Past Events

Thursday, 10th April 2025 🗓️

Keep Pace!

We’re a little late on the recap — but that’s only because we had such an awesome time at last Thursday’s Keep Pace! tournament! 💥

A huge thank you to Replay Bar for generously hosting us. The new elimination format was a hit (even if it ran a bit long — we’ll keep tweaking!), and the vibe all night was electric.

Special mention to Damian, who was first out but took it like a champ — scoring the wooden spoon prize: a $50 Replay Bar voucher and a hand-crafted TAPP coaster, made by our very own Lee. 🙌

We only ran a single division due to the format, with the following taking out our top 4 spots:

1. 🥇 Joshua Hesketh
2. 🥈 Solomon Smith (AUS)
3. 🥉 Patrick Hewitt
   🥉 Tom Fonda
   (equal 3rd)

Josh took home a Stern translite — thanks so much to Stern Pinball for the support! Solomon scored a Lord of the Rings trivia card game, and Patrick & Tom each grabbed free re-entry and a T-shirt, thanks to the legends at AMD. We appreciate our sponsors making these nights even better.

And of course, thank you to everyone who came out — another brilliant crowd, great energy, and a whole lot of pinball love.

🎉 Next week, we’re back at The Winston for the first time in 2025! Come hang out, bring a mate, and jump into the action — whether you’re competing or just soaking it in, we’d love to see you there.

Thursday, 28th March 2025 🗓️

Metallica Launch Party!

🎉 Metallica Launch Party – Event Wrap-up 🎉

Big thanks to everyone who joined us for the Metallica Launch Party at Replay Bar! It was another fantastic turnout, with plenty of familiar faces and some great new ones—we hope to see you all again soon.

A special shout-out to Stern Army for their generous sponsorship and support, helping us celebrate the launch of the new Metallica Remastered pinball machine at Replay Bar in style.

🏆 Congratulations to our winners!

Metallica Grand Champion:

Douglas Lewis, visiting from Victoria, earned the GC title for the evening, taking home the special Metallica Grand Champion commemorative plaque!

Door Prizes:

We spun the random wheel to determine who took home the awesome swag sent over by Stern Pinball:

• Anthony Allen scored the epic Metallica banner.
• Solomon Smith grabbed the awesome Metallica translite.

Top Tournament Results:

While the larger prizes went to our lucky wheel winners this week, our top players certainly didn’t go home empty-handed. Division winners got their pick of apparel prizes: Josh chose an Avatar hat, and Emily went for an AMD T-shirt. The top two players from each division also earned free re-entry to a future event, with second-place finishers receiving an additional token pin or keychain.

The double-elimination format made for an exciting night, giving players extra opportunities to fight their way back into contention. Though it made for a slightly longer evening, we hope everyone enjoyed the extra competitive drama!

Thanks again to all players who joined—your enthusiasm and friendly spirit made the night special. We look forward to seeing everyone at the next TAPP event!

Thursday, 13th March 2025 🗓️

Max Matchplay!

What an amazing event we had yesterday, with a record-breaking turnout of 24 enthusiastic players! 🎉

We tried out a new format—Max Matchplay—which works like the popular Flip-Frenzy but guarantees everyone at least 7 games instead of a time limit. Despite the crowd, everything ran smoothly, leading to fantastic matchups, impressive high scores, and nail-biting knockouts. 🔥

Following the qualifying rounds, the finals split players into two exciting brackets. Congratulations to all the winners! 🏆

Special congratulations to Ryan Lacaze, who took home our door prize—a Stern The Uncanny X-Men Translite (courtesy of Stern Army). Ryan was visiting us from Townsville and is well-known to anyone who tuned into the IFPA National Championship as a commentator and stream runner. You can catch Ryan streaming their monthly Pizza + Pinball tournament this Monday at https://www.twitch.tv/pinheadaustralia. Feel free to drop by the stream and ask for our door prizes back! 😜

A huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors, Stern Army and Pinhead, whose ongoing support helps make these events possible. And, of course, we couldn’t do it without our amazing hosts at Replay Bar ❤️

Don’t forget—our next big event is the Metallica Launch Party! 🎸 Mark your calendars because this one will be epic. You can earn a special Insider Connected badge and have the chance to score unique Metallica-themed giveaways courtesy of Stern Army. We can’t wait to see everyone there!

