The Intergalactic Pinball Championship will be taking place again this year during the ReplayFX weekend!
First and foremost, I want to thank everyone that took time to fill out the survey I posted a while back and provide some high quality feedback. There were some really helpful ideas and thoughts that helped shape some of the changes that are being made for 2020. With that being said, there were several changes that are still in the works for future years, but logistically, they aren’t possible for this year.
Important Changes:
The tournament will be capped at 800 participants.
*We will be using the 97.5% Modified Decay Scoring System (similar to Pinfest).
*7 hours of qualifying time have been added to the weekend, primarily on Thursday in between Pinburgh rounds.
*Scorekeeper Only qualifying has been moved to consecutive hours on Saturday night.
*Logistically, the goal is to have 5 scorekeepers running at all times to decrease wait times.
*The bank of games has increased to 22 machines.
*The donation for entries has increased to $30.
*The prize pool has been increased for this year.
For complete schedule details and rules, see the link here:
Hope to see you there! If anyone has any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me!
“Any ties in the final standings will be decided by initial qualifying seed.” @Slamtilt interesting choice for ties in the finalists, for those that get eliminated in the same round, correct? I’m curious: why not just leave those players tied in the final standings?
"Please note, the champion is responsible for costs associated with the shipment of the trophy, if necessary. " @ryanwanger How did you get last year’s sweet massive trophy to Colorado?
That’s a good point, and something I can definitely change for 2021. Everything has been submitted for this year already but that was definitely an oversight on my part.
Also, Ryan didn’t get it out there yet. It’s still at HQ =]
How will cancellations be handled? If someone registers well in advance, but then ends up not attending ReplayFX, will that eat up one of the 800 spots or will there be a process to withdraw and free up the space?
With it being capped, I can see people signing up if they are on the Pinburgh waitlist and then deciding not to go, for example.
Is that a good thing though? In the past if you dropped a few bombs you could just walk away knowing you’ll make the cut and save yourself some time. Now with some meaning placed on qualifying position it might make players feel the need to keep pressing for position and play out all ten entries, eating up more of their own time and adding to the queues.
Will the IPC tickets be in the same ticket drop down as Pinburgh at 12PM? If so, seems problematic to add both initially. I guess first secure your Pinburgh tickets, then go back for IPC.
Is that true? I thought it would be on a different time slot and/or location, similar to how the waitlist Pinburgh ticket have been pushed one hour later.
Hey Brian, here’s my two cents on IPC pre-registration for what it’s worth.
In years past, by the time Saturday rolls around I gauge my interest level for IPC and decide if I want to commit the energy or not. There are a lot of factors that play into it, but it’s always a “day of” decision for me. I’m sure some will appreciate that you’re adding additional qualifying time slots on Thurs/Fri, but I can’t imagine I’m going to want to squeeze in entries during the dinner break or at the end of the day, so it’s likely to remain a Saturday-only thing for me.
With the pre-reg and the player cap (as high as it may seem), I feel like I should register just in case, fully knowing I might not be feeling up to it when the time comes. I get the reasoning for no refunds and $30 to charity isn’t going to upset me if I don’t play, but I can definitely see myself as someone who wastes a spot if I’m feeling too burned out.
Also, I thought the more walk-in nature of IPC was appealing to those who aren’t die hard enough to commit to Pinburgh many months in advance, but go to Replay for a more laid back experience and it gave them something to compete in. We’ll see how quickly the 800 spots go, but it would be a shame not to have that availability for the more casual players in attendance.