A Sac Skee session goes down like this: Each player rolls nine balls in a single frame, and a match encompasses 10 frames per player for each team. The team with the top score wins and a match lasts about an hour.
Given its combination of time-honored fun and midweek high jinks, this Skee-Ball has connected quickly with Sacramentans in their 20s and 30s. That’s to say, the game may quickly replace adult kickball for those who want to re-create a favorite childhood game with a taste of adult beverages.
Skee-Ball’s been a fixture of American amusement since it was invented in 1909 by J. Dickinson Estes of Philadelphia.
The original games were monstrous, played on 36-foot lanes, nearly three times the size of most current Skee-Ball machines. The rights to Skee-Ball have been passed to various companies over the decades, but they’ve been overseen since 1977 by Skeeball Inc. from Chalfont, Pa. The company ships its Skee-Ball machines around the world, and has partnered with such businesses as the Six Flags Corp. and Dave and Buster’s to bring the official game to the masses.
Frank Seninsky, former president of the Amusement and Music Operators Association and industry consultant, said Skee-Ball remains a top draw in arcades and game rooms. While a handful of quarters might only provide a few seconds of play on some arcade games, a single round of Skee-Ball averages around 40 seconds, making it one of the better values. Add to that the thrill of head-to-head competition and satisfyingly tactile game play, and it’s easy to see why Skee-Ball has achieved cross-generational appeal.
Skee-Ball leagues have sprung up around the country over the past decade, including SkeeNation with its affiliates in Atlanta, Chicago and 10 other cities. One of the leading Skee-Ball organizations, “Brew-Skee Ball,” was founded in 2005, with chapters in New York City and San Francisco as well as in Austin, Texas, and Wilmington, N.C. Brew-Skee Ball’s home base is Brooklyn’s Full Circle Bar, which takes its name from a Skee-Ball score of 360 (a frame where a player hits 40 points on all nine rolls).
This seemingly innocuous sport has also generated some controversy. Skee-Ball Inc. filed a 2012 lawsuit in federal court against Full Circle Bar (where Brew-Skee Ball has its Hall of Fame) for trademark infringement. Brew-Skee Ball isn’t extending its affiliations to more cities until the lawsuit is sorted out.
Vellanoweth knows the Full Circle Bar well. A four-time champion in San Francisco’s Brew-Skee Ball league, he was inducted last year into its Hall of Fame.
Vellanoweth has spent years working on his game. He was introduced to Skee-Ball’s competitive side by a college roommate who was a two-time national Skee-Ball champion. “I got sick and tired of being a spectator,” he said about why he decided to compete.
Vellanoweth later invested in his own Skee-Ball machine, which cost about $5,000 new, and hosted Skee-Ball parties at his Sacramento home. He also squeezes in a little practice during downtime at his job. Vellanoweth works in production and marketing at Two Rivers Cider Co., which has a Skee-Ball machine. His boss, company founder Vincent Sterne, also competes in Sac Skee.
Vellanoweth now owns five Skee-Ball machines with the other owners of Sac Skee: Harbison, John Silva and Gregg Van Meter. The games weigh 400 pounds each, and two of them are kept at Elixir for both league play and for those who just want to take some rolls for $1 per game. Skee-Ball lanes can also be found at other local drinking establishments, including Republic Bar & Grill. In addition, a Skee-Ball tournament was held at OneSpeed during the 2012 edition of Sacramento Beer Week.
Curt Pow, Elixir’s owner, says Skee-Ball’s been a good fit for his bar. The Sac Skee matches bring crowds during the midweek, and Elixir pockets some extra revenue as well. Monies dropped into the machines are split 50-50 between Elixir and the Sac Skee folks.
Elliot White shares this advice with Wes Kerbs, a fellow member of Team Turducken, as the night’s first match winds down.
The highest possible score in a single Skee-Ball frame is 900 points, meaning all nine balls landed in the 100-point holes, situated in in the uppermost corners of the scoring area. Vellanoweth’s personal best score is 810 in one frame. He aimed for 100 on each roll – and nearly sunk them all.
Most players aim for the 40-point hole, located near the center and easier to hit. Tossing technique usually includes leaning one’s body as closely as possible to the scoring area for the best accuracy.
Economy of arm movement helps ensure a steady scoring groove.
Vellanoweth prefers to place his feet in front of one another, like he was riding a single water ski or settling into a yoga-style “balancing stick pose.” He presses his front shin firmly against the machine for stability.
“You want a bruise at the end of the day,” Vellanoweth said.
Not everyone takes such a hard-core approach. For many Sac Skee players, game night simply makes for a perfect excuse to hang with the buddies and unwind from work.
Chris Hester, who by day works as a project manager with a Roseville land development company, takes Tuesday nights as an opportunity to play Skee-Ball with Team Turducken. Hester said he was slightly surprised that his wife gives him such an easy hall pass to play Skee-Ball.