Welcome to the Rules section.

This is where you'll find all the rules for the various tournaments we'll be holding across the weekend including the EPC and the Country Competition.

The rules for some of the tournaments are still being finalised at the moment, so we'll put them here as soon as they are confirmed. Here are the rules which have been confirmed.

EPC 2009 RULES:

Contestants may only enter the EPC once. All players must have pre-registered and paid their registration fee through the EPC website.

The EPC 2009 tournament consists of four rounds. The first round is the qualifying in which all registered players compete. Thirty-two players proceed from the qualifying into the quarter-final round. Eight players move on from the quarter-final to the semi-finals and four of those will play in the final - the other four playing for fifth to eighth places.

EPC Qualifying

Qualifying for the EPC 2009 tournament starts at 6pm on Friday 24th July 2009 until approximately 11pm and starts again on Saturday 25th July at 10am, continuing until 5pm when no further games may be started, although existing games in play may be completed.

There are expected to be 18 machines used for the qualifying round. Players will play a single game on six of these. Players can choose which six machines they play but should bear in mind how choosing a popular machine may result in long waits or even running out of qualifying time, so should play their games early and be flexible in their choice of machines.

In all cases, it is the responsibility of the player to make sure they allow enough time to play all their games (including waiting time if their chosen machine is busy) before qualifying closes.  Any unplayed games will score zero.

Each of the six machines may only be played once per contestant (with the exception of the Joker Game) and all games must be started as instructed by one of the stewards. Contestants should play their games alone as single player games.

When the contestant’s game is over, contestants should attract the attention of a steward to have their score recorded. After the score has been entered into the scoring system, the steward should show the contestant the details which have been recorded. The contestant should verify the score and machine numbers have been entered correctly. Once they have seen and agreed the score entry, they should move on to the next available machine of their choice or join the queue for that machine is there one.

During qualifying, each recorded score will be ranked against all other scores on that machine and ranking points awarded. One hundred points will be awarded for the top score on each machine with a reducing number of points for lower positions. The points awarded are weighted to favour those in higher positions.  A player's ranking points total is the sum of their ranking points on their six chosen machines.

In addition to their six games, players will also have one Joker Game.  The Joker Game is the chance to play any one of their six chosen machines again and try to improve their score.  If the Joker Game score is higher than their earlier qualifying score, the Joker Game score will become their qualifying score.  Otherwise, their earlier qualifying score will stand.

Players are issued with one Joker Card at registration which is individually numbered and assigned only to them. Holding a complete Joker Card is entitlement to play a Joker Game. When a player decides to play their Joker Game they must surrender their card to the marshal who will tear it in half. A complete, unseparated Joker Card is required to play a Joker Game and defaced, incomplete or illegible cards or those not matching the player's name and number will not be accepted.

Each player may only play one Joker Game and they do not have to play it at all if they are happy with their qualifying scores. If they play their joker game straight after their regular qualifying game on the same machine, they must allow any waiting players to play their games first.

When all six machines (plus the Joker Game if the player decides to play it) have been played and the scores recorded, the contestant’s entry is completed and they should vacate the playing area. If a contestant does not play all six machines during the qualifying period, they shall receive a score of zero for any un-played machines.

All the scores on each machine are arranged in ranking order, with the contestant achieving the top score on a machine earning 100 ranking points with a reducing scale for all lower places.

A contestant’s qualifying score is the sum of all their ranking points earned on all six machines. Contestants are then ordered according to their total ranking points. The more ranking points a contestant earns, the higher they will be placed.

Contestants’ scores as well as individual machine scores will be displayed on a projector screen or on display monitors in the tournament area. As more contestants play, individual rankings may change, so contestants should keep checking their position.

When all games have been played and their scores recorded, or the qualifying period closes, the final rankings shall be declared.

The 32 highest ranked players then progress to Sunday’s quarter-final rounds and should report to the tournament desk no later than ten minutes before the start of their quarter-final round on Sunday.

Players ranked 33 – 38 should also report to the tournament desk on Sunday at least ten minutes before the start of each quarter-final round for stand-by places, should some qualified players not be available to compete.

All other players have ended their participation in the EPC and will be placed 39th-150th depending on their ranking points total. Any stand-by players who do not fill a vacant position in the quarter finals will receive their qualifying round ranking as their final position.

