We Know How to Handle Balls

I know that's a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist the pun. I've been AWOL the last couple days because of a last minute women's tournament in Vegas. It was pinball, and it was awesome.

"Effin' Anna"

The event was held at the infamous Pinball Hall of Fame, and unfortunately due to the speedy planning, only 20 women made it to compete. That was pretty good odds on my part, since this was my virgin voyage.

 

The rules were double elimination by high score in two out of three rounds, with the choice of machine determined by coin toss, and only 3 balls allowed per round.

I wasn't going in expecting to win, but to learn. Husband was confident in my skill set, and while I did not disappoint, I was definitely in for a challenge.

 

I barely lost round one by a fluke, and on my beloved Elvira no less!!

Ironically, I kicked ass on the only machine we don't own, but I love to play. The third round to determine who moved to the loser's bracket was on an electromagnetic machine. The epic woman I played against was having as much fun as me, and we completely forgot to photograph our scores. She beat me, though.

I went on to the loser's bracket, and hoped that Terminator was going to give me an edge.

It did not.

This time I remembered to photograph the electromagnetic machine, capturing victory being snatched out from beneath me by a mere 4,000 in a dead ball. I felt a little cheated, but I had $8 in quarters left, and a side tournament to enjoy.

They had a couple side tourneys, but the only one I was interested in was the "blind" one. The guys running the event had placed an 8 inch piece of cardboard over the bottom of the playfield, making the flippers almost impossible to see. I thought I was going to freak out and lose, hating it for the handicap.

That game was almost more fun than playing regular pinball!! I was making self-depricating jokes the entire time, as well as narrating my adaptive process. I didn't realize till later, but apparently I had a small audience giggling along with my struggle. My only regret with that game was the immense suffering I felt once I sat down and my knee reminded me that vicodin would not suffice. Luckily I was already done for the day by that point.

Everyone was incredibly cool and seemed to be there for fun, which made losing actually feel pretty good. I watched a few other matchups, and some of the more experienced ladies coached me on a few techniques.


I hope this explains my absence over the weekend, and that all you nice people will understand why I was basically bedridden the last two days. I promise to play catch up really quick, with multiple posts per day until we're back on NaBloPoMo schedule!