If it's me and Jason Werdrick I say we just shake hands and share #1.

The losers in round 3 playoff for 3rd and 4th place.

Just to clarify, can we try a game for 30 seconds and THEN choose it, or do we have to commit to a game and then get 30 seconds practice? I'm sure some would try all the games to see how they are playing and then make their choice.

First answer: The final two players do face off to determine the State Champion. I'll update the rules to include every round in detail . . . but really it's just a standard sports single elimination bracket using proper seeding methods.

Second answer: The consolation final is made up of the two losers from the semifinal round.

Third answer: You are exactly right. Once it is determined that players are missing, remaining players will be ranked 1-14 (if 2 are missing), 1-11 (if 5 are missing), etc, with the byes going to the highest seeded players for Round 1.

There should be a general practice period for 1 hour before the tournament starts (some state reps are giving more time than that, but check with your rep for the exact details).

The 30 second practice is for AFTER the choice of the game has been made, but prior to the start of the game, just as a general quick warmup to get a feel for the game you are about to play.

General practice should be that time when you try all the games and decide what choices you would be interested in making.

Happy to say that (as of this posting) my wife, my son, AND myself will all be playing in the KY SCS Finals. Since they had to work so far down the list in KY, we do understand there is a chance that one or all three of us could get bumped by Sunday night but the list hasn't changed in the past 48 hrs. so our fingers are crossed! Looking forward to a good time on Feb. 8th.

And thank you very much Josh for so quickly answering all of my questions via email. I know you're mail box must be getting bombed!

Best of luck to everyone in all States!!

-Steve Ridge
Louisville, KY

That's awesome! Hope it stays that way!

First time hearing this. Good news!

I apologize if this has been addressed previously:

You have 1-16 committed to attend, 17 and 19 show up to cheer me on. 12 calls an hour before and says he can't make it after all, is 17 in and everyone 13-16 move up a spot? 5 is not there at start time and no one has heard from them or can reach them, is 19 now in as well with 5-16 moving up again?

Alternates are welcomed and encouraged to show up. If 12 is missing, 17 joins the field in your examples, with 13-16 moving up a spot.

If 5 drops out because he got stranded on the side of the road, then the #19 guy is in, 5-16 move up a spot, and the #19 guy becomes the new #16.

For further clarification . . .

If 5 drops out, and there's NOBODY available to fill the spot, so you're continuing with 15 players, spots 6 through 16 still move up to become 5-15, with the #1 seed then getting the bye for round 1.

That's fantastic-A family pinball affair!

It would be neat to see how many family members (2 or more related players) are in each SCS.

Is there a list of people that have chosen which state to play in?

I think you can get the info by clicking on the various states here:
http://www.ifpapinball.com/state_registration.php
But no, this info doesn't seem to be available ordered by player.

Here's the Canadian Province version of the same info, in case anyone's looking for it:
http://www.ifpapinball.com/province_registration.php

http://www.ifpapinball.com/state_registration.php

Happy to see most people chose to play in their home state.

Oh great, guys thanks.

Yeah go back to your own state you savages

Woot woot! Alabama finally has 7 players signed up. Hopefully we can fill the field!

I had noticed that too earlier in the week that AL had 0 attending so far. Glad to see some signed up...

I was afraid of the same fate for KY but it did fill up. KY isn't exactly a mecca for pinball and only had 3 (I believe) events in 2013 in which players could earn points towards the SCS. And even though the Louisville Arcade Expo 2013 had 222 players in their main tournament and 108 players in Classics, I'd say 70% of those entries were from the fact that each paid entry to the show got 1 free entry in the tournament. So that means a vast majority of the people that COULD bump me, my son, or my wife out of the SCS Final either:

A) - don't know about the SCS because they are a casual player and don't have an IFPA Profile or

B) - would not be interested in it even if they DID know about it because they are not interested in competitive pinball.

KY went down to 273rd to fill 16 spots. OH only had to go down to 25th to fill 16...

That turned out to be a plus for us getting in. And I'd say half of KY's 16 don't have IFPA profiles. So that means that if Derek (our State Rep) didn't know people that wanted to play and let them know about it, and I didn't confirm on behalf of my wife and son, I doubt KY's 16 spots would have gotten filled.

AL is up to 10 now! And still no change in KY with less than 48 hrs. to go, so we're still in at this point!!

