Category: other

Back by popular demand and just in time for Christmas: the second run of the Skill Shot Hoodie. The image on the back has two colors (blue and grey) and you have a choice of either a black or blue color hoodie. We are also offering t-shirts with the same image this time around!

Check out our page on Big Cartel for more info: https://skillshot.bigcartel.com/

Zombie Yeti / Jeremy Packer interview for Skill Shot

By Kayla Greet

Artist/Illustrator Zombie Yeti, AKA Jeremy Packer, is known in the pinball community for creating the art packages on many machines for Stern Industries, and the now defunct Zidware. Some of the titles associated with his name are: Deadpool, Iron Maiden, Ghostbusters, and the pitch-n-bat Zombie All-Stars. He’s also done the art for John Popadiuk machines (Magic Girl, RAZA, and Alice in Wonderland) which unfortunately never made it to production. His style is very rock ‘n’ roll, acid-washed, drippy, colorful, and comic book-inspired. Or, as he describes it, “If the Hanna-Barbera creative team in the heyday of the 50s-60s limited animation (From Yogi Bear to Johnny Quest) had decided to smoke crack.”

He’s been drawing since he was able to hold a pencil (two years old!), though he mostly works digitally these days. Having graduated with a BFA in Film and Animation with a Fine Arts minor, he took his first post-collegiate gig as an interactive multimedia designer. “I did not have a major in maturity or the long game of career planning, so it took me a while to circle back to illustration as a career,” he says.

But those of us in the pinball world are ever so glad that he did. While he’s mostly only worked on licensed Intellectual Properties (IPs) thus far (of the physically produced pins that is), that hasn’t stopped him from making them undeniably Zombie Yeti works of art. He explains of his approach, “I like cleanliness, but my aesthetic is more my love for classic animation cel cleanliness than embracing the pure digital feel.” His games are instantly recognizable.

“I’ll get some shit from purists, but I’m 100% digital for client work these days. No client wants paper,” he admits. Also he says that scanning and cleanup tend to slow the whole process down, and that there are plenty of tools available to traditional artists that help make the digital transition.

It’s fairly well-known that working on IPs, ubiquitous ones such as Deadpool for instance, comes with a strict set of parameters. Sometimes companies focus on the most minute details, even down to the text kerning! Jeremy has a positive spin on it. “Knowing your limits isn’t a bad thing, after all. But I always say my ignorance is my best asset–if you DON’T know something you don’t avoid full exploration.” Thus far, he revealed that Marvel was surprisingly the most open to new ideas, while Iron Maiden was much more particular.

For those of us with the great fortune of owning/operating some of these knockout titles, there are some Easter Eggs that Jeremy has tucked away–though he claims you’ll have to dismantle the playfield in order to find them!

Overall his process starts at the game’s incubation period. Once a design team is assembled, he starts cranking out ideas right away. With Keith Elwin and IM, he says the layout was already locked in for him to build off of. Deadpool with George Gomez was a totally different experience. George had predetermined inserts, though the placement and geometry of them needed to be readjusted throughout the entire design process.

Jeremy says that working for Stern has absolutely made him a better pinball player, even though he’d grown up with a Gottlieb Roller Coaster in his basement. “I’m the pinball players equivalent of a guy with a bashful bladder. I can’t relax in crowds to play worth a shit,” he admits. He says that while his skills have improved, he hardly gets the chance to prove it anyways because of his endless workload. And for that, we are all grateful!

Originally published in Skill Shot 53

The full interview:

Zombie Yeti / Jeremy Packer interview for Skill Shot

When did you start working as a full time artist? What moment made you realize this was a viable career for you?
Right out of college, but not as an illustrator, as an interactive multimedia designer. In fact, I never took an illustration class in college. I was drawing since I was 2yrs old so I sought out learning new things. My BFA was in Film & Animation with a Fine Arts minor. I did not, however, have a major in maturity or the long game of career planning. So it took me a while to circle back to illustration as a career.

