Seattle Monday Night Pinball (generally referred to as just MNP) is a co-ed adult (21+) team league where each team has a host venue (such as a barcade or any other venue that has pinball and serves alcohol), which serves as the team's "home." Once a week for the duration of the season, each team will compete against another team in their league, either at "home" or as the visiting team at their opponent's home venue. Each team will score match points based on the results of the individual pinball games. At the end of each match, the team with the most points will record a win, while the other team will record a loss; a match may also end in a tie, which will record a tie for each team. League standings are determined based on a simple win/loss/tie record with cumulative match points as the main tiebreaker.

L0.02 - MNP Mission

The mission of Seattle Monday Night Pinball is to provide the logistics needed to run a team league that allows pinball enthusiasts from the Seattle metropolitan area to meet each other at the major pinball venues within the area, through structured matches that have teams compete against each other for friendly competition.

L0.03 - MNP Scope

L0.03.0: MNP is about pinball and more specifically, the pinball league. ONLY Pinball. There have been some misconceptions that MNP is a large organization with influence among the various venues in the city. That is not the case. MNP is neither a non-profit organization nor a corporation. Rather, it is simply a group of players who form the MNP Board, and volunteer their time to produce and manage the logistics needed to make the league happen. This includes creating and managing rules, producing the schedule each season, maintaining the software, and ensuring adequate communication among all the captains and players to coordinate a distributed league.

L0.03.1: MNP is open to all players regardless of an individual’s gender bias, social beliefs, political affiliations, mental or physical disabilities, or background. The requirements to play are that a person is over 21 and interested in pinball.

L0.03.1a: MNP is open to all players 21+. Nobody under 21 is allowed to play in the league, even if a venue is all ages. Captains who knowingly use under-age players are subject to disciplinary action (such as suspension or removal of captain duties). If an underage player has been found to play, they risk disciplinary action from the league and might not be able to join once they do become 21. If it is discovered that a player is under-age during a league night, then all their scores for that night will be converted to disqualifications.

L0.03.2: As such, MNP will not take a stand for or against any issue that isn’t directly related to pinball, even when called upon in social media. Generally those calls will go unanswered. Any individual that is a member of MNP is welcome to express their personal views publicly, but all such expressions remain the view of the individual and do not represent the views of MNP, because MNP is not an entity or organization and as such, does not possess views on any social or political issues.

L0.03.3: The one exception where MNP does take a stand is with regards to the safety of players on league night. Any player that harasses, threatens, assaults, or in any other way poses an active safety risk to other players does risk being suspended or banned from the league. Note that this applies directly to the individual’s conduct during league night and at the league’s pinball venues in general on other nights. MNP does not do background checks on members or venues, and as such cannot guarantee the safety of every person in the league. But if a safety issue is observed and a complaint is filed, then those issues will be reviewed by the board. MNP does not have the resources to investigate any such safety issues that happen outside the scope of the pinball venues served by MNP, and will not take any action against individuals accused if those individuals have not posed any threat or safety risk to MNP players. Rather, such issues should be addressed directly with venues or through the legal system for very serious matters.

L0.03.4: There has also been a misconception that MNP can tell venues what to do. MNP has no authority to impose any restrictions on venues. Furthermore, it is not MNP board that chooses a venue. Rather, captains and their team choose the venue. MNP simply approves the use if they meet the minimum league requirements such as number and quality of pinball machines and open hours. If an individual or team has an issue with a venue, those issues should be taken up directly with the captain who selected the venue, or with management or ownership of that venue. MNP does not have the resources to serve as council, as the board does not include any lawyers nor experts to deal with such conflicts.

L0.03.5: By playing in the league, whether as a roster player or sub, you are agreeing to all official decisions and all rules as describe herein and in the Match Rules. Failure to abide by the rules and decisions could lead to suspension or expulsion from the league. If the terms of the league are not agreeable, you should opt to not play in MNP.

L0.03.6: By choosing to be captain or co-captain, you are agreeing to enforce all official decisions and all rules as described herein and in the Match Rules. Failure to abide by the rules and decisions is a captain code-of-conduct violation and could lead to suspension or expulsion from the league. The lone exception is M5.01.1 for malfunction rulings only.

L0.03.7: Any issue brought to the MNP Board in writing (such as email or text directly to one or more board members) will be investigated. The MNP board will do what it can to understand all sides of any issue before issuing a decision, and will provide a decision that takes into consideration both majority opinion and what is best for the success of MNP.

L0.03.8: Captains who do not agree with a board decision have one appeal avenue. They may bring up their objection to the MNP Captains Group and create a poll. If captains representing more than half of the teams in the league disagree with the decision, the ruling will be reconsidered. Otherwise, the decision is final and players and captains are required to abide by such decisions or be subjected to code of conduct violations.

