Rules

Last updated: November 27, 2023

I. Overview

The Soda City Pinball League is a co-ed adult team league that is played in bars and other establishments throughout the city that have pinball machines on location. Each team chooses a location to call “home,” and once a week every team competes against one other team, either at “HOME” or “AWAY” at their opponent’s location.

Each team scores match points based on the results of the individual pinball games won — 2 points for Doubles games, 2 points for Split Flipper games, and 1 point for Singles games. At the end of each match, the team with the most match points records a match win, while the other team records a loss. League standings are based on a simple win/loss record with cumulative match points serving as a tie-breaker. At the end of the season, there are playoffs to determine the overall league champion(s).

II. TEAM ROSTERS

Teams consist of at least 4 players, and no more than 12. Of these, 1 or 2 players will act as the team “Captain.” Captains are responsible for organizing their team and corresponding with the league about match results. Captains also serve as team representatives in each of the matches. Prior to the start of each season Captains must register their teams and submit their rosters to the league. If a team would like to make a roster change, at any point during the season, then that team’s CAPTAIN must submit a request no later than 4 p.m. of the day the change is to take effect (see II. C. Roster Changes, below).

Roster Breakdown
1. Teams consist of at least 4 players, and no more than 12.
2. Each team must have one or two CAPTAINS, who are also considered STARTERS.
3. Every team must have a minimum of 4 STARTERS on their roster.
4. Any team with at least 4 players may have up to 4 additional RESERVE players.
5. STARTERS and RESERVE players have different minimum play requirements (see III. G. Minimum Play Requirements).
6. Teams may switch the status of a player from Starter to Reserve at any point in the season (see II. C. Roster Changes, below).
Roster Limitations
1. In the spirit of good competition, the following limitations are in place when forming new teams or recruiting new players to existing teams.
  1. No more than 2 players on a team may be ranked in the top 500 of IFPA’s World Pinball Player Rankings.
  2. No more than 1 player on a team may be ranked in the top 150.
  3. These rules do not apply to teams whose players advance beyond these thresholds while on the team’s active roster.
Roster Changes
1. Teams may add or remove players from their roster at any point during the regular season.
  1. Roster changes are NOT permitted during playoffs.
  2. Any player that is dropped from a roster may NOT return to that same team at any point during the same season.
  3. Dropped players MAY be added to the roster of another team.
  4. Changes to rosters must be confined to the guidelines set in item A. Roster Breakdown (above).
  5. Teams may change the status of a player from STARTER to RESERVE, or vice-versa.
  6. All roster changes MUST be submitted to the league, by a team Captain, by 4 p.m. of the day the changes are intended to take effect.

III. Match Play and Scoring

Each match consists of 2 Doubles rounds, 2 Singles rounds, and 1 Split Flipper round. Scoring is based on a simple game to game win/loss basis. Game winning teams earn match points and at the end of the match the team with the highest number of match points earns a match win.

Matches are designed to feature a minimum of 4 players from each team. A team may compete with only 3 players in attendance, but they do so at a penalty (see VI. Attendance).

