PongCrazy – the brand new game from UrbanCrazy

Playing the brand new game from UrbanCrazy – the game is a cross between Table Tennis/Ping Pong and Crazy Golf/Minigolf.

At the 2013 London Golf Show at Earl’s Court I got a chance to play a brand new sport – PongCrazy!

Me and the PongCrazy Crazy Golf Ping Pong Table!

It’s a cross between Table Tennis and Miniature Golf and is great fun to play.

Here’s a video of an epic encounter between 'Squire' Richard Gottfried and Jon 'The Stance' Angel at the London Golf Show at Earl's Court on Friday 8th of November 2013.

This is also my 500th YouTube video!!!

The Rules of Play for PongCrazy

Check out the PongCrazy website to see the range of tables available to play the game.

Related Blog Posts:

- UrbanCrazy blog posts

- Ping Pong blog posts

- Table Tennis blog posts

- Wrong Pong blog posts

Links:

- PongCrazy
- UrbanCrazy
- London Golf Show 2013

The World Series of Pong Slam Jam 2012 at Bounce London this Saturday

The World Series of Pong Slam Jam 2012 will be taking place at Bounce - the new Ping Pong and Cocktail Club - in Holborn, London on Saurday 8th December 2012.

 

Presented and hosted by the team at The Social Athletics Club, the 2012 edition of the event is a follow-up to the hugely successfully 2010 tournament - an event that I competed in alongside Brad 'the Fist' Shepherd and saw us ranked as the '50th best Pong team in the world'!

 

The World Series of Pong Slam Jam is running from midday until 7pm and will feature a doubles tournament, team event and a round-the-table competition for charity. You can find out all the details at the World Series of Pong Slam Jam Facebook Event Page.

 

Unfortunately Brad has since retired and I can't make the 2012 event, but if you're interested you can sign-up for tickets to compete (or spectate) at the World Series of Pong Eventbrite page.

 

Good luck to everyone competing in the event!

Games in Guildford, a visit to the Castle and seeing a Giant Beetle

Playing Bar Billiards, Table Tennis and a new version of Ping Pong in Guildford!

Following my quick stop off at Woking Park (via Shepperton) I recently visited Guildford, Surrey for an afternoon of sporting activity and games with fellow blogger and BMGA Tour rival Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence.

Our planned day of fun & games in February had been thwarted by the snow, but with rain and “blusterous” conditions forecast for Wednesday the weather was not going to be as pleasant as on my last visit to the town back in September 2008. On that occasion I managed to play the Stoke Park Minigolf course, was turned away from the Lido as it was not yet open for the season and saw a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man.

Before meeting up with Ollie I had a wander around the town and went to Guildford Museum, which is worth a visit. I spotted a few places that offered Gluten Free food too, the best named place was ‘Glutton & Glee’ - see photo.

Walking around Allen House Grounds I saw that they had a Jabberwocky Maze (it wasn’t difficult). Ollie later told me that the grounds are home to a Golf Putting Green course in the summer season and the websites for Allen House Grounds and Allen House Pavilion have more details on the course.

Allen House Gardens - home to a Jabberwocky Maze and a Minigolf Putting Green

The Jabberwocky Maze

With Wednesday 18th April 2012 marking 100 days until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games the date of 18/04/12 also marked an unspecified countdown until the ‘Guildford Games’ – a multi-sport event ‘planned’ to take place in the summer and consisting of the disciplines of Minigolf, Darts, Bar Billiards and ‘some sort of game involving the Castle’.

As part of the preparation for the Guildford Games, Ollie and I headed to the Royal Oak pub for a few games of Bar Billiards. The table is in a good position in the pub and was in very good condition indeed. Each of the tables I’ve played to date have had their own subtle differences and I really enjoyed playing the table at the Royal Oak – perhaps it was because the Mushroom didn’t wobble precariously at all on rebound shots at the 200-hole!

The Royal Oak Pub in Guildford has Free Bar Billiards on a Sunday

We decided to play a best-of-3 games match and in game one I defeated Ollie 1,300 to 480 after holing-out with a white ball to the 100-hole in the shootout.

