TZ was the first game that I ever knew had a wizard mode. Among my friends it was all rumors and hearsay at first. "There's this mode you can get to if you're really good! There's this guy who can get to it!"

Then one day I was walking down the stairs into the UC Berkeley Underground arcade in the early 90s, and for whatever reason, my eyes zoomed in on this guy playing TZ and the doorknob was lit.

"What the hell...?"

And then I saw Lost in the Zone. I had never seen that many balls on a table before.

I instantly thought, "I have to do that."

Took a long time, a LONG time. Either it was broken games, lack of locations or just poor play. I just couldn't make it happen.

Then, one day. Just that magical combination of better skills and a bit of luck on a game that had a dead piano shot. Three door panels away. Two. One. Ball three. One bad shot and it's all over. But one good shot...

I put my initials on the scoreboard and left the arcade. I walked a little taller that day.

"The more I play the game, the more I realize just how much strategy is involved if you want to maximize your points. It's not just a matter of mastering the shots, but learning the best time to make a particular shot. This is one of the things about TZ that makes it so much fun, and gives it a longevity that many other pins lack."

Exactly. For example, if you know the next camera award is "Collect Bonus" but you also know you have one more shot on the gumball to get the powerball, it might be worth it to take the powerball and go for powerball mania. Once powerball mania is done, THEN shoot the camera for collect bonus, which could be worth a lot depending on how well you did in PB Mania.

And of course, the most lucrative shot in the game by far is Collect Bonus after getting LITZ...

"Great job Ice......I also get tired when playing so long. I have tried to take a break after LITZ with several balls remaining. I never have played well either after that. Thanks for the motivation....I was still tinkering with mine, but I am going to finish cleaning and go after 2,000,000. I see you have no gumballs in machine. I like the look, but it took me 3 hours and a lot of cussing to get those in there."

Twizz - try playing in a tournament some time. Part of it really is an endurance-fest when you've been trying for hours to qualify and then have to jump right into Finals competition. Physically you're tired and mentally your nerves are fried.

Twizz, it really varies quite a lot. I ran one in Feb where you played each game (6 total) two times. Your best scores are ranked and you get points for your place. So 1st place got 20 points, 2nd got 19, etc. The top 8 played in a head-to-head elimination.

Other tournaments run differently. Some have an "open qualifying" format, where you purchase qualifying tickets. You can keep trying to qualify until you run out of time, money or both!

Some have "quick" tournaments where you can get in and out in an hour or two. These are nice because you won't miss much of the show, but don't expect the prizes to be exceptional.

Try getting LITZ twice on one ball! I have never done it myself but I've seen a few players do it. The common denominator: being able to back-hand the slot machine consistently.

I've got Tour the Mansion on one ball a few times. Ramp > Chair > Ramp > Chair, repeat. Lots of chopping wood and ignoring the drainy modes.