# What Do Points Make?

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2002-09-18  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/tops.html

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball Inc announced the launch of ToPS (Tournament Pinball System), a single-machine tournament system designed for location operators. ToPS allows operators to set tournament parameters, prize structures, and payouts through machine menus without requiring phone lines or external servers. The system was developed over one year by Lonnie Ropp, Joe Blackwell, and Dwight Sullivan, with initial testing showing increased earnings at multiple location types.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] ToPS can be installed in fifteen minutes or less — _Official Stern press release specification_
- [HIGH] Testing and development of ToPS resulted in significantly increased earnings during the development year — _Joe Blackwell quote: 'When we moved an older experimental tournament model to replace it with a non-tournament Monopoly™, the bar and its customers insisted on having its tournament game back'_
- [HIGH] ToPS requires no phone lines, no servers, and gives full location privacy — _Official Stern press release_
- [HIGH] Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon games are pre-wired for ToPS installation — _Official specifications in press release_
- [HIGH] Stern's previous attempt at a tournament system (Golden Cue) was abandoned due to prohibitive licensing costs with Incredible Technologies — _Article states 'that was using Incredible Technologies' network of interconnected game and the licensing costs were prohibitive'_

### Notable Quotes

> "When we moved an older experimental tournament model to replace it with a non-tournament Monopoly™, the bar and its customers insisted on having its tournament game back"
> — **Joe Blackwell, Tech Service Director, Stern Pinball**, N/A
> _Demonstrates market demand validation for ToPS system through location operator feedback_

> "When we moved a tournament game from a bowling alley where it tested great to a nearby bar, some bowling customers started going to the bar"
> — **Joe Blackwell, Tech Service Director, Stern Pinball**, N/A
> _Evidence of customer attraction and cross-venue traffic generated by tournament pinball_

> "This is a great advance in pinball. Tournament is foremost in the minds of operators and players. Our experience and our earnings with tournament pinball showed us why everyone wants tournaments. ToPS™ earnings plus pinball resale value make pinball a great investment for operators."
> — **Gary Stern, Stern Pinball Inc**, N/A
> _Leadership endorsement positioning ToPS as strategic advancement for location operators_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball Inc | company | Manufacturer developing and launching ToPS tournament system |
| ToPS (Tournament Pinball System) | product | Single-site tournament system for pinball location operators, no phone lines required |
| Playboy (pinball machine) | game | Stern game pre-wired for ToPS installation |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon (pinball machine) | game | Stern game pre-wired for ToPS installation |
| Lonnie Ropp | person | Director of Software at Stern, developer of ToPS system |
| Joe Blackwell | person | Tech Service Director at Stern, shepherd of ToPS development and testing |
| Dwight Sullivan | person | Game software designer at Stern, developer of ToPS system |
| Gary Stern | person | Leader of Stern Pinball Inc, quoted endorsing ToPS as strategic advancement |
| Golden Cue | game | Stern's previous tournament system attempt (when company was Sega), abandoned due to licensing costs |
| Incredible Technologies | company | Provided network infrastructure for Golden Cue tournament system |
| Kelly Packard | person | Associated with Golden Cue tournament system development |
| Portal (Portals software) | product | Stern machine menu system used to configure ToPS parameters |
| Pinball News | organization | Independent pinball media outlet publishing this coverage |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Tournament system design and innovation, Location operator economics and revenue models, Single-machine tournament architecture
- **Secondary:** Prize structures and operator customization, History of Stern tournament systems, Installation and operator support
- **Mentioned:** Legal framework for pinball tournaments

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Article is cautiously optimistic about ToPS, crediting the design team while acknowledging uncertainty about pricing and market adoption. Testing results are presented positively, and Gary Stern's endorsement is strong. Mild skepticism expressed about operator profitability requirements and unknown exact pricing.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Location operator testing demonstrates increased earnings from ToPS-equipped machines during development phase, with customer demand validated across bowling alley and bar venues (confidence: high) — Joe Blackwell quotes showing customers demanded tournament games back and that customers traveled between locations for tournament machines
- **[community_signal]** Stern engaging directly with location operators throughout development process to understand needs and validate market demand for tournament systems (confidence: high) — Article states Stern 'developed the ToPS™ system with these things in mind after consulting with many operators and location owners throughout the United States'
- **[market_signal]** Stern positioning tournament play as key revenue driver for location operators to justify adoption of new hardware ($500 system cost estimate) (confidence: high) — Press release states 'Tournament pinball games earn more money' and 'ToPS™ earnings plus pinball resale value make pinball a great investment for operators'
- **[announcement]** Stern Pinball officially announces ToPS (Tournament Pinball System) as a new single-machine tournament offering for location operators (confidence: high) — Official press release from Stern with detailed specifications, pricing estimate ~$500, compatibility with Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon machines
- **[product_strategy]** ToPS designed with three distinct tournament modes (Progressive Cash, Fixed Cash, Non-Cash Prizes) offering operator flexibility in reward structures (confidence: high) — Press release details three tournament modes with customizable parameters including cost, winner places, prize incrementing
- **[technology_signal]** Move away from networked tournament systems requiring phone lines and external servers toward local, privacy-preserving single-machine tournament architecture (confidence: high) — Article explicitly states ToPS 'uses no phone lines, no servers' and contrasts this with failed Golden Cue system that required Incredible Technologies network infrastructure

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## Transcript

Story dated 18th September
2002, new pictures 26th September 2002.