Partway through the game the barman mentioned to us that we were playing the game incorrectly, as the Royal Oak Rules use a variation whereby the red ball is replaced on the spot and a white ball is used as the cue ball each time the red ball is potted. After a quick look online we found these ‘variant’ rules (amongst others) on the excellent Masters Traditional Games website.

Playing a shot on the Royal Oak's Bar Billiards table

Our second game saw us invoke the “R’oak Rules” and the game was a very close fought battle. The match once again went to a sudden-death shootout. Ollie managed to score 100 by potting the white ball with an 'in off' the Mushroom on the right of the table, but was still on the losing end of a 1,400 to 1,100 scoreline.

Ollie plays a shot on the Royal Oak's Bar Billiards table - note the use of 'Royal Oak Rules'

After play at the Royal Oak we headed to Guildford Castle for a look around. The Castle Grounds are home to a Bowls Club – perhaps Lawn Bowls will be an event in the Guildford Games too.

Guildford Castle

We then moved on to Stoke Park for a look at the Minigolf course and new Table Tennis table that has been installed. We found that ahead of the new summer season the 12-hole Stoke Park Minigolf course has had a lick of paint on the obstacles and also had a new ‘obstacle’ added in the shape of a Tractor!?

The new Tractor on the Stoke Park Swedish Felt Minigolf course

Despite my 'retirement' from competitive Table Tennis/Ping Pong/Wiff Waff/Pong I brought my Ping Pong bats and balls along to give the Stoke Park Table Tennis table a go.  After a knock-up our best-of-3 games Aqua Table Tennis match began and Ollie took a quick lead before winning the first game 9-6. After switching sides Ollie put his ‘local knowledge’ to good use and served to the puddle on my side of the table to pick up a 9-7 win and victory in the match. This was despite my best attempts to unnerve ‘The Machine' on the journey to Stoke Park!

The new Table Tennis table in Guildford's Stoke Park

Playing some Ping Pong at Stoke Park

The final game we played (and one that will be very unlikely to make an appearance in the Guildford Games) was 'Ping Pong Crazy Golf'. After several unsuccessful hole-in-one attempts on the Net hole and the Flat Loop (with scores ranging from 4 to 12!?) Ollie scored the only Ace of our ‘round’ on hole number four.

Ollie lines up a shot for a hole-in-one in the new game of Ping Pong Crazy Golf

Playing some Ping Pong Crazy Golf on Stoke Park's Minigolf course

We then went for a wander to Guildford Lido to see if we could see the Minigolf course in there. We could, but couldn’t play it as the Lido is only open from May. A swimming event is a possible inclusion in the competition calendar for the Guildford Games too!

The Guildford Lido was closed on this visit - so the Minigolf course remains unplayed by me

Instead of playing any Minigolf to finish out the afternoon's entertainment, Ollie pointed out the Giant Guildford Beetle that is amongst some trees beyond the Lido!!!

A gate that is lacking a fence. And a Gigantic Beetle beyond it!

Getting scared off of a Giant Beetle in Guildford

Commenting on the day’s sporting endeavours Ollie said "It was great to see Squire finally make a return to Guildford after the previously aborted attempts. We managed to fit quite a few sporting activities in to the day and it proved to be a good test for the up-and-coming Guildford Games. We are going to need to tweak a few of the rules ahead of the event though, particularly after Richard's run-in with the barman over the correct use of the red ball in bar billiards.

The Machine added "I was pleased that I managed to beat him at the new form of Ping Pong despite an extremely unsettling incident in the car on the way to the park. He took his defeat well though and I'm pleased he seemed genuinely delighted when I showed him a massive sculpture of a beetle."

