October 29, 2026 | Tilt Studios | Arizona Mills
Five rounds. Five different machines. Plenty of pinball shenanigans.
Week 5 of the Tilt Studios Thursday Night Pinball League is in the books, and let’s just say this evening was a mixed bag. There were some frustrating games, a few moments where things actually started coming together, and one pretty fantastic first-place finish.
With only one tournament remaining in the season, every point matters as players jockey for position and those coveted Division A Finals spots.
Let’s get into it!
Round 1 – The Addams Family
Players: Christy Kohtz, Dave Landro, Diane Smith and Paul Blanco.
We kicked off the evening with The Addams Family.
My first ball started with a Swamp skill shot, followed by a couple of Mamushka ramp shots and a little progress toward the Greed letters. I also managed to hit Train Wreck before the ball decided it had somewhere else to be.
Unfortunately, that somewhere was the left outlane.
My first ball finished at 3.4 million, and the rest of the game didn’t turn into the comeback story I was hoping for.
Final results:
– 1st – Paul Blanco: 217,596,290
– 2nd – Dave Landro: 121,418,610
– 3rd – Diane Smith: 43,985,130
– 4th – Christy Kohtz: 20,165,050
Not exactly the opening I was looking for, but we had four more games to go.
Round 2 – Venom (Pro)
Players: John Shopple, Adam Horton, Michelle Pack and Christy Kohtz.
Oh, Venom. We meet again.
I missed the freaking secret skill shot on ball one. The ball went through a top lane, hit Carnage once, gave me a reverse horseshoe shot, and then I managed to aim for the scoop only to hit a post and drain down the center.
I turned away, stomping my feet, and my friend Wendy was like, “Are you upset? You want to stomp your feet? You have 2 minutes go ahead and throw a fit.” Lmao!
Ball two wasn’t much kinder. A short plunge, no skill shot, one ball lock, two hits to Carnage and one shot to the Bell Tower before the ball made its exit.
Ball three finally gave me the secret skill shot, and I got some shenanigans going before the left outlane ended the fun.
Meanwhile, John Shopple was putting up an absolutely ridiculous score. He finished with more than 1.26 BILLION points and still had another ball to play when I was watching him earlier.
Yes, you read that correctly. BILLION.
And this is precisely why I maintain that making Venom a five-ball game would be grounds for me to retire from pinball permanently. 😂
Final results:
– 1st – John Shopple
– 2nd – Adam Horton
– 3rd – Michelle Pack
– 4th – Christy Kohtz
Moving right along!
Round 3 – Jurassic Park (Pro)
Players: Christy Kohtz, Brittany Adamo and John Antioco.
Jurassic Park was next, and I actually had a few things going for me here.
Ball one started with a skill shot and a mode. I managed approximately five shots in the mode, got several ramps going, and then the ball drained.
Ball two was a little more eventful. The plunger choked, so no skill shot, but I managed to get T-Rex Multiball going. I got two hits to the cage and worked in plenty of ramps and loops before that ball eventually drained, too.
Ball three started with another skill shot and another mode. And then, well, shenanigans happened.
Still, I managed to put together a respectable game and finish with approximately 53.3 million points.
Final results:
– 1st – Brittany Adamo
– 2nd – Christy Kohtz
– 3rd – John Antioco
A second-place finish! Finally, some points heading in the right direction.
Round 4 – Ghostbusters (Pro)
Players: Amanda Fones, Forrest J Barkley, Michelle Pack and Christy Kohtz.
Ghostbusters was where things finally started to get a little more interesting.
My first ball included a skill shot and getting Librarian Mode started. I managed a left ramp shot before the ball found a post and drained.
Ball two added a few more points, although I don’t have a complete play-by-play for that one.
Then came ball three.
I finally started finding something resembling a rhythm!
I managed a couple of top lane shots, got plenty of action from the pop bumpers, and started connecting with the Super Jackpot ramps a couple of times.
I also got the ball into the scoop to start another mode, followed by a few more ramps.
