With an average attendance of 9-15 players, what would be the most optimal format to hit TGPs (%) above 80s?
Event starts are weekday nights at 7:30.
4 player match play, as many rounds as you can squeeze in, playing on early solid states and EMs set to 3 ball. You’ll be at 100% TGP in no time!
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I suggest starting at 7. That will help too.
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A local league also plays two games at a time. Its not for me, but give it a try and see if your crew likes it.
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We do this in Newport, KY. Can usually get to 100% in 3 hours.
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Play four player games, on four machines simultaneously. So, you play your ball 1 on a machine A, then your ball 1 on machine B, etc. All four players rotate like that.
You need to have at least as many machines as players. You also need to guard machines to prevent random people from walking up and plunging balls when there is a backup at a particular machine, leaving others open for a few minutes.
This is the only legit shortcut to maxing TGP. You want the most amount of games played in the shortest period of time, which means as little waiting as possible. The more people standing around not playing, the worse your format is.
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I feel like there’s a version of this that’s ALSO a Flip Frenzy that would be the TGP EFFICIENCY DESTROYER 
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How many machines are available? As Ryan said, in general you simply need to play as many games as possible within your timeframe, but the machine to player ratio helps narrow down your format. If you have 5 games and 10 players, 5 2P matches would go quicker than 4P matches (unless you double-play as described above).
Games are almost always the bottleneck; your format should be one that keeps the games occupied as close to 100% of the time as possible. If you’re round-based, 2P matches have fewer outlier-long games than 4P matches, less time waiting on that one marathon match, etc.
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Game setup is key. Also remember you get the 2x Meaningful game bonus for 4P games
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Indeed, the “multi-play” format that @gorgarsupperlip and @ryanwanger mentioned are the most efficient. I’ve never done the all-out multi-play version that @ryanwanger suggested with 4 players on 4 pins. We prefer to put 4-player groups on 2 pins – it’s a good balance of more playing while still having the chance to socialize with one of the other players in your group (because 2 people out of 4 will be playing at any given time).
We typically play time-bounded for 3 hours, and get 6 rounds in. These are on DMD/modern pins set up fairly difficult. 2 games per round x 6 rounds x 2 (for the 4-player effect) = 24. Throw in a finals if you want to push it over the top.
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If you don’t have enough pins to cover the # players divided by two, then Flip Frenzy is also efficient because it’s constantly using every pin, all the time.
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Missing a key variable here. Make sure that all players are paying attention, aren’t walking off between balls and when a round starts they show up on time.
Local league has this problem and I’m one of the only people that wants to enforce the 2 minute rule thus I come off looking like the jerk. Example: My 4 player group completed our entire first balls on a modern game before the last person in the group next to us even showed up.
2 Games at once is still fun but 3-4 games, just isn’t fun and you still wind up with a bottle neck if just one player blows up a single ball on a game. We’ve done 3-4 games in finals in a couple of events before for time purposes. it gets them done fast but as Snailman mentions, you do lose some of the fun of the event at the same time.
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10 machines available!
Multi-Flip Frenzy-MatchPlay? 
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Can I get over 100% TGP?
Haha if this was possible Pinburgh would be worth over 500 points. (I don’t feel like doing the math)
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Stern Biggest mover AF lol
I have a new theory that I haven’t yet backed up with data. In many local tournaments, there are only a handful of people who might really blow up a game log enough to delay the whole tournament. If you do four player matches (instead of two), you can play half as many rounds, and get the same TGP…which gives those top players half as many opportunities to blow up a game and delay things.
Change my mind?
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Two player games are 1x meaningful game… And half as long (or less) than 4p games… So it works out the same rate
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I think the outlier games are probably the ones where you have two great players chasing each others scores… So rather than one 300M score out of two on IMDN, you have two in the same round, while all your other players are twiddling their thumbs.
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