Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Pinball Competition

Pinball Competition
The Series 3 Pinball arena
Structure Information
Number of Competing Robots	10
Format	Obstacle course
History
UK Series	3
Winner(s)	Razer

"...and what better way to relax than the return of that old arcade favourite, our Pinball Warrior Championship... Relaxing? You get more rest at a Meatloaf concert."

— Craig Charles introduces the Pinball Competition in Heat A of Series 3

The Pinball Competition of Robot Wars: The Third Wars (also referred to as Pinball Warrior) was a side event held throughout Robot Wars: The Third Wars, based on the Pinball Trial from the Second Wars. Competing robots were required to knock down objects, hit targets or clear certain obstacles in order to score as many points as possible within the time limit. The robot with the highest score by the end of the competition would be declared the winner.

Razer eventually won the competition, which had been led for the most part by Dominator.

Arena

• One stack of 5-point barrels
• A 50-point target
• The 75-point target
• The multiball release
• Swinging car doors
• The Sphere
• The see-saw ramp
• The bricks

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The Pinball arena featured the following obstacles and targets, each with varying degrees of difficulty and offering a certain amount of points depending on their difficulty:

• Two stacks of barrels; one with nine barrels, the other seven (5 points per barrel knocked over)
• A see-saw ramp (20 points if successfully driven over)
• Two 50-point and one 75-point targets, each made out of a car tyre. 50-point targets guarded by Shunt and Sergeant Bash, with either Dead Metal or Matilda guarding the 75-point target.
• A multiball release, consisting of a car bumper that would release several balls when pressed (10 points when released, 5 points each for every ball that falls into the pit)
• Swinging car doors (25 points)
• A large sphere (25 points if pushed into the pit)

Additionally, Sir Killalot had complete freedom of the arena, posing another obstacle for competitors. Two pits were featured in the arena, which as in the main competition would result in instant elimination for competitors which drove into them. A stack of bricks was also located near one of the pits, although no points were scored through knocking them down or into the pit.

Results

Rank	Robot	Image	Heat featured	Runthrough	Score
1	Razer		Heat O	Razer's winning run started by attacking the barrels, and knocking most of them over. It then drove into Sergeant Bash and the target it was guarding, before hitting Dead Metal's target. It reversed into the multiball before pushing the sphere into the pit. Razer hit the other barrels, and drove into the bricks, before finally driving through the car door gate.	210
2	Dominator		Heat A	Dominator immediately went for the barrels after the start. It missed the see saw, and drove into Sergeant Bash.  Sir Killalot trapped it under the see saw, but it escaped. Dominator steered sharply and clipped Sergeant Bash's target, while at the same time it hit a loose barrel, which rolled and released the multiball. It escaped after being trapped by Sir Killalot and Dead Metal to hit Dead Metal's unguarded target. It could not push through the car door gate.  Eventually it was trapped again, and was hit by Shunt's axe and Dead Metal's saw.	160
3	Six Pac		Heat G	Six Pac went straight for the barrels at the start. It avoided Sir Killalot and hit the multiball. It was the first robot to use and complete the ramp, and drove into Matilda. It missed the open 75 point target as Matilda attacked it, but managed to nudge Shunt's 50 point target instead. It went through the car door gate, before being crushed in between Sir Killalot and Matilda.	135
=4	Crusader		Heat D	Crusader took the usual route of attacking the barrels at the start. It drove away from Sir Killalot and drove around Sergeant Bash to hit its 50 point target. Unfortunately it got stuck under the target, but was helped away by Sergeant Bash. It drove into the multiball, and squashed one of the balls against Sergeant Bash until the ball exploded. It then reversed into one of the pits.	90
=4	Eye of Newt		Heat F	Eye Of Newt took the usual route of going straight for the barrels. It avoided Sir Killalot but missed Sergeant Bash's target. It then drove towards the other stack of barrels, but ignored them and returned to Sergeant Bash's target. It managed to spin around, and then hit it. Sir Killalot then pinned it against the arena wall. It surged forward at the end but missed the multiball.	90
6	Oblivion 2		Heat L	Oblivion 2 drove into the barrels at the start, but got stuck on the arena wall, and drove into Sergeant Bash. It hit the 50 point marker, but Sir Killalot drove in and Oblivion 2 was immobilised. Sergeant Bash used its flamethrower and set Sir Killalot on fire.	75
7	Inquisitor Mk 2		Heat N	Inquisitor Mk 2 drove into the barrels, but did not knock any over.  Eventually it knocked a few, before it was cornered by Sir Killalot, who knocked down some barrels itself which didn't count. It then drove very slowly into Sergeant Bash, hitting the 50 point marker. It then drove into the multiball, before tipping Matilda over.	70
=8	Killerhurtz		Heat I	Killerhurtz did not move at the start, but jumped into life and smashed through the barrels. It hit the multiball and went through the car door gate. It was attacked by Shunt, and trapped in the corner by Shunt and Dead Metal.	60
=8	Mortis		Heat P	Mortis drove into the right hand barrels first, and knocked the sphere into the pit. It avoided Sir Killalot and hit the multiball. It then hit the other barrels, and tried to drive over the ramp, but was stopped by Sir Killalot. At the end one of its tracks got stuck in the pit.	60
10	R.O.C.S. 2		Heat K	This robot had an extremely slow start - after a long time it knocked over the barrels. It drove into Sergeant Bash while being chased by Sir Killalot. It drove at the other set of barrels again, but Sir Killalot drove in and trapped it.	35

Trivia

• Velocirippa was originally due to compete in the Pinball, but a behind-the-scenes incident caused filming to be delayed, and it was moved to the Robotic Soccer.

"We turned up for the Pinball tournament only to be told that we had been cancelled as filming had been delayed. As you can imagine I was none too pleased and kicked up a fuss, Mary-Jane took pity on me and negotiated a place in the soccer tournament to be filmed that day."

— Original Velocirripa website