....have been hectic. I did have fun spending time with family over the last two weekends, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying some pinball in the meantime. Here we go!
First up is the trip to Pittsburgh -- the location I visited is Kickback Pinball Cafe, since my last visit from 2014.
Black Knight: Sword of Rage: First games were getting in the hang of the shots. Best score at the time was about 48 million points. Also played with other people in the cafe.
Fish Tales: No dice.
Indianapolis 500: Since I played this and didn't record a score back from ReplayFX, I thought I'd give this another go. 227,636,020 was the best I could do that day. Rough game, but I managed to get a Loop Turbo combo for the first time. Incredibly satisfying.
Space Shuttle: Still a difficult ramp to nail, and one that has the gate disabled at the start of each ball. Thankfully it gave me a chance before deciding to drain my ball.
Demolition Man: Earned multiple free games despite not getting any new personal bests. Still a great game to shoot combos on.
TRON Legacy: If only these cost 50 cents instead, I'd learn the shots and ball feeds a little bit more...
Munsters Pro: At least I did a little better on this than the one over at Pins Mechanical in Dublin, where ball save was turned off. Would like to learn about this a bit more, too.
Overall a good day at Kickback. Disappointed that Total Nuclear Annihilation wasn't there, but recently I heard TNA wasn't doing well at all on location. Not surprising, after all.
Next up is the trip to Columbus. After going to a place called TopGolf, I stopped by Pins Mechanical in Dublin to finish out Thursday night.
Black Knight: Sword of Rage: Yes, I'm serious. Totally worth it. 156,765,790 takes the Grand Champion spot on that machine.
Iron Maiden: The best I could do was about 170 million. Not as much as my personal best, but still a decent game on that machine.
Ghostbusters: The left and right scoops decided not to register anymore. Got denied Tobin's, Video Mode, and at least one Extra Ball.
Star Wars: nope.avi
Spider-Man: Somehow the ball broke the upper right flipper end of stroke for a little while before fixing it through the pop bumpers. I'll wait until I play a somewhat better one.
Game of Thrones: Learning a little bit at a time. 263,142,080 is my new best game on this machine.
This rounds out the night. But I wasn't done in Columbus yet. I stopped by Level One Arcade that Saturday night. In short: Best 6 hours I spent at a non-Pinburgh location.
Black Knight: Sword of Rage: You thought I was going to play this a third time? Eh, I thought I'd mention that this is the 3rd one I saw.
Fish Tales: Finally I have my moment on that machine. 265,436,200 going through all the Captive Ball awards, with a good chunk of it coming from Bonus.
Theatre of Magic: Shoutouts to that estimate from 6 years ago, because now it's replaced by something legitimate. 1,762,690,920 was my best game on that machine. Played multiple games before going to 4-player sessions. Among those games are highlights:
Star Wars: Again, meh, but I did better than before. 327,562,720 is my new best, playing as Han and going for Tie Fighter multiball.
Deadpool: Hooooo boy. Had a BIG game. 79 million-point Final Shot against Megalodon, had great multiball sessions (sadly no Disco), got to Mechsuit Multiball for the first time, and had a great bonus after all that. A new personal best of 379,355,700 was my big highlight for the night.
It was great meeting the people I played with over at Level One, and I certainly had a blast with what seemed to be my first taste of competitive pinball. One step closer to Pinburgh preparations!
First up is the trip to Pittsburgh -- the location I visited is Kickback Pinball Cafe, since my last visit from 2014.
Black Knight: Sword of Rage: First games were getting in the hang of the shots. Best score at the time was about 48 million points. Also played with other people in the cafe.
Fish Tales: No dice.
Indianapolis 500: Since I played this and didn't record a score back from ReplayFX, I thought I'd give this another go. 227,636,020 was the best I could do that day. Rough game, but I managed to get a Loop Turbo combo for the first time. Incredibly satisfying.
Space Shuttle: Still a difficult ramp to nail, and one that has the gate disabled at the start of each ball. Thankfully it gave me a chance before deciding to drain my ball.
Demolition Man: Earned multiple free games despite not getting any new personal bests. Still a great game to shoot combos on.
TRON Legacy: If only these cost 50 cents instead, I'd learn the shots and ball feeds a little bit more...
Munsters Pro: At least I did a little better on this than the one over at Pins Mechanical in Dublin, where ball save was turned off. Would like to learn about this a bit more, too.
Overall a good day at Kickback. Disappointed that Total Nuclear Annihilation wasn't there, but recently I heard TNA wasn't doing well at all on location. Not surprising, after all.
Next up is the trip to Columbus. After going to a place called TopGolf, I stopped by Pins Mechanical in Dublin to finish out Thursday night.
Black Knight: Sword of Rage: Yes, I'm serious. Totally worth it. 156,765,790 takes the Grand Champion spot on that machine.
Iron Maiden: The best I could do was about 170 million. Not as much as my personal best, but still a decent game on that machine.
Ghostbusters: The left and right scoops decided not to register anymore. Got denied Tobin's, Video Mode, and at least one Extra Ball.
Star Wars: nope.avi
Spider-Man: Somehow the ball broke the upper right flipper end of stroke for a little while before fixing it through the pop bumpers. I'll wait until I play a somewhat better one.
Game of Thrones: Learning a little bit at a time. 263,142,080 is my new best game on this machine.
This rounds out the night. But I wasn't done in Columbus yet. I stopped by Level One Arcade that Saturday night. In short: Best 6 hours I spent at a non-Pinburgh location.
Black Knight: Sword of Rage: You thought I was going to play this a third time? Eh, I thought I'd mention that this is the 3rd one I saw.
Fish Tales: Finally I have my moment on that machine. 265,436,200 going through all the Captive Ball awards, with a good chunk of it coming from Bonus.
Theatre of Magic: Shoutouts to that estimate from 6 years ago, because now it's replaced by something legitimate. 1,762,690,920 was my best game on that machine. Played multiple games before going to 4-player sessions. Among those games are highlights:
Star Wars: Again, meh, but I did better than before. 327,562,720 is my new best, playing as Han and going for Tie Fighter multiball.
Deadpool: Hooooo boy. Had a BIG game. 79 million-point Final Shot against Megalodon, had great multiball sessions (sadly no Disco), got to Mechsuit Multiball for the first time, and had a great bonus after all that. A new personal best of 379,355,700 was my big highlight for the night.
It was great meeting the people I played with over at Level One, and I certainly had a blast with what seemed to be my first taste of competitive pinball. One step closer to Pinburgh preparations!