GERMAN PINBALL
OPEN 2013


Date: April 12th - 14th, 2013
Location: Waghäuseler Straße 16, 10715 Berlin, Germany.

Sunday reporting: Heinz Berges & Martin Gosling
Sunday photography: The 'Con Berlin' Team

We're here in Berlin for the German Pinball Open which began at 9am on Friday 12th April. The location is a rather nondescript building to the west of the city, making it around a ten minute taxi ride from Berlin's Tegel airport.

The venue for the GPO 2013
The venue for the GPO 2013

The building used to be a power plant and is now used to illustrate how electricity is converted to different voltages and a city's power grid is managed, giving the German Pinball Open a very industrial look.

Inside the venue
Inside the venue

Entry to the GPO costs €5 per day, but on Friday visitors could enter the main tournament for a €10 fee which included show entry.

The pinball machines were split between two areas. On the ground floor were the tournament games, while the free play machines and vendors were located up on the fifth floor - a brisk 95 steps up a somewhat institutional staircase. There was a lift but it was deemed unsafe and couldn't be used (at least, not officially).

Elevator out of service
Elevator out of service

On the day the GPO opened, the main tournament and classic tournament machines were still being set up and were out of bounds.

Machines being set up for Saturday's play
Machines being set up for Saturday's play

More machines out of bounds until the next day
More machines out of bounds until the next day

In fact the only machines which could be played on the ground floor were the four used for the pre-qualifying round of the main tournament.

Pre-qualifying on Friday
Pre-qualifying on Friday

A total of 96 players had pre-registered for the GPO's main tournament. After those sold out very quickly, wannabe competitors had to enter a pre-qualifying round played on Flash Gordon, Terminator 2, The Addams Family and Big Buck Hunter Pro.

The top 96 players from this round would join the 96 pre-registered in Saturday's main qualifying round. At one point it looked as though fewer than 96 pre-qualifiers were going to compete on Friday, allowing everyone who entered to take part in Saturday's rounds. However, by the end there were nearly 120 competitors, from which the top 96 qualified.

Most of Friday's action took place up on the fifth floor. At the entrance to the room was German Pinball Association bar and souvenir stand.

Beer, soft drinks, T-shirts and raffle tickets could be bought here
Beer, soft drinks, T-shirts and raffle tickets could be bought here

The GPA desk sold show T-shirts for €12.50 and tickets for the raffle for €1 each.

T-shirts and raffle tickets could be bought at the GPA desk
T-shirts and raffle tickets could be bought at the GPA desk

The top prize in the raffle was a Star Trek - The Next Generation machine, which was set up in the lobby at the top of the stairs.

The main raffle prize
The main raffle prize

The desk also sold different varieties of beer. Becks - regular, Lemon, Ice or alcohol-free - cost €1.50 ($2) for a 330ml bottle, while Erdinger - Weissbier or Kristall - was €2 ($2.68) for 500ml.

A little further inside the room, there were two parts sellers set up on Friday - The Pin Witch and Gelsen Flipper.

The Pin Witch had a selection of pinball plastics, mods, manuals, trim and essentials
The Pin Witch had a selection of plastics, mods, manuals, trim and pinball essentials

Gelsen Flipper were selling pinball electrical components as well  as coils, rubbers, fuses and assorted hardware
Gelsen Flipper were selling pinball electrical components as well as coils,
rubbers, fuses and assorted hardware

By Saturday they had been joined by High Class Pinballs who were there selling their usual wide selection of pinball parts and playfields.

High Class Pinballs' stand
High Class Pinballs' stand

The free play machines were set up in a couple of rooms, positioned in front of various displays of electrical devices.

One of the rows on machines up on the fifth floor
One of the rows on machines up on the fifth floor

More machines
More machines

Electrical distribution equipment forms the backdrop to the GPO
Electrical distribution equipment forms the backdrop to the GPO

Large insulators are lit up behind the machines
Large insulators and transformers are lit up behind the machines

More machines in another side room
More machines in another side room

You needed to explore all the rooms to find all the machines
You needed to explore all the rooms to find all the machines

One downside of using such a large building is the difficulty keeping it warm. Although the temperature outside wasn't exactly cold, the inside was decidedly chilly, and so industrial hot air heaters were positioned at key points and most people kept their coats on throughout.

