Pinburgh 2012: Official Rules
Pinburgh 2012 is the Match Play Championship event operated by the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA). This document specifies the official operating rules and regulations of the event.
The event coordinators for Pinburgh 2012 are Bowen Kerins, Kevin Martin, and Mark Steinman. Event coordinators organize volunteers, handle malfunctions and rulings, delegate responsibilities and authority, and otherwise work to ensure the smooth operation of the tournament. Event coordinators and designated officials may not participate in the tournament.
Table of Contents
- I. Quick Overview
- II. Overall Competition
- III. Friday: Full-Field Play
- IV. Saturday: Divisional Play
- V. Sunday: Final Rounds and Consolation
- VI. Malfunctions and Rulings
- VII. Machine Settings
- VIII. Player Conduct
- IX. Miscellaneous
- III. Friday: Full-Field Play
I. Quick Overview
Pinburgh is Match Play For All: three days of match play pinball competition, with no players eliminated until Sunday. All players compete in four-player groups on Friday, with the quality of their play determining whether they go to A, B, or C Division for Saturday. All players compete in four-player groups on Saturday within their division, with the quality of their play determining whether they advance to finals. Qualifiers compete for the division prizes on Sunday, while everyone else plays in a consolation double-elimination tournament. Over 50 cash prizes will be awarded, including at least $4,000 to the champion. 100% of all entry fees will be awarded as prizes, which means the more players there are, the bigger the prizes get.
That's right, it's twenty or more hours of fun, competitive pinball play for everyone, for one entry fee, plus the cost of game tokens. And best of all, token purchases directly benefit the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.
Complete details are available here in the official rules, as well as on the Web site at http://www.papa.org/pinburgh2012/.
II. Overall Competition
1. Divisions of Play
All play takes place as singles, in three skill divisions. At the beginning of play, all players compete together, without divisions. At the end of play on Friday, skill divisions are assigned according to rankings and restrictions. Generally, the top 1/3 of all players advance to A Division, the middle 1/3 advance to B Division, and the bottom 1/3 advance to C Division. Players may be assigned to A or B Division based on skill division restrictions.
All players, winning or not, grant PAPA, Pinball Bug LP, and any and all other event sponsors and organizers, individual and collective, the right to use their names, scores, and likenesses for the purpose of promoting this tournament as well as other pinball-related events. This right is transferable without restriction.
2. Skill Division Restrictions
The following restrictions are designed to discourage any player from intentionally competing beneath his or her level of skill, and are comparable to the existing policies for PAPA tournaments:
- Any player who has placed in the top four of the B or C Division at the finals of their most recent PAPA or Pinburgh tournament must compete in at least the next highest division at Pinburgh.
- Any player who has qualified in the A or B Division of any previous PAPA tournament cannot compete in a lower division at Pinburgh.
- Any player who has qualified in the Classics Division of any previous PAPA tournament cannot compete in the C Division at Pinburgh.
- Tournament officials reserve the right to restrict a player to A or B Division based on performance in other pinball events.
- Any player who has qualified in the A Division of any previous Pinburgh tournament cannot compete in the C Division at Pinburgh.
As this is the second year of the new Pinburgh Match Play tournament, its results may be used to determine division restrictions for future PAPA and Pinburgh tournaments. Exact details will be available in the future.
3. Schedule
The tournament schedule is available at:
http://www.papa.org/pinburgh2012/schedule.php
4. Fees
A one-time $100 registration fee is required of each player who wishes to compete at Pinburgh. Registration is not required to play mini-tournaments, to play non-tournament machines, or to simply watch. Each registered player receives an identifying number and this number is used to track his or her subsequent play.
When pre-registering, players may also commit to pre-purchase PAPA tokens for gameplay in tournament or casual games. Games will be set for token play, and players may purchase more tokens as desired. All token purchases result in a donation to the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.
All players must be registered by 10:45am on Friday. Players who are not registered by 10:45am and present for the roll call at 11:10am will not be allowed to participate in the tournament. Online pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
5. Sidepot!
Players may optionally pay an additional $100 towards a "sidepot" prize pool. Only players who pay the sidepot fee are eligible for its prizes, consisting of 100% of collected sidepot fees. Players should buy into the Sidepot at the time of registration; no player may buy in once the competition has begun.