Related Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files:

- Snow causes blog post in Guildford

- Not course number 75! Guildford Lido
- Actual Minigolf Course 75 - Guildford

- Bar Billiards-related blog posts

- Ping Pong & Table Tennis-related blog posts

- Maze-related blog posts

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- The Minigolfer Blog

-- "Snow luck for Gottfried as Guildford curse strikes again"

- The English Table Tennis Association (ETTA)

- ETTA Instant Ping Pong video

Arcade Games at Star City – Air Hockey, Pool & Ping Pong

Following the first minigolf event of the BMGA Tour season at the Star City Open in Birmingham on Sunday 22nd January, a group of players headed to the amusement arcade attached to the Bowling Alley in the Star City Complex for an Air Hockey Tourney.

Among the competitors in action at the Las Vegas of the West Midlands were reigning Worlds Air Hockey Champion Peter ‘The Puckmaster’ Jones, James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford, Seth ‘Wandsworth’ Thomas, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried & Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence.

The first game to be played was on the closest table to the door and after a draw of sorts was organised by Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried play commenced with a match-up between perennial Air Hockey loser, ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried, and the Welsh Worlds Air Hockey champ and side-tournament specialist Peter ‘The Dragon’ Jones.

Peter Jones (far side) faces-off against Richard Gottfried in the longest match ever!

Unbeknownst to the players the match would create something of a record result, as the machine was a bit broken! The final result saw 31 goals scored as the match seemed to be never ending. Normally the first player who scores 7 goals is the winner and the machine keeps the puck from being returned. However in the battle between Gottfried & Jones, Richard managed to get the upset win, with a slim victory of 16-15.

With the match going on for so long Richard retired from the rest of the contest due to exhaustion and went to have a nice sit down. This meant that Peter ‘The Crazy Aced Assassin’ Jones was back in the contest and would face Seth ‘Tooting’ Thomas in the ‘first’ round.

Before that contest could take place a new table needed to be found for the match between Ruthers and The Machine. Play then commenced after Ollie had put a deposit down for half an hour’s play on the Ping Pong table. In the Air Hockey match Ollie took control and defeated Ruthers 7-5 meaning The Machine would head to the final to face either Thomas or Jones. The defeated Ruthers consoled himself by heading to the Table Tennis table to take on and beat all-comers (except Seth, who was just too good). One notable result was the ‘Squire’ (ranked 50th alongside Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd in the 2010 World Series of Pong) coming out of retirement for one more match. He was swiftly beaten 11-6 by Ruthers.

Ping Ponger Ruthers awaiting new challengers

In the highly anticipated match-up between Worlds Champ Peter ‘Toy Truck’ Jones and the sporting polymath that is Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas the result was an unexpected win to Thomas, who managed to take down the champ and win 7-3 to line up a contest against The Machine in the Grand Final.

The Machine warms-up for the Air Hockey final with a bit of Table Tennis

Having seen the photos of the Air Hockey matches online, and on being told he had wrongly assumed that Peter 'Indoor League' Jones had been dishing out lessons, Finnish player Pasi ‘Bruiser’ Aho commented “He's just giving you that false feeling of confidence and will strike back when it matters.”

With the first Air Hockey table used in the competition set to ‘Long Play’ the players couldn’t imagine that the event would befall some other controversy, but that is exactly what happened in the big final match-up. With Seth Thomas easing to a 6-2 lead against Oliver Florence what happened next could of been taken straight from a round of ‘What happened next?’ on TV game show A Question of Sport. As Ollie hit a goal to bring his score up to 3 goals, the puck got stuck in the goal mouth and couldn’t be retrieved, nor did it register on the scoreboard!

Seth Thomas and Oliver Florence face-off in the Air Hockey Final

Luckily Emily ‘I’ll get #TheMan’ Gottfried was on hand and went and got the man to come and have a look at the machine (the table, not Ollie). With much wrenching and fiddling the technician was unable to get the puck out, so instead turned off the table and gave the players their pound back.

Pucking Hell! The Air Hockey Puck gets stuck in the goal

This caused a dilemma as the result of the match was still undecided. To decide the ultimate winner of the Star City Air Hockey Contest, Seth and Ollie decided to play one game of Ping Pong as a decider!

The result of the Air Hockey Tournament is decided on a Ping Pong Table

In the end there seemed to be only one possible result as Seth took an early and commanding lead, as he had done on the Air Hockey, and finished the match by smashing in a result of 11-2 and leaving The Machine with the runner-up spot.

