Space City Open Pinball Tournament at the Houston Arcade Expo 2025

The Space City Open is a matchplay pinball tournament, held at the Houston Arcade Expo. There will be two distinct qualifying groups (Early & Late), during which players will play 12 games (split between Friday and Saturday) on randomly selected machines against groups of randomly selected (but balanced) opponents. The top 16 players from each session will move on to the finals. Please see https://www.houstonarcadeexpo.com/space-city-open-pinball-tournament/ for the full rules. The times for each session are shown below:

Early Group: Friday (11/14) 5pm - 8pm & Saturday (11/14) 9am- 12pm

Late Group: Friday (11/15) 8pm - 11pm & Saturday (11/15) 12pm - 3pm

*Note that up to 10% of tickets may be reserved for key volunteers and TDs.

After tickets sell out, check back periodically to see if new tickets open up from refunds/errors. You may get lucky. Otherwise, you will have to get on the waitlist. The waitlist will open on September 6 @ 11AM Central. Please check Houston Arcade Expo website for info about the waitlist. (It will not be through Eventbrite.)

REGISTRATION FAQs

How many qualifying groups can a player register for?

A player is only permitted to play in ONE of the qualifying groups. Do not register for both. If you register a player for both, we will randomly eject the player from the extra group at our choosing. If this happens prior to September 27th, you will be issued a refund (and a stern warning), minus fees. After September 27th, you will not be refunded. Bottom line -- do not register for more than one group!!!

What is the refund policy?

You can be refunded, minus fees, until September 27th. We cannot issue refunds after

September 27th. Refunds will only be issued if you cannot attend the tournament or no longer wish to play. You may not request a refund for the purpose of transferring to a different session. You may not transfer to a different session. You may not swap places with a player in a different session. Contact [email protected] if you would like withdraw and request a refund.

What about reimbursements for game lenders?

If you have an agreement with the tournament director to bring a game for the tournament, THANK YOU! You will still need to purchase your ticket like everyone else. Due to IFPA restrictions, we cannot reserve tournamnet entires. However, you will not need to pay entry into the Arcade Expo. You will receive reimbursement for your tournament entry after the show is over.

Can I update my registration information?

No. If you need to make modifications or made an error, please contact the event organizers at [email protected] and we can update it for you.

Is my registration fee or ticket transferrable?

You cannot transfer registration to another player. You cannot swap sessions with another player. Waitlist positions are non-transferrable.

Is it ok if the name on my ticket or registration doesn't match the person who attends?

No. The name on registration must match the player attending.

Do I also need to purchase entry into the Houston Arcade Expo?

Yes. All players must also purchase entry into the Expo. Expo wristbands will be required to participate in the tournament. You can do this at the show, or online here: https://www.houstonarcadeexpo.com. If you bring a game to the show or loan one to the tournament, entry is free. You will need to pick up your exibitor wristband at the show entrance.

How many players can I purchase registration for?

You can purchase registration for up to 5 players per session. This can be a bit cumbersome, so be extra careful when entering the names for each player, and double check you are signing them up in the right session.

Will there be other tournaments I can play in?

At the Houston Arcade Expo, there will also be a women's tournament and kid's tournament. Prior to the Expo, Space City Pinball will host a Week of WPPRs with tournaments every day of the week leading up to the event! See spacecitypinball.com for more details.

Can I see what qualifying sessions other players have signed up for before registering?

No. The player list will be published on the Expo website after the waitlist is open.

Host or Publisher Space City Pinball