“Danger!” flashed the Walking Dead pinball machine as a player shoved it in frustration. An 80-gram, carbon steel ball had just slipped past the flippers and dropped into the drain.

Across the dimly-lit bar, Jessi Reid sat patiently at a high-top table behind her laptop, waiting for new players to check in.

Mission Pinball Club’s fourth tournament season was underway.

For the next three weeks, the club will meet Tuesdays at 7:30pm at Gestalt Haus (3159 16th Street), which houses five nine pinball machines for aficionados and casual players. Participating in a single tournament night is $5, but devotees may pay $20 to opt in for the remainder of the season. Fees go back into the league to purchase fun gifts.

Last spring, Reid started Mission Pinball Club to bring community members together. As a beginner-focused league that convenes during spring, summer and fall, the club aims to build confidence, teach novices the rules of International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) and Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA), and most importantly, have fun.

“I wanted a place for pinball fans to play without judgement or pressure,” said Reid as she welcomed newbies and returnees. Every season, the club sees an increase in attendance.

“The great thing about the members is that they all know they're there for the same reason,” she said. “Members will chat with members they don't know. It’s a great feeling bringing newcomers around and having them coming back week after week.”

Between rounds, members gathered around Reid for shots of Underberg, sharing a celebratory toast before getting back to business.

While pinball is now known for illuminating the dark corners of dive bars, it was once synonymous with entertainment gambling, earning it a shady reputation. In the '30s and '40s, thousands of cities across banned the game, a state that lasted for decades.

Pinball's reputation started turning around in the '70s, when the emergence of arcades gave the game another chance. However, vestiges of its disreputable past remain: as late as 2014, Free Gold Watch had to lobby officials for the right to legally operate pinball machines, the same year Oakland lifted its long-standing ban on the game.

While Mission Pinball doesn't offer monetary rewards, Reid said that this season’s sponsors—North Coast Brewing and Underberg—could have prizes in the works. Previous prizes have included T-shirts, collectible pins and a portable speaker.

With two more tournaments before the April 18th finale, it’s still anyone’s game.

For more information on Mission Pinball Club, visit the group’s Facebook page.