At the end of the row with the parts vendors, some rather rarer machines were set up.

Two Future Pinball-based Hyper Pin 42 video pinball machines were available to play, plus there was a cabinet there to show what is inside one and how the machine is constructed.

The Hyper Pin 42 games
The Hyper Pin 42 games

Next to the Hyper Pins was the custom game The Outbreak.

The Outbreak
The Outbreak

The construction of the zombie-themed The Outbreak had been documented on one of the German pinball forums, Flippermarkt.de. The game contains some unique features, including a light gun mounted on the coin door which is used to shoot at the backbox-mounted zombie head.

The light gun on the front of the game
The light gun on the front of the game

Shoot here... and here
Shoot here... and here

The zombie head mounted on the backbox between the score displays
The zombie head mounted on the backbox between the score displays

The control boards are mounted in the backbox. A microATX PC motherboard is the main controller, driving a PINterface pinball driver board with a PinLED power board.

Inside The Outbreak
Inside The Outbreak

The playfield incorporates an LCD panel and features a rotating gun on the apron to shoot the ball at playfield features.

The playfield from The Outbreak
The playfield from The Outbreak

Cabinet artwork
Cabinet artwork

The Outbreak was conceived as a one-off custom game, but there is talk there may be a small production run of around a dozen machines.

The 2013 German Pinball Open also hosted the first public showing of Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle game.

Full throttle arrives and is set up
Full throttle arrives and is set up

The backbox is fitted
The backbox is fitted

The swappable cabinet artwork
The swapable cabinet artwork

The machine is only a prototype, but it was flipable with some scoring, playfield insert and feature illumination, and the main music track playing.

The Full Throttle prototype's playfield
The Full Throttle prototype's playfield

A number of the final game's features were missing, including the pop-up bumpers and the chain drive ball lock mechanism, but the machine allowed players to get a feel for the playfield layout which proved to be very smooth and fast.

Details from the Full Throttle playfield
Details from the Full Throttle playfield

Details from the Full Throttle playfield
Details from the Full Throttle playfield

Details from the Full Throttle playfield
Details from the Full Throttle playfield

We'll have more pictures and a unique video of gameplay on Full Throttle a little later.

Saturday saw the addition of a Cactus Canyon to the line-up of custom pinballs. This was, of course, running the Cactus Canyon Continued software which adds many new modes and features to the game to make it feel far more complete.

Cactus Canyon Continued
Cactus Canyon Continued

Here's a full list of machines made on Saturday evening.

German Pinball Open Tournament Machines
Addams Family, The
Alien Poker
Attack from Mars
Batman Forever
Big Buck Hunter Pro
Big Buck Hunter Pro
Congo
Corvette
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Demolition Man
Dr. Dude
Earthshaker!
Elektra
Embryon
Firepower
Fish Tales
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flintstones, The
Fly High
Guns 'N Roses
Harlem Globetrotters
Jungle Lord
Junkyard
Jurassic Park - The Lost World
Lord of the Rings, The
Medieval Madness
Medusa
Monster Bash
Mousin' Around
No Good Gofers
Pinball Champ
Roadshow
Scared Stiff
Scorpion
Silverball Mania
Simpsons Pinball Party, The
Simpsons, The (DE)
Skateball
Sopranos, The
Spectrum
Star Trek - The Next Generation
Star Trek (DE)
Star Wars (DE)
Star Wars Trilogy
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Supersonic
Tales of the Arabian Nights
Terminator 2
Terminator 2
The Machine - Bride of Pinbot
Theatre of Magic
Tommy
Twilight Zone
Vector
Wild Schutz
Xenon

Classic Tournament Machines
Black Jack
Eight Ball (Bally)
Harlem Globetrotters
Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man
Nitro Groundshaker
Silverball Mania
Star Trek (Bally)
Strikes & Spares
Viking

