Midnight Madness

The bell rings, the lights flash, the jets ding, and the spheres clash. Sophomore Cion Dorr and I played at Blizzard Mountain Pinball for an exhausting 24 hours, from noon on Saturday, November 9, to noon the following Sunday.

“Some people looked like they did the night before, all smiley, and some people looked like they were about to die, all exhausted,” co-owner Laura McCarthy said.

By the end of the tournament, I had placed 9th in A Division and Dorr placed 5th in B Division. I took first place in the bonus round following the main tournament which was due to the start time being delayed due to snowy weather. It was delayed from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. putting the blizzard in Blizzard Mountain. The bonus round made the tournament a true 24 hours.

“It was a good community event. Many people brought food, and Kevin got a steak that he was excited about. It was a fun atmosphere, felt like it was a good group of people, and everybody contributed,” L. McCarthy said. 

Blizzard Mountain Pinball is a pinball and video arcade off Highway 285 in Conifer, sharing a complex with Stagedoor Theatre, Papa Murphy’s, and Sojourn Books. It is family-owned and operated by Kevin and Laura McCarthy. 

Blizzard’s 24-hour tournament featured near non-stop play, with 26 players and multiple different formats throughout the day and night. Each kept the event engaging, compared to the last 24-hour tournament held six years ago. Due to the format, groups in the first tournament were waiting for a significant amount of time throughout the night.

“This time we decided to do this mixed format and did it for the full 24 hours,” co-owner Kevin McCarthy said.

Six years ago, I began playing at Blizzard Mountain, and I had not anticipated the passion that it gave me. My experience with pinball has been exhilarating, exciting, exhausting, and special. It is without a doubt my favorite hobby and has meant so much to me these past few years. 

Pinball is a positive and challenging sport that requires hours of practice and dedication, and at times can be rewarding and frustrating.

“Everyone seems to have good sportsmanship, and I really appreciate that. Everyone’s here to have fun,” Dorr said.

Dorr moved up to the Conifer area from Colorado Springs in September of 2023. Before moving, she had been passionate about arcade games like Q-Bert and Ms. Pac-Man. 

“I was so worried that when I came up here there wouldn’t be any entertainment for someone my age,” Dorr said. “It’s my Saturday night.”

My grandpa, John Cadam, owns a 1955 Sluggin’ Champ pinball machine. Ever since I was a toddler, I would sit on a tall chair and play the game for hours. It certainly was not a modern machine, but it was where my passion began. 

When my dad told me that a pinball place had opened up, I was ecstatic to go. He first took us to Blizzard in 2018, a year after it first opened. At first, I was an amateur. I had no prior experience, was 10 years old, and was around four to five feet tall. Despite that, I fell in love with it.

Blizzard opened in October of 2017 when the McCarthys wanted to share their passion for pinball with others. They had numerous machines in their basement, which they wanted people to play. 

“They were basically just sitting, and people weren’t enjoying them as they were meant to be enjoyed,” K. McCarthy said. “We wanted to do something about that, so that’s how we came to be here.”

Blizzard currently has thirty-nine pinball machines and six arcade games for families to play. The arcade is entirely family-friendly, even providing stools for little kids to stand on while playing. The McCarthys have seen players anywhere from toddlers to grandparents. 

“We’ve gotten to know some really wonderful people. One of our favorite parts is the community and seeing the relationships that have formed,” Kevin and Laura said.

According to a poll by @chsstudentmedia, 62% of staff and students have been to Blizzard, despite little advertising of the location. Dorr believes that the lack of advertisement is a good trait of the business.

“When a place is spread through word, it has to be decent. You tend to get a lot of good crowds,” Dorr said.

David Ariew, a 3D artist, played in the tournament. He had initially been working with 3D design, but due to a friend’s thriving career, he took on working with NFTs. After two years, this allowed him to expand his basement, paving the way for his new passion.

“My wife was like, ‘I think a pinball machine could fit there,’” Ariew said.

During the pandemic in 2020, Ariew and his wife bought a Led Zeppelin pinball machine from the Game Exchange of Colorado, a family-owned and operated business that buys and sells coin-operated games. 

“I got so much more into it. I think it’s unique because it lets you concentrate on exactly what’s in front of you, and I think that can have a really calming effect on people,” Ariew said. “This location is one of the best locations I’ve ever played pinball.”

Pinball is a complex sport, as it requires attention, skill, practice, and patience.

“Even then, I’ve seen some rookies absolutely shred, even though they’ve never played it before,” Dorr said. “Sometimes you win a tournament and it’s your first time playing pinball ever.”

 A common misconception about pinball is that shaking or ‘tilting’ the game is not permitted, however, it is actually a necessary technique that every upcoming player must learn. Shaking or moving the machine allows you to manipulate the ball by giving it momentum, moving it somewhere else or saving it from draining. However, moving the machine excessively gives dangers, and if you get three dangers, then you tilt, which ends your ball and cancels your bonus. It is 100% permitted but can be a risky tactic. 

“Every one is unique, it’s a completely different game,” Dorr said.

The playfield, flippers, strategies, and even the sensitivity of the tilt mechanism is different on every machine. There may be two machines of the same game, but they may play very differently and it is important to learn each one. 

I’ve spent years practicing and mastering many techniques, including flipper passes and backhands, which are more advanced and more rewarding techniques.

During the tournament, players received short meal breaks in between rounds, with a longer break during each pingolf round. Pingolf is a style of tournament where players in a group try to achieve the set objective using the fewest number of balls possible. I find this format very fun, but it can be quite frustrating when you miss the margin by a simple shot.

Another format played during the tournament was group matchplay, in which players were put into random four-person groups with the goal of achieving the best score possible. 

The final format was flipper frenzy, where players would play uninterrupted one-on-one games for two hours, one after another. For each flipper frenzy, I placed the top two for the round. 

After eight rounds of these mixed formats, players began finals at 8 a.m. after twenty hours of qualifying games. The format for finals was fair elimination, which had four player groups play a single game, with their placement determining how many strikes they received. First place received none, second and third received one, and fourth received two. After five strikes, players were eliminated and given their participation medal and corresponding winnings, if they placed high enough. 

Due to this tournament’s success, the McCarthys plan to run this tournament again in the future, potentially next year.

Since the 1970s, pinball has been on the rise, making this tournament possible.

“For a long time, pinball had been fizzling out,” L. McCarthy said.

In 1942, pinball was outlawed in New York as it was considered gambling at the time. However, Roger Sharpe, a journalist and pinball wizard saved it by playing a game in a New York City courthouse in 1976. Sharpe proved it was a game of skill and not a form of gambling. Since then, pinball has been an enjoyment for kids, adults, and competitors. His story is told in the documentary, “Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game” (2022).

“I’m so grateful for the people we had here,” L. McCarthy said. 

By the end of the tournament, Dorr had lost energy and was slightly disappointed with her winnings. However, she enjoyed herself and wants to participate next year, if given the opportunity.

“It’s a nice way to get everyone together and find like-minded people. Even if you don’t win, you’re going to have a great time,” Dorr said.

One of my biggest passions was founded because of this obscure culture, and I am so thankful for everyone who has made it possible and supported me along my journey.