Pinball

Games

Helicon Brewing has a very nice collection of 40+ pinball games including many of the highest rated games as ranked on the Pinside Pinball Top 100 list.

The full list of current games is available on the Helicon Brewing Oakdale pinside or pinballmap pages.

The full list of current games at the Helicon Brewing McDonald location is available at pinside or pinballmap.

We have pinball tech visits several times a month. If there are any issues with any game at all, please let our staff know so we can get it resolved asap.

Free Play Events

Helicon is closed on Mondays. From time to time the brewery hosts Free Play Pinball events on Monday evenings. Tickets are $20 for two draft beers and unlimited free play pinball on all 40+ pinball games from 5pm to 11pm. 21+ only. Tickets for upcoming dates and additional information can be found on eventbrite or the brewery facebook events page.

Tournaments

Helicon hosts monthly Pints & Pinball Knockout (3- or 4- strike) tournaments and also Launch Party tournaments for every new game that arrives. There is also the Helicon Open, a large multi-day tournament held at the end of each year.

All tournaments are IFPA sanctioned and open to everyone. At this time, due to local ordinances, there is NO cost to enter and NO payout for any tournament placement. The $1 IFPA Fee will be covered by Starport LLC and Helicon Brewing.

Tournament Schedule

All tournaments start at 2:00pm unless otherwise noted.

3/19/23, monthly strikes
4/16/23, monthly strikes
4/23/23, Foo Fighters, Godfather, and Scooby Doo Launch Party tournaments
5/21/23, monthly strikes
6/18/23, monthly strikes
7/16/23, monthly strikes
8/20/23, monthly strikes
9/17/23, monthly strikes
10/15/23, monthly strikes
11/19/23, monthly strikes
12/03/23, monthly strikes
12/14/23-12/17/23 Helicon Open (times and details below)

Knockout Tournaments

Head-to-head 3 or 4 Strikes depending on participation. Players will play in a 1-on-1 versus scenario with the player obtaining the higher score advancing to the next round without a strike. The player with the lower of the 2 scores will be credited with 1 (one) strike. The amount of strikes for elimination will be subject to the attendance of this event. If there are less than 24 participants at the beginning of this event, the format will be 4 strikes. If there are more than 24 participants, the format will be 3 strikes.

Players will be assigned random opponents and machines. Players will not play the same opponent in consecutive rounds. Should there happen to be a tie for 3rd Place at the end of the Tournament, one game will be played on a randomly selected machine immediately after the 1st Place Match machine is selected.

Practice will take place at the time of opening until 15 minutes prior to that start of the event. At that time Tournament Directors will determine what games are eligible for play during the tournament. The rules will then be explained to the participating players and any concerns prior to the start of the Tournament will be addressed.

Launch Party Tournaments

Unlimited qualifying is 2pm-6pm. Finals bracket size depends on participation and is expected to start at 6:30pm.

Best Game Qualifying. Each participant will have the opportunity to queue up and play as many games as possible during the 4 hour qualifying time. Players will put down their name on a list, when they are called it is their opportunity to play a 1 player game on the launch game. After they complete a 1 player 3 ball game, their score will be recorded and they are welcome to place their name on an open line on the queue list for another chance at bettering their score. When qualifying time is over, the player currently on the machine is able to finish their respected game and then qualifying will be complete. We will then eliminate half of the players in the qualifying field.

Head to Head Finals. A Bracket Style Tournament will follow. Seeding will be based on qualifying scores. The bracket will be single elimination except for a best-of-three finals.

Helicon Open

Our current hours of operation are:

Tuesday-Saturday: 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Sunday: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Location

Helicon Brewing
102 Union Ave
Oakdale, PA 15071

Contact

Phone: 724-693-4204
Email: info@heliconbrewing.com

The Helicon Open 2023 will be held Thursday, December 14th through Sunday, December 17th. The format will be the same as 2022. The only rules updates below are some clarifications on tie breakers and other minor issues. Please direct any questions to info@heliconbrewing.com or message the Helicon Brewing facebook page.

