Saturday, March 7th: Women-only tournament at Scarlet City Espresso Bar in Emeryville. Probable start time is 2pm with $10 entry fee, but details are still in formation.
You can always visit hellaheartpinball.com for a up-to-date list of upcoming Bay Area tournaments as well as non-competitive pinball events, or to sign up for a monthly e-mail listing currently scheduled events.
Sunday, February 8th, 11am: NorCal vs. SoCal…The Day After (San Francisco): $20 to enter. Format: 4 strikes, swiss. Practice time from 11 to 11:30, tournament start at 11:30. WPPRs. Free Gold Watch, 1767 Waller Street.
Monday, February 9th, 1pm: SF Beer Week Pinball Tournament (San Francisco): Limited HERB style qualifying from 1-9pm (6 open games, 2 side games). Top 1/3 of players, or 12 (whatever is greater) make the finals, which will be group play on 3 games with 4-2-1-0 scoring. WPPRs. Gestalt Haus, 3159 16th Street.
Tuesday, February 17th, 7pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland): 2 hours of ongoing head to head matches on all available machines. Registration at 7, tournament play at 7:30. $5 entry. WPPRs. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street.
Saturday, February 21st, 2pm: Alpha Flip: A Novice Only Pinball Tournament (Emeryville): Three hours of head to head match play followed by playoffs for the top eight players. $5 entry, players with a WPPR ranking of 3000 or better are not eligible to participate. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street.
Saturday, February 21st:Pacific Pinball Open (Alameda): Players are assigned a bank of three games and plays them each once. Based on performance, the top 32 or 24 advance to playoffs. WPPRs. Pacific Pinball Museum, 1510 Webster Street.
Sunday, March 1st, 2pm: March Radness (San Francisco): Three hours of one on one match play followed by playoffs for the top 12 players. WPPRs. Free Gold Watch, 1767 Waller Street.
Saturday, March 7th, 2pm: Welcome to Xenon: A Tournament for Women Only (Emeryville): 3 hours of head to head match play followed by playoffs for top 4. $10 entry fee. Women players only. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street.
Also, we have a new league in the area! The Gentleperson’s Pinball Society is a friendly, low-stress pinball league that welcomes players of all skill levels, but is specifically focused on novice and beginner players. They meet on Wednesday evenings at Hi-Life Pizza in downtown Oakland. This Wednesday will be the third meeting of their first season, and they still have a few spaces left before they hit their membership cap.
Is the beginners league worth wppr points? We have been thinking of doing something like that here but specifically making it not worth points so that it doesn’t attract everyone else.
No WPPRs for the novice league, for exactly that reason. Anyone is welcome to join, but experienced players are expected to take on more of a teaching role during league play. I haven’t been able to make it to a meeting yet (hoping to get there this week), but it seems like they’ve had a lot of success so far, people are really enjoying it.
Saturday, March 7th, 2pm: Welcome to Xenon (Emeryville). Women players only. $10 entry. 3 hours of 1 on 1 match play followed by playoffs for top 8. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street
Saturday, March 7th, 12pm: Survivor Tournament (Folsom). Four rounds of play on progressively fewer machines (8 games first round, 7 games second round, and so on). Each round, players with the best scores overall advance. WPPRs. 1096 Sandwick Way.
Tuesday, March 17th, 7pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland). 2 hours of ongoing head to head match play. 32 player limit. $5 entry. No WPPRs. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street
In April:
Sunday, April 5th, 2pm: A Tisket, A Tasket, A Pinball Tournament (Oakland). Easter egg hunt and pinball tournament in one! Collect eggs hidden around Hi-Life, and find your tournament match assignments (and with some eggs, cool prizes) inside. $20 entry. WPPRs. Playoffs for the players who win the most egg matches. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street.
Saturday, April 18th, 2pm: Alpha Flip 2: Novice Only Tournament (Emeryville). Two hours of group play followed by playoffs for the top 8. Restricted to players with world ranking no better than 3000. $5 entry. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline St.
Sunday, April 19th: Flippin for Babies 2015 (Redwood City). Second annual March of Dimes fundraiser tournament. Details TBD. WPPRs.
Tuesday, April 21st, 7pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland). 2 hours of ongoing head to head match play. $5 entry. 32 player limit. WPPRs. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street.
Also, our new Oakland-based league, The Gentleperson’s Pinball Society, will be starting their second season on Wednesday, April 8th. The league is open to anyone who wants to play, but is specifically oriented towards novice and beginner players. During seasons, they meet every Wednesday at Hi-Life Pizza (400 15th Street) at 7pm.
Saturday, April 18th, 2pm: Alpha Flip 2: A Novice Only Tournament (Emeryville). Two hours of group play followed by playoffs for the top 8. Restricted to players with world ranking no better than 3000. $5 entry. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street.
Sunday, April 19th: Flippin for Babies 2015 (Redwood City). Third annual March of Dimes fundraiser tournament. Format is four strikes. WPPRs. Minimum $25 donation to enter. Private home in Redwood City.
Tuesday, April 21st, 7pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland). 2 hours of ongoing head to head match play. $5 entry. 28 player limit. WPPRs. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street.
Sunday, April 26th, 1:30pm: Plunge into Spring (San Francisco). 12 rounds of match play followed by open playoffs for the top 14, plus B division playoffs for next eight qualifiers with world ranking no better than 700. $5 entry. WPPRs. Free Gold Watch, 1767 Waller Street.
