# PinShades – InterBlok @ Melt Yard **Source:** IFPA **Type:** article **Published:** 2026-03-19 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.ifpapinball.com/pinshades-interblok-melt-yard/ --- ## Analysis Tommy Vernieri reports on InterBlok and PinSteps devices used at the Southeast Flipper Festival (SEFF) tournament in Marietta, GA. InterBloks were installed on three games to handle stuck balls without losing player progress, while PinSteps angle-adjustment devices were used to modify playfield pitch for faster gameplay on classic machines. The tournament awarded 97 WPPRs to the SEFF winner and 28 WPPRs to the Ballin' Belles winner, with the next event scheduled for September 2026. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] InterBloks were installed on Metallica and The Flintstones, with a third unit moved to Indiana Jones during finals to handle a stuck ball — _Tommy Vernieri, tournament organizer at SEFF, describing direct experience_ - [HIGH] InterBlok allowed continued play on Indiana Jones with the ball on the flipper without loss of game progress — _Tommy Vernieri, firsthand account of device functionality_ - [HIGH] PinSteps at 1° angle made Eight Ball Deluxe play very fast, causing quarters to fall into coin return — _Tommy Vernieri, direct observation during tournament setup_ - [HIGH] Southeast Flipper Festival awarded 97 WPPRs to SEFF winner and 28 WPPRs to Ballin' Belles winner — _Tommy Vernieri, tournament results_ - [HIGH] Next SEFF and Ballin' Belles tournaments scheduled for September 17-20th, 2026 — _Tommy Vernieri, event announcement_ ### Notable Quotes > "That let me keep the game going with the ball on the flipper and no loss of progress for the player's game." > — **Tommy Vernieri** > _Describes the key benefit of InterBlok technology for tournament operation—maintaining game state during mechanical issues_ > "It would have been even better if we had InterBloks on all of the games, but I'm glad we at least had a few so we could try them out for ourselves for the first time in this tournament." > — **Tommy Vernieri** > _Indicates operator enthusiasm for the product and desire for wider adoption_ > "We heard from customers that the quarters were falling straight into the coin return." > — **Tommy Vernieri** > _Real-world feedback on unintended consequences of steep PinSteps angle affecting coin mechanisms_ > "It was super convenient to have the Variety Pack with a few different sizes on hand." > — **Tommy Vernieri** > _Positive feedback on PinSteps product design and flexibility for on-site adjustments_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Tommy Vernieri | person | Tournament organizer and venue operator at Marietta Melt Yard, experienced with InterBlok and PinSteps devices | | Southeast Flipper Festival (SEFF) | event | Pinball tournament in Marietta, GA; distributed 97 WPPRs to main winner and 28 WPPRs to Ballin' Belles winner | | Marietta Melt Yard | venue | Venue hosting SEFF tournament in Marietta, GA | | InterBlok | product | Device for managing stuck balls on pinball machines without loss of game progress; tested at SEFF | | PinSteps | product | Angle-adjustment device for modifying playfield pitch; used to increase game speed on Eight Ball Deluxe and The Addams Family | | Metallica | game | Stern pinball machine with InterBlok installed at SEFF | | The Flintstones | game | Pinball machine with InterBlok installed at SEFF | | Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure | game | Pinball machine that experienced stuck ball during SEFF finals; InterBlok used to resolve issue | | Eight Ball Deluxe | game | Classic pinball machine used with PinSteps angle adjustment at SEFF | | The Addams Family | game | Classic pinball machine used with PinSteps angle adjustment at SEFF | | Ballin' Belles | event | Women's pinball tournament; winner awarded 28 WPPRs at SEFF | | IFPA | organization | Source of article; manages WPPR rating system | ### Topics - **Primary:** Tournament operations and reliability management, Aftermarket pinball devices and accessories, Pinball venue management and game setup - **Secondary:** WPPR tournaments and competitive pinball, Classic pinball games in arcade settings ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) ### Signals - **[operational_signal]** Venue operator reports successful deployment of InterBlok and PinSteps devices to manage game reliability and playfield conditions during major tournament event (confidence: high) — Tommy Vernieri used InterBloks on three machines to handle stuck ball during finals and switched from 1° to 0.5° PinSteps after coin return issues - **[venue_signal]** Marietta Melt Yard invested in multiple units of aftermarket devices (InterBloks and PinSteps variety pack) to improve tournament operations (confidence: high) — Venue purchased two InterBloks and had PinSteps variety pack available on-site - **[product_concern]** PinSteps at 1° angle on Eight Ball Deluxe caused coin mechanism malfunction with coins falling directly into return instead of working properly (confidence: high) — Customer complaints about quarters falling straight into coin return; operator switched to 0.5° as compromise solution - **[operational_signal]** Venue operator suggests InterBlok adoption should be broader across tournament games and plans to expand deployment at next event (confidence: high) — Tommy Vernieri stated 'It would have been even better if we had InterBloks on all of the games' and is planning expansion for September 2026 event - **[event_signal]** SEFF and Ballin' Belles tournaments scheduled for September 17-20, 2026 with planned expanded equipment deployment (confidence: high) — Tommy Vernieri announced next SEFF & BB tournaments for September 17-20th, 2026 and stated 'I'm looking forward to having more of them installed' - **[competitive_signal]** Southeast Flipper Festival tournament awarded significant WPPR value (97 to main winner, 28 to Ballin' Belles winner), indicating regional tournament status (confidence: high) — SEFF awarded 97 WPPRs and Ballin' Belles awarded 28 WPPRs --- ## Transcript sponsored blog post InterBlok @ Melt Yard – by Tommy Vernieri I ended up using an InterBlock to handle a stuck ball in our recent tournament at Marietta Melt Yard during the recent Southeast Flipper Festival (SEFF) in Marietta, GA. We had purchased two InterBloks and installed them in Metallica and The Flintstones. During the finals there was a stuck ball on Indiana Hilton Jones: The Pinball Adventure. I initially tried putting the ball in the shooter lane but it wouldn’t plunge when we closed the coin door. So I grabbed one of our InterBloks and moved it over to Indiana Hilton Jones. That let me keep the game going with the ball on the flipper and no loss of progress for the player’s game. It would have been even better if we had InterBloks on all of the games, but I’m glad we at least had a few so we could try them out for ourselves for the first time in this tournament. We ended up with a smoothly running finals for a tournament weekend that awarded 97 WPPRs to the SEFF winner and 28 WWPRs to the Ballin’ Belles winner! I’m looking forward to having more of them installed in our next SEFF & BB! tournaments September 17-20th, 2026. We also used PinSteps for this tournament. We added them to The Addams Family and Eight Ball Deluxe to make them play a little faster than their normal arcade setup. For Eight Ball Deluxe we started with 1° PinSteps and the game played super fast. We heard from customers that the quarters were falling straight into the coin return. We didn’t have much time to make adjustments to get the coin return to work at that steeper angle so we switched to the 0.5° PinSteps which was still a big improvement over the normal arcade pitch and also let us spend our time on other tournament preparations rather than sinking effort into adjusting the coin return mechs. It was super convenient to have the Variety Pack with a few different sizes on hand. After the tournament we swapped out the PinSteps for our normal rubber foot casters and had the games back to their normal state for arcade play. Click HERE to learn more. _(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v4)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: cf29982a-1570-4d25-b0fc-3aa4fc438ecc*