What's new
By:
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Pinball Office league?

Lecari

Lecari

Site Supporter
Joined
Aug 16, 2021
Messages
889
Location
Sudbury, Suffolk
Hi everyone

Chris and I have been talking about setting up a Pinball Office league in the new year, on either Saturday or a Sunday afternoon from 4-5pm.

It'd be a best game format with 10-15 games to play each week. I'm not sure at this stage exactly how long each "season" would be - I feel like every other week may work better, as it's a weekend event, but unsure on length of each season just yet. Electric Circus classic league is 8-10 weeks then a finals event and Pinball Republic's league was twice a month, with the finals on the second week. But I wanted to gauge interest and opinion first before deciding!

Obviously there wouldn't be many IFPA points involved, but it'd be more of a fun social event (and there would be cheesecake!).

Would you be interested? Would you prefer a Saturday or a Sunday evening? Would weekly meet ups work for you, or would you prefer fortnightly? Thoughts and feedback welcome! :)

Best wishes
Claire
 
I'd certainly be interested, as I keep meaning to go to the Pinball Office more often.

My personal thoughts on this are:

Saturday may work better than Sunday, particularly if it finishes reasonably late, and those travelling a fair distance/time have work early on Monday.

If doing the afternoon, an earlier start may be better (4pm or earlier, rather than 5pm) so people aren't getting home really late, although the Pinball Office public opening times are currently until 5pm Saturday, but not sure if that would be an issue - Pinball Republic have public sessions running alongside their competitions on a Thursday, although there is a larger number of machines there. Having said that, having some overlap with the public session might encourage some of the casual public visitors to join in with the league?

If it's a league, then I'd suggest it needs to accommodate those who cannot make all the weeks, so say that a league "season" consists of 8 Saturdays (whether weekly or once a fortnight) followed by a finals, then maybe have a person's best 4 or 5 scores count towards qualifying for the finals. In this way, people who can't make all 8 weeks are still interested, and those who can make all 8 weeks are still interested in improving their best 4 or 5 scores.

I think fortnightly may work better than weekly for many, as a lot of people have stuff that they do on a Saturday (and Sunday), so the idea of weekly seems like a big commitment potentially taking out 8 consecutive Saturday afternoons/evenings.

As you mentioned, this type of format won't generate significant IFPA points (one of the reasons PBR switched from an 8 week league format), but a regular meet does sound like a good idea.

Final point, and I'm not sure how this could be made to work with an 8 week and finals setup, is that as this would be more of a social/friendly series (rather than focussing on IFPA points), the one issue I have with best game, and pingolf formats is that it isn't very social. Sure you can play it in groups of 2,3, or 4, but people stick to the same groups of friends, or play solo (and given the number of games in the Thursday comps at PBR, playing in groups of more than 2 limits you for time). I've always found matchplay events more social as you end up playing with/against lots of different people. I'm not saying the format should necessarily be matchplay, but some way of organising it (even if it is best game), so that people end up playing 2,3, or 4 player games with different players would maybe make for a more sociable experience - especially for those who come along on their own.

All just my 2ps worth, but you did ask!
 
Last edited:
Oh I'd love to join - the time actually suits me for once (leagues are often difficult for me to be able to attend regularly, working nightshifts) I would only be able to do it on Saturdays though, as I work most Sunday nights. Plus as a huge formula 1 fan I wouldn't really want to miss the race on a regular basis if it was during the season.
I'd prefer two-weekly as well, I think every week would be a little bit too much with other things to do.

Not that I care a huge amount or anything, but I'm curious if anyone knows why leagues give very low IFPA points?
 
My thoughts would be to keep it casual and not too intense as from what I gather this is a great way to get more people into the competitive side of Pinball. Chris has a good regular turnout but I believe most are people new to pinball or who haven't played in years, so not the typical competition or wppr types.

I think to build a new community based around the pinball office you need to attract those regulars who wouldn't have considered the competitive side, thought it sounds too serious or think they aren't good enough.

I'd start small to tempt those people and as it grows it will develop 😄

You wouldn't want 18-22 games like at PBR, a casual attendee who just wants to play won't want to do that.
Small amount of games and wpprs at first and I'm sure people will get the bug😏
 
Martywolfman said:
Not that I care a huge amount or anything, but I'm curious if anyone knows why leagues give very low IFPA points?
Click to expand...
The points basically got nerfed earlier this year by the IFPA so it wouldn't be worth as much. I guess to stop people from taking advantage by creating a 'league night' with just a handful of their friends and farming points? Not really sure - @Wizcat will likely know more!

