We are coming up on Point Monsters, one of my favorite tournaments.
Why is it one of my favorites?
Aside from competing for the coveted monster trophies and banner, the real reason is because I am addicted to the qualifying portion. It is my favorite part of pinball tourneys.
Point Monsters along with the FPF main and classics offer one of the few chances out of 100+ tourneys offered in our state for a player make real time qualifying decisions.
The ongoing trend for most tourneys held over the past few years is the X strikes, or match play style. In that format the games are chosen at random, the players chosen at random, the order is chosen at random; in other words, a lot of things are left up to chance and the computer’s decisions.
In those formats, not everyone plays the same games or opponents. Sometimes players get paired with a repeat string of games or opponents. It is a very attractive format for TDs and players due to the randomness, but I feel there are just too many strategic variables taken away from the player.
To the “That’s Pinball†crowd, no, that’s mostly software.
In Point Monsters and the few others of its style, there is a bank of qualifying machines everyone must play. Players have to make choices as to which set of games to play in order to achieve the best qualifying score. Players have to figure out time management. Players have to figure out how much to push risk and reward during qualifying. Players have to monitor other players and how others’ decisions are affecting their own standings. All of this is to figure out how to make it to the dance.
In other words, there is a strategic element to qualifying. That is what appeals to me.
We all have heard Steve Ritchie’s games tell us “Play Betterâ€. How about we also consider “Play Smarterâ€
Ok, enough of the philosophic discussion. How does the everyday strikes player approach Point Monsters?
Game Choice
There will be 12 games this year. 4 EM, 4 SS, 4 DMD. A player must play 8. There will be 2 games required from each era for 6/8 games. The remaining 2 are player choice.
You only keep your best score, void those you don’t want.
Every player can play as much as they want for the same fixed entry fee. So have at it.
Start off with the 8 games you think you feel most comfortable with. Just pick. Keep every score. There is no need to void anything since there is no penalty for keeping a score (PAPA style is a different beast, and different topic).
(The only reason to void a first score is vanity and pride. Nothing else. There is never a penalty for keeping a score. Yes, you and everyone watching knows you can do better, but the seed will grow. Just think of it as a placeholder. It’s always better to have something there than nothing. Long time readers may know of my TSPP story from years ago. That convinced me-Always keep game one score)
After the first 8 game cycle (assuming you played all eras), you will have generated your first composite score, somewhere between 0 and 800 points.
You have also learned something about your game choices and how they play. Make notes of this. Do they play fast, slow, how were the rules modified, do the flippers feel good, are the shots and feeds doing what you expect?
There will be 4 games you have not played. Play them. Get a feel for how they handle. You may find that some of these games are actually better choices than what you initially thought.
Now you have planted a seed on every game. Figure out where you think you can make the scores grow. Remember, only your single best score counts, so anything that beats your previous score is a keeper.
Time Management
There is a fixed amount of qualifying time, but there is plenty of it. You will get to play a lot of pinball. As the event goes on, look at the queues of people in games. Games that are long playing will give you fewer opportunities to qualify. It is better to play more games and get more experience and tries.
The exception to the “play more†strategy is if you strongly feel by waiting on a game that you are comfortable with that you will improve your qualifying rank.
Risk Reward Approach
The first game you play will always be the “planting seed†game. (Remember, keep it). Whatever you score on it will generate an individual score between 0 and 100. There is no rush to go for the wizard mode on game one, or set up the perfect scoring combo. You will have other chances to do that.
The first game is to get comfortable with the shots and feeds. The subsequent games are for getting creative and daring.
Establish your qualifying foundation first and then work on solidifying it. You will develop a learning curve as will everyone else. It is very interesting to watch the scores improve.
Monitoring Others
The ranking scores for every game will be posted. You will see where you stand compared to others. As the day goes on, monitor the scores on each game and if you need to play it, ask yourself how to achieve that score.
Remember you don’t need a GC, you are trying to achieve scores that improve your standing.
If you are already one of the top 8 scores on a game, it is probably not necessary at this juncture to keep trying to play that particular game unless you feel this is the only way to improve.
The key is to look at your lowest qualifying scores of your set and see if you can improve there.
Keep in mind that your top 8 ranked games may fluctuate based on what others are doing.
If there are 16 players that advance, look at the composite score for player 16. Since there are 8 games, divide that by 8. That will tell you on average what ranking you need per game. Say it is 648. That you means you need, on average, an 81 per game.
So if for example, the scoring is 100, 95, 92, 91, 90,..., 81 is 14th place. Therefore your goal is one of the top 14 scores per game.
Using the DTM software
The tourney will probably use the DTM software. This is the gold standard for this type of event. You can see all of your stats and others’ stats, how often you play, and use it to self queue. You are in charge of where you go and when you go. It is awesome.
Final Remarks
While I personally approach tourney pinball very analytically, I do enjoy myself. People say match play is more fun and social. In some aspects maybe, but who and when you get to socialize with is often determined by the software.
In an unlimited qualifying format, you hang out with who you want, play when you want, eat when you want, take a nap when you want etc. Remember, the queueing software is your friend!
Having fun is what you make of the situation
Good Skill to everyone at Point Monsters this coming weekend!
Jeff