Start time
1. All matches are scheduled to start at 7:00 PM, unless otherwise noted.
2. Match start may be delayed up to 30 minutes, if necessary (see VI. C. Tardiness and Early Departure).
Lineup Declaration
1. Prior to each round, each team will declare a lineup of players to compete for that round.
2. The team that declares their lineup first also chooses the machines to play on for that round.
3. Which team declares their lineup first begins with the AWAY team and alternates between HOME and AWAY each round.
4. Once the first team declares their lineup, the other team determines their lineup based on the first team’s choices.
5. Once declared, lineups cannot change, unless there is a machine failure (as described in section VII. J. Machine Failure) that would allow teams to change their lineup.
6. No single player may compete more than once in any round.
Game Play Sequencing
1. The team that declares their lineup first will play second in every game of that round.
2. In Doubles matches (4-player games) individual game play alternates between the two teams (ie, P1 HOME, P1 AWAY, P2 HOME, P2 AWAY).
3. The order in which names are written on the scoresheet has no bearing on the order in which players should play.
4. Once game-play order is set, it CANNOT be changed.
5. Playing Out Of Turn
  1. Should one player launch and play another player’s ball, intentionally or otherwise, then he or she is “playing out of turn.”
  2. Playing out of turn will result in the automatic disqualification of the offending player’s ENTIRE score in the game being played.
  3. The player whose turn was affected, will have the OPTION to replay his/her entire game as a result.
Doubles
1. There are 2 rounds of Doubles play.
2. Doubles rounds feature two games of 2-on-2 play (ie, two 4-player games).
3. The team with the highest combined score in each game records a win.
4. Each Doubles win is worth 2 match points.
5. No two players may be paired together more than once during a match.
6. Two-Player Machines (machines that only offer 1 or 2-player games)
  1. 2 Games of 1-on-1 should be played.
  2. Each game will feature one player from the Home team, and one from the Away team.
  3. The results from each game will be tallied to determine the team winner for that Doubles game.
7. Single Player Machines (machines that only allow 1-player games)
  1. Single-player machines should be played one player at a time, alternating home and away.
  2. Scores should be tallied together after all four players have played to determine the winner.
Singles
1. There are 2 rounds of Singles.
2. Each round features 4 games of 1-on-1 play (ie, four 2-player games).
3. The player with the highest score wins and his/her team will receive 1 match point.
4. Single Player Machines (machines that only allow 1-player games)
  1. Single-player machines should be played one player at a time, alternating home and away.
  2. After both players have played, the highest score will earn the match point.
Split Flipper
1. 2 players from one team (P1) against 2 players from the other team (P2), in a single 2-player game.
2. 2 players from each team will play simultaneously — 1 on each flipper.
  1. Teams may not duplicate a pairing from a previous Doubles round.
  2. Players must not touch their teammate’s flipper during their turn.
  3. Players MAY alternate flippers from turn to turn.
3. The team with the highest score (player 1 or player 2) wins and their team will receive 2 match points.
Minimum Play Requirements
1. In the spirit of inclusion, minimum play requirements were set in place to prevent teams from benching players — if you attend a match, you should play.
2. STARTERS are required to play at least once in every match they attend.
3. RESERVE players do NOT have to compete while attending a match.
4. Minimum play requirements only apply during the time that a player is physically present (see VI. C. Tardiness & Early Departure).
Tie-Breaker
1. If after 5 rounds of play the teams are tied (ie. 10 to 10), there will be a single tie-breaking game to determine the evening’s winner.
2. A tie-breaking game will not count toward overall match points.
3. The tie-breaker format is Pass the Pinball
  1. Standard 2-player game
  2. Each ball must be played by a different player.
  3. Only 3 balls will be played:
    1. Extra balls will be sunk/skillfully plunged (see VII. G. Extra Balls).
    2. Balls 4 and 5 of a 5-ball machine will be ignored.
4. The HOME team will have the option of choosing which machine to play on & declare their lineup -OR- choosing to play second (player 2). If the HOME team chooses to play second, then the AWAY team will choose which machine to play on, declare their lineup AND play first.
5. The team with the highest score will win the match, but will receive no (zero) extra match points.

IV. Standings

League standings are based primarily on a simple win/loss record. Season long cumulative match points are used to break ties at the end of the season, so it is important to play every game during match play — do not end a match early simply because one team has earned the minimum 11 points necessary to record a match win.

Breakdown
1. Win loss record is the first determination in standings.
2. The first tie-breaker is cumulative match points.
3. The second tie-breaker is head-to-head results between the two teams in question.
4. The third tie-breaker is overall match points in head-to-head matches between the two teams in question.
5. The fourth tie-breaker will come in the form of a single tie-breaker match that will be played immediately following the regular season.
  1. If there is a bye week before playoffs, then the tie-breaker match will be held on regular match night on the week following the end of the regular season.
  2. If there is not a bye week, then the match will be held two nights after the teams’ last regular season match.
  3. Match will be held at a “neutral” venue
  4. Match will only be played if it has playoff implications.

