Pinball Wizards

Pinball Expo 2020 Goes Virtual – Oct. 14-17

October 13, 2020 By ausretrogamer

For those new to pinball, Pinball Expo is an event that is held annually in Chicago. Pinball Expo has been running since the mid 80s and is one of the pinball industry’s most celebrated events. This expo always attracts the major pinball manufacturers, pinball industry professionals, pinball players, collectors and enthusiasts from all around the world.

Since 2020 is no ordinary year, Pinball Expo will be run virtually this time round. The Virtual Pinball Expo kicks off this Wednesday, October 14th, at 7:00pm (Chicago time – GMT-5) for a live broadcast on Twitch, and then continues for three days with heaps of tournaments, guest speakers, seminars, latest news in the world of pinball and all sorts of other pinball fun for lovers of the silverball game.

The best part of this year’s event is that it is totally free to view on Twitch, so make sure you bookmark www.twitch.tv/pinballexpo! Hope to see you all online at Pinball Expo 2020.

image source: Pinball Expo

Kill Bill Pinball: It’s Pinnovating!

May 30, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Where would we be without clever and innovative people? We’d probably still be rubbing sticks together to create fire!

Thank-goodness for extremely clever peeps (Ed: We are looking at you Dennis Van de Pas)! The team behind the homebrew made The Matrix pinball machine and Demolition Man On Steriods, Pinnovating has done it again with their third project based on another cult movie classic, Kill Bill!

Just like they re-programmed Johnny Mnemonic into The Matrix, Pinnovating took Bally’s World Cup Soccer 94 and turned it into Kill Bill – The Whole Bloody Affair. This may sound easy, but after 4 years and 3,000+ hours of toil, the changes don’t seem simple anymore. A lot of work (and love) went into changing the playfield layout, the handcrafted artwork, sound effects and of course, the visuals running on a 27″ HD screen supported by a classic DMD (Dot-Matrix-Display). Let’s not forget the programming, as without it, you’d have a hefty paperweight. The enormous programming task was accomplished by using the P-ROC hardware system. We wonder what they will make next???

For those in the UK, you can get your hands bloodied on this machine at UKPinfest in August. We just wish this beautiful machine would make it down here in Australia.

source: Pinnovating on Facebook

image source: Pinnovating on Facebook

The Time Mattel Made A Pinball Machine

April 27, 2017 By ausretrogamer

What the hell – Mattel made pinball machines? Well, A pinball machine! Yeah, that’s right, Mattel dipped their toe in the pinball market with their one (and only), Las Vegas Pinball!

We only ever associated Mattel with the Intellivision and our fave childhood action figures, Masters Of The Universe, so when we stumbled upon this anomaly, we thought we’d let the rest of you know (Ed: unless you all already knew!).

Before you get excited, Mattel Electronics’ Las Vegas Pinball was never intended for commercial use, hence why you may not have seen it at your local pinball parlour. The playfield is standard fare for a pinball machine of this vintage (the late 70s) – couple of pop bumpers, slingshots and four stand-up targets to keep you flipping.

The interesting part about this Mattel pinball machine is the ability to select one of three game versions (similar to modes on modern machines), Beginner’s Luck, Cool Hand or High Roller. Coupled with selecting the game version, Mattel also included a handicap switching system, allowing players to select a choice of 3, 4, or 5 balls for their turn at play. This feature allowed competing players to give any player a handicap advantage of one or two extra balls, if desired.

Mattel had another cool feature called Double Or Nothing, which could only be used once during a game – prior to shooting a ball into play, the player presses a button on the front of the cabinet to activate this option for that ball only. Then, lighting all four targets doubles the player’s score. Failure to light all four targets penalises the player of all the points earned on that ball. Sounds pretty cool to us!

Which ever way you look at it, this Mattel Electronics Las Vegas Pinball machine was quite nifty for its time – we just hope we find one in our travels so we can have a go!

Have you played this pinball machine? If you have, tell us what you thought of it on Twitter or Facebook.

source: IPDB

Meet The Jetsons Pinball Machine!

January 31, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Meet George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane, his wife! We loved The Jetsons cartoon, so when The Pinball Company and Spooky Pinball announced The Jetsons Pinball Machine, our collective interest was piqued!

Designed by Dan and Nathan Goett, with stunning art by Jon Chad, coupled with sounds and music from the classic TV show, The Jetsons pinball machine will be one cool flippin’ experience! The LED lighting and the full colour 15″ LCD dot-matrix system will give your peepers something pretty cool to stare at! According to The Pinball Company and Spooky Pinball, the rule-set of this full featured pinball machine will be action packed and easy to learn for the whole family.

The Jetsons pinball machine will begin shipping in late March, with a production run limited to 300 units, making this an instant collectable pinball table. If you are in North America and pre-order one now, you will save $1,000USD. We still await on news regarding The Jetsons pinball machine coming to Australia.

Woohoo, it’s The Jetsons!

Love the vibrant artwork

The art is so cheery, it takes us back to our childhood

The playfield looks a bit sparse, but we’ll reserve judgement till we have a go!