L0.04 - Version History

2026-9-13 by Dave Stewart: B Playoff Rule Updates.
2026-9-12 by Michael Adcock: 4.20 L2.04.3 updated with 3-letter acronym requirement for team.
2026-1-24 by Michael Adcock: 4.19 Stephen Rakonza retired; Board members & roles updated; IFPA suppression rule removed and clarified.
2024-7-22 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.18 Fall 2024 update IPR and grandfathering rules.
2024-1-30 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.17 Spring 2024 update to machine league worthiness.
2023-9-07 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.16 Machines with multiple rulesets.
2023-8-10 by Dave Stewart: 4.15 Group and playoff structure revised for 32+ teams. Board members updated.
2023-3-21 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.14 Board members updated.
2023-1-27 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.13 Minor rule clarifications.
2023-1-5 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.12 One venue permitted to host three teams. Remove Covid 'non-rule'.
2022-1-25 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.11 L0.03.5-8. Grandfather rule. Playoff clarification. Missing some of the changes, like clarified adherence to rules, clarified forfeit rules.
2021-12-24 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.10 Clarification on captain requirement; also new board members.
2021-12-8 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.09 Rewrite of Board of Directors section.
2021-8-31 by Dave Stewart: 4.08 Lots of minor edits and clarifications.
2021-8-29 by Dave Stewart: 4.07 Rewrite of Playoff Seeding/Bracket.
2021-8-27 by Dave Stewart: 4.06 Updated Summary, added Mission, Scope and Special Covid Rules. Many other updates related to removal of divisions.
2021-7-22 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.05 Updated MNP email address.
2020-1-30 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.04 Board of Directors section added, minor fixes and clarifications.
2019-10-23 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.03 No new content, just cleanup and simplify HTML.
2019-10-14 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.02 Fixed link to Match Rules.
2019-08-22 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.01 Minor changes, renumbered with L prefix, final proposed draft for Fall 2019 season.
2019-07-25 by Stephen Rakonza: 4.00 Initial version of separated League Rules. Nearly all League Rules come from a variety of existing sources (web site, previously combined MNP rules), Terms added.
2018 by MNP Board: 3.x Seasons 9-11, rewrite in Google Docs by MNP Board
2014-08 by Geoff Simons & Dave Stewart: 2.x Season 2-8 HTML
2014-01 by Geoff Simons & Dave Stewart: 1.0 Original Rules, Season 1

L0.05 - Terms

Bar: See Venue. These terms are used interchangeably.
Expansion Team: A new team to the league, or an existing team with significant roster changes.
Game: A game is played on a machine (see Machine below).
IPR: Individual Player Rating is a numeric, whole number, value from 1 to 6. This number is a representation of a player’s pinball skill, over a period of time. Skilled players have a higher rating value. A player with no source data will have the lowest rating value of 1 http://pinballstats.info/search
Location: See Venue below
Machine (Physical Machine / Machine-Ruleset): A machine is a physical pinball machine (NOT to be referred to as a game). A machine doesn’t have a score; a game has a score. Some physical pinball machines have multiple rulesets / multiple ways to play. To this end, each ruleset shall be treated as a separate machine (AKA machine-ruleset).
Machine-Ruleset: Some physical machines have an option to play different rulesets. In many places within the rules, a machine should be interpreted as machine-ruleset (each ruleset being listed as a separate machine). Example: 'Judge Dredd SuperGame' is a separate machine-ruleset than 'Judge Dredd'; 'Bride of Pinbot 2.0' is a separate machine-ruleset than 'Bride of Pinbot'; 'FunHouse Rudy's Nightmare' is a separate machine-ruleset than 'FunHouse'.
Match: A competition between two Monday Night Pinball teams, the details of which are outlined in Match Rules for Monday Night Pinball.
Member / Team Member: A person registered with the league as a rostered member of a team.
MNP: Monday Night Pinball
Physical Machine: This refers to the physical pinball hardware. This is in contrast to a machine-ruleset.
Player: Within the context of a match: a player is a person designated to participate in the match. Outside the context of a match: a player is a person eligible to participate in a Monday Night Pinball match.
Roster: A team’s registered members.
Round: A match occurs as a series of 4 rounds: two singles rounds, two doubles rounds.
Ruleset: Most physical machines have a single way to play: press start and play the game. But some physical machines have multiple ways of starting a game, allowing the player to play a different variation, and sometimes a completely different experience. Each different ways to play is referred to as a ruleset.
Schedule: A season’s published matches
Sub / Substitute: A person listed on a team’s lineup, but not currently on the team’s roster.
Team Rating: The sum of each roster player’s IPR. In the context of a match - the sum of each player’s IPR on the lineup.
Tournament: IFPA Rules apply within the context of a tournament. For the purposes of MNP Rules, the word “Tournament” shall be treated as a synonym for “Match”.
Tournament Director (TD): IFPA Rules apply within the context of a tournament. TD in an MNP Match are the Captains or one of the MNP Commissioners helping with a match ruling.
Venue: A location, meeting all of the league’s requirements to host an MNP match.

L1.00 - Venue

L1.00.0: Each team in the league has a home venue. The venue must meet the requirements listed in this section.

L1.01 - Requirements

L1.01.0: Venue must have a minimum of 8 machines (8 physical machines) in league-worthy condition. See information below on description of league-worthy.

L1.01.1: A venue may only host one expansion team in their first season.

L1.01.2: A newly opening venue must already be open by the application deadline date. If not, the expansion team request needs to be for an alternate location that is capable of hosting the team, but they can specify their interest to move to the new location when it opens.

L1.01.3: The pinball area at the venue must be big enough to accommodate at least 24 players (20 players plus a few guests).

L1.01.4: No cover charge for venue. Players are expected to pay for play, but should not need to pay anything beyond that. An exception is if cover charge is $5 or less per person and all machines are on free play, on both league nights and when players go to practice.

L1.01.5: Venue must sell at least beer or wine (i.e. must have liquor license). This is a barcade league, not a family league!

L1.01.6: Venue must be open (or willing to stay open) until at least midnight on league nights. If they normally close before midnight, they must be willing to stay open on league nights until the end of the match.

L1.01.7: Venue must be within 20 miles of "Seattle". The geolocation of "Seattle" is defined as the Seattle Public Library, located at 5th and Madison.