Please explain your process. Is it pencil sketches first and then scanned to work on digitally? Do you create anything solely on paper or canvas now? What are the main advantages to working on a tablet/computer?
I’ll get some shit from purists, but I’m 100% digital for client work these days. No client wants paper, and scanning & cleanup slow the process down. That said, if you can draw traditionally, the tools exist now to do it directly digital with no interference.

I use a Wacom Cintiq and Clip Studio, primarily. The key is turning off any software correction built in for old faulty input devices. I see a lot of digital artists who look very digital because of the software reliance (vector, filters, etc). The shortcut is to the output, not the creation for me.

With that said, I like cleanliness, but my aesthetic is more my love for classic animation cel cleanliness than embracing the pure digital feel. I’m the sum of my influence and knowledge, so it’s hard to peg the visual vomit’s singular source, but the other day I had a conversation where I think I got close… Imagine if the Hanna Barberra creative team in the heyday of the 50s-60s limited animation (From Yogi Bear to Johnny Quest) had decided to smoke crack. That’s sort of what I think I’m close to pulling off. And no, I’ve never smoked crack – I’m saving that for when I run out of ideas, of course. (just kidding, Mom!)

Another benefit of digital is being able to work on larger scales than my studio space would allow (with less mess) which doesn’t hurt the end product I guess. I still touch paper and pencils, but only for rough ideas outside of the studio these days.

The benefit is really in convenience, speed & output. Being freelance, every second counts. I’m fairly fast with ideas, but I like using extra time to rethink as I go to make sure I haven’t missed a better idea.

How did the relationship with Stern come about? Had you already been a pinball fan or did that come second?
Well, I grew up in the 80’s with arcades and pinball all around me. My dad was a big pinball fan and we had a gottleib rollercoaster in our basement that helped start me down the path. I’ve always been a huge gamer, so the mechanical aspect of pinball always fascinated me, while the self-challenge idea of competition was the appeal for me. I prefer competing with myself as opposed to others. I refuse to think I’m better than anyone at anything. Therefore, I will never be a YouTube celebrity?

My ‘professional’ start in pinball was with John Popaduik back in 2011. He found my portfolio of illustrations online when I still had a day job as Creative Director for a software company (I think an enormous portfolio of 5 character illustrations at the time).

From there, I had worked with John Popaduik on Magic Girl, Raza, Alice in Wonderland, and a few other projects for almost 4 years when he stopped communicating. I found pinside and learned the fate of Zidware for the first time. I was crushed by the death of Zidware and the lack of John letting me in on it until it was too late. But even more than that, I was crushed that he hadn’t told me he was using other peoples money to fund these projects. All around a gut punch for me.

So, thank Dennis Nordman for hiring me after the Zidware implosion.

Dennis reached out and hired me for the Zombie All Stars pitch-n-bat in the summer of 2015. While working on it he asked me to meet him and Greg Freres for lunch one week. We met at Stern and We all got along great.

I’m sure they thought I was a strange guy making strange jokes, but I’m fortunate that my work & work ethic can make up for my deficient social skills (that’s gotta be it, right?)… The next day I told Greg if I was ever going to do anything in pinball again, I’d like it to be with Stern to prevent the risk and disappointment I was still reeling from with Zidware.

A few weeks later, Greg reached out and had a test for me that was eventually Ghostbusters.

What is your initial approach when designing playfields? At what point in the game development do you begin working on the art? Is it once the rules and layout are finished, or do you start brainstorming ideas right when the project is green lit?
My approach is not revelatory, it’s pretty straight forward. I want to try to explore new ideas while acknowledging what traditionally works and is pinball. I also don’t like repeating myself.

I really try to do something unique and fresh – thinking as if the project at hand is my last – so it might be my pinball legacy. I also don’t like repeating myself. (*rimshot)

I come in at various stages initially, so it depends on the project timing. I start very early with rough ideas based on what rules might exist and where. It’s iterative from there, working with the designer and programmer throughout. But you’d be surprised how much might change along the way. Pinball is a very iterative process obviously. I consider myself reactive during the early play field work and proactive after.

