Hello Everyone
I am a 39yo pinball fan since I was a kid. I am currently living in the UAE, and I just started to get interested in participating in tournaments (just got my IFPA number after my first tournament :D). My goal would be to meet new people and have fun by playing tournaments anywhere in the world :).
What advices would you give me as per your experience?
Thank you
Mike
Tournaments are a great way to meet new people! I say participate in as many of those as you can. And have fun!
Thank you for your reply!
Yes, the difference I tried to get info about is the difference between rating and WPPR, and how do I know if I can participate in tournaments to increase my WPPR. Or if it does make sense?
The reason is that to participate in Europe or USA tournaments, I need to take 7+ hours flights, so I would like to understand what I am going to play as until now, the tournaments I did were only HtH.
I just want to be more aware before talking to someone in a tournament and not be aware of those basics.
Thank you
Mike
Hopefully the tournament organizers have all the information you’re looking for posted on their website or event pages so you can decide if the tournament is something you’d want to participate in.
I can’t agree more that tournaments are a great way to get into the hobby. They are generally far more social than you would think, and you’ll learn the nuances of different games a lot more quickly and learn what kind of games you prefer.
Be social at the events, but only between balls. Obviously stand back while anyone is playing and don’t talk to anyone in an active ball. Be complimentary of others’ play and you’ll find that talking to others and connecting is pretty easy.
Hopefully you have a good experience. I think with the right attitude, it’s pretty hard to have a bad time hanging out at tournaments.
Dear Jeff & Erik,
thank you so much for your helpful insights. I agree 100% they are more social, and especially I participated in 3 tournaments in Dubai, and I met great people, and I enjoyed it!
As an italian I decided to start playing some tournaments in Italy, so it would be easier for me to start to understand and get used.
Again, the main goal is to meet people and have fun 
Mike