The finals will be new and classic Stern games, the events themselves will determine what games to use in their individual tournaments.
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So the finalsâŚas in the Stern Pro FinalsâŚwill be all old Stern, DE, New Stern.
But the events that lead up to the finals, and are part of the Stern Pro CircuitâŚanything goes? We could be playing Zizzles?
OrâŚdo you mean that the finals - as in the final round in any of these events - must be played on a Stern/DE/Stern? But qualifying rounds can be played on anything?
Iâm not sure if Iâm confused or if I just want to keep this thread going.
I think youâve got it, bud 
All final matches have to take place on the Stern Pinball Arcade version of Harley Davidson. I thought that was pretty clear in the official rules.
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For a preview just go to Pinball Expo Chicago for the annual Sternament.
Are Chicago Coin machines eligible? I was hoping for some Gold Record.
The finals will be on Cosmic Princess, Viper, Lazer Lord and Iron Maiden.
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I think a survey will still given out to participants and if there are any issues theyâll be addressed by ifpa/papa and the tournament directors. Id also assume that ifpa/papa can exclude events at their own discretion for whatever reason they see fit.
For the inaugural year i think the approach with wpprs which im pretty sure Adam has mentioned or maybe even can be credited with is the best idea with the least amount of subjectivity. Unfortunately there will be some events that get dropped but they can look at making changes to increase their wpprs . Ultimately if youâre able to recruit top players and bump up the wpprs, youâre doing something right. This is not to say other events are doing something wrong but sometimes theyâre just limited in what they can do by the expo they piggyback off of.
I was actually looking forward to offering 50% off your next yearâs Pin-Masters entry fee if you sent in a perfect response on the circuit survey 
This would be a fun way to release a new game in Stern finals a la SMB3 in âThe Wizardâ.
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wait that was my idea for NWPC, brides!
I was going to reply to sk8ball and say âboo hooâ at his comment that 5 days is too long (and then make some remark about retirement at his age) but, oh my god, I think I legitimately forgot how quiet it used to be on Thursday and until late afternoon FridayâŚ
Iâm with you guys. Five days is too much.
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lol. epic typo.
Dem were the days
This is what Thursday qualifying used to look like! lol
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One of the main draws for BBH from a corporationâs sponsorship standpoint is to have logos featured on the arcade, mobile, and Facebook games. I can see how a company would get behind that kind of exposure, which can also be updated via the web almost instantly. Even though pinball machines have now evolved to use LCD screens capable of displaying full-color sponsor logos, the code is only updated sporadically and requires an operatorâs commitment to keeping the code up-to-date. Itâs the product impressions that are bringing these companies to the table - not BBH. Theyâre able to be seen by passers-by, casual players, and enthusiasts alike.
My questions are these: Short of stamping logos on the playfield, how can we expect to see those same kinds of numbers from corporate sponsors if the opportunities to be seen are so much less and difficult to maintain? What does Stern really âbring to the tableâ other than being the largest manufacturer? So far the only entity I see benefiting here is Stern. Are we going to see a Stern Papa Johnâs Pizza game in the near future?
Stern has a similar mobile presence to leverage, that most likely has a larger audience than our BBH mobile platform:
On the arcade front we have roughly 3000 âonlineâ BBHD games in the wild generating those impressions. Even without an online web update available NOW (I think at some point itâs silly not to think that this will happen online), there are ways to motivate those machines on location to update to certain revisions of software to help this process with potential sponsors.
As far as the only entity benefiting being Stern, you do realize we literally just added $5000 to the Circuit Final prize pool compared to the previous seasons? That was literally for us doing ânothing so farâ besides signing up Stern to support the launch of âthis thingâ. At WORST itâs the same as it ever was . . .+$5000. I think it has the opportunity to be much greater than that.
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Thereâs exactly a 0% chance of any changes to the PAPA/Stern circuit having any impact on my life, but it seems intellectually dishonest to dismiss the way-more-than $5000 thatâll collectively be spent on travel to a new standalone event.
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I donât think its going to be a standalone event.
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