This whole crying about a dollar per tournament entry going to a national organization that helps promote pinball is absurd. A dollar?! How much is that spread across all of the games that one plays in a tournament? Ten cents per play? Good grief.

Pinball is a whole lot more fun because the IFPA has rankings and sanctions events. I don't play much competitive pinball due to time constraints, but if I did I'd be very glad that someone was keeping track of my ranking compared to other players across the entire world. I'm super into watching competitive pinball streams on Twitch now and the IFPA rankings and increased prize pools make it more interesting to watch than ever.

To imply that the Sharpes are skimming dollars off of people so that they can line their own pockets with what a few hundred dollars is absolutely absurd and douchey. They have careers in the arcade and pinball industries. They aren't stupid enough to torpedo their own careers to make a few pennies. They win tournaments because they're good. If you don't like it, beat them.

We did take $.05 of every dollar to cover Paypal/Stripe fees along with any currency translation fees from our Canadian friends up North.

Unfortunately the 5% didn't cover those fees so I ended up writing a personal check to IFPA for $1,280.89 to cover the shortfall of the funds we promised to payout via the 75/20 split between Nationals and State's.

Turns out I am stupid enough to actually PAY money to do all this

Fees are a bitch (processing fees). There are so many that apply and I always feel like I’m missing some hidden one that’s going to screw me after I agree to the terms.

Thanks for all you do Josh!

Weren’t we a superstate though? Things didn’t even slow in WI.

Actually they did. I have the spreadsheet but on old cpu. WI did see a bump to offset the overall decrease due largely to titletown. That is a great venue where many are going to play and happy for any fee just to experience those games. This year will see even more numbers with the return of MGC to ifpa and the sheer volume of titletown. I surmise that nobody will even qualify for state without at least one trip to green bay. Without the creation of titletown then wi numbers would have been way down

Eric is doing tons for competitive pinball in WI and I hear his location is likely one of the best anywhere.

Heck, I even plan to make it up sometime just to play the games ( I don’t care about ifpa points anymore)

Just say the word . . .

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Weird flex, but cool.

Thanks but I still have some friends whom care for them and for the ocassional sanctioned event I play in, I know they like the base points from me playing to be included rather than supressed. If you have to pay the buck, then might as well let those guys get the benefit.

Also, gotta hold on to that top 1000 through the year so I can buy a beatles on close out with IFPA deal

Bonus points that there is this one local loser whom I still rank higher than despite not playing competitively. It grinds his gears so worth it.

Suppressed players get included in the base value of the event. The name of suppressed players are simply not displayed in the results under the player's real name. All other calculations are the same.

We're ready when you are with Beatles on the rewards program

Is beatles on IFPA deal now? If so, pls message me deets.

Thx

And this Ladies and Gentlemen is why This week in Pinball has no comment section!

https://www.ifpapinball.com/stern-rewards-program-the-beatles-gold-added/

Gladly pay a Buck for a tourny plus any entrance fee, and buy a t-shirt and a beer.
It's pinball gang, relax.

I was a fairly vocal critic of the $1 fee (see posts here to rehash old history - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ifpa-charging-fees-for-tournaments-in-2018), but in my area, it had pretty much zero effect on tournaments. The same tournaments are being held, new tournaments are being added regularly and new players are continuously joining the scene. While I still am not a big fan of the dollar fee, it has been a non-issue and I can't see IFPA going away from it at this point.

yeah I see no reason for them to go away from it. TBT it seems like such a success, I am not sure why they would not change it to $2? It is only another buck after all.

Thank you for these updates!

When you giving away 4 (5?) deeproot pins - one each designer? Daddy needs a new pair of shoes.

I hope the ramps in those Cosmic Carnival photos are not production quality...the wire ramp looks a bit janky with rough forms, and the plastic ramp looks pretty cloudy and rough.

It's funny how they say the ramps aren't symmetrical anymore. Sure, they take a different path in the air, but the entry & exit points haven't changed.

That's because 'they' get the meaning of symmetry.

Shot layout still symmetrical, aka boring. I can’t shoot a habitrail in midair.

Great issue Jeff.....and I wholeheartedly support the reasoning behind your decision in canceling your Wonka order! No matter how great a product is, if someone had done to me what Jack did to you, I would have left a sour taste in my mouth as well...

I gotta say that this is all really strange to get all hurt over (to the point of cancelling a game you presumably wanted and frankly is the best thing to be built by JJP to this point).

There are many inaccuracies and publicly berating JJP for not telling you games were on the line for 2 weeks is silly and honestly well below your typical quality product. Once you became a paid insiders service, things are going to change with how some in the industry treat you. That is just the reality.

You were told a white lie than really made no difference besides you were no the first to be able to report on it.'

All your reaction does is erode reader base faith in your lack of bias on games/manufacturers/etc... and if anything it could cause others to also pull back formt eh things they may tell you.

not that you asked for it, but just my advice.

Forget about it and move on. you are better than it.

I... agree with Hilton? Wow.

Hahaha. When you're right, you're right.

Deciding when to release information to the "media" is a choice by the company and it's representatives. I feel like "X isn't happening" right before X happens is a pretty common thing among all companies, not just pinball. As Jack mentioned further up in the TWIP today, sometimes things like that are competitive secrets.

Also, is "pinball media" really a thing?

Yeah, it's kind of like a kid saying 'I'm not going to be your friend anymore'!

Jeff...you are coming off as kinda childish here. Jack didn't tell you the truth because he probably didn't want that information out there yet, and couldn't trust you to not spread the truth it if he asked you not to. Maybe he isn't into "paid rumors"? The whole thing just sounds really petty.

People talking about how good a TMNT game could be, doesn't make it a potential rumor game that is likely to be built.

It's standard protocol for corrections to be provided in the publication where the error was listed. Since you reported his statement as fact, it only made sense to issue why the statement was false in the publication as well, like any newspaper would. Obviously, last week off delayed things, but I respect that you took the trouble to clarify why TWIP countered against the rumors so strongly based on the direct statements TWIP was receiving from the company.

Outside of indicating you cancelled your order, the rest of the statement fits with how any media entity I've seen has dealt with a person/entity caught lying to them (denoting it publicly when it impacts the reporting, because there is a tie to credibility).

No idea, but TWIP seems to try and apply journalistic standards to how information is reported (denoting rumors as such and placing, until now at least, a higher denotation on official statements from the organization versus less vetted intel). Whether that's a pinball media or not I don't know, but I respect what TWIP is trying to do. The phrase "no comment" exists for a reason; I was very disappointed in the decision to lie to TWIP and I'm glad it was publicly indicated. A lot of people in this hobby, especially if they were in this position, I think would have been too scared to say something and upset the apple cart. One of the first signs of a media is when it is willing to report the facts, regardless of potential fallout. I can't imagine Jeff was comfortable doing this, but I think his decision was the "media" decision. My two cents anyway.

Is Bill and Ted not a rumor?

I have been hearing that every few months for about a year so I figured it would be on the list?

Am I the only one hearing that. 3 different sources that have all had some lucky insights in the past, so I have started to will it into existence also