Each designer is different which varies my approach. For example, Keith had Iron Maiden’s insert layout locked in and I worked knowing exactly what was there, while on Deadpool, George asked me to layout predetermined inserts for specific areas based on the idea of his katanas and character placement. He took my general ideas on placement with the art in mind, and made them work with geometry and mechanically, and then I adjusted and created the art layout from there. So it varies, but it’s always collaborative throughout and genuinely exciting to start pulling things together.

How narrow is the focus of what you can and cannot include? Are you given strict parameters when working on a licensed IP?
Depends entirely on the IP holder. And it’s often not clear until you step over a line. So far, Marvel was the easiest and most open to new ideas, which was a surprise, while Iron Maiden was the strictest in terms of do’s and don’ts. Both approaches have inherent pros & cons. Knowing your limits isn’t a bad thing, after all. But I always say my ignorance is my best asset – if you DON’T know something you don’t avoid full exploration.

What do you feel is the most challenging step of designing pinball art packages?
Looking at a blank template at the beginning and trying to figure out where to go for 3 unique packages. Then, looking at the rough pencils, deciding how to ink. Then looking at inks, deciding what colors to use…pretty much the whole ride really. It’s exhilaratingly exciting and miserable until it’s over. But you focus on the positive (the end) and try to pick properties you’re passionate about and can challenge yourself to grow the skillset… I also try to make sure I won’t have to be tempted to break out the crack. (It’s a callback joke, Mom. I won’t do crack I promise!)

Has there been any design elements that you’ve had to fight for to be included in the finished product? If so, what are they?
I fought hard for Ghostbusters to have flippers…and a HUGE gap between them? Wouldn’t that be a great answer? … In reality, there are things I always have to explain in the art choices I make, but I’m not at liberty to say because I’d have to explain them again. I’m sure there were things I could point to, but I always consider the teams perspective and no one on any team I’ve worked with at Stern is arbitrary in decision making.

Can you mention any Easter eggs or hidden images on the pins that we might not know about?
I will only say that unless you dismantle your playfields, the only one I’d mention is Dennis’s pitch-n-bat. The Backglass has one rather sad zombie who is stuck looking over the fence watching the players with a bit of jealousy. Think about the timing and my headspace at that time, and you can perhaps figure out what or who that is about.

What is something you’ve learned about pinball from working with Stern?
Producing pinball is no small feat. I’d estimate by the end, at least 30-40 people have applied their specialty to the process. There are a lot of evolution and iteration that goes into it at every facet. In short, pinball is not easy – but damn if it isn’t rewarding and worth the birth pains.

Have you ever considered teaming up with Dirty Donny on a playfield art package?
I’d love to! I’ve talked with Donny about a collab outside pinball as well. I got him involved with Primus for the last tour and he killed on the gig poster he did. We want to work together on something. Timing is the key.

That said, I’ve also spoken quite a bit about the idea that 3 package interpretations for a pin split between artists would be kinda rad and might be great for the consumer. Stern makes 3 packages for pins these days. Maybe people don’t like my work, but love Donny? Donny does one package, I do another. We collab on the playfield…. It’s an interesting idea at least. Not without issues tho.

Music and comic books seem to be the biggest influence on you as an artist. Now you’ve gotten to work on huge IPs in both (Maiden and Deadpool). Which machine do you feel is closest to the Zombie Yeti aesthetic and why?
Would you accept all of them? I swear that’s not a hackneyed answer – it’s just that as an illustrator each project and IP is teaching me new ideas and approaches so I’m always in flux. I really do treat each project like it’s my last, because you’re only as good as the last thing you did with most people. I take controlled risks hoping I don’t fail. But, failure is how I got here, so it’s not as debilitating as it could be in the head space. I use it as a motivator… or a crutch!?

My gig poster work is probably the rawest and most honest form of my aesthetic. Those are great impulsive endeavors where 13 yr old me takes over. (Like making crack jokes!)

