Frequently Asked Questions

Why was PAPA dormant?
After the closing of the Broadway Arcade, Steve Epstein found it more difficult and less rewarding to manage PAPA and its expensive annual tournament. Although the first five tournaments took place in New York City, the sixth was relocated to the newly-renovated Sahara in Las Vegas. In the following year, no Vegas hotel was willing to accommodate the tournament, and attempts to relocate the tournament one more time fell through.

Steve has since retired and holds the title Founder Emeritus of PAPA. His many years of devoted hard work have greatly benefitted pinball and are very much appreciated. Steve has worked with Stern Pinball and many distributors in his tireless ongoing efforts to promote competitive pinball.

So who is running PAPA now?

Kevin Martin, formerly-somewhat-dangerous A division pinball player, now operates PAPA. Along with Steve Zumoff, Kevin has organized the last seven years of Pinburgh and PAPA tournaments. None of it could have been possible, however, without the legion of helpers, scorekeepers, volunteers, and other pinball fanatics.

What will PAPA be doing in the near future?

We have just launched the PAPA Advanced Rating System and are busy gathering more data to improve its accuracy. We also are planning for the PAPA 11 World Pinball Championships, to be held August 14-17, 2008. Other news will be posted here as it develops.

How were PAPA 7 and later PAPAs different from previous PAPAs?

We maintained the Pinburgh format for qualifying and final rounds. We did not adopt the older PAPA style of summing machine scores for qualifying, nor the 10-5-1-0 point system for final rounds. The Pinburgh scoring system has proven itself well in previous tournaments and is challenging, balanced, robust, and generally well-liked. It strives to reward players who can consistently perform the best over a variety of machines, against the best efforts of every other player.

We will continue to use the new scoring format for all future PAPA events.

How are the tournaments different from previous Pinburghs?

So far, they have been much larger. There were 172 pinball machines available for play at PAPA 7, and 277 pinball machines available at PAPA 8. The collection continues to grow and be refined for future tournaments (maximum capacity is just over 400 machines). We also offer on-site meals, video games, run more divisions than in the past, and the prize package is now over $30,000.

What else will PAPA be doing?

Our current effort is directed towards improving the Advanced Rating System originally developed and maintained by Bowen Kerins in the 1990's. This rating system, now known as PARS, uses the statistically sophisticated Glicko algorithm to rate players over time. The more data it gets, the happier the results. All competitive play is useful, whether heads up, doubles, or 4-player matches. You can read more here.

We may pursue other developments such as publications, memberships, etc. Of course, our main focus continues to be the annual tournament.

How do I become a member of PAPA?

At this time, there are no memberships in PAPA. We may reconsider this in the future.

How can I support PAPA and its goals?

Play more pinball! Come to the tournaments. Join or start a league in your area. Encourage arcade owners and operators to put more pinballs on location, to rotate them, and to keep them clean and in good working order. Practice, and compete with your friends. Spread the good word about pinball.

Happy flipping!