Pinball Glossary

Pinball Glossary http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.
php#Flipper
The Internet Pinball Machine Database Glossary
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AAB —
See Add-A-Ball.
Add-A-Ball —
A feature designed to provide a reward to the player in regions where replays (free games) were outlawed as a thing of value,
making pinball into gambling. Add-A-Ball games allow the player to be awarded multiple additional balls, and usually include a
counter showing balls remaining to play ("Balls to Play" rather than the usual "Ball in Play") that is incremented as each ball is
awarded. Note that this is different from the feature of awarding an extra ball (common to many games) because those games do
not change the ball counter when the extra ball is played, and often can only award a single outstanding extra ball at any given
time. Therefore, a machine is a true Add-a-ball machine only if you can earn more than one extra ball per ball in play. Most
machines are a replay type where a special scores a free credit and only one extra ball can be awarded per ball in play.
Add-a-ball games start a ball counter at the original number of balls given to a player at the start of the game and then award the
player additional balls as objectives are met, incrementing the "current ball" count for each one.
Early add-a-ball games had individually lighted numbers on the backglass indicating the current ball count. These were usually
completely separate models from the non-Add-a-ball games (even of the same name), but in later years an Add-A-Ball "Option"
was instead built into a single model, allowing use as either an Add-A-Ball game, a replay game, or a novelty play game,
depending of what the government rules in effect at the location.
Because some locations even disallowed the display of the replay or add-a-ball totals wheel, some games came with a sticker to
cover the replay counter. Some games would even "hide" the extra ball count in backglass graphics that could not be seen until
an additional ball was added.
Gottlieb games can usually award up to 5 additional balls at any one time. If one or more of these additional balls are awarded,
they are all played before the main ball counter decrements. So you could win up to 5 balls during the play of 5 regular balls, or
a total of up to 25 extra balls. Gottlieb called this the "WOW" feature. For Williams games, the ball counter started at 5 balls
and awarded balls could raise the total to as 10 balls at one time.
Alvin Gottlieb created the concept which was then designed by Wayne Neyens.
Alphanumeric Display —
Segmented plasma displays (not LEDs which are much dimmer) that can display letters as well as numbers. They work by
energizing various segments of the display to form the correct character shape. These displays usually use Neon gas, which
glows orange when ionized by a high voltage electric current passed through the segment.
Gottlieb also used cathodic tubes, (which are distinctive with their blue glow, or green if translucent green plastic has been
placed over the display such as on Haunted House), in which the high voltage current flow causes a flourescent material on the
inside of the segments to glow, much like in a tube television. These were available in 4, 6, 7, and 20 character tubes.
Note the some LED displays were used by a very few exotic manufacturers, mostly in Europe.
This type of display has been replaced by the more modern dot matrix display which can also display graphics.
Alphanumeric display from WMS's 1990 'Funhouse'
Alvin G. & Co. —

Pinball manufacturer whose first machine (A.G. Soccer-Ball) was released in 1992. Other games include USA Football and Al's
Garage Band Goes on World Tour.
Animation —
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Pinball Glossary http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php#Flipper
On dot matrix displays, any animated graphics sequence. Animations are commonly used as introductions to modes,
multiball, and at the start of the game.
Some machines, particularly before the L.E.D. era, used other means of mechanical animation, such as moving parts behind the
backglass or lights that illuminated different colored masks to produce the illusion of movement.
Mechanical
Animation on
Gottlieb's 1966
'Central Park'
Apron —
The material/item at the very bottom of the playfield, which usually holds a score and/or instruction card and which covers the
ball trough. The front edges of the apron lead the ball to the drain.
Autoplunger —
Many newer games feature an automatic plunger that launches the ball at the touch of a button, or which the game uses to
launch additional balls into play for various reasons — for example, to launch additional balls onto the playfield for multiball.
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Backbox —
The upright part of a pinball machine that holds the backglass and any displays and scoring mechanisms (score reels, lighting,
etc.) In modern games, it also contains the circuit boards which control the machine. The backbox is also known as the 'head',
as compared to the cabinet which is also known as the 'body'.
