the previous game total must be computed into the next game’s score.

Round Robin: A tournament where all participants play against each other, with the winner being determined by who has won the most matches. This style works best when there is a limited number of players and a lot of pinball machines, because it can last a long time. It was recently used at the Tiger Lounge during the Galactic Girl release party.

The Ballard Pinball Tournament: Pub crawl style. Head-to-Head, double eliminations held at a series of bars in the Ballard neighborhood. Players in the losers’ bracket often found themselves playing their rounds in the least desirable locations! (aka places with broken pins)

Price is Right: A specific score is chosen on each game and players must get as close as they can to that score without going over. Come on down!

Siamnese Twin Half and Half: Two-player teams go head-to-head against each other while wearing one XXXL t-shirt. Each team member can have only one arm out of the sleeves, but both of their heads have to come out of the top.

Quarter Qualifying: Set up a group of machines and let people play them for a set period of time using quarters.  You can spend as much as you want to qualify, contributing to the prize fund at the same time.  This also works very well for a “side tournament”, where one machine is set up and everyone tries to get the best score up to a certain time.  At the end, the person with the highest score gets all the money that was put into the game during the tournament!

Tommy Pinball: A team contest where the person controlling the flippers is blindfolded, while their teammate directs them what to do. The first annual Tommy Tournament happened at Shorty’s this past April.

Pat Hand: Also known as one-handed pinball. Only one hand can be used during each ball. Named after a 1975 William’s pinball machine.

Powder Puff Tournament: A bi-annual Double Elimination Head-to-Head tournament held at Shorty’s for the “anatomically female only”.

Weekly Sunday Tournament: A head-to-head, double elimination tournament that happens every Sunday at Shorty’s and begins at 6PM.

Single Qualifying Tournament:  Each player gets one chance to qualify on a single machine and the four players with the highest scores moves on to the final match-up, which is then a four player game. Highest score wins.  Recently used at the Iron Man tournament.

Categories
news & gossip reviews

One Hand In My Pocket

by Bernard Blvd.

“I could beat your score with one hand tied behind my back.”  Is it a triple dog dare, or….  Pat Hand!

Pat Hand is a great way to play pinball. The concept is simple:  Each player uses one hand per ball.  You are allowed to change hands between balls.  Pat Hand works the best on EM games, but you can play it on all types.  It was even employed by Cayle and Eden in the finals at the last Georgetown tournament.

Pat Hand takes some time to get used to, so take baby steps.  Make sure that you are watching the ball.  You have to be able to anticipate which flipper the ball is going to land on, so that you can switch flippers if necessary.  Nudging the machine is really useful with Pat Hand, because you can push the ball back up into the playfield, giving yourself more reaction time.  Just keep that other hand occupied, because if you slip up and use it, you will be disqualified.  Nobody likes losers!

So yeah, that’s it.  Play with one hand.  What you do with your free hand is up to you.  Many people will hold their beer, or put their hand in their pocket.  I put mine in my man-purse.  Other suggestions:  Eat a hot dog.  Talk on your cell phone.  High-five.  Apply chapstick.  Slap somebody.  Drum for Def Leppard.  Give the Peace sign.  Count to five.  The possibilities are endless.

Let’s all stick our hands in our man-purses and play some Pat Hand!

Categories
news & gossip reviews

Money Money Money

by Bernard Blvd.

It’s time for another great new way to play pinball with your friends:  Dollars!

Dollars is a multiple player game during which each player strategically puts one of their own dollars on the playfield of a chosen pinball machine in an attempt to sabotage the other player(s) game.  So say you’ve got four people on Indiana Jones (the newest one).  Your friends would probably put dollars in the most obvious spots like:  Over the two scoops (there are bumpers behind them and the Sankara Stone scoop isn’t always open), hiding the magnet in front of the arc (that’s a good way to distract other players from an easy target for multiball), or covering the flippers (duh).

Their choices leave you free to be more careful with your own dollar placement.  A good spot would be over the plunger lane because you can cover the five choices for the skill shot.  Another place that could handicap your opponents is over the pegs on top of the side drains.  That’s a spot where most champs can save their ball by nudging the machine, so placing a dollar there increases your chances of crippling the competition and winning FOUR BUCKS!

Of course, you can put more than one dollar down, and have each player put in a dollar at the start of every ball.  Although this option is more profitable for the winner, playing ball three with twelve dollars covering the playfield is hard.  And most people can’t afford to spend three dollars to play pinball in this economy.

But some people are still rich.  Why not play five dollars?  A hundred?  With the stakes a lot higher, players could get so into the game that they try to actually move the dollars by shaking the machine.  What about a million?  Maybe someday James Bond will bet one hundred million dollars on one ball in a big budget 007 movie.  My suggestion for the title:  Goldflipper.

So you put in a buck, pick a spot that you think would be hard for your competition to play without being able to see it, and lay your money down.  You could win a million dollars!  But remember, betting money on pinball is illegal and we only “play flipper skill games for fun and recreation”, so if the cops show up, grab that dough and run.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Categories
news & gossip reviews

Right Here Right Now

By Bernard Blvd.