The Sidepot will be awarded to the top 4 finishers in the A Division who are eligible for the Sidepot; in the event there are ties, such as for 5th through 8th place, the Sidepot award(s) will be split evenly between tied players, rather than playing a tiebreaker match.
6. Prizes
The tournament features a guaranteed package of cash prizes, based on 100% of entry fees collected. Tournament expenses are recouped through the sale of merchandise; in the event of an overrun beyond expenses, excess revenue will be retained to finance future PAPA events or Circuit sponsorships. In the event PAPA discontinues its events or is disbanded, any such retained revenue will be donated to charity.
The guaranteed prize package for Pinburgh is as follows. This is based on a specific expected number of players; if more players register, the prize package will be increased accordingly.
| A | Sidepot! | B | C | Consolation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | $4,000 | $750 (50%) | $1,500 | $1,000 | $250 | ||
| 2nd Place | $1,500 | $375 (25%) | $750 | $500 | $200 | ||
| 3rd Place | $750 | $225 (15%) | $500 | $300 | $150 | ||
| 4th Place | $500 | $150 (10%) | $300 | $200 | $100 | ||
| 5th-8th Place | $300 | $200 | $150 | ||||
| 9th-16th Place | $200 | $125 | $100 | ||||
| Top Qualifier | $250 | $150 | $100 | ||||
| Session Bounties | $50 per Session = $500 | ||||||
| Mini-Tournaments | Benefits Charity; Donated Prizes will be Available | ||||||
| Total Prize Package: $21,000+! | |||||||
Other non-cash prizes may be awarded for special competitions, door prizes, etc, at the sole discretion of tournament officials. Cash prizes may be paid by check in lieu of cash, and appropriate IRS regulations for tax reporting will be followed. In the event the winner is not a U.S. Citizen, we will provide the appropriate forms.
III. Friday: Full-Field Play
1. Friday Format
Friday's match play will be a series of five sessions of multiplayer pinball, with multiple games played per session. In each session, opponents are determined based on each player's win-loss rank. At the end of the five sessions, plus possible tie-breaking games, approximately 1/3 of the field will advance to A Division, 1/3 to B Division, and 1/3 to C Division.
All players must be onsite for the start of Session 1 promptly at 11:10am. There will be a 2-hour break for dinner after Session 3, with Session 4 starting promptly at 7:30 pm.
2. Playing a Session
Players will be assigned to either a four-player group or three-player group during each session. In four-player groups, a set of four games will be randomly assigned, which will usually consist of one dot-matrix machine (DMD), one electromechanical machine (EM), one late solid state (LSS) or early dot-matrix machine, and one early solid state (ESS) machine. In three-player groups, a set of six games will be randomly assigned, which will usually consist of two dot-matrix machines, two electromechanical machines, one late solid state or early dot-matrix machine, and one early solid state machine. Games will be played in the order prescribed by the group's score sheet. Tournament officials will make efforts to avoid requiring any player to play a specific machine more than once.
Tournament machines will be available to play, for tokens, on Friday morning only, from the time the doors open (9am) until players' roll call (11:10am). At that time, all machines will be turned off and will only be turned on for play during sessions. Practice or warm-up time will not be allowed for anyone at any other time, including during sessions, except for players in final rounds.
The highest-seeded player within each group (players are listed on the scoresheet in descending order of seeding) chooses the order of play for the first game. The remaining players choose their order, in descending order of seeding. For subsequent games, the last-place finisher of the previous game chooses the order of play for the next game. The remaining players choose their order, in ascending order of finish in the previous game (3rd place, then 2nd place, then 1st place).
All players will play their games and record the results. Ties between two or more players, although highly unlikely, will be resolved with a one-ball playoff on the same game. When all four (or six) games have been completed by a group, each player will have a win-loss record from the session. The best possible win-loss record for a session is 12-0 (see "Session Bounty" below), and the worst is 0-12.
A group must complete and sign its score sheet for the session, then return it promptly for entry. Once completed and signed, all score sheets are final, so please check the score sheet carefully before signing. Prompt entry of score sheets is essential to the timely progression of the tournament. In any scenario where a player has already defeated his or her opponents and still has one ball left to play, that ball should be plunged but not played, as it cannot affect the results. A score must be recorded for the winning player.
