Tacoma, Wash. — “It's the type of game where you can have one great ball and that can win the game,” says Redmond’s Germain Mariolle.
He is currently ranked #19 among the world’s best pinball players.
“It's physical,” he says. “The ball is pretty wild so you never really have two games that are the same.”
Two years ago Mariolle won the thousand dollar prize at the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show. Last year his luck changed. Now he's back, hoping the right combination of luck and skill will pay off again.
“It's kind of like poker,” he says. “You know in poker there is a bit of luck but then the skills take over.”
There are 600 pinball machines out there and each one has its own quirks and personality. There’s a $6000 Star Trek machine that has a confusing array of bells and whistles.
Mariolle suggested host Saint Bryan approach the machine with his knees bent. It’s called the Greg Dunlap stance.
“Yeah, maybe you will see better where the ball would go from the angle,” says Mariolle.
The Greg Dunlap stance may work for Greg Dunlap, but not for Saint.
One thing for sure, you never can beat the ball. Eventually, the ball always wins
The women's pinball tournament is the biggest in the world, with a brand new $6000 pinball machine going to the winner.