L1.02 - League Worthiness of Machines

L1.02.0: A machine is league-worthy if it meets the following criteria:

L1.02.0a: Machine is primarily pinball. A machine with a video mode is OK, but a machine in which more than 10% of the time is in video mode, or for which you can lose your turn by losing video mode instead of draining a ball, are not eligible.
L1.02.0b: All switches are registering (it’s ok if one switch is not registering but is not crucial to game play that nobody really complains about it). Shots or features not working but have suitable compensation enabled (like disabling claw in Demolition Man) is acceptable.
L1.02.0c: Lower flippers are strong enough to hit every shot, even after the machine has been in constant use for 30 minutes. Upper flippers are strong enough to make crucial shots (a broken upper flipper on some games like Mars Trek is acceptable, but on most games it isn’t).
L1.02.0d: Most (preferably all) lights are working. Key lights are all working.
L1.02.0e: Playfield is reasonably clean, and doesn’t have a year of grime build-up.
L1.02.0f: Balls rarely get stuck.
L1.02.0g: Machine does not regularly glitch, such as resetting mid-game, ending balls prematurely, creating arbitrary multi-balls or not serving multiple balls during multi-ball, etc. A machine that does this rarely (e.g. at most once a day) is ok; if it happens in that case, malfunction rules apply. If it’s happening more frequently, the machine is not league worthy.

L1.02.1: All machines that are potentially league-worthy and intended for use on league should be posted on the Venue’s page on the website. If a machine is missing from the venue’s page and the opposing team does not want to use that machine, then it remains out for the night.

L1.02.1a: Machines missing from the venue list but both teams agree to use it can be added at on league night.

L1.02.2: On league night, the captains from both teams should discuss and remove from use any machine that is not league worthy.

L1.02.2a: Any machine that is powered OFF by the venue should be removed from use, even if both teams want to use it. Any machine that is powered off, but not by the venue (sometimes disgruntled players will turn off a machine) can be powered ON and evaluated, and if it appears to be league worthy, can be used.
L1.02.2b: Any machine that is powered ON and both captains agree to use it, is available for use.
L1.02.2c: Any machine that is powered ON and neither captain wants to use it for any reason, then it should be deleted from available machines.

L1.02.3: If a machine is powered ON but captains from the two teams disagree on whether or not to include it, then refer to the following board’s guidance, where decision on IN or OUT depends on the reason one of captains thinks the machine should be out, and special rules to apply should the issue occur during a league game. (Remember, any of this guidance should be overridden if captains from both teams agree). This is a reminder that if a team (especially the home team) does not like the fact that a machine is out due to one of the rules here, then contact your operator to maintain the machine. Just because a machine is used one week does not mean it is used the next week if the opposing captains have a different sentiment.

L1.02.3a: The machine sometimes resets. Leave machine IN. If the reset occurs just once during the night, then follow catastrophic malfunction rules for that game, and remove it from use for remainder of evening.
L1.02.3b: A key switch or feature is not working. Such a switch is key if it is necessary to start a mode, complete a mode, start a non-wizard-mode multiball, or reach and score the super jackpot for a multiball. In this case, take machine OUT.
L1.02.3c: A minor switch or feature is not working. Such a switch is like a standup that might enable passive features like pop bumpers, spinners, standups, or drop targets that don’t meet the key switch definition from above. In this case, leave machine IN, play as-is.
L1.02.3d: Many lights are not working. If the non-working lights are for key features (like modes) and necessary to help the user determine progress in the game, take machine OUT. If the non-working lights are minor (like bonus, whether or not a minor feature like super-spinner is lit, etc.) then leave machine IN.
L1.02.3e: Ball sometimes gets stuck. Leave IN and apply stuck ball rules. If a stuck ball occurs during Multiball, then player needs to trap up and stuck ball removed per IFPA rules. If keys are not available and it happens during Multiball, then the player can continue to play until only one not-stuck balls is left (the stuck ball(s) and one other ball). They must drain the non-stuck ball and let the ball search kick in. Upon draining to allow the ball search, multiball is over, there is no compensation ball. If the ball search does not free them and they need to tilt to get the ball out, then one compensation ball.
L1.02.3f: Carry-over Jackpot. The machine has a carry-over Jackpot feature from player to player that is deemed unfair. Leave machine IN, as MNP is just for fun and does not require machines to be in competition mode and randomness of features is just part of the game; you’ll win some and you’ll lose some.
L1.02.3g: The machine sometimes provides a second ball during single-ball play. If simply draining one ball does not cause the machine to lose count of the game, then Leave machine IN, but if this occurs player is to drain the extra ball immediately. If draining one ball ends the ball in play, or if during play the machine loses count on number of balls and does end ball prematurely, treat as a major malfunction. That is, issue compensation ball if it just happens once but abort game and start on a different machine if it happens twice in same game. In this latter case, also do not use that machine for any subsequent round. If during play this occurs and it becomes not possible to tell if the player is legitimately in multiball or not, play on as though in multiball, but do not use the machine in any subsequent round.
L1.02.3h: Machine sometimes moves to next player in middle of ball. Leave machine IN. If this happens in one game during a league game, abort the game as a catastrophic malfunction and pick a different machine. Don’t use the machine anymore for the night.
L1.02.3i: An upper flipper is not working. If every key shot is reachable by the lower flippers (e.g. Beatles, Wizard), then Leave Machine IN. If one or more key shots can only be made with the flipper that is broken, then take machine OUT (e.g. Addams Family, Stern Trek).
L1.02.3j: Weak flippers. If it can be demonstrated that every shot can be made even just once during a practice game, then Leave Machine IN. If team or individual who wants the machine to stay IN cannot demonstrate in a practice game that they can hit a particular shot, then Take machine OUT. This could be reevaluated between games if needed to account for flippers that get weaker as the machine gets played more.
L1.02.3k: Sticky flippers. If either or both flippers stick such that when you release them, it takes more than half-second for the flipper to react, then Take machine OUT. Some machines will stick but if you press the other flipper it unsticks. In this case, also Take machine OUT.
L1.02.3l: Machines gives free points. If the free points are only at start of ball or side-effect of something mechanical on playfield that only happens occasionally, like resetting drop targets and one falls back down providing points, then Leave Machine IN. If the free points occur from flipping or nudging and no other playfield action, then Take machine OUT, regardless of how insignificant the points might seem.
L1.02.3m: Display Issues Modern Machines. If an LED or Dot Matrix display is partially malfunction, but scores for both players can still be read unambiguously at least between balls and at end of game, then Leave Machine In. Otherwise take the machine out.
L1.02.3n: Display Issues Classic Machines. If a Solid State or EM with separate scores for each player, then leave it IN if at least one score is fully working. If necessary, the machine can be played as a single player game, or if at least 2 displays or reels are working, then a 4-player match can be played as two 2-player games. If necessary, players must pay for the extra games and plunge through skipped player positions. On a Solid State machine If a single digit is missing or ambiguous, or one digit reel of an EM machine is broken, and it is one of the two lowest significant digits (excluding last digit of 0), then that display position can still be used and use a score of ‘5’ for that digit. If a different digit is broken, then that player position should be skipped.
L1.02.3o: Other Reasons. If another reason is being considered that is not covered above, you may attempt to contact a board member (Dave Stewart or Ashley Weaver). They will make a decision and that decision will be binding. If you don’t hear back from them in a timely manner, then flip a coin for who gets to choose IN or OUT. If that machine is chosen to be IN but during course of a game has any major or catastrophic malfunction, then apply the rules per the rule sheet, and leave the game OUT for subsequent rounds.

