# How to set up a Tournament with the Stern Army **Source:** Stern Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2022-08-29 **Duration:** 7m 43s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AElUT8Py5M --- ## Analysis Stern Pinball releases an official tutorial on running pinball tournaments using the Match Play software platform. The video covers tournament format options (group match play, knockout, round robin, high score), step-by-step setup instructions, and pro tips for success. It emphasizes community building and promotes participation in the Stern Army operator program. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Match Play is one of the most popular tournament management platforms and user-friendly for first-time tournament organizers — _Direct statement by Stern Pinball representative in tutorial; Match Play is widely documented in KB as standard platform_ - [HIGH] High score/best game tournaments are a popular qualifying format because they can support large numbers of players with only a handful of machines — _Explicit statement in tournament format section explaining format advantage_ - [HIGH] Stern Army locations receive prizes, support, and may host launch parties for new Stern games — _Direct statement about Stern Army program benefits and engagement strategy_ - [HIGH] Turning off extra balls and ball save timers helps keep tournaments moving at a better pace — _Listed as pro tip for tournament efficiency_ - [HIGH] Match Play supports real-time display of player groupings and standings on TV screens and mobile phones — _Feature explicitly described in setup instructions and pro tips section_ ### Notable Quotes > "Match Play is one of the most popular and it's pretty user friendly they've got lots of different tournament options and formats and it makes it very easy to set up your first tournament" > — **Stern Pinball representative**, ~0:45 > _Endorsement of Match Play as accessible entry point for new tournament organizers_ > "if this is your first tournament there's lots of really great resources to use we're gonna talk about one of them but by all means is not the only way that you can run this" > — **Stern Pinball representative**, ~0:15 > _Acknowledgment that Match Play is recommended but not mandatory; community has alternatives_ > "best game tournaments are a popular qualifying format because you can support a large number of players with only a handful of games" > — **Stern Pinball representative**, ~5:15 > _Highlights scalability advantage of high-score format for inclusive tournament design_ > "Stern Army locations get tons of resources from Stern Pinball we give you prizes we give you support it helps build community" > — **Stern Pinball representative**, ~7:30 > _Direct pitch for Stern Army participation; outlines operator support program benefits_ > "make sure your players are having fun because that's what it's all about" > — **Stern Pinball representative**, ~8:15 > _Emphasizes community engagement and player enjoyment as core mission of tournament organization_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Match Play | product | Cloud-based tournament management software platform endorsed by Stern; supports multiple tournament formats, real-time scoring, mobile access, and is positioned as standard tool for pinball tournament organization | | Stern Pinball | company | Publisher of this tutorial; promoting Match Play integration and Stern Army operator program for tournament support and community building | | Stern Army | organization | Stern Pinball's operator and location partner program that provides resources, prizes, support, and game launch opportunities to participating venues | | IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association; 7531 scoring system used as default in Match Play tournament setup | ### Topics - **Primary:** Tournament management software and platforms, Tournament formats (match play, knockout, round robin, high score), Community building through organized events, Operator/location support and Stern Army program - **Secondary:** Tournament logistics and pro tips ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Educational, encouraging tone throughout. Stern positions tournament organization as accessible and community-building. No criticism or controversy. Clear enthusiasm for democratizing tournament running and growing the competitive pinball ecosystem. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Stern actively recruiting operators into Stern Army program with support, prizes, and game launch events to build loyalty and expand competitive infrastructure (confidence: high) — Direct pitch for Stern Army membership; listing of program benefits (prizes, support, launch parties); educational content as recruitment tool - **[community_signal]** Stern Pinball producing educational content on tournament organization demonstrates commitment to grassroots community building and operator enablement (confidence: high) — Full tutorial dedicated to tournament setup; promotion of Match Play integration; Stern Army program benefits pitched - **[technology_signal]** Match Play platform adoption as standard tournament infrastructure; real-time digital scoring and mobile access replacing traditional paper-based tournament management (confidence: high) — Match Play positioned as 'most popular' option; tutorial focuses entirely on digital workflow; mobile leaderboards and TV display features highlighted --- ## Transcript have you ever wanted to run your own pinball tournament but you just didn't know how it's a great way to build community and it's actually pretty easy let me show you how there's lots of ways you can go about running a tournament i mean you could use pen and paper if you really wanted to but if this is your first tournament there's lots of really great resources to use we're gonna talk about one of them but by all means is not the only way that you can run this matchplay events is one of the most popular and it's pretty user friendly they've got lots of different tournament options and formats and it makes it very easy to set up your first tournament the first thing you'll want to do is sign up and create an account there are many different tournament formats to choose from the best tournament for you may depend on how many games are available how many players