I even managed to take out the Scalari Brothers along the way!
And then, just when things were finally coming together, the ball drained.
BOOOOO!
I was genuinely excited because I was finally getting into a groove and making some of the shots I wanted to make. I would have really liked to keep playing that ball for another five minutes.
But the machine had other plans.
The good news? I finished with approximately 40 million points and took FIRST PLACE!
Final results:
– 1st – Christy Kohtz
– 2nd – Amanda Fones
– 3rd – Michelle Pack
– 4th – Forrest J Barkley
Well, hello there, seven league points! I’ll take those!
Round 5 – The Beatles (Platinum LE)
Players: Michelle Pack, Kevin Geoghan, Christy Kohtz and Andy Olson.
The final round of the evening brought us to The Beatles.
This game was a little different from the previous machines, and I managed to get some decent activity going.
Ball one started with a skill shot and Drop Targets Mode. I spent a good portion of that ball working through drop targets before eventually draining.
Ball two brought Loop Mania! I managed a few loops, plenty of pop bumper action, more drop targets and, of course, the usual assortment of pinball shenanigans.
Ball three was where I finally got the multiball going.
The multiball starts the ball-three mode, so I didn’t even have to work my way into that one. Bonus!
I managed to hit a bunch of drop targets, got a couple of good loops, and even got the ball caught by the magnet at the top of the loop. That’s worth some points!
I also came VERY close to getting the add-a-ball feature hiding behind the Fab Four drop targets. Unfortunately, I missed it, hit a post, and the ball drained.
I finished with 300.7 thousand points.
Final results:
– 1st – Andy Olson
– 2nd – Kevin Geoghan
– 3rd – Christy Kohtz
– 4th – Michelle Pack
A third-place finish to close out the evening.
Not bad considering how some of those earlier games went!
The Week 5 Numbers
Five rounds of four-player group match play, with IFPA 7/5/3/1 scoring.
My evening included:
– The Addams Family – 4th
– Venom – 4th
– Jurassic Park – 2nd
– Ghostbusters – 1st
– The Beatles – 3rd
My tournament standings finished with 16 league points and 21st place for the evening.
Not my strongest tournament, but that Ghostbusters first-place finish was a highlight!
Season Standings – One league night Left!
Now for the part that really matters.
After five of six season tournaments, the standings have Andrew sitting in a fantastic third-place tie with 387 ranking points.
As for me, I’m currently sitting in 16th place with 347 ranking points.
The Division A Finals cutoff is 12th place, currently held by Andy Olson at 352 points.
That’s a five-point gap.
FIVE POINTS!
With one tournament remaining, there’s still an opportunity to make a move. I’m not ready to give up on that Division A goal just yet.
Next Up: Week 6!
Before we get to that final Tilt Studios league night, though, there’s another big pinball weekend on the calendar.
The Electric Bat 8th Anniversary Bash tournament is coming up next week, running Friday through Sunday.
Saturday alone includes TWENTY rounds of qualifying to determine who makes it to Sunday’s finals.
Twenty. Rounds.
Apparently, all that walking and Jazzercise I’ve been doing is going to come in handy after all. Consider it stamina training for competitive pinball!
And after the week my thighs have had with Jazzercise, I sincerely hope they’re ready for the assignment.
Final Thoughts
Tonight was one of those evenings where I knew I had some good shots in me, but the machines weren’t always interested in cooperating.
I had moments where I was frustrated, moments where I was excited, and moments where I could see myself finally starting to find a rhythm.
Ghostbusters was especially bittersweet. I finally started connecting with those ramps and getting some things going on ball three, only to have the ball drain just as I was getting comfortable.
I would really, REALLY like one decent game where I actually get to play for a hot second without the machine deciding my turn is over.
Is that too much to ask?
Apparently, yes. 😂
But there was a first-place finish, a second-place finish, a third-place finish, and another opportunity to work toward that Division A goal.
One night left in the Tilt Studios season.
Still learning. Still competing. Still chasing those points.
Still counts. Always!💜🎯
Read more.