L1.03 - New Venues

L1.03.0: A new venue will be evaluated for possible play upon request to the MNP Board. A board member will visit the venue and approve if it meets the Venue requirements.

L1.03.1: Once a venue is approved, a team can list that venue as their choice for home venue six weeks prior to a season. That venue can also be used as a backup location if an existing venue fails to have at least five working machines.

L1.03.2: If a new venue is not yet open six weeks prior to start of season, then the team must pick a different venue as their home, and make a request to move to the new venue once it is approved. If such a request is not made prior to the season start, then the team will need to wait until the following season to move to that venue.

L1.03.3: A venue may only host one expansion team in their first season (restating L1.01.2).

L2.00 - Team

L2.00.0: Teams consist of at least 8 roster players, and no more than 10. Of these, one player will act as the Team Captain. A second player must be named as a co-captain. A team can hold up to two unfilled positions and use subs until a suitable new roster player is found.

L2.00.1: The team must have a designated venue, which shall host the “home” matches. At least six weeks prior to start of a season, per published deadlines, both returning teams and expansion teams must declare their home venue. Exception: A team that had a home venue, but venue closed or no longer league suitable, can play the remainder of the current season and through the end of the following season before finding a new home venue. While a team has no home venue, M1.01 (see Match Rules for Monday Night Pinball) shall apply for selecting an alternate venue.

L2.01 - Captains

L2.01.0: The team’s Captain and Co-Captain are collectively referred to as the team’s Captains. Captains are responsible for organizing their team and corresponding promptly with the league about rosters, scoring and scheduling. Captains also serve as team representatives in each of the matches.

L2.01.1: The captains must meet the following requirements.

L2.01.1a: Captain and co-captain must each have already played in at least one full season in MNP.
L2.01.1b: Captains and co-captains should have a Facebook account, and must be part of the Facebook Monday Night Pinball Captains group, as that is how communication with captains from the league occurs. Alternately, a captain may designate a proxy with a Facebook account, to handle correspondence with league officials. Captains without a Facebook account must supply the MNP Board with a contact email address and a phone number where they can accept text messages.
L2.01.1c: A captain or co-captain cannot be on probation from a code-of-conduct violation.

L2.01.2: Captains must be declared for each team prior to season, as they are given access to Facebook Captains group to help coordinate the season, and special software access for league nights.

L2.01.3: If neither captain can attend league night, a substitute captain must be declared. It should be a roster player with at least one full season played. If there is no such player, then the player with the most experience should be named. Whoever is named should touch base with the opposing team captain prior to the match for a quick tutorial on using the software. Notification, must be declared at least a day ahead of the match, and the board included to enable them access to software.

L2.01.4: Mid-season changes in captains, or a temporary substitute captain, need to be made at least 48 hours prior to the match to the Board, so that appropriate software permissions can be put into place for league night software.

L2.02 - Roster

L2.02.0: Roster changes can be made anytime after the Call for Teams and prior to the last week of the regular season, via the Captains group.

L2.02.1: Roster changes may be made at anytime throughout the season. Roster changes must be made more than 24 hours before a match; otherwise players involved will fall under the substitution rules. Roster changes made within 24 hours, will be applied after the match.

L2.03 - Restrictions (Team IPR)

L2.03.0: In an effort to maintain competitiveness throughout the league, team restrictions are used to prevent a team from loading up with too many top players, and helping distribute the top players to different teams across the league. For roster members, team restrictions are reconsidered each time there is a roster change. The new roster cannot violate the team restrictions, otherwise the change is not approved by the league.

L2.03.1: Following are the details of the team restrictions.

