[How to Play Pinball]

Below is a list of resources to help you learn to play pinball in ways you never knew possible. Learn flipper control techniques, nudging, game strategies and more.

A few things to know about pinball right off the bat. Pinball is hard. It doesn’t always play fair with you. Even when it does, it still requires split-second decision-making, timing and the very best your reflexes have to offer to stand a chance. Pinball is a game where you stack the odds in your favor but results are never guaranteed.

Pinball is way more complicated than you thought. Most people think it’s about flipping the flippers, some black magic about bumping the game, and lots of luck. There’s actually a whole world of skills and strategy – something which may be surprising from a game that usually only has two buttons.

Pinball is real. It uses a heavy metal ball that smashes into things constantly. It uses rubber, flippers and solenoids that wear out. It has a physical surface that gets dirty. And much more. All of this means that no two pinball games, even two of the same game, play exactly alike. You can master that Addams Family in the local bar, your garage or on video pinball – figure out its every subtle quirk over days or weeks – then play another one somewhere else and it sends you back to the token machine like you’ve never touched flippers your whole life. Part of becoming a skilled pinball player is playing the game in front of you, not the one you wish was in front of you. Adapting is essential.

Enough with the tough love, though, because despite everything I just said, learning to play pinball is also super fun, and it’s even more fun as your bag of tools and skills grows. You’ll be doing things in no time you couldn’t even believe!

Recommendations for beginner and casual players: If you’re not looking to become the next Tommy, and just want to get more enjoyment out of the game, the three skills that will give you the most bang for your buck are Trapping, Aiming and Bounce Passes. You’ll be able to hang in any local arcade or league with just those three.

For more serious players: Some of the flipper skills will come easy and others won’t, and very importantly: some will gel well with your play style and others will not. I didn’t start drop-catching until over a year of very constant play. I still don’t use certain skills like Tap Passing. What worked for me in terms of progression was to try them all, but I added the ones that were the most intuitive and enjoyable early on. As I got better and was looking for ways to improve, I added others that required more time and discipline to learn.

Basics:

Control – The most fundamental concept to playing pinball skillfully is controlling the ball, whether it’s passing, aiming or saving it. The Pinball technique section is about ways to get the ball under control.

Aimed Shots – Now that you’re getting the ball more under control you can make more aimed shots and safe shots, not wild “on the fly” shots.

Strategy – Once you learn to control the ball and aim, you need to know what to shoot and when. What shots, modes and features offer the least risk and the most reward? Which should be avoided entirely? Which are situational? The Pinball Strategy section has links to individual game tutorials that discuss strategy in-depth.

Consistency and Practice – If you really want to take your game to the next level, you have to play a lot of pinball. It’s the only way to make the timing, muscle memory and strategy second nature. Pinball isn’t a game where you get stuck, check the online guide and go on to beat the game. Every increment of improvement is learned one game, one high score and one bad drain at a time. And if you don’t use it, you lose it. You can know how to do certain moves like the top players. Actually doing them cleanly, consistently and when it matters only comes with lots of playing.

Pinball Skills:

Neil Shatz: Pinball Skills https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlLjhoarx9c

Pinball Techniques https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kowB0HmJ1wY

Trap (aka Cradle) https://youtu.be/b1gE-NAsrng

The trap is one of the most basic moves and most people pick it up just by playing. Regardless, it’s still one of the most important moves in the game and often not used to its full potential. First, the trap puts the ball in total control and allows the player to stop and think about their next shot. Second, when the flipper is dropped, the ball is rolling down the flipper at the same speed every time. Since the flipper’s power is fixed, this means you can shoot the same shot repeatedly once you figure out where it is on the flipper. In other words, it facilitates aiming and making shots consistently.

Traps are also often a set up for other skills. You can post-pass, tap pass, backhand, back-lane, cradle separate, over-under, alley pass, etc.

The biggest mistake with new players (or old players with bad habits), is not bringing the ball to a complete stop. The ball will still be settling on the flipper and the player drops it and shoots anyway. The resulting shot may as well be random.

