I’m proud to announce the debut of a new pinball tournament: Fear and Trembling, to be held November 9 at 6 pm (though late starts will be permitted) at The Avenue Café in Lansing (2021 E. Michigan Avenue). Why “Fear and Trembling”? Is it because I was going to hold a Halloween tournament and then realized I was too busy in October? No! It’s named for the classic existentialist work Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard. The nature of the human condition is that we are terrifyingly free, faced with the inescapable responsibility of making choices. Thus I present to you the first existentialist pinball tournament in which you must choose your path… in fear and trembling.
Participants will play a bank of games and will be scored, “pingolf” style, according to how quickly they reach the target score. There is, of course, a catch. Players will choose from a list of special conditions, and will not be able to choose the same one more than once. The conditions will include playing with a blinder over the flippers, playing one-handed, using sticks to press the flipper buttons, playing cross-handed, and others to be announced. You get to choose, but all of the choices are bad. Hey, sometimes life is like that.
The entry fee will be $5, but players will also be responsible for coin drop on the games. Trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will be awarded, but this tournament (for obvious reasons) will not be eligible for IFPA/WPPR points. All entry fees will be donated to the Capital Area Humane Society.
Because of the unusual format, this really could be anyone’s game. If you’ve considered coming to a tournament but felt a little intimidated, this would be a great icebreaker for you. The pro players are going to be just as mixed up as the novices, maybe even worse! With no ranking points or prize money at stake it will be very low pressure and just for fun.
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Love the poster. The tournament sounds interesting. Take lots of pics!