Pinball isn’t as random as it seems
Posted Aug 21, 2018, 2:37 PM UTC
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Extra balls: As advertised. Getting these early on can really extend your game.
Frenzy Mode: A mode defined by two general conditions: A "Jackpot" score which is usually low but much higher than what targets usually offer, and the phrase "All Targets". Don't let the seemingly low Jackpot score put you off, because "All Targets" means that even the slingshots will be awarding that amount, and if you can get the ball into the jet bumpers, that's a lot of points. It's usually accompanied by either a timer or multiball. If the score can be built up or the time limit can be held indefinitely, Frenzy mode could outscore Multiball for most sessions.
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My dream is to have a reasonably sized arcade in my home one day; I saw this earlier and made me really want a pinball machine in that dream haha. It would be pretty cool to have one to learn the nuances of and master.
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Edit: Haha, thought I was in one of the normie subs!
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Shout out to CP pinball. 20 bucks and you can play pinball all day and night.
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I'm not really a huge fan of Vox but hey, credit where credit is due! This was pretty cool and was awesome to see as a pinball fan!!
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I recently rediscovered pinball and I'm a total addict now. This video is spot on as to what a lot of casual player's don't realize about pinball - it's ordered chaos. It's also the most fun I've ever had sinking quarters into a game. My current favorite is the 2016 Vault Edition of Spider-Man.
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I went to an arcade convention here in town. They had tons of pinball machines. Never been much of a fan, until that day, I had more fun and spent more time on the pinball machines (minded the cabinet selection wasn't that great).
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I love Demolition Man at my local place, it's only $.50 .. I used to fight someone for top score... it's been a while since I've been there though. We've got a killer Wizard of Oz from Jersey Jack pinball, it's pretty sweet, hard to get a replay on, but lots of fun.
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I really want a late 80's to early 90's pinball, one of these days. I swear to god it is impossible even in pinball themed arcades, to find machines that are in good playable condition, are properly levelled, etc. There was a local skating rink that had about 6 machines, 3 of which were quite playable, but the place went up in flames earlier this year. ARGH. I've been lots of places, and it's SO rare to find a good machine. So I need one of my own. :-S
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There's a small local chain called Another Castle in the Seattle area that has tons of new and vintage pinball machines in most of their locations, with active pinball leagues. I think one of their locations even has a deal with a supplier to kind of use their floor as a showroom for their newest tables, so they always have the newest stuff there.
There's also the actual pinball museum in downtown Seattle.
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80's and 90's games are great. Learn how to work on them or find someone who knows how first though. They are hard to move so it helps if they will come to your house.
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i'm the only pinball fan on earth i think that doesn't particularly enjoy Addams Family, but I'd go nuts over any other Lawlor game. :-D
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How dare you sir, how dare you! Addams Family is one of the greatest machines ever made, if you don't like well then... ok I guess. But seriously I think it is fantastic and well deserving a mention any 'top' list. Curious as to what your favorites are. My top list in no particular order would also include Fun House, Cirqus Voltaire, White Water, Black Knight, Attack from Mars, Monster Mash and Creature from the Black Lagoon.
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Twilight Zone, STTNG, and No Fear are my most faves, I think.
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Asheville, NC has the Asheville Pinball Museum that has a decent selection!
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Well duh. The playfields are usually set up to send the ball down the center or down the gutters, but not so often that you feel ripped off or give up.
We used to have an early 1970's Bally electromechanical in the family. Man, was that thing fun to play. You could "roll it over" if you were good enough. Sadly it was given up on during a move. I understood, though, as it needed a ton of work and restoration at that point.
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The fuck are you doing posting this trash.
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Geez, what’s your problem?
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You're downvoted because of the way you wrote it, but you're right. This is a community of arcade lovers and enthusiasts, nobody here believes that pinball machines doesn't have goals.
I only saw the first 10 seconds of the video and closed it. What's next? A report about how Mario Bros is not a satanic game to lure children into doing shrooms?
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No one asked you anything, so I don't understand why you are talking
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This is interesting.