Free Play Machines
300
Addams Family, The
Addams Family, The
Batman (DE)
Big Valley
Black Hole
Bobby Orr Power Play
Cactus Canyon
Centaur
Centaur
Cue Ball Wizard
Demolition Man
Diner
Dirty Harry
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dracula (Stern)
Earthshaker!
Eight Ball (Bally)
Elektra
Flintstones, The
Future Spa
Future Spa
Indiana Jones (Stern)
Indiana Jones (WMS)
Junkyard
Lord of the Rings, The
Lord of the Rings, The
Medieval Madness
Medieval Madness
Monster Bash
Nitro Groundshaker
Nugent
Revenge from Mars
Roadshow
Rollergames
Scared Stiff
Silverball Mania
Simpsons Pinball Party, The
Six Million Dollar Man
Space Rider
Spectrum
Star Trek (Bally)
Super Mario Bros.
Theatre of Magic
Whirlwind
World Cup Soccer
Xenon

Not all the action happened inside however, as there were a number of facilities along the walkway leading to the building.

Catering took place outside the entrance, with a couple of food vendors selling staples such as hot dogs, french fries, soft drinks and beer. Food was not allowed inside the building, so there were a couple of dining gazebos set up with tables and chairs.

Food and drink vendors
Food and drink vendors

The catering and dining area outside the main entrance
The catering and dining area outside the main entrance

It's worth noting there are no toilet facilities available inside the building, so a mobile toilet block was parked at the far end of the dining area.

The toilet facilities
The toilet facilities

Saturday's action began when the venue opened to the public at 9am. The first round of the main German Pinball Open was scheduled to start at 10am, but getting all 192 competitors together (including the replacements for those who didn't turn up) took another hour.

Compeitiors gather for the start of play
Competitors gather for the start of play

Nearly time to start
Nearly time to start

The first round split the 192 competitors into 6 groups of 32. Each group was then sub-divided into 8 colour-coded groups of 4.

The four group members played each other in 4-player games on two machines. The winner of each game earned 7 points, the second placed player got 5 points, third place score 3 points and last place received just 1 point. That meant the maximum points available from the two games was 14 points, and the minimum 2 points.

Groups of four playing in the first round
Groups of four playing in the first round

This was repeated three more times giving everyone a total of 8 games to play, but the groups were reformed with different players after every two games. Each player's points total was shown on a pair of computer displays projected on the wall.

The display showing the points earned from each pair of games
The display showing the points earned from each pair of games

The projectors weren't the best, with the lamp in the one on the right on its last legs and their position on the main desk inviting people to stand in front of them, but people could usually see the information they needed.

Players check their points
Players check their points

The top 8 players from each group (48 in total) moved into the second round. The results from the six groups were:

The blue group results
The blue group results

The green group results
The green group results

The cyan group results
The cyan group results

The red group results
The red group results

The purple group results
The purple group results

The orange group results
The orange group results

The top 8 from each group gave a total of 48 players in the last round of play-offs before the final.

This round used the so-called 'Swiss system' to create 11 head-to-head matches for each player, so that they played against players of similar ability. Anyone who won a head-to-head game would earn 1 point, so after the first set of games, half the players had 1 point and half no points.

The second match pitched those who had won against other winners, and those who lost against other losers. This system of creating matches with players on the same or similar points continued through all 11 matches. The software also ensured (as far as possible) that nobody played the same player or the same machine more than once.

It was intended to play about eight of the eleven rounds on Saturday before the venue closed at 11pm, and continue with the remaining rounds on Sunday morning. However, the games took a shorter time than anticipated and it was just possible to play all eleven rounds on Saturday evening.

Here are the results from the second round - a green block indicates a win in that round, a red block means a loss:

The second round results
The second round results

The top four of Robert Sutter and Michael Trepp from Switzerland, Klaus Erhard from Germany and Hans Brian Christensen from Denmark went into the final, which was played on Sunday on three machines; Harlem Globetrotters, Dr. Dude and Theatre of Magic.

On Saturday evening between rounds of the main GPO tournament, the draw was made for the raffle.

There were twenty prizes in total with the top prize being the Star Trek - The Next Generation machine we saw earlier. The other prizes were:

  • 3 x Playfield protectors from Best of Pinball
  • Voucher worth €100 from PinWitch
  • Voucher worth €50 from Gelsenflipper
  • Flipper rebuild kit from Best of Pinball
  • 2 x Vouchers worth €25 from Best of Pinball
  • 2 x Vouchers worth €20 from Best of Pinball
  • 6 x Bottles of pinball cleaner from Pinball Center

The bucket containing the raffle tickets is given a stir
The bucket containing the raffle tickets is given a stir

The draw for the top prize was made last.

