FOX CITIES PINBALL LEAGUE RULES 2025
DESCRIPTION:
The Fox Cities Pinball League is based in Northeast Wisconsin, including the cities of Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Plymouth, Marathon, and all other surrounding areas.
The league is open to all players from all areas, but the league maximum player count is 40.
The league was formed and will be run by Co-pinball dictators Tom Graf and Eric Strangeway.
Any items not covered in this document will be decided upon by the pinball dictators.
Any questions about the league should be brought to the attention of Tom or Eric.
At any time, the league co-dicators can make changes to these rules as they see fit and for the betterment of the league as a whole.
MONTHLY HOSTING & SEASON FEES:
Every member will pay $15 to the host for drinks/snacks.
Eric will pay host for fees collected. It is the hosts responsibility to provide snacks and beverages for the night they host to all league members.
For ease of managing the league and to help hosts with costs of hosting, fees will be collected in January $220 from All league members
IFPA FEE:
The IFPA will be collecting a $1 fee per player, per submission. This $1 will be taken out of each player’s season fee already collected in January and No additional fee will be collected.
HOSTING & GAMES:
The league will have league nights on one Saturday per month and will be hosted by local collectors in the Northeast WI area.
To be able to host a league night, a minimum of ten working pinball machines are needed.
Pinball machines should be in good working condition and rules set to the factory default settings, if changes are made they should be posted on the game.
Extraballs will need to be turned off on DMD (DotMatrix Display Games) or LCD games. Turning extra balls off on SS and EM games is up to the host.
Contact Tom or Eric if interested in hosting a pinball league night. The dicators & hosts will determine the date and time for the events they are hosting. The host will pick games to be played in their collection. If a game has a serious malfunction, Tom and Eric along with the host will decide how to handle the situation(s) as they arise. The host will also provide dinner and drinks for the night.
PLEASE NOTE: Any abusive behavior on a host’s games will not be tolerated and will result in that individual being kicked out of the league. Only League members are aloud at league night unless otherwise agreed upon by Tom & Eric.
LEAGUE STRUCTURE:
The league will consist of a season every 6 months (January -June , July-December).
No player is allowed to pre-play any games if they are going to be absent that night(games can only be played on league night). Meaning/Example: A player can not go to a host's house and play games and write down scores for them to count towards league.
PLAY and LEAGUE SCORING:
We will use Match Play Software.
Each league night we will play 7 rounds each on a different machine in groups of 4 or 3.
Groups will be based on attendance.
Points will be given as follows for each game: 7 pts. for 1st, 5 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd and 1 for 4th (or 7,4,1 for a 3 person group).
A total of 49 points would be the maximum a player could achieve in a single night.
First round matches and games will be randomly drawn with the lowest ranked player choosing the order of play.
Order of play will be determined by the Match Play Software.
Subsequent round matches will be determined by overall total points- Swiss style.
Total up the points per league night for the season and that is your rank.
League points will be added together for each of the 6 months.
Total points possible for a season 49 + 49 + 49 + 49 + 49 + 49 = 294
Games must be played in a group fashion with all players playing at the same time (no single player games unless game can only handle single players aka EM games).
In between rounds, players should NOT practice on the same game they will be playing in the next round if they know they are playing that game.
IFPA Report:
Per the new proposed 2022 rules, you must attend league 4 of the 6 sessions to be included in the IFPA submission.
We will drop the 2 lowest score of the 6 sessions, so the highest 4 of the 6 scores will count.
PLAYOFF FORMAT:
After the final session in June and December the top 8 in league will battle for the Traveling Foxcitiespinball Belt and Final Rankings in IFPA will be determined by your finish in the 8 Person Tournament by finish.
Anyone not present for the playoffs will not be included in the playoff format and will receive an 8th place finish.
If there is a tie for 8th Place then we will have a 1 game playoff to determine the 8th seed. Game and player position will be determined in a tiebreaker by random number generator.
If there is a tie for any other seed it will be determined by the points on the final session with the highest point total for the night receiving the higher seed. If there is a tie we will go to the previous night and so on.
Seeding for playoffs will be 1,4,5,8 & 2,3,6,7 based on league session finish.
3 games in each round(semifinals and finals).
Player with the highest seed in each group of 4 will have game choice on all 3 games or they can defer and choose playing position. The player with the next highest seed then gets choice of position, etc.
Scoring 7-5-3-1 scoring. Total possible points 21 for a round by a player.
The 2 players with the highest score will move on to finals in each match.
Should there be a tie to determine who will move on, A one game tiebreaker game will be played to determine the winner. Highest seed getting pick of game or position.
The final 4 will also play a 3 game playoff finals to determine 1,2,3,4.
If there is a tie for first then there will be a one game tiebreaker to determine the winner.
TARDINESS:
Anyone showing up late after a match has started will receive a last place score 0 for that match once their turn has been passed but may play in the next round.
GAME SETTINGS:
Extraballs will need to be turned off on DMD (DotMatrix Display Games) or LCD games.
If awarded an extraball on accident, the procedure will be to plunge the ball and any points scores WILL count for that player but the player is not allowed to flip once the ball is plunged. Nudging is allowed.
Extraballs maybe played on earlier games (Games before 1990) but it is preferred these settings be turned off
Pinball machines should be in good working condition and rules set to the factory default settings.
Games rules set to the factory default settings and set to tournament play settings.
TILT THROUGH:
Anyone tilting through anyone else’s ball will receive a last place finish and the victimized player will receive an extra ball in single play. Their score from the first game will be added to the single ball game for a final score.
LEAGUE SEASONS SCHEDULE:
Season 1 Dates:
January 11
February 8
March 8
April 12
May 10
June 14
Season 2 Dates:
July 12
August 16
September 13
October 11
November 8
December 6
RANDOM NOTES:
Tom and Eric reserve right to remove any member from the league for actions such as abusing games, unsportsmanlike conduct, habitual absenteeism, etc.
SIDE TOURNAMENTS (NON IFPA):
Side tournaments will be at host's discretion but will be restricted to $2 per person and only one game (No multiple game side tournaments).
These tournaments are NON IFPA events and are for fun. They maybe non pinball games and determined by the host (bubble hockey, shuffle alley, novelty game, etc).
Players get one attempt on the side tournament game. Unless it is a head to head bracket.
Practice is not allowed on side tournament games.
Once you play your first game, that is your score unless it is a head to head bracket.
Players in the Top 4 will have a one game playoff. Winner of the side tournament 4 player playoff game (Highest Score) wins the pot. Highest qualifying score will have first pick of order, follower by second, third and fourth highest.
It is not mandatory to play in the mini tournaments.
Side tournaments are Non-IFPA events.
Thanks,
Tom and Eric
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