Thanks again to everyone who joined us and helped set this new record! See you all at the next flip! 🤘

Thursday, 27th February 2025 🗓️

Group Elimination!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for another awesome night of pinball! The competition was tighter than ever, with many close games and impressive performances. Our rounds are now taking 50% longer than a year ago—proof of how much everyone’s skills have improved! We even had to tweak some machines to keep things challenging.

🎨 Shoutout to Pinhead! 🎨
A massive thanks to Pinhead for their support and for providing discount vouchers for our winners. They’ve been a huge part of the pinball scene, hosting the Australian Championship Series (ACS) and producing some incredible custom pinball artwork. Check them out if you haven’t already!

Congratulations to our top four players in each division!

🎁 Prizes:

• 🥇 1st Place – Winners choice of Pinhead merch (shorts, hoodie, shirt, etc.), a Stern Mustang Car, and a Pinhead discount voucher.
• 🥈 2nd Place – Mario mug, free re-entry, custom-made TAPP coaster (courtesy of our member Lee), and a Pinhead discount voucher.
• 🎉 Door prize went to Solomon!

It’s been fantastic to see everyone’s skills improving each event, with plenty of impressive plays across the night. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or have never played before, our meetups are a great way to learn, have fun, and be part of the community. We hope to see you at a future event!

20 → 24 February 2025 🗓️

TAPP at ACS!

We just returned from an amazing weekend in Townsville, competing in the IFPA Australian Championship Series (ACS) – the premier and toughest pinball competition in the country! It was an incredible experience going up against Australia’s best players, and we couldn’t be prouder of our team.

All the machines were set brutally tough—tilts were tight, ball saves were nearly non-existent, posts were widened, and rubbers were removed. It was a true test of skill, and we’re stoked with how our players performed under the pressure.

A special mention to Wes, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday while we were there! Of course, we got him cake. We hope you enjoyed spending your birthday competing for GCs—what better way to celebrate! Happy Birthday, Wes!

Thursday Night – Pizza + Pinball Strikes Comp
119 players competed, and Josh had a solid run, finishing in 25th place.

Friday – Level 1 Championships
118 competitors battled it out, with Wes finishing highest among our crew in 51st place, followed by Josh in 70th and Pat in 81st.

ACS Main Event – Invitational
This invitation-only tournament featured the top 64 ranked players in Australia. In qualifying, Josh put on an incredible performance, finishing 11th. Pat placed 55th, Wes came in 58th, and Tom finished 60th. Josh made it through to the playoffs, where he ended up in 17th place overall.

Women’s Championship Invitational
Lily represented TAPP in this elite 16-player event, fighting hard for a fantastic 12th-place finish!

Sunday Sesh Side Comp
104 players competed in the final event of the weekend. Josh led the way for TAPP, finishing in an impressive 5th place. The rest were not far behind, with Pat placing 17th, Wes coming 22nd, Tom finishing 24th, and Lily in 88th.

We’re incredibly proud of everyone who competed and represented Tasmania so well. For many of our players, this was their first major competition, and they held their own against the best in the country.

A massive thank you to all our supporters back home and those who followed along with the action on the stream. Your encouragement and support were felt every step of the way!

Finally, congratulations to all the winners from the tournament—what an incredible display of skill! We all learned a lot from watching some of the best in the world, and it was a privilege to see it live in action.

Thank you to the IFPA, tournament organisers, and fellow competitors for an unforgettable weekend. We’re already looking forward to the next one! 🚀

Thursday, 13th February 2025 🗓️

Frenzied Strikes!

Last Thursday, we returned to Replay Bar for the first time since November, and it was a fantastic night with an amazing turnout! The night kicked off with a fast-paced Flip Frenzy qualifying round, leading into an intense 3-strike knockout final—making for some thrilling and hard-fought matches.

A massive thank you to Replay Bar for hosting us and to Stern Army for their ongoing support and awesome prizes.

Congratulations to the champions of the night:

🎁 Prizes:

• 🏅 1st place (each division): Choice of a Stern Pinball Translite
• 🥈 2nd place (each division): Mario mug, Stern Pinball sticker & TAPP coaster (made by our very own Lee—thanks, Lee!)
• 🎟️ Door Prize Winner: Lily, who took home a Replay Bar voucher and a Stern Pinball sticker—congrats!

We hope everyone had a fantastic time, and a special thank you to the newcomers and visitors who joined us! It was great to have you there, and we hope to see you again at future events.

A big thanks to everyone who came along, played, and made it such a fantastic night. See you all at the next one!