Has working with Stern made you a better pinball player?
Absolutely. But I seldom get to prove it because of the workload. That said, I’m the pinball players equivalent of a guy with a bashful bladder. I can’t relax in crowds to play worth a shit. But, in solitude at home, I can do very well …WITH the glass on I swear!

Dan Burfield of Tiltcycle (tiltcycle.com) talks to us about his radical repurposed pinball art and wares, the city of Pittsburgh and Midwest set locations of classic zombie flicks!

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/skillshotseattle/51-fun-with-a-repurpose” comments=”yes” auto_play=”no” color=”#ff7700″ width=”100%” height=”81px” class=”” id=””]

The International Flipper Pinball Association’s (IFPA) Washington State Championships pinball tournament was held on February 11th at the 8-Bit Arcade in Renton with the top 16 players in the state competing for the glory, a trophy, and the opportunity to play in the US National Pinball Championship in Dallas. Players are eligible to play in any state where they got into the top 16. As mentioned in the last issue, Kevin Birrell, who ranked 10th in WA, opted to compete in the Oregon State Champs this year where he was also eligible, and he won! Meanwhile at 8-Bit, the competition was pretty fierce with last year’s champ Raymond Davidson getting knocked out at fourth place, leading to a showdown between Maka Honig and Chris Chinn. Chris ultimately prevailed and went on to represent Washington in the Nationals. Specials!

That same day at 8-Bit there was an open Match Play Tournament. A concurrent side tournament has been a regular and successful feature of the WA State event for the past couple of years as it creates more of an audience for the crowning of the winner of the State Champion (Specials!). This year both tournaments lined up very well, with the match play tourney finishing at nearly the same time as the main tournament, despite its later starting time. The later start is partly so that anyone in the State Championship who gets knocked out in the first round can then compete in Match Play. This worked out well for Alex Tada, who was knocked out of the main tournament and then went on to win the Match Play Tournament instead. Aloha!

On March 16th, the IFPA US National Pinball Championship was held in Dallas and had contestants from most of the 50 states as well as Canada and the District of Columbia. This was held at the same time as the annual IFPA Pin Masters and the 2nd annual IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championship, which included locals Hannah Holmberg, Julie Gray, and last year’s champ Zoe Vrabel from Portland amongst the 16 contestants. The Women’s Championship seems to still be evolving, and now that the IFPA is actively tracking women-only tournaments, it will be interesting to see how the tournament grows. While none of our local players won either championships, this year’s Women’s Champion was Helena Walter, who recently moved to the US from Sweden. Helena, who is highly ranked worldwide (#108), is an interesting addition to the US pinball scene — not only in the women’s divisions but also in Colorado, where she lives and is already ranked 15th in the state. Pow!

Our local pinball scene is also evolving — and growing with even more tournaments and events! Ramsey Sierra recently broke the pinball Sabbath by starting a weekly Friday Night Fights tournament at Bad Jimmy’s, which has been embraced by many and makes us wonder why Fridays were ignored for so long. Thursdays and Sundays have experienced the most growth, with up to seven events on some Sundays, and Thursdays topping off at around five. Some of the recent additions include a new Second Sunday Match Play at Lucky Liquor, The Goat’s Weekly Arcade Decathlon (with pinball and arcade games), and The Triple Knock’s Women’s Tournament (every third Sunday).  Over on Whidbey Island, the Machine Shop arcade co-sponsored a pinball art show with a local gallery. It’s hard to keep up with all of these happenings, but we certainly try, and suggest checking out our calendar on the Skill Shot website for all of the details. Events!

Local locations (aka places with pinball machines) have also experienced an uptick with The Whit’s End, A Pizza Mart University, and A1 Hop Shop all getting one or two pins each, courtesy of Grand Champion Games. GCG also resurrected the 4B’s Alehouse, which didn’t have any pins for years but now has six, and Hellbent Brewery, which grew from two games to seven! 20XX Amusements also recently placed five pins at Fitzgerald’s Sports Bar, which was pin-less for a number of months. While Shorty’s, Marquee Amusements, and SilverAgeSilverBall are all still actively servicing locations, Pinheads Pinball has decided to cease as an active operator and is instead concentrating on home pinball repairs. Pins!

