PAPA 16: How It Works

The PAPA World Championships is a four-day tournament event which begins with three days of qualifying, followed by a full day of finals.

There are three divisions of play, arranged by skill level: A for Expert, B for Intermediate, and C for Novice. There is also a daily Classics division, a Juniors division for those 16 and younger, and a Seniors division for those 50 and older.

As a player, you may make as many paid qualifying attempts as you like, with a fee each time. These attempts may be made at any time on any day or days during qualifying. The system rewards consistently good play, rather than a mixture of good and poor play. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to "buy your way" into the finals.

In each qualifying attempt, you select and play five of the machines provided for your division (in Classics and Juniors/Seniors, you play four). Your scores are then ranked against every other score on each machine, yielding a point total. That total is then ranked against every other qualifying attempt in your division, including your own. This gives an overall ranking of all players in the division.

On Sunday, the top-ranked players in each division play in the final rounds, which involve groups of 4 players playing together. The winner of the A Division finals is crowned World Pinball Champion!

Spectators are welcome throughout the four days of the event. There are more than 350 machines available for 50-cent play (two tokens), including all day Sunday. There is a free shuttle from our recommended hotels, as well as food and Internet kiosks available on-site.

If you have any other questions, keep browsing the site, including the official rules. If you are still stumped, send us an e-mail.