NWPAS 2014 All Match-Play Main Pinball Tournament

The following sections include more specific details on the format of each round.

Please note that this is not the Northwest Pinball Championships, a PAPA National Tournament Circuit event that brings in some of the top players in the country to compete. That event is the following weekend and not part of the show. Bdivision hosts the championship, and is one of this tournament's sponsors, providing both free entries to this PAPA circuit event, as well as T-shirts for the random giveaway.

Prize Pool

At the start of each qualifying round, there will also be a random giveaway of prizes (such as T-shirts) from our sponsors.

Qualifying Rounds Details

The tournament will be played on the Main Tourney Bank of 11 or more machines.

Each round will have a maximum of 44 players. The players will play a 5-game partial round-robin that will include 4-player games on five different machines against varying opponents. The list and order of matches will be posted at the start of the round. Players will not play the same machine twice, and will face different players every game.

Points will be awarded for each game, as described below in the section Game Scoring. The top six players (identified by the highest point totals for the five games) will move on to the quarter-finals, with the top score in each round earning a bye straight into the semi-finals. In case of a tie for first or sixth, the tie-breaking procedure described below will be used.

To register, stop by the tournament desk any time after registration desk opens on Friday, or as early as you can on Saturday, as entries could sell out later in the day. Registration for any round closes when it is full, or 15 minutes prior to the start of the round.

Sign-up is first-come-first-serve, and you cannot sign up for a retry until you’ve completed your first round and results are posted that you did not move on to Sunday rounds. When you sign up, pay your registration fee and select which of the four rounds you want to compete in. Once a round has 44 registered players, it is full, and no additional entries for that round will be accepted.

To avoid being shut-out on a retry, we encourage you to play your first attempt in Round A or Round B. It is possible that at the end of Round C, there are more players that want to retry in Round D, but not enough remaining open spots. If that occurs, then priority will be given to players based on their Round C results, highest point-total among those who did not qualify get priority; if there’s a tie for last entry into Round D, tie-breaking rules described below will be used.

Note that when players sign up, the list of who is signed up for which round will not be made public. Only the number of remaining spots in each round will be advertised.

Machines used for each game will be pre-determined by the schedule.

Quarter Final Round Details

The top six players from each qualifying round, and the 7th place finisher in Qualifying Round A only, will compete on Sunday. The top-point earner from each of the four qualifying rounds receive a bye straight into semi-finals, and thus do not play in this round. The other 21 players will play a 4-game partial-round-robin quarter-final round as 3-player games, with the top 11 players moving on to semi-finals. Any ties for 11th place will be resolved per the tie-breaking rules given below.

Points will be awarded for each game, as described below in the section Game Scoring.

Machines used for each game will be pre-determined by the schedule.

Semi Final Round Detail

The semi-final round will include 15 players (top 11 from quarter-finals, plus the 4 qualifying round winners who received byes), and consist of another 4-game partial-round-robin format, also as 3-player games. Scoring for each game will be same as in the quarter final round. The top 7 players move on to the final round. Any significant ties will be resolved by tie-breaking rules below.

Points will be awarded for each game, as described below in the section Game Scoring.

Machines used for each game will be pre-determined by the schedule.

Final Round Detail

The top qualifier in the semi-final round moves straight to Finals Game 4, which guarantees them at least 3rd place.

Game Scoring

In each game, there is a base scoring of 4 points for the winner and decreasing points for the other players. There's also an opportunity for a player to win a bonus point. This means the most points that can be earned by the winner of the game is 5.

The scoresheet will be formatted to make calculation of the bonus points and total points straightforward.

4-Player Games:

In each game, base scoring is 4 points for first, 3 points for second, 2 points for third, and 1 point for fourth, based on their scores at the end of the game.

Two additional bonus points will be awarded; each player has an opportunity at one of those bonus points:
– One bonus point is awarded to the player who finished first if their score exceeds the sum of scores of the second and third place finishers. Otherwise, third place finisher gets that bonus point.
– The other bonus point is awarded to the player who finished second if their score exceeds the sum of scores of the third and fourth place finishers. Otherwise, fourth place finisher gets that bonus point.

Total points for the game will end up being either 5-4-2-1, 5-3-2-2, 4-4-3-1, or 4-3-3-2.

3-Player Games:

Base scoring is 4 points for first, 3 points for second, and 1 point for third, based on their score at the end of the game. One bonus point is offered, which goes to the winner of the game if their score exceeds the sum of the scores of the other two players, otherwise the player who finished 3rd gets the point.

Total points for the game will end up being either 5-3-1 or 4-3-2.

2-Player Games:

Every attempt will be made to avoid 2-player games, although it can happen either as a result of not enough players for a round or a forfeit. In this case, base scoring is 4 points for first and 1 point for second. A bonus point is awarded to the winner if they exceed triple the other player's score, otherwise the player who finished second gets the bonus point.

Total points for the game will end up being either 5-1 or 4-2.

Forfeits and Disqualifications:

Any player that forfeits a game by not showing up, that player receives 0 points for the game, and the other players score the game with one less player.

Any player that is disqualified in a game due to a ruling receives 0 points for the game. The other players score the game including the disqualified player, and assume a score of 0 for that player.

Tie-breaking rules

A significant tie is one where the winner has a significant advantage (such as who moves to next round or who gets a bye). The rules below apply to significant ties only. Non-significant ties that only affect play order will be broken randomly.

If all tied players encountered each other during a single game of the round, then the order of finish of that already-played game will be used to break the tie.