Josh - I wonder if PAPA would be opposed to having IFPA flyers on the tournament table at the LAX this year.

-Steve Ridge
Louisville, KY

Games announced for WI. All coming together nicely! Time to search out those games and get some practice in. So who's got a Taxi to practice on?

Pinball arcade does

Where is the list for WI?

I know who has a Fish tales to practice on!

Main Tournament:
Twilight Zone
Theatre of Magic
World Cup Soccer '94
Taxi
Fish Tales
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Indiana Jones (the Williams one)
Alt: Addams Family
Alt: Tales of the Arabian Nights

Huh. Those games are fine by me, just thought there might be a much larger list of games given it's the Tom Taylor collection. A few EMs and such.

With that list, there really is no benefit to picking games, so picking order might be the way to go.

some of games have lock stealing / have to re-lock balls if the other player get's them out.

And powerball on TZ

North Carolina field is set for tournament

Will all States release a game list before February 8th or is that optional on the part of the State Rep?

The only thing you need to think about picking is what is the best way to drown your sorrows on your drive back to MN after some WI guys whoop up on you.

If the WI guys don't beat you then I have my money on Jason W to hand it to you.

From my quick look, it appears that WI wins for the most highly ranked out-of-staters coming here (when they also qualified in their own home state) and largest count with 3 people that qualified in their home state but decided to come to WI.

Just have to hope the weather is bad so they can't make it from thier home state. Wouldn't that be ironic

Jason will probably win. And he wins for taking the least amount of crap too. He's 5 times the player I am and you've barely said a word about it. And nobody cares Hilton, nobody cares. I've already told Jason that if I don't manage to win the thing, I hope he wipes the floor with you and your Wisconsin brethren for no other reason than your lack of sportsmanship and grace.

I thought you guys would have a better chance by having lots of EMs available to pick, but those are games that I know the rules of backwards and forwards. Even then I could be beaten in the first round. Who knows.

One thing is for sure, if by chance we play, you and I, you will be choking so hard on your rage you won't be able to flip...

Glad I am able to witness the WI event! Gonna be fun even for us non-players.

Jason wins for being honest and telling us that he is coming to WI because he likes to play with the WI guys and also thinks it is the best odds of him winning. I give him props for manning up and owning his decision.

I have also been giving him crap for months, but he knows how to take it and own it He is the king weak sauce and knows he is a wimp for not staying in IL to play with the stiff competition in IL.

It is just pinball buddy and if we play it will be a blast like it always is. I wish there were some EMs in the mix because they would have been a nice equalizer and it would be great to beat an EM lover on and EM, LOL.

That would be grand! Sounds like there would be enough alternate WI guys waiting/ watching to fill the spot if the out-of-staters can't make it.

I should clarify that I know the rules of the games that are selected. Yes, EMs would have leveled the playing field.

And Hilton, for Christ's sake, I thought about playing in Wisconsin as early as finding out there was a state championship series, and was stoked when I found out it was at Tom Taylor's, long before any mention of weak sauce. I'm sorry that you have to publicly speculate on my reasons, but I will tell you at least 4 other guys have said they would have played in Wisconsin if they had the chance for reason's similar to mine. I'm sorry that you keep wanting to call me a liar. That's OK. I forgive you. I'm bringing a gift.

PS, my cat knocked over my 2nd place 2013 Mad Rollin trophy and I was wondering if you have any extra glass I could buy.

Tina and I are arriving the night before, staying in a hotel, so there is little chance of us not making it.

If your MN director is that big of an issue then you guys need to find a host for next years event and contact the IFPA right now to volunteer to host elsewhere.

Sounds like multiple MN people have huge issues with the guy. I do not even know who he is, but I have had other MN people message me just to say that anyone is justified in not wanting to play in MN SCS because the organizer is such a huge issue and also apparently not very trustworthy??? That is sad, but you would still be better off just saying you also think your odds of winning WI are pretty good... (well aside from Jason based on your previous comment).

The best gift would be you wearing a "MN weak sauce" shirt. Maybe make an "IL weak sauce" shirt for Jason also?

ps > sorry but those trophies were custom 1 of a kind. Depending how it broke you could probably glue it back together or find a local glass blower to fix it. I am guessing the bat broke off the stem? If so, even a beginner glass blower could fix it. I sold all my glass blowing gear otherwise I would do it.

