After years of cracking cans and popping bottles, we’ve earned enough XP to unlock the Draft upgrade! We’re offering six distinct brews on tap:
If you’re 21+ years of age, set your quest markers to Ground Kontrol and enjoy a fresh brew. If you’d like to see a particular beer on tap, please, let us know!
This year’s final was an epic battle between two CFFers – Jeff Gagnon of Seattle, the winner of the winners’ bracket, and Noah Davis of Portland, the winner of the losers’ bracket.
Here’s a rundown of this years’ top-ranked participants (prizes won in parentheses). Full standings after the jump!
1 Jeff Gagnon (Johnny Mnemonic/Pinhead trophy)
2 Noah Davis ($400/PBR mini fridge)
3 Steve Lampros ($300/dozen doughnuts a month for a year at Voodoo Doughnuts)
4 Mike Mahaffey ($150)
5 Russ Wallis ($75)
5 Cayle George ($75)
7 Robert Gagno ($75)
7 Danny “Backglass” Belrose ($75)
9 Brandon Smith ($25)
9 Ryan Gratzer ($25)
9 Keith Elwin ($25)
9 Miles Craig ($25)
13 Jake McGhee ($25)
13 Jared Kramer ($25)
13 Steven Ackley ($25)
13 Jason America ($25)
READ MORE >
For Portland Pinbrawl 2010, Ground Kontrol provided the venue, the dialed-in pinball machines, and of course, the one-and-only Pinhead Trophy:
…but we received a lot of help make this year’s tournament a huge success:
Thank you, everyone. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Pre-registration is now open CLOSED! On-site registration for the remaining slots will take place Sunday, April 18 at 10:00am and is first-come, first-serve.
On Sunday, April 18th, the finest pinball players in the Pacific Northwest will once again gather in historic Old Town for Portland Pinbrawl 2010, Ground Kontrol’s second annual pinball tournament. Join your fellow Portland ‘ballers to battle the best of the Northwest for the grand prize: a full-sized Williams’ “Johnny Mnemonic” pinball machine. As an added perk, Ground Kontrol will extend its beer and wine serving hours to cover the entire day of the tournament.
Ground Kontrol’s inaugural Portland Pinbrawl tournament in April 2009 drew over 120 players, some traveling from as far as Canada to compete. A packed house is expected for Portland Pinbrawl 2010, and registration is capped at 128 players.
Portland Pinbrawl 2010 will also feature two “side tournaments” with highly challenging rules including one-handed play, and “split flipper” play – where 2 players each control one side of the pinball playfield!
Competition signup fee is $20 per person; spectators get in for free. Doors open at 10:00am, Sunday April 18th. Admission is limited to 21 and over with valid ID for competitors and spectators alike. Please note: Admission to the pinball mezzanine will be limited to tournament participants, and play on the pinball machines will be limited to tournament games only. This tournament is brought to you by Aaron Nelson, Eric Hill, Fred Franken and Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade.
Pre-registration for Portland Pinbrawl 2010 is highly recommended and will be available starting February 18th Pre-registration is now closed.
For more details and to pre-register, click here!
There’s no time to wait – if you want to compete in Portland Pinbrawl 2010, you need to pre-register NOW! Why the urgency? Well, we’re at 122 pre-registered players – only 10 8 6 SLOTS LEFT (as of 9:34am Friday 4/16) – and fully expect the number to climb to 128 (our max) before the tournament starts.
Pinball pros and potential prodigies in bars and basements across the country are talking about Pinbrawl, and we can’t predict when a sudden flurry of PayPal payments will push the player count to the ceiling. So, don’t pause another picosecond: click here and pre-register for Portland Pinbrawl 2010!
Rumors of Rock Band’s disappearance from Ground Kontrol were greatly exaggerated! Back from a month-long Sabbatical at neighboring Backspace, Rock Band Tuesdays at Ground Kontrol (or “RB@GK” for short) returns this Tuesday with two big new features: a computerized rotation system, and instant purchasing of any song in the Rock Band Network Store.
We pride ourselves on seeking out and restoring the best videogame titles of arcade history. One chapter has remained noticeably absent, however: The games of Encom, originally designed by programming wünderkind and arcade legend Kevin Flynn. Space Paranoids, Matrix Blaster, Vice Squad: a whole slew of them, thought to be lost forever.
That’s changing today, however. Thanks to the detective work of a few dedicated fans, we managed to locate an almost complete collection of Encom titles hidden away in a mysteriously abandoned game room. Beneath the layers of dust, they appeared almost untouched in the 28 years since they were created!
Now, we’re pleased to bring this exclusive lineup from Encom’s early days to the Ground Kontrol arcade floor of today!