L2.03.1a: Individual Player Rating (IPR) is a rating of 1 (novice) to 6 (very strong) for each player, which is computed based on their IFPA World Ranking (IFPA Rank) and Matchplay.events Rating (MBR)
L2.03.1b: The distribution of IPR for all players in the league is on a curve. 1 is a novice player; 2 is below the median, 3 through 6 are above the median. Bottom 30% of eligible players receive an IPR of ‘1’; the top 5% of players are assigned a 6 - this applies to the players who are ranked in (or close to) the IFPA top 250 worldwide, or who have a rating on par with those worldwide rankings. The curve is re-evaluated at each IPR freeze, to retain the specified percentiles despite roster changes that may happen throughout the season.
L2.03.1c: The IPR data will be recomputed three times each season. There will also be one mid-summer update that will be used for expansion teams and roster changes prior to the fall season. At the start of each season, approximate dates of the updates will be announced by the board; the board reserves the right to update when or if an update is performed. When recomputed, the IPRs then become fixed for each player until the next recomputation. This enables teams to plan ahead for substitutes and roster changes and not have to worry about an IPR changing the night of an event because of newly reported data. The approximate “freeze” dates will be posted on the home page each season, and will occur approximately one week before week 1, once mid-season, and once just before playoffs.
L2.03.1d: The IPR data displayed on the website is stored in a back-end MNP Ratings Spreadsheet, not directly accessible to the public, but available for review by Captains and the Board of Directors should the need arise. The computed IPRs are included throughout the website alongside player names, and available in a player search website for access by the public.
L2.03.1e: The spreadsheet includes the MNP Ratings for every roster player. The spreadsheet also includes players who may not currently be on a team roster, but who have been a sub or played as a roster member for the league in the past.
L2.03.1f: The algorithm for converting from IFPA Rank and MPR to an IPR is provided in the RP Method tab of the spreadsheet.
L2.03.1g: Team Rating is the sum of IPR for all roster players on a team, as shown on the Teams tab of the spreadsheet.
L2.03.1h: Team Rating Cap is the Team Rating value at which a team is constrained and is used to determine which players they can add to the roster or as subs. The team rating cap is 36 for 10 players, 35 for 9 players, 34 for 8 players.
L2.03.1i: A team cannot add a new player with Individual Player Rating (IPR) of 2 or higher as a sub or roster member, if it would cause the team rating to exceed a cap (see above rule L2.03.1h). A team at or above the cap can only add novice/new players (IPR 1) to their roster.
L2.03.1j: For a player that plays regularly but new to MNP, use the following tool to determine a player's rating: PLAYER LOOKUP on MNP Home Page.
L2.03.1k: New players with no rating and no IFPA record are given an IPR of 1.
L2.03.1l: If a captain is uncertain of a player's IPR using the methods above, and it could affect whether or not a particular sub or roster player can be used, then contact the Rules Commissioner to obtain a ruling on that player's eligibility.
L2.03.1m: A team cannot add a roster player with IPR=6 if there is already one player with IPR=6 on the roster.
L2.03.1n: A team cannot add a substitute player with IPR=6 if there is already a player with IPR=6 in the match’s lineup.
L2.03.1o: Note that rating data will never be perfect. However, it is the best we have to keep a balance and prevent the creation of a super-team that can never lose.
L2.03.1o.0: The Team Restrictions are also in place to encourage strong teams to add novice players to their rosters. More experienced/stronger players then become role models and coaches for players who are just starting to learn.
L2.03.1o.1: League officials reserve the right to assign an IPR to a player higher or lower than what is computed. There are multiple reasons why a player's IPR calculation could be erroneous, including but not limited to inconsistent name data.
L2.03.1p: In situations where league officials do not have sufficient data to assign an accurate IPR to a known active player, their highest previous rating will be used. New players without any previous data will always be assigned a 1.

L2.03.2: A team is considered an IPR Grandfathered team if the Team IPR of the roster players exceed the Team Cap. This occurs as a side effect of re-computing the IPR with some of the roster players improving their IPR. A team will not forcibly be split-up if they go above the Team Cap, but they do become subjected to additional rules to keep the team in-tact, as defined here. These rules have been informally known as the IPR Grandfathering rules.

L2.03.2a: If a team is IPR-Grandfathered at the start of a season, then roster players who do not play at least 2 of the first 5 matches for that team, must be dropped from the roster after Week 5. They can still play as a sub or rejoin the roster when doing so would have the team remain at or below the team cap.
L2.03.2b: If a team is IPR-Grandfathered at the start of a season, then roster players who do not play at least 5 of the team’s 10 regular season matches must be dropped from the roster prior to the start of the Playoffs. They can still play as a sub if the playoffs if doing so would have the team remain at or below the team cap (such as if a top player with IPR=6 is missing, they might be able to accommodate that dropped player as a sub).
L2.03.2c: If a team was not IPR-Grandfathered at the start of the season, but becomes grandfathered midway through the season, the roster members who do not play at least 2 of the team’s last 5 regular season matches must be dropped from the roster prior to playoffs.
L2.03.2d: If a team becomes IPR-Grandfathered at an update occurring immediately before playoffs or between seasons, then any player who has already been on the roster for at least five regular season matches, and has not played in at least 2 of the last 5 matches, will be dropped from the team immediately. They can still play on the team, but only as a sub when IPR team cap allows for it. They can be re-added to the roster if the team IPR drops to allow them to join.
L2.03.2e: If an IPR refresh causes an IPR-Grandfathered team, to no longer require the grandfather rule (because team IPR drops, or a previous IPR 6 becomes IPR <6), the grandfathering requirements are removed.
L2.03.3: A team is considered an IPR6-Grandfathered team if two or more players have IPR=6, but the team is at or below the Team Cap. In this case, rules L2.03.2a, L2.03.2b, L2.03.2c, and L2.03.2d apply, but only to those players with IPR=6.
L2.03.4: If a player on an IPR-Grandfathered team, or an IPR=6 player on an IPR6-Grandfathered team is suspended for a portion of the season, then their play eligibility is 50% or more of the regularly season matches for which they were not suspended. If a player was suspended for 8 or more matches, then they can remain on the roster into the start of the next season. Any such player who is suspended 15 or more consecutive matches must be dropped from any Grandfathered team, and can rejoin only after their suspension is lifted, if they don’t violate the rules of adding a new player to the roster.

L2.04 - Expansion Team

L2.04.0: A new team may apply for acceptance into the league, and must meet the requirements listed in this document. Deadline to apply is approximately six weeks before season starts; the date will be published on the website prior to each season. An existing team that is requesting a move to a new location must also meet the venue requirements listed in this document, and must apply for the change by the same expansion team deadline date.

