Two Dutch guys are developing an app called “The Pinball Assistant”. With

this app you have knowledge about every pinball machines ever manufactured in the palm of your hand. You can look up pinball machines, get fun facts, playing tips, write your personal reviews as well as rate the pinball and register your personal high scores.

The Dutch pinball players Gerard Vos and Richard van Zijll de Jong are

launching a Kickstarter to raise money for their pinball app. They launched the Kickstarter at the Dutch Pinball Open, the crowdfunding will continue untill December 31st.

The Kickstart-contributors are rewarded with cool presents for their support. Depending on the pledged amount, the contributors will receive cool pinball photographs, a t-shirts, or a signed “Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Mellons” translite or even a signed Harlem Globetrotters backglass.

How did you get the idea for the Pinball Assistant?

Richard: “Gerard and I are always playing pinball against each other. We keep

scores, review pinballs and talk about strategies. We often try to find information about the played pinball machines. We noticed that good information is hard to find. It’s often incomplete, incorrect or it’s so extensive that it’s boring. With The Pinball Assistant we want to make an app that’s fast, practical and easy to use. We want to make a product that all pinball players will like.”

But there’s more to the story…

Gerard: “Yes, we also want to make sure that the pinball heritage is preserved. During the fifties and sixties the most beautiful machines were made. It is a terrible shame if information about those machines gets lost or will be stacked away to never be seen again. With our publishing background in mind we thought that it was time to do something about it.”

You’re asking for 17.000 US dollars. What will you use it for?

Richard: “We are planning to use the kickstarter-money for the technical development of the app. We not only have a huge database we want to share but we want to develop a good interactive component as well. We also need the money for getting the app in the stores and to inform the world about our app. The more money we raise, the more extras we are able to put in, our ideas are endless.”

Gerard: “But we also think it’s important to bring future players in contact with pinball. Therefore we will start in February 2016 providing opportunities for kids to play pinball in competitions in the Dutch Pinball Museum in Rotterdam and at the Dutch Pinball Association in Veenendaal. We would like to organize such an event a few times a year in other countries as well, depending on the success of the Pinball Assistant, of course.”

How can the pinball fans help?

Richard: “By backing our kickstarter-project. If you check out the link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thepinballassistant/the-pinball-assistant

you can read all about our project The Pinball Assistant – Your PA to pinball.”

The IFPA is proud to announce that registration for the 2016 IFPA Pin-Masters is now OPEN! For details on the IFPA Pin-Masters, check out the Overview page HERE.

To register, click HERE! Please note registration will be capped at 72 players.

The 2016 IFPA Pin-Masters: World Pin-Golf Championships are scheduled for March 18th-20th, 2016 at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. The Pin-Masters coincides with the Amusement Expo held Wednesay and Thursday of that week where any players that pre-register will receive a complimentary badge into the trade show.

In addition, the IFPA US National Pinball Championship and the inaugural IFPA Women’s World Pinball Championshipwill also move to the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, and take place Thursday, March 17th.

Should you have any questions about our qualifying process or to find out more information about the tournament, please contact the IFPA at [email protected].

The IFPA is excited to announce that the following players are now qualified for the $tern Rewards Program based on their September 2015 IFPA endorsed tournament performance! These players have until August 15th, 2016 to exercise their reward option.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH – Jörgen Holm
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Gary Kahn[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Rob Iggulden[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Gema López Torralba[/player]

The $tern Rewards Program rewards dedicated players by providing them with the opportunity to use their rewards to purchase new Stern Premium games and other Stern merchandise at special IFPA prices.

Qualifying participants will also be eligible for discounts at the Stern online store which features a wide range of Stern and $tern Rewards Program merchandise exclusive to the IFPA rewards program.

Pinball players around the world can qualify for the program by participating and performing in IFPA-sanctioned pinball events. Top-ranked players, most-improved players, and player-of-the-month earn rewards points in the annual program.

To learn more about the $tern Rewards Program, visit the IFPA website at www.ifpapinball.com/SternRewardsProgram

The IFPA is pleased to announce that the following players saw the biggest jump in their world ranking based on their September 2015 tournament performance.

The biggest movers for September 2015 included [player]Gary Kahn[/player] from New York, who moved up 15,090 spots from the following results:

Gary moved up to a rank of 2061st in the world, and 81st in the New York SCS.

[player]Rob Iggulden[/player] from Portland, OR moved up 9,293 spots from the following results:

Rob moved up to a rank of 6176th in the world, and 127th in the Oregon SCS.

[player]Gema López Torralba[/player] from Madrid, Spain moved up 8,085 spots from the following results:

Gema moved up to a rank of 7599th in the world.

Congratulations to Gary, Rob and Gema, as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their September tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for September 2015 is IFPA10 World Pinball Champion, Jörgen Holm from Stockholm, Sweden. Kevin earned a total of 174.16 WPPR points in September. This included the following results:

Jörgen is currently ranked 6th in the world and is in the 21st qualifying position for the 2015-16 IFPA European Championship Series.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of September included [player]Helena Walter[/player] from Stockholm, Sweden with 142.30 WPPR points, [player]Mats Runsten[/player] from the Stockholm, Sweden with 119.62 WPPR points, [player]Martin Ayub[/player] from London with 107.38 WPPR points, and [player]Olli-Mikko Ojamies[/player] from Espoo, Finland with 96.97 WPPR points.

