headlamp during tourney play?

I’m gonna throw this out here for comments–really not sure how it would be received. Due to a combination of things like too-bright LEDs, dim ambient lighting, aging eyes, etc., I often find it hard to track the ball(s) when playing. And we all know it takes very little to mess up a shot/save! For example, I noticed my general scores at a particular location were better on average when playing during the day than at night, and I felt like I could see and react to the ball better.

I’ve been using an LED headlamp a lot lately while repairing games, and realized (duh!) I could generally see the playfield better with it on. I was wondering if it’s “legal” to use a headlamp on the game I’m playong at a tourney, and how others might see that. (good idea? cheating?) Of course, distracting lights on a neighboring game would be a no-no.

Thoughts? I find too-bright inserts and bare GI LEDs make it very hard to track the ball sometimes.

I don’t see any reason why it would be cheating. If it helps you out, then that’s totally okay. We had a top 20 ranked player in the world using one for part of the day at our Michigan State Championship… and then he won.

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Jankowitz-o-vision ftw!

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Yeah, unless it’s as bright as a floodlight and you’re not shining it directly into other players’ eyes, I think it’ll be fine. I’m not a tournament organizer, but if I was in their situation, I’d say anything to help you see is okay as long as it doesn’t interfere with the machines or the other players.

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Sorry but I’ve seen players do this a number of times and it is a GIGANTIC distraction for everyone around you. No matter how hard you try, you WILL be impacting other players.

Don’t be that guy.

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It should be a sign for the establishment that the lighting for the games needs to be adjusted if someone has to employ a headlamp to play a tourney game.

I see–so it IS distracting for other players?

The lighting for the establishment may need to be adjusted too, in some cases. I like playing in bright, well-lit places, as it allows me to see everything clearly, for instance. (For that reason, I prefer playing in the morning or afternoon more so than evening or nighttime.)

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To be fair everything is distracting to Cayle :wink:

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“No video!!!”

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