No old school plunger here!

The devil is in the (art) detail

Oh yeah, Little Dipper School!

Jet Again!

Elroy, Judy and our fave canine, Astro, are all there!

The multi-ball cast!

The Flyer!
source: The Pinball Company

Pinball: 2016-17 IFPA Australian Championship Series Final Is Coming!

January 18, 2017 By ausretrogamer

The 2016/17 International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) Australian Championship Series (ACS) final will be held in Melbourne on February 11 and 12! Australasia’s top 32 ranked pinball wizards will face off for the ultimate crown!

With most of the Australian eastern states represented and a solitary New Zealander, the competition is guaranteed to be flipping hot! Number one contender is the young gun, Jordan Tredaway. Jordan has had another stellar year winning competitions or being in the top 4, which makes him the one to beat. Looking at the table of the top 32 players, any one of these wizards is capable of carrying away the crown. We will be covering the event, with live social media commentary and updates, so make sure you follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Bring on February 11 and 12!

TOP 32 Australian Ranked Pinball Players
Pos.	Name	State
1	Jordan Tredaway	VIC
2	Greg Gee	NSW
3	Luke Marburg	VIC
4	Martin Robbins	VIC
5	Paul Jones	NSW
6	Brett Goodwin	NSW
7	Jason Lambert	QLD
8	Gavin Drogemuller	QLD
9	Stuart Thornton	VIC
10	Johnny Crabtree	VIC
11	Pat Nichols	NSW
12	Paul Reid	NSW
13	Robert Macauley	SA
14	John Hutchinson	QLD
15	Greg Siegele	SA
16	Rob Singh	QLD
17	Matthew Venables	NSW
18	Brian Schleibs	VIC
19	Michi Henning	QLD
20	Stacey Borg	VIC
21	Jasen Mouritsen	QLD
22	Andrew Ferguson	NSW
23	Wal Dickie	VIC
24	Geoff Wills	VIC
25	Grant Quinn	QLD
26	Marcus Sezonov	VIC
27	Marc Bell	NSW
28	Nick Hamhougias	VIC
29	Chris Wade	QLD
30	Alex Nunn	VIC
31	John Ebejer	VIC
32	David Peck	NZ

Young gun, Jordan Tredaway will be the one to beat

The Pinball Wizard himself, Wal Dickie – we bet he’ll shake things up!

Johnny Crabtree will be tough wizard to beat

The dynamic pinball duo, Nick Hamhougias and Martin Robbins

Dr. C (Stacey Borg), will be flippin’ with precision!

For those of you that want to know more about the IFPA Australian Championship Series and it’s finals competition rules, here you go:

The IFPA Australian Championship Series (ACS) is an annual pinball competition where the qualification is done over an entire calendar year. Results of all IFPA-endorsed tournaments held in Australia count towards qualification. The top 32 players at the end of the calendar year are invited to compete in the IFPA Australian Championship Series Final, held the following February. The winner is crowned IFPA Australian Pinball Champion.

The IFPA ACS final consists of a group stage and a knockout stage. For the group stage, the field of 32 players is split into two pools of 16 players each. Qualifiers ranked 1,4,5,8,9,12,13,16,17,20,21,24,25,28,29,32 are placed in Pool A, and qualifiers ranked 2,3,6,7,10,11,14,15,18,19,22,23,26,27,30,31 in Pool B.

The group stage consists of 5 rounds of 4-player group match play. Each player is grouped with the other 15 players in their pool once each across the 5 rounds. Groups play 3 games in each round: one old, one mid, one new. 7-5-3-1 scoring. The top 7 players from each pool advance to the knockout stage. The winner of each pool receives a bye in the first round of the knockout stage. Players tied for 1st or 7th place in their pool will play a one-game tiebreak match on a randomly selected machine.

The knockout stage consists of head-to-head, single elimination best-of-3 matches until the final, which will be best-of-5. Players will be seeded according to group stage standings, then ACS qualifying rank. The higher seed in each match will have choice of machine or order for game 1 or 2 (at their discretion), as well as game 3. In the final, the higher seed will have choice or machine or order for any two of games 1 to 4 (at their discretion), as well as game 5. No machine may be played more than once in a match.

If you want to watch Australia’s top pinball players in action, then head to the Thornbury Bowls Club, 27 Ballantyne St, Thornbury on February 11 and 12 (from 10am). It’s a short walk to the High Street cafes, the St Georges Motor Inn, Route 11 and 86 trams, and Thornbury station on the South Morang train line. We can’t wait!

Melbourne’s Pinball Paradise

December 12, 2016 By ausretrogamer

So why is Melbourne the most liveable city? Well, one good reason is that we have our very own dedicated pinball and whisky bar, aptly named, Pinball Paradise. Perhaps when Guns N’ Roses sang about Paradise City, they meant this place!

Set in the north-west part of Melbourne’s Central Business District and across the road from the Queen Victoria Market, Pinball Paradise is a pinball wizard’s dream come true – fifteen pinball machines covering multiple eras and a bar stocked with alcohol to quench your hard earned thirst. There is definitely no better place to meet with friends, have a drink and get flippin’!

