And just like that… We’re already one month into 2026!

⚠️ Be aware that we have a new Code of Conduct page on our website. Please be sure to give a read as when you play a tournament with us, you are agreeing to abide by this conduct. ⚠️

Notable Sections in Email:

IFPA + PRPA Updates, Hep Wanted, Event Recaps, Action Button Tips, State Championships Reap

📰 IFPA + PRPA Updates 📰

Since our last communication, there have been numerous updates related to the IFPA and separately the OBX Flipper incident. Some that bring some concern as we continue to evaluate our relationship with IFPA.

First, on January 21st the IFPA has updated their mission statement and their staffing page. Something to note is that they have 3 new members on their staffing page—Ashley, Kaylee, and Travis.

Ashley’s goals: …to see women play more in both women’s and open division events. Her reasons for joining the IFPA Staff also align with this goal; she is looking forward to helping the IFPA with their shared mission of growing the community and ensuring inclusivity.

Kaylee’s goals: help foster a more inclusive and supportive competitive environment, and to ensure that pinball continues to be the welcoming community she has loved for so many years.

Travis’ goals were not explicitly on the IFPA website but are similar to Ashley’s and Kaylee’s per Discord discussions

Secondly, on January 31st NBC News picked up the OBX story. We encourage you to read this article. Although it is missing some information related to leaking conversations and potential doxxing, it covers new information that was not shared as they were able to interview some of the players who were at the event.

Thirdly, on February 4th the IFPA announced that opt-outs will no longer be accepted after March 1st. This means that those who want to play during our Wednesday IFPA events must be counted in the results and therefore pay $1. Many folks around the world were using opt-outs as a way to protest the IFPA after the OBX incident while still playing with their friends. Allowing opt-outs was always at the discretion of the TD, but due to concerns about some high-level players potentially gaming the system, the IFPA felt it would be best to remove this option altogether. Although no one in our chapter has requested an opt-out, it is very disappointing to see a change to something people actively used and appreciated, especially when it appears to be driven by the actions of top-250 players, who already have additional regulations and rules specific to them.

These events have nailed the coffin for some Belles & Chimes chapters that were on the fence about maintaining IFPA sanctioning. For example, the Chicago and Chicagoland-area suburb chapters will no longer be running IFPA tournaments going forward. Many Oregon and Washington events (both Open and Women’s divisions) have removed sanctioning. The longest-running league in San Francisco, which has a waitlist, has also pulled sanctioning, along with several other leagues.

As a leadership team, we are still discussing how we might move forward. We are definitely keeping our Sunday meetups IFPA-free going forward. We will keep our Wednesday events IFPA-sanctioned for the first half of the year for now, and we will update you if that changes. Please reach out to us if you have thoughts or opinions on the matter.

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In more fun news, the PRPA has now created a Women’s Leaderboard! The points from our previous tournaments have been shifted over. Our future events will now show up on this board as well!

⚠️ Help Wanted ⚠️

The news, pintips, and other content in our emails are curated by Tiffany. It takes time and brainpower to put information each month. If there is any pinball news, pintips, or other pinball-related things you think should be shared at our next newsletter, please feel free to reach out with your idea. We encourage you to write up the piece and provide images. We will appropriately credit you for the contribution.

Additionally, we will eventually have our 2026 flyers for distribution around the city. We could use some help getting them hung around town. We would love to get more of them hung up in underrepresented areas such as the southside of Madison and surrounding suburbs slightly outside of Madison. We’ve been able to place the flyers in local bars, gyms, libraries, cafes, grocery stories, thrift stores, and community spaces. Be aware that some locations may take the flyers down at regularly intervals—try to find a space that will not take it down in a short amount of time.

Wednesday Match Play

Last week we had a casual meet and greet at Ryan’s Retro Arcade in Stoughton. Seven folks came out, and we got one new person! We hope to see Jennie at more events!

We had a high score competition on Dealer’s Choice for the Pawpetual Pins enamel pin. It looked like Lau was going to take it home, but Tamara managed to squeak in one last high score. Congrats on your new pin! Thank you Eden for donating!

Thank you to Ryan for the hospitality. We had fun playing some older games and enjoying some ice cream sandwiches. 😋

Sunday Pin-Golf

We had so much fun at The Kickback Bar for our Walking Dead Remastered Launch Party on January 25th. Two new faces and one who met us at our meet & greet! That made for a solid 12 of us. Nice even groups. 🥰

We played 9 holes of monster-filled pingolf where Tiffany led us off in our 4-player final on Earthshaker, Twilight Zone, and Medieval Madness.

🏆 Winners’ Circle 🏆

🥇 Donelle

🥈Tiffany

🥉 Jillian

🏅 Mackenzie

Congrats to the top four finalists who took home a zombie head. Tamara won a Punk Rock Pinball shirt and Shayna some flipper earrings by winning their respective groups.

We also had FOUR duck races!

Oh. You might want to know about the launch party grand champ… 😉 That went to Mackenzie! She was winning all the things. 🏆👏

Thank you Kickback staff for the hospitality, Stern Pinball for the launch party, and Stephanie Wysocki for sending us the PRPA swag!

Upcoming Events

Our next events are at Aftershock Retro Arcade. This upcoming Wednesday on February 11th will be our Valenchimes event. Five rounds of Matchplay and a side split-flipper tournament. Registration starts at 6PM, and we start at 6:30PM. This is an IFPA + PRPA event.

The following event will be on February 22nd for our Pinball Olympics with a Best Game format. We’ll have 6 arenas to potentially play. Your best 5 games will count towards qualifying! You are allowed to play 12 times in whatever combination of the 6 games you’d like. Registration begins at 11:30AM, and we start playing at 12:00PM. This is only a PRPA event.

We encourage you to RSVP on Facebook. It helps the engagement on our page and can drive additional viewers to the event.

Entry fee for both events is $5 + token drop. $1 of the fee will go to IFPA and another $1 to PRPA.

Also, Ladies Flip Wisconsin has a Galentine’s Day event this upcoming Sunday. Please see below for details. Feel free to reach out if you’re interested in going. Tiffany and Donelle plan to drive up, and they have room for more.

⭐ Pin Tip: Mastering the Action Button ⭐

The giant blinky button. What does it do? The answer is… It depends, unfortunately. There are many games that utilize the action button and in many games, there is more than one use for the button. It could spot a shot, add-a-ball during multiball, or even divert a return from a ramp. How you press the button is sometimes important too! Most time a press of the button is all you need, but you sometimes need to hold it or press it repeatedly. Some actions are dependent on the mode! That’s a lot to remember!

Fortunately, there is an Action Button Master List on TiltForums to save the day. Give this guide a look and learn a new action button use today to level up your strategy.

👏 Round of Applause Again 👏

Congrats again to our Belles who were invited to Wisconsin Women’s State Championships in January! It was a great showing for our Madison-area ladies: Cora, Mary, Jacque, Tiffany. Even better yet, two of our ladies took a plaque home!

Big applause to Mary and Tiffany who won 3rd and 4th respectively. We’re so proud of you!

Huge standing ovation for Kassidy who won both the Open Championships and Women’s Championships! This is the first time Wisconsin had a women win both championships! And it is no easy feat as the Women’s tournament took place just the day after the Open! Truly amazing.

See you soon!

– Belles & Chimes Planning Team