(Topic ID: 117735)

IFPA

By lmcdonald111

9 years ago


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  • Latest reply 5 years ago by RipleYYY
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    #17 9 years ago

    The pay-to-win scenario breaks the worst in smaller events (i.e. it's easier to buy your way in). In CA, at least, most Herb-style events are run at shows or annual events like INDISC. In those events there are a lot of players and they're very high skill. As long as the critical mass of players is there it's not an issue.

    #66 9 years ago
    Quoted from ryanwanger:

    This goes against the argument that pump and dump exclusively rewards players with money. The top 16 at Southern Fried last year was almost exclusively elite players: http://www.ifpapinball.com/view_tournament.php?t=871#results
    And it sounds like it took them a fair number of entries to qualify.
    I'm not psyched about pump and dump because I'm not a top player, so I don't like the idea of having to buy a ton of entries for something that I have no shot at anyway. But I know that if I only buy one entry (while others have many), I truly have *no* shot. When everyone has a limited number of tries, I've got a better change.
    I'd put up $100 to play at a poker table with top pros...*if everyone was putting up $100*. But I wouldn't sit down with $100 when those same guys had $1000. And I wouldn't pay $1000 to sit at that table either because it's just throwing money away.
    If we're trying to get things to grow and be more friendly to newbies, why not have only the A division be pump and dump, while the B, C, D, etc. are a different format (with IFPA ranking based restrictions regarding who can compete)? I also like the idea of a division that is restricted to people who have never played in an IFPA event previously.

    Herb events are not scaring off newbies.

    In every sport/competition there is going to be a top level that will cost significant money. For the elite players in pinball, the tournament is the CHEAP part. Airfare, hotel and meals can easily be 4x more. The two times I went to Pinburgh the entire trip cost about $1100. Tournament entry was only $125 - 150.

    The bottom line is a Herb that draws good competition and runs multiple days is $150-200 commitment for most players. There's a ton of other formats out there. In 2012 I ran tournaments every two weeks at $5 entry + coin drop: single/double-elim, pin golf, match play, and others. That "recruited" a ton of new players, some who have gone on to get serious and play in the Herb events at INDISC and CAX, and others who are just content to play in the local events. Every player, new or experienced, should play at the level they can afford and compete in, but there's no reason to begrudge the pricier events.

    #74 9 years ago
    Quoted from desertT1:

    I run the local league and a bi-weekly. The league is cheap and once a month, but is mostly regulars from the monthlies at the 30-pin place. The bi-weekly events are $5 single elim (to keep it ~2 hours) and was intended to pick up new players from another location that has 4 machines. So far (4 events) one new player who was there for the first one and then not seen since. I have flyers up, but it's pretty much the same 3-6 players. Going to make bigger/bolder signs soon and have started posting on the location's FB page in the hopes that somebody new sees it.

    Here in the bay area there are a few free places to advertise:

    SF Bay Guardian
    Eastbay Express
    Oakland Tribune (free for online event postings)
    SF Chronicle (free for online event postings)
    SF Fun Cheep

    I also started a wordpress site (free, unless you want to use your own domain name, in which case it's about $20 per year).

    Another effective way to advertise is using meetup.com, your local patch site, or put small posters on the backglass at the popular venues.

    #81 9 years ago
    Quoted from lmcdonald111:

    Add
    The wait for a score keeper.
    All things equal time.
    Must have been the times I played in Louisville because there was time wasted.
    More in Chicago about the same in Texas depending on when I played

    Karl Deangelo of So Cal wrote some amazing software that addresses this. It uses tablets. The next player is automatically shown on the tablet as well as an overhead projector display. Entries are all managed electronically so once you queue up a player the entry is debited from their total. Scores instantly go into the system - no handling paper entries with chicken-scratch hand-writing. Extremely efficient and easy for both score-keepers and players alike.

    As examples, when I helped score-keeping at CAX and INDISC, I was easily able to cover about nine games, which was about half the total. Same tournament in the previous years, I could cover 4 - 5 games, plus you need someone full-time at the computer entering scores from the score sheets. Since volunteers are paid in entries, the more volunteers needed the more it affects the prize pool.

    The problem with allowing multiple plays per turn is a 5 player line just turned into possibly a 10-player line. That means players are more likely to wander off and need to be tracked down, or just balk and go do something else. You also open up the possibility of players camping at machines late in qualifying to prevent their opponents from getting a shot.

    #92 9 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    is this software available for purchase anywhere?

    I don't know. I just saw Karl at the State champs, too. I should have asked him but he was in the finals and I didn't want to bother him.

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