Started and operating since 2015, The DFW Pinball League serves all of North Texas

Louis Marx has been buying, selling, trading, playing pinball and involved in the Texas Pinball Festival since 2001.

Louis has been attending and participating in the Texas Pinball Festival every year since 2001 (through all five cities that have hosted the TPF event over the years)! This includes the predecessor to TPF (year 1), known as APOP Pinball-Rama.

What Eventually became the DFW League actually was started by Marcus Trevino in 2013 at an arcade called Nickelrama in Garland, Texas. Louis officially started the DFW League in 2015, remaining at Nickelrama and partnering with Marcus while planning for 2016. In 2016 we were still at Nickelrama part time BUT also started hosting events in unique and rare PRIVATE pinball collections, in private homes as well. In 2017 we moved to the current model of having ALL events take place in some of the best North Texas game rooms and private pinball collections, most of which are private collections in people's homes.

For a long time, the DFW Pinball League was the only IFPA sanctioned, ongoing pinball action in the DFW community.... AND TODAY: partially thanks to our efforts, there are now multiple tournament organizers and leagues in North Texas, running at multiple venues. So EVERYONE can have access to pinball tournaments and leagues! We support them all - to grow the game for everyone! It's really about growing the DFW Pinball COMMUNITY!

For 2025, The DFW Pinball League has partnered with Carpool Pinball, working together, with the primary goal of bringing MORE pinball to more people. Carpool Pinball both runs tournaments by themselves and in partnership with the DFW League. Carpool Pinball also streams pinball events throughout the DFW area (and sometimes beyond) at https://www.twitch.tv/carpoolpinball.

We ALWAYS encourage family participation and even have events specifically for kids with amazing prizes!

The DFW Pinball League, the oldest continually operating IFPA tournament pinball organizer in the DFW area, travels to some of the best North Texas game rooms and private pinball collections. For many events, you might pay as little as $15 for adults, with kids 16 and under playing free. We are proud of the fact that we have 10-15 affordable events each year.

Generally, Louis will not turn anyone away over money at the events hosted at people's homes (private pinball collections). In normal events, if you can't pay, he will pay for you!

Sometimes there's an interesting twist added: For example, at the "Hotter Than Mother's Pinball" tournament that was held in Keller, Texas in March 2024, the cost was a little higher because the host offered a 'bounty' for the best score on 7 different EM machines. It was a unique twist that had people talking.

Even so, this event was still less than $20 per person to play in.

Occasionally, there will be a charity component (ask) as well. When this happens, you must be able to pay this. Usually the charity asks are small. For example, the Toad Suck Shootout is a charity event that opens out league every year and the ask there has been for an a minimum of $25-30 in past years (which goes towards Education and College Scholarships for kids).

Starting in 2024, we also added some LARGER events, special events, and/or national events. Previously, we did have ONE national event. The change in 2024 is expanding this to allow more opportunity for DFW players to have access to the NACS Texas State Championship race. These events generally cost anywhere from $40-90. I know that's a wide range, because they can vary greatly depending on what's special about that particular event. Many of them pay out prize money and/or special prizes, and have something UNIQUE about them.

These tournaments are for ALL SKILL LEVELS. We have had players as young as 3 years old and as old as 81 in our leagues. So everyone is welcome - Just come, hang out, eat, drink, & play pinball! Its about having fun!

Most events are sanctioned by the International Flipper Pinball Association: https://www.ifpapinball.com/ and, while Louis Marx is the Head Tournament Director and League Official, all events are brought to you by and are the property of DFW Pinball League, LLC.

Find more details on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/164360813769869/ or email marx.pinball@gmail.com for Louis Marx, DFW Pinball League Tournament Director.