Pinball Games Free Download For Windows 8

For other uses, see. Pinball is a type of, in which points are scored by a player manipulating one or more steel balls on a play field inside a glass-covered cabinet called a pinball machine (or 'pinball table'). The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible. Many modern pinball machines include a story line where the player must complete certain objectives in a certain fashion to complete the story, usually earning high scores for different methods of completing the game. Points are earned when the ball strikes different targets on the play field.

Download Apps/Games for PC/Laptop/Windows 7,8,10. Pinball Arcade is a Arcade game developed by Farsight Studios. The latest version of Pinball Arcade is 2.08.5. Pinball Arcade Fans. (1) Z-Axis Translation slider - moves the cam linearly up and down. (2) Y-Axis Translation slider - moves the camera linearly*forward and.

A drain is situated at the bottom of the play field, partially protected by player-controlled plastic bats called. A game ends after all the balls fall into the drain a certain number of times. Secondary objectives are to maximize the time spent playing (by earning 'extra balls' and keeping the ball in play as long as possible) and to earn bonus games (known as 'replays'). Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • History [ ] Pre-modern: Development of outdoor and tabletop ball games [ ] The origins of pinball are intertwined with the history of many other games.

Games played outdoors by rolling balls or stones on a grass course, such as or, eventually evolved into various local games played by hitting the balls with sticks and propelling them at targets, often around obstacles., golf and eventually derived from ground billiards variants. [ ] The evolving and specializing outdoor games finally led to indoor versions that could be played on a table, such as, or on the floor of a pub, like and. The tabletop versions of these games became the ancestors of modern pinball.

Late 1700s: Spring launcher invented [ ]. Billard japonais, Southern Germany/Alsace ca. It already has a spring mechanism to propel the ball, 100 years prior to Montague Redgrave's patent.

In France, during the long 1643–1715 reign of, billiard tables were narrowed, with wooden pins or skittles at one end of the table, and players would shoot balls with a stick or cue from the other end, in a game inspired as much by as billiards. Pins took too long to reset when knocked down, so they were eventually fixed to the table, and holes in the bed of the table became the targets. Players could ricochet balls off the pins to achieve the harder scorable holes. A standardized version of the game eventually became known as. Somewhere between the 1750s and 1770s, the bagatelle variant Billard japonais 'Japanese billiards' was invented (in Western Europe, despite the name), which used thin metal pins and replaced the cue at the player's end of the table with a coiled spring and a plunger. The player shot balls up the inclined playfield toward the scoring targets using this plunger, a device that remains in use in pinball to this day, and the game was also directly ancestral to. [ ] 1869: Spring launchers become mainstream [ ] In 1869, British inventor settled in the US and manufactured bagatelle tables in.

In 1871 Redgrave was granted US Patent #115,357 for his 'Improvements in Bagatelle', another name for the spring launcher that was first introduced in Billard japonais. The game also shrank in size to fit atop a bar or counter.

The balls became marbles and the wickets became small metal pins. Redgrave's popularization of the spring launcher and innovations in game design are acknowledged as the birth of pinball in its modern form.

1931: Coin operation introduced [ ]. An early pinball game without flippers, circa 1932 By the 1930s, manufacturers were producing coin-operated versions of bagatelles, now known as 'marble games' or 'pin games'. The table was under glass and used M.

Redgrave's plunger device to propel the ball into the upper playfield. [ ] In 1931 David Gottlieb's became the first hit of the coin-operated era. Selling for $17.50, the game dispensed five to seven balls for a penny. [ ] The game resonated with people wanting cheap entertainment in the -era economy. Most and in the US operated pinball machines, [ ] with many locations quickly recovering the cost of the game. Baffle Ball sold over 50,000 units [ ] and established as the first major manufacturer of pinball machines.

In 1932, Gottlieb distributor found it hard to obtain more Baffle Ball units to sell. In his frustration he founded Lion Manufacturing to produce a game of his own design, Ballyhoo, named after a popular magazine of the day. The game became a smash hit. Its larger playfield and ten pockets made it more challenging than Baffle Ball, selling 50,000 units in 7 months. Moloney eventually changed the name of his company to to reflect the success of this game. Synthesia Unlock Key Free Apk on this page.

These early machines were relatively small, mechanically simple and designed to sit on a counter or bar top. 1933: Electrification and active bumpers introduced [ ] The 1930s saw major advances in pinball design with the introduction of electrification. A company called Pacific Amusements in Los Angeles, USA produced a game called Contact in 1933. Contact had an electrically powered to propel the ball out of a bonus hole in the middle of the playfield. Another solenoid rang a bell to reward the player. The designer of Contact, Harry Williams, would eventually form his own company,, in 1944. Other manufacturers quickly followed suit with similar features.

Electric lights soon became a standard feature of all subsequent pinball games, designed to attract players. By the end of 1932, there were approximately 150 companies manufacturing pinball machines, most of them in Chicago. Chicago has been the center of pinball manufacturing ever since. Competition among the companies was strong, and by 1934 there were 14 companies remaining. During WWII, all of the major manufacturers of coin-operated games turned to the manufacture of equipment for the war effort. Some companies, like Williams, bought old games from operators and refurbished them, adding new artwork with a patriotic theme. At the end of the war, a generation of Americans looked for amusement in bars and malt shops, and pinball saw another golden age.

