Rocket Robin, Michigan’s only IFPA-sanctioned round robin pinball tournament, will be returning again on Tuesday, July 9 at 6:30 pm. We will play a round robin tournament or as many rounds of one as time permits (using true Swiss pairings). Everyone plays the entire tournament and you are guaranteed not to play the same person twice! The cost to enter is $10 plus coin drop. This is a charity tournament, so $9 of each entry fee will go to the Capital Area Humane Society and the other $1 will be used to pay the IFPA tithe. As always, there will be themed trophies and plenty of fun for players of all skill levels.
As the LPL is on hiatus during July, this will let everyone scratch the pinball itch. We will also have SummerSlam qualifying open before the tournament.
The annual Stephen T. Kendrick Memorial March Hare Madness tournament returns to the Avenue Cafe in Lansing on April 2nd, this time with a new format. This year it will be a Critical Hit match-play tournament. To the best of my knowledge, this will be the first Critical Hit tournament in Michigan. What are rabbits known for? No, the other thing. Magic! Critical Hit is a format that uses a deck of (IFPA-sanctioned!) cards that allow players to “cast spells” during the tournament. Spells that, for instance, allow you to force everyone in your group to replay a game, or make a game disappear for the whole rest of the tournament, or let you shake a game in an attempt to give someone else tilt warnings. Players will all be dealt two random cards to start, and additional cards may be earned by meeting specific goals during the course of play.
We will play four-player (or in some cases three-player) rounds with Pinburgh (3/2/1/0) scoring from 6:30 until 10:00 pm. After the last round, the top four scoring players will move on to a three-game final round. Players are asked to be on-site by 6:20 to register as we will begin promptly at 6:30.
To borrow from Watership Down: “be cunning and full of tricks” and you will carry home one of this year’s custom rabbit-themed trophies, one for each of the four finalists. This tournament honors my lost rabbit Stephen, a giant among rabbits, and thus it benefits the rabbit rescue from which I adopted him, Rabbit and Small Animal Rescue (RASA Rescue) of Westland, a registered nonprofit charity. The cost of the tournament is $10 plus coin drop. $9 goes directly to RASA Rescue and $1 covers our IFPA fees. Trophy costs and the cost of the Critical Hit deck are donations by the tournament organizers.
For the latest updates and discussion of the tournament, visit our Facebook event page.
On Saturday, February 9, we will be holding Mad Monster Party: The Munsters Launch Party at The Avenue Café in Lansing. This is a launch party using the same format as our Battle of the Bands II launch for The Beatles. Qualifying will be from 3 pm (when the bar opens) until 6:30 pm. The qualifying format will be “best game” on The Addams Family, Ghostbusters, Monster Bash, The Munsters, and Scared Stiff, with the player’s best 3 of the 5 counting. Each player will be limited to two attempts on each machine. At 6:30 pm, the top 8* qualifiers will go on to to a 3-game semifinal match in two groups of 4, and then two from each group will go to finals and play a 3-game final match. The tournament is free except for coin drop.
*If there are under 16 eligible players, defined as people who put in at least two qualifying games, this number will change as follows:
14-15 eligible players: 7 go to semifinals (3/4 groups) 12-13 eligible players: 6 go to semifinals (3/3 groups) 10-11 eligible players: 5 go to semifinals (3 play off, 2 get a bye) 8-9 eligible players: no semifinals, 4 go to finals 6-7 eligible players: no semifinals, 3 go to finals 5 or fewer eligible players: no semifinals, 2-player finals, I cry a little
Note that if any of the games (besides the Munsters) goes down or is removed from The Avenue before the tournament, the substitute game will be Attack from Mars.
For further information and the latest updates, join the Facebook event page.