The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show (NWPAS) is ramping up the excitement for the upcoming show this summer, and a big part of the buzz is the NWPAS Satellite Tournament Series, which began March 27th. Organized by NWPAS Tournament director Dave Stewart, the Satellite Series is 13 different tournaments scattered across local establishments where contestants have the chance to win both passes to NWPAS and entry into any/all of the tournaments they’re eligible for that weekend. These were a popular way to get into the show last year, and even if you don’t win one of the tournaments, you can still get passes just by attending 7 of the 13 events. There are three all-ages tournaments included, and this year’s Powder Puff Tournament is also a “partner event”, so there are plenty of ways to win. Go to the NWPAS website for more details. Winning!

The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show (June 9-11) is celebrating their 10th annual event this year and it is sure to be a lot of fun. Along with the tournament, there will be over 400 pinball and arcade machines available to play, along with lots of vendors, exhibits, speakers, and more. Some of our favorite things from the last show included an Iron Maiden pinball machine, The Big Lebowski pin, rows of rare EM machines, and Spectrum! Speakers this year include pinball designers and artists of classic games such as Spider-Man, White Water, Congo, Medieval Madness, Taxi, Wizard of Oz, and many more! The show is still a few months away, so keep an eye on their website and Facebook page for more details as they are announced. PAGS!

Monday Night Pinball is well on its way into season 7. So far, the season has been exciting, with plenty of surprises, such as the dominance of Down To Pinball and the rise of Northern Lights into the upper ranks. While there has been some concern about the increasing use of algorithms amongst some teams, most people would still agree that winning = fun. Data-centric strategies, as Michael Adcock reveals on a recent episode of the Skill Shot Pincast, are useful for predicting results and are probably here to stay. Win or lose, pinball is fun, and with 200+ players in the league, it’s a good way to meet new people. Go to the Monday Night Pinball website to find out how to join or become a sub. Fun!

Skill Shot News: Originally, our Folding Party for last issue was going to happen during a Monday Tournament at Ozzie’s, but a delay at our printer ruined that plan. (Nina even brought party hats!) A huge thank you goes out to everyone who helped fold zines at our emergency Folding Party and also later at the MNP scrimmage event! (And every issue for that matter.) Skill Shot Pincast recently released episode 47 and celebrated with a party at Flip Flip Ding Ding on March 31st with a new sticker and buttons! Skill Shot hosted the annual Tommy Tournament on April 2nd and will also host the 11th Powder Puff Tournament on May 28th at Shorty’s. We forgot to mention it before but 2017 begins our 10th anniversary of publishing this zine! Look for more Skill Shot related tournaments and events to be announced soon. Decade!

Pinball Tidbits: After a public vote, both The Vancouver Flip-Out and The NW Pinball Championships have been added to the PAPA Tournament Circuit. Expect to see a higher level of competition (and points) at this year’s events! * Flip Flip Ding Ding celebrated their 100th weekly with extra prize money and surprise competitors Todd MacCulloch and Bowen Kerins. * Congratulations to Germain Mariolle: IFPA’s January Player of the Month! * We recently noticed that Hing Hay Park in Chinatown is doubling its size. Will the Seattle Pinball Museum follow suit when they do their next outdoor event there? * Shorty’s Avout Vander Werf has begun work on a new bar in Pioneer Square and it will not be a pinball bar. * Skill Shot is happy to announce the engagement of Hannah Holmberg and Jason Hatch. We are super happy for them! * More love happened when Jeff Waggoner and Liz Sotack tied the knot and played Stern’s Avengers at their reception.* This year’s Portland Pinbrawl sold out in record time, so the Skill Shot/Slap Save throwdown event will happen at a different date. Stay tuned… * Don’t forget to like us on Facebook. * Support Local Pinball!

