Episode 37: Pinball Rage: My Tournament Meltdown!
In Pinball Rage: My Tournament Meltdown!, we dive into the chaotic (and sometimes emotional) world of competitive pinball, and yes, I had a bit of a moment. We’ll break down what tournament play is...
Highlights
- Ralph has been actively playing IFPA tournaments for approximately 1.5 years, starting around August 2024
- Ralph is ranked 8,107th in the world and 249th in Arizona
- Ralph identifies as 'super competitive by nature' and struggles with losing during tournaments, describing himself as a 'fire breathing dragon when things are not going well'
- Evil Dead and Harry Potter are currently Ralph's two favorite games of 2025, which he wouldn't trade or get rid of
- Uncanny X-Men code updates made mode start easier (single left Sentinel head shot vs. 2-3 ramp shots) and made modes 'more intricate'
- Tournament games are typically pitched at 7-7.5 while Ralph keeps his home Stern games at 6-5, affecting ball speed and gameplay
- Electric Bat Arcade is populated with top-tier regional players who consistently place in the top 20% of tournaments
- Every pinball machine has slight variance due to hand-built construction, with differences even between trim levels (Pro vs. Premium)
Notable quotes
“I'm a player and a content creator. I can't really be a collector because... I cycle through games quickly because I want to get that experience with it in my house not in a bar setting.”
“I could keep playing [Evil Dead and Harry Potter]. And you'd have to grab them from my cold dead hands right.”
“I'm so damn competitive I can't get out of my head and this is the problem.”
“Every time I play this damn game... if someone is good at this game, it's sheer luck. You're lucky. You're not skilled. You're lucky.”
“I went from second and first and now I have a freaking fourth... I totally screwed myself. I totally screwed up your whole night in one game.”
“Don't take things too seriously. Just go out and meet some people within the hobby and just have a good time playing some games with each other.”
“My armpits are sweating. I'm getting pissed. And then I had a bad ball one. So I'm like, oh, things are going to get better. It's going to get better at ball two.”
Entities
- Electric Bat Arcade· company
- Flip N Out Pinball· company
- Pinball Studio· company
- Spooky Pinball· company
- Avatar· game
- Batman 66· game
- Bram Stoker's Dracula· game
- Evil Dead· game
- Harry Potter· game
- Hot Doggin'· game
- Jaws· game
- King Kong· game
- Knight Rider· game
- Uncanny X-Men· game
- IFPA· organization
- Cale Hernandez· person
- Jamie· person
- Retro Ralph· person
- Rudy· person
- Sterling· person
- Zach Sharpe· person
- Invisiglass· product
- Match Play· product
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