I posted this on elsewhere but figure the more input the better.
Getting ready to do my first trial run of pin-golf and looking for some help on a couple of games. The level of player is all over the place so I’m trying to make reasonable objectives for each game with the idea being
that the second objective will be a little bit tougher but not a roadblock. I’d rather everyone complete the holes than get frustrated by out of reach goals.
I am setting two objectives per hole. Objective one will be for first round of play. Top 8 will compete in second round of play to determine champ.
This is what I have so far. Not sure what to do on SC. I originally had the first objective as getting into the backbox but that can be awarded randomly so still looking for something to do there.
Any input appreciated.
WOZ
Obj 1- Start a MB
Obj 2- Stack MBs
DW
Obj 1-win an EB or complete sonic boom
Obj 2-win an EB and complete sonic boom
SC
need help with this one
AFM
Obj 1- win an EB
Obj 2-Start main MB
Monopoly
Obj 1- Jackpot on main MB
Obj 2- Complete first round RRMB and Jackpot on main MB
I500
Obj 1-Jackpot on main MB
Obj 2-Jackpot on main MB and Start Pit Stop
BSD
Obj 1- Start Mist(it will not be qualified automatically on ball 3)
Obj 2- Stack MBs
WCS’94
Obj 1- travel to 6 cities
Obj 2- start MB and defeat 2 teams
AFM - Both of these objectives can be awarded randomly. It will very often give multiball from the scoop when you have one lock left, and it will very often give extra ball at the scoop if your first two balls are terrible.
WCS - More random award bummers. Travel Three Cities could help this out a lot. This can be managed to some extent by putting the game in tournament mode which hardcodes the order of the Striker awards. Also I would add that I think goal 2 is easier than goal 1 in general.
In general, I have to say that I prefer score-based pingolf as opposed to goal-based. It allows the player a lot more leeway to play in different ways, rather than jamming out a goal.
DW - Does the extra ball auto-compensate in tournament mode? Can’t remember, but it might be something to check as you wouldn’t want it to become more difficult as the tournament progresses.
I like a mix of objective and score goals across a pingolf qualifying course. Objectives are a fun way to alter how a more experienced player approaches a game and break them out of their normal routine. It can also introduce casual players to a different part of the rule set that they haven’t explored and promote discussion among the players. A warning with objective based goals is that you need to make sure they are easily tracked. For instance, I made the mistake of x# of Train Wrecks on TAF, which isn’t easily tracked, as they can occur during multiball and the train animation doesn’t always pop up.
Once qualifying is over, I like to open it up to more score based goals since players have proven themselves in qualifying and should be rewarded with the opportunity to play the games more freely and within their strategic comfort zone.
To illustrate, here is a list of the goals we set for the Berea Pingolf Open last fall. 9 games were randomly selected before the start of each round. All games were set on 5 ball, with a stroke limit of 6 on a game. I think they were pretty well balanced based on the final results. It took a 27 on the Front Nine to qualify, so basically a par 3 across the course. Back Nine was obviously a little more challenging. Note: we really underestimated how difficult STTNG was playing on 5 ball settings. Lots of stroke limits on that one!
The Front Nine (Qualifying Round)
ACDC Pro- Start Tour Multiball
Avengers Pro - Start Iron Man scoring
Guns N Roses - Score 600 million points
Metallica Pro - Score 20 million points
Monster Bash - Start Mosh Pit Multiball
Scared Stiff - Score 6 million points
Star Trek Pro - Score 20 million points
Star Trek TNG - Score 500 million points
Tron - Start Quorra Multiball
Wheel of Fortune - Spin the Bonus Wheel
White Water - Score a Bigfoot Jackpot
X-Men LE - Start Brotherhood Multiball
The Back Nine (A Division Playoffs)
ACDC Pro - Score 80 million points
Addams Family - Score 120 million points
Avengers Pro - Score 25 million points
Guns N Roses - Score 900 million points
Metallica Pro - Start Grave Marker Multiball
Monster Bash - Start Monster Bash
Scared Stiff - Start the Stiff-O-Meter
Star Trek Pro - Score 55 million points
Star Trek TNG - Score 800 million points
Tron - Score 40 million points
Whitewater - Score 150 million points
X-Men LE - Score 40 million points
Howdy, I’m hosting a Pingolf tournament on Wednesday and the operator of the location just switched out a game for Ripley’s Believe it or Not, which I’ve never played and I don’t have time to go in and learn the game well enough to figure out an objective - I was also hoping to post objectives tonight…
Anyone have a good pingolf objective for this game and a quick description of how to achieve it??