Another common mistake is not thinking about the next shot. It’s great that you got the ball under control. Why immediately send it right back out of control? Even if you have no idea what to aim for next, aim for something. Especially something that looks safe and easy to hit, like a ramp or orbit. If you’re not advancing toward a specific goal, at least use that flip to learn the shot layout.

When players are learning to trap, the ball will often roll off the flipper. I call it “walking the plank”. This is mainly an experience thing and learning when the ball is slow enough to settle or not. If you sense the ball won’t settle, it’s usually better to get rid of it sooner than later. The later you abandon a failed trap the later on the flipper you’ll shoot it, and the ball will have a lot more side to side motion. Often, the next stop is the slingshots and the outlanes. Get rid of it quick and try to send it up the playfield as much as possible. Experienced players also sometimes use a flick pass.

Sometimes players try to get a trap at all costs and lose the ball in the process. Maybe they need the ball on the right flipper to shoot a shot on the left side of the playfield but the game isn’t giving them a good trap opportunity so they try to force it. This can happen because of bouncy flipper rubber, flippers with a very flat angle or a game that isn’t post-pass friendly, among other reasons. Again, this is an experience thing. If the game isn’t giving you traps, find some other way.

Bounce Pass (aka Dead-Flipper Pass) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST3Nrei_TjI

A bounce pass is performed by not flipping and letting the ball bounce to the other flipper. Pinball flippers are wrapped in large rubber bands so they’re quite bouncy. Bounce passes accomplish two main things: they get the ball to the other flipper, where it may be needed to make an important shot. And secondly, it slows down the ball. As a bonus, a bounce pass can also set up a trap opportunity.

Bounce passes are often scary for some players since they go counter to the ingrained tendency to flip away the ball when it comes anywhere near the flippers. If you have home games, a free-play arcade, or just need to burn those last few quarters, try playing one-handed since it will force bounce passes to happen.

Bounce passes, like a lot of things in pinball, are simple to learn but hard to master. Expect to lose a lot of balls on your bounce pass journey. Of the many ways a bounce pass can go wrong, here are a few:

• The ball is moving too fast, the rubber is very bouncy, or both. In this case, the bounce pass overshoots the other flipper and bounces into the opposite slingshot. Worst case, it bounces up, over, and down the outlane. Speaking of that flipper rubber, it comes in various kinds, some mild and predictable, and others very bouncy. Age and wear also influence how it behaves. Very bouncy rubber means you can make bounce passes even when the ball is moving slowly, especially if you add a forward nudge. Worn and less bouncy rubbers are more forgiving, and allow you to make bounce passes when the ball is further up the playfield.
• The ball hits the crook of the flipper. The flipper has a big rubber band which is bouncy, but the inlane guide right next to it is usually made of metal. If the ball hits that metal it will instantly go dead and tend to race down the flipper for the center drain. Sometimes faster than an unaware player can realize what just happened. If it looks remotely likely to hit the metal inlane guide, don’t try to bounce pass.
• Another common error happens when the ball is going too slow. This often makes the ball fall short of the other flipper and go down the middle. Again, a forward nudge can add some insurance, and it’s often possible to save the ball with a lateral nudge to tip it back to the opposite flipper. But all of these come with the price of tempting the tilt bob. The best choice is not to put yourself in a position to need a dramatic save.
• Old playfield inserts is yet another danger. This mostly applies to older electro-mechanical pinball games (1970s and earlier). The playfield is made of wood with cutouts in which plastic inserts are mounted flush to the surface. Or at least, they were flush when the game was new. Wear, moisture loss and shrinking causes them to become tiny potholes. When the ball is at high speeds this is usually negligible, but at lower speeds (such as with a bounce pass), the ball can hang up on them and drain down the middle.
  

