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Do you enter competitions?

All fair points Wayne. Thank you for taking this on and for opening this up for debate.

The league, ukcs and non-tournament shows do give three completely different experiences, so there is something for everyone in this hobby.

I got planning permission for my new pinshed yesterday. It will comfortably take my 12 games. It should be up by the autumn and I am happy to host one of your new tournament formats when it is all done.

D
 
I started coming to shows/tournaments as it was hard to find pinball tables to play elsewhere, and especially well maintained tables that weren't set to No Ball Save, etc so they just ate your money if you tried to get to know the machine. I do like the competitions as they focus your mind and can push you to do better than you normally would and the social side is a lot of fun. The variety of tables is amazing and helps me decide what is on a 'To Buy' list, whenever that becomes possible. I have the same amount of fun whether I do well or not and find it quite amusing when people swear at or physically attack the tables if they drain, as its just one of those things.

I have a lot of respect for all the tournament directors who put a lot of work in to make them happen. Being new to this, I'm not sure of the history but it does seem like the UK needs a Flagship event in the most prestigious venue, with the very latest tables which could attract foreign players. The Belgian Open, Hungary Open, etc all attract 5 or 6 UK players over to them. Last years's UK Open had 30 players in total I think. It was still a great fun event, but didn't have the draw or gravitas that these others did. This years Open is apparently scheduled to be on in 4 months time but there's no info available. I'm sure the organisation is a mammoth task but no info probably = no enthusiasm amongst many players, especially from abroad. If it's a case where more people are needed to help out, lets open that out and get people involved.

Tilt or Chief Coffee seem to be the best equipped, machine wise, to put something like this on but would get very crowded with 40+ in attendance. Imagine a tournament with a few Aerosmiths, Aliens, Ghostbusters, KISSs, Hobbits, WOZs. Personally I feel this would attract new players and probably secure more sales of these tables too, thus the scene grows. I totally understand the fiscal risks that makes this unlikely tho.
 
Often wondered what it would be like to play in a one ball, knock out tournament;)

Kind of like a World Cup draw - 2 players head to head, one gets knocked out, other progresses to next round, until the final.

Advantages of one ball is that it is a kind of handicapping, fun, and gives those who never win tournaments a sliver of a chance to win as luck plays a bigger part.

I can hear the cries already ' ball hit the post and went straight down the middle, didn't even flip it, so unfair, stupid tournament' :D

This could be something fun, run along side all the other events.
 
Wayne J said:
At least we don't have the kind of money they have in the US to complicate matters. That's when people start getting serious
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Then I dread to think how much more serious some players would get if this was the case!
 
My thoughs:

1/ Absolutely love the regional leagues. There is such a good atmosphere and group of folk at the northern meets that it would be worth going just for the social gathering, never even mind the pinball side of it
2/ UKCS was fine in general although as others have stated its a bit much to sometimes have to travel a good distance to have say 2 comp games and then be knocked out. No matter how good you are this has happened to everyone at some stage and is very frustrating. Plus there has been very few events in the northern area compared to others. I won't be travelling to these anymore due to family matters
3/ I couldn't give the slightest of tosses about WPPR points, for some its just a vanity project (ooh, look at my world ranking, aren't I special). Plus it is so heavily weighted against non-US events that you may as well not even bother!
 
windoesnot said:
2/ UKCS was fine in general although as others have stated its a bit much to sometimes have to travel a good distance to have say 2 comp games and then be knocked out.
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The UKCS was originally designed to be run alongside another 'open' comp to combat this. Last year was a bit different due to the fact the UK League finals were held in conjunction meaning the very real probability that you had only qualified for 1 of them. I'm sure this will be looked at for future occurrences.

windoesnot said:
Plus there has been very few events in the northern area compared to others
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4 years ago there were no competitions in the Midlands, other than the UK league, it needs somebody to bite the bullet and organise it themselves. If you host it - people will come.
In an ideal world there'd be venues across the country which could host decent sized comps, without having to rely on people bringing machines along to major shows, unfortunately that isn't the case so we have to make do with what we've got.
It only needs 6 machines to run a decent competition. If anyone wants to run a comp, I'm more than happy to offer some idea of formats and design the spreadsheets. Just drop me a mail
 
Wayne J said:
The UKCS was originally designed to be run alongside another 'open' comp to combat this. Last year was a bit different due to the fact the UK League finals were held in conjunction meaning the very real probability that you had only qualified for 1 of them. I'm sure this will be looked at for future occurrences
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I should have clarified this point better. I didn't mean the finals themselves as lets face it, if you've qualified for finals then you should know what to expect. What I meant was some of the singular events during the season itself. Obviously the event formats are different and its good to have variety but some don't exactly offer a good number of games for those who are eliminated early.
 
Replay said:
Often wondered what it would be like to play in a one ball, knock out tournament;)

Kind of like a World Cup draw - 2 players head to head, one gets knocked out, other progresses to next round, until the final.

Advantages of one ball is that it is a kind of handicapping, fun, and gives those who never win tournaments a sliver of a chance to win as luck plays a bigger part.

I can hear the cries already ' ball hit the post and went straight down the middle, didn't even flip it, so unfair, stupid tournament' :D

This could be something fun, run along side all the other events.
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Similar kind of thing.
I like the idea of a competition where you play all 3 balls , but only the points you score on your LAST ball count. You use your first 2 balls to set up the perfect stack, or build your bonus multipliers, or get multiball ready, then you end up with a house ball.