But, and please don't fault me for just being ignorant. But, unless you have not ever played pinball for more than 10 minutes... who thinks the ball is not actually controllable, or that you do not have certain areas of the field that you are not supposed to aim for?
This seems really, really... non-believable.
I mean there's always this article where pinball was outlawed in New York until the 70's and they actually had to bring someone into court to prove that it wasn't random
The story of that is actually pretty amazing. They brought in a pinball champion to play before the court room to demonstrate it was a game of skill, not gambling. The demonstration was so impressive that the judge basically immediately struck down the law. It was actually movie level stuff.
The pinball decision I think helped video games going forward, as it demonstrated it was a game of skill. Now the crappy games one finds at many arcades/D&B though very much seem like borderline gambling. Not much skill involved, all for tickets. Pinball was for playing the game itself, same with typical arcade video games. It is about trying to get a high score or beat the game. The objectives are abstract, not physical.
1, I love pinball, it's my favorite thing to play.
2, if you want to talk predetermined outcomes, I played some batman racing / shooting game. I thought I did pretty well, it asked for more quarters at a seemingly opportune time, right before the last battle. No thanks. I watched the next player play, same spot, and again and again. Then I played one more time, this time purposely not doing anything, not completing any objectives (it was on rails), and same spot. WTH? That was manipulative.
With many games, once I figure them out I can get a replay with 2 or 3 tries, so on $.50 a play I usually get to pay 3 or sometimes 4 times for a $1. I'm happy.
Don't blame the games, blame the owners that set the DIP switches to be as manipulative or difficult as possible. Most or all arcade games have mechanical switches that owners can set that control things like base difficulty, number of lives, score to get an extra life, damage taken or dealt, and so on.
Then again I haven't messed with newer games, so maybe they just make them that way these days. Wouldn't surprise me too much...
That’s the same guy in the video, Roger Sharpe.
For anyone interested "Drunk History" did a great episode about this!
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/8in5tp/drunk-history-pinball-prohibition
This is just a clip but the whole episode is available on Hulu
I recall the same thing happening with darts, which is even more absurd.
you'd be surprised, i think
my observation..
i have a few pinball machines and most people who play them just go wild on the flippers with no apparent goal other than "hit the ball".
I used to play pinball like this myself until I started playing emulated pinball, and then later Pinball Arcade, which really helped break down and walk through pin tables for me and get a better handle on just what the heck I'm doing.
Also I'd imagine if one's observant enough they can notice patterns, like lights flashing, the game trying to give you directions, and a more physics-minded person might go "Oh, I can hit the ball this way and send it that way."
hand/eye coordination isn't something that comes naturally to many people. If you lack sufficient hand/eye coordination, pinball can just seem random.
I've watched people that could never seem to get the timing to shoot the ball up a ramp.
I'm at the local barcade on a regular basis, and tons of people who come through have no clue that there are rules or objectives in pinball. Nearly everyone says, "I just try to hit the ball"
Im really new to pinball. It seems like the newer pins the ball moves hella quick. I have to always keep my eyes on the flippers. Sometimes the ball drains because i was trying to read the dm. Sometimes the ball shoots back right down the middle and i dont want to "nudge" the machine to try and save the ball. The older pins (no ramps) are too slow.
Pick one thing and focus on that for a while, that's my best advice. Sometimes the ball goes down the middle, sometimes you're too focused on the DM, and sometimes too many lights go at once. At the start of learning to play you can't focus on everything. Focus on one aspect at a time. Forget score, don't worry about that for now. Focus on figuring out how to hit that left ramp. Get a decent feel for it, and then try the right one. Figure out how the ball tends to bounce on each flipper next. After that you can start focusing on rules.
There are a million things going on at once in a pinball game, and it's tough to follow. If I were to try and talk as I do everything I'd be stumbling all over my words. If you break each aspect down, and focus on them one at a time, then you'll get to a point where you understand them enough where you don't even think while you employ them, the same way an NBA player doesn't have to think about a layup.
Thats the real beauty of pinball as a player: you get to a point where you can shut everything off and it becomes pure psychological flow.