Originally published in Skill Shot 47, April 4th 2007

Monday Night Pinball’s 6th season ended similarly to season 5, as the finals were a contest between Full Tilt Ballard’s Soda Jerks and Flip Flip Ding Ding’s The Wrecking Crew for the top team. And again, like last season, The Wrecking Crew took the win! This now makes two-time winners out of The Wrecking Crew (seasons 5 and 6), Soda Jerks (3 and 4) and Shorty’s Silverball Slayers (1 and 2), and season 7 is going to be a tie breaker unless another team can break into the top. There’s a good chance this could happen. MNP Season 7 begins in February with three new locations, two more teams and approximately 200 people participating every week. We know from personal experience that being on a team is a sure way to motivate yourself into getting better at pinball. Teams!

With the increase of players in the MNP league (as well as in the pinball community in general) growing pains and drama are always possibilities. This past season had one team threaten to boycott another team, as well as a location getting stink eye because of an event unrelated to the league. This seems to have prompted league organizers Geoff Simons and Dave Stewart to create a board of directors to help usher the league through these kinds of sticky situations. This first board consists of Alexa Philbeck, Sophie Spickard, Taylor Minter, Michael Adcock, and Heather Loudon, which should be a fair and level-headed group. If you are interested in participating in MNP and haven’t yet joined, there are still spots left on a few of the teams, and substitutes are often needed. Go to Monday Night Pinball’s website or Facebook page for more details. Subs!

Seattle Pinball League is also gearing up for their new season in February. SPL is a (mostly) monthly gathering of members who usually meet at private locations for tournaments and fun that culminates in a finals contest in December. The 2016 finals began on Friday (12/2) with a wild card playoff won by Kevin Birrell, who then continued his winning streak the next day by advancing all day through the ladder format tournament and into the final round. It was a pretty impressive feat when you consider that he was the only one who began at 10 AM and continued playing for over 14 hours until finally being upset by Raymond Davidson in the end! Well, perhaps the upset would have been if Kevin had won, but either way, it was an impressive performance and broadcast live on Twitch as well. Wild!

Kevin and Raymond are both on a rolL. Raymond (who is ranked 5th worldwide) won the City Champ tournament in San Francisco in December, while Kevin (13th) won both the 19th Annual Shorty’s Tournament and Seattle Super League finals back in November. Along with these wins, Kevin decided to go down to Portland at the end of the year for the Last Chance WPPR Grab tourney which he not only won but also let him “drink PDX tears”, as that put him into the qualifying bracket for the IFPA Oregon State Championship Series — which he has decided to attend instead of Washington’s! We think his and Raymond’s plan may be to win the two state championships so that they can travel together and compete in the IFPA US National Pinball Championship, which happens in Dallas later this spring. Of course, there will be 15 other competitors in each state who will try to keep that from happening. The WA State Championship will be held at 8-Bit Arcade in Renton (2/11) with a match-play tournament running concurrently. Plans!

As usual, there have been a lot of weeklies, monthlies, and special events/tournaments held around Seattle these past few months and the holiday season seems to bring out a few more special ones that were geared towards helping the less fortunate. With the rise of both players and locations, it seemed natural that there was some overlapping of these events.  On December 13th, both 8-Bit Arcade and Grand Champion Games held charity tournaments, and the overlap seemed to irk a few local players. Fortunately, both events were well attended as close to 90 players total chose to come out for the benefits. Both had special surprises for the contestants, with the Rob Zombie pinball machine making its area debut at 8-Bit, and Danger Dan brought his personal Big Lebowski pinball machine to the Grand Champion event. Specials!