Improvements such as the tilt mechanism and free games (known as replays) appeared. 1947: Flippers introduced [ ] Gottlieb's, introduced in 1947, was the first game to add player-controlled flippers to keep the ball in play longer, adding a skill factor to the game. Flexmail Keygen For Mac more. The low power flippers required three pairs around the playfield to get the ball to the top. Triple Action was the first game to feature just two flippers at the bottom of the playfield. Unlike in modern machines, the flippers faced outwards.

These flippers were made more powerful by the addition of a (direct current) power supply. These innovations were some of many by designer. The first game to feature the familiar dual-inward-facing-flipper design was Gottlieb's Just 21 released in January 1950, though the flippers were rather far apart to allow for a turret ball shooter at the bottom center of the playfield.

Spot Bowler, also made by Gottlieb and released in October 1950. Was the first game with inward-facing flippers placed close together. The post-war era was dominated. Game designer Wayne Neyens, along with artist Leroy Parker, produced games that collectors consider some of the best classic pinball machines. [ ] 1970s: Solid-state electronics and digital displays introduced [ ]. A clear walled electromechanical pinball machine created by the to show what the insides of pinball machines look like The introduction of brought pinball into the realm of. The electromechanical and scoring reels that drove games in the 1950s and 1960s were replaced in the 1970s with and digital displays.

The first solid-state pinball is believed to be ' (1976), though the first mainstream solid-state game was Williams' Hot Tip (1977). This new technology led to a boom for Williams and Bally, who attracted more players with games featuring more complex rules, digital sound effects, and speech. The of the 1980s signaled the end of the boom for pinball. Arcades replaced rows of pinball machines with video games like 1978's, 1979's, 1980's, and 1981's. These earned significantly greater profits than the pinball machines of the day, while simultaneously requiring less maintenance. Bally, Williams, and Gottlieb continued to make pinball machines, while they also manufactured video games in much higher numbers. Many of the larger companies were acquired by, or merged with, other companies.

Was purchased by the Stern family, who brought the company into the digital era as Stern Enterprises, which closed its doors in the mid-1980s. Bally exited the pinball business in 1988 and sold their assets to Williams, who subsequently used the Bally trademark from then on for about half of their pinball releases. While the video game craze of the late 1970s and early 1980s dealt a severe blow to pinball revenue, it did spark the creative talents within the industry. All companies involved tried to take advantage of the new solid state technology to improve player appeal of pinball and win back former players from video games. Some of this creativity resulted in landmark designs and features still present today. Some of these include speech, such as Williams'; ramps for the ball to travel around, such as Williams'; 'multiball', used on Williams'; multi-level games like Gottlieb's and Williams'; and blinking chase lights, as used on Bally's. Although these novel features did not win back players as the manufacturers had hoped, they changed players' perception of pinball for coming decades.

1980s and 1990s: Pinball in the digital age [ ]. A row of pinball machines at the in Las Vegas, Nevada. After the collapse of the coin-operated video game industry, pinball saw another comeback in the 1990s.

Some new manufacturers entered the field such as Capcom Pinball and Alvin G. And Company, founded by Alvin Gottlieb, son of David Gottlieb. Gary Stern, the son of Williams co-founder Sam Stern, founded Pinball with funding from Data East Japan. The games from Williams now dominated the industry, with complicated mechanical devices and more elaborate display and sound systems attracting new players to the game.

Licensing popular movies and icons of the day became a staple for pinball, with Bally/Williams' hitting an all-time modern sales record of 20,270 machines. Two years later, Williams commemorated this benchmark with a limited edition of 1,000 Addams Family Gold pinball machines, featuring gold-colored trim and updated software with new game features. Other notable popular licenses included and. Expanding markets in Europe and Asia helped fuel the revival of interest.

Was a designer, working for Williams until their exit from the industry in 1999. About a year later, Lawlor returned to the industry, starting his own company, working in conjunction with Stern Pinball to produce new games.

The end of the 1990s saw another downturn in the industry, with Gottlieb, Capcom, and Alvin G. Closing by the end of 1996. Data East's pinball division was acquired by and became in 1994. By 1997, there were two companies left: Sega Pinball and Williams. In 1999, Sega sold their pinball division to Gary Stern (President of Sega Pinball at the time) who called his company.

By this time, Williams games rarely sold more than 4,000 units. In 1999, Williams attempted to revive sales with the line of games, merging a video display into the pinball playfield. The reception was initially good with selling well over 6,000 machines, but short of the 10,000-plus production runs for releases just six years earlier. The next Pinball 2000 game,, sold only a little over 3,500 machines. Williams exited the pinball business to focus on making gaming equipment for casinos, which was more profitable. They licensed the rights to reproduce Bally/Williams parts to Illinois Pinball and the rights to reproduce full-sized machines to The Pinball Factory.

Stern Pinball remained the only manufacturer of original pinball machines until 2013, when started shipping. Most members of the design teams for Stern Pinball are former employees of Williams. 2000s and Beyond: Revival [ ] After the closure of most of the pinball manufacturers in the 1990s, smaller independent manufacturers started appearing in the early 2000s. In November 2005 The Pinball Factory (TPF) in, Australia, announced that they would be producing a new -themed pinball machine under the Bally label.