L2.04.1: The spots are limited, and MNP will not necessarily wait for everyone to apply; thus even though a deadline date is specified, applying early does increase the chances of earning one of the expansion slots. If there are not sufficient qualified teams applying by the deadline date, the league may choose to not expand.

L2.04.2: The proposed captain or co-captain for a new team is responsible for submitting the team expansion application, and individual players interested in the team are responsible for individually signing up. Provide as much advance notice as possible to one of the board members of your intent to create a team. This will allow the board to inform you of any upcoming changes or concerns that can affect your expansion application.

L2.04.3: The application is to be emailed by the proposed captain to seattlemnp@gmail.com, and must include the following:

Proposed Home Venue
Proposed Team Name
Preferred 3-Letter Acronym for Team
Names of Captain and Co-Captain
Names of at least 6 (up to 8) other COMMITTED players (see below)
Name and contact info of the venue owner or operator who is approving the team at their venue.

L2.04.4: Expansion teams are not guaranteed; the application will be reviewed by the board and a determination made. Reasons for not granting an expansion team could be issues with experience of captains, problems with the selected venue, limitation of number of teams in the league and schedule, confidence in the roster players selected, or any other reason that creates a concern for accepting the new team into the league. In order to maximize chance of success for an expansion team application, the prospective captains should contact the league commissioner as soon as possible to discuss plans and ensure all concerns are addressed before the application deadline.

L2.04.5: Proposed Captains and Co-Captains should also request to join the MNP Captain's Facebook Group as Facebook messaging and Groups is the primary means for keeping in touch with captains.

L3.00 - Player

L3.00.0: A person may substitute, or become a roster member for any team, at any time throughout the season, with the following restrictions.

L3.00.0a: the person played fewer than 6 matches with a single other team. A player that has played 6 or more matches with a team, the player is ‘locked’ into that team for the playoffs.
L3.00.0b: the person is not listed on the roster of any other league team.
L3.00.0c: the person is not a minor (must be 21 by the date of the team’s next match).
L3.00.0d: the person is not suspended from the league.
L3.00.0e: the person is not expelled or banned from the league.
L3.00.0f: the person is not banned from participating in pinball events by another organization (such as IFPA, PAPA, NWPAS, NWPC); the MNP Board will make a determination on whether a banned player is allowed in the league.

L3.00.1: A player banned from one or more venues may still play in MNP, but will require a sub for any matches scheduled at a venue to which the player is banned. Furthermore, a player may not play as a roster member nor as a sub, for a team that has a home venue to which the player is banned.

L3.01 - Conduct and Boycotts

L3.01.0: There is a conduct section in the Match Rules for Monday Night Pinball (M6.00 - Player Conduct). The player conduct described there should be honored any time playing at a Monday Night Pinball venue.

L3.01.1: Forfeit rules are in place for extraordinary situations where a team makes every effort to field a team, but cannot. A forfeit for any reason that is related to the opposing player(s), venue, or team, is considered a boycott. Any coordination among two or more teams to take the same forfeit action is considered a boycott. Any captain or player who encourages other teams to boycott may also be subjected to penalty, even if their team does not play the team or venue they recommend boycotting. We do respect that captains and teams may have grievances against other venues. Those teams are encouraged to find alternate means of demonstrating their dissatisfaction that does not affect the rights of the players on the opposing team or the league. For grievances against individuals on the opposing team, those need to be brought up to the MNP Board. The board will review, and take action if necessary. Their decision is final and binding. Failure to abide by such decisions will incur a penalty.

L3.02 - Solo Players Looking for a Team

L3.02.0: Players who are interested in joining a team should asked their local bar tender about their team captains. Captains form and maintain their team's roster. It is a team captain's decision, not a league decision, on any player joining a specific team.

L3.02.1: Players looking to substitute of join teams are encouraged to joing the MNP Player Recruiting Facebook Group, where they can monitor for captains looking for players, or post themselves to indicate availability and preferred venues or geographic areas.

L4.00 - Season

L4.00.0: There are two seasons per year (Spring and Fall).The regular season consists of 10 weeks of play.

L4.00.0a: A regular season typically consists of 10 weeks of play, but could sometimes be more or less.
L4.00.0b: The Spring season typically begins early February, and ends with finals prior to Memorial Day.
L4.00.0c: The Fall season typically begins Monday after labor day, and ends with finals prior to Christmas Eve.
L4.00.0d: Approximately half of matches will be at the team's home venue. The remaining will be away.
L4.00.0e: The full schedule will be created and distributed prior to the start of the season.
L4.00.0f: Number of teams, group organization, and distribution of matches may change from season to season, depending on the number and venue of teams that season.

L4.00.1: The typical season schedule is the following:

L4.00.1a: About six weeks prior to season, deadline for teams to apply for next season (includes both returning and expansion teams)
L4.00.1b: About 3 weeks prior to season, draft schedule published for captains only
L4.00.1c: About 2 weeks prior to season, final schedule published and distributed
L4.00.1d: 10 regular season weeks, not necessarily consecutive. There may be one or more off weeks due to a Monday Holiday or special event at one or more MNP venues.
L4.00.1e: 4 Playoff weeks.
L4.00.1f: When the calendar permits, 1 week after Playoff week reserved for makeup

L4.00.2: If a week is canceled for any reason (eg weather) and there is a spare week at the end of the season, then all regular scheduled weeks continue on date per schedule. The postponed week will be played as week 11, and playoffs pushed one week, with finals now on that makeup date.

L4.00.2a: If there are no spare weeks, or more than one regular season week is missing, some weeks of matches will be outright canceled and not made up.

L4.00.3: No more than two matches will be scheduled at the same venue.