are participating or how much time you have available to run your tournament to learn more about the various pinball tournament formats visit the matchplay events handbook now let's talk about different tournament formats your first option is group match play tournaments this format pairs different groups of players at a machine over several rounds to create a fun and social event players earn points based on their finishing position and at the end of the tournament the player with the most points wins check out how to set up this tournament through match play this is a match play tournament format which is one of the more popular format tournament types you can click the drop down here and pick a location and you can create a new location here if you need to look up the address for it and call it something if you want for the place it's going to be held at uh you set your time and date there which actually we need to change that to 7 pm now tournament formats already set up as group match play as i said the seating is going to be set as random which means at the start of the tournament players will just be randomly grouped with each other and then general pairing is how it sets up what happens after the first round finishes so it's set to be balanced for this which means it's going to try to pair you with people you haven't played before at all scoring system is the default IFPA 7531 so once you're done here you just click on the save tournament button at that point you're going to make sure first thing that you do is create arenas for your tournament you click on the arenas button up here at the top i've already got a bunch in here set up for the place that we're going to be playing at if you go to add arenas you will have all the machines you've ever entered for anything on your account so once you've entered a machine once you can always just add it back in here with the blue add button i just type Atlantis for example and there it's there you can deactivate as well and take it out in the ad thing if you haven't put one in before you can type it in and search for it it'll auto search as you go to type so you'll see it right here the players screen is where you'll actually add players coming into the tournament any person you've ever added in here is going to be listed you can activate your players from here if you want or again same as the machines you can go in here to the add players function and you can either search from here for existing players or if you enter IFPA number you can type in their number and it'll search them that way if it's a brand new player you type his or her name in if they don't have an account and you hit find players you're gonna have the option to add the player so if you add the new player they'll be here now so if you need to start the tournament whenever it's ready you just click on the green start tournament button inside the overview tab you just leave the default for drawing this from any category and you leave the checkbox or publish matches on match but live immediately when you click start next round here it'll automatically generate match-ups for you it'll pick random machines and put players onto them once a round finishes they just come back to the laptop for the tablet that you're using and report the results to you the tournament director that's what i do just to ensure there's no confusion and someone would come back to me and say first second third fourth you'll have the option to close round one at that point when all the matches are completed another great tournament format is group knockout this is a popular elimination tournament format over a number of rounds players are paired against each other in four player games depending on how the player finishes in their match they will receive one or more strikes when a player reaches a predetermined number of strikes they are eliminated from the tournament at the end of the tournament the last players standing wins a third format you can try is called round robin this is a tournament where every player plays each other player once each game is a head-to-head match between two people where the winner earns a point at the end of the tournament the overall winner is the player with the greatest number of points last but certainly not least is the high score or best game tournament this format allows players to play single-player games across a bank of machines their best game is compared against the best game of the other participants in the tournament they are then awarded points based on how well their best game ranks best game tournaments are a popular qualifying format because you can support a large number of players with only a handful of games now let's talk about some pro tips to make your tournament more successful consider turning off extra balls and or ball save timers to help keep the tournament moving it's helpful to display the match play players groups and standings on a TV screen or display monitor at the location players can also see the player groupings and standings on their mobile phones by logging into their match play account another important tip is prizes random giveaways are always a great idea because anyone playing in a tournament has an equal chance of winning award the finalists with prizes the entry fee is typically used to fund cash prizes feel free to purchase or make your own trophies for the event and get creative with your prizes and giveaways another great tip is to promote your tournament on social media create an event and share it create an eye-catching flyer with all details including your location address date time prizes and sponsors don't forget to take photos of the event for social media and tag Stern Pinball so now you have some building blocks to start organizing your own tournaments my question is are you part of the Stern Army Stern Army locations get tons of resources from Stern Pinball we give you prizes we give you support it helps build community you might even host a launch party for the brand new Stern game if you have questions let's chat let's not forget the most important piece of the puzzle is to have fun make sure your players are having fun because that's what it's all about now you're ready to start your own tournament _(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 78e81182-76ce-4d0d-a528-b973b9bd04ae*