With the death of, it was announced that the future of this game was uncertain. In 2006 TPF announced that they would be reproducing two popular 90's era Williams machines, and Cactus Canyon. TPF however was unable to make good on its promises to produce new machines, and in October 2010 transferred its Williams Electronics Games licenses as well as its pinball spare parts manufacturing and distribution business to Planetary Pinball Supply Inc, a California distributor of pinball replacement parts. In 2006, Illinois pinball company PinBall Manufacturing Inc.

Produced 178 reproductions of Capcom's Big Bang Bar for the European and US markets. In 2010, MarsaPlay in Spain manufactured a remake of original Canasta titled New Canasta, which was the first game to include a (LCD) screen in the backbox. In 2013, released pinball machine. It is the first pinball machine manufactured in the USA with an LCD as backbox, the first widebody pinball machine since 1994 and the first new US pinball machine not made by since 2001. In 2013, the announced the creation of a remake of. This was later followed by a 2017 release of a remake of.

In 2014, the new pinball manufacturer released their first game America's Most Haunted. In 2015, the new British pinball manufacturer released the racing themed pinball machine Full Throttle. The game has its LCD screen for scores, info and animations located in the playfield surface at player’s eye view. The game was designed with modularity in mind so that the playfield and artwork could be swapped out for future game titles. In 2016,, based in the Netherlands, released their first game The Big Lebowski, based on the 1998 film,. In 2017, began shipping their pinball machine platform after several years of development. It is a modular design where different games can be swapped into the cabinet.

It also has a large interactive display as the playfield surface, which is different from all prior pinball machines that were traditionally made of plywood and embedded with translucent plastic inserts for lighting. Pinball and gambling [ ] External video, 2:12, Pinball machines, like many other mechanical games, were sometimes used as gambling devices. Some pinball machines, such as Bally's 'bingos', featured a grid on the backglass scoring area with spaces corresponding to targets or holes on the playfield. Free games could be won if the player was able to get the balls to land in a winning pattern; however, doing this was nearly, and a common use for such machines was for gambling.

Other machines allowed a player to win and accumulate large numbers of 'free games' which could then be cashed out for money with the location owner. Later, this type of feature was discontinued in an effort to legitimize the machines, and to avoid legal problems in areas where awarding free games was considered illegal, some games, called Add-A-Ball, did away with the free game feature, instead giving players extra balls to play (between 5 and 25 in most cases). These extra balls were indicated via lighted graphics in the backglass or by a ball count wheel, but in some areas that was disallowed, and some games were shipped with a sticker to cover the counters. Pinball was banned beginning in the early 1940s until 1976 in New York City. New York mayor was responsible for the ban, believing that it robbed school children of their hard earned nickels and dimes. La Guardia spearheaded major raids throughout the city, collecting thousands of machines. The mayor participated with police in destroying machines with before dumping the remnants into the city's rivers.

The ban ended when Roger Sharpe (a star witness for the AMOA – Amusement and Music Operators Association) testified in April 1976 before a committee in a courtroom that pinball games had become games of skill and were not games of chance, that is, gambling. He began to play one of two games set up in the courtroom, and – in a move he compares to 's home run in the – called out precisely what he was going to shoot for, and then proceeded to do so.

Astonished committee members reportedly voted to remove the ban, which was followed in other cities. (Sharpe reportedly acknowledges, in a self-deprecating manner, his courtroom shot was by sheer luck although there was admittedly skill involved in what he did.) Like New York, Los Angeles banned pinball machines in 1939. The ban was overturned by the in 1974 because (1) if pinball machines were games of chance, the ordinance was preempted by state law governing games of chance in general, and (2) if they were games of skill, the ordinance was unconstitutional as a denial of the.

Although it was rarely enforced, Chicago's ban on pinball lasted three decades and ended in 1976. Philadelphia and Salt Lake City also had similar bans. Regardless of these events, some towns in America still have such bans on their books; the town of lifted its ordinance banning pinball in December 2016.

Pachinko [ ] Another close but distinct relative of pinball is, a gambling game played in Japan. Although they share a common ancestry, the games are very different, in that pachinko involves shooting many small balls repeatedly into a nearly vertical playfield, while pinball is about the manipulation of the small number of balls currently in play on a near-horizontal playfield. Machine layout [ ] The key attribute of a successful pinball game is an interesting and challenging layout of scoring opportunities on the playfield. Many types of targets and features have been developed over the years. The playfield of the High Speed pinball machine The playfield is a surface inclined upward from three to seven (current convention is six and a half degrees), away from the player, and includes multiple targets and scoring objectives.

Some operators intentionally extend threaded levelers on the rear legs and/or shorten or remove the levelers on the front legs to create additional incline in the playfield, making the ball move faster and harder to play. It is important that the playfield be level left-to-right; a quick visual test compares the top of the back cabinet against a brick or block wall behind it, or to roll a marble down the center of the playfield glass. If it clearly rolls off to one side, a player may be inclined to stuff folded paper beneath the legs on the lower side to level the playfield.

Additionally, leg levelers that are all extended fully make the game easier to nudge; when collapsed low, the entire game is more stable, and nudging becomes harder. The ball is put into play by use of the plunger, a -loaded rod that strikes the ball as it rests in an entry lane, or as in some newer games, by a button that signals the game logic to fire a that strikes the ball. With both devices the result is the same: The ball is propelled upwards onto the playfield. Once a ball is in play, it tends to move downward towards the player, although the ball can move in any direction, sometimes unpredictably, due to contact with objects on the playfield or by the player's own actions. To return the ball to the upper part of the playfield, the player makes use of one or more flippers. Manipulation of the ball may also be accomplished by various tricks, such as '. However, excessive nudging is generally penalized by the loss of the current player's turn (known as tilting) or ending of the entire game when the nudging is particularly violent (known as slam tilting).