V. Playoffs

Breakdown
1. At a minimum, the top 4 teams will compete in the playoffs.
2. Match play is identical to regular season play.
3. The exact breakdown of the league playoffs may vary from season to season, but the following guidelines will always apply:
  1. Single elimination bracket style tournament.
  2. Seeding throughout the playoffs will be determined by the final regular season results and based on formula broken down in IV. Standings, items 1-4, above.
    1. If there is no way to determine which team is higher seeded, then the “Home” team will be determined by the flip of a coin before the start of the match.
Playoff Rosters
1. Playoff rosters will be set as the same rosters in place for the final week of the regular season.
  1. Changes to rosters may NOT be made after the end of the regular season.
  2. In order for a player to be active on a playoff roster, that player must have competed in at least one match during the regular season.
Playoff Venues
1. The higher seed will have HOME field advantage, as permitted by location availability.
2. If the HOME seed location is not available, the team captain(s) will have their choice of available venues.

VI. Attendance

League play is structured with the assumption that at least 4 players from each team will be in attendance at every match. In addition, the locations have agreed to host matches under this same assumption. In order to maintain the integrity of the competition, and to keep the locations happy, we ask that each team strongly adhere to this rule. Teams are highly encouraged to keep extra players on their roster to accommodate those unforeseen occasions when one or more players are unavailable to compete. Teams may compete, at a penalty, if only 3 players show up, but any less will result in a forfeit. Should a team repeatedly attend with fewer than 4 players, then they may be asked to step out of the league.

One Team Playing with 3 Players
1. Teams with only 3 players play at a penalty
2. Doubles Rounds
  1. One game in each round will feature only one player from the short team against two players from their opponent, in a 3-player game
  2. Scoring remains the same — team with highest score wins the game and two match points
  3. The same player may NOT play alone in both Double’s rounds
  4. If there is only 1 machine available, then the short team may write in a missing player’s name in the second game of the first round in hopes that he/she will show up in time for the start of the game.
    1. Round 1 ONLY
    2. Player’s name may not change.
    3. Players must arrive BEFORE the start of the game in order to be included.
3. Singles Rounds
  1. One game will be forfeited by the short team in each round.
4. Split Flipper Round
  1. No two players may be paired together more than once during a match.
5. Match points will be tallied as usual.
Two teams playing with 3 players
1. Doubles matches are handled as A. One Team Playing With 3 Players, above.
2. BOTH teams will forfeit one Singles game in each Singles Round.
3. 18 total match points
Tardiness And Early Departure
1. Matches should start on time if at least 4 players from each team are present.
  1. Match should not be delayed simply because a “better” player is on their way.
  2. If 4 players are present from a single team, then late players may not be written in until they are physically present.
2. If one, or both teams, is short players at the scheduled start time, then the start should be delayed.
  1. Both teams are required to wait at least 15 minutes for the arrival of the 4 players needed for each team to start.
  2. Teams have the option to delay the start an additional 15 minutes (30 minutes total).
    1. Both teams MUST agree to delay the additional 15 minutes.
  3. Once the courtesy and/or optional window has closed, then the match MUST start
    1. If a team has fewer than 3 players, then it is a forfeit.
    2. If one or both teams has 3 players, then they play at a penalty (see items A and B above).
3. Starting players who show up late or leave early are only obliged to play while they are present.
  1. Starters have not yet played, and who must leave a match early, may do so without penalty provided they have not yet been written into a lineup.
  2. If a Starter shows up late, and there is an opportunity to write this player into a lineup, then that player MUST play.
  3. As per item III. B. Lineup Declaration, once a lineup has been declared, it may not be changed.

