Play Meter

Pulling stronger receipts
from pin league play
"Promotion is the name of the
game ." Bob Lawton , owner of
Funspot , decided after he finally
figured out an answer to his
perennial problem - how could his
business earn a year's income during
the usual short summer season which
runs from July 1 to Labor Day?
His amusement park , which is
located in Weirs Beach , New Hamp-
shire , features two parks , mini -golf
course , and other activities , was
" sustained " by electronic games and
" delivered " by pinball leagues .
It all began two years ago , when
Lawton noticed the steadily increa -
sing popularity of games . This might
be just the thing , he mused , to enable
him to keep the park open on
weekends throughout the year . The
" Great Experiment " worked - the
game rooms he installed were so
successful that Funspot now is open
seven days a week from 10 a .m . until
10 p .m . , all year round.
To keep enthusiasm kindled ,
Funspot initiated a Friday night
pinball tournament , which led to the
state championship in 1978 and
1979. The tournament , which will
mark its third anniversary this spring,
has been accepted by the media as a
legitimate sporting event and, conse-
quently, has been given the appro-
priate publicity.
And , this year , at the suggestion of
its account executive from local radio
station WLNH , Funspot has set up
what is proving to be an even more
successful
promotion,
pinball
leagues .
Originally , Funspot hoped to sign
up 32 players for an eight-team
league ·on a mid -week night with a
format similar to locally popular
bowling leagues . The response ex-
expectations.
Local
ceeded
all
businesses, including a plumber, a
sign company , restaurants, motels
and even a bank became sponsors of
teams. Funspot wound up with 24
teams of six players each ( four
regulars and two alternates) , in
Tuesday night, Wednesday night
and Saturday afternoon leagues,
which operate for eight weeks ending
in December . A "world series"
playoff by the league champions
follows , with new leagues recently
formed for the next season , which
began in January.
Since there are eight teams in each
league , four matches are held on
each of the three days of weekly
league play. Funspot 's 22 electronic
pin balls are set up in five different
areas within its game room so that
fo ur of the areas are reserved for
league play on Tuesdays and
W ednesdays from 7 to approximate -
ly 9 , and on Saturdays from 2 to 4 .
leaving the fifth section for other
customers . ( Since the players pay
for their own games. league play
increases rather than cuts revenve
even during matches .)
In a match , the two teams play the
same four machines twice , with the
entire four -player team playing one
machine at a time . The team with the
highest total score wins the match .
Standings are based upon won and
lost percentages among leagues -
sort of like major league baseball .
The sponsors pay a fee of $20 per
team , which defrays the cost of
trophies which are awarded to the
players in the three league cham -
pion teams and to each business
which has sponsored a team . Many
of them also supply T -shirts with their
business names to their team for
added publicity value .
Lawton feels that the pinball
leagues are a tremendous success .
"We have players from six years old
up to 50. both boys and girls, " he
said . " Many bring along friends and
relatives. so we've been able to
attract new people to Funspot.
An d a lo t o f th em are beco ming
regul ar custo m ers."
The leagu e standings are pub-
lished in the local press an d results
are rep ort ed o n radio alo ng with
acco unts o f th e m atch es , whi ch. o f
co urse . pro duces m ore publ ic ity for
Fun sp ot as well as th e sp o nsors.
L awto n n oted th at " p eople like to see
th eir nam es in print. " and he fe els
that th e leagues are doi ng a great
dea l to get across th e id ea that
amuse m ent gam es are enjoyed by
everyo ne . " Y o u don 't have to be a
pinball wi zard to pla y in o ur leagu es ."
h e observe d .
Th e reliability o f electro nics. too. is
a big factor in league pla y. Funspot is
using pinball gam es by Bally. G ott -
lieb . William s. Stern . and Atari . and
n o n e have m alfun ctio n ed during a
match.
In additio n to th e leagu es and th e
to urnam ent. Funspo t ran a th eme
to urnam ent which also gen erated a
co nsiderabl e am o unt o f interest and
publicity . A contest on Gottlieb's new
Incredible Hulk pinball. limited to
boys and girl s up to twelve years was
recentl y co nclud ed .
Pro m o tio n . you 'II probably agree
with Lawto n. is indeed th e " nam e of
th e gam e." An yone interested in
furth er
informati o n
on
pinball
leagues may write to Funspot. Box
27 . W eirs Beach , N. H . 03246 . or
phon e 603 -366-43 77.
The installation of game rooms "sustained" Bob Weir's New Hampshire
amusement pork until the pinball leagues he initiated "delivered " public
interest. Patron enthusiasm has allowed him to keep the game rooms open
seuen days a week . twelue hours a day- year round . Aboue , players
match their wits and skills on Funspot games.