About This Format
Group Match Play is one of the most popular and versatile formats in competitive pinball. Over a series of rounds, players are paired into groups — typically of 3 or 4 — and play a game of pinball together on the same machine. Points are awarded based on finishing position within the group, and the player with the most cumulative points at the end of all rounds wins.
How Rounds Work
Each round, players are assigned to groups and a machine. In a 4-player group, the typical IFPA-standard scoring awards 4 points for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd, and 0 for 4th. In 3-player groups, scoring is usually 4-2-0 or 3-1-0. If the player count isn't evenly divisible by the group size, some groups will be smaller (e.g., a few 3-player groups mixed in with 4-player groups).
Pairing Methods
Groups can be formed using various methods. Random pairings shuffle players each round. Swiss pairings match players with similar standings against each other, creating more competitive games as the tournament progresses. Balanced pairings aim to ensure players don't face the same opponents repeatedly.
Games Per Round
Most tournaments play 1 game per round, but some configure multiple games per round for longer play sessions.
Multi-Matchplay
In the Multi-Matchplay variant, players within a group play on separate machines simultaneously rather than all on the same machine. This speeds up play but loses the group-size TGP multiplier because the competitive dynamics are different when players aren't directly watching each other's games.
TGP Calculation
The meaningful games count for TGP is calculated as rounds multiplied by games per round, then multiplied by a group-size factor: 2.0x for majority 4-player groups, 1.5x for majority 3-player groups, or 1.0x for head-to-head play. The group multiplier reflects the added competitive value of multi-player games where players can see and react to each other's scores in real time.