Wanted to get feedback on some different pingolf objective goals for some different pins, many that are typically avoided in standard tourneys for various reasons. Iâm considering these for a side tourneyâŚ
Thoughts on the ideas below? And what are some better ones?
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Idea #1: Save Nell.
Theatre of Magic
Idea #1: Start Tiger Saw multiball
Gilligans Island
Idea #1: Spell LAGOON
Idea #2: Collect X number of ingredients for the Lava Seltzer
Bad Cats
Idea #1: Spell BAD.
Junkyard
Idea #1: Start Great Jalopy Race (or perhaps 2 adventure modes?)
SWE1
Idea #1: Build C3PO? Too easy perhaps, since he starts out half completed.
Idea #2: Play a Saber Battle (from spelling JEDI). Or perhaps just spell a portion of JEDI â so that no one has to play this game for very long.
Star Wars (Data East)
Idea #1: Destroy Death Star (Double Jackpot in Multiball). Added benefit of the risk/reward of doing the 5th Moon shortcut on a timer vs all 7 moons with no timer to start MB.
Shrek
Idea #1: Collect two characters in Donkey Pinball
Whirlwind
Idea #1: Start quick multiball (played as a one-player game)
Idea #2: Collect 3 scoop awards.
My experience with pingolf objectives after running a pingolf league, is that if you think it might be hard, it will be way too hard, if you think itâs about right, it will probably be too hard and if you think it might be too easy, itâs likely to be about right. I didnât do goal based objectives though, only score. Goals might work out a little different.
What Jay said. Whenever I run an objective based tourney I come up with semi easy rules then make them one notch easier. Plus I think it is important to have the objectives be something you would never normally shoot for.
Example:
DW- Transmat 1 doctor
BSD- Complete video mode 1
WCS- Complete any ultra mode
If youâre going to have the games on 5 ball, make sure you check to see how the objective difficulty may change on 5 ball rules. Some 90âs B/W games definitely default to harder settings for a lot of tasks on 5 ball. Iâm sure others do as well.
Some specific ones I can recall that led to frustrated players include Bigfoot Jackpot on WH2O and Satellite Transfer on Congo. Increased number of shots on those made them much more difficult than intended.
Iâm not familiar enough with your games to know if your objectives are good ones, but the above advice rings true.
I think one character in Donkey Pinball would be enough, if even just starting Donkey Pinball. The thing about two characters is that it takes 8 shots to start, and then if you fail, it will take you 8 to get back to it.
I recently ran a tournament where the goal on each machine was just to start multiball, and it turned out to be just right (average scores were in the 2.8 to 3.8 range for all machines I believe).
Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, Congo, Tron, The Addams Family, Iron Man, Batman Dark Knight, and Spider-man. There were a few exceptions where a 2 ball multiball wasnât good enough, and you needed 3-ball (Congo, TAF, SM).
Maybe in tourney settings, but default settings gives 2 pinball letters per captive ball hit. If you leave the upper playfield at default (sudden death, no timer), it shouldnât be too hard. The upper playfield also gives 2 letters per shot. 5 shots on the lower playfield and 4 shots on the upper would be the minimum amount of shots needed.
Whatever your goals, by all means test them first. No two games play alike, so not all goals are equal on the same title. Find a couple of helpers and test the goals. Too hard or too easy goals are both bad. One hard or one easy is fine, but not most hard or most easy.
I donât use objectives at all, just scores. Our league is run IFPA Masters style where a score between 1 and 10 can be earned on any hole. Scoring details for this format are here. Itâs a great way to play pingolf IMO, especially with more casual players. We are going to try adjusting the scoring spread slightly for next season so that itâs a little harder to get a 10 and a little easier to get a 6 or 7. I felt like there were a few too many folks getting a few too many 10s on holes and the scores were a little more spread out across the league than Iâd like as there wasnât much competition for playoff spots by the last round. If anyone is interested, you can see our goals and score averages here.
Thanks for the feedback. Great data to have as well.
For this particular event (given that itâs a side event, and not the main reason everyone is there), Iâm going to err far on the side of easy to reach objectives on 3-ball play. A key goal for the tourney is to keep it fast-moving.
Yeah, that was a pretty brutal surprise. I didnât forget, but just left it out because I was thinking of the more task based goals and TM was a score goal. Starwarp would have been a good alternate strat if the ramp flap didnât cause airballs half the time!
You know, all this discussion gives me a thought: I wonder if anyone will ever actually program Pingolf objectives into a machine. That is, if a machine can have a built-in Pingolf mode where the event organizer selects the pbjective and any additional details needed.
In any case, I would definitely say the difficulty of the objectives should depend on what sort of competition youâre running. If itâs something meant to bring beginners in, make them very easy, something they feel they can achieve within 3 balls. Something like starting any multiball on Star Trek (Stern) or bringing the clock to midnight on Funhouse. Iâd also recommend machines with easy-to-learn rules (so no AC/DC or The Simpsons Pinball Party); itâs no fun when competing if you feel like youâre the least informed participant.
If youâre catering to the pros, go all out with pretty much any machine. Make the objective Valinor Multiball in Lord of the Rings if need be. Maybe not THAT extreme, but something sufficiently far into the game, like Wet Willieâs in Whitewater, or something elusive but non-luck-based like getting a ruby-enhanced wish in Tales of the Arabian Nights.
Personally, I think score-based objectives are boring, but those can still work in a pinch if you canât think of anything else.
Resurrecting this old thread for more pingolf advice. This time Ghostbusters.
My friend is getting a pro on Friday and trying to use it in a tournament on Saturday. He asked me for advice on an objective based objective and a score based objective (since I have spent more time on it). I suggested the following.
Start storage facility multiball. Easy to tell if you did it. Pretty easy to do ( just 5 shots, but 2 are risky). Too easy?
Reach score of 50M. Have not seen enough people play to know if this is far to hard. I would do this by skill shot to start who brought the dog. Chain completion into spook central, hit the ramp and you are basically done in 5 shots (maybe 1 more shot). But in a match play tournament over the weekend I saw many people flail for the whole game and score under 1 who brought the dog shot.
Havenât played one, but I would suggest sticking to points and playing a few test games first to see if 50M is reasonable. You donât want to use objectives on such a new game because youâll have to explain the objectives to most everyone competing. Keep the line moving on the newest game by making the goal as easy as possible (both to understand and achieve).
