Jessica Note: Here is my sweet sweet pinball essay, which has been slightly revised because I read it out loud and omfg I have no idea how they understood half the stuff I put in here (like it was just these dense sentences about game play and mostly still is)! Also added the Demo Man stuff because it’s adorable and I ❤ cursing, though I would never submit expletives for a writing sample unless…well…unless absolutely necessary! Also I think the X-Men thing is technically wrong but it sounds cool but also it’s kinda like, you’re just collecting everyone anyhow. But it would be cooler if it were how I explained it/in my head, that’s how I play it. Also I’m thinking of peppering it up a bit more (ie: making is useable for a ten-minute piece because this thing took about ten mins. to read out loud and yeah…I need to clean up that last paragraph because it’s so not at all compelling).
You guys I love pinball so much.
Enjoy:
Pinball has been a hobby of mine for the past year and a half. For those who are unfamiliar, it is an arcade game that is a bit more physical than you might expect, and requires a decent amount of eye-hand coordination as well as anticipation. Pinball table themes vary, which causes each table to have a different set of rules on how to achieve points. One of my current favorite tables is the Addam’s Family table, which is the highest selling pinball table of all time. Instead of just taking sound clips from the film for the table call-outs (the sounds that occur depending on which part of the table you hit with the pinball), Raul Julia and Angelica Houston actually recorded the bits specifically for Midway, the company who made the table. It makes a world of difference and definitely pulls the player deeper into the game. Not all pinball tables are based on films. Some center around bands, such as Rolling Stones or KISS. Others may focus on a general theme, such as space, fishing, or magic. Basically, most anything you think of can be turned into a pinball table if someone has the time to design and create it.
Now, assuming your table is on Free Play, which means that you don’t need to put in any money to start playing the game, players must first press the “start” button. The start button is typically located on the front left of the table. If your game is not on Free Play, you must enter tokens, quarters or dollar bills (depending on which currency the establishment in which you find yourself playing pinball, requires). The display screen, which you can locate by simply looking up and staring straight ahead if you are facing the table, will keep track of how your money turns into credits. One credit = one series of game play for one person. On most tables, pinball can be played with up to four players. Pressing the start button the same number of times that corresponds with the number of players who will be using the table will ensure that everyone’s score is logged appropriately during game play.
A few tables allow the player to select a mode, quest, or song, depending on the theme. Tables based on bands, such as Metallica and AC/DC, let you choose a song to play which corresponds with various targets and items on the playing field. AC/DC is currently the only table where choosing a song actually dictates how many points certain targets and shots will give you. Both Star Trek and Star Trek: TNG let the player select their mission. Transformers asks players to choose between playing as an Autobot or a Decepticon. X-Men, however, determines which side you’re on based on shots you make while playing, and not by selecting anything prior to plunging your ball. In all of these cases, making these choices will further dictate the focus of game play for the table.
Players will begin their turn by plunging their first ball into the playing field. The plunger is located on the front right of the cabinet (which is another name for the part of the pinball table where the pictures and name of the table are located) and is either a knob you pull and release, or is a button that you press. The plunger button on Judge Dredd is actually located on the right side of the cabinet! Releasing or pressing the plunger will deploy the pinball. Each player has three balls per game. If there are multiple players, each player will play one ball and then rotate to the next player once they drain their ball and end their turn. Depending on the table, a player who scores very poorly and drains their ball too soon may be entitled to a ball save. This means that another pinball will (sometimes) automatically shoot out from the deploying area near the plunger and let that player continue where their last ball left off. There is usually a fun call out from the table to let you know that this is happening. My favorite is on Attack From Mars, which commands you to “Return to Battle, Soldier!” as you attempt to protect the world from a martian invasion. There is also an opportunity to acquire an extra ball during each turn, but it is not always possible. If an extra ball is acquired, the player who received it will be prompted to shoot again after their initial ball drains.
Once a player plunges the ball, it would behoove them to place their hands on either side of the cabinet to locate the buttons which operate the flippers. The main flippers are located at the left and right base on the playing field and are what assist players in keeping the ball in motion. Many tables may have one or more flippers throughout the play field. If I am unfamiliar with a table, I like to toggle the flippers to locate any other flippers that may be on the playing field as they are some times difficult to see when not in motion. Twilight Zone has a hidden flipper that I didn’t even know about until about a month or two after I started playing that table! For reference, it is located on the left side, near the camera target, under the upper playing field.
