If you’re new to pinball competitions, it can be hard to decode the language describing how tournaments work. Even harder is deciding what kind of format that you like and want to participate in. We’ll help you learn the basics of common tournament formats so you can start to pick your favorites.
How do I know what format a tournament is?
There are a few ways to find out in advance what format a tournament is going to be.
Most Tournament Directors (TDs) list what format the tournament is going to be in the description of the tournament. All of those descriptions (along with other key information) is listed on our tournament page.
Sometimes TDs post event flyers or event announcements in the Salt Lake Area Pinballers (SLAP) group on Facebook.
You can also look at the IFPA calendar to see what tournaments are going to be in the area. Each tournament listed has the format included. If the TD didn’t list it in the description of the tournament, it will be in the “Format Details” section of the event.
If you don’t look up the format in advance, the TD will name and describe what format the tournament will be before playing gets started. The TD will also say how many people are going to move onto finals. Finals are a different format with a smaller number of players, and will be explained before they begin. We’ll cover common finals formats in a future article.
Common tournament formats:
In Utah, there are a few formats that you’ll see pretty consistently. They are: Flipper Frenzy, Matchplay, and Strikes.
Flipper Frenzy
Flipper Frenzy is a tournament where the overall goal is to play (and win) as many games as you can in a set amount of time. In this format, you’ll play one-on-one with another player on a machine. Both your opponent and your machine will be assigned by Matchplay. Scores don’t matter in this format, just if you win or lose. Your standing (or overall place) in this format is determined by your win-loss record. If you win a game, you get +1 to your record, and if you lose, you get -1 to your record. For example, if you played 10 games in two hours and won 5 of them, you’d be at 0.
While it may seem chaotic at first, there is a rhythm to the order in which you are matched up against other people. If you start as the first player on a game, regardless of whether you win or lose, you will immediately be put into another game as player two. After your second game as player two, you will be put into a queue to wait for another matchup. Then, after you get pulled from the queue, you’ll be player one again. A way to remember this is: one, two, in the queue. While you’re in the queue, feel free to hang out, get another drink, or watch other players’ games (from a respectful distance of course).
The nice thing about Flipper Frenzy is that it is a set amount of time – in Utah, usually 2 hours. If you make finals it’ll last longer than that, but this format is the easiest to plan into your schedule.
Matchplay
Matchplay is a format that moves in rounds. You’ll be assigned into groups of 3 or 4 on a machine on Matchplay. Depending on where you finish in your group, you’ll earn points. For example, in a 7/5/3/1 format, if you win your group you get 7 points, if you get second you get 5, if you get third you get three points, and if you get last you get one point. There are other scoring formats, such as 4/2/1/0. The TD will say at the beginning which score structure is being used. All groups must finish their game before the next round begins. There are two types of Matchplay formats: Target Matchplay and Group Matchplay.
In Target Matchplay, the goal is to get over a certain point threshold to move onto finals. So for example, if you’re doing a 7/5/3/1 scoring format and the target is 28 points, you’ll play in rounds until you reach the 28 points threshold. Once you reach the target, you’ll be removed from the active rounds and you just hang tight until finals begin.
In Group Matchplay, there is a set number of rounds that everyone will play in. At the beginning of the tournament, the TD will say how many rounds everyone will play. In this format, everyone plays the same amount of rounds and tries to earn as many points as they can. The players with the most points at the end of the rounds will move onto finals.
Matchplay is hard to predict how long it will take depending on how many rounds are planned or what the point threshold will be. Plan at least for a couple hours for these formats.
Strikes
Strikes (also known as group knockout) is a format similar to matchplay in that everyone moves through the tournament together. You’ll be assigned into a group of 3-4 on a machine from Matchplay. The goal in strikes tournaments is to do the best you can to avoid earning strikes. Once you earn a certain number of strikes, decided by the TD, you’ll be “out” of the tournament. This tournament typically goes until one person is left standing. Depending on the type of strikes format it is, strikes are dished out a little differently.
In fair strikes tournaments, typically if you get first or second you don’t get a strike. If you get third or fourth in a game you’ll get one strike. Depending on how quickly the TD wants the tournament to go, there might be one strike in a three player group for third place, or second and third place can earn a strike. For example, if the threshold is five strikes in a fair strikes tournament and lose your first five games, you’d be out.
In progressive strikes tournaments, if you win you’ll get no strikes, if you get second you’ll get one strike, third place gets two strikes, and fourth place gets three strikes. In this format, if the threshold is five strikes and you lose two games and get third on another, you’d be out.
Regardless of if you’re playing fair strikes or progressive strikes, the goal is to avoid getting strikes.
Strikes is another tournament that is hard to predict how long it will take because it depends on lots of individual performance. If someone loses all their games, they can get “out” of the tournament quite quickly. But if they play really well, they’ll stay in for a long time. Plan for 2-3 hours for this format to be safe.
How do I know which one is best?
There isn’t one tournament format that is better than others (although some might disagree with that). Ultimately the way that you can decide which one is best for you is to try out different formats to see what makes sense to you.
Remember, making an account on Matchplay in advance will help make sure that you can navigate the tournament as smoothly as possible. If at any point you are confused during a tournament, ask the TD or other players for help. We all started somewhere and are happy to support new players!
Remember, if you’re ever confused about how a tournament works, ask other players! They’ll be happy to help you out.