3rd Annual Freedom to Play Pinball Tourney at the Project Pinball Charity Booth at 41st Pinball Expo

Name: 3rd Annual Freedom to Play Pinball Tourney at the Project Pinball Charity Booth at 41st Pinball Expo
Start: 2025-10-16T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-10-18T16:00:00-05:00
Location: Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel

Schedule

Thu, 16 Oct, 2025 at 12:00 pm to Sat, 18 Oct, 2025 at 04:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel | Schaumburg, IL

Join us for the 3rd Annual Freedom to Play Pinball Tournament at the Project Pinball Charity Booth during the 41st Annual Pinball Expo on October 16th-18th, 2025! See all tournament info below and RSVP😊
**ALL INFO SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS EVENT DETAILS ARE 100% CONFIRMED CLOSER TO PINBALL EXPO 2025**
Project Pinball Charity and Inclusive GameWerks are excited to present the most accessible and inclusive way to play pinball for the third year in a row!
Freedom to Play Pinball is a groundbreaking event to bring pinball players together and ensure pinball is accessible for everyone!
Tournament Director: TBA
Official Tournament Design created by Brad Albright of Albright Illustration & Design in 2023!
More merchandise and event details are coming very soon! We can't wait to see you at the 41st Pinball Expo🤩
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3rd Annual Freedom to Play Pinball Tournament Information:
-In this event, all players will be required to use the Inclusive Controller made by Inclusive GameWerks to play the games in the bank. No Nudging or contact to control the ball will be allowed on machines.
-There is NO entry fee to play, but donations to support the IFPA sanctioning fee of $1 per player are encouraged😊
Registration Opens: Thursday, 10/16 at 1:00PM CDT
Qualifying:
-Thursday, 10/16: 2:00PM - 10:00PM CDT
-Friday, 10/17: 12:00PM - 10:00PM CDT
-Saturday, 10/18: 10:00AM - 2:00PM CDT
**Scorekeeper Volunteer Qualifying:
-Thursday, 10/16: 10:00PM - 11:00PM CDT
- Friday, 10/17: 10:00PM - 11:00PM CDT
Tiebreakers: Saturday, 10/18 Starting at 2:00PM CDT
Finals Check-In: Saturday, 10/19 Starting at 2:00PM CDT with 1st Round beginning no later than 3:00PM CDT
Tournament Qualifying Format:
-Limited Best Game - 10 Entries
-6 Games Available for Tournament Play; Only your Top 5 Scores count for your Qualification Score.
-Qualifying Scoring will be INDISC style 100-97-95-94…
-Matchplay Software will be used for the event.
-In the event of a Tie for the Final Qualifying Spot, or possibly a Bye Position, there will be a 1 Game Playoff. Players will play Paper, Rock, Scissors to determine who chooses Game or Position.
-If there is a Seeding Tie for any other position, a 1 Ball Playoff will be played. Players will play Paper, Rock, Scissors to determine who chooses Game or Position.
-Tiebreakers will play immediately after Qualifying ends on Saturday, 10/18 at 2:00PM CDT.
Finals Format:
-No less than the Top 10% of all Qualified Entrants will move on to a Group Elimination Match Play Bracket Final.
-We will begin with the top 8, but may move to top 12 with 4 byes, or top 16 depending on participation.
-All Finals games will be played as 1 Player Games.
-Each group will play 3 Games per Round.
-We will use PAPA scoring. (4,2,1,0)
-The Top Seed in each group will be given selection of Game AND Position in the first game.
-The Lowest Finishers in Game 1 will be given a choice of either the next game OR position.
-A Group may not play the same game more than 1 Time in Each Round.
-A Player may not choose the same game again until all options have been exhausted.
-You must select an Open Game, not selected by Another Group.
-In the event of a Tie for Advancement, the Highest Seed in the Tiebreaker Game will have a choice of Game OR Position. You will not be allowed to play the 3 Games already selected in your round. Ties for the Top 4 will be handled the same way.
-All Players are required to use the Inclusive Controller for all Ball Control including Launching the Ball into Play and Flipper Control.
-No Nudging will be allowed.
-IFPA Rules regarding Stuck Balls and Malfunctions will be used.
-All Extra Balls will be off.
-All rulings from Tournament Directors are Final.
-This is an IFPA Sanctioned Event.
***No Entry Fee; Donations to support the IFPA sanctioning fee of $1 per player are encouraged😊
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT💙