Most newer (1970’s and on) tables have a skill shot, which is an up-front bonus for hitting a target upon the plunge of the ball. All tables should have a summary of play on the lower left corner of the glass top which describes how to hit the skill shot. That summary will include other great information about different types of shots which will award players more points as well. Stern, a company just located outside of Chicago, has been programming super skill shots into a lot of their newer releases within the past several years. Almost all of these super skill shots are triggered by the player holding in the button for the left flipper so that the flipper is pointed upward, and plunging the ball at the same time. The ball will then shoot around the back of the play field and return toward the flippers. The player can now release the left flipper and hit the ball at any major target on the table. Successful completion of a super skill shot could give the player upwards of one million points!
As stated previously, the actual play field of a pinball table depends on the theme, though they are all made up of similar parts. Working up from the flippers, there are the slingshots which snap when a pinball hits them, causing the ball to ricochet throughout the table. Past the sling shots will be some targets, of which there are quite the variety: drop targets, which, as the name suggests, drop into the table when hit, bulls-eye targets, which have different point values depending on where a ball hits them, and spot targets, which really don’t do much except award points. The a fore mentioned slingshots are also a type of target. Most tables also have ramps, which assist the ball in navigating through the table and let the it out right by one of the flippers. There may also be an upper or lower playing field, which I touched on briefly before. Twilight Zone, Simpson’s Pinball Party, and the stunning Wizard of Oz table all have upper playfields on the top left corner of the table. AC/DC has a lower playing field in the center of the table, closer toward the flippers, which is shaped like the head of Satan and accessible by selecting any song with “Hell” in the title. All tables also include bumpers, another type of target which is similar to a slingshot but with a more focused ricochet. These are a standard target, sort of mushroom-looking in shape, that often comes to mind when people think of pinball. Bumpers are grouped together for optimal point gathering, though in some of the older machines they may be spaced out across the play field.
As a game progresses, both the display area at the head of the table and light up notifications on the playing field will give players a heads up of which targets or ramps they need to hit in order to accumulate the most points, obtain a jackpot, or start a multiball. The first multiball appeared in the 1956 table, Balls a’Poppin. Multiballs are both terrifying and amazing, as a player can amass a high amount of points once a multiball is started by repeatedly hitting jackpots, but they also need to focus on more than one pinball in play which becomes quite chaotic. One of the best pieces of advice anyone gave me with a multiball is to take your time and, with the flippers pointed up, carefully attempt to cradle one or two pinballs while keeping one moving throughout the table. It sounds like it would be easy, but there is so much juggling involved, not only to keep a hold of all of the pinballs, but to ensure that once they are cradled within a flipper, they don’t drain to make way for another ball. Multiballs are usually where fancy passes come in, such as a post-pass, where the player can pass a ball from one flipper to the next by bouncing it off of the lowest slingshot post, or the Chill Manuever, which is not for the faint of heart and can only be done if there is a central post between the flippers on which the ball can bounce. This pass will fail if the ball does not hit the post just so, in such a way that it bounces back up to a flipper instead of simply draining.
It took me a while to realize this, but it’s ok to physically jostle a table. In fact, it’s encouraged and referred to as shaking or nudging. Nudging could save a ball from teetering out of play and draining. On the other hand, it could also influence a ball to drain, which is a risk players have to take. Shaking often comes into play when a ball is in the bumper area, as a player who shakes the cabinet could rack up a lot of points by manipulation the ball so that it continues to bounce betwixt the bumpers. However, this is not without its potential for penalty. If the display screen flashes “DANGER” that means the table has been hit or moved too forcefully. If that happens more than once, a player runs the risk of tilting, during which the table flashes as though it’s shorted out, automatically drains the ball, thus drops any bonus points acquired during play of that ball. It is not at all pleasant, and Demolition man has a call out of “Fuck You!” to remind players of this. However, sometimes a ball might get stuck behind a target or ramp and players may need to slightly push or hip-check a table to push it back into play. Quoth Raul Julia’s call-out on Addams Family: Careful!
There are many tutorials and fact sheets available on the internet for each table, and countless pinball forums! I try to stay out of the forums because I’m still not up on a lot of the lingo, but the video tutorials are by a lot of pinball greats so it’s like having private coaching. I highly recommend them!
...I Just Want Your Half. 