*** Please note: The game banks are subject to change without notice. Every attempt will be made to keep all games running in tip-top shape, but pinball happens. ***

There will be five tournaments held over the 4-day tournament weekend:

Main Tournament
- Qualifying runs Thursday through Saturday 11am-10pm.
- A Division Finals will begin Sunday at 12pm. B Division Finals will begin at 1pm.
  - There will be A Division Finals, B Division Finals, and possibly C Division Finals depending on participation.
  - Players with an IFPA ranking higher than 2000 are not eligible to play in B Division Finals.
  - All finals brackets will be head-to-head, best-of-three games, with re-seeding each round. The final round will be best-of-5.
  - During finals, a game can only be chosen once until all games have been chosen.
  - All games in the Main and all three Classics banks will be eligible choices in the finals.
  - For the first game in each round of the finals, the higher seed gets the choice of game AND position. On subsequent games, the losing player gets choice of game OR position.
- The entry fee is $5 per ticket plus coin drop.
  - 5 games per ticket.
  - Tickets can be voided. If a ticket is voided then all results do not count.
  - Once a ticket has been accepted, it can no longer be voided at any time and all scores will count.
  - The point system per game will be 100, 95, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, etc.
- Prizes:
  - 100% of all ticket entry fees will go to the prize pool.
  - The A Division prize breakdown will be:
    - 1st place – 40% of total prize pool
    - 2nd place – 20%
    - 3rd place – 13%
    - 4th place – 7%
    - 5th through 8th place – 5%
  - The B and C division prizes will be Helicon gift cards, free passes to pinball free play nights at the brewery, and pinball swag TBD.
- 20 games in the main bank:
  1. Foo Fighters LE
  2. Iron Maiden LE
  3. James Bond 60th
  4. Jurassic Park 30th
  5. Deadpool
  6. Godzilla
  7. Star Wars
  8. Guardians of the Galaxy
  9. Stranger Things
  10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  11. Aerosmith
  12. Avengers: Infinity Quest
  13. Rush
  14. Venom
  15. Led Zeppelin
  16. Metallica
  17. AC/DC Premium
  18. Batman 66 Premium
  19. Iron Man Vault Edition
  20. Beatles Gold Edition
    - Note: All games are Pro/base models unless otherwise noted.
    - Note: All games are set to Competition/Tournament Mode and no extra balls.
Classics Tournaments
- General Information
  - $10 per day entry fee plus coin drop for all games played.
  - The format is Herb / open qualifying. High scores will get 100, 95, 90, 89, 88, etc.
  - The best scores on 5 of 8 games will count towards the total.
  - Qualifying is 11am-6pm each day. Finals will begin afterwards as soon as the brackets are ready.
  - Finals are best-of-three each round.
  - Players will be reseeded each round.
  - For the first game of each round, the higher seed gets the choice of game AND position. On subsequent games, the losing player gets choice of game OR position.
  - During finals, a game can only be chosen once until all games have been chosen.
  - All $10 entry fees will go to the prize pool.
  - 10% of the prize pool will go to the top qualifier.
  - Note: All EMs are set to 3 balls per game.
  - Note: PLAY extra balls on EMs during qualification. DO NOT PLAY extra balls during finals.
- Classics – Thursday Bank
  1. Robo-War
  2. Sinbad
  3. Split Second
  4. Stardust
  5. Bounty Hunter
  6. Wizard
  7. Eight Ball
  8. Black Jack
- Classics – Friday Bank
  1. Centaur
  2. Strato-flite
  3. Trizone
  4. Hot Hand
  5. Space Shuttle
  6. Jungle Queen
  7. Black Knight
  8. Royal Flush
- Classics – Saturday Bank
  1. Paragon
  2. James Bond GTB
  3. Nine Ball
  4. Hollywood Heat
  5. Time Fantasy
  6. Fireball Classic
  7. Excalibur
  8. Fire Power
Charity Tournament
- Scores will be accepted Thursday through Saturday.
- There are no finals.
- The entry fee is $5 per day to participate plus coin drop per game.
- The game is Toy Story 4 and will be set to one ball per game.
- The prize payout will go to the top three high scores on the game which will be reset to factory defaults before the tournament begins.
- Prizes will be Helicon gift cards, free passes to pinball free play nights at the brewery, and pinball swag TBD.
  - Please make sure the tournament director knows the initials entered for a high score.
- The TBD charity will receive 100% of the entry fees and coin drop.
General Notes
- All tie breakers will be the high score for one ball played on a random game in the tournament bank. The tournament director will supply the credit to play the one ball and the game choice will be made with the google random number generator.

