Thursday nights are always a good time at Tilt Studio, and Week 2 of Season 4 was no exception.
Before league even started, I had already put in an hour of Jazzercise this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good I felt. I expected my shoulders and arms to be sore, but instead I still had plenty of energy for a night of pinball.
Round 1 – The Addams Family
I opened the night with a 2nd-place finish on one of pinball’s greatest classics. It was a solid start that helped build some early confidence.
Round 2 – Stranger Things Pro
Round two went even better as I captured 1st place. Starting the evening with a second and a first gave me plenty of momentum heading into the rest of the night.
Round 3 – Jurassic Park Pro
Jurassic Park proved to be another competitive battle, limping along with a weak plunger. I finished 3rd place, but every point matters in a five-round league, and staying competitive kept me in the mix.
Round 4 – Metallica Pro
Metallica perfectly illustrated how much my mental game has improved.
My first ball only reached about 832,000 points, but instead of getting frustrated, I focused on what I accomplished. I collected the skill shot, earned fuel from a mystery award, made a couple of left ramps, and then drained up the middle.
Ball two was much stronger. I collected another skill shot, started Sparky Multiball, scored several Sparky hits, added a couple of snake shots, and kept working the left ramp.
By the end of ball three, I finished with 13.5 million, earning 2nd place behind Andrew’s 14.1 million.
That game reminded me that one rough ball doesn’t determine the outcome of an entire game.
Round 5 – Pokémon Pro
Pokémon began much like several of my games that night—with a modest first ball.
Ball 1
6.5 million
Skill shot
Lots of center target and left target hits
Ball 2
25.6 million
Skill shot
Caught a Pokémon
Prepared for a battle
More center target shots
Meowth target hits
Center loop
Ball 3
Everything finally came together.
On my final ball I:
Collected another skill shot.
Caught 12 Pokémon.
Started multiball.
Won a battle.
Made lots of ramp shots.
Hit the Charmander spinner repeatedly.
Finished with a 9× bonus.
That final ball exploded to 180 million, earning me 3rd place in a very strong group.
Mental Game Wins
One thing I noticed all night was that many of my first balls were around 800,000 points. A year or two ago, that would have completely ruined my mindset. I’d spend the rest of the game replaying that mistake instead of focusing on the next opportunity.
This year has been different.
Instead of dwelling on the score, I pay attention to what I accomplished. Did I make the skill shot? Start a multiball? Complete a mode? Hit the shots I was trying to hit?
Those are signs that I’m playing well, even if the points haven’t caught up yet.
Sometimes you’re learning skills that don’t immediately show up in league standings. You simply have to trust the process until everything clicks.
Looking back over the last year, I’ve realized that celebrating those small victories has made a tremendous difference in controlling my anxiety and enjoying competitive pinball. Ironically, once I stopped obsessing over every mistake, my scores started improving.
Results through five rounds:
🥈 The Addams Family
🥇 Stranger Things Pro
🥉 Jurassic Park Pro
🥈 Metallica Pro
🥉 Pokémon Pro
That’s an incredibly consistent night. Five rounds completed without a fourth-place finish, highlighted by a first-place finish on Stranger Things and a memorable comeback on Pokémon.
This league night reinforced something I’ve been learning all year:
A bad first ball doesn’t define the game. The next ball is always another opportunity. It only takes one good ball.
Still counts. Always
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