Introducing another great new way to play pinball:  Skill Shot’s NOW!  The point of NOW! is to switch players mid-turn with whoever happens to be playing and standing closest to you.  When you reach a point during play where the ball is suspended for a period of time, loudly say “NOW!” and the player you choose to go next hops onto the flippers.  In choosing that player, you must believe in their ability to keep the ball in play, and to not get caught off guard and drain the ball immediately.  The surprise of the switch can sometimes throw people off, so everyone playing has to be prepared to jump in when they hear “NOW!”.

A good time to shout “NOW!” would be before a multiball (when the ball is locked and the dot-matrix display is going multiball crazy), when the ball lands in a scoop, or when the game starts up a mode.  More advanced players of NOW! can do it when the ball goes around a ramp or even when it is going up the playfield after hitting the flipper.  This last option leaves little time for the next player to react, so remember to only do that move if they are an expert of the game.

NOW! is great for playing with people in a bar or social setting, because you can stop playing in the middle of your turn without wasting the ball or giving up the game.  This might free you up when a friend shows up that you want to talk to, or if it is your turn to buy the next pitcher and your friends are getting thirsty.  NOW! is a Round and Round type of game, as the nature of it doesn’t allow for score keeping or typical three ball games.  NOW! is a fun way to interact socially while practicing America’s favorite pastime, Pinball!

Coming up next:  Dollars!

Categories
news & gossip reviews

Room For Cream?

By Bernard Boulevard

It’s time for another new fun way to play pinball:  Skill Shot’s newest creation, HALF AND HALF!!

Known to some players as Flippers, Half and Half is a great way to find out which flipper works best for you in a pinball game.  If you suck playing only the left flipper, you might see that right flipper in a different light.

Each player takes a flipper, and an (optional) third player pulls the plunger.  The object of the game is the same as with any ball in any pinball game:  Keep the ball in play! Novices will find it strange to have no control over the opposite flipper, while experienced players will learn how to control the ball in a way that involves trusting the other player’s ability.  Being able to guess your partner’s next move is a key factor.  If you know that they can hit the trapped balls for Stewie Pinball with ease, you can bounce the ball from your flipper to your partner’s to the best effect.  But you must be sure!  If your partner isn’t paying attention or doesn’t know what he’s doing (hello Jerry!), the ball will just roll down the drain.

Playing Half and Half is the best in bars, because you have a free hand for your beer.  No more getting poisoned!  And you can include friends that normally wouldn’t play (like with Round and Round) because there is very little commitment or chance for embarrassment.  Half and Half is basically a Round and Round style game:  Each ball speaks for itself.  You can play a full game with Half and Half, but each player has to commit to a flipper.  There’s just no way to regulate the game play and scores when everyone switches flippers all the time.  The fun is in the interactivity of the game.  You are face to face with your partner, and can share ideas on the game.  Teamwork makes the dream work!

Other reasons why Half and Half rocks:

  1. To get rid of the last ball of a player who’s name just got called for pool.
  2. You can take your friend’s turn while they’re making out.
  3. If your partner drains the ball, you can blame it all on him/her.
  4. If you drain the ball, you can blame all it on Half and Half.

Coming up next:  Skill Shot’s NOW!

Categories
news & gossip reviews

What Comes Around Goes Around

By Bernard Boulevard

Picture this:  It’s Saturday night, and you’re out at your favorite pub with 4 of your friends, itching to play a few games of pinball.  You grab a couple of pitchers and head to the pinball area.  There are three games, and no one is playing them yet.  You and your buddies do the math:  There are five of you, and three pinball machines.  Since most pinball games have a 4 player limit, there’s no way you can all play the same game, unless you shuck the whole idea of playing traditional 3 ball games, and play the new Skill Shot game (patent pending), “Round and Round”!

Here’s how it works:  As in the above scenario, you’ve got three open pinball machines and five pinball-hungry friends.  Drop enough quarters or singles into one or more of the machines until each machine has enough credits for a 4 player game.  Press Start four times, and the game is on.  Whoever wants to take a turn goes next.  There is no typical “game” other than the ball you are playing, because, as is Skill Shot’s motto, “It Only Takes One Ball”!  Hop from game to game, ask one of your buddies if he’s played game So-And-So yet and let him go next, or play one ball for a half hour while your friends cheer you on.  It’s all about one ball, so don’t worry about high scores, getting your initials in, or trying to outplay your friends.  And setting up shots is great, because it can be fun to watch a newbie get the ball that you were the last to play and see him get multiball or extra ball or even Stewie Pinball (if you’re playing Family Guy).

Round and Round works with many combinations of machines and players.  Eight people can buy into one or more machines, while three people can play it on two machines.  The only time it won’t work is if two of you are playing one machine in a two player game (no matter what, it’s still a two player game, right?).  Playing Round and Round with people that are uncomfortable playing pinball (“I suck at it!”  Yeah, right.) can be awesome because each ball is like a clean slate, and it can be seen by novices as a practice session or a learning experience without the outcome of an embarrassingly low score.  Or it can be a way to include all of your friends in America’s Favorite Pastime:  PINBALL!  With Round and Round, it only takes one ball, literally.

Coming up next, another new Skill Shot game:  “Half and Half”! (patent pending)