EPC Quarter-Finals

The quarter finals are held in two rounds with different groups of players playing in each round. There are eight machines used for the quarter-finals and all players must re-register to confirm their attendance and receive new player badges to confirm their eligibility to compete.

The 32 qualifiers will be split into two groups, A & B.

- Qualifiers placed 17th - 32nd (Group B) will play in the first quarter-final round starting at 11am.

- Qualifiers placed 1st - 16th (Group A) will play in the second quarter-final round starting at 1pm.

A player will be deemed unavailable if they have not re-registered at the tournament desk five minutes before the start of the round. In this case, the stand-by player ranked 33rd will fill the highest ranked vacant position, the 34th ranked player the next and so on. Once a player has been replaced they have forfeited their opportunity to play further and will take the final rank of the player who replaced them.

Each player will play two two-player games with a pre-selected partner on three allocated machines, with each player taking turns to go first. Scores are recorded by the marshals after the first game and updated if either player's second game scored higher. As in the qualifying round, the marshal shall show the player the recorded score and machine number and the player should verify the details.

When all pairs have played their two games, players will move on to their second machine to play another two games in the same way and then onto their third machine.

Before each new machine is played, all players will be allowed 30 seconds of warm-up play to get a feel for the machine. One player will get their 30 seconds of warm up play first after which the second player will take over for their 30 seconds.

When everyone in Group B has played both games on their three allocated machines, the first quarter-final round will be completed.

The second 16 players in Group A will then play their games on the same machines in the same way.

As in the qualifying round, all players' scores will be ranked against other players on the same machine and ranking points awarded.

The top ranked 8 players will move on to the semi-finals. The remaining players will be ranked 9th to 32nd according to their ranking points.

EPC Semi-Finals

The semi-finals shall take place on two machines.

Contestants are split into two groups, A and B:

Group A will consist of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th highest ranked contestants from quarter-finals.

Group B will consist of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th highest ranked contestants from quarter-finals.

Both groups will be allocated a machine and will play a simultaneous single four-player three-ball game on their assigned machine. The highest ranked contestant will have first choice over their player position, followed by the second highest ranked and then the third highest ranked.

When all players have completed their game, the top two highest scoring contestants from each group go on to the final. The lowest two scorers go into the play-offs for 5th – 8th places.

EPC Finals

The first match played will be for positions 5-8 and will consist of a single four-player, five-ball game on the chosen machine. As in the semi-finals, the highest ranked contestant from the quarter finals will have first choice of player position, followed by the next highest ranked and so on.

The winner of the game will finish 5th overall in the UK Pinball Open. The second highest scorer will finish 6th, the third highest scorer will finish 7th and the lowest scorer will be 8th.

The Grand Final will then follow using the same format – a single four-player five-ball game on the chosen machine.

The winner of the Grand Final will be the EPC 2009 Champion. The contestant with the second highest score will be placed second and so on down to fourth place.

EPC COUNTRY COMPETITION 2009 RULES:

The team competition will start on Friday at 6pm all teams should aim to be registered by 5:45pm to enable play to begin on time, there will be a short briefing for all team captains from 5:50pm.  The rankings are as follows:

Teams will be divided into 5 groups of 4 teams. The groups will be as follows:

Group A - 1st, 6th, 11th & 16th seeds

Group B - 2nd, 7th, 12th & 17th seeds

Group C - 3rd, 8th, 13th & 18th seeds

Group D - 4th, 9th, 14th & 19th seeds

Group E – 5th, 10th, 15th & 20th seeds

The competition was over-subscribed and the following teams have been placed on the reserve list: Belgium 3, UK C Team.

At 6pm, not all teams will begin the head to head competition (there will be at most 10 teams playing at any one time). However, all teams and their members must assemble in the team area at 5:45pm, as those teams not playing in the match format will be able to play on the 4 ball game and should get those played as per the schedule.

If by the end of qualifying a team has not played their 4 ball game due to not being in the tournament area, their score will be recorded as zero.

There will be 2 rounds in total, a qualifying round followed by a six team final.

There will be up to fourteen machines in the qualifying round, each team will play on seven of these machines.

Where possible, all machines will be set on 3 ball play (except the two 4 ball machines), hard settings, tournament mode with no extra balls.

When teams register, they will receive a score sheet.

There will be 3 matches against the other teams from your group and one 4 ball team game against all other teams.