Post Pass (AKA Post Transfer) https://youtu.be/3n2EHvOH2jo

A post pass usually starts from a Trap and is a great way to get the ball to the other flipper. It’s also generally a safe move in that when it goes wrong, the ball is usually still under control. It’s a fun move and looks cool, makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

It’s executed with a quick flip and then holding the flipper up to “ramp” the ball over to the other flipper. Often it can be brought to a trap on the other side. The timing of the flip can vary from early to very early. A late flip will cause the ball to just rattle between the slingshot and the flipper, and you just try again. A very late flip can cause it to deflect off the front corner of the slingshot and then bad things can happen, usually the ball going into the opposite slingshot and out of control.

Some games are post-pass-friendly and others aren’t, and many are somewhere in between. This is mainly down to the layout of the flippers in relation to the slingshots. When the slingshot is either further back from the flippers (Attack from Mars) or further forward (Eight Ball Deluxe), post passes can be difficult or impossible.

Since it’s pinball, however, the but not always rule applies. There’s also the case on games that are normally post-pass friendly where flipper angle, a loose slingshot mech or frayed rubber can make post passes difficult or impossible. And conversely, games that are typically very post-pass unfriendly may allow them. In still other cases, post passes will be easy from one flipper but very cranky from the other.

A few games where they can be used to great affect are: The Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Ironman. A few where they’re generally hard are Getaway, Foo Fighters and most electro-mechanical games.

Live Catch (AKA Stall) https://youtu.be/CDgWyU6DHZI

A live catch is a precisely-timed flip just before the ball reaches the flipper, so that just the last part of the flipper stroke contacts the ball. If done correctly, the ball’s momentum is cancelled and the ball seems to freeze or “stall”. From there, it rolls to a trap. A live catch is most easily done when the ball’s direction of travel is perpendicular to the upraised flipper. In other words, if the ball is traveling down the left side, it’s easiest to do a live catch from the left flipper.
Live catches are a powerful control skill but can be very hard to perform consistently. Very often you’ll get a less-optimal “partial” live catch where the ball bounces and rolls up the slingshot. If the slingshot is sensitive, it will fire and the ball will be out of control. Other times, a failed live catch will bounce up and arc backwards out the outlane (a live drain). When doing a live catch you have to assess the bounciness of the flipper rubber and the speed of the ball. A faster ball requires an ever so slightly earlier flip.

Many players will do live catches when the ball feed is predictable and consistent. For example, on Medieval Madness when the castle gate is down and subsequent castle shots feed the left orbit, the player will nudge off the wall to avoid the slingshot for a predictable live catch. Or on Ironman, if the player is only a couple shots from starting Monger multiball, they might short-plunge and nudge off the wall to make the most use of the ball save to take the dangerous Monger shots.

Pinball Flipper Technique http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2ZJQYk6OMk

Nudging

Nudging (AKA Bumping, Tilting, Shaking) is the act of physically striking or moving the game cabinet as an additional way to control the ball, especially to save it.

There’s a lot of misconceptions about nudging. New players worry that it constitutes abuse of the game, or is variously anything from bad etiquette to dirty play, even outright cheating. None of these is true. Nudging is an essential part of skilled play, and make no mistake: the games are built tough and designed to be nudged. Unless you’re kicking, lifting or throwing the game around the room, you won’t hurt it.

Nudging adds a whole new dimension of physicality and connected-ness to playing pinball. It’s one of the funnest things about playing.

Pinball Nudging Basics  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrffIXbeqxc

Pinball Nudging Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeRcCbNNTeU

Pinball Nudging Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-xnw8XtpgU

The Tilt Bob https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vtd5wKh7J

The Pinball Tilt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ZZT2nvgkg&t=6s

When you nudge, inside the cabinet a tilt bob will move. If it moves enough the game will give you a tilt warning, or just tilt outright (1960s/70s/most 80s = tilt. Newer = tilt warning). The tilt bob is adjustable, so any particular game can have a looser or tighter tilt. There’s no external indication of how the tilt bob is set – you’ll need to feel it out by playing (and by observing others).

How tight the tilt bob is set will greatly influence how forceful and dynamic you can be, as well as when nudging is even really possible in some cases – like a big, dramatic slide to save a ball from a center drain. On looser games, you can take a more “nudge everything” approach, like adding a forward nudge anytime the ball heads toward the outlanes, even when it’s arguably not really needed. On tight games that kind of play might earn you a tilt warning and may be counterproductive.

