When: Mondays @ 7pm (May 13th –
June 24th, with May 27th off due to holiday)
Where: Jordan Creek Theater
in West Des Moines (Cinemark Century 20, 101 Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des
Moines, IA 50266). Most of our league
nights will take place here…if we grow we might have to expand to other locations. We may also have “field trip” weeks were we
play at another location or a member’s home.
These field trips will be announced well in advance if possible.
League Dues: No fees for this first season!
Format:
- Players will be randomly assigned a machine and/or location, with 2-3 other randomly assigned players.
- Each player will play 4 games/rounds with the other players.
- Each player will be responsible for paying for each of their games…previous credits or credits earned during play will not be used during league play (we want to reward businesses who have pinball machines!). These credits may be used once league play ends for the night.
- Order of play is player’s choice determined by reverse league rankings (player with the lowest total score from previous league nights gets to choose their position, followed by second lowest, etc…,
- Second, Third, and Fourth round positions will be player’s choice based on the previous game (last place gets to pick position first)
- First night/First Game of the season will player’s choice according to alphabetical order of first name.
- Common Courtesy applies to all games and all players – players being outright mean to other players or non-player patrons may be assessed a soft foul. A little trash talk is fine, but keep it relatively civilized.
- Lateness/Tardiness – if you are going to be late, please let your other players know. Other players may opt to wait a reasonable amount of time for you to arrive…but are not required to. If other players cannot wait, you will be automatically given fourth place and zero machine points (bonus points will be calculated on 3 player rules) until the games that you can play. If you do not show up at all (and hadn’t let others know beforehand), you will be given zero league points…if this is a continual problem you may be suspended from the league.
- Promptness – you are expected to start playing your ball as soon as possible. If you need to step out (bathroom, drinks, cigarette, etc…) please let your teammates know but also please try to be considerate of the others waiting. If a machine auto-plunges, other players have the option to try to capture the ball and wait for you…but are not required to. If the game does not auto-plunge the other players may wait a reasonable amount of time before plunging the ball and continuing play.
- Stand back and let the other players play – the current player may not seek advice from others while they are actively playing, likewise non-playing players may not interfere with the current player (by distraction or by touching the player or the machine). These actions will result in a “soft foul”. Players may interact and talk about game strategies and mechanics as long as they are not currently playing a ball. Advice due to malfunction is acceptable.
- Nudging and Shaking is allowed as normal play although players must deal with the consequences (tilts or lost balls, etc). Death Saves or Bang Backs are not allowed as these can result in a slam tilt or machine damage.
- Extra balls – to keep the games/rounds moving along and to keep the nights short, 1 extra ball may be played per player, per game. Additional extra balls are “unallowed” and must be plunged and not played. On “unallowed” extra balls, before plunging the ball the player may touch the machine to set up a skill shot (change lit lane, etc..) but may not touch the machine once the ball is in motion. Any “auto save” or return to the launch lane allows the player to re-launch the ball; but again they much not touch the machine once the ball is moving.
- Practice – practice is fine, feel free to practice any time the location is open, but once league play starts for a night all games will be official until league play is over for the evening.
Scoring:
League Scoring will be based on final scores of each game/round:
- First Place = 4 points
- Second Place = 3 points
- Third Place = 2 points
- Fourth Place = 1 point
- Bonus Points:
- If first place player’s score is higher than all 3 other players combined, 1 bonus point will be awarded to that player
- If playing with 3 players, scores will be calculated as normal (first = 4 points, etc…) however, bonus point calculation = First players score must be higher than the second place plus Double the third place score (1P>2P+2*3P).
- End of season bonuses
- Hi Scores for each machine will be tracked for the entire season, the player with the highest score on each machine will be awarded 1 bonus point
Fouls:
- Soft Foul – results in the offending player to get Fourth Place on the current game/round despite their score, or plunging and allowing their next ball to drain (as specified below)
- Interference - players may not intentionally interfere with other players games by distraction or by touching a player or the machine. This will result in the player receiving Fourth Place. Unintentional touching (like if two machines are next to each other) is considered normal and permitted without foul.
- Playing another players ball - player must try to catch the ball and allow the correct player to take over. Offending player must then allow their next normal ball to drain without playing. If this offense occurs after the player’s final ball, the offending player’s final score will be reduced by 25%.
- Playing an “unallowed” extra ball – player must let ball drain as soon as it is realized that an “unallowed” ball is being played. Player must then allow their next normal ball to drain without playing. If the “unallowed” play happens after the player’s final ball, the offending player’s final score will be reduced by 25%.
- Aggressive and Excessing shoving or hitting of the machine to try a Death Save or Bang Back without causing a slam tilt, will result in the player receiving Fourth Place.
- Multiple soft fouls in one evening will result in a Hard Foul.
- Hard Foul – will result in the offending player to receive zero points for the night.
- Damage to machines, property, or other players.
- Slam Tilting that results in loss of other players’ games, offending player must also pay for a new game for other players.
- Multiple hard fouls will result in suspension from the league for the season without compensation.
Make Up games/Pre-Playing Games:
Players that must miss League Night can play a make up game
(or pre-play if they know they are going to be gone in advance). These games must have at least 3 players,
only two of which need to be league members (but come on keep it honest…your
toddler probably does not qualify). Scoring
will follow normal league scoring, based on final position. League members who do not have a game to make
up can still play with the member who does.
In this case, the member must decide before play starts if they want to
use the score as a “pre-play” for a future date they will miss. If they do they will receive positional
scoring as normal. If the choose not to
use as a pre-play, their machine score will simply be used for positional
ranking for the player that is making up a game (league scoring will not be
assigned).
Malfunctions:
Minor Malfunctions:
- Pinball machines are very complex machines with lots of moving parts. Errors and mistakes by the machine happen and are considered a normal part of the game.
- Balls getting stuck – if a ball gets stuck, the player should let the machine perform its “ball search” feature. If the machine cannot find or dislodge the ball after two searches, the player may attempt to nudge or shake the machine to loosen the ball. If this results in a tilt, the player must immediately choose one of the following options A) at the conclusion of the round, play ball one of another game and add that score to the previous final score (player is responsible for paying for this game), B) increasing final score by 25%. Please note – if the player tilts without waiting for the machine to go through the “ball search” feature twice, this will considered a normal tilt through nudging and player will NOT be compensated.
- Other minor malfunctions can be discussed by the players playing and decide if action needs to be taken (we will add rules as problems come up).
Major Malfunctions:
- Major malfunctions include things that completely disrupt the game: such as Power Loss, Machine Reset, stuck balls that cannot be dislodged. Current game will be voided and team should play a new game (on the same machine if future play is not affected or a different machine if play cannot be continued on the machine). Players will be responsible for paying for the new game if they cannot recoup the cost from the location (sorry…).
If You Can’t Make a Game:
Please contact
Michael as soon as you know (the more time given, the easier it is to adjust):
Email: Michael.hulsebus@gmail.com
Text:
515-314-3353