Saturday, 1st February 2025 🗓️

IFPA Tasmania State Pinball Champion!

The 2024 TAPP State Finals brought our season to an unforgettable close! A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the State Finals a fantastic event filled with intense matches, outstanding sportsmanship, and plenty of smiles.

🙏 Thank You Once More to Our Machine Contributors:
Another massive shout-out to Kev, Brett, Andy, Josh, Simon, Lee, Mick, and ACE. The amount of work it takes to break down, transport, set up, level, test, fix, clean, and maintain these machines is incredible—and we’re truly grateful for all the effort you put in. We couldn’t have held such an amazing and varied finals without your contributions.

🙌 Thank You to Everyone Who Helped Set Up, Pack Up, and Clean:
Your support behind the scenes helped everything run smoothly. We appreciate how everybody just pitches in and gets it done. 😊

🔥 Highlights:
All of the matches were incredibly tight, with players pushing their skills to the absolute limit. Every round showcased remarkable gameplay, with several matches going down to the final ball. Pat even reached the Star Trek wizard mode, and many others achieved epic game goals and complex and difficult super jackpots. The competition was intense, but the atmosphere remained light-hearted and fun—exactly how pinball should be. Whether winning or losing, everyone played with a smile, showing true passion for the game.

🏆 Final Standings:

1. 🥇 Joshua Hesketh
2. 🥈 Wes Keys
3. 🥉 Patrick Hewitt
4. 🎉 Tom Fonda
5. Bennet McComish
6. Adrian (ACE) Evans
7. Solomon Smith (AUS)
8. Kev Mills
9. Simon Voigt
10. Royal Murray
11. Lee Davey
12. Adam Carroll
13. Lily McShane
14. Brett Cooke
15. Cameron Fenton
16. Andrew Krasnicki

🏅 Finalist Medallions:
All of the top 16 qualifiers received a finalist medallion. Although we were sad that Frank couldn’t join us, Cameron, who was ranked 17th, stepped in and played incredibly well—almost knocking out Josh in the first round before Josh went on to win the championship!

🎖️ Nationals Invitations & Trophies:
The top 4 players have earned an invitation to the National Championship in Townsville (Feb 22–23). They also received trophies, which Tom has kindly volunteered to engrave with the champions’ names soon.

🎯 Celebrating the End of the 2024 Season:
Thank you to all the players who competed. The competition was fierce, with everyone playing their absolute best, yet the event maintained a chilled, laid-back pace filled with camaraderie and good fun. You can all be proud of how you played.

Thanks again to everyone who made the 2024 State Finals an event to remember. Here’s to more great games ahead! 🎉

Friday, 31st January 2025 🗓️

2025 Season Kick-Off!

What a way to kick off our second year of TAPP! We had a record number of players turn out, making it an incredible start to the season. The buzz in the room, the sound of flippers and bells, and everyone catching up (or meeting for the first time) really set the tone for what’s going to be an epic year of pinball.

🙏 Massive Thanks to Our Machine Contributors:
First and foremost, an enormous shout-out to our machine contributors—Kev, Brett, Andy, Josh, Simon, Lee, Mick, and ACE. Without you, events like this simply wouldn’t happen. It’s a massive effort to break down, transport, set up, level, test, fix, clean, and maintain these machines—not to mention doing it all again in reverse after the event. We truly appreciate the time, effort, and care you put into sharing your games with the community.

🏛️ Thank You to Hobart City Council for renting us the Pat Murnane Memorial Hall and making it available to our group.

🧶 Thanks to Choices Flooring Moonah for donating the carpet that helped protect the hall’s floor while we enjoyed some intense pinball action.

🙌 And of course, thank you to all the players—both our regulars and the awesome newcomers who joined us. It was great to hear all your positive feedback from last year, and we hope to see you at many more events throughout this year as we compete to find the best pinball players while enjoying great company and good times.

Congratulations to Our Top 4 Players in Each Division:

🎁 Prizes:

• 1st Place in each division took home a Stranger Things board game.
• 2nd Place in each division won a Star Wars mug plus Jersey Jack Pinball key tags.

🎯 What’s Next?
The competitive year has officially begun, and this event already counts towards qualifying for the 2025 State Finals! Ready to rack up more points? Join us at our next event:
📅 6 PM, Thursday, 13th February
📍 Replay Bar

Thanks again to everyone who made the Kick-Off such a fantastic event! We’re excited to see what the rest of the year has in store—see you at the next event!