Otherwise, a ONE BALL SUDDEN DEATH playoff game among tied players will be played on a randomly selected machine from the bank.

Malfunctions and Rulings

Anytime an abnormal circumstance occurs, the tournament director should be notified. When the particular situation is covered by one of the rules listed here, then that rule will be applied. Otherwise, it will be the tournament director's decision that will be final. The tournament director may choose to consult with anyone they want to help them make the final ruling, including other tournament directors, players, or observers who have experience making tournament rulings.

NWPAS Tournament Sponsors

8-Bit Arcade hosts a monthly knockout tournament, second Sunday of every month, at 6pm, for a $5 entry fee.

8-Bit Arcade donated the first place trophies for Main and Classic tournaments, and plaques for 2nd and 3rd finishers in these tournaments and top 3 finishers in Rookie and Women's tournaments.

Bdivision hosts an annual tournament near Seattle, WA, the Northwest Pinball Championships, part of the 2014-2015 PAPA Tournament Circuit.
This year it is being held the weekend after NWPAS, June 13-15, 2014.

Bdivision has donated multiple free entries to the Northwest Pinball Championships (NWPC) and T-shirts for the random giveaway.

Flipper Freaks Pinball Club hosts an annual tournament in Abbottsford, BC, the Fraser Valley Flipout, part of the 2014-2015 PAPA Tournament Circuit.
This year it is being held September 26-28, 2014.

Flipper Freaks Pinball Club has donated multiple free entries to the Fraser Valley Flipout and T-Shirts for the random giveaway.

Flip Flip Ding Ding (F2D2) is located in Georgetown, and hosts a bi-weekly knockout tournaments every other Thursday at 8pm, for a $5 entry fee.
They have upcoming events on 5/8, 5/22, 6/5, and 6/19.

Flip Flip Ding Ding will be expanding their facilities in July. Like their Facebook page to get the latest updates.
Flip Flip Ding Ding also hosts a team in the Monday night Pinball Seattle barcade league.

Flip Flip Ding Ding has donated many free entries to their bi-weekly tournament.

Add-a-ball Amusements (AAB) is located in Fremont, and hosts a weekly knockout tournament every Wednesday at 8:30pm, for a $5 entry fee.
Add-a-ball also hosts two teams in the Monday night Pinball Seattle barcade league.

Add-a-ball Amusements has donated many free entries to their weekly tournaments; entries are redeemable at either location.

John John's Gameroom (JJ) is located in Capitol Hill, and hosts a weekly knockout tournament every Tuesday at 8:30pm, for a $5 entry fee.
John Johns also hosts a team in the Monday night Pinball Seattle barcade league.

John John's Gameroom has donated many free entries to their weekly tournaments; entries are redeemable at either location.

Olaf's Bar is located in Ballard, and hosts a monthly knockout tournament on third Sunday of each month, at 6pm, for a $5 entry fee.
Olaf's also hosts a team in the Monday night Pinball Seattle barcade league.

Olaf's Bar and Pinheads Pinball have donated many free entries to the Olaf monthly tournament.

Another Castle Arcade is located in the Edmonds' location of Another Castle Video Games.
Another Castle will begin hosting a weekly knockout tournament every Saturday, starting on June 21, 2014.

Another Castle Arcade firmly believes that gaming and pinball should be equal for all genders. To show their support for our efforts at the NWPAS Tournaments to attract more women to tournament play, they’ve joined as a sponsor, and will offer a $100 gift certificate to the winner of the Babes in Pinland tournament. They have also provided other gift certificates offered as prizes in the main and classic tournaments.

Seattle Pinball League (SPL) is is an all-ages group of pinball players in the greater Seattle area who meet (nearly) monthly for day-long handicapped pinball events. Each event has its own self-contained tournament with cash payouts to the top 4. Additionally, the performance of all players in each event is recorded and tracked to determine overall player rankings for each year-long season. At the end of the year/season the top ranked players compete in a tournament of champions to determine the positions of all players and the overall winner of the league for that season. World Pinball Player Ranking (WPPR) points are awarded to ALL players based on their final positions at the end of the season.

Seattle Pinball League has donated several free memberships, multiple free entries into monthly events (useable by members or guests), and T-shirts for the random giveaway.

Skill Shot publishes Seattle's Pinball Zine approximately every 2 months. They publish stories on the local pinball scene, as well as the most comprehensive list of where to play. That list is also available online through their website and via download app for your smartphone.
Skill shot maintains the most complete calendar for pinball tournaments and events in the Seattle area on their website.

The skill shot team hosts numerous events at Shorty's in Belltown, including the 17th Annual Shorty's Tournament in November, which is the longest running tournament in the Northwest. They also host other popular events such as the women-only Annual Powder Puff Tournament, with next event this month, on May 25, 2014.
On the first Sunday of every month event they host a tournament with unique formats and different tournament directors.

Shorty's also hosts two teams in the Monday night Pinball Seattle barcade league.

Skill Shot - Seattle's Pinball Zine and Shorty's have each donated multiple free entries to the Shorty's 17th Annual Tournament.
Skill Shot has also donated multiple free subscriptions to their Zine and T-shirts for the random giveaway.

Please note that entry fees listed above do not include coin drop. Players are responsible for paying for each game they play.

Additional Information

Tournament Director: Dave Stewart
Tournament Co-Director: Amanda Kunzi
For questions and inquiries regarding tournaments at NWPAS, please contact wapinball@gmail.com.

Back to Main Tournament Page.