This penalty was instituted because nudging the machine too much may damage it. Many games also have a slam tilt in the bottom of the lower cabinet to end the game if the cabinet is raised and dropped to the floor in an attempt to falsely trigger the coin counting switch. Plunger [ ] The plunger is a -loaded rod with a small handle, used to propel the ball into the playfield. The player can control the amount of used for launching by pulling the plunger a certain distance (thus changing the spring ). This is often used for a 'skill shot,' in which a player attempts to launch a ball so that it exactly hits a specified target.

Once the ball is in motion in the main area of the playfield, the plunger is not used again until another ball must be brought onto the playfield. In modern machines, an launcher is sometimes substituted for the plunger.

The shape of the ball launch button that replaces the plunger may be modified to fit the aesthetics of a particular game's theme, such as being made to look like the trigger of a gun in a game with a military or action-hero theme. Flippers [ ]. Flippers are used by the player to redirect the ball The flippers are one or more small mechanically or electromechanically controlled levers, roughly 3 to 7 cm in length, used for redirecting the ball up the playfield. They are the main control that the player has over the ball. Careful timing and positional control allows the player to intentionally direct the ball in a range of directions with various levels of velocity.

With the flippers, the player attempts to move the ball to hit various types of scoring targets, and to keep the ball from disappearing off the bottom of the playfield. The very first pinball games appeared in the early 1930s and did not have flippers; after launch the ball simply proceeded down the playfield, directed by static nails (or 'pins') to one of several scoring areas.

(These pins gave the game its name.) In 1947, the first mechanical flippers appeared on Gottlieb's and by the early 1950s, the familiar two-flipper configuration, with the flippers at the bottom of the playfield above the center drain, had become standard. Some machines also added a third or fourth flipper midway up the playfield. The new flipper ushered in the 'golden age' of pinball, where the fierce competition between the various pinball manufacturers led to constant innovation in the field. Various types of stationary and moving targets were added, spinning scoring reels replaced games featuring static scores lit from behind.

Multiplayer scores were added soon after, and then bells and other noise-makers, all of which began to make pinball less a game and more of an experience. The flippers have loaned pinball its common name in many languages, where the game is known mainly as 'flipper'.

Bumpers [ ] Bumpers are round knobs that, when hit, will actively push the ball away. There is also an earlier variety of bumper (known as a dead bumper or passive bumper) that doesn't propel the ball away; most bumpers on machines built since the 1960s are active bumpers, variously called 'pop bumpers,' 'thumper bumpers,' 'jet bumpers,' or 'turbo bumpers.' Most recent games include a set of pop bumpers, usually three, sometimes more or fewer depending on the designer's goals. Bumpers predate flippers, and active bumpers added a great deal of spice to older games. Pop bumpers are operated by a switch connected to a ring surrounding the bottom circumference of the bumper that is suspended several millimeters above the playfield surface. When the ball rolls over this ring and forces one side of it down, a switch is closed that activates the bumper's solenoid.

This pulls down a tapered ring surrounding the central post of the bumper that pushes downward and outward on the ball, propelling it away. Kickers and slingshots [ ]. Slingshots have rubber pads which detect the ball's impact and automatically push it away at speed Kickers and slingshots are rubber pads which propel the ball away upon impact, like bumpers, but are usually a horizontal side of a wall. Every recent pinball machine includes slingshots to the upper left and upper right of the lowest set of flippers; older games used more experimental arrangements. They operate similarly to pop bumpers, with a switch on each side of a solenoid-operated lever arm in a typical arrangement. The switches are closed by ball contact with the rubber on the face of the kicker and this activates the solenoid. Early pinball machines typically had full solenoid current passing through trigger switches for all types of solenoids, from kickers to pop bumpers to the flippers themselves.

This caused arcing across switch contacts and rapid contact fouling and failure. As electronics were gradually implemented in pinball design, solenoids began to be switched by power transistors under software control to lower switch voltage and current, vastly extend switch service lifetime, and add flexibility to game design. As an example, some later machines had flippers that could be operated independently of the flipper button by the machine's software. The upper-left flipper during 'Thing Flips' on The Addams Family pinball machine triggers automatically a brief moment after the ball passes an optical sensor just above the flipper. The smaller, lower-powered solenoids were first to be transistorized, followed later by the higher-current solenoids as the price, performance, and reliability of power transistors improved over the years. Stationary targets detect the ball's impact and typically increment the player's score • Stationary Targets: These are static targets that simply record when a ball strikes them.

These are generally the simplest playfield elements. They are also known as spot targets or standup targets. • Bullseye Targets: These are static targets that have two concentric elements, similar to a stationary target.

Hitting the outer ring usually scores lower than hitting the center bull's eye. They are found mostly on older electro-mechanical games. • Drop targets: These are targets that drop below the playfield when hit. Eliminating an entire row in this manner may lead to any of various features. Once an entire bank of drop targets is hit, the bank may reset or pop back up.