L4.01 - Groups

L4.01.0: For the entirety of the regular season of play, the league is split into multiple groups, with each group standings considered separately for playoff berth. Teams within a group do not necessarily play each other. Groups are random collections of teams that are geographically disparate and represent a cross section of skill across the league, and could change from one season to the next for any reason. The main criteria for allocating teams to the same group is that they share a majority set of common opponents, thus their records are comparable more than teams with completely different set of opponents.

L4.01.1: With 32 or more teams, the league will be split into four groups.

L4.02 - Standings

L4.02.0: League standings are maintained based on win/loss/tie record, with cumulative match points recorded as the first tiebreaker. A tie is worth half the value of a win.

NOTE: Since match points earned is used to break ties, it is important to play every game during match play. Do not end a match early simply because one team has earned enough points to record a match win.

L4.02.1: At the end of the regular season, if two teams have the same record and same number of match points, then their head-to-head result will be considered to break the tie. If they did not play each other, their record vs common opponents will be used to break the tie. If still tied, their points vs common opponents is used. If still tied, the league will flip a coin. Only ties that affect playoff berth or seeding will be broken.

L4.03 - Playoff Seeding/Bracket

L4.03.0: The MNP Playoffs will declare two winners, an overall Grand Champion, and a B Bracket winner. The B Bracket (also referred to as simply B) is made up of 4 of the teams who do not advance past the first round of the playoffs (see L4.03.5). All teams that do advance beyond the first round is referred to as the A Bracket (see L4.03.4).

L4.03.1: Each group is ranked separately. The remainder of this rule applies to 32 or more teams. (Due to league growth, rules applying to less than 32 teams have been suppressed, but can be revived if the league's side were to be reduced.)

L4.03.1a: The top 4 teams in each group advance to the playoffs. There are no byes.
L4.03.1b: The Bracket Round playoff matches may be different each season, depending on which groups are primarily playing other groups. The Bracket Round playoff matches will be published along with the schedule at the start of the system.
L4.03.1c: A Team is B-Eligible if its average Team IPR is less than 30.0 throughout the season.
L4.03.1d: The highest-ranking B-Eligible Team in each Group may advance to the B Playoffs.
If that Team also finishes in the top four and is eligible for the A Playoffs, it must choose between the A Playoffs and B Playoffs; it cannot participate in both.
• If the Team chooses the B Playoffs, the next-highest-ranking Team in the Group (i.e., 5th place) advances to the A Playoffs.
• If the Team chooses the A Playoffs, the next-highest-ranking B-Eligible Team in the Group advances to the B Playoffs.
• If the next-highest-ranking B-Eligible Team also qualifies for the A Playoffs, it has the same choice between the A Playoffs and B Playoffs.

L4.03.2: Playoffs consist of four weeks of play. Week 1 is Bracket Round. Week 2 will have the A Quarter Finals and B Semi Finals. Week 3 will have the A Semi Finals and B Finals. Week four will be the A Finals.

L4.03.3: Seeding of teams is as follows, with 32 or more teams and 4 Groups

L4.03.3a: The team with best record in each group is Seed #1 within their group for purposes of Round 1.
L4.03.3b: The top 4 seeds overall will be obtained by seeding the winner of each group based on their WLT record then total points earned, and seeded ahead of any team finishing 2nd or lower in any group.
L4.03.3c: The remaining teams have seeds sorted by their record (WLT first, then total points earned as tie-breaker). In Bracket Round 1, the seeding is done within the group only. In Round 2, the seeding is done overall by combining the records of all groups.
L4.03.3d: The seeding for B Semi Finals and Finals is NOT based on WLT record, but rather based on average Team IPR during the season, with lowest average Team IPR getting the highest seed.

Note: per rule L4.00.3, no more than two matches will be scheduled at the same venue. If the seeding results in more than two teams from the same venue as the home team, the lower seeded home team must select a neutral venue, or play at the visiting team's venue. This decision must be declared at least 5 days in advance of the scheduled playoff match.

L4.03.4: The A Quarter Finals will consist of the winners of Bracket Round. The 8 teams are seeded per L4.03.3, then pairings are 1st Seed vs 8th Seed, 2nd Seed vs 7th Seed, 3rd Seed vs 6th Seed, and 4th Seed vs 5th Seed. The teams seeded 1st through 4th are the home teams.

L4.03.5: The B Semi-Finals will consist of one B-Eligible Team from each Group, as determined by the teams that reach B Playoffs per L4.03.1.

L4.03.5a: For the B Semi-Finals, teams will be seeded by lowest average season Team IPR. The Team with the lowest average Team IPR will receive the 1st seed, the second-lowest will receive the 2nd seed, and so on. The matchups will be 1st Seed vs. 4th Seed and 2nd Seed vs. 3rd Seed. The 1st and 2nd Seeds will be the home teams.
L4.03.5b: In the B Playoffs, for both B Semi-Finals and B Finals, the Team IPR Cap will be 30. Same rules as during the regular season for needing subs to stay under team cap. If team is above the team cap of 30, then subs must have IPR=1.

L4.03.6: The A Semi Finals will consist of the four winning quarter finalists. Again teams will be seeded by their regular season record. The pairings are 1st vs 4th, and 2nd vs 3rd. Teams seeded 1st and 2nd are the home teams.

L4.03.7: The B Finals will consist of the two winning teams from the B Semi Finals. The team with the lowest average season team IPR is the home team.

L4.03.8: The A Finals night will consist of all four teams that played in the Semi Finals. The two winners play each other for the league championship. The other two teams play each other to determine 3rd and 4th place.

L4.03.9 The A Finals night is held at an independent location that is not home team for any of the four finalists. For purposes of what team selects 1st or 2nd, the team with the better record in each finals match will be considered the home team, even though the venue is not their home venue.

