This week's machines:
Monopoly
Transformers
The Sopranos
Demolition Man
I arrived at the arcade a little bit early. I was super excited and actually pretty nervous. I couldn't wait to finally do this. I noticed which four machines had been picked, and I was starting to really regret last weekend's "training session", because I'd only ever played Demolition Man a few times and hadn't played any of the others before. We met up and found out there were 10 people competing in the Novice league this season.
I had invited some friends to join, but they all backed out. Except one. My girlfriend. She got into pinball through me. I've been teaching her a lot, and she has gotten really good. We both had been waiting for this.
We were told the rules. Pretty simple, really. You play four machines twice. Your best scores on each machine were totaled. Any extra balls had to be drained. Once you plunged them, your hands had to be removed from the machine. You could still go for a skill shot on an extra ball, but you couldn't touch the machine. There was no penalty for tilting other than the one imposed by the machine.
We split up into groups. My girlfriend and I were in a group with one other guy. He was nice and just as enthusiastic as us. We started on Monopoly. I had never played it before. Scores vary so much in machines that it's hard to tell if you did well or not by score alone. I knew that I was the winner of both games we played, so that was nice. I was still pretty nervous. After the game, someone matched. We decided to each play one ball from the free game. At that point, I felt relaxed and did pretty well on my ball. Too bad it didn't count for anything. It was a fun machine that I'd play again.
First Place: 7,475,030
My score: 5,103,490 (3rd overall)
Girlfriend: 2,720,510 (6th overall)
Next we played Transformers, another machine I hadn't tried yet. It was okay, but I got to say, I find modern Transformers to be hideous. I wish there was a classic Transformers game. I was still nervous. While I did do some great multiball juggling tricks, it didn't amount to many points. If only style points were awarded. I watched my girlfriend do very well. I did beat our companion, but not by much.
First Place: 25,944,170
My Score: 7,468,930 (6th overall)
Girlfriend: 14,640,420 (3rd overall)
Then we played The Sopranos. I hadn't played it before, because I never could get into the show. I'm not against playing games where I don't care about the license, but I just hadn't gotten to that one yet. It was a really fun machine, but something felt a little off about the right flipper. I figured on a machine I didn't know, the best bet was to trap a ball and look for what was flashing. This strategy was not really paying off, especially with that weird right flipper. When I'd release a cradle on the right it seemed like it would spasm a little and shoot without me hitting the button. Once again, I beat our companion and watched as my lady beat me. My nervousness started to be compounded by frustration. At this point I was definitely trying too hard and overthinking every shot.
First Place: 29,327,230
My Score: 18,335,200 (5th overall)
Girlfriend: 28,631,780 (2nd overall)
Finally we played Demolition Man. I've played it a few times before, and it's a fun machine. I just haven't put much time into it. The only commentary that really needs to be given here is that my girlfriend somehow managed to get 631 million points. She absolutely killed it. I was already nervous, but then I had to follow that. I once again beat the other player in our group, but the bigger picture was starting to reveal itself. I was watching the student become the master. On top of that, I was totally choking under pressure.
My Score: 65,095,040 (6th overall)
Girlfriend: 631,994,660 (1st overall)
Total Standings for Week 1:
Me: 7th place
Her: 3rd place
I promised to be honest, even if it was embarrassing. I'm very proud of my girlfriend. She did an amazing job. But yeah, I'm totally disgusted with myself and how poorly I played. A good friend of mine pointed out that at least I have a comeback story brewing. He said, "You're Teen Wolf, Man! Even he got beat in his first game!". I'm kind of an obsessive guy, and I won't be defeated without excessively trying to correct this. I stuck around till midnight destroying those four machines. I just couldn't seem to do it when the pressure was on. I'll be at the arcade practicing with every free minute and dollar I have. At the very least, my goal next week is to stop being nervous and at all costs, DO NOT CHOKE.
Next week's games are Star Trek LE , Genie, and two more surprise machines. I have a little history with Genie and I like Star Trek LE quite a bit. We'll see if I can redeem myself.