VII. Other Notes

Closed Venues
1. In the unfortunate event a scheduled venue is suddenly unavailable to league play, the two affected teams should move to another available venue to play their match.
  1. Match should be moved to a nearby location.
  2. You MUST move to a regular league venue, unless it is simply not possible.
  3. The HOME team decides where to move.
  4. Rescheduling is an option, but only if both teams can agree to when and where the match should be played.
  5. If a team does not agree to move, or simply does not stick around to resolve the issue, they will receive a forfeit and no points, and the other team a win plus 16 points.
2. League officials should be alerted to the situation.
Coaching & Assisting
1. Players are ALLOWED to verbally coach their teammates during game play.
2. Players are NOT allowed to physically assist their teammates during game play.
  1. If a player not involved in game play does something physically that might affect a teammate’s score of a game in play (i.e. hit a button or nudge a machine), then the affected teammate’s ENTIRE score is disqualified.
    1. In a two player game this results in an automatic win for the opponent
    2. In a four player game, the game will continue, but the outcome will be determined without the inclusion of the disqualified player’s score.
Conduct
1. Soda City Pinball is a harassment-free league, that has a policy of providing a positive experience for all regardless of disability, physical appearance, race, religion, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. League members are expected to respect all other players, and if you are in violation of this policy via verbal harassment, intimidation, sustained disruption, inappropriate physical contact, or unwelcome sexual attention, Soda City Pinball League officials will take disciplinary actions.
2. If a player displays unsportsmanlike conduct or threatens the safety of any individual or machine, then that player risks disciplinary action.
3. Any player caught bringing outside food or beverages to a match in violation of the venue’s policies on such matters shall be disciplined.
4. The League will investigate all reported incidents and, if necessary, disciplinary action will commence.
  1. Mild infractions will incur a warning
    1. If a player receives two warnings during a single season, then that player will be suspended for the remainder of the season.
    2. Multiple suspensions may result in permanent expulsion from the League.
  2. Extreme misconduct will result in permanent expulsion from the league.
  3. All disciplinary actions will be at the sole discretion of league officials.
Conflict Resolution
1. The league is self-officiating.
  1. It is the responsibility of BOTH teams to understand the rules and abide by them.
  2. If there is a question about the rules, then the rule sheet should be consulted to resolve the issue.
  3. The most up to date rules will always be online.
2. If an incident occurs which the rules do not address, or if the rules are unclear about how to handle such an incident:
  1. Both teams should come to agreement as to how to resolve the issue.
    1. This agreement will stand as the official resolution for THAT MATCH, regardless of how the rules are adjusted thereafter.
  2. If the two teams cannot come to an agreement, and assuming there are two distinct paths to take on how to resolve the issue, then the teams should agree to play out the match in each team’s interpretation of the rules (ie. play the game in conflict twice).
  3. Regardless, the incident should be reported to league officials and a final judgment will be rendered.
3. If a team refuses to abide by the above guidelines, or by the written rules on a single issue, then the following steps must be taken by the other team in order for the league to render proper judgment:
  1. The opposing team must be made aware that the match will be challenged.
  2. The word “Challenged” should be written on the scoresheet, and the game in question should be circled.
  3. The team questioning the outcome must NOT sign the scoresheet.
  4. A full report of the incident, along with a photo of the scoresheet, if possible, MUST be sent to the league within 24 hours.
  5. A team that has blatantly ignored written rules will be issued a warning, and future occurrences by the same team will be grounds for discipline.
4. Any game and/or match that is in conflict should be played out to the end.
  1. Any team that leaves a disputed match early will automatically forfeit ALL of the unplayed match points to the opposing team.
  2. If both teams refuse to play out the match, then both teams forfeit the unclaimed match points.
5. All conflicts should be reported to the league so that a judgment can be made and/or the rules can be adjusted and/or clarified.
COVID-19