The flipper bat is fine, and yeah, the stem shatter into a bunch of small and very sharp pieces (freaking cat). I'll probably drill out the rest of the glass that is still in the base, and have a much shorter trophy.

As for the other situation, it's just difficult. He's already banned from one venue, and even if I don't particularly like the guy, I don't want to make it any worse for him. It's already bad enough that it's so out in public. I just don't want to be involved in any tournaments he runs or has at his place of work. Other than that it's live and let live at other tournaments. One day I might even buy him a beer, but that day is a long way in the future when it's proven that he won't bash on games and does other things to display better sportsmanship. You'll have to talk to other people if you want details, I just want the public aspect of this to be finished, and it would help if you stopped moaning, though I think I have a better gauge on the moaning and probably shouldn't have taken it as seriously as I have. You're still OK with me, Hilton.

Mind blown..... Alabama has filled all 16 spots.....

Looks like OK was the only state not to fill the field.

Yea!! Everyone is happy again! SCS HERE WE COME!!!

My wife, son and I all made the cut for KY... I was 73rd (seeded 9th), my son was 180th (seeded 13th) and my wife was 258th (seeded 15th)... Guarantee that didn't happen in many states, if any... Good ol' Kentucky, the pinball mecca!!!

-Steve Ridge
Louisville, KY

Now that's what I call QUALITY family time! I'm hoping my son and I can qualify for next years!

I hope you guys do too! We're psyched about it!! I consider myself lucky that my wife got the pinball bug like I did. Every January we sit down and plan all the shows we want to go to. It's not many, but we go to what we can. Couldn't get the days off for Pinburgh this year and PAPA 17 is the first week of school, so no PAPA trip this year. She was disappointed!

-Steve Ridge
Louisville, KY

Sportsmanship...

I am reminded of these words on sportsmanship by SF2 player and Evolution Fighting Series tournament founder, David Sirlin.

"Some ask why they should not scream racist or other offensive remarks, spit on the shoes of their opponents, beat their chests, or otherwise intimidate the enemy. After all, they say, the purpose is to win using any legal means, period. Isn’t that what I have said? First of all, some of these activities may not be legal in a tournament. Second, they violate the principle of goodwill that I described above. And third, I am not convinced they offer any real strategic advantage. They are more likely to make you look stupid, and create an air of negativity that will follow you.

That said, I do know of a few skilled players who use these tactics. There is usually leeway in a tournament to be physically intimidating and say mean and scary things just short of actually violating any rules. Trash talking before the event over the internet is pretty much always legal, too. Perhaps these players are playing to their own strengths by being bullies. This behavior does give them advantages over some opponents, but the costs seem too great overall for me to endorse this as a winning strategy." -- David Sirlin, Playing to Win (http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/sportsmanship.html)

As one of the WI tournament directors, I wish more of our players considered these aspects when they play. Poor sportsmanship directed at others will not be tolerated at the tournament, from anyone from any state.

To be completely honest here, I am annoyed that I even have to write the above. The worst offenders in this regard have been adults. My interactions with the 12-year-old who will be competing in our tournament have shown him to be an exemplar in his sportsmanship and attitude.

All 28 states are showing full fields of 16 competitors now.

Other random statistics:

Missouri filled with the # 18 qualifier, Colorado # 19. Kentucky made it down to the # 264 qualifier.

Average rank of the 16 state competitors: Top 3 CA 239 (would have been 216 if Bob M had stayed), OR 273, CO 300; Bottom 3 AL 2615, OK 3220, KY 3861.

CA and PA have 5 Top 100 ranked participants. ME, NC & OK have no participants ranked in the top 500.

3 US Top 100 ranked players are not participating in any of the state championship events.

Jon,
Trash talking is part of the game in any competitive sport, but to say you are against it while also making a passive agressive comment directed at specific players in the event you are running is hypocrtical.

To be completely honest here, I too am annoyed that the head WI SCS tournament director would write the above; claiming to be against trash talking but in the same post getting invloved with condesending passive agressive pop shots at players. You may want to start with yourself if you want to set an example for what you deem as proper behavior.

Interesting statistics. I am the highest ranked player in the Alabama 16 at #283. Our top 5 are all sub 800 WPPR then if falls way off after that.

If you and your wife get to the final, let her win.

Lemme know when the next tourneys are happening in AL - my parents would love it if I visited more than one time a year