It seems like every other Saturday would work best for people so far. Would be great to get some people new to pinball along too. @C&C - I totally understand what you mean about 'best game' nights mean that people tend to play with friends (I'm guilty of this too - I'll try and change that when I'm there next!). My thinking is that if we do maybe 10 games to start off with in a 'best game' format, it means people don't have to rush to play their games, so they should have time to chat - but also means if we don't get lots of people attending each session, it won't matter so much. Matchplay is great as it does encourage everyone to mingle and chat to new people, but you do need larger numbers to make it work.

It depends how much interest we get really - I like that Pinball Republic changes the format each week so I could do that when it's more established (switching between Best Game, Flip Frenzy, Matchplay, Pingolf) as I'd like to make it a fun event for everyone :)
 
It depends if you want it to be an event that runs during a normal session but let's more casual players dip their toes in. I like the idea of small competitions like PBR but they require rigidity with time.
Maybe an idea for later on?

I think a best game/high score like comp with a finals would be good. But at a much smaller scale than PBR.
 
Lecari said:
@Wizcat will likely know more!
Click to expand...

Rules nerd is here! :wave:

The IFPA nerfed comps that were solely 'best game' format a few years back. It was mainly a reaction to a 'super league' format that was run at Modern Pinball NYC which was best game format, and run over a month. It was a format that allowed anyone to turn up whilst the venue was open, play their games, and then be ranked into that months league.

The 'fix' to that was to ensure that at least the top 10% (and no more than 50%) ranked players had to play a finals bracket in a 'direct play' format.

So you could take that approach - to put the top 10% of players into a playoff, so long as your finalists don't mind waiting around until the end of the day. That way each league meet is it's own comp.

Or if you prefer the casual league play format you have described, then it can still be IFPA ranked (once, when the league is completed) so long as you don't go over 50 players in total.

All to my understanding, and definitely worth more clarification from the UK director : @Wayne J
 
I'd run it like other clubs and have it during the normal sessions to encourage anyone to give it a bash. This is how Special when Lit runs their leave, they pick 6 games and you can play them during either of the sessions, then a differentt 6 next week( as far as I remember),
It runs for two months with a final at the end.

Could always have a £1 fee to enter and get your league ticket, it would cover the IFPA fees. But might discourage newcomers.
 
The main issue we had with our league was that only players that attended at least 50% of all meets can be submitted in the results. I would work out the standings at the end of 2 months and only 27 people out of the 67 that played could count. I believe this is short sighted by the IFPA as getting players into the rankings tables can encourage them to come again and see their rank improve. By having a one off comp event every week, everyone that takes part always gets a world ranking.
 
I'd be up for pretty much any format but I am a 10 minute drive away ;-)
Preference for Sunday selfishly (10 min drive again) but would rather chose the day that got some involvement.
Sounds as if once a fortnight is a good start.
If it were on Saturday the overlap would be a good idea if possible - I know Chris is limited on numbers but by the end of the Saturday session there are usually only a few left and some of them might be tempted to give a fun competition a go.
Does it need to be a league from the start - how about 9 holes of pingolf instead to gauge interest levels?

Pete
 
I'd be super up for this. I haven't been to the Office for a little while but its a great venue.

But in the summer I spend a lot of weekend time out climbing, and in the winter there seems to be a flurry of pinball tournaments - and I can't justify to the wife and the dog being out for the entire weekend as well as the weekday evenings I already do! Which is to say, I'd come when I could, Saturday's probably work better, and any method that means I can compete without being at every event (e.g. if it was a single day comp like PBR, or if you only took the best X out of Y meets of a season) would be appreciated :)

Apart from that I think I agree with a lot of what Conrad said.
I also think not focusing on the IFPA points (especially as PBR already does that well) and instead as David says encourages socialising and the casuals to give it a go would be great.
 
Just to bump this - @Hiltoncriss and I have set some dates for the Pinball Office League!

Just book onto either of the Saturday sessions (either 10:30-13:30 or 14:00-17:00) through the Pinball Office website, which is £12.50 for 3hrs. There's no extra fee for the League event. We will have 10 games from a list to play - play each one once, note your score down on the score sheet, and hand it in to me or Chris. There won't be a finals, it'll just be based on the scores.