Alternatively, the drop targets can be placed in front of other targets, requiring the drop target to be knocked down before the targets behind can be hit, or the drop target may only pop up at specific times to deny the player the ability to shoot the ball into whatever is behind it. If used in the latter way, the target is usually blocking a lane or ramp. • Kicking Target: Used rarely, these targets look like stationary targets, but when hit they kick the ball away in the opposite direction much like a slingshot or bumper. • Vari-Target: These targets reward a different number of points depending on how hard the target was hit. It is a metal arm that pivots under the playfield. When a ball hits it, it ratchets back sometimes, resetting immediately or resetting only after it is hit all the way back. A large sum of points is usually rewarded when the target is hit back all the way with one strike of the ball.

Holes and saucers [ ] • Holes: The player directs the ball into a hole. On modern games, there are both vertical and horizontal holes (also called scoops), and the game may include mechanisms to move the ball between them. On some older games, a 'gobble hole' is sometimes included, usually awarding a large bonus or a game feature, but not giving the ball back. • Saucers: A shallow hole with a kicker inside.

The ball remains visible on the playfield and is kicked out either straight up (usually into a duct or rail chute) or sideways back onto the playfield. Originally holes and saucers worked by using tubes behind the playing field, with a pin at the top to hold the ball for later drops.

Another version of the tube uses two spinning wheels to transfer the ball from hole to hole. Newer versions use an electronic track with a carriage or an electromagnet to pull the ball between holes. Spinners and rollovers [ ]. Rollovers detect when the ball passes over them • Spinners: A ball can push through a flat surface that is hinged in the middle, causing it to spin; each rotation adds points.

• Rollovers: These are targets activated when a ball rolls over them. Often a series of rollover targets are placed side-by-side and with dividers between them forming 'lanes'; the player must guide the ball to particular lanes (or to all lanes) in order to complete an objective. Such lanes are frequently placed at the bottom sides of the playfield: 'inlanes' feed the ball back to the flippers, 'outlanes' cause the ball to immediately drain. On many machines, outlanes can have extra balls or 'specials' lit to act in the same role as the older gobble holes. • Whirlwind Spinner(s): Used in some games, a whirlwind spinner is a rapidly rotating (often rubberized) disk on the playfield that momentarily 'grabs' the ball and throws it in a random direction. Some games couple a whirlwind spinner with a magnet placed in the center, although DataEast seems to be the only manufacturer to do so. Bally's 'Fireball' and Chicago Coin's 'Casino' were popular games with a whirlwind spinner.

Switches, gates, and stoppers [ ] • Switch: A switch is an area that is blocked off after the ball passes through it once. An example of this is the initial firing lane: as a ball passes through the firing lane, it hits a switch and cannot reenter that chute. • Gate: This is a block that will allow balls to come through one way but will block the ball if it is going the other way. • Stopper: Also called a magic post, this is a small pole most often found centered between and just below the lowest set of flippers and also rarely next to the outlanes.

When activated (typically by hitting a specific target or targets), the pole ascends from inside the machine, blocking the area between the flippers for a limited time, making it more difficult to drain and lose the ball. After time expires, it returns to its resting place just below the playfield.

A wire ramp along which the ball can travel Ramps are inclined planes with a gentle enough slope that the ball may travel along it. The player attempts to direct the ball with enough force to make it to the top of the ramp and down the other side. If the player succeeds, a 'ramp shot' has been made. Ramps frequently end in such a way that the ball goes to a flipper so one can make several ramp shots in a row.

Often, the number of ramp shots scored in a game is tallied, and reaching certain numbers may lead to various game features. At other times, the ramps will go to smaller 'mini-playfields' (small playfields, usually raised above the main game surface, with special goals or scoring). Toys, magnets and captive balls [ ] • Toys: Toys are various items on, above, or beneath the playfield (items beneath the playfield visible through windows) or attached to the cabinet (usually to the backbox).

Usually, each toy is unique to the machine it was made for, and reflects the theme of the game. They may be visual only, and have no effect on game play; they may be alternate ways of performing common game functions (for example, instead of using a drop hole to hold the ball, a hand or claw might reach out, grab the ball, and capture it that way); or they may be an integral part of the game rules and play (for instance, having a smaller playfield over the main playfield that can be tilted right and left by the player, using the flipper buttons). • Electromagnets: Some machines feature electrically operated magnets below the playfield to affect the ball's speed and/or trajectory according to the current state of game play. This may be done to make the ball's movement unpredictable, to temporarily halt the ball (as a ball saver, for example), or to otherwise control the ball by non-mechanical means. Electromagnets may also be used in above-playfield elements (often as part of the playfield toys) to grab the ball and move it elsewhere (onto a mini-playfield, for example). The Williams machine The Twilight Zone featured a mini-playfield that used electromagnets controlled by the flipper buttons, allowing the player to flip the ball on the mini-playfield, essentially working as invisible flippers. Contrary to somewhat popular myth, there are no professionally produced pinball machines known to contain magnets under the playfield intended to clandestinely make game play harder or increase ball losses.

• Captive balls: Sometimes a ball is allowed to move around only within a confined area. A typical application of this is having a short lane on the playfield with a narrow opening, inside which a captive ball is held. The player can strike this captive ball with the ball in play, pushing it along the lane to activate a rollover switch or target. In games such as Theatre of Magic, captive balls sometimes have what's called a 'Newton Ball,' which is a stationary ball adjacent to a free ball in a small lane. The ball being played strikes the Newton ball which, in turn, transfers its momentum to the adjacent ball, which causes it to move. Common features [ ] There are other idiosyncratic features on many pinball playfields.

