After today’s 111.5 million-point Guardians of the Galaxy performance at the Starfighters tournament—and making Serge claw his way all the way back from 18.5 million—I’d say the flippers were thoroughly warmed up.
But let’s back up.
The July Starfighters Monthly was a seven-round pace match play tournament, with the goal of reaching 28 points by the end of Round 7 to advance. My day had a little bit of everything: close games, house balls, stolen multiballs, an EM nail-biter, revenge games, and one final round where I had absolutely nothing left to lose.
Round 1 — The Party Zone — 3rd Place
The day started with The Party Zone and a third-place finish.
Not the explosive start you dream about, but points are points—and with seven rounds ahead, there was plenty of pinball left to play.
Round 2 — Space Shuttle — 2nd Place
Round 2 brought Space Shuttle and a much better result: second place.
Now we were moving.
Round 3 — Star Wars: Fall of the Empire — 4th Place
This one was frustrating because I was doing the right things. I hit skill shots, worked toward locks, lit shots, and tried to build something—but the ball had other plans.
Ball 1
I finished at 2.7 million after hitting the skill shot, lighting lock, hitting the Death Star and spinner, and then finding the left outlane.
Ball 2
I climbed to 7.9 million, hitting another skill shot and a lock. I lit the Luke ramp, sent the ball up the right ramp…
…and out.
Oops.
Ball 3
I finished at 15,646,870 after another lock and another quick exit.
Final scores:
Andy Olson — 53,662,790
Bob Robinson — 24,529,200
Alex Kee — 23,445,360
Me — 15,646,870
Fourth place.
Boooo.
Round 4 — Elvira and the Party Monsters — 3rd Place
Then came Elvira and the Party Monsters, where I apparently decided that if I couldn’t build my own multiball normally, I would simply participate in other people’s progress.
Ball 1
47,000.
One inlane. One drop target. Out.
Excellent. Very productive.
Ball 2
I climbed to 543,000 after stealing someone’s multiball.
Ball 3
I stole another lock, got into multiball again, and finished at:
887,450
Final scores:
James Turner AZ — 1,424,510
Andre Nakai — 1,161,410
Me — 887,450
Jeff Barthold — 548,340
Third place.
After four rounds, I had 12 points.
Round 5 — Surfer — 2nd Place
Round 5 sent us to Surfer, a five-ball electromechanical machine.
Because of the way we were playing it, we each played our entire five-ball game one player at a time. That meant sitting and watching each complete score go up before taking my turn.
The scores to beat were:
Joe Pais — 49,790
Chris Stoltenberg — 35,690
Mollie Stoltenberg — 20,870
Then it was my turn.
I finished at:
41,520
And a good portion of that came from bonus.
I was sweating it until the very last click as the score reels counted up.
That was enough for second place.
And for context: during the Starfighters Pinball Festival, I once scored 89,000 on this same machine, and that score was ridiculous. It took a long time for anyone to beat it. Surfer is not an easy game on which to put up a big number.
So I’ll happily take 41,520 and second place.
That brought me to 17 points after five rounds.
Round 6 — Alien Poker — 4th Place
And then Alien Poker happened.
Ball 1
13,600
Ball 2
I crawled to 15,600 after what was essentially a house ball.
Ball 3
Final score:
32,530
Final standings:
Greg Mohs — 328,110
Miguel Martinez — 77,040
Joe Pais — 56,750
Me — 32,530
Fourth place. One point.
That put me at 18 points with one round remaining, which meant the 28-point cutoff was mathematically out of reach.
And then, because pinball has a sense of humor, I immediately played Alien Poker again.
My revenge score?
371,080.
Of course.
More than 11 times my tournament score.
And yes, 371,080 would have won my tournament group.
Where were you when the points counted, Alien Poker?!
Round 7 — Guardians of the Galaxy — Operation Make Someone Mutter
By Round 7, I knew I couldn’t advance.
So I announced a new goal:
Let’s see if we can make someone else mutter.
My group:
Keli Lucas
Shaniya Lee
Me
Serge Sicular
Ball 1
The scores ahead of me were:
Keli — 1.4 million
Shaniya — 1.6 million
I stepped up and scored:
14.9 million
I hit the skill shot, chose Yaka, hit Groot, made the left ramp and left outer loop.
Serge — finished Ball 1 at 2.2 million.
Operation Make Someone Mutter was underway.
Ball 2
Keli climbed to 5.2 million.
Shaniya had 2.2 million.
Then I finished Yaka, put two locks into Groot, started Quill, played through multiball, and climbed from 14.9 million to 60 million
Serge — finished Ball 2 at 18.5 million.
Now somebody was definitely muttering.
Ball 3
Keli finished at 12.9 million.
Shaniya finished at 4.7 million.
And I finished my final ball—and my final qualifying game of the tournament—at:
111.5 MILLION
Then Serge stepped up for Ball 3.
He had 18.5 million and a whole lot of work to do.
And he fought.
He was dancing. He was battling. He was clawing his way back. Did I beat Serge? No. But I made him work for that win.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack in my headphones apparently understood the assignment and served up “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.”
Because of course it did.
I couldn’t make the cutoff.
But I could absolutely become somebody else’s problem.
July Results
My seven rounds:
1. The Party Zone — 3rd
2. Space Shuttle — 2nd
3. Star Wars: Fall of the Empire — 4th
4. Elvira and the Party Monsters — 3rd
5. Surfer — 2nd
6. Alien Poker — 4th
7. Guardians of the Galaxy —2nd
The day wasn’t enough to get me through the 28-point cutoff, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good day of pinball.
Meanwhile, Andrew had himself a pretty fantastic tournament.
He finished qualifying in 4th place overall with 60 points, earning his spot in the finals.
Apparently, while I was busy stealing multiballs, getting betrayed by Alien Poker, and making people mutter, my husband was quietly hanging out near the top of the standings.
Nice job, Andrew. 💜
I survived a bonus-counting nail-biter on Surfer.
I stole multiballs on Elvira.
I got absolutely betrayed by Alien Poker—and then immediately came back with 371,080 out of pure spite.
And when advancing was no longer mathematically possible, I walked into the final round with nothing to lose and put 111.5 million on Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sometimes you make the cut.
Sometimes you don’t.
And sometimes the best remaining goal is simply:
Make someone else mutter.
Still counts. 💜🎯
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