Following the final of the Air Pong competition Seth declared that “the fun isn’t over if I’ve still got money left” and proceeded to challenge players to games of Pool. First up was Richard who, apart from the break and potting one ball, spent the game speaking with Peter 'PJ#2' Jones on the sidelines.

Richard Gottfried enjoys a nice sit down on his way to a Pool defeat at the hands of Seth Thomas

With the Hurricane Simulator ‘Out of Order’ a doubles Pool match was proposed, with the line-up of England (Ollie & Seth) to take on the ‘Wales’ team of Peter and Richard. England won.

And that wrapped up the fun and games at The Buttons of Star City. For a change no Laser Tag was played. The next big arcade event will no doubt be a £2 Tat Challenge at the amusement arcades of Worthing, West Sussex in April.

Links:
- 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings
- Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings
- The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic 2011

The traditional curtain-raiser ahead of the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) is a side-tournament in A.N. Other Sport or Game. Last year we played a Darts tournament, and in 2009 we played Boules.

However, this year the side-event took place after the main-event at the 2011 Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic.

In the final match Seve Kukielka defeated (destroyed) me, 21-3 in a not close at all Final. In doing so Seve became a two-time Side-Tournament Champion, having won the 2009 Boules Tournament in Swansea (Abertawe), where he also beat me in the final.

Jas beat Cindy in the third/fourth place play-off match.

The tournament saw each of the six players drawn into two groups, with each player playing each other once, with the winner from Group A taking on Group B's runner-up and vice versa.

The group matches were played to 11 points, with the semi-finals and final played to 21.

In Group A:
Richard lost to Cindy 11-8
Cindy beat Emily 11-6
Emily lost to Richard 11-5

Group A Winner - Cindy
Group A Runner-up - Richard

In Group B:
Seve lost to Jas 11-4
Jas beat Leo 13-11
Leo lost to Seve 11-6

Group B Winner - Jas
Group B Runner-up - Seve

Semi-Finals
Cindy lost to Seve 21-14
Jas lost to Richard 21-18

3rd/4th Play-Off
Jas beat Cindy 11-6

Final
Seve beat Richard 21-3

Photo: A shell-shocked Richard attempts to score a point against the merciless Seve

Photo: Seve receives the Cwmbran Table Tennis Classic Tournament Trophy from Emily

The 2012 Side-Tournament Sport or Game is undecided, suggestions welcome?

Cwmbran Darts Classic 2010

Boules Invitational Tournament 2009

The new sport of Wrong Pong - a cross between Ping Pong & Crazy Golf!

I was recently browsing the net and came across the brilliant looking new sport of Wrong Pong!

The governing body of the sport - The International Wrong Pong Association (I.W.P.A.) - describe the sport as "... a game based on ping pong, and is to ping pong what crazy golf is to golf. It uses angled tables, tables with obstacles, and tables with textured surfaces. Matches are fast and fun."

It looks absolutely great fun, and I can't wait to make my I.W.P.A. Debut! Hopefully with my vast experience in Crazy Golf, and my Ranking of '50th in the world at WSPong Ping Pong' I'll do alright (or better).

Links:
The International Wrong Pong Association (I.W.P.A.) website

Wrong Pong Post at the Strange Games Blog

Two videos of our matches at the World Series of Pong Slam Jam Grand Final

Videos of our opening two matches at the World Series of Pong Slam Jam Grand Final





Blog post about the World Series of Pong Slam Jam Grand Final.

The London-Lu(x)ton Connection play in the 'World Series of Pong' Ping Pong Tournament in Tooting!

On Saturday 4th December 2010 me and Paddington's Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd headed to the Tooting Tram & Social Bar in Tooting, London to take part in the "World Series of Pong" Slam Jam Grand Final Ping Pong tournament!

The prized WSOPong Trophy!