Pinball games have become increasingly complex and multiple play modes, multi-level playfields, and even progression through a rudimentary 'plot' have become common features on recent games. Pinball scoring objectives can be quite complex and require a series of targets to be hit in a particular order. Recent pinball games are distinguished by increasingly complex rule sets that require a measure of strategy and planning by the player for maximum scoring. Players seeking highest scores would be well-advised to study the placard (usually found in the lower-left corner of the playfield) to learn each game's specific patterns required for these advanced features and scoring. Common features in modern pinball games include the following: • Ball lock: Each time a ball goes into a specific hole or target, it is locked, and a new ball appears at the plunger. When the player has locked the required number of balls (often three), the multiball feature starts.

On some games, the balls are physically locked in place by solenoid-actuated gates, but many newer machines use virtual ball locks instead, in which the game merely keeps count of the number of locked balls and then auto-launches them from the main ball trough when it is time for them to be released. • Multiball: This occurs when there is more than one ball in play at a time and usually includes some kind of jackpot scoring. Multiball ends when all but one ball is lost down the bottom of the playfield, and then regular play resumes. • Jackpot: Some targets on the playfield increase the scoring value of something else, which could be as simple as hitting a ramp, or a complicated sequence of targets. Upon their inception, the jackpot was the main goal of most pinball machines in the 1980s. Jackpots would often range from one to four million (back when this was a significant addition to the score), and their value would accrue between games until it was scored. Scoring it was usually a complicated task.

Modern games often dilute the meaning of 'jackpot'. Modern games give off several jackpots in each multiball mode, which is usually quite easy to attain, and the value of today's jackpots is far less significant. Many jackpots awarded during special modes often do not increase at all, but are instead simply fixed-value bonuses.

• End-of-ball bonus: After each ball is played, the player scores bonus points depending on how many times certain features have been activated or the numbers of items that the player may obtain. Some games award a seemingly arbitrary number of points that depend on the number of times any switch has been hit.

Virtually all games have the ability to assign a multiplier to the bonus. Most games cap the bonus multiplier at 5x or 10x, although more modern games apparently have no limit. • Extra ball: If a player has earned this, when they lose a ball they get another one to play immediately afterward and the machine does not count the lost ball towards the limit of balls for that game. For example, if the player were on ball two and they earn an extra ball, the next ball will still be counted as ball two instead of the third ball. When a machine says 'SHOOT AGAIN' on the scoreboard, it signifies that an extra ball will shoot. In a multiplayer game, the player who just lost the ball is the same one to shoot again.

• Kickback: When a ball goes into one of the outlanes the ball instead of draining goes into a kicker that will launch the ball back into play. Their use is limited and has to be earned to be used. • Various timed rounds ( modes): For example, if the player hit a specific target three times within the next 20 seconds, they might score several tens of millions of points for it.

There are many and various time-related features in pinball. Progression through each mode is frequently accompanied by animations and sound. • Stackability: To stack means that the player can run one play mode while another mode is in progress. This strategy usually yields higher scores. A noted example of this is Williams' Bram Stoker's Dracula, with its Multi-Multiball feature. • Wizard Mode: This is a special scoring mode, which is reached after meeting certain prerequisites to access this mode (e.g., finishing all modes).

This is the pinball equivalent of the final in video games. Classic examples of this include Williams' (The King's Ransom) and Midway's (Lost in the Zone). Named after The Who's song '.

Wizard modes come in two varieties: goal-oriented types where the player receives a huge number of points after completing a specific task, or multiball modes with 4–6 balls in play, and virtually every feature active. Some games offer both and award the latter as a condition for completing the former. • Ball Saver: Many modern games include a feature that prevents a player from being disappointed if a ball sent into play quickly drains before substantial points have been added. This player will immediately be given another (free) ball to compensate. Electromechanical games made during the 1970s had a similar Ball Index switch system that returned a drained ball if no points were made.

• Slam Tilt: There are special tilt switches placed on the underside of the playfield, on the coin door, and (on electromechanical games) in the lower cabinet and upper cabinet, designed to prevent cheating. If a player lifts and drops, pounds, or kicks the machine and activates any slam tilt, the entire game ends immediately for all players and may go into a reset/reboot mode. These are also used on video games.

A similar Incline Tilt prevents a player from lifting the front of the cabinet to tip the ball back up the playfield by ending his turn. Unique features [ ] In the 1990s, game designers often put hidden, recurring images or references in their games, which became known as. For example, Williams' designers hid cows in the video displays of the games, and would place a red button in the artwork of games he developed.

The methods used to find the hidden items usually involved pressing the flipper buttons in a certain order or during specific events. Designers also included hidden messages or in-jokes; one example of this is the phrase 'DOHO' sometimes seen quickly displayed on the dot matrix displays, a reference to Dorris Ho, the wife of then-Williams display artist Scott 'Matrix' Slomiany. DOHO was popularly thought to be an acronym for Documented Occurrence of a Hidden Object until its true meaning was revealed in a article on the subject. The game went so far as to embed a hidden -like game, available only after a complex sequence of events had been accomplished during the game.

Backglass [ ]. The backglass from, a 1981 pinball game The backglass is a vertical graphic panel mounted on the front of the backbox, which is the upright box at the top back of the machine. The backglass contains the name of the machine, eye-catching, (usually) the score displays (lights, mechanical wheels, an display, or a display depending on the era), and sometimes a mechanical device tied to game play, for example, elevator doors that opened on an image or a woman swatting a cat with a broom such as on Williams' 1989 'Bad Cats'. For older games, the backglass image is screen printed in layers on the reverse side of a piece of glass; in more recent games, the image is imprinted into a translucent piece of plastic-like material called a translite which is mounted behind a piece of glass and which is easily removable.

