The Twin Cities have been chosen as the host cities for the First Annual Plasticville Pinball Championships. The host venue in the "New Machine" division will be at the home of Jon Eddy, overlooking the Mississippi River from Minneapolis. The Eddy machine is a "Lord of the Rings" model - fast and flashy. The "Older Machine" division will be played in the Oleson / Morton-Peters basement on the "F-14 Tomcat" machine pictured above. Sadly, smoking will not be allowed at either venue (though beer drinking will be allowed and in fact encouraged).
Handicappers of the event wonder whether Don Eddy and Tom Seymour can retain their past pinball glory in a room which is not blue with smoke. Don proclaims that the beer should reawaken the DNA-level pinball skills he claims were once his. In a quick practice round this morning, Don showed flashes of his former self, but was unable to consistently amaze with his flipper skills.
Dates for the tourney will be announced. As always, practice on the machine is important. The "F-14 Tomcat" is a particularly idiosyncratic machine. Today's play magically caused a soleniod problem on the lower right flipper to cure itself. Both venues are available for practice on short notice. BYOB. And lots of it. Sierra Nevada is requested at the "Old Machine" venue.