OmegaDef
OMD
Monopoly
Transformers
The Sopranos
Demolition Man
I arrived at the arcade a little bit early. I was super excited and actually pretty nervous. I couldn't wait to finally do this. I noticed which four machines had been picked, and I was starting to really regret last weekend's "training session", because I'd only ever played Demolition Man a few times and hadn't played any of the others before. We met up and found out there were 10 people competing in the Novice league this season.
I had invited some friends to join, but they all backed out. Except one. My girlfriend. She got into pinball through me. I've been teaching her a lot, and she has gotten really good. We both had been waiting for this.
We were told the rules. Pretty simple, really. You play four machines twice. Your best scores on each machine were totaled. Any extra balls had to be drained. Once you plunged them, your hands had to be removed from the machine. You could still go for a skill shot on an extra ball, but you couldn't touch the machine. There was no penalty for tilting other than the one imposed by the machine.
We split up into groups. My girlfriend and I were in a group with one other guy. He was nice and just as enthusiastic as us. We started on Monopoly. I had never played it before. Scores vary so much in machines that it's hard to tell if you did well or not by score alone. I knew that I was the winner of both games we played, so that was nice. I was still pretty nervous. After the game, someone matched. We decided to each play one ball from the free game. At that point, I felt relaxed and did pretty well on my ball. Too bad it didn't count for anything. It was a fun machine that I'd play again.
First Place: 7,475,030
My score: 5,103,490 (3rd overall)
Girlfriend: 2,720,510 (6th overall)
Next we played Transformers, another machine I hadn't tried yet. It was okay, but I got to say, I find modern Transformers to be hideous. I wish there was a classic Transformers game. I was still nervous. While I did do some great multiball juggling tricks, it didn't amount to many points. If only style points were awarded. I watched my girlfriend do very well. I did beat our companion, but not by much.
First Place: 25,944,170
My Score: 7,468,930 (6th overall)
Girlfriend: 14,640,420 (3rd overall)
Then we played The Sopranos. I hadn't played it before, because I never could get into the show. I'm not against playing games where I don't care about the license, but I just hadn't gotten to that one yet. It was a really fun machine, but something felt a little off about the right flipper. I figured on a machine I didn't know, the best bet was to trap a ball and look for what was flashing. This strategy was not really paying off, especially with that weird right flipper. When I'd release a cradle on the right it seemed like it would spasm a little and shoot without me hitting the button. Once again, I beat our companion and watched as my lady beat me. My nervousness started to be compounded by frustration. At this point I was definitely trying too hard and overthinking every shot.
First Place: 29,327,230
My Score: 18,335,200 (5th overall)
Girlfriend: 28,631,780 (2nd overall)
Finally we played Demolition Man. I've played it a few times before, and it's a fun machine. I just haven't put much time into it. The only commentary that really needs to be given here is that my girlfriend somehow managed to get 631 million points. She absolutely killed it. I was already nervous, but then I had to follow that. I once again beat the other player in our group, but the bigger picture was starting to reveal itself. I was watching the student become the master. On top of that, I was totally choking under pressure.
My Score: 65,095,040 (6th overall)
Girlfriend: 631,994,660 (1st overall)
Total Standings for Week 1:
Me: 7th place
Her: 3rd place
I promised to be honest, even if it was embarrassing. I'm very proud of my girlfriend. She did an amazing job. But yeah, I'm totally disgusted with myself and how poorly I played. A good friend of mine pointed out that at least I have a comeback story brewing. He said, "You're Teen Wolf, Man! Even he got beat in his first game!". I'm kind of an obsessive guy, and I won't be defeated without excessively trying to correct this. I stuck around till midnight destroying those four machines. I just couldn't seem to do it when the pressure was on. I'll be at the arcade practicing with every free minute and dollar I have. At the very least, my goal next week is to stop being nervous and at all costs, DO NOT CHOKE.
Next week's games are Star Trek LE , Genie, and two more surprise machines. I have a little history with Genie and I like Star Trek LE quite a bit. We'll see if I can redeem myself.
OmegaDef
OMD