The competition saw teams of two play first-to-nine-points matches, with the final match played in a best-of-three games format. Our team - The Luxton & District (aka The London-Lu(x)ton Connection) - lined up to face-off against 49 other teams who had won through the qualifiers, and some other 'Wildcards'. We were drawn in Group C, playing on Table 1, alongside the teams of Bjorn Again, Team Chris & Mike and The Maccabees.

With costumes and fancy dress a big part of the World Series of Pong we had gone for an 'On The Buses'-themed Team Name and Kit. However, the snowy weather meant that our team outfit remained in Southsea, and we had no time to source a new kit. Brad did however manage to find some Native American Indian Head-dresses in a Tooting Charity Shop 30 minutes before play began, which, while making us look like a couple of extras in a Village People video, did at least distract some of the spectators away from our play and allowed us to roll-out some "How" 'jokes', along the lines of '"How"...the bloody hell are we going to win this match', and '"How"...are we supposed to play in such unwieldy headwear' etc. etc. Another came from Brad, who had 'Reservations' about the hats - bah dum chaa.



First up in the group was a match pitting us against the team of Bjorn Again, a Ping pong contest that will go down in history, as the team of Bjorn Again demolished us 9-0! The first step on the path that would lead them to ultimate victory as WSOPong Champions!

A final pre-match team talk ahead of the 9-0 drubbing by 'Sweden's' Bjorn Again

After the defeat Brad and I picked ourselves up, adjusted our Native American Indian Head-dresses and got ready for match two, this time against two members of the Indie Band The Maccabees. In this match we won the rally to serve first, and went on to be on the receiving end of a 9-3 defeat. Heartened by the winning of three points we had some confidence heading into our third (and final) group match.

Up against the team of Chris & Mike we decided to switch ends, and with the glare of the lights from the high ceiling at the Tooting Tram & Social bar now behind us, we managed to take the lead, only for Chris & Mike to draw level, and eventually take the victory 9-7.

Bjorn Again look on as we play our final group game

The event also hosted exhibition displays from some of the best of England's Table Tennis talent who put on some spectacular matches, and also took on challenges from the WSOPong players.

Many thanks to Andrew and all the team at the WSOPong organisation, who ran a terrific event, and allowed Brad and I to compete in the WSOPong Grand Slam Final as one of the 'wildcard' teams.


Brad, Emily (our Coach) and I had a brilliant time (despite stinking up the tournament with our Whiff Whaff skills). And, at the end of the day at least we can say we were slaughtered 9-0 by the ultimate champions!


Brad has now officially retired from the sport - although he did enjoy the social/drinking aspect of WSOPong (and did finish the day with a smile, as he got a free dinner at a Pub we visited on our Saturday-night Tooting Pub Crawl after the tournament - where we also found 'Pints o' Sausage Rolls' for sale!?).

As for me, I will be back for qualifying in 2011! I've just got to find a new partner, a new kit and a lot more time to practice my game.

The aim of WSOPong events is to have fun in a social setting and the WSOPong competitions are targeted at casual, social players, or people who perhaps played many years ago, or not at all (the WSOPong don't target current, or former Club players, or Professionals).

About the World Series of Pong.

Pong Links:
The World Series of Pong (WSOPong)
The London Ping Pong Company
Greenhouse - Sport & Performing Arts

Other Ping Pong Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files:
Not long until the "World Series of Pong - Slam Jam Grand Final" Ping Pong Tournament!
Ping Pong Challenge Match at Wardown Park, Luton
Practicing for the World Series of Pong at Luton's Wardown Park
World Series of Pong (WSOPong) - Slam Jam Grand Final

Last December Brad and I attempted to break the Guinness World Record for 'Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in One Minute' - we failed in our pursuit of that 'World Title' too (although we did defeat celebrity entrant Esther Rantzen in the sprout scoffing).

Our regular sport to participate in is Minigolf (and Crazy Golf), but we also like to take the odd diversion into other obscure sports and games - with Brad a keen World Conker Championships competitor, while I am a keen Dodgeballer and Finger Jouster. Last month Emily and I also competed in the 4th UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships in Fulham.

Not long until the "World Series of Pong - Slam Jam Grand Final" Ping Pong Tournament!

