{"id":8656,"date":"2015-11-22T00:40:39","date_gmt":"2015-11-22T00:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/?p=8656"},"modified":"2017-09-08T01:02:58","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T00:02:58","slug":"hungarian-pinball-open-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/2015\/11\/22\/hungarian-pinball-open-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"HUNGARIAN PINBALL OPEN 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ve previously reported on the opening<\/a>, the temporary closure, the threat of confiscation, and the success of the appeal<\/a> by the Pbal Gallery pinball museum in Budapest. So when we heard there was a pinball tournament planned there in November, we just had to visit and show our support.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was our first visit, not just to the museum, but to Budapest and also to Hungary. Our two hour Ryanair flight from London landed at Ferenc Liszt Airport mid-afternoon on Friday. Twenty-five minutes and 7,000 Forints ($25\/\u20ac22.50\/\u00a316) later, and our taxi dropped us off outside the Hilton.<\/p>\n

From there it was a five-minute walk across V\u00e1ci \u00fat and down Radn\u00f3ti Mikl\u00f3s utca for three blocks to the Museum, which was easily spotted thanks to the neon sign outside.<\/p>\n

\"Pbal<\/a>
Pbal Gallery, venue for the Hungarian Pinball Open<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A pair of notice-covered doors opens out onto the street which, with smoking banned inside, became the gathering point for smokers attending the tournament.<\/p>\n

\"Only<\/a>
Only tournament players from Wednesday until Sunday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Go through the doors and you have a few steps down before you reach the front desk.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The entrance to the museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Down<\/a>
Down to the reception area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Registered players signed in at the reception desk, and collected their player badge and Classics Tournament score card.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The registration desk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They were also asked to sign the tournament poster situated at the bottom of the stairs.<\/p>\n

\"Everyone<\/a>
Everyone signed the tournament poster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Museum is made up of a series of cave-like rooms of varying size. Some feature bare stonework, while others have a much more contemporary look with plastered walls and suspended ceilings.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The central hub of social interaction, a.k.a. the bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The (mostly) non-pinball room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Video,<\/a>
Video, gun and video\/pinball combo games in the corridor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This unusual 4-player Hearts & Spades cocktail pin was also in the corridor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The main Museum room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The EM room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Woodrails<\/a>
Woodrails in the EM room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Humpty<\/a>
Humpty Dumpty – the first game with flippers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Humpty<\/a>
Humpty Dumpty’s six flippers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"1,<\/a>
1, 2 and 4 player EMs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The biggest-selling pinball ever, Ballyhoo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We would be competing in three tournaments over the weekend. The main Hungarian Pinball Open had a qualifying round which could be played on either Friday evening at 7pm, or Saturday morning at 9am. The Classics Tournament qualifying could be played at any time on Friday or Saturday, but in practical terms couldn’t be played while you were playing in the Open. Then there was a Pingolf Tournament on Sunday, and a Team Tournament which was also held on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Entry to the event cost 12,000 Forints ($41\/\u20ac38\/\u00a327) which included all tournaments and a Goulash lunch on Saturday. The prize for the winner of the Open was a restored and clearcoated F-14 Tomcat machine.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The main prize<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two guests were celebrating their birthdays on Friday, so in the evening several boxes of delicious cakes were delivered to the upstairs chill-out area so everyone could help them celebrate.<\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a>
Happy Birthday!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our Open qualifying was on Saturday, so we played our Classics games on Friday.<\/p>\n

Classics qualifying ran from 4pm until midnight on Friday, and continued at 9am on Saturday until 5pm. Competitors could choose to play any six from the fifteen machines available. The machines were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Classic Tournament Machines<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
    \n
  • Capt. Fantastic<\/li>\n
  • Centaur<\/li>\n
  • Circus<\/li>\n
  • Eight Ball Deluxe<\/li>\n
  • Elektra<\/li>\n
  • Fathom<\/li>\n
  • Kiss<\/li>\n
  • Medusa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n