Glossary of pinball terms

A glossary of terms, commonly used in discussing pinball machines.

Contents :

A

Add-a-ball
Allows the player to add additional balls by achieving a specific task e.g. during an active multiball. A feature especially popular on the latest generations of Stern machines. Earlier in pinball history, add-a-ball was actually used to describe that a player can earn extra balls.
Apron
The large attachment at the very bottom of the playfield, which usually holds a score and/or instruction card and which covers the ball trough. The front edges of the apron lead the ball to the drain.
Autosave
For a limited time, every ball that goes down the drain will be returned to the plunger. Usually only available when starting with a new ball (to compensate for "unfair" very fast drains), it will also be available during the start of multiballs on later machines. Also known as Ball Saver.

B

Backbox
The vertical "head" of the pinball machine, where the score is displayed.
Backglass
The upright glass panel in the backbox, displaying the game's title and a game-themed illustration. Usually has several unprinted areas through which the score and credit/match displays are viewed.
Ball Saver
See autosave.
Banana Flippers
Curved flipper bats found on Williams' Disco Fever and Time Warp games, shaped much like a banana.
Bank
See drop target.
Bumper
An upright, typically cylindrical or rectangular area, that applies force to the ball when hit. The cylindrical variety is referred to as a mushroom bumper, when capped with a circular top, which usually lights up to show the points scored when the bumper is hit.
When flippers were introduced on Humpty Dumpty, they were referred to as "flipper bumpers"; this use is no longer live and "bumpers" never refers to "flippers".
Active bumpers are referred to as "jet bumpers" by WMS Industries and Midway Games (after the 1988 Williams-Midway merger), "pop bumpers" by Gottlieb, "thumper bumpers" by Bally Technologies (before the 1988 Williams-Midway merger) and "turbo bumpers" by Data East.

C

Captive ball
A pinball trapped within a small area of the playfield. The captive ball never leaves this area, and the free ball can never enter it. However, the free ball can knock into the captive ball, which in turn can knock into targets in its area. Some tables even feature multiple stacked captive balls (e.g. Judge Dredd, Theatre of Magic).
Combo
Combo (or combo shot) refers to an immediate combination of different moves, often continuous ramp and/or orbit shots. Some machines, like Taxi, Theatre of Magic, Demolition Man, Attack from Mars or Star Trek: The Next Generation (featuring the famous "Picard Maneuver"), reward combo shots by an increasing number of points, depending on the number of successful continuous shots made.

D

DMD
A dot-matrix display is a pixel-addressable display used to display the score and other status during the game. Almost always placed in the backbox (exception: Cirqus Voltaire). Most machines released from 1992 onwards, starting with Data East's Checkpoint, released in 1991, features this display. Some exceptions are the two VGA-driven "Pinball 2000" series machines, pinball games that uses a LCD-display such as the machines from Jersey Jack Pinball and Heighway Pinball or retro style machines such as Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons.
Drop target
An upright, pressure-sensitive rectangle that drops below the playfield when hit by the ball. Drop targets are often arranged in so-called banks, and may require being hit in combination or in sequence to score or light special features.
Drain
The common term used to refer to the area beneath the flippers. If the ball rolls into the drain area via an outlane or between the flippers, it will be lost. Also refers to the act of losing a ball in this manner.

E

Electro-mechanical (EM)
A pinball machine design that relies on relays, motors and switches to run. This design was phased out in the late 1970s. EM machines are easily recognized by their scoring displays that have mechanical score reels that spin to show the score. Newer machines are referred to as solid state (SS).
Extra ball
An additional bonus ball that can be earned by achieving a specific task.

F

Flipper
A tapered bat, typically found in pairs at the bottom of the table, that is the player's primary means of controlling the ball. Normally a downward slope extending the bottom structure of the table, one end is moved upward in an arc when the player taps the appropriate button.

G

GI
An acronym of general illumination, this refers to the lights on the playfield used simply to make the playfield visible in a dark room.
Gobble hole

A hole in a pinball table that ends the game of the current ball if the ball falls in it.

H

Habitrail
A wireform path for the ball that surrounds it on all sides, preventing the ball from escaping.

I

Inlane
See lane.

J

Jackpot
A specially designated point bonus; typically among the highest amounts that can be scored with one shot. Jackpots are only available when certain actions are completed, often only during a mode.

K

Kickout hole
A depression in the pinball table that the ball can fall into. This is usually just large enough for the ball to fit into it. After gaining some points, and/or adjusting the game state, the ball is kicked back into play in a predictable direction and speed.

L

Lane
A lane is in general any area of the table just wide enough to let the ball pass through. Special kinds of lanes are inlanes and outlanes; both types are situated at the bottom of the playing field. The outlanes are at the far ends and connect to the bottom (causing loss of the ball), the inlanes are next to them and connect to the flipper area.

M

Magic post
A post that can rise up between the flipper fingers and completely block the middle drain. Sometimes also called Recovery Post or Up post.
Magna-save
A feature that allows the player to activate a magnet located just below the entrance to an outlane. A ball headed for the outlane will be held by the magnet and diverted to the corresponding inlane instead. Williams Electronics pioneered this feature on the Black Knight game.
Match
The chance to win a free game after the last ball has drained. On most machines the free game is received when the last two digits of the score match a pseudo randomly picked two digit number. The winning chance can be altered by the operator. Most modern games incorporate a short animated skit that culminates in the match number selection.
Mode
A configuration of the table where specific goals must be met in a limited time to score points, hitting specific lanes or dropping specific targets, sometimes combined with multiball. Some tables have multiple modes that must be activated in order, usually building up to an "ultimate" last mode or the wizard mode where the most points can be scored.
Multiball (multi-ball)
A situation where multiple balls are on the playing field, as opposed to the single ball the player usually has to contend with. Multiball can be part of a mode, as well as a goal in its own right. Generally, multiball consists of two or three balls, but many more have been used on some machines, such as Apollo 13, which uses 13 for multiball.

