Full show schedule

Pinball and arcade game tournaments

Interested in a tournament? Players compete to win trophies in a variety of casual and friendly tournaments on pinball and arcade games. These tournaments will challenge individuals, rookies, kids, and parent-kid teams -- see below for a full slate of competitions.

New this year, sponsored by Hyperspace Arcade, join in on classic arcade game tournaments. Anyone up for a knock-out style challenge on six of your favorite arcade games?

Bring your pinball skills to win trophies and cash in the sanctioned Open, Classic Solid State and Electro-mechanical Tournaments against some of the best players in the world.

Sanctioned pinball tournaments: More info

The festival is a PAPA circuit event and you can play in sanctioned Open, Classic Solid State and Electro-mechanical Tournaments against some of the best players in the world.

We'd like to welcome Brandon Wheeler as the 2017 tournament director. Read below for tournament buy-ins and detailed information. This is a community event -- all players are welcome to compete in the festival's tournaments.

Tournament Score Keeper SignUp Information: Click here

IMPORTANT: You must purchase a corresponding admission ticket to the show in order to participate in that day's tournaments. The tournament entry does NOT include admission to the show.
The International Flipper Pinball Association that ranks pinball players among world competitors sanctions the Rocky Mtn. Pinball Showdown Tournaments, including the Electro-Mechanical, Classic Solid State, and Open Tournaments.

All tournament will follow standard PAPA/IFPA rules. Full tournament rules are available here.

Play unlimited games on favorite pinball and arcade games

Play a huge game list and variety of themes in pinball machines and classic arcade video games. Experience the sights, sounds and excitement of hands -on games. Enjoy retro console gaming with Atari, Nintendo and Sega. Play the classics and new favorites brought together by our gamer community. This show is made possible by this outstanding group - THANK YOU!

Meetups and Seminars: Be in the know with special guests from across the community

The festival brings special guests from industry and the community to give you great opportunities to interact with awesome personalities, to discuss timely topics,and to learn about different areas of pinball, retro console, and classic arcade gaming.

Meetups and seminar topics are numerous in theme and format. Each year we look to bring you a fresh, in-demand perspective of our wider community. Topics range widely from player technique workshops to interactive panels with favorite guests to participation with live podcasts.

What do you want to meetup about, and who do you want to meet? Let us know!

Play retro console games like it's 1985

Play the classic console games on actual Intellivision, 8-bit to 64-bit Nintendo systems, Atari and Sega Genesis consoles. Anyone for a little Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, or Pong?

Festival game awards

Cast a ballot for your favorite games. Winners receive special festival ribbons. See the history of winners in our Show Archives.
  • BEST OF SHOW:  PINBALL - any pinball game
  • BEST OF SHOW:  CLASSIC ARCADE - any arcade game
  • BEST ELECTRO-MECHANICAL - pinball with score reels
  • BEST 1980s - pinball with digital LED score displays
  • BEST DOT MATRIX/MODERN - pinball with digital display boards in backbox
  • BEST LIT - any pinball game - Sponsored by Comet Pinball!
  • CROWD PLEASER - any game
  • MOST UNIQUE - any game

Casual play tournaments [TROPHIES]

Parent-kid tournament

• Single elimination bracket system Sunday at 11 a.m.
• $5 per parent-kid team. Kids 12 and under only
• Trophy awarded to first place team

Rookie tournaments

• Single elimination bracket system Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 9 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
• $5 per person
• Trophies awarded to first place for each tournament
• All players with IFPA ranking of 1,000+ invited

Kid's tournament

• Single elimination bracket system Saturday at 2 p.m.
• FREE -- Share your love of pinball with your kids 12 and under
• Trophies awarded to first, second, and third places

Women's tournament

• Single elimination bracket system, Saturday at 11 a.m.
• $5 per person
• Trophy awarded to first place

Team tournament

• Single elimination bracket system Friday at 5 p.m. 
• $5 per person. Teams will be randomly selected from among entrants 
• Trophies awarded to first place team

Classic electro-mechanical tournament

• Single elimination bracket system Saturday at 4 p.m.
• $5 per person
• Trophy awarded to first place