As
we reported back in April, Stern Pinball Inc have been working on
a single-site tournament system and now it is about to be rolled out.

Yes,
it's called ToPS (note the capitalisation) and it works as we described
before. It's not a networked system and it works on a single machine.
Prizes and the levels they are awarded are set by the site operator
through new entries in the Portal menu system.

ToPS
can be fitted to Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon games (and later)
by the addition of a game-top multicolour LED display, a controller
board and a tournament start button on the lockdown bar (those blanking
plugs on Playboy finally come into their own).

This
isn't Stern's first attempt at a tournament system. The company (or
Sega as it was at the time) tried the idea with Kelly Packard's Golden
Cue but that was using Incredible Technologies' network of interconnected
game and the licensing costs were prohibitive leading to the abandonment
of the idea.

Now
it looks as if the need to have a phone line connection has been done
away with and it's single game tournaments through ToPS.

So
what can we expect to win?

That
depends entirely on the game operator. You could win prizes, tickets
or cash - either fixed value or incremental - but that's all set in
the game menus. What is not yet clear is exactly how the prizes are
awarded. Games don't currently have any way to pay out prizes and
the installation kit doesn't provide one, so is ToPS only suitable
for managed sites?

Whatever,
the deciding factor for the success of tournament play has to be the
cost of the ToPS system. As yet no firm pricing information is available
(reports put it around $500) but the software is already included
in the game, so the major costs are the display and the controller
board. The system has to bring in enough additional earnings to pay
for itself (like all amusement devices in commercial use) . To achieve
that, the operator may have to experiment with different reward systems
and the prizes have to be sufficient to encourage players to opt for
the tournament game rather than regular play.

It's
way to early to know whether ToPS will be a success but credit is
due to Stern and the system's designers (Messrs. Blackwell, Ropp and
Sullivan) for their work and let's hope that the system helps revive
pinball in the eyes of arcade owners and that the extra price doesn't
prove to be prohibitive.

Anyway,
here's Stern's official press release:

Stern
Pinball is excited to announce the release of its Tournament Pinball
System (ToPS™). ToPS™ is a flexible, operator adjustable
tournament system. Running a tournament with ToPS™ is easy;
the pinball machine's computer does all the work and computations
for the operator and location. Tournament pinball games earn more
money.

Stern's
Tournament Pinball System is an in-house tournament system.
ToPS™ uses no phone lines, no servers, and gives full location
privacy. Stern developed the ToPS™ system with these things
in mind after consulting with many operators and location owners
throughout the United States.

During its
development, ToPS™ equipped games significantly increased
in earnings, both from tournament play and practice play. Testing
and development of ToPS™ has been shepherded at Stern over
the last year by Lonnie D. Ropp, Director of Software, Joe Blackwell,
Tech Service Director, and Dwight Sullivan, game software designer.

Locations
recognized the increased earnings and value to customers of
ToPS™ equipped games. "When we moved an older experimental
tournament model to replace it with a non-tournament Monopoly™,
the bar and its customers insisted on having its tournament
game back," Joe Blackwell explained of the tests. "When
we moved a tournament game from a bowling alley where it tested
great to a nearby bar, some bowling customers started going
to the bar."

There are
three types of tournament modes. The first is Progressive Cash
Prizes, where the payout grows with each play. The second is
Fixed Cash Prizes, where the total payout amount is pre-set
by the game operator. The third is Non-Cash Prizes, where points,
tickets, merchandise, or other items of the game operator's
choosing are awarded.

Tournaments
can be crafted to fit the needs of the operators' business and
the location type. ToPS™ adds numerous operator choices
to Stern's Portals™ software for easy operator tournament
set-up. Besides the type of tournament to run and when it starts
and ends, adjustments include: cost of tournament play, number
of winner places awarded prizes, adjustment of prize incrementing,
and much more. The Portals™ accounting functions are augmented
with many additions to provide complete tournament information
to the operator. Players can also enter a PIN number for security.

The Tournament
Pinball System can be installed in fifteen minutes or less.
The ToPS™ contents include:

" Dot matrix multi-color display to be installed on top
of game backbox

" Remote control, power supply for the display

" Wired 'Tournament Start' button for the game's lock-down
bar

" Connecting cable

" Tournament board that is to be installed inside the backbox

" Detailed manual

" Location promotional material

Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon™ are pre-wired for ToPS™
installation, as will be future Stern pinball machines. An operator
need only take out a few plastic plugs, mount the Tournament
Start button in its existing hole, screw on the pcb and display,
and plug in the cables.

The Tournament
Pinball System can be moved from one pinball machine to another
with great ease. Playboy, RollerCoaster Tycoon™, and future
Stern pinball machines are 'tournament ready' and can have ToPS™
affixed to them. The game operator can use his own dollar bill
validator.

ToPS™ has custom text messaging. Using the remote control
that is provided with the tournament display, the game operator
can program food and drink specials, upcoming events, and any
other information they would like to convey.

Courts have
held that pinball is a game of skill. Nonetheless, Stern advises
operators to check local laws, as they should for any tournament
game.

There is
a patent pending covering ToPS™.

Gary Stern
says, "This is a great advance in pinball. Tournament is
foremost in the minds of operators and players. Our experience
and our earnings with tournament pinball showed us why everyone
wants tournaments. ToPS™ earnings plus pinball resale value
make pinball a great investment for operators."

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©
Pinball News 2002

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: edec050e-f1bb-4719-b047-fe3222bc58e0*