What’s better than Pinball?

I know, many of you are probably thinking “Nothings better than pinball!”. Well how about unlimited Pinball, how about a Pinball tournament? Okay, I think I have sealed my geek status for life now. Anyway, this weekend I went to a Pinball tournament and it was way fun. The entrance fee was 20 dollars and all the tables (a lot) were set up to play for free, no quarters needed. A friend and I spent the better half of a day just flipping away at little steal balls.

The place is called “The Church of the Silver Ball” and if you live in the Toronto area it’s located in a desolate Missassauga industrial complex. Every month or so there is a tournament; you can also rent the place. It’s crammed full of Pinball tables and all kinds of other memorabilia from old Coke bottles to posters decorating every inch of the place. The machines range from very old to modern. Some of the older ones were a blast to play since they were a bit before my time. It’s amazing to hear your score go up with a tick tick tick sound as the flip numbers chug away.

Eventually the tournament started and that’s where it all went down hill. My friend and I had not played “real pinball” in years. Video game pinball is not a substitute for real pinball no matter how much fun you’re having. Suffice it to say, we were destroyed. For anyone who thinks that pinball is luck, think again. We would have our ball in play for 30 seconds to a minute while our competitors would have theirs in play for 5 minutes or more. Yes there are those annoying instant gutter balls, but some people have serious mad pinball skills. Maybe I’ll fair better at the next tournament. If you are in the Toronto area and like pinball, you should really check out The Church of the Silver Ball. They also sell and repair tables.