The earliest games did not have backglasses or backboxes and were little more than playfields in boxes. Games are generally built around a particular theme, such as a sport or character and the backglass art reflects this theme to attract the attention of players. Recent machines are typically tied into other enterprises such as a popular, toy,. The entire machine is designed to be as eye-catching as possible to attract players and their money; every possible space is filled with colorful graphics, blinking lights, and themed objects, and the backglass is usually the first artwork the players see from a distance. Since the artistic value of the backglass may be quite impressive, it is not uncommon for enthusiasts to use a deep frame around a backglass (lighted from behind) and hang it as art after the remainder of the game is discarded. Scoring points [ ].

This section's tone or style may not reflect the used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's for suggestions. (February 2010) () The first part of a pinball machine's construction involves the wiring for the game's electronic system.

A color-coded wiring arrangement is wrapped around pins and connectors on a circuit board. Technicians then follow through using a meticulous set of instructions to ensure that the almost-half mile of wire is engineered properly.

During this time the playing field is set onto foam strips and a bed of nails. The nails are then pressed in the playing board as the bed raises and compresses them against the header.

Afterward anchors come and are hammered into place. The anchors help secure a metal railing that keeps the balls from exiting the playing field. After the main construction is processed, it then comes down to fitting a few lampposts, some plastic bumpers, and flashing lights. All of the wiring is permanently fastened and speakers are bolted into the cabinet.

Along with this comes the most crucial tool, the spring power plunger, which is set into place. Finally, a few other toys and gimmicks are added, such as toy villains and other small themed characters. Once everything is tested and seems to be running alright, the playfield is set on top of the lower box.

The lower box on computerized games is essentially empty. On older electromechanical games, the entire floor of the lower box was used to mount custom relays and special scoring switches, making older games much heavier. To protect the top of the playfield, a tempered glass window is installed, secured by a metal bar that is locked into place. The expensive, unique, painted vertical backglass is fragile. The backglass covers the custom microprocessor boards on newer games, or electromechanical scoring wheels on older games. On older games, a broken backglass might be impossible to replace, ruining the game's appeal.

Solenoids [ ] • Solenoids or coils: These are found in every modern pinball machine since the flipper age. They are usually hidden under the playfield, or covered by playfield components. By applying power to the coil, the magnetic field created by electromagnetism causes a metal object (usually called a plunger) to move. The plunger is then connected mechanically to a feature or accessory on the playfield. Flipper solenoids contain two coil windings in one package; a short, heavy gage 'power' winding to give the flipper its initial thrust up, and a long, light gage 'hold' winding that uses lower power (and creates far less heat) and essentially just holds the flipper up allowing the player to capture the ball in the inlane for more precise aiming. As the flipper nears the end of its upward travel, a switch under the flipper disconnects the power-winding and leaves only the second sustain winding to hold the flipper up in place. If this switch fails 'open' the flipper will be too weak to be usable, since only the weak winding is available.

If it fails 'closed' the coil will overheat and destroy itself, since both windings will hold the flipper at the top of its stroke. Solenoids also control pop-bumpers, kickbacks, drop target resets, and many other features on the machine. These solenoid coils contain a single coil winding.

The plunger size and wire gage & length are matched to the strength required for each coil to do its work, so some types are repeated throughout the game, some are not. All solenoids and coils used on microprocessor games include a special reverse-biased diode to eliminate a high-voltage pulse of reverse EMF (). Without this diode, when the solenoid is de-energized, the magnetic field that was built up in the coil collapses and generates a brief, high-voltage pulse backward into the wiring, capable of destroying the solid-state components used to control the solenoid. Proper wiring polarity must be retained during coil replacement or this diode will act as a dead short, immediately destroying electronic switches. Older electromechanical AC game solenoids do not require this diode, since they were controlled with mechanical switches. However, electromechanical games running on DC do require diodes to protect the rectifier. All but very old games use low DC voltages to power the solenoids and electronics (or relays).

Some microprocessor games use high voltages (potentially hazardous) for the score displays. Very early games used low-voltage AC power for solenoids, requiring fewer components, but AC is less efficient for powering solenoids, causing heavier wiring and slower performance. For locations that suffer from low AC wall outlet voltage, additional taps may be provided on the AC transformer in electromechanical games to permit raising the game's DC voltage levels, thus strengthening the solenoids. Microprocessor games have electronic power supplies that automatically compensate for inaccurate AC supply voltages. Historically, pinball machines have employed a central fixed I/O board connected to the primary CPU controlled by a custom microcontroller platform running an in-house operating system. For a variety of reasons that include thermal flow, reliability, vibration reduction and serviceability, I/O electronics have been located in the upper backbox of the game, requiring significant custom wiring harnesses to connect the central I/O board to the playfield devices.

A typical pinball machine I/O mix includes 16 to 24 outputs for driving solenoids, motors, electromagnets and other mechanical devices in the game. These devices can draw up to 500 W momentarily and operate at voltages up to 50 Vdc. There is also individually controlled lighting that consists of 64 to 96 individually addressable lights. Recently developed games have switched from incandescent bulbs to LEDs.