The winning ticket for the Star Trek - The Next Generation is selected
The winning ticket for the Star Trek - The Next Generation is selected

The lucky winner is congratulated
The lucky winner is congratulated

The Classic Tournament was also running throughout Saturday, and while many players were kept fully occupied by the main tournament, a good number found time to put in some qualifying games before the session closed at 9:30pm. The finals for this tournament would also take place on Sunday.

Before Saturday drew to a close though, we grabbed out camera a did our tour of the German Pinball Open in our exclusive Six Minute Tour.

The Pinball News Six Minute Tour of the German Pinball Open 2013

Three competitions were to be decided on the Sunday. Firstly the children's competition: this proved to be relatively popular, thanks to reports in the press advertising the event. In total 12 children took part - although to be honest, their parents seemed to have more fun!

The final round of the main Tournament took place at 11am. Four players had qualified for the final: Hans Brian Christensen from Denmark, Robert Sutter from Switzerland, Michael Trepp also from Switzerland and Klaus Erhard from Germany.

The final was played on three machines: Harlem Globetrotters, Dr. Dude and Theatre of Magic, with the player with the highest score being awarded 4 points, second place 2, third place 1 and the last-placed player 0.

First up was the Harlem and Robert Sutter came up with a sensational score almost clocking the machine. Needless to say the first round went to Robert.

Harlem Globetrotters
Erhard
Trepp
Sutter
Christensen
-
-
-
-
65,620
42,560
997,930
575,260
1 pt
0 pts
4 pts
2 pts

Next up was Dr. Dude and Klaus Erhard proved he was 'The Dude' with a score that was greater than the sum of all other players combined. Brilliant!

Dr. Dude   Total
Christensen
Erhard
Trepp
Sutter
-
-
-
-
2,703,840
15,451,190
1,412,690
1,575,350
1 pt
4 pts
0 pts
1 pts
  3 pts
5 pts
0 pts
5 pts

The competition was really hotting up and going into the final round on Theatre of Magic any one of the players, apart from Michael Trepp, had a chance of winning the tournament.

Sure enough, as fate would have it and with a point to prove, Michael stormed home with a sensational win.

However the results from the first two games prevented him from winning and the honours went in the end to Klaus Erhard, who was crowned the Champion of the German Pinball Open 2013.

Theatre of Magic   Total
Sutter
Christensen
Erhard
Trepp
-
-
-
-
306,006,040
9,130,880
315,645,250
810,956,080
1 pt
0 pts
2 pts
4 pts
  6 pts
3 pts
7 pts
4 pts

Well done Klaus!

The top four in the German Pinball Open
The top four in the German Pinball Open (L-R):
Hans Brian Christensen (4th), Robert Sutter (2nd), Klaus Erhard (1st) & Michael Trepp (3rd)

The final results:

Pos Name

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

Klaus Erhard
Robert Sutter
Michael Trepp
Hans Brian Christensen

The last competition of the day was the Classic, which started at 1:30pm. A total of 96 players had bought entry tickets for this event, with the best 32 players making it through to the final. The winner from this group would be decided based on the Double K.O. method.

The final was between Andreas Harre (Germany) and Franck Bona (France), with Andreas taking the honours.

A special mention also has to go to 13-year-old Clemens Bartsch, who beat Dirk Elzholz to take third place in the Classic event. An excellent achievement for one of our youngest participants.

The top four in the Classics Tournament
The top four in the Classics Tournament (L-R):
Dirk Elzholz (4th), Clemens Bartsch (3rd), Franck Bona (2nd) & Andreas Harre (1st)

We would  like to take this opportunity to thank the Berlin "Orga Team" who were responsible for the event:

Ballymann - Jörg, CTP-Buddel - Atze, Hobbykoch - Uwe, and Pinnie - Erik

The tear-down begins
The tear-down begins

And finally, as if sent from the Gods, on the evening of the tear-down we were honoured with a beautiful sunset as reward for all the hard work, sweat and tears of the weekend.


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