MISSOULA — This weekend, OddPitch Brewing held the first 'Garden City Gauntlet,’ the largest pinball tournament ever hosted in Montana. Players buzzed to Missoula from across the state and the region for two days of marathon pinball, prizes and community.
“It's just a bunch of pinball nerds, just nerding out,” said OddPitch owner, Gabe Stinchfield.
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About 40 players took to 19 machines, some coming from as far as Colorado and California. Stinchfield said the first day of pinball lasted over 15 hours.
“There’s a reason why it’s called the gauntlet, you know, you’re supposed to be tired at the end of it,” he said.
The fun continued the rest of the weekend, both inside and outside of the games, according to pinball player Auriana Fox.
“You're hanging out with people that you know and love,” Fox said. “You're making new friends.”
In 2023, Fox started playing competitive pinball through OddPitch’s women’s tournaments. The welcoming atmosphere of the group, open to women, trans and non-binary people, made the game less intimidating.
“We have our own little community and, now, I'm addicted. I'm hooked. I love it,” Fox said.
Stinchfield started playing pinball more seriously at Gild, on the Hip Strip. He became invested in the story and strategies behind the game.
“I’m a nerd at heart. Well, I'm a nerd not even at heart, all over,” he said. “There’s a direction you could go in pinball other than just smacking flippers and getting points. So, I was like ‘Oh my God, there's so much more to pinball than I thought.’”
When he opened OddPitch, he thought it would be great to give Missoula another place to play. He put in a few machines, then a few more, eventually landing at 16. He and his pinball pals play at OddPitch, Gild and check out pinball machines and tournaments across the state.
“It's just nice to have more options. The community totally just like naturally built itself,” he said. “I didn't have any expectations about it. I just was like ‘I love pinball. These people love pinball.’”
OddPitch hosted Montana’s first tournament approved by the International Flipper Pinball Association, a world-wide pinball organization. That was just one part of a pitch to get more people into Missoula’s growing pinball community. Players said the game and the people bring a lot to their lives.
“Even it it seems hard at first, I didn't know what I was doing. Now, about two years later, I’m still not one of the top players, but I can tell myself that I’m good at it. It’s fun. It’s a great time,” Fox said. “We're really trying to get as many people into pinball as we can, and it's that community that keeps me coming back for sure.”
Stinchfield has grand plans for the future of the ‘Garden City Gauntlet.’ He plans to bring in vendors, more machines and more games.
“I would really, really love to get a women's tournament going for it, make it more of an expo as well, just more pinball nerdery,” he said.