And there is general illumination lighting that comprises two or more higher-power light strings connected and controlled in parallel for providing broad illumination to the playfield and backbox artwork. Additionally, 12 to 24 high-impulse lighting outputs, traditionally incandescent but now LED, provide flash effects within the game. Traditionally, these were often controlled by solenoid-level drivers.

A game typically includes 64 to 96 TTL-level inputs from a variety of sensors such as mechanical leaf switches, optical sensors and electromagnetic sensors. Occasionally extra signal conditioning is necessary to adapt custom sensors, such as eddy sensors, to the system TTL inputs. Recently, some pinball manufacturers have replaced some of the discrete control wiring with standard communication buses. In one case, the pinball control system might include a custom embedded network node bus, a custom embedded Linux-based software stack, and a 48-V embedded power distribution system. Computer pinball simulation [ ] Simulating a pinball machine has also been a popular theme of video games.

Early pinball video games include 's (1978), (1979), and (1979), the game (1980), and (1982). Most famous on home computers was 's, released for the in 1983. Pinball Construction Set was the first program that allowed the user to create his own simulated pinball machine and then play it.

Most early simulations were top-down. As and graphics capabilities have improved, more accurate ball physics and pinball simulations have become possible. Tilting has also been simulated, which can be activated using one or more keys (sometimes the space bar) for 'moving' the machine. Flipper button computer peripherals were also released, allowing pinball fans to add an accurate feel to their game play instead of using the. Modern pinball video games are often based around established franchises such as,,,, and. Popular pinball games of the 1990s include, and that was included in and.

More recent examples include,, and. There have been released for all major home video game and computer systems, and. Pinball video game engines and editors for creation and recreation of pinball machines include for instance, and.

A article described virtual pinball games e.g. And as a way to preserve pinball culture and bring it to new audiences. Another example of preserving historic pinball machines is that consists of digital recreations of classic pinball machines.

Custom pinball machines [ ]. A restored to better than factory condition e.g. By re-plating of all metal parts with Some hobbyists and small companies modify existing pinball machines or create their own custom pinball machines. Some want, for example, a game with a specific subject or theme that cannot be bought in this form or was never built at all. Some custom games are built by using the programmable P-ROC controller board. Modifications include the use of ColorDMD that is used to replace the standard mono color or the addition of features, e.g. Figures or other toys.

A few notable examples of custom pinball machines include a theme machine, a style game, Pinball,,, and machines. Was one of few regular pinball company that manufactured custom pinball games (e.g. For, and the movie ), though these were basically mods of existing or soon to be released pinball machines (e.g. In popular culture [ ] Pinball games have frequently been featured in, often as a symbol of rebellion or toughness. Perhaps the most famous instance is the album (1969) by, which centers on the title character, a 'deaf, dumb, and blind kid', who becomes a ' and who later uses pinball as a symbol and tool for his messianic mission. (The album was subsequently made into a and.) Wizard has since moved into popular usage as a term for an expert pinball player. Things came full circle in 1975 when Bally created the Wizard!

Pinball game featuring and The Who's on the backglass. In the movie version, Tommy plays a Gottlieb Kings and Queens machine, while The Champ plays a Gottlieb Buckaroo machine. In 1976, Bally released Capt.Fantastic, which had an image of Elton John on the backglass, playing pinball in a similar costume as used in the movie Tommy. Data East produced in 1994, based on the rock musical The Who's Tommy. This game is notable in its use of The Who's iconic songs, including 'Pinball Wizard', sung by original Broadway cast members. In the late 1970s the children's television series began airing a series of short animated segments, called the '.

Each segment was different, and involved the ball rolling in different themed areas of a pinball machine depending on which number (from 1-12) was being featured. The animations were directed by Jeff Hale and featured music by Walt Kraemer and vocal work by the. In, a novel by, the protagonist is obsessed with pinball.

One of the plot lines follows his attempts to find a pinball machine he used to play. In 1975–76 there was a brief TV game show based on pinball called. Is a 1979 drama film starring as the protagonist, Tilt, a young pinball wizard. Used the pinball as their logo in the early 1980s. The words 'Nickelodeon' were in rainbow colors against a huge pinball. This logo was used until 1984, when the orange splat logo took its place.

See also [ ] • • • • – Pinball arcades located in Las Vegas, Nevada. • – feature documentary about pinball •, game designer and innovator •, Los Angeles City Council member, 1933–35, opposed pinball machines • – Pinball museum located in Alameda, CA. References [ ]. Retrieved 2012-10-27. April 2, 1932. Retrieved 2012-10-27.

• • 'Balls-A-Poppin'(1956) was the first flipper machine to feature multi-ball play. An earlier flipperless electromechanical pinball machine that also featured multi-ball play was Dudley-Clark Co.' S 1934 'Live Power'. Retrieved 2012-10-27.

Popular Mechanics. Retrieved April 6, 2015. Pat Lawlor Design.

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• Bucher, Matthias (March 2004). 'DOHO: Solving A Pinball Mystery'. PinGame Journal (103): 6–7. • Sullivan, Dwight (March 2004). 'Hidden Brick Game in ST:TNG'.

PinGame Journal (103): 8–10. • Shalhoub, Michael. The Pinball Compendium: 1982 to Present.

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• World's largest online searchable database of pinball machines • at Curlie (based on ) • Pictures and history of historic pinball machines.

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