New Podcast! New Forum! New Feature: Sydney's Only Bar-Arcade - 1989!

Game the System is very happy to announce that we have launched three new sections!

Check out the brand new section Play and feature on 1989 - Sydney's only bar-arcade.

We've been a little quiet of late as we have worked on plans to shift focus from competitive pinball and to all things gaming: retro, modern games, arcade games, pinball, board games, table top, anything that people play! Additionally, we wanted to change our approach from news and events, to a connected gaming community. And what does that mean?

A Podcast!

Head on over to the Podcast section to listen to our brand new gaming podcast. Listen to Marc Bell, John Pansini and Matthew Tolhurst discuss all things gaming. We plan to release a new podcast every two weeks or there abouts, so subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher and join the conversation!

A Forum!

The Forum section does what it says on the box - a community discussion around all things gaming. Here you can keep up with the podcasts we release, the features, and all the things that the wonderful gaming community are up to. Don't hesitate to join the discussion, there's already heaps of content in there waiting for your opinion!

A new feature page: Play!

Expanding our view of people that play has always been our long term goal, and now are finally doing just that! The Play section is all about where people play, and the people that love these places. Our first feature is the one and only 1989 Arcade Bar & Kitchen in Newtown, Sydney - literally Sydney's ONLY bar-arcade!

Updated Finals Standings! Meet the Marathon Pinball Players for 2017 - Pinball HQ Marathon Qualifying on Now!

* Updated Sunday 26th for finals

The Pinball HQ Marathon, now in it's 4th year, is on again with qualifying taking place all week! It's not just called a Marathon for the sake of sounding exhaustive - if you wish to qualify you will have your endurance tested as competitors attempt to get within the top 24 finalists by posting scores all week, 11am to late every day. Not only that, but there are 16 different pinball machines you have to register scores on. I'm tired just thinking about it...

Norbert Snicer awarding the first Endurance Medal to Jett Reid, the first under 15 year old to play all 16 qualifying machines. Photo from the Pinball HQ Facebook page.

There will be the usual prizes, cash and trophies for the top finishers for the event. However, in addition, there are a swathe of prizes given out to competitors including; highest ranked rookie, highest rank qualifier, highest ranked female player, highest ranked under 15 year old, highest ranked under 10 year old, and an endurance medal for all players under the age of 15 who play all of the 16 qualifying machines! Norbert, the organiser of the Marathon, has really pulled out all stops for this tournament.

Fresh out of the shipping container - Aerosmith is Stern Pinball's latest machine, and not only is it part of the Pinball HQ Marathon tournament, but it's the only one currently in the country! Photo from the Pinball HQ Facebook page.

It's Thursday morning as of this writing, and so we are well into the qualifying stages. Here are your qualifying leaders so far, with two days left to go before finals on Sunday!

* Updated finals standings - Top 24 are through for today's main event.

1    PAUL JONES
2    RICHARD RHODES
3    FRANCK BONA
4    PAT NICHOLS
5    BRETT GOODWIN
6    PAUL REID
7    GAVIN DROGEMULLER
8    MATTHEW VENABLES
9    GREG GEE
10    ANDREW FERGUSON
11    ZAC VERON
12    REON SEENEY
13    GREG McMAHON
14    MARK TIBBETTS
15    NAIOMI GOODWIN
15    MICHELLE CLARK
17    DEJAN GOLJA
18    DUNCAN MACDONALD
19    PAUL HIGGINBOTHAM
20    MICHAEL MORRISON
21    REGAN RIST
21    ANDREW WASZKIEWICZ
23    PETER MENZEL
24    AARON CRICHTON
25    LINDSAY DAWTREY
26    MARTIN SNICER
27    IAN HOOPER-RICHARDSON
28    WILLIAM GILL
29    DANIEL BARDEN
30    LISA CONROY
31    ROD BROOKS
32    LARISSA GOSCOMBE
33    CHRYSANTHE PSYCHOGIOS
34    JOHN ARENA
35    RALPHE NUNN
36    JOSH GOSCOMBE
37    JETT REID
38    GEORGE ALEXANDROU
39    NORBERT SNICER
40    GORAN KLEUT
41    ASHLEY KINGSTON
41    NICHOLAS FREESTONE LITTLE
43    GLEN ANTHONY CROWE
44    KERBY REID
45    CHERYL BROOKS
46    JAMIE BRODRICK
47    KEN OWEN
48    ZDENKA SNICER
49    MICHAEL ANDERSON
50    JENNIFER MILLER
51    YVETTE TAM
52    TIM McREIS
53    TREVOR WALSH
54    JACK JOSEPH KINGSTON

Which Australian State Came Out Tops at the Australian Pinball Championship Series

There were 4 Australian states represented at the recently held Australian Championship Series in Melbourne, but which state performed the best do you think? Well let's have a look!

The state rivalry at this years ACS was obviously a very serious affair. Here Paul Reid shows the other states how things get done in NSW. Photo by Matthew Venables Photography http://mvenables.com

We discussed the state representation before, and for context purposes sake let's go over that again now;

Players Attending:

• VIC - 13
• NSW - 8
• QLD - 8
• SA - 2

Players Ranked in the Australian Top 20

• NSW - 7
• VIC - 4
• QLD - 4
• SA - 2

Historically Highest World Ranked Player

• SA - Robert Macauley

Pinball 'Majors' Tournament Champions

• NSW - 2 (Paul Jones 2016 Brisbane Masters champion, Marc Bell 2015 Batcave Masters champion)
• VIC - 1 (Jordan Tredaway 2016 Melbourne Matchplay Championship champion)

Brett and Naiomi Goodwin - 2016 PAPA World Flips Champions - had targets on their backs as everyone attempted to beat them in the Flips side competition and claim boasting rights. Photo Matthew Venables Photography http://mvenables.com

So who are the ACS state champions for 2017? What state had more top 10 finishers in the main event than any other?

NSW - 4 Finishers!

And your new (completely non PAPA verified) world pinball flips champions, are Paul Jones and Pat Nichols! I'm pretty sure Brett and Naiomi are required by law to fly the flips championship trophy from the USA to it's new home here in Australia.. Photo Matthew Venables Photography http://mvenables.com

Brett Goodwin - 1st place

Matthew Venables - 3rd place

Paul Jones - 6th place

Marc Bell - 9th place

VIC - 3 Finishers

Johnny Crabtree - 2nd place

Jordan Tredaway - 5th place

Brian Schleibs - 7th place

QLD - 2 Finishers

Johhny did very well at this years ACS and did Victoria proud. Photo Matthew Venables Photography http://mvenables.com

Jasen Mouritsen - 8th place

Rob Singh - 10th place

SA - 1 Finisher

Robert Macauley - 4th place

Congratulations to NSW for having the most players in the top 10. Here's hoping in future ACS events we see some representation from WA, NT, and Tasmania. It's too high stakes of a competition to not have serious contenders from all over Australia. And failing that, there's always lots of beers and stupidity - I think everyone enjoys that!

Get to Know Paul Reid - Stunning Game the System Player Feature!

It was only a few days ago that Paul Reid won the Pinball HQ Grand Final, winning himself not only the prestige of being the 2016 champion, but taking home a Stern Galaxy pinball machine as the prize!

Click the image above to visit the Player Feature.

In Game the System's latest Player Feature, Paul tells his story of how he found pinball, what drives him to compete, as well as his background in career and home life. It's a great story accompanied by some stunning photos of Paul and the game room he built himself, under his house! You also get to hear the story of why his friends call him DOG...

Click through to the Player Feature for an enormous 10 slides - an xmas and new years gift from us to you! We hope you enjoy.