Five rounds. Four very different machines. One owl in the parking lot. And a whole lot of pinball shenanigans. 😂🎱🦉
Tuesday night kicked off Season 22-2 of the Electric Bat Arcade Tuesday Night Pinball League, and I was ready to get flipping!
With five rounds of group match play ahead of me, there were plenty of opportunities to earn points, learn some machines, and potentially question some of my life choices along the way.
Let’s get into it!
Round 1: Bally Viking — A Rough Landing
We started with Bally Viking, a game I actually like. Normally, I enjoy working the top lanes, knocking down the multipliers, and seeing what I can build.
Tonight, however, Viking apparently woke up and chose violence.
I struggled to control the ball, and that left outlane seemed to have a personal vendetta against me. I managed some spinner action and even recovered from the right outlane a couple of times, but the left outlane kept collecting my balls.
It was frustrating because I know there’s more I can do on this machine. Sometimes the game just doesn’t cooperate with the plan.
Result: 4th place — 1 point.
Well, that was one way to start a season. Moving on!
Round 2: Twilight Zone — A Much Better Time
Twilight Zone was considerably more entertaining for me.
I got to work the ramps, lock a ball, activate Camera Mode, and explore the upper playfield. There was plenty happening, and I was enjoying the experience.
I finished in second place behind Hailey Buhrman, earning five valuable league points.
There was also an interesting rules moment. Serge Sicular realized he’d double-flipped before the replay and bonus had finished on another player’s ball. He immediately brought it to the tournament director’s attention and accepted the disqualification.
I appreciated his honesty in owning the mistake. Tournament rules matter, and doing the right thing when you realize you’ve made an error matters, too.
Result: 2nd place — 5 points.
Now THAT was a better round!
Round 3: Cleopatra — Five Balls of Stingy Pinball
Next up was Cleopatra, an older Gottlieb game that can be downright stingy.
This was a five-ball game, and I was trying to make the most of every opportunity. My score gradually climbed, but I never really got the kind of ball I needed to make a serious run.
I finished with approximately 82,000 points and took third place.
Could I have done better? Absolutely. Was I grateful for the points I earned? Also absolutely.
Both things can be true!
Result: 3rd place — 3 points.
Round 4: Fallout Pro — Brand-New Machine, Brand-New Lessons
Fallout Pro was my first-ever game on this machine!
I’d watched Andrew play Fallout on the PlayStation and had seen some of the television show, but none of that prepared me to figure out the pinball version on the fly.
I chose the armored character and started exploring the playfield. I discovered an upper flipper, tried to figure out where it was sending the ball, and started a mode along the way.
I had some decent moments, including a skill shot, but I was definitely learning as I went.
Fallout is a machine I’d like to spend more time studying. Now that it’s appearing in tournament groups, understanding its shots and features could come in handy.
Result: 4th place — 1 point.
I may not have conquered the Wasteland, but at least I got my first game in!
Round 5: Sorcerer — A Pinball Master Class
The final round brought me to Sorcerer, and this is where I got a real treat.
One of my opponents put on an absolute master class during his first ball.
He worked the difficult upright targets that spell SORCERER, carefully controlling the rebounds and nudging the machine to keep the ball alive. He repeatedly trapped the ball, reset his shots, and sent it back toward those uprights.
Then he worked the spinner and top lanes, hit the upper-right drop targets, and built up his scoring opportunities before going for multiball.
The whole sequence was a thing of beauty.
He’d practiced this strategy many times before, often without much success. This time, everything came together.
His first ball alone scored approximately 1.68 million points!
And he was just as amazed as the rest of us that it had worked so beautifully.
Watching him gave me a different perspective on Sorcerer. My usual approach is to finish the top lanes and drop targets first, start multiball, and then work on the SORCERER shots while taking advantage of the scoring opportunities multiball provides.
His approach is much more aggressive and requires excellent ball control.
I’d like to experiment with it during casual practice sometime. Tournament night, however, is probably not the place to test a strategy that has produced plenty of failed attempts along the way!
I finished third on Sorcerer, earning three more points.
Result: 3rd place — 3 points.
An Unexpected Parking-Lot Owl Encounter
Pinball wasn’t the only entertainment of the evening.
The night before, some teenagers on my patio had been making owl noises. So when I went outside to my car between rounds and heard a deep hoo hoo … hooo, I assumed the neighborhood shenanigans had resumed.
Nope.
A real owl was perched on the light pole above my car!
My friend and I were trying to block the light so we could see around it and get a better look at the bird. Unfortunately, we ended up standing next to each other with our arms raised in almost perfect synchronization.
From our perspective, we were trying to see an owl.
From any unfortunate bystander’s perspective, the two of us probably looked like we were participating in some very questionable synchronized activity. 😂
We laughed so hard I nearly peed.
Based on its chunky, mottled-brown appearance and deep hooting, we’re guessing it was a Great Horned Owl. Either way, it was a pretty memorable wildlife encounter!
Salsa Queen Samples: Fuel for the Evening
And because an evening of pinball is even better with snacks, there were Salsa Queen samples available, including Pineapple Mango.
A little salsa, a few tortilla chips, and five rounds of pinball? Not a bad Tuesday night combination!
Week 1 Results
Here’s how my night added up: Round Machine Placement Points
1 Bally Viking 4th 1
2 Twilight Zone 2nd 5
3 Cleopatra 3rd 3
4 Fallout Pro 4th 1
5 Sorcerer 3rd 3
Total: 13
I finished the first week with 13 points, including one second-place finish and two third-place finishes.
It wasn’t a perfect night, but I got to play some interesting machines, learn a little more about Fallout, and watch an opponent execute a Sorcerer strategy I’ll be thinking about for a while.
And apparently, I also got an owl-watching adventure thrown in for free.
Until Next Tuesday…
Season 22-2 is officially underway, and there are five more weeks to go.
I’ll keep working on my game, learning the machines, and collecting points wherever I can.
Because pinball is about competition, strategy, and skill—but it’s also about the people, the unexpected moments, and the stories you bring home afterward.
And sometimes, it’s about standing in a parking lot with a friend, accidentally looking ridiculous while trying to see an owl.
Wellness without perfection. Pinball without guarantees. And shenanigans absolutely included.
Still counts. Always! 💜🎱🦉
— Wellness Whiskers Silverballs
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