A similar situation has been happening with the MNP off-season Mondays, with both Ozzie’s and Full Tilt Ballard hosting tournaments, which again seem to be mostly well attended with around 70 people combined coming out for the January 9th events. Another new location, The Goat (in Greenwood) started off with a weekly Sunday night tournament, while on the same day Jared Gamble began hosting a monthly one-handed pinball tourney at Add-a-Ball Amusements.  As if Sundays weren’t busy enough, down in Tacoma the Triple Knock has started holding a monthly women’s tournament, and of course there are Another Castle Arcade Edition’s weekly kids and amateur tournaments. Meanwhile, the weekly Iron Bull tournaments had been moving around a bit during their extensive construction project until finally settling into Bad Jimmy’s (another new location) although with mixed results attendance-wise. Mixed!

The grand-daddy of Seattle’s weekly pinball scene, The Wednesday Flip Off at Add-a-Ball, is still going strong and held their 200th tournament on January 4th. Hosted by Sergey Posrednikov and Heather Loudon, the weekly Flip Off seems impervious to outside influences and always gets a sizable crowd of competitors each week. Fremont has always claimed to be the center of the universe and this is true as far as the local pinball scene goes — although Metro has yet to figure this out. Add-a-Ball is also apparently making tentative plans to join other local businesses Rudy’s and Cha Cha by opening a branch in Los Angeles. While we heard that Add-a-Brad’s brother will eventually be the manager of the satellite location, we do not know if it will be in the Silver Lake neighborhood where the other Seattle transplants are. L.A.!

North of Seattle at Another Castle, Michael WARfield has retired as the director of the weekly Amateur Pinball Tournament. WAR had a farewell tournament on Jan. 8th and has passed the torch to Lefteris Sitaras, who has already been running the kids’ tournament. WAR had just made some changes to the Amateur Tournament rules that increased the IFPA ranking a player must hold to be considered an “amateur”, but it is unknown whether Lefteris will keep these rules or make up new ones of his own. We read on Facebook that he may introduce a subtract-a-ball-penalty so that higher ranked players can still participate but they won’t get to play all their balls. REEAADDDYYY!

Bobby Conover of 20XX Amusements, who operates the pins at Full Tilt Ballard, has been contemplating running a novice tournament as well. It’s definitely true that many of the newbies of the local scene would like to join in the fun of a tournament but seem hesitant about being thrown into the melee of a Wednesday Flip Off or Full Tilt Weekly, which can both be pretty competitive. With the prices of tournaments rising (and the prize money with it) we fully understand the hesitation. With pinball’s rise in popularity there are certainly plenty of new players to tap into, but finding the right format that will attract them can be difficult. Hands-on pinball tutorials is an idea being floated around also, and when they were held at 8-Bit last year by Chelsey Oedewaldt, it seemed to go well. So if you are a new player looking for something like this, let us know what kinds of events would interest you and we will pass it along. Write!

Another popular way that some women players have been dipping their toes into the pinball community has been via women-only tournaments and gatherings. The International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) have become more active in tracking women’s World Pinball Player Ranking (WPPR) points and asked organizers of these events to submit their results to the IFPA. That means Powder Puff, Babes in Pinland and NWPAS Women’s Tournaments are now being added to a player’s rankings when applicable. These points are not added to a player’s open ranking, which is multi-gender, but to a separate women’s rankings page on the IFPA website. The women’s rankings are going to be built upon over the next year and then used for wild card spots at the 2018 IFPA Women’s Championship. In the meantime, it’s neat to check out where local women stand in the rankings (spoiler alert: Hannah Holmberg is #1). Points!

Skill Shot News: The 19th Annual Shorty’s Pinball Tournament (11/6) was again hosted by Skill Shot, although this year without the physical assistance of Jeff Groper, who was instead at a CFF wedding. Germain Mariolle graciously filled in as our main ref for the event which went off without a hitch! The Skill Shot Pincast recently recorded its 44th episode, and if our predictions are correct, Pincast 47 and issue 47 of this zine will be released at the same time! 2nd Place Andy created a business card sized info sheet with NBA Fastbreak trivia answers on one side and a few of his video mode maps on the other. Too cool! Skill Shot subscribers and Patreon contributors will receive one with this issue. After taking a few breaks, the First Sunday Tournament @Shorty’s that we organize will return on Feb. 5th, which is also Super Bowl Sunday. If you don’t watch football, come join us for some pinball instead. Our friends at Slap Save (Portland’s Pinball Zine) have challenged us to bring a team down for a Seattle/Portland throwdown the night before Pinbrawl in April. Hitched!

