I got a new semi-fisheye adapter, so expect to see a lot of shots like this.
January 12 began Season 6 of the league. Season 6! It’s amazing to think back on the changes that have come to the league since Joseph and I first joined during the third meeting of Season 1. At the time there were only four games (Medieval Madness, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, and Johnny Mnemonic) and we usually didn’t play Johnny because of the glove not being able to lock positions 7, 8, and 9. The next week, the Avenue added Tales of the Arabian Nights. With only five games, and Johnny usually avoided, we ended up playing a lot of Medieval Madness. We also played only three games per night instead of the current four (or even, on rare and sweet occasions, five).
I think Chris is sending mixed messages by wearing his loser ribbon… backward.
Over the years we’ve lost Johnny (and I still miss his classic “go up the middle!”) and added a whole lot else. We’ve kept most of the original core of players but added many more. For my part, I’m now twice as good at pinball but still hovering around 10th or 11th in the league, because as I get better, so does the league. Matt told me he started the league specifically to get Pete’s to put more games in the Avenue. He probably could not have imagined how successful it would be.
Enough reminiscing; let’s talk about League Night #1. We had several new faces including Aaron and Amanda G., who I know well from Marvin’s and other leagues and tournaments around the state, but who had never played in Lansing League before. They had attended the Silver Balls in the City tournament and enjoyed the venue so much that they decided to make the long trek from the east side of the state to play with us again. Aaron has already shown that he is going to be a serious threat to Chris’s undefeated record in the league, as he won the night with a massive 65 points.
Pinball row at the Avenue.
We also had two brand new faces, folks who had not previously played in any league that I know of: Steve and Gabe. Both had good nights, but Gabe had a particularly blockbuster game of Jack*Bot, a game he said he was playing for only the second time ever. I cannot remember his score exactly but it was several billion, I think in the vicinity of 6 billion.
The league also saw the return of Christine after a season-long absence when Haley was born. Haley was also in attendance, generally minding her own business, as was Aaron and Amanda’s daughter.
The Lansing League has come a long way and continues to grow. I don’t expect that to change anytime soon, with pinball in Michigan and around the country booming. As usual you can view the results of the night and more photos.
Chris does his Ian Anderson impression.