• Within each group, there will be 3 matches in which two teams play each other on two machines, with two players from each team playing a four player, three ball game in a match scenario.
  
  
• Once the match is over points are awarded as follows: 1st  9 points, 2nd 5 points, 3rd 2 points and 4th zero points. These points are to be noted on the score card and verified by both team captains.

Over the 3 matches, this will give a team a maximum of 84 points.

The 4 ball game

For the 4 ball game, there will be two identical machines. This is a one player 4 ball game (i.e. 1 ball per player).  All teams have been allocated a machine and a time to play. If you choose not to play in your allocated time slot and the game is not finished prior to the end of qualifying, no points will be awarded to your team.

All teams will play one of the 2 games and note their score, this score is to be verified by a tournament official. Should one of the games break down, all play will continue on the other machine until the broken down game is fixed. All completed games on the broken down machine will still count.

If there is a preference for a team to play a particular one of the two games, this is acceptable, but please note the rules above.

Points for the four ball game will be awarded as follows:
1st=17 points, 2nd=14 points, 3rd=12 points, 4th=10 points, 5th=9 points, 6th=8 points, 7th=7 points, 8th=6 points, 9th=5 points, 10th=4 points, 11th=3 points, 12th=2 points, 13th=1 point, 14th-20th=zero points.

When all seven machines have been played and the scores recorded, the team’s entry is completed and they should vacate the playing area.

Total team scores as well as the “4-ball machine” scores will be displayed on a projector screen or on display monitors in the tournament area.

When all games have been played and their scores recorded, the final rankings will be declared. The six teams with the highest ranking points will go on to the finals.

If there is a tie for sixth place, the team with the highest score on the 4 ball “team game” will prevail and in the unlikely event that there is still a tie, a single game per team on one of the 4 ball machines shall decide the position.

Should a machine break down occur during the match and the machine cannot be repaired in a timely manner, a substitute machine will be brought in. All previous (completed) match points will still count on the broken down machine as this is a match scenario.

Should a machine malfunction occur, the tournament officials will liaise with the team captains in order to provide a solution suitable to both teams.

Whilst playing their ball, a player may have oral help from their non playing partner, but their partner MUST NOT touch the machine. If playing the four ball machine, a player may have ONLY one member from their team for oral help, there shall be no stopping and lining up shots with other players help. Should more than one team member try to help, the team will be asked to let that ball immediately drain

If any team is seen to be trying to gain an unfair advantage (such as a non player touching a launch button to use a “power bomb”) the team will asked to let that ball drain. Continued abuse will result in disqualification.

Final

The final will take a similar format, all fourteen machines will be used. Two members from each team will again play in matches on two machines simultaneously, each team will play each other once in a 3 ball game.

Again the points will be awarded as follows:
1st=9 points, 2nd=5 points, 3rd=2 points and 4th=zero points.
These points are to be noted on the score card and verified by both team captains.

Once all teams have played each other, the finals will be over. The winner will be the team with the most points, 140 being the maximum. Should there be a tie at the end of the final for any places up to 4th, there will be a 4 ball play off game (8 balls total, 1 ball per player) with the highest score declared the winners of the relevant placing. A tie for 5th or 6th will be decided on countback from the head to head matches in the finals, should there still be a tie the 4 ball game score from the qualifying round will decide the place.

Additional Rules

The rules are in place to help everyone enjoy the competition and also to ensure that the competition can move on as swiftly as possible with the minimum of fuss. Should you need any clarification of any rules, please seek advice prior to starting any games.

Registration – This should be completed by 5:45pm, if however your team has not begun playing yet, then you can still register. If any team is delayed due to flights or traffic, they should phone the organiser to see if they can play in a later group. If this cannot be accommodated, the team will be disqualified and where possible replaced by a reserve team.

Timekeeping – If a team who has registered and has been called for to play over the announcement system appears for their match more than 5 minutes after the announcement, they will be disqualified from that match and the opposing team will get the top 2 scores. The disqualified team will get zero points.

Slam Tilts – Should a slam tilt occur due to an over sensitive switch, the game may be restarted at the opposing team’s discretion. Should a slam tilt result from shaking or nudging the machine, the team will be disqualified from that match. If this happens on the 4 ball game, the team score will be entered as zero.