Unsigned score sheets will be processed normally; if there is any dispute that necessitates a ruling, it must be brought to the attention of tournament officials immediately. Once seedings have been published for the next session, no changes can be made to prior recorded results.
Sessions are scheduled for 2 hours. Tournament officials must be notified immediately if any player does not appear at his or her assigned set of machines. The group will be converted to a 3-player group, or another player will be reassigned, as necessary. Players who arrive to a session late will not be permitted to play in that session, and will receive a score of 0-12. At no time may any person be substituted for an absent player. Any player who is absent for an entire session without notifying tournament officials in advance will be disqualified from the tournament. Disqualified players will be removed from all subsequent sessions.
3. Session Bounty
In each session of play, any player who scores a perfect 12-0 record will receive his or her share of a $50 bounty prize. If no player collects the bounty in a session, the $50 will roll over into the next session.
4. Game Assignment
A list of games that will be used at Pinburgh will be made available online at http://www.papa.org/pinburgh2012/games.php
More than one group of players may be assigned to the same set of machines, and will play in a different order, in order to minimize delays. In the case of 3-player groups playing on 6 machines, the additional machines will be automatically assigned from another set of machines.
5. Seeding Players
Before the first session, all players will be "seeded" in the tournament.
The highest seeds will be granted to all players with A Division restrictions (see above), ranked by performance at PAPA 14 and earlier PAPA or Pinburgh tournaments as needed.
The next seeds will be granted to all players with B Division restrictions, ranked by performance at PAPA 14 and earlier PAPA or Pinburgh tournaments as needed.
All remaining players will be seeded by pre-registration order, with higher seeds assigned to the first pre-registered players.
Following the first session, players will be "seeded" in the next session by their cumulative win-loss record for the day, with the best win-loss record receiving the highest seed. When seeding a session, ties in records will be broken by random draw.
6. Group Assignment
In each session, the field will be "tiered" for assignment into groups. Within tiers, groups will be created using the highest available seed, the lowest available seed, and the two available seeds that are closest to the middle of the tier. The lowest tier may have fewer players. Three-player matches will appear only within the lowest tier. If at any time, the number of players in a tier would be exactly 1, 2, or 5, those players will instead be added to the last tier, except during any session which uses 4-player tiers. In those cases, tiers will be rearranged to ensure that each tier has at least three players.
During Session 1, the entire field will play as a single tier, and the arrangement of lowest-seeded players in each group will be reversed. For example, if there are 200 players, the Session 1 groups will be:
1-100-101-151, 2-99-102-152, 3-98-103-153, ..., 50-51-150-200In the case of an odd number of starting players, there will be one, two, or three 3-player groups at the end of the list.
During Session 2, each tier will have 96 players and 24 groups:
1-48-49-96, 2-47-50-95, 3-46-51-94, ..., 24-25-72-73During Session 3, each tier will have 48 players and 12 groups:
97-144-145-192, 98-143-146-191, 99-142-147-190, ..., 120-121-168-169
1-24-25-48, 2-23-26-47, 3-22-27-46, ..., 12-13-36-37During Session 4, each tier will have 16 players and 4 groups:
49-72-73-96, 50-71-74-95, 51-70-75-94, ..., 60-61-84-85
1-8-9-16, 2-7-10-15, 3-6-11-14, 4-5-12-13During Seesion 5, each tier will have 4 players:
17-24-25-32, 18-23-26-31, 19-22-27-30, 20-21-28-29
1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, 9-10-11-12, ...Depending on the total number of players, there may be up to 3 three-player groups in each session. These groups are the ones that would normally involve the lowest-seeded players in each session. For example, if there are 226 players, two three-player groups will occur in each session, and they will be the ones where normally seeds #227 and #228 would play. In the last session of the day, as many as three lowest-ranked groups will be three-player groups.
Once the total number of players is finalized, a more specific breakdown of the assignments in each session can be made. If there are any questions, please ask a tournament coordinator.
7. End of Friday: Division Assignment
At the end of Session 5, players will be assigned into A, B, and C Divisions.
For A Division, the number of qualifiers will be 1/3 of the field, rounded up to the next multiple of 4. Any player with an A Division restriction will be forced into the A Division regardless of his or her win-loss record (but this will not increase the size of the division). For example, if the tournament has 200 players, 68 players will make up the A Division. Some number of those players will be those who had A Division restrictions.
