Beginners and wizards invited to compete in first sanctioned pinball tournament in Newport Beach
The International Flipper Pinball Assn.’s first sanctioned event in Newport Beach at Cruisers Pizza Bar Grill and Brewcades invites both beginners and wizards to come together for a night of friendly competition Thursday.
Players will battle round by round in a knock-out style “strikes” tournament over new and meticulously restored vintage cabinets themed after the Addams Family, the Terminator, the Twilight Zone, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other cult icons, one of the evening’s organizers, Tom Walker, said. One of his favorites is a machine inspired by the power-metal band, Iron Maiden.
“That one’s really awesome because you select the song you want to play to before you start,” Walker said. “It’ll be, like, ‘Run to the Hills,’ and it actually affects the gameplay.”
The entry fee is $10 plus coins for each play and funds the prize pool for the winners. First place takes 60% of the pot, second brings home 40%, and earning third or fourth place wins a gift card to Cruisers.
“Our events are for everyone,” Walker said. “Any skill level can have a good time. You’re going to learn something, maybe, about playing pinball and get better. You might not win but we also do things like drawings and giveaways, so everyone who participates has a chance to win something.”
Around 40 entrants have signed up for some of the better-attended tournaments Walker and his wife, Jessica Walker, have held in the past at venues in Huntington Beach and Long Beach. They’re hoping for a better turnout for the IFPA’s first event in Newport.
Beginners don’t need to do anything in advance to take part, Walker said. They’ll get registered in the IFPA’s leaderboards in case they want to enter future tournaments, and will be able to pick up tips from more experienced players. But they are likely to face stiff competition.
“You won’t see some of these guys having a beer or two in between games,” Walker said.
Even though some who show up might be serious contenders, the tournaments maintain a casual atmosphere that brings together a diverse cross-section of people, Walker said. Many, like he and his wife, harbor nostalgia for the metallic plink of a ball ricocheting off of a bumper frequently heard in the arcades of their youth.
“It’s not like a Chuck E. Cheese for adults,” Walker said. “It’s more of a club.”
Jessica and Tom Walker grew up in Newport Beach and fondly remembered the cabinets they sunk countless quarters into at the Balboa Fun Zone. They grew to miss Orange County after moving their family to Oregon, where they started attending pinball events partly to reminisce.
They wound up moving back down to Southern California, and began collecting game cabinets during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s how they met Pete Cooley, the owner of several of the machines being used in Thursday’s tournament and one of two technicians who helps maintain them. As lockdowns began to lift, they envisioned pinball as a way for people to connect face-to-face.
“It’s not like a video game,” Walker said. “You’re not staring at a screen or online. You can see the ball bouncing off of the flipper when you hit it, and the people you’re playing against.”
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