The Desert Dolls Pinball Collective held its March monthly tournament today at the home collection of Diane and Jim Smith in downtown Phoenix. Registration opened at 12:30 PM, with tournament play starting at 1:00 PM and running through the afternoon into finals.

The Smith collection is a fantastic private arcade spanning multiple decades of pinball, giving players a mix of classic electro-mechanical machines, early solid-state games, and modern Stern titles.
A total of 31 players competed in group match play qualifying rounds, battling through a diverse lineup of machines.

Machines in the Tournament
The lineup covered a huge range of pinball history:

Electro-Mechanical Era
Big Hit
El Dorado
Kings & Queens
Early Solid State
Barracora
Whirlwind

Early Solid State Era
Firepower
Stars

DMD Era
High Roller Casino
Lord of the Rings

Modern Stern
Jurassic Park (Pro)
James Bond 007 (Premium)
Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast

This kind of lineup forces players to constantly adjust strategy and timing. EM machines demand patience and accuracy, while modern Sterns reward aggressive combo play and mode stacking.

Qualifying Results

After several rounds of match play, the finals cutoff landed at 28 points, making the qualifying bubble extremely tight.
I finished tied for 14th place with 24 points out of 31 players.

Some highlights from my matches included:

Barracora – 1st place

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast – 1st place

Stars – 3rd place – a humbling moment where we were all beat by a 6 year old.

Jurassic Park – two rough rounds (4th place) – embarrassingly,  I could not find my flow on those flippers at all for 2 games in a row.

James Bond 007 – 3rd place

A Wild Game on James Bond 007

One of the most memorable matches of the day happened on James Bond 007 (Premium).

It turned into a complete blow-up game.
Player 3 came out swinging and put up over 400 million points on the first ball, immediately setting the tone for the entire group. In the second ball, Player 1 answered back and pushed her score up into the 300 million range, turning it into a real shootout.

Meanwhile, after two balls I was sitting at about 50 million. Not exactly where you want to be in a game like that.

But on ball three everything started clicking. Shots began landing, modes started stacking, and the score kept climbing. By the end of the game I had pushed my total all the way up to 249 million.

It was a long, intense, back-and-forth game, and even though I finished 3rd for three points, it felt like one of my best games of the day. Sometimes the scoreboard doesn’t show it, but you know you played a solid, respectful game against a strong group.

And honestly, those are the games that make tournament days memorable.

Pinball tournaments always have a mix of great games and “well that drained fast” moments. That’s part of the fun.

Finals Bracket

The top players moved on to group elimination finals, starting with:
Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast
El Dorado

From there the bracket continues until a winner emerges. Finals were still underway late in the afternoon as players battled through the final rounds.

Prize Table and Side Fun

The Desert Dolls events always have a great community atmosphere, and the prize table is part of that tradition.

Players could win themed prizes immediately after qualifier rounds were complete, and there was also a Safecracker side tournament running alongside the main event.

Between rounds, players gathered outside around the prize table to relax, snack, and talk pinball strategy.

The Desert Dolls Community

One of the best parts of Desert Dolls is the supportive and welcoming atmosphere. Players of all experience levels compete together, share tips on difficult machines, and celebrate each other’s big moments.

Hosting tournaments at private collections like Diane and Jim’s also makes the day feel special. You get to play beautifully maintained machines and see collections that reflect decades of pinball history.

Incidental Exercise: Pinball Edition

Five hours of tournament play might not look like exercise, but it absolutely adds up.

Between walking between machines, leaning into shots, pacing during matches, and the constant mental focus, tournament days involve hours of light physical movement.

Just like many things in life — it still counts.

Thank You

A huge thank you to Diane and Jim Smith for hosting and sharing their incredible collection with the Desert Dolls community.

Events like this are what make the Arizona pinball scene so fun and welcoming.
Already looking forward to the next Desert Dolls tournament.

Machines played today:

Barracora, Big Hit, El Dorado, Firepower, High Roller Casino, Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast, James Bond 007 (Premium), Jurassic Park (Pro), Kings & Queens, Lord of the Rings, Stars, Whirlwind.