Note: This example does not mean all players in the top 68 will necessarily make A Division. In general, a player must either be in the top third of the standings, or be restricted to A Division, in order to be assigned to A Division. The "rounding up" process above will add a few more players to A Division who would not otherwise have made the cut. However, being displaced by a player who is restricted to A Division, but who does not rank in the top third at the end of Friday, is also possible.
In case of a significant tie between players at the A Division cutoff, a single-game tiebreaker will be played on a machine selected by tournament staff. Before the tiebreaker, each tied player will submit, in private, their preference for being assigned to A or B Division. The tiebreaking game will be played only among those players who need to contest the assignment. For example, if there are 6 players tied for 2 spots in the A Division with 3 players preferring A and 3 preferring B, the tiebreaker will be played only among the 3 players preferring A for 2 spots in A. The other players will be assigned to B, as they preferred. The order of play in the tiebreaker will be random. If more than four players are in the tiebreaker, players will be put into balanced groups of two or more.
For B Division, the number of qualifiers will be the same as the number of qualifiers in the A Division. Any player with a B Division restriction will be forced into the B Division regardless of his or her win-loss record, unless his or her record was sufficient to qualify for the A Division instead. Enforcing this restriction will not increase the size of the B Division. Tiebreaker game(s) may be used, with the same rules as above.
All remaining players are assigned to C Division. The number of players assigned to C Division will be slightly less than 1/3 of the field.
IV. Saturday: Divisional Play
1. Saturday Format
Saturday's match play is identical to Friday: a series of five sessions of multiplayer pinball (numbered 6 through 10), with multiple games played per session. In each session, opponents are determined based on a player's win-loss rank. At the end of the five sessions, after possible tie-breaking games, top finishers will advance to Sunday's finals.
In C Division, players' records from Friday will be disregarded during Saturday's play. All C Division players will start Saturday with a 0-0 record. Note: In A and B Division, players' records will not be wiped clean, and win-loss records from Friday are carried over to Saturday.
All players must be onsite for the start of Session 6 promptly at 11:10am. There will be a 2-hour break for dinner after Session 8, with Session 9 starting promptly at 7:30 pm.
2. Playing a Session
Sessions on Saturday play identically to Friday. There will be no three-player groups scheduled in either A or B Division, since their fields are sized to multiples of four, unless a player fails to show up.
Please remember: Once completed and signed, all score sheets are final, so please check the score sheet carefully before signing. Score sheets must be turned in promptly, since prompt entry of score sheets is essential to the timely progression of the tournament.
3. Session Bounty
Bounty prizes will be awarded on Saturday in the same fashion as on Friday. The prize may roll over from one day to the next. If no player scores 12-0 in Session 10, the bounty prize will be divided evenly among the highest scoring players in that session.
4. Game Assignment
The assignment of games on Saturday will be performed in the same fashion as on Friday.
5. Seeding Players
Before Session 6, players will be "seeded" by their win-loss record from Friday, with ties broken by random draw. In C Division, this seeding will be used even though players' records are wiped before play.
Following Session 6, players will be "seeded" in the next session by their win-loss record, with ties broken by random draw.
6. Group Assignment
In each session, the field will be "tiered" for assignment into groups. Within tiers, groups will be created using the highest available seed, the lowest available seed, and the two available seeds that are closest to the middle of the tier. The lowest tier may have fewer players. Three-player matches will appear only within the lowest tier of C Division. If at any time, the number of players in a tier would be exactly 1, 2, or 5, those players will instead be assigned to the last tier, except during any session which uses 4-player tiers. In those cases, tiers will be rearranged to ensure that each tier has at least three players.
During Session 6, each tier will have 64 players and 16 groups (depending on the number of players, one or more divisions may have a single, full-field tier):
1-32-33-64, 2-31-34-63, 3-30-35-62, ..., 16-17-48-49During Session 7, each tier will have 32 players and 8 groups:
1-16-17-32, 2-15-18-31, 3-14-17-30, ..., 8-9-24-25During Session 8, each tier will have 16 players and 4 groups:
33-48-49-64, 34-47-50-63, ..., 40-41-56-57
1-8-9-16, 2-7-10-15, 3-6-11-14, 4-5-12-13During Session 9, each tier will have 8 players and 2 groups:
17-24-25-32, 18-23-26-31, 19-22-27-30, 20-21-28-29
1-4-5-8, 2-3-6-7During Session 10, each tier will have 4 players:
9-12-13-16, 10-11-14-15
1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8, 9-10-11-12, ...Depending on the total number of players, there may be up to 3 three-player matches in C Division during each session. These groups are the ones that would normally involve the lowest-seeded players in each session. For example, if there are 62 players instead of 64 in C Division, 2 three-player groups will occur in each session, and they will be the ones where normally #63 and #64 would play. During Session 10, as many as three of the lowest-ranked groups will be three-player groups.