L4.03.10: The neutral venue for finals is selected by the MNP board using the following rules, if a single venue is used for both finals matches:

L4.03.10a: The venue is selected upon completion of the quarter final round, when semi-finalists (final four) in each division are known.
L4.03.10b: Only venues that have 15 or more league-worthy machines and ability to support more than 40 players are considered.
L4.03.10c: The venue must have hosted all home games for least one home team during that season, and never had a match moved to an alternate venue due to machine league-worthiness issues.
L4.03.10d: The venues who have least recently hosted one of the finals will be given top priority.
L4.03.10e: The venue owner is asked and must agree to host the finals without any conflicting events, or that venue is moved back to the bottom of the priority list.
L4.03.10f: A venue that has a team in semi-finals of each division will be skipped.

L4.03.11: Based on the above rules, the MNP board identifies the two neutral venue for the finals. The MNP board shall make the choice whenever two venues are 'tied' for highest priority (such as they both hosted 3 seasons ago, so in theory after equal priority from the perspective of how long ago they hosted).

L4.03.12: The final four A teams and final two B teams receive MNP trophies to hold onto for a season. The trophies must be returned at the start of playoffs of the next season for redistribution. If a team wants something to keep to memorialize a win, they are welcome to create their own trophy or plaque for more permanent display at their home venue. Funds for that must come from the team players or the venue.

L5.00 - Board of Directors

L5.00.0: The MNP Board is made up of the General Commissioner, and a number of Board Members.

L5.01 - General Commissioner

L5.01.0: The MNP Board is led by the General Commissioner. It is the responsibility of the General Commissioner to ensure the league continues to occur twice a year, with a Spring and Fall season.

L5.01.0a: Any eventuality not addressed by the Monday Night Pinball League Rules, Match Rules, or IFPA rules, is at the discretion of the General Commissioner.

L5.01.1: General Commissioner Requirements

L5.01.0a: Must have 2 full seasons of experience team captain; or 1 full year as Board Member.
L5.01.0b: Must not serve as team captain at the same time as General Commissioner.

L5.02 - Board Members

L5.02.0: Board Members are selected by the General Commissioner, in order to create a functional board to handle all aspects of the league, including logistics, operations, judgements, rule changes, marketing, disciplinary action, and any other duties or tasks.

L5.02.1: There is no minimum nor maximum number of members defined; it is up to the General Commissioner to select the most effective collection of volunteers to serve as the board.

L5.02.2: The General Commissioner can add or remove Board Members at will.

L5.03 - General Commissioner's Term

L5.03.0: The General Commissioner's term is indefinite, however can be terminated through any of the following actions:

L5.03.0a: The General Commissioner voluntarily steps down
L5.03.0b: The active Board Members vote of non-confidence in the General Commissioner.
L5.03.0c: The Team Captains vote of non-confidence in the General Commissioner.

L5.03.1: Voluntary Step Down

L5.03.1a: The General Commissioner appoints an Interim General Commissioner.

L5.03.2: Non-confidence vote by Board Members

L5.03.2a: Non-confidence vote by active Board Members (excluding the General Commissioner) must be unanimous.
L5.03.2b: The General Commissioner is removed immediately.
L5.03.2c: The Board Members are responsible for appointing an Interim General Commissioner.

L5.03.3: Non-confidence vote by Team Captains

L5.03.3a: A captain, meeting the requirements to become General Commissioner, may initiate the non-confidence process.
L5.03.3b: A captain must initiate the non-confidence process on the Captain's group (currently hosted on Facebook).
L5.03.3c: The non-confidence process must include at least 3 days of discussion within the Captain's group, before a vote can take place.
L5.03.3d: Any captain or board member, including the General Commissioner, may post or respond in favor or against the proposed vote.
L5.03.3e: After the discussion period, a vote will take place within the Captain's group.
L5.03.3f: Captains and Co-captains vote.
L5.03.3g: Each team gets one vote.
L5.03.3h: A NO vote is a vote to retain the General Commissioner.
L5.03.3i: A YES vote is a vote of non-confidence in the General Commissioner.
L5.03.3j: If a single captain votes, that counts as a vote for the team.
L5.03.3k: If both captains vote the same way, it is counted as a single vote.
L5.03.3l: If both captains vote, but opposite to each other, it will count as an abstain.
L5.03.3m: A team that abstains, counts as a NO vote.
L5.03.3n: If 51% or more of all teams vote to remove the General Commissioner, then the General Commissioner is removed immediately. If the league consists of 30 teams, 16 or more teams must vote YES to remove.
L5.03.3o: Upon removal, the captain who initiated the non-confidence process, becomes appointed Interim General Commissioner.

L5.04 - Interim General Commissioner

L5.04.0: Only a person eligible to serve as General Commissioner, may be appointed as Interim General Commissioner.

L5.04.1: If an Interim General Commissioner is appointed with enough time prior to the start of the season, the Interim Commissioner has one month to define the method that will be used to find a permanent replacement, and two months for the permanent replacement to be named and begin their role. That permanent replacement could be themselves.

L5.04.2: If an Interim General Commissioner is appointed mid-season, the Interim General Commissioner immediately takes over league operations and the board, and change board members as desired per L5.02.

L5.04.2a: At the conclusion of the season, the Interim General Commissioner follows the process outlined in L5.04.1.

L5.04.3: An Interim General Commissioner may step down, or be replaced, according to the same rules as a General Commissioner.

L5.05 - Current Board of Directors

L5.05.0: Current Commissioners are the following:

Dave Stewart, General Commissioner
Michael Adcock, Commissioner of Information Architecture
Ashley Weaver, Commissioner of Rules and Regulations
Liberty Ruderman, Special Advisor
Matthew Harjo, Special Advisor
John Garnett, Special Advisor

L5.05.1: Contact info: seattlemnp@gmail.com. To contact General Commissioner directly, you may use Facebook Messenger (https://www.facebook.com/Stewie000) or Text Message (410-507-9020).