Pinball Tidbits: Did you see the article about Robert Gagno in ESPN magazine? It’s really cool, and on their website too. * Seattle Pinball Super League has added more locations to their line-up:  Shorty’s, Triple Knock, and Ozzie’s. * Flip Flip Ding Ding now has 3 pins on free play every Monday! * Another Castle’s Jason and Eezy don’t have an operator name yet but they’ve been adding locations on Bainbridge and in Bremerton. Check out the List on our website. * Ed’s Kort Haus has closed and The Goat next door may try to expand into the space, which would create a super-arcade. SilverAge Silverball is ready to fill it up if they do. * The Narwhal is changing up their pinball area, which will make room for more pins. Sweet! * Hellbent Brewery was temporarily pin-less in January while between operators. They should have more than two by the time you read this.* Congratulations to Jodine and Leslie for adding another pinball player wedding to the list xxoo * SUPPORT LOCAL PINBALL!

Originally published in Skill Shot 46

The Film-to-Pin Inversion Principle
by the Duchess of Bourbon

Congo, Demolition Man, The Shadow, Tron: Legacy, Johnny Mnemonic, The Flintstones, Lost in Space, Barb Wire…what do these games have in common, you ask? They all rank highly in the game-quality-to-film-suck ratio.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of crap/crap, eh/eh, and awesome/awesome examples out there too, such as Star Wars: Episode 1, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Addams Family respectively, though we may agree to disagree. But you simply can’t deny the long list of crummy films that birthed great games.

Despite being damn fun pins, these titles represent some of the worst movies to have ever graced the silver screen. They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and perhaps this is the proof. This phenomenon has been discussed in the pinball community for years, but how does it happen so often?

Is it because licensing is too expensive for popular movies? Manufacturers have pulled out the big bucks for some top releases such as The Hobbit, The Avengers, and Avatar which have resulted in pretty mediocre games. They’ve also hired some of the best designers and programmers in the biz for these pins, but the unique and engaging concepts and gameplay just weren’t there.

Or do the folks who make the pinball machines just have crappy taste in films? Maybe they consider Congo a brilliant film (who wouldn’t love a medley of talking gorillas, diamonds, lasers, aliens, and Tim Curry, right?). Or is it perhaps the pressure of having to live up to the quality of the film in the game they create is just too much to handle? Nah. Game designers have done fine with classics such as the Star Trek franchise.

Most likely it’s that relentlessly cheesy movies offer a plethora of campy elements to include in games. Cheese and pinball have long been happy bedfellows, which is why it makes perfect sense that some of the worst movies result in some of the best pinball games. The excess of funny material, the freedom to reinterpret flawed properties, and the kitsch factor are winning elements in the arcade. Following this argument to its logical conclusion, if we scare up some of the worst movies of all time we will have potentially identified some of the best pinball machines yet to be made. Make it happen, Gary, Jack, and company! If there is any justice in this world it should only be a matter of time before we see a Plan 9 From Outer Space pinball.

The Film-to-Pin Inversion Principle is an imperfect but fun theory for which there are many exceptions. The subjectivity of any opinion-based hypothesis means this is a deeply unscientific exercise, but that shouldn’t stop us from exploring it to its bitter end! Kayla and Graham discussed it earlier this year on the Skill Shot Pincast, inspiring a graph from listener Phil G. comparing Rotten Tomatoes and Pinside ratings (included). In the latest issue of Drop Target, a dream machine is drawn up based on the notoriously terrible Troll 2. Further down the rabbit hole, there’s plenty to be said about the relationship between comic books and TV shows and the pins they’ve inspired. Put down this zine, grab a drink, and spark a conversation.

Movie Game Analysis graph courtesy of Phil Grimaldi – originally published on Tilt Forums.com