The fourth annual Silver Balls in the City charity pinball tournament will be held at 6:30 pm on Dec. 27 at the Avenue Café in Lansing. The tournament will once again support the Capital Area Humane Society, but this year there will be a new twist. We will be holding a 10-strike progressive strikes tournament. In this format, you receive a number of strikes according to how many people finished ahead of you in a four-player group. If you come in first, you receive no strikes; second, one strike; third, two strikes; fourth, three strikes.
The top three finishers will receive holiday-themed trophies. Additional festivities will also be in store, including a random translite giveaway. The cost to enter is $10 plus coin drop, with $9 of each entry going to CAHS and the other $1 going to the IFPA for our sanctioning fee. Everyone who plays in this tournament will become a world ranked pinball player!
For more information and the latest updates, please join our Facebook event page.
That’s right, The Beatles are coming to the Avenue Café in Lansing, in the form of the new pinball game. We will be one of the few places in the state to have this game on location! And to celebrate we are taking part in the official Stern launch party. That means PRIZES! TROPHIES! FUN FUN FUN!!!
This will be run as Battle of the Bands II, the sequel to our Iron Maiden Battle of the Bands tournament. The format will be similar. Qualifying will be from 4 pm until 8 pm. The qualifying format will be “best game” on Elvis, AC/DC, Metallica, Iron Maiden and The Beatles, with the player’s best 3 of the 5 counting. Each player will be limited to two attempts on each machine. At 8 pm, the top 8* qualifiers will go on to to a 3-game semifinal match in two groups of 4, and then two from each group will go to finals and play a 3-game final match. The cost of this tournament is $1 per player to register, plus coin drop.
*If there are under 16 eligible players, defined as people who put in at least two qualifying games, this number will change as follows:
14-15 eligible players: 7 go to semifinals (3/4 groups)
12-13 eligible players: 6 go to semifinals (3/3 groups)
10-11 eligible players: 5 go to semifinals (3 play off, 2 get a bye)
8-9 eligible players: no semifinals, 4 go to finals
6-7 eligible players: no semifinals, 3 go to finals
5 or fewer eligible players: no semifinals, 2-player finals, I cry a little
We’re hours away from the start of season 11, so naturally there’s no better time to give a recap of Super-Ball X, AKA the Zen Tournament, which took place on May 22. Sadly, our turnout for the traditional split flipper tournament was very low. We ended up doing a round robin with the idea that the top two teams would go on to finals. Unfortunately, we ended up with a three way tie between three of the four teams (Derik and I were the unlucky fourth team), a tie which was played off on a randomly chosen game. That game? Game of Thrones. Danny and Karen’s team got eliminated, leaving the Joseph and Tim team and the Mike S. and Bryan team to go to finals.
Mike measures out his Addams Family skill shot while Bryan observes.
Although Derik and I lost the war, we won some very good battles, including a game of The Addams Family in which crazy shots that shouldn’t have worked kept happening. “That’s one way to do it,” Derik said after we somehow managed to shoot the vault with the upper flipper. “That’s another way to do it,” he said after a ricochet from a lower flipper shot somehow hit the jackpot. Crazy luck like that kept on happening until Derik eventually said, “Turns out there are many ways to do things.”
Joseph and Tim won Super-Ball X, making Joseph the second-ever three-time Super-Ball champion (Mike S. is the other).
Joseph and Tim display their classy, luxurious Zen trophies.
Meanwhile, we did have our last Smackdown tournament of the season, on Attack from Mars, which was complicated by the fact that teams that played in the Super-Ball finals couldn’t participate. We didn’t have a Rookie final this time because all the available Rookies were playing in A division. Ultimately I gave the Rookie medal to the highest Rookie finisher, which was Karen. Danny won the main Smackdown medal.
Despite the low turnout, the mood was festive and I think everyone had a good time. We will continue the tradition of the Super-Ball tournament after season 11. It’s never too early to start practicing your split flipper game!
The Lansing Pinball League is pleased to announce the return of Michigan’s only round robin* tournament! The third annual Rocket Robin will support the Capital Area Humane Society. This is an IFPA sanctioned event, and the top three will receive trophies.
