Nobody Special #10: Little Fish

After last season I got a few weeks to take a break. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll play pinball all day everyday happily, but I needed to rest up. I spent my time playing Fez. Solving it all on my own consumed me. It ate up pinball time, but it was nice to switch gears to a different kind of problem. I’m proud to say I figured it all out without the internet’s help. With that accomplished it was time to get back to pinball.

Last weekend was the first IFPA tournament I entered. Long story short, I came in 8th out of around 20. We played Addams Family, Iron Man, Freddy, and Gorgar. My lady was having car trouble, so I couldn’t be there all day, and even if I was, I’m not a big fan of buying more entries. I take nothing away from anyone who buys more entries, but for myself, I don’t want to pay to win. This is the standard, so I need to learn to accept it or be good enough to win without retrys. For what it’s worth, I got second on Addams Family on my one try. My opponents were incredible and played over and over, so I’m pretty proud of that.

The advanced league started a few days later. I was super excited. My girlfriend, my buddy “#1”, and I all joined up. There are 13 people in our new league. Many of them are the people I played with in the tournament. I heard some of their IFPA rankings and was shocked at the caliber of competitors. This season is going to be a true test of skill. This season counts towards IFPA points, so soon I will have a ranking as well.

I instantly liked almost everyone in this new league. I finally found the hidden pocket of individuals who cared as much about pinball as me. Most people seemed to know each other, and I’m no boat rocker, so I tried to be polite and respect the fact that I’m a new guy here. I’m pretty confident in my abilities, but I’m not coming in with guns blazing.

I will say that I’m discovering my style is a tad unorthodox, as I pretty much taught myself pinball in a vacuum. Most people are fine with this, but I suspect a few may not be. I’ve already been given “friendly advice” that I’d be better off if I were to play more like them. I might be a new face, but I didn’t start playing yesterday. In most cases there is a very good and well thought out reason why I don’t follow their lead. Psychology is half of my game. Instead of disagreeing, I just bite my tongue, thank them for their advice, and move on unphased.

This week’s machines:

Banzai Run
Fish Tales
Indiana Jones (Stern)
Diner

We were paired into groups. This league will have revolving groups, which I am very thankful for. I look forward to seeing all the truly great players throughout the league play. For the first time my girlfriend, #1, and I were split up. I met my new group and we went right to Banzai Run.

Up till a few days ago I was the Grand Champion. It’s since been taken by #1. I should have done really well, but I just couldn’t make much happen. My first game I got 1.1 million, and I couldn’t top it on game two. On his turn #1 took a new Grand Champion score! I’m super proud of him. We’re competitors, but we came up together. A victory for him, my girlfriend, or myself is a victory for our small clan as far as I’m concerned.

First Place: 5,592,680 (#1’s score)
My score: 1,117,350 (7th overall)

We went to Fish Tales next. While I’ve only played it a handful of times, I am familiar with it through TPA. I went to work on starting multiball and going for double Jackpots. I ended up doing very well and getting two of them. At one point I found myself instinctually going for a death save. I stopped myself just short of doing it, because this league plays for IFPA points. I know better than to discredit myself in a situation like this.

I discovered that if you ever want to be chastised and yelled at like you’re a stupid little kid, then by all means go for half a death save in a game of pinball you’re already winning.

My score: 112,120,200 (1st overall)

Next we played Indiana Jones (Stern). It’s not my favorite game, but it’s not quite as bad as I’ve heard other people make it out to be. I concentrated on getting multiball going. In my best game I think I triggered it twice. I did a little bit better than I expected to. On a machine that is fairly new to me, I felt I did about as well as I could on two attempts.

First Place: 79,321,600
My score: 61,820,360 (4th overall)

Finally we played Diner. I’ve only played it about four times before. It’s not a terrible machine, though it can be. If you can get it going it can be a lot of fun. I was not able to make much happen. It seemed to me like hitting drop targets set you up for a lot of points. Hitting drop targets is also an amazing way to immediately lose your ball. I learned this on game one. On game two I tried to get a decent score without relying on drop targets. It just wasn’t meant to be tonight. I ended with a pretty lame score.

