Hybrid Best Game: How to Play the New IFPA Tournament Format

For the 2025 competitive season, the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) has introduced a new type of tournament format, dubbed “Hybrid Best Game”. Similar to some other long-running formats, but with distinct differences, Hybrid Best Game was designed to eliminate any “pay to win” aspects of qualifying. The IFPA pitches this as the fairest test of skill for competitors across the board, but like with all pinball tournament formats, there are some specific tips to keep in mind that will help you succeed.

To get my toes wet with this new event class, I took a trip to Kidforce Pinball in Berea, OH to compete in their Grand Re-Opening Hybrid tournament, and figured out all the tasty tips so you don't have to. So, if you're planning on playing some competitive pinball in 2025, here's everything you need to know about Hybrid Best Game before it's your turn to flip.

What Are the Rules of Hybrid Best Game Pinball?

You can read the official rules for Hybrid Best Game on the IFPA website, but it's a pretty easy format to understand. Like “Unlimited Best Game”, this qualifying format has you playing single-player games on a variety of machines, where your scoring position on each machine determines your overall rank in standings before finals. However, Hybrid very specifically offers 4 attempts per machine included in the tournament, removing the chance to purchase extra attempts. As the IFPA points out, this means that all players have an equal amount of attempts, regardless of the size of their wallet.

In practice, Hybrid Best plays very much like other single-player qualifying formats, including “Card” formats or “Herb-Style Qualifying”. Here, your skill is not measured by how much you can outscore a group of opponents, but how far you can push your scoring potential on a wide variety of machines. It's also important to note that you can use your entries as you see fit, and are not forced to play each machine 4 times. For instance, you can play a few games once, use a dozen tries on one machine, and in some cases, completely ignore specific games if you so choose. The pros and cons are subjective, but for the most part, it's a better way of ensuring that everyone is on even ground and puts more control in the player's hands.

Tips for Hybrid Best Game Qualifying

At the Kidforce Pinball Grand Re-Opening tournament, I had an enjoyable experience playing Hybrid Best Game and learned some crucial lessons in the process. Organized by Joe Kiskis and Galvin Morgan, the tournament offered 12 different machines, granting a total of 48 attempts. The games were set tough, but thanks to the hard work of techs/TDs like Logan Foley and Ethan Smilg, the qualifying period went pretty smoothly overall. After 2 days of qualifying, I came woefully short of the cutline (just 2 positions under), but it was very much worthwhile for the knowledge alone. During my nearly 50 games of qualifying, here are some essential tips I learned for playing Hybrid Best Game.

1. Play Everything Once and Don't Sweat It

2. Ignore Standings and Leaderboards at First

3. Get Comfortable and Get Decisive

4. Don't Waste Your Entries Chasing Scores

To that point, it might feel like you have a ton of attempts, but that safety net will slowly and surely shrink. This isn't a pump and dump tournament, so you can't just buy back your wasted attempts. As such, you should be conservative when retrying a particular machine over and over. Even if you think you are capable of hitting a target score, if you keep coming up short, know when to cut your losses. For example, I wasted over a dozen attempts on Fish Tales and Paragon, two games that I'm very familiar with, mostly because I got into a weird mental grudge match with myself. When qualifying ended, my scores on both machines were not high enough to be included in my 9 best, so all of those attempts were fool's errands. Know your limits and don't waste your entries, because you'll wish you had those extra ones later on.

5. Pay Attention to Pinball Math Toward the End

Overall, Hybrid Best Game is a satisfying pinball tournament format that is both fair and fun, and I have to thank Kidforce Pinball for trying out the new event class so early in the year. Congratulations go to Aaron Rich, who nabbed first place in A Division finals, with Tim Breidenstein, Galvin Morgan, and Jared Schmidt earning second, third, and fourth. I'm looking forward to playing another Hybrid Best Game tournament during the 2025 season, and for those reading, I fully recommend the format. Now, get out there and play some competitive pinball!