Eric Stenberg calls his Bluff City Pinball League eight-week program a learning experience. “We’re trying to figure it out,” he says
Four-player groups play for seven weeks. The eighth week is the finals. Each game is scored, with first place getting seven points, second five points, third three points, fourth one point. The points are then submitted to the IFPA for rankings.
Stenberg’s ranking is currently 4,603. He says he’s good at playing a long game but isn’t particularly adept at scoring the big points, which is what counts in pinball. Stenberg first got into pinball at the Oak Court Mall, where he used to play as a kid. Some of the same games he played are now part of his collection of 13 machines.
“It’s fun,” says Stenberg, pointing out that for $10 folks can get a beer and all the games they can play. The machines are currently at Crosstown Concourse, Memphis Made, and Lucchesi’s Beer Garden.
The league is currently filled, but Stenberg is planning on a new season around August. For folks interested in pinball, he directs them to the Memphis Pinball Map. He points to Ace Madjlesi for being the godmother of Memphis pinball.
Each machine has its own set of rules. Some bumping of the machine is allowed. Some games have storylines, others have posts that must be hit. Everybody, says Stenberg, has lost a ball at the edge of the field of play.
Stenberg works as an elementary school science teacher, and he’s worked in scientific concepts via the machines, such as the laws of motion.
So, do the kids think it’s cool?
“I’d like to think it’s super cool,” says Stenberg, “But I’m not going to put that on paper.”
