Denver Goes Deep: 1Up LoDo’s April Tourney Hits a Home Run

Baseball season may be underway, but in downtown Denver, the real heavy hitters were flipping their way through the “1up Lodo April Monthly – Baseball Season is Upon Us!” tournament. Held on April 6 at The 1Up LoDo, this 10.5-hour pinball showdown featured 17 competitors battling it out under the Group Knockout format, using progressive strikes to weed out the pretenders from the contenders.

With only seven strikes to burn and eleven machines ranging from modern beasts to golden-era icons, every ball could be your last at the plate. And while the Rockies were quiet across the street, inside The 1Up it was all lights, sounds, and tilt warnings as Denver’s finest pinballers stepped up for their first pitch of the season.

The 1Up LoDo: Where Coors Field Cheers Meet Tilt Warnings

Just steps from Coors Field, The 1Up LoDo has carved out its own turf in Denver’s arcade scene—where the smell of hot dogs in the street gives way to the glow of pixel art and the sound of flippers snapping. It’s a venue that merges retro charm with tournament grit: rows of classic cabinets like Tron and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hum beside a rotating cast of Stern’s latest heavy-hitters.

Crowds swell after Rockies games, turning the place into a shoulder-to-shoulder frenzy—but even when it’s packed, players still find ways to get their flips in. The cocktail menu leans heavily on premixed punches (more potent than some wizard modes), and the token system lets you load up your tab like you’re preparing for a boss fight. Just don’t be surprised if you leave with a pocket full of unused tokens and a sudden obsession with beating your best time on 4-player Pac-Man.

Whether you’re in it for the nostalgia or the next big multiball, 1Up LoDo offers a lineup and a vibe that keeps Colorado’s pinball crowd coming back—win or lose, this place plays hard.

Homeruns and Hurry-Ups on The Simpsons Pinball Party

Round 4 gave us one of the best matchups of the night on The Simpsons Pinball Party, Stern’s deep-cut 2003 release that lives in the shadow of The Addams Family and Twilight Zone, but is no less brutal. Designed by Keith Johnson and Joe Balcer, it’s packed with one of the deepest rule sets ever coded into a pinball machine—one of the few games from the early 2000s where stacking multiple modes wasn’t just possible, it was necessary.

John Devore showed up with textbook precision, navigating the chaos of couch multiball, Itchy & Scratchy, and “Alien Invasion” modes like he had the cheat codes. His ball control was all Moe’s Tavern swagger—never rushed, always calculating. John Quinn and Justin Hinman fought hard, but couldn’t quite hit the flipper timing needed to lock in those crucial combos. Meanwhile, Jeremy Moskowitz found himself locked out of the party faster than Grandpa Simpson at the door.

It was a fitting battleground—The Simpsons machine is a late-era Stern sleeper hit. While it doesn’t scream prestige at first glance, its staying power and layered gameplay have earned it a spot on many tournament floors.

Meet the Machines: Showstoppers and Showdowns

You couldn’t walk five steps in The 1Up without seeing a piece of pinball history—or at least a glimpse of the future. Here’s a closer look at a few key titles that shaped the night’s competition:

Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye (Pro) – Stern, Jan 2025
The ink’s barely dry on this fresh fantasy-themed entry from Stern, and it already feels like a mid-’90s Bally fever dream—but with modern flair. Featuring a Beholder toy with interactive tracking eyes, branching “quest” paths, and a rotating playfield portal, this one embraces theme immersion like few modern tables. Keith Elwin’s fingerprints are all over the layout, offering high-risk, high-reward shots and a wizard mode that feels more like a tabletop climax than a multiball.

JAWS (Pro) – Stern, Jan 2024
Shark-infested flippers? Yes, please. JAWS rides the nostalgia of the 1975 film with sound design that will send you into fight-or-flight mode. But it’s more than theme—it’s a shooter’s game. The left ramp is deceptively hard, the Shark Attack Multiball punishes sloppy play, and the boat toy locks your ball just long enough to make your palms sweat. Plus, that John Williams score humming under the playfield? Instant goosebumps.

John Wick (Pro) – Stern, May 2024
A fast-flowing layout paired with high-speed upper loops and a “Continental Hotel” drop target bank? John Wick feels like it was designed for players who treat ball control like martial arts. It’s a combo-heavy machine that rewards sharp aim and punishes hesitation—perfect for a knockout format where hesitation equals elimination. Plus, it’s the only machine where you can avenge your dog across three modes and still collect bonus for style points.

The Addams Family – Bally, Jan 1992
Still the highest-selling pinball machine of all time, and still an absolute crowd favorite. Pat Lawlor’s magnum opus isn’t just nostalgia—it’s genius. The Power magnets, Thing hand, and jackpot callouts make it tournament-ready even in 2025. There’s a reason this game gets played at every level of competition, from newbies to IFPA legends. Getting to “Tour the Mansion” isn’t just a goal—it’s a rite of passage.

Godzilla (Premium) – Stern, Sep 2021
Arguably the best modern machine Stern has ever made, period. Designed by Keith Elwin, Godzilla is an absolute masterpiece of flow, risk-reward, and kaiju chaos. Between the building collapse mech, the moving bridge, and a rule set that encourages combo stacking in ridiculous ways, it’s no surprise it’s still a must-have on any serious tournament lineup. Watching a Premium model in action? That’s bonus content in motion.

Quinn Goes Yard for the Win

When the dust settled after 10 grueling rounds and more than 10 hours of play, John Quinn emerged as the last flipper standing. Ranked 22nd in Colorado with 92 IFPA events to his name, Quinn has long hovered just outside the top tiers—solid, reliable, but often overshadowed by higher-ranked players. Not this time. In a field packed with tournament veterans, he stayed cool under pressure and delivered a walk-off win that’ll boost more than just his WPPRs.

Hot on his heels was John Devore, currently ranked one slot ahead of Quinn at 21st in the state. With a hefty 155 IFPA events under his belt, Devore is the kind of player who doesn’t blink in multiball and knows how to squeeze every last bonus from a dying flipper. He may have taken second, but his performance on The Simpsons Pinball Party earlier in the night was one of the tournament’s standout moments.

Tim Bruner claimed third, and while he may have missed the top two, there’s no denying his consistency. Sitting 9th in Colorado with 267 IFPA events logged, Bruner is a grinder—a player who’s always in the mix late in the game. He might not always grab the gold, but he’s the guy you never want to see matched up against you in round 7.

Rounding out the top four was Justin Hinman, ranked 6th in the state and a familiar name at just about every Colorado event that matters. With nearly 300 IFPA tournaments under his flipper fingers, Hinman brings experience, precision, and a kind of tournament muscle memory most players would kill for. His fourth-place finish wasn’t a fluke—it was just a stacked field.

Colorado IFPA Pinball Top 10 Standings:

Extra Innings

This tournament had it all: deep cuts like The Uncanny X-Men, modern monsters like Godzilla, and fresh blood like Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye. Massive thanks to Deanna Scalf for keeping the chaos in check and to The 1Up LoDo for bringing the vibe, the machines, and the tokens.

And hats off once again to John Quinn, who closed it out with a true walk-off performance.

If you love pinball and can’t get enough of these tournament breakdowns, stick around—there’s always another game just starting. And hey, give us a rating below. It’s less painful than a tilt warning and way easier than locking a third ball.