Once the total number of players in each division is finalized, a more specific breakdown of the assignments in each session can be made. If there are any questions, please ask a tournament coordinator.
7. Qualifying for Finals
At the end of Session 10, players within A, B, and C Divisions will qualify for finals. The qualifiers from A and B Division will be the players with the best combined win-loss records from Friday and Saturday. The qualifiers from C Division will be the players with the best win-loss records from Saturday.
The number of finalists is based on the total number of players in each division:
- With fewer than 64 players in any division, the top 16 will qualify for finals. No byes will be awarded.
- With 64 through 95 players in any division, the top 24 will qualify for finals, and the #1 through #8 players will receive a bye.
- With 96 or more players in any division, the top 32 will qualify for finals, the #1 through #16 players will receive a bye, and the #1 through #8 players will receive a second bye.
V. Sunday: Final Rounds and Consolation
1. Final Rounds
Final rounds employ the same format as session play on Friday and Saturday. Finals for A Division begin at 9 am Sunday. Finals for B and C Divisions begin at 10 am Sunday. Any player who is not available at the designated time will be disqualified and the next lower-ranked player will take his or her position in the finals.
Players who qualify for finals will be assigned a seed according to their final win-loss record (for C Division players, this record reflects their play on Saturday only). Ties in record that were not previously addressed will be broken by the tied players' win-loss record after Session 9, and previous sessions' cumulative records as needed. A coin flip will determine seeding in the unlikely event that two players had the same win-loss record through all ten sessions.
The number of final rounds, and the seeding of opponents in each round, is determined by the number of qualifiers for that division's final. (See "Qualifying for Finals" above.)
Players in final rounds will be placed in four-player groups and play a four-game session in the same format as the sessions of Friday and Saturday. At least two sets of machines will be available for play. The highest seeded player in the round will select the set of machines for his or her group to play. Choice of sets will then proceed through the remaining groups, in descending order of seeding, with the highest seeded player in each group making the choice. At no time will a player be allowed to pick the same set of machines he or she picked in the previous round. Each set of machines may be selected by a maximum of two groups. Note that machines are arranged into fixed sets; players do not get to choose individual machines to form a set.
The highest-seeded player within each group chooses the order of play for the first game. The remaining players choose their order, in descending order of seeding. For subsequent games, the last-place finisher of the previous game chooses the order of play for the next game. The remaining players choose their order, in ascending order of finish in the previous game.
Each round of the finals will be executed and scored identically to the sessions played on Friday and Saturday. The top 2 of 4 players in each group, according to win-loss record, will advance to the next round, until the final four players are determined. These four players will play a final four-game session to determine the division winner. In case of a significant tie, a one-game playoff will be played on a machine randomly selected by tournament officials. In case of a tie between the first and second-place finishers in a group, both players advance, and the player with the original higher seed will receive the first-place position.
An important difference from traditional PAPA finals is that players are competing to advance only within their group, as 2 players from each group will advance, rather than the best players across all groups combined.
At the beginning of each round of the finals, a brief warm-up time will be provided for players on their selected set of machines. Players must cooperate with tournament officials when instructed to switch between machines or discontinue warm-up.
With 16 qualifiers, no byes will be awarded. The quarterfinal rounds will start with the following four groups:
Group T: #1, #8, #9, #16Two players from each group, for a total of eight players, will advance to semifinal rounds, as shown here: ("T1", for example, indicates the first-place finisher in Group T.)