2022 Results

Main Finals

1. Alek Kaczmarczyk- $1000 + $150 for top qualifier
2. Lewis Bevans- $500
3. DJ Riel- $325
4. Jared Schmidt- $175
5. Tim Lee- $125
6. Jason Bokor- $125
7. Gary Hartz- $125
8. Kincaid Wilson- $125
9. Cryss Stephens
10. Brandon Meszar
11. Pete Hendricks
12. Greg DeFeo
13. Todd Williams
14. Walt Lannis
15. Dave Lancaster
16. Clay Penrose
17. Andy Pickens
18. John Thwaite
19. Brian Bower
20. Sarah Kwiecien
21. Chris Brunetti
22. Jason Rihn
23. Dave Denardo
24. Jeffrey Thompson
25. Robert Sneed
26. Virginia Hendricks
27. Michael Sakowitz
28. Gwyneth Butler
29. Justin Wise
30. Peace Nick Mann
31. Mike Karbowsky
32. Don Tidball
33. Nicole Somplatsky
34. Sandy Graver
35. Shannon Plue
36. Josh Lee
37. Tyler Rosini
38. Matt Boast
39. Michael Cushion
40. Wyatt Bartley
41. Scott Reppert
42. Rick Rubican
43. Alexa Roberts

B Division Finals

1. Dave Denardo
2. Michael Sakowitz
3. Nicole Somplatsky
4. Jeffrey Thompson
5. Chris Brunetti
6. Robert Sneed
7. Virginia Hendricks
8. Peace Nick Mann
9. Gwyneth Butler
10. Don Tidball
11. Sandy Graver
12. Josh Lee

Classics – Thursday

1. Brian Bower- $70 + $20 for top qualifier
2. Dave Lancaster- $55
3. Lewis Bevans- $35
4. John Thwaite- $20
5. Greg DeFeo
6. Gary Hartz
7. Andy Pickens
8. Pete Hendricks
9. Jacob Swope
11. Jim Shaner
11. Sarah Kwiecien
11. Logan Sauers
13. Pete Niznik
14. Nikki Burfield
15. Chris Brunetti
16. Bill Agnew
16. Sandy Graver
18. Peace Nick Mann
19. Scott Reppert
20. Troy Bogdan

Classics – Friday

1. Gary Hartz- $85
2. Pete Hendricks- $65
3. Cryss Stephens- $45
4. Brian Bower- $20
5. Greg DeFeo- $25 for top qualifier
6. Tim Lee
7. Matt Boast
8. Tyler Rosini
9. Dave Lancaster
10. Logan Sauers
11. Eamon Balouch
12. John Thwaite
13. Jeffrey Thompson
14. Allison Thrower
15. Don Tidball
16. Jason Bokor
17. Josh Lee
17. Chris Brunetti
19. Clay Penrose
20. Jason Rihn
21. Jacob Swope
22. Troy Bogdan
23. Scott Reppert
24. Nicole Somplatsky
25. Alek Kaczmarczyk

Classics – Saturday

1. Cryss Stephens- $105
2. Lewis Bevans- $75 + $30 for top qualifier
3. Gary Hartz- $50
4. Pete Hendricks- $30
5. Jared Schmidt
6. John Thwaite
7. Dave Lancaster
8. Brian Bower
9. Tyler Rosini
10. Tim Lee
11. Jason Bokor
12. Mike Karbowsky
13. Bill Agnew
14. Sandy Graver
15. Walt Lannis
15. Matt Boast
17. Jason Rihn
18. Clay Penrose
19. Nicole Somplatsky
20. Don Tidball
21. Robert Sneed
22. Sarah Kwiecien
23. Troy Bogdan
24. Justin Wise
25. Todd Williams
26. Peace Nick Mann
27. Chris Brunetti
28. Virginia Hendricks
29. Scott Reppert

Charity 1-Ball (Toy Story 4)

1. Dave Lancaster- 2,705,860
2. Beck Gallagher- 900,770
3. John Thwaite- 766,290
4. JBW- 634,660