Monday nights at The Outpost Arcade continue to be one of my favorite parts of the week. Sure, I love the competition, but it’s really the people that make this league special.
Before pinball even started, Tracy Lindberg’s mom, Nancy, saved me from making a very poor decision. I had rushed out the door without eating and was absolutely starving. Thankfully, Nancy brought homemade chicken spaghetti in a crockpot for everyone to enjoy. It was loaded with chunks of chicken, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and angel hair pasta. It was exactly what I needed before five rounds of pinball. (Thanks again, Nancy!)
As usual, there were plenty of laughs before the competition even began. Olivia Helm told me one of my favorite John Shopple stories. She had asked John for advice on Space Shuttle, and his entire strategy lesson was:
> “If the ball comes to your left flipper, hit the spinners. If it comes to your right flipper, hit the spinners.”
That’s it.
Anyone who knows John knows he’s capable of giving a 45-minute master class on almost any machine, so hearing that his entire lesson was simply “hit the spinners” had all of us laughing. The best part? Olivia used that advice and actually beat him on the game.
Round 1 – Pokémon Premium (1st Place)
I got off to a fantastic start.
I hit my skill shots, worked both ramps, caught Pokémon, advanced Meowth, and eventually brought home a first-place finish. Starting league with seven points always feels good, and it gave me confidence for the rest of the night.
Round 2 – Blackout (2nd Place)
I had a solid game and was pretty happy with how I played.
The real story, though, was Michelle Pack. Michelle is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, and she mostly comes to league because she enjoys the community.
On Blackout, however, she absolutely caught fire and played an incredible game. It was so much fun watching her find her rhythm and put together a fantastic performance.
Sometimes someone else just has the game of their night, and honestly, that’s fun to watch too.
Round 3 – X-Men (2nd Place)
Hailey Buhrman reminded all of us why Stern machines are her specialty.
She put up an incredible 221 million points while I worked my way to 35 million. Did I beat Hailey? Nope.
Did I accomplish my personal goal
Absolutely.
I reached Robot Multiball for the first time in competition and actually had a respectable multiball once I got there. Even though the final score wasn’t where I wanted it to be, I left the machine feeling like I learned something, and that’s a win in my book.
Afterward, I walked over to Hailey and told her, “You could have done better.”
Without missing a beat she laughed and replied, “I know, right?”
That’s exactly why I enjoy competing with her. We can push each other, tease each other a little, and still have a great time.
Round 4 – Transporter the Rescue (2nd Place)
This was one of those classic Bally games where I never quite found the huge scoring opportunities, but I steadily worked the drop targets and kept my score climbing.
It wasn’t spectacular, but it was steady.
Sometimes steady earns you second place, and I’ll happily take it.
Round 5 – Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble (4th Place)
Well…
Not every game is going to go your way.
I started well enough, collected a ball lock, and worked the drop targets, but I never got the big payoff I was looking for. On my final ball I reached the upper playfield, missed my opportunity, butterflippered, and that was pretty much the end of it.
Meanwhile, Harley Rogers decided to have herself a Ball 3.
She exploded from just over a million points to over 48 million, completely taking over the game. Once Jessica Rogers and Shandi McCutcheon both passed me, I found myself cheering Harley on to finish the comeback, and she absolutely delivered.
Congratulations, Harley!
Final Thoughts
Even with the disappointing finish in the final round, I walked away with 22 league points.
Sometimes it’s easy to focus on the last game, but that’s not really the story of the night.
The story was:
Homemade chicken spaghetti with friends.
Great conversations and lots of laughter.
Watching Michelle have an awesome game on Blackout.
Finally reaching Robot Multiball on X-Men.
Getting to joke around with Hailey.
Seeing Hailey and her mom playing pinball side by side.
Playing Ultraman with Jessica and Harley, and watching Harley come from last place to completely destroying all of us!
And another evening spent with one of the best pinball communities around.
Incidental Exercise Receipts
As for the standings, I finished the night with 22 points, and more importantly, I’m tied for 6th place overall after four weeks with season scores of 86, 94, 89, and 92. With two regular-season weeks remaining, I’m still in a strong position for an A Division finals berth.
I’ll take that.
Sometimes pinball isn’t about playing perfectly.
Sometimes it’s about playing well, learning something new, cheering for your friends, and leaving with a smile.
This week was definitely one of those nights.
That counts more, always! 💜🎱
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