1. For the health and safety of everyone, the Soda City Pinball League will follow the city’s mandate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the city, or league locations, change their COVID-19 mandate while the season is in progress, the league rules will follow suit, and all players will be notified of the change prior to their next scheduled match.
Death Saves & Bang-backs
1. Death Saves and Bang-Backs are defined as the deliberate act of rescuing the ball after it has gone down one of the outlanes by bumping the machine so that the ball bounces up between the flippers and back into play.
2. Not permitted during match play
  1. A player caught ATTEMPTING one of these techniques during match play will forfeit their score for that game.
3. Should a drained ball bounce back into play WITHOUT deliberate player action, then the ball may continue to be played.
Extra Balls
1. No extra balls will be played during league match play.
  1. The player who receives an extra ball must simply plunge the ball and step away.
  2. Flipper buttons may be pressed PRIOR to launching the ball ONLY.
  3. Players may finesse the plunge for the sake of a Skill Shot.
  4. Flipper buttons may NOT be pressed, and the machine may NOT be moved once the ball is launched.
  5. If, while draining an extra ball, a player violates the above guidelines, intentionally or otherwise, then that player’s TOTAL SCORE is forfeited for that game.
    1. In Doubles games, it means the individual player’s score will not be tallied in the team total.
    2. In Singles and Split Flipper games, it means the entire game is forfeited.
3. The above rules govern Extra Ball play in both regular season AND playoff matches.
Forfeits
1. If a team does not have at least 3 players at a match, then that team forfeits the match.
  1. The team that forfeits receives a loss and zero match points.
  2. The fully attending team will receive a win and 11 match points for the evening.
  3. If the fully attending team remains at the location and plays for the evening with a minimum of 4 players, then that team will receive an additional 4 match points, for a total of 15 points.
Game Payment
1. It is the shared responsibility of both teams to pay for the individual pinball games.
2. “Match” and “Replay” credits should be passed along to a teammate in the next game.
Idle Machines & Practicing During Matches
1. During a match, players ARE allowed to practice on those machines which are not in use.
2. Practice games may not, in any way, interfere with match play.
  1. If a machine being practiced on is needed to progress the match, then league players should surrender the machine immediately for match play.
  2. If the practicing player’s physical presence is deemed a distraction to a player involved in a match game, then the practicing player should not practice on that machine.
    1. If you feel like a practicing player may distract you, then please POLITELY ask the practicing player to step back BEFORE you start your match game.
  3. When a practicing player is needed for a match game, then that player must immediately step away from practicing to participate in match play, so as to not hold up the match.
3. Those practicing MUST allow other players, from either team, to join them in the practice game.
Machine Adjustments
1. No non-essential repairs or adjustments can be administered to a league machine after 6PM of the night of a scheduled match without the consent of BOTH teams.
  1. Includes, but is not limited to, machine balance, tilt settings, playfield cleaning or waxing, or any and all operator settings.
  2. If an owner or operator insists on making changes beyond the cutoff time, then so be it. Owners and operators who also compete in the league should, however, abide by these rules.
Machine Failure
1. Minor machine misbehavior is forgivable and does NOT warrant the removal of the machine from match play.
  1. Failures that do not favor one player over another, are deemed forgivable. Examples include, but are not limited, to the following:
    1. Weak flipper
    2. Broken bumper(s)
    3. Failing light(s)
    4. Weak plunger
    5. Broken feature
    6. Dirty playfield
    7. Scoreboard glitches (provided you can still read the relevant scores)
  2. Machines that have annoying failures (such as a broken feature) can be removed from match play, provided the following is true:
    1. BOTH teams must be in agreement
    2. There MUST be at least two other machines available to play in the match
2. If a failure occurs during game play that affects only one player, and not the other(s), then the affected player has the OPTION of nullifying his/her score and starting over, or proceeding as if the failure did not occur.
  1. The decision to nullify or proceed must be made immediately before game play proceeds.
  2. The game must proceed through the end for the unaffected players.
  3. If the affected player has chosen to replay his/her game, then that player will step away entirely from the active game and play a solo game immediately afterwards to factor into the scoring.
3. If a machine fails outright in the middle of game play and the teams are forced to choose a new machine to play on, then the team that originally chose that machine is entitled to choose the replacement machine to play on.
  1. Both teams are entitled to change their lineup to reflect the newly chosen machine.
    1. Teams are ONLY allowed to make changes to the game(s) in that round that include the broken machine.
    2. ALL other game lineups for that round must remain unchanged.
    3. Lineup changes are ONLY allowed if they do not violate any other rules.
      1. Teams may not switch their lineup in such a way so as to violate a player’s minimum playing requirements (see III. G. Minimum Play Requirements).
      2. Teams may not duplicate a pairing from the Doubles rounds (see III. D. Doubles, item 5).
  2. The entire game will be replayed once the new machine and lineups are chosen.
4. Major machine failure requires a more elaborate solution
  1. If there is at least one working machine available, then the failing machine should simply be eliminated.
    1. BOTH teams need to be in agreement.
    2. Once eliminated from match play, it may not be re-introduced.
    3. The match may NOT be moved to another venue so long as there is at least one machine working.
      1. If a match is moved despite there being one working machine, then the HOME team will receive a forfeit, and zero points, and the away team will receive a win, and 16 points.
  2. If there are no other working machines available, then the match must be rescheduled or moved.
    1. As rescheduling a match can be difficult, moving is the best option.
      1. Match should be moved to a nearby location.
      2. You MUST move to a regular league venue, unless it is simply not possible.
      3. HOME teams decides where to move.
      4. Please alert your bartender of your move, and your reason for moving.
    2. If the two teams can agree to a reschedule date for the match, then this is an option.
    3. Rescheduled match MUST be at regularly scheduled bar.
      1. BOTH teams must agree to this option.
      2. There NEEDS to be some certainty that the issue will be resolved in time for the rescheduled match.
    4. Moving and/or rescheduling should be avoided at all cost.
    5. Any move or rescheduling MUST be reported to the league.
  3. Major failure includes, but is not limited to, the following:
    1. Stuck flipper(s)
    2. Multiple balls being randomly kicked into play
    3. Random end of turns
    4. Scoreboard failures that hide relevant players’ scores
  4. Tilt and Slam Tilt sensitivity are NOT major failures.
5. If, for any reason, both teams agree to remove a machine from match play, then that machine may NOT be reintroduced at any point during the match.
6. All machine failures, big or small, should be reported to the bartender on duty.
7. Major problems should be reported to the league.
Minors
1. Minors are not allowed to participate in the league fall 2022, season 1.
2. This rule will be amended as needed.
Moving Matches
1. Matches may only be moved to a new venue if ALL of the machines are inaccessible or not working (as per the guidelines above — VII. L. Machine Failure, item 3.), or if a venue is suddenly unavailable to match play (see item VII. A. Closed Venues)
2. So long as there is at least ONE working machine, and the venue is open and willing to host a match (as they should be), then all matches MUST be played at their designated venue.
  1. If the above conditions have been met and the teams decide to change venues anyway, then the outcome of the match will be as follows:
    1. HOME team receives a forfeit and zero (0) points.
    2. AWAY team receives a win and sixteen (16) points.
Multiple Machines
1. If a bar has more than 1 working machine, then all of the machines are available for play.
2. At least 2 MUST be used for each round.
3. No more than 2 games may be played on the same machine in the same round.
4. If there are more than 2 machines available, then the teams have the option of using all the available machines, but it is not mandatory — the same 2 machines may be used throughout the evening.
5. With more than 2 machines in play, 2 match games should be played simultaneous.
6. No more than 2 match games should be going on simultaneously.
Multiple Teams
1. Individuals may only play on one team at a time during a single season.
Slam Tilts & Tilt Throughs
1. Slam Tilts, or violent Tilts that cause a pinball machine to force the end of an entire game, automatically result in a game (not match) loss for the offending player’s team.
  1. This rule is enforced regardless of the machine’s sensitivity to such offenses.
  2. The violence toward a machine that Slam Tilts are designed to discourage is extremely frowned upon by the league; therefore, those players found to repeatedly Slam Tilt machines may be disciplined.
2. A “tilt-through” — a tilt that carries through to affect the next player — will result in a game loss for the team that caused the tilt. This is true regardless of how sensitive the machine’s tilt setting is.