Congratulations to Jörgen and the other top WPPR point earners of the month!

Wizard Mode is up for indieWIRE’s Project of the Month, and they need your help to win! Take a second to vote for this documentary about a young pinball champion overcoming the stigma of autism: http://www.indiewire.com/article/vote-for-october-project-of-the-month-will-it-be-wizard-mode-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see-pioneers-in-skirts-or-stuck-20151104

Voting ends Monday November 9th at 5PM EST/2PM PST so vote now to make this doc a success (don’t forget you need to confirm your vote in your email for it to count!)

The Flippin’ With the Greats Fantasy League opened the NFL Giveaway season with Jon Drew winning the Alice Cooper/Mike Ditka matched medallion “Proof” set. Also included in Jon’s prize package was a 2015 Alice Cooper “Solid Rock” / Coach Ditka “Gridiron Greats” FWTG hat, AND an entry to Alice Cooper’stown’s 2nd Annual Pinball Showdown in January, to compete for a Brand New Pinball and other great prizes!

Just a reminder, we will be awarding 20 total Cooper’stown’s final pinball party tournament entries to the FWTG Fantasy League participants throughout the NFL season.

Our up-coming week’s drawing prize package will be a Rich Gannon autographed hat coupled with a rare Gridiron Greats 2 color Rich Gannon Medallion (“proof” strike).

The drawing for this Rich Gannon set will be Tues, Nov 10th (8pm CST).

Also, Please Note, on Tues, Nov 17th, we will be giving away our First “BIG” Prize (literally!), a vintage “Wild Africa” Slot Machine!

Remember, All current Fantasy League members will be eligible to win this Slot Machine, as well as all future Valuable Prizes including a FIREPOWER 2 PINBALL!

See the complete list of prizes at FWTG “League Overview”.

Currently, we have 22 Fantasy League members on the roster with room for more…So Join the action and win Big!

As noted, winners of large items will be responsible for any shipping charges (we will help line up a wholesale freight carrier), or the machine can be picked up in the Minneapolis area.

As an alternative prize, Gridiron Support is offering a set of 5 GGAF Medallions with matching numbers, if the winner declines the slot machine as their prize.

NEW PRIZES ANNOUNCED! In addition to the big Grand Prize for the WWE Pinball: King of the Ring IFPA Tournament 2015, we have added cool prizes for 2-10th place as well! Hurry, you have until 12/31/15 to submit your best WWE score!!!

Full details of the KOTR campaign are available HERE.

The Flippin’ With the Greats Fantasy League is opening the 2015 season by awarding a very special prize package commemorating the exciting new IFPA/FWTG partnership with Mike Ditka’s and Alice Cooper’s charities, Gridiron Greats & Solid Rock.

This awesome prize consists of 2 (Very Limited) “Proof” Strike Medallions (color filled) of Coach Ditka and Alice Cooper along with an official FWTG/Solid Rock/Gridiron Greats hat.

Also, to be included in this initial League giveaway (and every upcoming giveaway) is a Free entry to the final Super Bowl Pinball Tournament party at Alice Cooper’stown Sports Bar in Phoenix, AZ.

We will be Drawing for this prize package on Tues, Oct. 27^th (8pm CDT).

Additional upcoming prizes to be awarded randomly to League Members include –

• Entries to Alice & Coach’s Final Pinball Tournament Party @ Cooper’stown Sports Bar
• Vintage Slot Machines
• Signed football autographed by numerous NFL Celebrities
• Williams Firepower II Pinball Machine
• Collector Medallion sets
• NFL collectibles
• And much more

Join the League Now to be eligible for this and All upcoming giveaways.

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin’ With the Greats campaign:

1) The FANTASY LEAGUE – A “League” where IFPA members can support their favorite NFL team (and win cool stuff) by simply buying an IFPA medallion Personalized with the Player’s name, IFPA #, and the NFL team they support.  Great prizes will be distributed to League Participants throughout the season. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – A Nationwide series of tournaments to be scheduled throughout the NFL season culminating in the SUPER BOWL Pinball Party at Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix, Az. Click HERE for more details.

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF) is a non-stock, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, providing financial grants and “pro bono” medical assistance to retired NFL players in dire need.  The organization focuses on the humanitarian side of post-football related issues, which include coordination of social services to retired players who are in need due to a variety of reasons including inadequate disability and/or pensions.

Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, also. Solid Rock’s primary mission is to make an everlasting difference in the lives of teens by helping them meet their spiritual, economical, physical, and social need.  Alice Cooper’s Rock Teen Center offers a safe, engaging environment during non-school hours –a time when they are most vulnerable to drugs, violence, and gangs. Maintaining a teen’s worst enemy is too much time on their hands Solid Rock provides the music, arts, vocational programs and fellowship that challenge teens to discover their passion through music, dance, self-expression, and creativity. Learn more at www.alicecoopersolidrock.com.

Support and Follow our 2015 Flippin’ With the Greats Pinball Campaign and “Like” Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org

To celebrate the launch of the Game of Thrones pinball machine, Stern and the IFPA are teaming up to host 10 launch parties going on across the globe!

Click on the flyer to find the Launch Party nearest you, or visit the IFPA Calendar HERE!

There will be machines set up at each location on free play, with a cash prize tournament also being held throughout the party. Please see flyer for location information, and contact the IFPA at [email protected] should you have any questions.