Saturday, May 16th, 10:30am: Pin-a-Go-Go Tournament (Dixon). Pin-Golf format. Tee times at 10:30am, 12:45pm, and 3:00pm. Playoffs in open and novice division expected to run from 6-9pm. $10 entry fee plus show admission fee. WPPRs. Pin-a-Go-Go Pinball Show, Dixon Fairgrounds, 655 South First Street.
Tuesday, May 19th, 7pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland). 2 hours of ongoing head to head match play. $5 entry. 28 player limit. $5 entry. No WPPRs. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street.
Saturday, May 23rd, 2pm: Scarlet City Tournament (Emeryville). Details TBD. $5 entry. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street.
Sunday, May 24th, 2pm: PPM-Fireside-Allagash May Tournament (Alameda) Format is double elimination with best of 3 matches. By playing, you will be entered into an end-of-year raffle for a free pinball machine. $20 entry ($10 to prize pool, $10 to PPM). WPPRs. The Fireside Lounge, 1453 Webster St.
Plus, we already have several events on the books for June! Visit hellaheartpinball.com for more.
Tuesday, June 9th, 7pm: The Summer Series: Double Fun Run (San Francisco): Two players play a four player game. Player A plays spots 1 and 4, Player B plays spots 2 and 3. All four scores count, with 5-3-2-1 scoring. Four rounds of random pairings, with playoffs for the top 8. $5 entry. WPPRs. Free Gold Watch, 1767 Waller Street
Thursday, June 11th, 7pm: Raccoon City Pinball Tournament (Redwood City): Double elimination bracket with best of three matches. Doors open at 7, registration closes at 7:45, tournament starts at 8. Entry fee is $15, and 100% of money collected will go to the Project Pinball Charity. WPPRs. Held at a private home in Redwood City, contact tournament director for address.
Saturday, June 13th, 2pm: Capitol Corridor Pinball League Tournament (Sacramento): Double elimination with best of three matches. Part of a monthly series leading up to a grand finale in December with new formats every month. WPPRs. Coin-Op Game Room, 908 K Street
Tuesday, June 16th, 7:30pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland): Tournament will run two hours, with ongoing head to head matches on all available machines. Player who has won the most matches at the end of the event wins the tournament. 28 player limit. Free entries to the California Extreme pinball tournament awarded to first place, novice champion, and one lucky raffle winner. $5 entry. WPPRs. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street
Wednesday, June 17th, 7pm: The Summer Series: Hurry Hurry (San Francisco): Ongoing head to head matches on all available machines, with remaining players in a queue awaiting their next match. 2 hours of qualifying followed by playoffs for the top 8. $5 entry. WPPRs. Free Gold Watch, 1767 Waller Street
Saturday, June 20th, 1pm: How to Survive a Pinbot Uprising (Emeryville): Three strikes knockout format, with a couple of fun side tournaments for players to enjoy once they get knocked out. Free entries to the California Extreme pinball tournament awarded to first place, novice champion, and one lucky raffle winner. $10 entry. WPPRs. Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street
Saturday, June 27th: Stern KISS Pinball Launch Party (Oakland): Launch party tournament for the new Stern KISS pinball machine, featuring KISS cover band Creatures of the Night. Ghost Town Gallery, 2519 San Pablo Avenue
Saturday, June 27th, 12pm: Double Trouble (Folsom): Each player plays one game on 12 separate machines and is awarded points depending on how their score compares to other players (100 points for highest score, 95 for next highest, etc.), followed by a second round in the same format. Finishing ranks based on total points accumulated over all 24 games. $25 entry. WPPRs. Private home in Folsom, contact tournament director for address.
In July:
Friday, July 10th, 7pm: Isolinear Flip (Emeryville): In groups, players will play through all six of Scarlet City’s machines, but each machine will have some kind of handicap to make play more interesting (i.e., one machine will have to be played one-handed, one machine will have to be played while wearing an eye patch, etc.). $5 entry. No WPPRs, but tons of fun! Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street
Saturday, July 11th, 2pm: Capitol Corridor Pinball League Tournament (Sacramento): Format is best score with a maximum of 3 tries on each machine, followed by playoffs. Part of a monthly series leading up to a grand finale in December with new formats every month. WPPRs. Coin-Op Game Room, 908 K Street
Sunday, July 12, 11am: Frankie Sivero Wants to Get Paid (Monterey): Double elimination with best-of-three matches. Open and novice divisions available, cash prizes to top 3 in both divisions. $25 entry in open, $10 entry for novice. WPPRs. Carbone’s Bar, 214 Lighthouse Avenue
Friday, July 17th-Sunday, July 19th: California Extreme Tournament (Santa Clara): Huge tournament at major arcade and pinball expo. Best-game qualifying with best 7 results counting out of a bank of 12 machines. Entry fee: $10 for 4 games. Qualifying on Friday night and Saturday, finals in open and casual division on Sunday. This event is part of the PAPA Circuit. WPPRs. California Extreme, 5101 Great America Parkway
Tuesday, July 21st, 7pm: Hella Heart Hi-Life Pinball (Oakland): Six rounds of head-to-head match play followed by single-elimination best of one playoffs for top eight players. Prize raffle for everyone who attended follows the qualifying portion of the event. Hi-Life Pizza, 400 15th Street
Friday, July 24th, 7pm: Playland Summer Plunge-Off (El Cerrito): Double elimination bracket with best-of-three matches on the winner’s side and best-of-one matches on the loser’s side. $15 covers Playland admission and tournament entry, all machines are set on free play. WPPRs. Playland-not-at-the-Beach, 10979 San Pablo Avenue