Upcoming dates:
  • Saturday 4th February
  • Saturday 18th February
  • Saturday 4th March
  • Saturday 18th March
I'm aware that the 4th Feb clashes with the upcoming Sternament but hope that some can still make it!

We are hoping that this will encourage some of the Office regulars to join in as well as some of the local regular competition players, and for a fun way to chat to others into pinball and get to know each other a little better. More of a 'tea drinking league' (or coffee, Chris has a great coffee machine!), if you will. ;)

Hope to see some of you there!
 
Last edited:
And yes, just to clarify, you'll also need to get someone to sign and verify your scores, just like at Pinball Republic 😁
 
OTRawrior said:
@Lecari to clarify, is each day a completely separate event, or will there be some kind of tally up of results across meets?
Click to expand...
Yes, there will be a tally across the meets :)

We'll announce the winner of each individual meet, with first prize receiving free entry to the Office on their next visit, and have a bigger prize every 3 months (like a trophy!). :)
 
Just a bit of further feedback regarding making it more social/playing with people you wouldn't normally do.

I was at the Special When Lit pingolf last Friday, although this would work equally well with best score, and the way they run it is that people are assigned a partner to go round with when they arrive, and play 2 player games - each score sheet has space for 2 player's scores. The pairings are decided by the organiser, so you get to play the round with another random player (I guess often people who turn up at broadly similar times). It also has the advantage that you don't need to find someone free to verify your score, as you verify each other's scores.

It seemed to work really well. I spent the evening playing with Rich Mallett, had a really fun evening (much better than playing solo), and learned an awful lot in the process.

I guess if 2 friends turn up and really want to play together, this could be accommodated, but for those attending on their own, it potentially makes for a more social and interesting session.

Just a thought.

ETA - At the moment, it looks like I should be able to make the 4th and 18th of March, so looking forward to it!
 
Last edited:
Lecari said:
Just to bump this - @Hiltoncriss and I have set some dates for the Pinball Office League!

Just book onto either of the Saturday sessions (either 10:30-13:30 or 14:00-17:00) through the Pinball Office website, which is £12.50 for 3hrs. There's no extra fee for the League event. We will have 10 games from a list to play - play each one once, note your score down on the score sheet, and hand it in to me or Chris. There won't be a finals, it'll just be based on the scores.

Upcoming dates:
  • Saturday 4th February
  • Saturday 18th February
  • Saturday 4th March
  • Saturday 18th March
I'm aware that the 4th Feb clashes with the upcoming Sternament but hope that some can still make it!

We are hoping that this will encourage some of the Office regulars to join in as well as some of the local regular competition players, and for a fun way to chat to others into pinball and get to know each other a little better. More of a 'tea drinking league' (or coffee, Chris has a great coffee machine!), if you will. ;)

Hope to see some of you there!
Click to expand...
This is great news Claire, I really caught the bug at the recent Office comp, and was hoping for a good excuse to make the trek back down to Sawbridgeworth sometime soon. I'm hoping to make the 4th. Good luck with the enterprise!
 
Excuse my ignorance, but do you have to "nominate" a game i.e. somehow say beforehand that this next game is going to be the one I am submitting? I'm guessing you can't just keep playing over and over until you get a decent score and then say I'm counting this one?!
 
StandUpAndFight said:
Excuse my ignorance, but do you have to "nominate" a game i.e. somehow say beforehand that this next game is going to be the one I am submitting? I'm guessing you can't just keep playing over and over until you get a decent score and then say I'm counting this one?!
Click to expand...
In "Best Game" format, when you arrive for the competition, you'll be given a list of a number of games (between 10 and 15 in this case).

Everybody gets the same list of games.

You then go and play 1 game only of each of the pinballs on the list (in any order), record your score, get someone to sign each one as a witness, and submit the completed score sheet.

You only get 1 go at each pinball on the list, and no chance to practise on it beforehand (that way it's the same for everyone).

I'd expect that after you've handed in your score sheet you are free to play the other games as you please for the rest of the session.
 
Last edited:
C&C said:
In "Best Game" format, when you arrive for the competition, you'll be given a list of a number of games (between 10 and 15 in this case).

Everybody gets the same list of games.

You then go and play 1 game only of each of the pinballs on the list, record your score, get someone to sign each one as a witness, and submit the completed score sheet.

You only get 1 go at each pinball on the list, and no chance to practise on it beforehand.

I'd expect that after you've handed in your score sheet you are free to play the other games as you please for the rest of the session.
Click to expand...
Thanks, that makes sense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom