HOW TO SURVIVE A PINBOT UPRISING
The year is 2088. Twenty years post-singularity, the machines have overtaken most of the planet and enslaved what remains of the human population. Only a few small pockets of resistance have survived.
In the region once known as the San Francisco Bay Area, our new robot overlords have developed a somewhat surprising affection for the antique human game of pinball. The unpredictability of the silver ball creates excitement in their otherwise monotonous existence.
For entertainment, they have organized a gladiatorial competition where their human subjects will compete head-to-head against one another in an epic battle of flips and nudges until only one player remains.
As a reward for their wizardry, the robots will release the champion from enslavement and give them a chance to fight their way through our now-barren landscape in hopes of joining one of the few remaining colonies of free humans. The competitors have pooled their meager resources to provide their hero with a small survival kit to aid them in their seemingly impossible journey through the treacherous post-apocalyptic landscape.
May the best player win.
DATE AND TIME
Saturday, June 20th, 2015.
Start time is 1pm, and on-site registration will open at 12pm.
Scarlet City is open starting at 8am on Saturdays, so players are welcome to arrive as early as they like to practice.
LOCATION
Scarlet City Espresso Bar, 3960 Adeline Street, Emeryville, CA.
COST TO PLAY
$10 entry fee, plus the cost of games played during the tournament. All money from entry fees will be paid out to players as prizes.
FORMAT
Three strikes knockout with best-of-one matches.
Each round, you will be paired with another player and assigned a machine. You will play one two-player game, and the player who ends up with the lower score receives a strike. When all the matches are finished, a new round will begin. Each round, you will be paired (as much as possible) with a player who has the same number of strikes as you.
Once a player accumulates three strikes, they're out of the tournament. But! There's no reason to go home right away, because…
SIDE TOURNAMENTS
We will also have a couple of fun side tournaments with prizes available for players to entertain themselves with once they get knocked out of the main event.
AWARDS
There will be cash prizes and awards for first through fourth place, as well as for the highest placing woman player* and highest placing novice player. To be eligible for the novice award, a player must have a world pinball player ranking no better than 2000.
The first place winner and novice champion will also go home with a set of free entries to the California Extreme pinball tournament and a special robot uprising survival kit.
We will also be raffling off a set of California Extreme tournament entries, as well as a number of other fun awards, among everyone who played in the tournament.
* Women's Champion award is sponsored by women's pinball league Belles & Chimes
GRATITUDE
This event would not be possible without the hard work of several members of our local pinball community.
First and foremost, huge thanks to Jen St. Hilaire and Susanna Handow of Scarlet City for providing us this amazing space to play pinball, and for letting us take it over for the tournament!
The machines at Scarlet City are provided and kept in tip top shape by local operator TJ Beyer. If you have a location where you're considering adding pinball, you can reach him at funpinball@gmail.com.
We will be using the MatchPlay software developed by local pinhead Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen to run the tournament. MatchPlay is an excellent web-based app that supports a wide variety of tournament formats, and we strongly recommend it for running events.
Thanks also to our prize donors: Scarlet City Roasting, operator TJ Beyer, California Extreme Tournament Director Greg Dunlap, and Playland-not-at-the-Beach.
ELIGIBILITY
The tournament is open to anyone who wants to play! Players of all skill levels, even total beginners, are encouraged to participate. We're here to have fun.
WPPRs
This will be an IFPA-sanctioned tournament and will award points towards your World Pinball Player Ranking.
GAMES LIST
Current machines at Scarlet City are Demolition Man (Williams, 1994), Star Trek: The Next Generation (Williams, 1993), Terminator 2 (Williams, 1991), Genesis (Gottlieb, 1986), and Space Invaders (Bally, 1980). Additional machines will be brought in for the event.
FOOD AND DRINK
In addition to their widely lauded espresso, Scarlet City offers a selection of light snacks including empanadas from Javi's Cooking, pickles from McVicker Pickles, and sweets from Bump City Bakery.
They also serve beer on tap from Henhouse Brewing Company and Oakland-based Federation Brewing and Line 51, as well as several bottled options.
TRANSPORTATION
Players who drive to the event should not have trouble finding street parking near the venue. Scarlet City is also easily accessible on public transit, just two blocks from the AC Transit line 72 bus stop, or one block from the 57 and 26. For those traveling via BART, it is a little of half a mile walk from the MacArthur BART station, or you can take the free Emery-Go-Round shuttle from BART.