2024 NWPAS Pinball Tournaments
June 7 through June 9, 2024

Satellite Tournament Series
March 18th to May 27th

Rookie & Amateur Group Knockout Pinball Tournament, Sponsored by CRAVE 80s

Casual tournament for players who are relatively new to competitive pinball, and who want an introduction and preliminary competitive experience.

Tournament is restricted to players with an Individual Player Rating (IPR) of 3 or less. IPR is computed based on IFPA Ranking and Matchplay.events Ratings. Check out your eligibility in this Player Search (http://pinballstats.info/search/). Any player who has never played in a ranked tournament is automatically eligible and encouraged to play. This is the ideal first tournament for you!

Check the Monday Night Pinball / NWPAS Player Search page to determine if you're eligible for this tournament, or for winning the guarantee rookie/amateur prize at one of the NWPAS Satellite Tournaments. Ranking will be based on the data from the site on the day of the event.

Tournament Summary

Saturday 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM.
Maximum 60 players.
Registration opens Saturday 6:00 PM, closes 6:45 PM, or if round fills up.
Entry fee is $10.

Tournament Format

Progressive Strike Group Knockout

This will be a group knockout tournament in which players are arranged in groups of 4 when possible, but occasionally groups of 3, and with five or less players remaining, possibly group of 2.

Play will be on Classics bank and classic machines from the Women bank. Some matches may be doubled-up on same machine in early rounds.

At the start of each round, matches will be shown on the display and on Matchplay.events website. Go to machine when round is called, and begin when all players are present.

Order of play each game is as shown by the software.

Similar to 3-Strike Knockout, except for how strikes are awarded:
A player continues to play until they get 8 (or more) strikes, at which time they are eliminated. No new round will be started after 11:00 PM, the last round played will decide final positions.
Winner of the game does not get a strike, 2nd place gets one strike, 3rd place gets two strikes and 4th place gets three strikes.

Final placement is based on number of strikes each player has, with ties for equal strikes.

If there is a tie for who wins a plaque or a different cash prize, it will be a ONE GAME tie breaker randomly assigned by tournament director for machine and position.

Prize Pool

Plaques for top 4 finishers.
Winner guaranteed $150.
Cash for top 16 finishers.

Minimum prize guaranteed for 1st place, final value can be more.

Scoring and General Tournament Rules

Malfunctions and Rulings

Anytime an abnormal circumstance occurs, a tournament official should be notified. To ensure consistency throughout the tournament, PLAYERS SHOULD NOT RESOLVE ISSUES ON THEIR OWN. Except for customized rules explicitly covered on this website, PAPA/IFPA Tournament Rules will be used to address malfunctions and as the basis for rulings. Note also that any rule posted at the event, such as on the backglass of a machine, will override any rule described herein. The rules listed here are generalized for all NWPAS events, and might not apply to some specific formats.

Delay of Game: Due to the tight show schedule, delays due to players not being ready to play are problematic. When a new game is announced, players are expected to immediately proceed to their assigned machine. If a player has not shown up within one minute, please notify a tournament official, who will start a 2-minute timer. Players who have not arrived within 3 minutes of the start of a round may be given an official warning and have their balls plunged by a tournament official. Between balls, players are generally allowed 30 seconds to get to the machine and start their ball. Exceptions could be granted (e.g. player needed restroom; tournament official is involved in game and needed to make a ruling, technician at neighboring machine needs space, etc.), but these are generally expected to be occasional and the player would have informed the other competitors ahead of time of the need. No additional time is provided if previous player tilts, due to use of fast-settling tilt bob. If an opponent regularly takes longer than 30 seconds, please notify a tournament official. Tournament officials will monitor for delay of game. Tournament officials can provide warnings as well as plunging ball on first delay of game offense, and disqualification from game or tournament for repeated offenses.

Machine Setup Changes: Tournament officials reserve the right to modify any machine between games or between rounds, including changing of settings, tilt sensitivity, machine level, or any other adjustment that is deemed desirable to make the tournament run more smoothly and be more fair and fun. Since a player is only competing against the other players in the same game, all players will encounter such changes at the same time, and it is part of pinball to be able to quickly adjust to changing conditions of a machine.

Extra Balls: Extra balls will be disabled whenever possible at the main event, but likely will still be enabled in most satellite tournaments. Any extra ball is to be plunged, unless a note on the backglass says to play it. If an extra ball is to be plunged, then player may NOT touch flipper buttons to setup skill shot, then plunge ball in attempt to get the skill shot. The player may also choose to tilt the machine prior to plunging in lieu of skill shot and end-of-ball bonus, but a tilt anytime after a first plunge attempt will result in disqualification. Once ball is in motion the player must step back and cannot touch the machine, unless the ball returns back to plunger lane and is not auto-plunged, at which time they should plunge again. In the case that a player has a compensation ball awarded due to a major malfunction, and they earn an extra ball, they may choose to play the extra ball in lieu of the compensation ball in a new game.

Bonus Balls: A bonus ball is differentiated from an Extra Ball in that it is timed, and ends when the timer runs out. Space Shuttle and Medusa are examples of two machines with Bonus Balls. Bonus balls CAN be played.

Machine Availability: In case of machine unavailability, the maximum player count listed for a round could be reduced, or a backup machine from the Expo floor may be selected for use in lieu of the broken main bank machine.

Prize Pools: The advertised prize pools assume attendance on par with previous year, and are subject to reduction in case of major problems that reduce the number of available paid entries in any of the tournaments. This includes but not limited to COVID, power failures, natural disasters, weather-related closures, and significant technical issues.

Additional Information

Tournament Co-Directors: Germain Mariolle, Lonnie Langford, Ashley Weaver, Richie Terry & Max Stewart.
For questions and inquiries regarding tournaments at NWPAS, please contact contact@seattlepinballservices.com.

Back to Main Tournament Page.