I did the math. I was going to finish well no matter how I did tonight. I didn’t go overboard with practicing. I’m still trying to rest up because I know there is more competition right around the corner. I actually mostly played Spiderman. I just can’t get enough of that game right now.
This week’s machines:
Sopranos
Theatre of Magic
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Monster Bash
Upon arriving at the arcade I saw the games for this week. It was the week that everyone voted for their favorites. We knew ahead of time that Monster Bash and Theatre of Magic were going to be played. I was pretty surprised to find out the other two were Sopranos (a game I had a rough time with on week one) and Creature from the Black Lagoon. If you read my first blog then you will understand the smile that crossed my face to learn CFTBL was chosen.
My girlfriend could not make it this week. She was doing well in the competition and when we did the math, it looked like she was going to finish in the same place whether she played or not. My buddy, #1 was going to be an hour late. I decided to wait to play with him as did our other companion who has been with us since the first week.
My main gripe with Sopranos was on week one the right flipper seemed screwy. Having been through this whole experience I can now say it was in fact messed up. This has kept me from playing Sopranos since then. While waiting for #1 to show up, my other friend and I played some practice games. He was a fan of the game and was showing me some of the rules.
It finally clicked for me. The flippers were working great this time. I started to really enjoy it. I found that I could death save pretty reliably on it. I was having an amazing practice game when #1 arrived. I was killing it, and both my pals were helping direct me when I was unsure of my next move. I lit every light on the field and had finally lit the BOSS light. I needed one shot to start the final mode, but I drained out of nowhere. I was so freaking close. I got to put my initials in for 4th place, and I felt very ready to start playing for real.
We were already standing at the Sopranos, so that’s where we started. I didn’t play nearly as well as I had on my practice games. Game one was average. In game two, #1 beat me by about 5 million points. I was happy with my score though. I did way better than I had in week one.
First Place: 32,825,090 (#1’s score)
My score: 27,871,780 (2nd overall)
Theatre of Magic was up next. #1 and I always go neck and neck at this machine. It doesn’t matter to us who wins. We just always have fun competing against each other. We both had a fantastic first game, though we both did average on game two. When it was all said and done I absolutely could not believe how close our scores were. It was a testament to how we both make each other better by always pushing each other.
My score: 1,185,339,810 (1st overall)
#1’s score: 1,161,175,640 (2nd overall)
Next we played Creature from the Black Lagoon. I love this game and know it like the back of my hand. Eight weeks ago I took the top spot on the TPA leaderboards. While that doesn’t exactly translate to being able to destroy it in real life, it certainly helps. More than anything, I felt confident. Someday someone (I’m rooting for you, vikingerik) will most likely overtake my score, and like a gentleman I will congratulate them, but for the time being, CFTBL is MY game.
There isn’t much to say. I killed it.
My score: 199,191,610 (1st overall)
Finally we played Monster Bash. I love Monster Bash, but I had not voted for it. I didn’t think it would make a good game to compete on because there are a lot of really random elements. For example, the scoop will pop out an unavoidable SDTM way too often. Some games this may happen to you three times in a row. I guess everyone is still on a level playing field, but I’d rather something a little less random be chosen to test everyone’s skill.
This was the final game of the whole competition. I was tired, hadn’t eaten all day, and was already incredibly sore. I really just wanted to put up a decent score and be done with it. I ended up doing very well. I was able to capitalize on the strategy that didn’t work for me a few weeks ago. After lighting a few monsters, I went into Mosh Pit multiball and was able to add two more balls to it. I ended up getting a ton of jackpots. In the end, I was happy with my score and relieved that we had finally made it to the end of our eight weeks.
My score: 95,140,950 (1st overall)
When the results came in, I had once again gotten first place for the week.
Final Standings after week 8:
1st place: me with 240 points
2nd place: #1 with 227 points
3rd place: my girlfriend with 170 points
I did it.
After a terrible start, I fought my way to the top and wound up getting first place. I’m really proud of my girlfriend who got 3rd place and my buddy who got 2nd. All three of us are getting trophies. I haven’t won a trophy for anything since I won a karate tournament when I was like 10 years old.
We’ve all placed out of our league and must now compete in the advanced league that is starting soon. There’s an upcoming tournament that we will be competing in as well. My new goal is to see how far I can actually take this. Who knows, I might be the anonymous guy competing next to you some day.
I’m going to continue writing these, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to continue to make them public. This was just an experiment. I wanted to document my experience so that maybe the next person who finds themselves in the same position would be able to reference my mistakes and strategies. By the way, I tried a few different kinds of shoes. The only ones that mostly kept my feet from throbbing after really long sessions were loose fitting low top Converse. Of all the advice I could give, that is perhaps the most important.
It’s been a crazy two months. I achieved a world record, played pinball till I was literally bruised, bought a couple machines, and won my first pinball competition on my rookie try. I’ve made some great friends and got to play with some truly talented people along the way.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to read along. I was a little worried about making this public at first. There’s almost nowhere safe from “trolls” on the internet, but not once did anyone question my motives, sincerity, or try to be cruel just for the sake of it. I guess I’m asking for it by writing that, but whatever. I think it goes to show what a great site this is and what amazing camaraderie there is amongst pinball people.