Group U: #2, #7, #10, #15
Group V: #3, #6, #11, #14
Group W: #4, #5, #12, #13
Group X: T1, U2, V2, W1Two players from each group, for a total of four players, will advance to the final round, as shown here:
Group Y: T2, U1, V1, W2
Group Z: X1, X2, Y1, Y2
With 24 qualifiers, the #1-#8 seeds will receive a bye. The first round of finals will start with the following four groups:
Group P: #9, #16, #17, #24Two players from each group, for a total of eight players, will advance to quarterfinal rounds to join the #1-#8 seeds, as shown here: ("P1", for example, indicates the first-place finisher in Group P.)
Group Q: #10, #15, #18, #23
Group R: #11, #14, #19, #22
Group S: #12, #13, #20, #21
Group T: #1, #8, P1, Q2Two players from each group, for a total of eight players, will advance to semifinal rounds, as shown here:
Group U: #2, #7, Q1, P2
Group V: #3, #6, R1, S2
Group W: #4, #5, S1, R2
Group X: T1, U2, V2, W1Two players from each group, for a total of four players, will advance to the final round, as shown here:
Group Y: T2, U1, V1, W2
Group Z: X1, X2, Y1, Y2
With 32 qualifiers, the #1-#8 seeds will receive two byes, and the #9-#16 seeds will receive one bye. The first round of finals will start with the following four groups:
Group L: #17, #24, #25, #32Two players from each group, for a total of eight players, will advance to the second round to join the #9-#16 seeds, as shown here: ("L1", for example, indicates the first-place finisher in Group L.)
Group M: #18, #23, #26, #31
Group N: #19, #22, #27, #30
Group O: #20, #21, #28, #29
Group P: #9, #16, L1, M2Two players from each group, for a total of eight players, will advance to quarterfinal rounds to join the #1-#8 seeds, as shown here:
Group Q: #10, #15, N1, O2
Group R: #11, #14, M1, L2
Group S: #12, #13, O1, N2
Group T: #1, #8, P1, Q2Two players from each group, for a total of eight players, will advance to semifinal rounds, as shown here:
Group U: #2, #7, Q1, P2
Group V: #3, #6, R1, S2
Group W: #4, #5, S1, R2
Group X: T1, U2, V2, W1Two players from each group, for a total of four players, will advance to the final round, as shown here:
Group Y: T2, U1, V1, W2
Group Z: X1, X2, Y1, Y2
2. Consolation Double-Elimination Tournament
All players who competed in all ten sessions on Friday and Saturday but did not qualify for finals may enter Sunday's double-elimination tournament. Since some players may decide not to compete in this tournament, all who wish to play must sign up at the tournament registration desk on Sunday morning before play begins at 10:30 am. There is no additional fee for participating.
Players will be put into three-player groups and play a single game: the winner will advance in the winners' bracket, while losers drop to the losers' bracket. In the losers' bracket, players will be put into three-player groups and play a single game: the winner will advance in the losers' bracket, while losers are eliminated. Machines, opponents, and play order will be randomly selected. A round may have one or two two-player groups in either bracket due to the count of players in that bracket.
A new round will start every half-hour until a winner is declared.
Note: Players are expected to be ready to play. Due to the concurrent running of finals, no loudspeaker announcements will be made to search for absent players, and absent players will be eliminated from the tournament regardless of their bracket standing.
The top 4 finishers will win cash prizes of $250, $200, $150, and $100.
VI. Malfunctions and Rulings
Most rules governing malfunctions and rulings are identical to the rules for PAPA 14. The specific rules below supersede the existing PAPA 14 rules.
1. Minor Malfunctions
If a player receives a tilt warning caused inadvertently by another player's action, this is considered normal play. Any player deliberately nudging to take advantage of this rule will be disqualified.
2. Major Malfunctions
If a major malfunction occurs that will require significant repairs, tournament officials may declare a "Disabled Machine" (see section below). Because the tournament needs to move quickly from session to session, it is not possible to make significant repairs during a match. A new machine will be assigned to the group for immediate play, and the game in progress will be declared void.
In the event that two or more major malfunctions take place during the same game, the machine will be declared "Disabled" and a new machine will be assigned to the group for immediate play.
Any player affected by a major malfunction will be given a choice of how to proceed. The player may choose to continue playing his or her game "as is", with no compensation for the malfunction, and must then accept the final score without recourse. As an alternative, the player may choose to immediately stop playing and instead play a new game after the other players have completed their games. In this case, the new score will be accepted as final, regardless of the score in the abandoned game. In no case will any attempt be made to recreate the state of the machine at the time of the malfunction.