Stuck Balls -  Should a ball become stuck, the team member who is NOT playing that machine should notify a tournament official, the player who is playing the machine must remain with the machine in case the ball is released in the meantime. Any player who loses their ball by walking away from the machine will be deemed to have finished that ball.

Extra Balls – If any machine awards an extra ball for any reason, that ball may not be played as a normal ball. It must be plunged (if a skill shot is available, it may be plunged for) and the ball allowed to drain, the flippers must not be touched

Collusion – Any teams found to be attempting to collude with other teams in their group will be disqualified

Fair Play – Teams will hopefully abide by rules of fair play, if there is an issue that cannot for whatever reason be resolved amongst the competing teams, the tournament director’s decision on the matter will be final

EPC CLASSIC TOURNAMENT

The 2009 UK Pinball Classic Tournament takes place on Sunday the 26th of July, beginning shortly after the show opens in the morning.

Eight pinball tables from the pre-DMD era will be available to play.

The games will be set to 3 balls per game with no extra balls. If an extra ball is awarded, it must be plunged and allowed to drain, although the player may set up any skill shot using the flippers (if applicable) before plunging the ball.

Anyone can enter by purchasing tickets from the competition desk. You may play any or all games as often as you wish at £1 per game. You can also buy six tickets for a reduced price of £5.

When purchasing tickets you should record your name and obtain a player badge number with your player number on it.

When your game ends, it is your responsibility to ensure an official checks your score if you want it to be recorded.

If a machine becomes inoperable due to a mechanical or electrical failure, attempts will be made to repair the machine and return it to play. If this is possible, all existing scores will be valid and qualifying will continue.

If a game becomes inoperable with a fault which cannot be rectified before the end of qualifying and 10 or more players' scores have been recorded on that machine, it will be closed to further qualification but all scores will stand.

If fewer than 10 player's scores have been recorded, the machine may - if a suitable replacement can be found - be replaced with another. All recorded scores on the faulty machine will be wiped but those players will be given a free game on the replacement machine. If no suitable replacement can be found, the faulty machine will be closed and the existing scores will stand.

The tournament organisers will determine when a fault cannot be repaired and what constitutes a suitable replacement machine.

In case of disputes, the decision of the tournament director is final.

The qualifying round ends at 3pm promptly and the player with the highest score on each machine will then play in one of two four-player semi-final games (but see the note below about EPC players).

If a player comes first on more than one machine, their best score (calculated by how far ahead they are of the second best player) will determine their qualifying machine, the second best scorer from their other machine will become the qualifying player.

The top players on machines 1, 2, 3 & 4 will play their semi-final on one of machines 5-8.
The top players on machines 5, 6, 7 & 8 will play their semi-final on one of machines 1-4.
The machines will be chosen by the organisers.

The top two players from each semi-final will go forward to the four-player final game to determine the winner.

Prizes for the winner and runners-up will be awarded shortly after the final game or as part of the EPC awards ceremonies, as time allows.

Please note: As the UK Pinball Classic Tournament qualifying rounds, semi-finals and finals take place at the same time as the EPC, players who are still competing in the EPC are not permitted to take part in the Classic Tournament semi-finals or finals.

EPC players are welcome to compete in the Classic Tournament qualifying round, but if they hold one of the top scores at the end of qualifying, and they are one of the 8 players who make it into the EPC semi-finals, their Classic Tournament place will be forfeit and given to the next highest scorer not still playing in the EPC.

UK PINBALL KIDS TOURNAMENT

There are two UK Pinball Kids Tournaments - one held on Saturday from 10am to 5pm and the other on Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

The format for both tournaments is identical.

Players may purchase as many entries as they wish at a price of £1 per entry.

Each entry entitles the player to play one game on the designated UK Pinball Kids Tournament machine.

At the end of their game, their score will be recorded and if it is high enough, displayed on the tournament monitor.

At the close of the tournament each day, the three players with the highest scores will be awarded glass trophies and special EPC medals.

All games will consist of three balls with no extra balls awarded.

Oral guidance and encouragement may be provided by a single parent or guardian but no physical contact with the machine or assistance with flipping, nudging or operating the machine in any way is allowed.

If required, a step is available to help the younger players see the playfield.

Regular rules of behaviour and sportsmanship are in force for the UK Pinball Kids Tournament and all disputes will be decided by the marshals and the Tournament Director.

So have fun and play well.