This weekend sees me and my fellow Minigolfer Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd head to Tooting for the first-ever "World Series of Pong - Slam Jam Grand Final" Ping Pong Tournament!

After two practice sessions from me on the public concrete table in Luton's Wardown Park, and a cursory look at the rules from Brad, we feel (over) confident in our abilities to win the title for the team and our fans!

We've gone for an On The Buses-themed Team Name that will be revealed at the tournament itself (or online - the draw was at 1pm today).

A slight hitch with the snowy weather has meant that our team kit remains in Southsea, meaning that unless our Coach - Emily 'Olive' Gottfried - can source us a new one today, we may well have to play in that old PE standard of 'Pants and Vests'!!!

Full report, photos and videos to follow.

About the World Series of Pong.

Other Ping Pong Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files:
Ping Pong Challenge Match at Wardown Park, Luton

Practicing for the World Series of Pong at Luton's Wardown Park

World Series of Pong (WSOPong) - Slam Jam Grand Final

Ping Pong Challenge Match at Wardown Park, Luton

On Sunday 28th November Emily and I headed to Luton's Wardown Park to play some Table Tennis in preparation for my participation in the upcoming "World Series of Pong" Ping Pong Tournament!


In a best-of-three sets match, played in somewhat snowy conditions, I managed to defeat Emily 21-6, 21-19, followed by a 5-2 victory in a one-off first-to-five-points challenge match.




With two Sunday's worth of singles Ping Pong Practice under my belt I feel confident ahead of the upcoming World Series of Pong Slam Jam Grand Final Doubles Tournament in Tooting!

Match Introduction


Warming-up


Last Sunday I lost to Simon 'Practice' Hall at the Wardown Park Ping Pong table.

About the World Series of Pong

My Crazy/Odd/Obscure/Strange Sporting Week

Saturday

• Course visits 205 and 206 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• Minigolf at the World of Golf in Sidcup - practice for the 2010 Kent Open tournament
• 2010 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships at the Durell Arms, Fulham - a second-round loss

Sunday

• Kent Open Minigolf Tournament - tied for 8th and a win in the team competition

Monday

• Dodgeball Training Session and a 6-1 victory in Luton

Tuesday

• Day off

Wednesday

• 2010 Macmillan Annual Tenpin Bowling Challenge Competition at Namco Station in Luton - 3rd place finish with The Ham & Eggers Team

Thursday

• Minigolf at the Green Indoor Mini Golf - tied for 7th place in the weekly Club Tournament

Friday

• Day off, bar a bit of Ping Pong practice for the World Series of Pong

Saturday

• A re-visit to the 12-hole Crazy Golf course in Verulamium Park in St Albans, and a look at the 9-hole Putting Green

Sunday

• Ping Pong training for the World Series of Pong Slam Jam Grand Final
• Dodgeball training at Wardown Park in Luton
• A re-visit to the 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Wardown Park in Luton

Dodgeball training session and a "Best-of-three-match last-man-standing best-of-11-points One-on-One" Dodgeball Match-up!

After warming up by practicing our Ping Pong at Luton's Wardown Park Simon 'Practice' Hall and I had a Dodgeball training session, which included a "Best-of-three-match last-man-standing best-of-11-points One-on-One" Dodgeball Match-up!




I won the match 2-1 after a 6-5 game win, an 8-3 loss, and a 7-4 win.

The "Dodgeball & Ping Pong Arena" in Wardown Park, Luton.

Practicing for the World Series of Pong at Luton's Wardown Park

Early on Sunday 21st November I headed to Luton's Wardown Park to play my first Table Tennis match in over 16 years, in preparation for my participation in the upcoming "World Series of Pong" Ping Pong Tournament!





In a best-of-three sets match I lost to my Pitch & Putt and Dodgeball Adversary Simon 'Practice' Hall 18-21, 16-21, followed by a one-off 15-21 defeat. Simon hadn't played in over 20 years!





I had hoped not to stink up the place at the World Series of Pong Slam Jam event, so I'd better improve my game before the Slam Jam Grand Final!

About the World Series of Pong.