3. Catastrophic Malfunctions
Player(s) affected by a catastrophic malfunction will be given the same choice of how to proceed as described above for "Major Malfunctions".
4. Beneficial Malfunctions
Any situation which indicates the presence of a beneficial malfunction should be brought to the attention of tournament officials promptly. Any player who intentionally takes advantage of a significant beneficial malfunction may be given a score of zero by tournament officials.
If the beneficial malfunction has significantly increased the score of any player(s), the malfunction will be treated as a major malfunction, and each affected player will be given the same choice as described in "Major Malfunctions".
5. Stuck Balls
A ball is considered stuck if it comes to rest without being in contact with a flipper. If any ball becomes stuck during multiball play, an opponent or tournament official must notify the player that a ball is stuck. Once notified, the player has 30 seconds to free the stuck ball or trap the other ball(s) in play so that officials can address the stuck ball. If the player does not cooperate with these rules, his or her score may be voided. Any ball that lands in the plunger lane must be launched promptly upon notification.
Any player who misuses a game feature in order to intentionally trap a ball during a multiball mode, such as holding in the plunger on Tommy in order to defeat the autoplunger, will be given a score of zero in the affected game.
6. Disabled Machines
Any tournament machine that breaks down during play will be attended to by technicians as promptly as possible. In the event that a breakdown is severe and cannot be repaired promptly, the machine may be taken out of service temporarily or permanently. Results on that machine from prior sessions will not be disqualified, and the machine will be replaced by another machine selected by tournament officials.
Tournament officials may choose to disable a machine for any reason during or between sessions of play. Typical reasons may include malfunctions, incorrect settings, or extremely unusual length of play on a machine.
7. Player Errors
If a player accidentally fails to start a multiplayer game, that player must complete the game with his or her score recorded, then all other players will play a new game together to record their scores.
Coaching of any player while they are playing their turn, in any qualifying session or final round, is not allowed and may lead to sanctions. Spectators and other players must refrain from commenting on play in any way that affects the current player.
VII. Machine Settings
Most rules governing malfunctions and rulings are identical to the rules for PAPA 14. The specific rules below supersede the existing PAPA 14 rules.
1. Software Settings
Please note that older machines may have different settings, such as allowable extra balls, five-ball play, or a Tilt penalty of "entire game" rather than "current ball". Players will play the game "as is". For example, if a machine is set for five-ball play, groups may not end the game after three balls. Electromechanical machines will generally be set for five-ball play, but if they are set for three, they will be played as three. Extra balls must be plunged, not played, and no nudging or flipping at an extra ball is allowed. You are allowed to "prepare" the machine before plunging an extra ball - for example, to select a rollover lane - but you may not touch the machine once the ball has been plunged.
VIII. Player Conduct
All rules governing player conduct are identical to the rules for PAPA 14, with additional, superseding rule(s) listed below.
1. Intentional Delays
No player may delay their game for more than 30 seconds, except to await a ruling or resolution of an environmental inconvenience. Environmental inconvenience is defined as any condition which can reasonably be expected to be resolved quickly, such as unusual noise, lighting problems other than sunlight, or repairs to an immediately adjacent machine.
Intentional delay is defined as time when the player is intentionally making no progress towards in-game objectives, including but not limited to time during which the ball is left in the plunger lane, held on a flipper, or passed from one flipper to another. Stuck balls do not count as intentional delays.
Intentional delay will result in a warning for the player. If the delay continues or is repeated, tournament officials may instruct the player to stop playing, and a score of zero will be recorded for that player.
2. Disallowed Practice
Practicing on any tournament machine except during the designated times on Friday morning or during final rounds is strictly forbidden, and will be treated as interference and penalized accordingly.
IX. Miscellaneous
All miscellaneous rules are identical to the rules for PAPA 14, with additional, superseding rule(s) listed below.
1. Special Score Handling
Any player who reaches the maximum possible score on a machine that has such a limit, will receive that score as their total. If two or more players reach the maximum possible score on the same game, those players will be considered tied for that game.
During sessions, any player whose machine "rolls over" to a zero score is responsible for confirming this with his or her opponents before and after the rollover occurs.
2. Creative Commons License
These PAPA Tournament Rules by PAPA.org are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
The intent is that the rules can be adapted and reused, with attribution, with the license preserved.