Maybe we’ll meet again, but if that day never comes, then I thank you all for letting me into your home and allowing me to tell my long winded stories.
OMD
This week’s machines:
Sopranos
Theatre of Magic
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Monster Bash
Upon arriving at the arcade I saw the games for this week. It was the week that everyone voted for their favorites. We knew ahead of time that Monster Bash and Theatre of Magic were going to be played. I was pretty surprised to find out the other two were Sopranos (a game I had a rough time with on week one) and Creature from the Black Lagoon. If you read my first blog then you will understand the smile that crossed my face to learn CFTBL was chosen.
My girlfriend could not make it this week. She was doing well in the competition and when we did the math, it looked like she was going to finish in the same place whether she played or not. My buddy, #1 was going to be an hour late. I decided to wait to play with him as did our other companion who has been with us since the first week.
My main gripe with Sopranos was on week one the right flipper seemed screwy. Having been through this whole experience I can now say it was in fact messed up. This has kept me from playing Sopranos since then. While waiting for #1 to show up, my other friend and I played some practice games. He was a fan of the game and was showing me some of the rules.
It finally clicked for me. The flippers were working great this time. I started to really enjoy it. I found that I could death save pretty reliably on it. I was having an amazing practice game when #1 arrived. I was killing it, and both my pals were helping direct me when I was unsure of my next move. I lit every light on the field and had finally lit the BOSS light. I needed one shot to start the final mode, but I drained out of nowhere. I was so freaking close. I got to put my initials in for 4th place, and I felt very ready to start playing for real.
We were already standing at the Sopranos, so that’s where we started. I didn’t play nearly as well as I had on my practice games. Game one was average. In game two, #1 beat me by about 5 million points. I was happy with my score though. I did way better than I had in week one.
First Place: 32,825,090 (#1’s score)
My score: 27,871,780 (2nd overall)
Theatre of Magic was up next. #1 and I always go neck and neck at this machine. It doesn’t matter to us who wins. We just always have fun competing against each other. We both had a fantastic first game, though we both did average on game two. When it was all said and done I absolutely could not believe how close our scores were. It was a testament to how we both make each other better by always pushing each other.
My score: 1,185,339,810 (1st overall)
#1’s score: 1,161,175,640 (2nd overall)
Next we played Creature from the Black Lagoon. I love this game and know it like the back of my hand. Eight weeks ago I took the top spot on the TPA leaderboards. While that doesn’t exactly translate to being able to destroy it in real life, it certainly helps. More than anything, I felt confident. Someday someone (I’m rooting for you, vikingerik) will most likely overtake my score, and like a gentleman I will congratulate them, but for the time being, CFTBL is MY game.
There isn’t much to say. I killed it.
My score: 199,191,610 (1st overall)
Finally we played Monster Bash. I love Monster Bash, but I had not voted for it. I didn’t think it would make a good game to compete on because there are a lot of really random elements. For example, the scoop will pop out an unavoidable SDTM way too often. Some games this may happen to you three times in a row. I guess everyone is still on a level playing field, but I’d rather something a little less random be chosen to test everyone’s skill.
This was the final game of the whole competition. I was tired, hadn’t eaten all day, and was already incredibly sore. I really just wanted to put up a decent score and be done with it. I ended up doing very well. I was able to capitalize on the strategy that didn’t work for me a few weeks ago. After lighting a few monsters, I went into Mosh Pit multiball and was able to add two more balls to it. I ended up getting a ton of jackpots. In the end, I was happy with my score and relieved that we had finally made it to the end of our eight weeks.
My score: 95,140,950 (1st overall)
When the results came in, I had once again gotten first place for the week.
Final Standings after week 8:
1st place: me with 240 points
2nd place: #1 with 227 points
3rd place: my girlfriend with 170 points
I did it.
After a terrible start, I fought my way to the top and wound up getting first place. I’m really proud of my girlfriend who got 3rd place and my buddy who got 2nd. All three of us are getting trophies. I haven’t won a trophy for anything since I won a karate tournament when I was like 10 years old.
We’ve all placed out of our league and must now compete in the advanced league that is starting soon. There’s an upcoming tournament that we will be competing in as well. My new goal is to see how far I can actually take this. Who knows, I might be the anonymous guy competing next to you some day.
I’m going to continue writing these, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to continue to make them public. This was just an experiment. I wanted to document my experience so that maybe the next person who finds themselves in the same position would be able to reference my mistakes and strategies. By the way, I tried a few different kinds of shoes. The only ones that mostly kept my feet from throbbing after really long sessions were loose fitting low top Converse. Of all the advice I could give, that is perhaps the most important.
It’s been a crazy two months. I achieved a world record, played pinball till I was literally bruised, bought a couple machines, and won my first pinball competition on my rookie try. I’ve made some great friends and got to play with some truly talented people along the way.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to read along. I was a little worried about making this public at first. There’s almost nowhere safe from “trolls” on the internet, but not once did anyone question my motives, sincerity, or try to be cruel just for the sake of it. I guess I’m asking for it by writing that, but whatever. I think it goes to show what a great site this is and what amazing camaraderie there is amongst pinball people.
Maybe we’ll meet again, but if that day never comes, then I thank you all for letting me into your home and allowing me to tell my long winded stories.
OMD
