Play Meter

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difference. What we do is total the team scores and
take the percentage of difference. You will have
five percentages of differences- one for each
machine. You then add those five totals together to
determine the winner.
PLAY METER: As far as your tournaments are
concerned, do you use the same machines set up
exactly the same way or do all the players play on
the same machines?
KIRK: Everybody plays the exact same machines.
We tried in one tournament to use multiple sets of
the same model and found that even sitting
side-by-side there were subtle differences between
the two individual models of the same game. So
even though it takes longer, everybody plays the
same machines.
PLAY METER: Even in the nationals?
KIRK: When we play on the national setup, we
obviously will have people play qualifications within
certain guidelines. And after that, the finalists will
all play on the same equipment. That's the only way
you can do it.
PLAY METER: What are you planning in the way
of tournaments right now?
KIRK: We're planning some national contests and
promotions, but we're also working on another
promotion. We would like to find locations that
would be willing to put up the money themselves
and pool together in a national tournament. I think
that it's a perfectly valid concept. And it means that
every location can decide for itself exactly what it
wants to put into the tournament, within certain
guidelines. I think from that we could get a fairly
good sized tournament structure without having
somebody foot the bill. That way everybody has a
stake in it. And that way we'll be pretty sure they'll
run it as good as possible because it will be their
own money. And it's a good promotion.
PLAY METER: How long does one of your
tournaments last?
KffiK: Usually they start on a Friday afternoon and
end up on a Sunday. The players will qualify on
Friday and Saturday and then playoff on Sunday .
But we have had a couple that have gone longer
than that. We had one tournament that had a
five -day qualification period. We try to structure
our tournaments so that the skill players have the
advantage but that all players have a chance. And
we have made certain structural arrangements for
the tournament. For example, we have a
progressive entry fee. That way it costs you more
each time you play rather than less. This stops
people who try to buy their way into the
tournament.
PLAY METER: As a designer of pinball machines,
how important is play appeal to you?
KffiK: It's paramount. There's a good reason for
everything on the board. It's kind of hard to assess
what makes a good game and what makes a bad
game, other than general characteristics. And
obviously every designer will put into a game those
things which he feels make it a good game. For
PLAY METER , February, 1978
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