The lowdown:
What: Pinball Paradise
Where: 1st Floor, 213 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Australia
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 4:00pm to LATE
Pinball Competitions: monthly Melbourne Silverball League

Our only problem, what to play first?

We started with some old school pinball

And then we ended up on Jersey Jack Pinball’s Wizard Of Oz, 75th Anniversary Edition

Check out Martin Robbins’ ‘Grand Opening’ vid to get a feel of Pinball Paradise, oh and its secret entry!

source: Melbourne Silverball League

The Pinball Revolution Continues: Real Meets Virtual

September 23, 2015 By ausretrogamer

image source: Stern Pinball Inc.

What do you get when two titans from the leisure entertainment industry join forces? You get excitement, that’s what! Stern Pinball, the force behind modern day real pinball machines, and FarSight Studios, the force behind virtual pinball games like The Pinball Arcade, have announced a new expanded partnership to connect the real with the virtual when it comes to pinball gaming.

This partnership will see FarSight Studios develop a new digital platform called The Stern Pinball Arcade that will feature exact virtual replicas of Stern Pinball’s hottest pinball machines. If The Pinball Arcade is anything to go by, then we are all in for a treat! The full announcement can be read here.

It’s time to get excited pinball wizards! Let the pinball revolution continue!

Cramer’s Pinball Tournament: It’s Hotter Than July!

July 29, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Whoa! Time flies when you are having fun! It seems like yesterday that we attended the inaugural Cramer’s Pinball Tournament, but alas, that was over a month ago!

Well, the second Cramer’s Pinball Tournament rolled around this past Tuesday (July 28). Once again, tournament director Scott Kellett put on a wonderful competition at an equally awesome venue. Not only did we have the influence of pinball on the bar menu, Scott also worked tirelessly to upgrade the cameras near the competition area (thanks also to Dr. Curlytek) to ensure that all the flipping action was beamed to the big screen so that no one missed the wizards in action.

As per usual, the competition was fierce, but the social aspects of such pinball tournaments is always the winner on the night. In the end there were four left standing (from 27 participants): teenage pinball sensation, Jordan Tredaway, Wal Dickie, Daniel Luth and Mr. Pinball himself, Scott Kellett. There were a few nail biting moments on the scoreboard, but the eventual champion and last wizard standing was, (Ed: drum roll please!) Scott Kellett – well done on a fantastic win, Scott!

On a night like this, pinball is the winner, so congratulations to everyone that participated and to all the new players, we hope to see you at the next pinball tournament!

A big thanks to Scott Kellett, Luke Marburg, Wal Dickie, Stacey Borg, Cramer’s Hotel and Cashbox Amusement for another great tournament! Roll on next month!

The board says it all!

Scott makes final camera adjusments

A Pinball Wizard must eat before battle!

A new registrant is always welcome into the pinball family!

Light, Camera, Action!

Matt Cawley – Deep in concentration

ausretrogamer EIC, Alex Boz, with matching red sneakers tries his luck on AC/DC Luci!

The crowd builds! This is the best part of pinball’n

More devilish action!

Fierce competition!

With a massive score, Scott Kellett (SMK) is crowned the Grand Champion!

Till next time…….

Cramers Pinball Tournament: A Flippin’ Success

June 15, 2015 By ausretrogamer

The Cramers Pinball Tournament (an IFPA endorsed competition) was run and won, and boy, did we have a lot of fun!

The competition was stacked with players from all age groups and experience. The wizards all had a crack on the Cashbox Amusements supplied Metallica Premium Road Case and AC/DC Luci pinball machines to qualify for the top eight and the finals. The play was frenetic and exciting – lots of bumping, slamming and tilting going on. To ensure the crowd could enjoy watching the pinball action from the comfort of the Cramer’s Hotel lounge chairs, a camera was rigged up to the overhead projector – a stroke of genius.

The tournament generated lots of interest in the media, from local newspapers, websites, radio stations, and even national commercial TV stations! The Channel 7 morning show, Sunrise, had a cameraman videoing all of the action for a segment on the show the following morning. Watch the video (at the bottom of this article), which also features an interview with tournament director, Scott Kellett.

Like all good things, the tournament had to come to and end. Congratulations to Greg Quinn on becoming the inaugural Cramers Pinball Tournament winner. To all the other participants, well done for playing hard! We get the feeling that the pointy end of the winner’s circle is going to become crowded in upcoming competitions.

These tournaments don’t just spontaneously appear out of nowhere. There are hard working people behind the scenes that make it all happen. It’s people like Scott Kellett that should be applauded and recognised, so for that, we thank you Scott, for a job well done. A big thank you to Cashbox Amusements for the all important pinball machines, and last, but by all means not least, Cramer’s Hotel for having us at their venue. Can’t wait to participate at the next Cramers Pinball tournament – speaking of which, keep July 28 free!

The Tournament Control deck – let the registration begin!