Good examples of machines to use, which would all require different strategies, could include:
Flash Gordon- spend your first 2 balls trying to get building the bonus multiplier (which holds for the last ball)
Eight Ball Deluxe - complete a rack to get the super bonus
Metallica- have a CIU mode, or multiball ready to start
Ghostbusters - get a big score on your first 2 balls, with bonus hold so that the skill shot is worth loads
White Water - have 5x times scoring and multiball lined up.

Last ball would become so much more stressful :)

the possibilities are endless, although it would be more labour intensive to monitor and record scores.
 
Happy to share my opinions on this,

For sake of good debate then, I guess I'm pretty much at the polar opposite end of the spectrum to most others here. I love competition, infact without competition I would most likely no longer be in the hobby. Playing the best players in the world is the thing that drives me. I know that I'm in the complete minority with that view within the UK, but that doesn't make me a nob. I feel like many people frown on competition, which is a shame. We have such a niche community that it's a shame that divides happen. I completely get enjoying the different aspects of the hobby, I love playing with friends, the hunt of collecting etc, but it's all pinball at the end of the day.

The UK competition scene has been pretty dead for a while now. Tournaments have dropped away which has meant that travelling to Europe has become a necessity if you want to play in big competitions. Again, this is irrelevant to most here, but just my perspective. Points are a non issue for me, they used to be important, but in reality, once you have played the same people in the UK enough times, you get to know your level. I've only played in one tournament so far this year, which is a real shame, I still feel like I have the desire to compete, but no real outlet.

Anyway, just thought it would be worth adding a different perspective to the debate.

Cheers, Craig
 
Scrap head to head format. People liked to play in their own groups at league meets.
At the Welsh weekend, I used a Qualifying system for Top 16, others were non-qualifiers, so no last place embarassment. It worked, so would use the same system again.
 
So, I have started watching some of the big US competitions and it's great to see such cool flipper skills. I have decided I want to start entering competitions but won't until I can at least feel I can compete at beyond numpty level! Never qualified for anything in past comps.

So, I am going to start practicing and have quickly realized that whilst flipper control is improving, my aim is shocking. The main game I am playing is AS right now and it is a brutal ass kicker for missed shots. Right now looking for tips to improve aim?!

Once home scores get to a decent level, might be fun to enter comps again.
 
Been watching the Buffalo stream - gobsmacked to see Levi get a billion point hurry up on AFM:eek: Makes me realize I need to play better to see things I didn't even know were possible in games.
 
Replay said:
So, I have started watching some of the big US competitions and it's great to see such cool flipper skills. I have decided I want to start entering competitions but won't until I can at least feel I can compete at beyond numpty level! Never qualified for anything in past comps.

So, I am going to start practicing and have quickly realized that whilst flipper control is improving, my aim is shocking. The main game I am playing is AS right now and it is a brutal ass kicker for missed shots. Right now looking for tips to improve aim?!

Once home scores get to a decent level, might be fun to enter comps again.
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Try this for aiming. Instead of aiming at, let's say, a ramp that is halfway up the table, actually aim at something in between that is in line with the ramp. Usually some art or an insert on the playfield.

As an example. I used to struggle to hit the RIOT shot on TWD. It is a long shot and I found I can hit it a lot more consistently if I aim at the first L in the WELL Walker inserts.

IMG_1614.JPG
 
stoptap said:
Try this for aiming. Instead of aiming at, let's say, a ramp that is halfway up the table, actually aim at something in between that is in line with the ramp. Usually some art or an insert on the playfield.

As an example. I used to struggle to hit the RIOT shot on TWD. It is a long shot and I found I can hit it a lot more consistently if I aim at the first L in the WELL Walker inserts.

View attachment 50610
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Nice technique:)
Jack Nicklaus the Golfer used to aim at something on the tee instead of the fairway. Will try this technique for pinball!
 
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never entered competitions i did go once to the ukpp , last one at Daventry but only to play the machines set up for the public ( great event )
i have a couple of segas that i am lucky to have kept going with my limited knowledge only because
1) i am crap at playing hard enough to keep the ball in play let alone hit anything i aim for
2) finding the time i have other hobbies classic cars ,mountain biking , working nights , etc
 
I find the competitions exciting - been to Matts London league a couple of times, SWL event last weekend, RobotGreg's bash and Pinburgh. And loved it all but playing in comps brings new challenges - first is you need to get used to playing in comps. I also think competitions should be arranged so you are playing someone rather than just writing your score down. I'd love if more of you guys came to pinburgh next year - I know it's a Trek but you can do it low cost - the experience there was just insane - I defy a pinhead not to enjoy it - it's full on pinball playing machines you don't know, playing against a lot of new people - the social aspect of it is superb, met many new friends!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Sat 2nd Dec 2017. That's the day pinburgh tickets go on sale. And if it's anything like previous years they'll be sold out 30-60 mins later. You can get 100% refunds (sans fees) for months after, so worth at least getting a foot in the door.

I really missed it this year. Exchange rate be damned, pretty determined to make it back for 2018
 
Neil McRae said:
I find the competitions exciting - been to Matts London league a couple of times, SWL event last weekend, RobotGreg's bash and Pinburgh. And loved it all but playing in comps brings new challenges - first is you need to get used to playing in comps. I also think competitions should be arranged so you are playing someone rather than just writing your score down. I'd love if more of you guys came to pinburgh next year - I know it's a Trek but you can do it low cost - the experience there was just insane - I defy a pinhead not to enjoy it - it's full on pinball playing machines you don't know, playing against a lot of new people - the social aspect of it is superb, met many new friends!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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So, anyone can enter? Even with a rank in the 7000's??!

Only way I could swing this is to tell my wife I have a realistic chance of bring home the $15000 first prize:D:rolleyes:
 
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