Fraser Valley FlipOut
Fraser Valley FlipOut
Sept. 27 to 29 | Castle Fun Park
Info: FVFlipOut. com
1 You could be a pinball wizard. Even if you’ve never played pinball, or only have after several PBRs, the Fraser Valley FlipOut welcomes you with open flippers. The tournament is open to all ages and skill levels.
2 Video hasn’t killed the pinball star — yet. Despite some hard times, pinball — which dates back to 1870, though it has its origins in the French game of Bagatelle — won’t die. Though there’s only one manufacturer left, pinball continues to hold its own in arcades, homes and indie- rock bars. The games featured at Fraser Valley FlipOut include new machines as well as classics like Captain Fantastic.
3 It’s at Castle Fun Park in Abbotsford. The Fraser Valley FlipOut takes place at a fun park, which means there are other activities besides the FlipOut. So if you get tired of all the balls, bells and whistles, you can also check out the go- kart track, the minigolf courses ( including the undersea- themed Coral Sea Adventure course and the rainforest- themed Jungle course), a shooting gallery, indoor batting cages, and more than 200 other video and skill games. 4 You could take home your very own pinball game. There’s $ 15,000 in prizes at stake, including a grand prize of a brand new machine from Stern — which bills itself as “The only maker of REAL pinball games on the planet!” Located in Melrose Park, Ill ., Stern made games like Nugent in the late ’ 70s/ early ’ 80s, then made a comeback in 1999. Today the company produces three or four games a year, most movie tie- ins like Iron Man, Thor and its most recent, Star Trek. The new games have high- definition artwork, LED lighting and music scores to accompany the action.
5 “The ball is wild!” So proclaimed pinball pioneer Harry Williams, who invented the tilt anti- cheat mechanism. And so it is.