Split flipper tournament

• Single elimination bracket system, Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Each player controls one of the two flippers in an awesome game of teamwork
• $5 per person. Teams will be randomly selected from among entrants
• Trophies awarded to first place

Arcade tournament

  • Qualifying Saturday 1-4 p.m.
  • Top 12 players, by score rankings across all 6 games during qualifier, advance to 5 p.m. three-strike knockout elimination finals tournament
  • FREE entry, sponsored by Hyperspace Arcade
  • All ages
  • 6 games with random draws, and a variety of genres
  • $1,000+ prize pool awarded by Hyperspace to top 10 players
  • Sanctioned by Aurcade, meaning, a high score is reported for rankings

Arcade game jr tournament
under 18 years of age

  • Friday 4 p.m.
  • Three-strike knockout elimination
  • FREE entry, sponsored by Hyperspace Arcade
  • Under 18 years of age
  • First 32 entrants accepted at festival
  • 6 games with random draws, and a variety of genres
  • Festival trophies awarded to first, second and third places; $500+ in Hyperspace prizes to first through 5th places, including a Nintendo Switch to first place
  • Sanctioned by Aurcade, meaning, a high score is reported for rankings

Sanctioned tournaments [CASH and TROPHIES]

Open tournament

• Qualifying is Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• $60 per person, with 20 total game plays on a minimum bank of 8 machines. Entry includes PAPA registration fee.
• ​The top 16 scores will play in a "PAPA Style" finals Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
​• Prizes:
1st place - trophy + 30% 2nd place - trophy + 20% 3rd place - trophy + 10%
4th place - 8%
5th - 8th place - 4%
9th - 16th place - 2%
​• Sample Prize Pool (based on 80 players, $4,000):
1st place - $1,200
2nd place - $800
3rd place - $400
4th place - $320
5th - 8th place - $160
9th - 16th place - $80

Open tournament - Qualifying

• The player's best 5 games out of a minimum of 8 pinball machines will be used to determine their ranking
• A maximum of 100 points is available for each game. 97 points for 2nd; 95 points for 3rd; 93 points for 4th; and reduced by 1 point for 5th and beyond
• The player's combined score will be based on their 5 highest game ranking point totals
• The top 16 players will advance to the finals at 6:00 pm on Saturday

Open tournament - Finals

• Top 16 players will compete in a PAPA Style format
• A group of 4 players will play 3 games in each round and the top 2 players will advance from each group 
• Player will be awarded 4, 2, 1, 0 points for 1st - 4th place finish on each game
• Additional information can be found here

Classic solid state and Electro-Mechanical tournaments

• Qualifying for the classic solid state tournament is all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m to noon
• Qualifying for the electro-mechanical tournament is all day Friday and Saturday
• Unlimited buy-in entries are 3 games for $10 on a minimum bank of 2 machines
• ​The top 8 scores will play in a PAPA style finals Sunday at noon
​• Prizes:
1st place - trophy + 30% 2nd place - trophy + 25% 3rd place - trophy + 15%
4th place - 10%
5th - 8th place - 5%
• Sample Prize Pool (based on 64 players, $1,280):
1st place - $384
2nd place - $320
3rd place - $192
4th place - $128
5th - 8th place - $64

Classic solid state and Electro-Mechanical tournaments - Qualifying

• A maximum of 100 points is available for each game. 97 points for 2nd; 95 points for 3rd; 93 points for 4th; and reduced by 1 point for 5th and beyond
• The player's combined score will be based on their 2 game ranking point totals
• The top 8 players for the classic solid state tournament will advance to the finals at noon on Sunday
​• The top 8 players for the Electro-Mechanical tournament will advance to the finals at noon on Sunday

Classic solid state and Electro-Mechanical tournaments - Finals

• Top 8 players will compete in a PAPA Style format
• A group of 4 players will play 3 games in each round and the top 2 players will advance from each group 
• Player will be awarded 4, 2, 1, 0 points for 1st - 4th place finish on each game
• Additional information can be found here