I haven’t played that game in years so I can’t help with objectives. There is a PAPA tutorial that explains the game though: http://pinballvideos.com/?v=326
Start two continent modes. Shoot vari target or front scoop to start first mode, complete mode, then shoot vari target again to start second continent mode.
Complete two slot machine puzzles. Shoot middle ramp to collect grid points until you complete one, play mode If needed, then shoot ramp again to complete second puzzle.
Collect penguin super. Collect penguin loops until super is lit (I believe default is 5 loops), shoot super.
On second thought, it might be best to require completing two different puzzles. Otherwise guys will just keep shooting the middle ramp to collect the easy left (A) side. Requiring two different puzzles would mean they have to shoot the right ramp to enable the diverter to send the the ball to the B or C lanes.
Here are some possibilities for Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! that I have brainstormed:
• Score X points (Ripley’s is a low-scoring game, possibly Stern’s lowest; the number will depend on the skill level of this incoming group)
• Start X continents (they will be lit on the line of inserts leading up to the Vari-Target)
• Start Multiball, as in the one simply called “Multiball” (depicts a man spitting out three billiard balls; this does not include Ripoff Multiball, Continental multiballs, Frog Frenzy, or Atlantis)
• Start Ripoff Multiball (done by spelling “Ripoff”; the shrunken head character will also exclaim “Give me a (letter)!” each time a letter is obtained)
• Hit the Idol X times (number of Idol hits are shown next to the Idol as a group of inserts)
• Get the Penguin Jackpot (activated by shooting loops; DMD always shows when it’s activated, and shooting the side lane always scores it when activated and not in a multiball; a round white insert will be lit at the side lane’s entrance when available)
• Get a Super Jackpot (the machine will go absolutely nuts; you can’t miss it)
• Get a Bozo Award (obtained by spelling “Bozo” and shooting the scoop’s upper half; since the ball is in a scoop, nothing overrides it, to my knowledge)
• Reach Frog Frenzy (obtained by getting all six Super Jackpots, though I’d recommend this only if a lot of very skilled people are playing)
Possible ones, but I think these are more luck-based:
• Reach Road Trip (get all the jewels in the middle row; 3 jewels are randomly given to you when you begin, so some may have an unfair advantage)
• Get X “Ripleys” letters (inserts reading R-I-P-L-E-Y-S are arranged horizontally near the scoops, and clearing Continents awards letters; however, letters are occasionally given as Bozo awards, and some Continents are way easier to clear than others)
• Reach Atlantis OR Clear Atlantis (done by obtaining all “Ripleys” letters; this is a very tall task, however, as this is a wizard mode that’s very hard to reach)
Thanks for the suggestions. I actually didn’t realize I had gotten so many replies! I watched some of the PAPA video and then realized that RBION is in Season One of The Pinball Arcade, which I purchased recently, so I played that a bunch and decided on a pretty straightforward objective: Collect one jackpot during the main multiball.
If it weren’t too late (already posted objectives - tournament is tonight) I might have gone for either the # of idol hits or penguin super jackpot. I like the idea of having to shoot something weird that you normally don’t focus on in a regular game, but like I said, this is a new game for not only me, but pretty much everyone playing in the tournament, so no need to get to weird with it.
And if anyone else is wondering, here are all the objectives that I’m planning for tonight. In the event post I also provided instructions on achieving each objective. I mostly ended up with “start multiball” or “start mode” but I didn’t have time to get into the location to test out all my other ideas for objectives for their feasibility, so I went a bit traditional I suppose and picked main game play items. Also, this is the first pingolf even I’ve planned, so I’m still learning.
QUALIFYING OBJECTIVES
Wizard of Oz: Start a Munchkin Mode
Family Guy: Collect 3 family members in Stewie Pinball
Kiss (Stern): Collect 3 instruments
Metallica: Start “And Justice for All” mode
The Walking Dead: Start prison multiball
Batman: The Dark Knight: Complete one mode (not just start a mode, but complete one)
Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Collect a jackpot during main multiball
AC/DC: Start album multiball
The Addams Family: Collect 3 mansion rooms
FINALS OBJECTIVES
Batman: The Dark Knight: Start Bat Signal Multiball
Metallica: Start Crank it Up
The Walking Dead: Start Blood Bath Multiball
The Wizard of Oz: Start Rescue multiball
Some of those qualifying objectives are a lot harder than other ones. As long as your competitors are okay with it though, there shouldn’t be a problem.
The idea was to make some easier and some harder. We also had a pretty wide skill range so we had a couple 45s (missed all objectives) and the top 4 qualifying scores were 20,22,27,29. So I think overall it was a pretty ok mix of objectives, if not perhaps a little boring. But it was the first pingolf even for many folks so I think most people just liked the opportunity to play a new/fun format.