First Place: 28,544,570
My score: 2,400,550 (9th overall)

At the end of this first week I came in 3rd overall. This puts me in 3rd place for the time being. I ended up doing better than I had expected. The competition this time around is no joke. To have made it as high as I did was a relief.

I honestly believe that we are all on pretty much the same level, and any one of us could have a breakout game at any time. I think we will see a lot of back and forth this season. I may end up at the bottom of the pack in the end, but this is all a learning experience for me. I will continue to play season after season. I’m guessing that at some point the knowledge I’m learning now will be a great benefit in the future.

I don’t carry a big ego, so I’m taking my transition from big fish to average joe with grace. Water finds its level and for better or worse, I’m where I belong now. Last season I said I’d rather lose a fair fight than win an unfair one. This is my fair fight. If you ever wanted to see me get humbled, stay tuned. There’s about 12 people who have the desire and skills to make that a reality very soon.


OMD

 

[Shaneus]

That's the right attitude I've found with learning from people. I have a few close friends who I'll listen to regarding rules and such, but for actual play style it's always best to want to learn (either by observation or just asking people) rather than being told unsolicited. PAPA tourney videos, that Pinball 101 video (it's on iOS and it's cheap, done by Keith Elwin) and just playing competitive but only in spirit (not in any official capacity) games against friends are the most beneficial. I find if you're just playing for fun with mates, you're less likely to watch what they do and learn from them... best to add a little seriousness once in a while, even if it's just in your own head.

When playing against higher-skilled people, you can only get better. Perhaps if you start feeling the pressure, think of a round as a learning experience rather than a competition. Everyone likes to be asked about their skills/technique, it gives them an ego boost But yeah, dumping that knowledge onto other people can only ever emit a "holier than thou" vibe.

Oh BTW, glad you returned to writing these updates again! I was worried I wouldn't be able to live vicariously as an American tournament player through you

 

[Buzz1126]

OD-enjoyed reading this new post. As I'm about to embark into my first tourney, any information or tips would be greatly appreciated. The people that want to give you "advice" on your style, why not give them something exotic tho think about? Tell 'em that a blind monk taught you how to play. Tell 'em you were left at the doorstep of the monastery and as you got older, you found a disassembled pinball table, and after you put together, the monk taught you to play. Tell them thanks for the advice, but you want to honor his memory. But, you gotta really sell it!
You know, I'd never heard of a death save until I got involved in online pinball. None of the people I've ever played with tried it, at least to my knowledge.
Keep your confidence up. While I've never played in a tourney, I've played a crucial football game once or twice. Focus. Play your game. I think you'll do quite well. Good luck!!

 

[Shaneus]

Buzz: I play my best when I'm not thinking too much about playing, and not dwelling about how important the end result is. Sometimes I listen to a podcast to keep me from becoming too anxious while playing, so think about what keeps you calm and if you can apply that to competition play somehow

So I guess, just don't too much value in winning and more in how much fun you're having. For last night's round, I realised I think I enjoy hanging around the people who go to the tournaments than the events themselves. Just focus on having a good time?

Wow, that was a whole lot of nothing

 

[OmegaDef]

Shaneus: Thank you, buddy. I am not the kind to throw away advice. If it's something I never considered, then I'm all ears. I really don't want to sound ungrateful. Here's a small example.

If a ball gets stuck in such a way that the ball search doesn't push it out, I begin vibrating a machine. Slowly at first and progressively harder until the ball comes free. Now, if you aren't familiar with this technique it could appear as though I'm just standing there not doing anything at all. At one point during this scenario, I felt I was irritating people and was told I needed to "lift the machine". I prefer not to draw tilt warnings unless that is the only option. I managed to free the ball without a warning using only vibrations. Truth is, I've saved a lot of balls before, and I know what works for me. The result is people thinking I'm not listening, when in fact, I've already thought their way through to conclusion and decided against it.

Buzz: Best of luck in your upcoming tournament! Shaneus is right. It is possible to become one with a machine if you can manage to turn your brain off. Thinking about things makes a buffer. It's an extra nanosecond that can negatively effect your reaction time. It's way easier said than done though. I'm sure you'll do great. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have. Just send them my way.