Space Paranoids
The fearsome Recognizer made its debut in this classic title famous for its real time 3-D shaded graphics, an impossible computing feat in 1982. Cruise the canyons in your Tank, but stay vigilant or risk being Recognized into oblivion!
Don’t bother trying to top the world record score, by the way…it’s remained unbeaten since Flynn himself set it in his own arcade. “All in zee wrist,” as he would say.
Matrix Blaster
Forget the 1999 movie; blast into the original Matrix with the classic top-down shooter that introduced “bullet time” to arcades. Pilot your Z-fighter through the game grid to blast Bugs in four directions. Things getting a little too intense? Hit the “Warp” button to slow down the action for a limited time.
Vice Squad
Freeze, perp! Vice Squad gives the old game of Cops And Robbers an electronic update, with players facing off on opposite sides of the law. “Hey, if this is about those parking tickets I can explain, okay?”
Arc Wars
Encom’s advanced video games sometimes seemed to defy the laws of physics, but nothing could have prepared arcade fans for Arc Wars, the first and only arcade game to feature an X-Y-Z monitor capable of drawing vectors in three-dimensional space. Spin the pitch, yaw and roll knobs to fling your glowing cursor through the air, drawing curves that deflect your opponent’s attacks. You gotta be good if you want to survive!
TRON
No arcade lineup would be complete without this smash hit! Race lightcycles, pilot a tank through the game grid, “upload” yourself via an I/O tower and infiltrate the MCP. It’s all in a day’s work for the world’s top security program!
(Space Paranoids repro cabinet artwork courtesy of Arcade Aid. Thanks, Zack!)
Step right up to the Funhouse pinball machine and meet the talking puppet Rudy, your capricious and lively host! Rudy talks, taunts, heckles, and keeps a constant eye on the ball, beckoning you to experience his amusement park world filled with Mystery Mirrors, Wind Tunnels, and Crazy Steps.
Advance the clock to midnight and Rudy falls asleep, snoring loudly. Target his open mouth to begin 3-ball multi-ball play and try for million-point scoring! A second plunger doubles the fun, adding skill shots for Rudy’s Hideout, Extra Ball and Frenzy scoring.
After four years of covering the explosive Chipmusic scene in New York City and producing the internationally acclaimed documentary, “Reformat the Planet,” filmmaking crew 2 Player Productions packed up shop and made for the Pacific Northwest to bring Portland its first monthly Chip show, dataPort.
Following in the footsteps of its wildly successful East coast counterparts, Pulsewave (NYC) and 8static (Philadelphia), dataPort presents a showcase of innovative, experimental, and lo-fi music with an emphasis on exploring the untapped potential that lies just beneath the plastic shell of vintage computing and gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy.
Head out to Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St.) on February 3rd to experience the first installment of this exciting addition to Portland’s electronic music scene and the ever-growing global Chipmusic community at large. The show kicks off with local act Spamtron followed by not one, but_two_veterans of the increasingly epic Blip Festival, Leeni and Trash80.
===Trash80 (Los Angeles, CA)===
http://trash80.net/music
Video: Trash80 “Missing You” @ Pulsewave
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An evocative and tuneful blend of chip and classic electronic instrumentation that will have fans and neophytes alike shaking their asses (or any functional equivalent) on the dancefloor.
===Leeni (Seattle, WA)===
http://leeni.us/
Audio: Leeni “Awake”
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Sometimes sweet, other times sultry New Romantic- and Synthpop- tinged tunes that you can either make out or break up to. If your Facebook Relationship Status is listed as, “It’s Complicated,” attendance is a must.
===Spamtron (Portland, OR)===
http://www.myspace.com/spamtron
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A delicate balancing act of fast-paced fist-pumpers and moody, spacey soundscapes that combine to conjure images of robotic combat, interstellar exploration, and other various epic adventures in between.
WHAT: dataPort, a live chiptune showcase featuring Trash80, Leeni, Spamtron
WHEN: Wednesday, February 3rd, 9pm
COVER: $5, 21+ only
Presented by 2 Player Productions
Portland’s most popular arcade honors some of the most popular video game companies ever with a celebration sure to warp you back in time: the Nintendo Party!
Not just limited to Nintendo, play classic Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis games on our stage! Who knows what else we’ll dig out of the attic?
Prove your d-pad skills in tournaments and flex your nerd knowledge in trivia, and win some cool prizes!
We’ll also have cleaned & refurbished systems and games available to purchase so the pixelated action can continue in your own home!
WHAT: Nintendo Party featuring NES, SNES and Genesis free play, trivia, and tournaments
WHEN: Thursday, January 28. Game play starts at 7pm. Tournaments will start at 8pm and will happen throughout the nite. A round of trivia will follow each game tournament.