O

Outlane
See lane. The outlanes are generally the outside lanes at the sides of the playfield that lead the ball to the drain (sometimes with a possibility of striking a peg and re-entering the adjacent inlane).
Orbit
A path for the ball that hugs the outer rim of the game. Orbits generally have a slingshot effect; sending the ball into an orbit generally means it returns immediately from another. Orbits are usually referred to by their entry point, for instance, the left orbit shot on White Water is called the "Boulder Garden".

P

Passive Bumper
A bumper which does not kick the ball when hit, although it may register a score or play a sound effect. Also known as a dead bumper.
PCB
Abbreviation for the printed circuit board. Circuit boards are used in solid state machines. Most are located in the back box. Others circuit boards can be located under the playfield or in the main cabinet.
Playmatic
A Spanish company that produced pinball machines between 1968 and 1987. Playmatic machines are notable for their play fields that have a plastic coating that seldom wears out. The company produced 63 different pinball machines, 41 of them solid-state.[1]
Plunger
Unlike its original meaning, this player controlled device kicks the ball from the ball lane into the game. The amount of force to pull the plunger is directly proportional to the force the ball receives. Some newer machines just feature buttons that automatically put the ball into play with a rather constant force applied. This was introduced either to reduce game costs or to allow for exotic devices like the gear shifter in The Getaway: High Speed II or the gun in Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure.
Popper
A device that launches the ball vertically, often to a raised playfield.
Peg
The peg is the device that hits the ball before it hits the end of the machine and it ends your game.
Playfield
The part of the pinball machine where you actually move the ball around. When referring to playfield positions, the "lower" playfield area is considered nearest the player while the "upper" playfield area is nearest the backbox.

R

Ramp
A section of the playfield with a raised gradient. Ramps generally lead either to raised playfields or to inlanes.
Replay
A free game received after a certain score is reached.
Rollover
A flat switch residing in the playfield itself. A rollover is activated when the ball rolls over it.

S

Slam tilt
This particular form of tilt is given if the machine is nudged with such violence that it risks damaging the hardware. Such an action generally sounds an alarm and causes the machine to reset (hence voiding the credit). A slam tilt is sometimes also given if force is applied to the coin box.
Solid state
A pinball machine design that relies on computers and printed circuit boards to run. This design was introduced in the late 1970s. SS machines are easily recognizable by their scoring displays, which are powered by electricity. Older machines are referred to as electro-mechanical (EM) and have mechanical score reels that spin to display the score.
Special
Some machines allow the player to earn a free game (called a special in that context) by achieving a specific task (e.g. lighting all monsters and their instruments in Monster Bash).
Spinner
A rotating target, mostly placed at the entrance to a loop/orbit or ramp.
Standup targets (stand-up targets, spot targets)
A standing target on a playfield, similar to a drop target, but which does not drop into the playfield when struck.
Stopper
A small metal post, often with a rubber ring, typically found between and slightly below the bottom flippers. If the ball hits the post, it will bounce up and away, saving it from draining. Skilled players can use the stopper to make trick shots. On some tables, the stopper is made available only as a reward.
Skillshot (skill shot, skill-shot)
A bonus that is rewarded in several pinball games. It is earned by performing some particular task when releasing the ball. It requires releasing the ball with a particular strength or shooting a specific target, ramp or loop immediately after releasing the ball. Some games have various levels of skillshots. This is not to be confused with a combo shot.

T

Tilt
The tilt mechanism registers motion applied to a machine; if too much motion is applied this way, the game is said to "tilt" and the player is penalized (losing the ball in play, the bonus points or a combination of both are the most common penalties). Some EM machines void the game of a player when tilted.
Translight
The plastic or glass sheet in the backbox, generally displaying a large colorful illustration. So-called because it is often designed to allow light through in some areas.

U

Up post
See magic post.
Up-Kicker
An electro-mechanical feature that physically propels the ball upwards onto a second-tier playfield, as used in Gottlieb's Haunted House.

V

Vari-target
A target that can be moved by the ball by a varying amount. Normally this directly corresponds to the amount of points received, as it is usually risky trying to shoot the narrow target with full force.
Vitrigraph
Gottlieb's patented photo-realistic mylar overlay for pinball playfields rather than the industry standard silk screen on the wood.[2]
VUK
Short for vertical up-kicker. Synonym for popper.

W

Wedge Head
Trapezoidal shaped cabinet backboxes when viewed from the front.[3]
Widebody
Widebody pinball machines offer more playfield space and more to be packed in but are more expensive
Wizard
An exceptionally skilled player. This term comes from the 1969 rock opera Tommy, where the likewise nicknamed protagonist becomes famous, when he masters pinball. The title of the song "Pinball Wizard" quickly gained acceptance among pinball enthusiasts as an honorific.
Wizard mode (wizard bonus)
A special mode or bonus, started only after completing a long and difficult series of tasks in a pinball machine. The first wizard bonus was the "King's Ransom" in 1989's Black Knight 2000.
Woodrail
Pinball machines manufactured prior to appr. 1961 that used wood to frame the playfield glass.[4]
Contents :

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.flippers.be/playmatic.html
  2. ↑ http://www.pinballarcadeplayers.com/taxonomy/term/30
  3. ↑ http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php#W
  4. ↑ http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php#W
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