Louis Marx is back with the sixth interview in the IFPA Tournament Director Stories series. This time he meets with Doug Polka.

To read the interview, click HERE.

With the 2024 pinball season officially wrapping up tonight, the World Pinball Player Rankings continues to show no signs of slowing down within the competitive pinball community. We wanted to take a quick look back at the growth we saw during 2024.

We’re proud to say that the total number of IFPA sanctioned events for 2024 was 12,603.  This represents a 22% growth from the end of 2023 where we had 10,324 IFPA sanctioned events on the calendar. Total player attendance at those events was 287,696, up 17% from 2022.

In addition, the number of unique players that played in an IFPA sanctioned tournament during 2024 was 38,538, up 17% from the number of players that were active during 2023.

The IFPA wishes to thank everyone in the competitive pinball community for continuing to support everything we do to spread the world about our incredible sport to the masses.

In conjunction with Stern Pinball, the IFPA is proud to announce the Stern Pro Circuit event list for the 2025 season. 15 events from the 2024 season remain on the tour, with 5 new events joining the ranks for 2025.

Check out the list HERE.

We are proud to announce the 2025–26 IFPA Women’s European Championship Series, a new initiative designed to recognize and promote women’s participation in competitive pinball across Europe.

For the inaugural season, the IFPA will track Women’s World Pinball Player Ranking (WWPPR) performance based on the results from all women’s events held across Europe from January 1 – December 31, 2025 (with the exception of closed women’s national championships). At the end of that qualifying period, the top 16 players with the most WWPPR points from these events will qualify for the IFPA Women’s European Pinball Championship.

That championship will be held in the first quarter of 2026, with additional details provided closer to the end of the qualifying season. In the meantime, more information is available on the IFPA Women’s European Championship Series event page.

As a reminder, there are currently no IFPA sanctioning fees for women’s events in Europe. Anyone who has questions about organizing women’s events is encouraged to reach out to the IFPA Women’s Advisory Board at ifpawomen@gmail.com.

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Here are the November 2024 IFPA winners for Player of the Month and Biggest Movers:

Player of the Month:
Timber Engelbeen from Nazareth, Belgium (351.75 WPPR’s – MAIN)
Rachel Karlic from Chicago, IL (80.63 WPPR’s – WOMEN’S)

Biggest Movers:
Brandon Boltz from Toledo, OH (+44,724 spots)
Robban Petersson from Sweden (+32,155 spots)
Joshua Swanton from Edenton, NC (+25,567 spots)

These players have now all qualified for the Stern Rewards Program for 2024. Congrats to everyone!

The IFPA is proud to announce that registration for the 9th annual IFPA European Pinball Championship is now open! Registration closes January 17. For more details check out the registration page here.

Should you have any questions about our qualifying process or to find out more information about the tournament, please contact the IFPA at ifpaeurope@gmail.com

Our host will be WCPP in Middelkerke, Belgium.

More informations, the current standings and the ECS schedule HERE.

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The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, home of the World Video Game Hall of Fame, recently received a donated collection of materials from the family of Steve Epstein (1948-2020), longtime owner of the famed Broadway Arcade in New York City. The materials include his professional papers related to Broadway Arcade, the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA), and unreleased arcade games that he worked on through the years.

“Steve Epstein was an icon in the pinball and arcade communities,” says Jeremy K. Saucier, assistant vice president for electronic games and interpretation at The Strong. “The Broadway Arcade became a coin-operated mecca during the 1980s under his second-generation ownership. Following the legalization of pinball in NYC in 1976, Epstein attracted New Yorkers from all backgrounds to his midtown Manhattan location, including Columbia Records executive John Hammond, and musicians Lou Reed, Diana Ross, and Paul Schafer. We’re proud to be able to tell this important story.”

The full release can be read HERE.

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Modern Meets Nostalgia with the Release of Classics From the Golden Age of Pinball 

San Francisco, CA (December 12, 2024) — Zen Studios — the leading global producer and publisher of digital pinball video games — in partnership with Williams Electronics Games Inc. © have announced that the Williams™ Pinball Volume 8 DLC pack is available now for Pinball FX. Pinball fanatics can now take on classic Williams™ tables Earthshaker!™, Banzai Run™, and the recently revealed Black Knight 2000 on PC and consoles!

Watch the Williams™ Pinball Volume 8 launch trailer here:

YouTube | Download

Today, fans can showcase their pinball prowess with Pinball FX’s most nostalgic DLC to date! Included in the Williams™ Pinball Volume 8 DLC pack is Earthshaker!™ — a seismic classic from 1989 known for its groundbreaking features and earthquake-themed gameplay. In the second retro table, Banzai Run™, players take on the ultimate motocross challenge and conquer the king of the hill to claim the top spot. The third table, Black Knight 2000, launches players straight back into the ‘90s while introducing an all-new, all-digital, unsurpassed sound system and stylized, electrifying graphics. A timeless pinball experience awaits!

Pinball FX’s Williams™ Pinball Volume 8 Key Features:

• Nostalgia meets thrilling gameplay with each new legendary table!
• Get ready to feel the ground shake, rumble, and roar as you chase high scores through these three Williams™ masterpieces
• In Earthshaker!™, you’ll experience the seismic excitement as the earth trembles beneath your flippers! Get ready to immerse yourself in this beloved table, which will bring hours of retro fun
• First released in 1988, Banzai Run™ is back and better than ever in this modern take to overthrow the king of the hill to become number one in an exciting daredevil motocross race
• Black Knight 2000 is a fast-paced, visually aggressive tribute to the ‘90s era of intense pinball action, featuring original music to create a powerhouse of dynamic sound

To coincide with the release of Williams™ Pinball Volume 8, Zen Studios has also launched a Williams™ Pinball legacy content update for the Nintendo Switch version of Pinball FX. For the first time, Williams™ Pinball Volumes 1-3 and the Williams Pinball: Universal Monsters Pack are now available in Pinball FX. Better yet, existing owners of Williams™ Pinball Volumes 1-3 and the Williams Pinball: Universal Monsters Pack for 2017’s Pinball FX3 can access the content in Pinball FX at no additional cost on Nintendo Switch. This marks a significant step in Zen Studios’ goal to enable content ownership compatibility for its legacy pinball titles wherever and whenever possible in the future. For more information about the Williams™ Pinball legacy content update for Nintendo Switch, please visit this page. 

Pinball FX delivers the ultimate at-home pinball experience with customizable gameplay modifiers and personalization options. Immerse yourself in meticulously recreated classics with Williams™ Pinball Volume 8, explore Zen’s original designs, or relive legendary moments from beloved films, TV shows, and video games. With over 120 tables available, Pinball FX showcases iconic properties from entertainment giants like Disney, Legendary, Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment, NBC Universal, and Paramount Pictures.

With over 2 million players, Pinball FX continues to showcase its commitment to providing the ultimate pinball experience with innovative gameplay modifiers and extensive customization options. Enjoy accurate re-creations of the most famous pinball machines of all time with Williams Pinball, have fun with Zen’s original creations, or relive the most iconic moments from popular films, television, and video games.

Pinball FX is free to download for Windows PC via Steam (and is Steam Deck Playable), the Epic Games Store and on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Williams™ Pinball Volume 8 is available now as paid DLC for Pinball FX across all available platforms for $14.99. 

A press kit, including logos, screenshots, key art, and trailers, is available here: https://uberstrategist.link/PressKit-Zen-Studios.

To stay up-to-date with Zen Studios, follow on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube, and join the community on Discord and Reddit.