When the tilt bob starts moving, it keeps moving, and it takes a long time (a couple minutes usually) for it to completely settle. However, it generally rests enough for play to continue within 10 – 15 seconds. In a group match, if the previous player ended on a tilt, especially after a big nudge, you should give the game 30 seconds or so for it settle down. This is especially true on games with a tight tilt, and in those cases, you may want to wait even longer.

A bad habit, especially with new players, is what I call “flip nudging”. This is when the player flips so enthusiastically they’re adding a little unintentional nudge to many of their flips. These get the tilt bob swinging a little more and more, until they result in a tilt. Then they think the tilt came out of nowhere, i.e. the game malfunctioned, but it was actually because all their small moves were building up to a tilt.

How it’s done

Most nudges should be quick and sharp. You’re looking for a “pop” not a “shove”. Think of a jab or “one-inch punch”, not a haymaker. You want the minimum amount of physical force to get the job done because the more force, the more the tilt bob moves. As a general rule, you shouldn’t have to put your “whole body” into nudges, or “wind up”. It should mostly use just your arms and shoulders. Big, dramatic nudges are not only bad for the aforementioned tilt risk reasons, but also because they’re often slow, might put you off balance or cause your hands to leave the flipper buttons.

That said, big nudges are sometimes necessary. When the ball is definitely going to drain (like straight down the middle), the risk of a tilt might be high, but the alternative is worse.

If you own a game at home and just starting out learning to nudge, you might think the best way to learn is by setting the tilt bob very tight, forcing you to be extremely conservative and precise with your nudges. The opposite is actually true. Set the tilt bob extremely loose and nudge aggressively to become familiar with everything possible. Sometimes you’ll encounter loose tilts, even in tournaments, and you want to maximize every available advantage. As you get better, set the tilt tighter and less forgiving.

Forward Nudging Examples https://youtu.be/e_v3BflxULY

Forward nudging has several uses. When the ball is heading for the inlane-outlane area, it can do one of several things: it can drain down the outlane, roll down the inlane, or bounce out of the area entirely. Once the ball begins to settle in the inlane-outlane area, this is a very risky situation and largely up to chance. Yes, one could use subtle nudges to try and influence the ball into the inlane, but even for very skilled players survivability is low.

Players attempt to avoid this scenario altogether by using a forward nudge to bop the ball off the top of the slingshot or post rubber, in the hopes of bouncing it out of inlane-outlane area. This isn’t without its own risks – it can end up in the slingshots or go down the center drain, but both those scenarios are more survivable.

A forward nudge can also be used to assist a bounce pass or a ski jump pass. When performing a bounce pass, if the ball is moving too slowly it may bounce into the center drain instead of to the other flipper. A forward nudge added to the bounce pass at the instant it contacts the flipper gives it enough energy to bridge the gap.

Other uses of forward nudging are more specialized and situational. For example, on many games it’s common to have pop bumpers underneath rollover lanes (usually at the top of the playfield). The pop bumpers can (with a little luck) fire the ball back up through the lanes. If either the pop bumpers aren’t very responsive or the ball is moving at low speed, a foreward nudge when the ball contacts the pop bumper helps ensure the pop bumper will fire. An example where this can be particularly useful is Cyclone, because completing the rollover lanes activates double-scoring.

Another niche use of forward nudging is to set up a shot, especially to an upper flipper. On Indy 500, you can sometimes nudge off the top of the right slingshot to send the ball high enough for an upper flipper shot into the lock. On Funhouse, a missed hidden hallway shot can sometimes be nudged over to the upper flipper.

Slap Saves https://youtu.be/YmNDT80IDd8

To be continued…

Pinball Strategy:

Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) game tutorials https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-WQLGFMr97CQpOQDEvRqAiSqcvSuK11h

The most definitive collection of individual game tutorials anywhere. In addition to explanations of the rules, you’ll see many pinball flipper skills in action.

more to come…