Everyone is invited to play, and all skill levels are welcome. The cost will be $10, with $9 from each entry fee going to the Capital Area Humane Society, and $1 to the IFPA for their sanctioning fee.
*We will play however many rounds we can get in within the allotted time. Depending on turnout and other factors, this may or may not be a full round robin, but we will be using Swiss pairings, which results in a good simulation of round robin even if we do not get through a full round robin.
Matt P. and Danny, the Dream Team, in the Super-Ball finals.
Good heavens, how the time slips by. It has been quite a while since my last update, long enough that I never even got a chance to write about the two between-season events, and here we are about to have the third meeting of the “new” season. Let me do something about that.
After Season 9 we had our usual post-season Zen (split flipper) tournament, Super-Ball IX. The competition was fierce, but in the end Mike S. and Tim beat the “Dream Team” of Matt and Danny. (Matt has claimed all of his teams as the “Dream Team,” but this one seemed like a pretty strong contender for the title.) This made Mike the first ever three-time Zen Champion in the League’s history. The night ended on a sentimental note, as it was Matt’s last night as the League president. Everyone extended heartfelt thanks to him for founding the league and serving as its steward for nine seasons. He said that knowing the league would continue on with or without him gave him a good feeling. I said, “I get it. You have a legacy.”
Zen champions of Season 9, Tim and Mike S.
Trophies for the Silver Balls in the City tournament.
As usual, the league took a break until January, but in the meantime I hosted the third annual Silver Balls in the City charity tournament on December 27, benefiting the Capital Area Humane Society. Several people competed who had not attended an Avenue tournament before, including Derik from Pinball Pete’s, known to us in the past only as “the guy who fixes the pinball machines at the Avenue.” I knew him more by reputation than anything else. I had seen him once or twice and spoken to him in passing, but he had not played with the league so I hadn’t previously known what a skilled pinball player he is. He brought an extra $100 donation from Pinball Pete’s with him. Meanwhile, Speedy from Pinball Pete’s in Ann Arbor also attended. I had just met him a few days before when I happened to be at AA Pete’s while an informal league meeting was going on there. He brought two 40 lb. bags of dog food as an in-kind donation for CAHS. Pete’s also had Speedy and Derik bring some Pinball Pete’s T-shirts to give away as door prizes. This was all a big and very welcome surprise.
Quite a few other new-to-us players were in attendance, and Jake, who had first played at
Silver Balls tournament in progress.
the Avenue in the Fear and Trembling tournament in October, came back for more. And, of course, many of the usual suspects from league made an appearance.
The first time I did a Silver Balls tournament, it was four strikes, and we ended up just barely finishing before the bar closed. This time I was conservative and did three strikes, and we actually got done more quickly than I would have liked. Someday I’ll get this tweaked just right. Mike S. took first place (on a roll after his Zen victory), and two people playing in their first Avenue tournaments got second and third: Derik and Melinda (respectively). Melinda was especially pleased with her Santa-themed trophy, saying that it was the first time she had won hardware in a tournament.
Silver Balls winners Mike S., Melinda, and Derik.
That’s some catching up caught up on. Next I’ll be giving my report on the start of the new season, so expect to see that shortly!
The Fear and Trembling Pingolf Tournament will be returning to The Avenue on October 25 beginning at 6 p.m. As with last year, the theme will be “hard choices,” but this year there will be a new format and IFPA endorsement for WPPR points. The registration fee is $10 (all of which goes directly to the charity) and players are additionally responsible for coin drop on the games.
Each game on the course will have a choice between two objectives. The goal is to try to meet your objective in 1 ball for a hole in one – or in as few balls as possible. The catch is that you must declare your choice of objective before starting. If you call one objective and accidentally meet the other sooner, tough luck!
Four finalists will go to a three-game final series, and all four finalists will receive a Halloween-themed trophy.
Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the event! If you’re on Facebook, join our event page.