Backbox of
Hayburners II
Backbox Insert —
The board inside the backbox upon which the score displays and illumination lamps are mounted. On EM games, relays and
stepper switches are also mounted on this board.
In many games, this insert hinges outward from the front after the backglass has been lifted up and out of the game, allowing
access to both sides of it. An example with an illustrative picture is Williams' 1986 'PI$·BOT'.
In other games, the backglass hinges outward within its own frame while the insert itself does not hinge and remains fixed. An
example with an illustrative picture is Williams' 1965 'Alpine Club'.
In yet other games, the backglass remains fixed while the insert hinges outward from the back after the backbox back door has
been lifted up and out of the game. An example with an illustrative picture is Gottlieb's 1965 'Pleasure Isle'.
Backbox Spinner —
In most cases, a large, round scoring device mounted into the backbox visible to the player through a clear, unpainted area of
the backglass. An arrow is attached to a center fulcrum inside the unit. Point values, extra balls, and/or Specials are identified
on the backglass at equidistant positions around the perimeter of this unit. Typically, a ball landing in a playfield kick-out hole
will lock in that hole, the arrow will spin around and stop at a value, the value is scored to the player, and the ball is ejected
from the hole. The spinner may also be activated by a ball draining via an outlane. An example of this is found on Williams'
1970 'Jive Time'.
Another type has the entire spinning mechanism out of view to the player except for a circle of silkscreened arrows. The
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spinning mechanism quickly rotates a light from arrow to arrow until it stops. An example of this is found on Gottlieb's 1968
'Spin Wheel'.
Alao called a Backglass Spinner.
Backglass —
The glass within the front of the backbox, with ink artwork silk-screened onto the back of it. Since it is the most visible part of
the game and has to attract players, the artwork is often spectacular. (In modern games, the artwork may actually be a
translite.)
Being glass, backglasses are fragile and subject to peeling over time. They are also more restricted than translites in the type of
artwork which can be produced, although their color is generally more brilliant than that of a translite.
Backglass of Toledo
Backglass Marquee —
An area of the backglass not silkscreened, allowing the location to display their name or other customized information from
behind the backglass and visible to the player. This feature is found on many Williams games of the 1960's, in the lower edge of
the backglass. An example with illustrative pictures is Williams' 1965 'Pot 'O' Gold'. When the game is turned on, this
marquee will illuminate from behind.
Backglass Spinner —
See Backbox Spinner.
Bagatelle —
A bagatelle resembles a light, flat board with nails (pins!) in it and short raised sides to keep the ball on the playfield during
play. Each ball is launched from some sort of shooter or pusher to the top of the playfield, where it then rolls towards the
player, bouncing off the pins or landing in any of several scoring pockets. These scoring pockets can be depressions in the
playfield, nails arranged in a U-shape, or both. They are marked with various score values, with the higher values usually
protected by more pins or tougher paths to reach them. By "shooting" the ball harder or softer, the player can try to control
where the ball drops.
The earliest relative of the modern pinball machines, bagatelles consist of a basic construction of a frame around a playfield.
They have no flippers, bumpers, ramps or other mechanical items normally found on a pinball machine, nor do they contain
lights, sounds, or power sources. They have no playfield glass and, with rare exception, are not coin-operated.
Bagatelles are still being manufactured today, although most modern versions are made from plastic and can be found primarily
in toy stores.
Ball Saver —
This term describes either of two different ways to extend game play.
1) A physical device between the flippers to prevent the ball from draining, found on many EM games and some SS games.
During 1950-1951, Gottlieb used a V-shaped device between the flippers for this purpose and referred to it as a Blocking Gate
or Safety Gate. The first known example of a round version of this gate is found on Rally's 1967 'Playboy' and this shape is
commonly known as an Up-post. Chicago Coin used the term "Ball Saver" to introduce this round Up-post to their games,
starting with Chicago Coin's 1968 'Gun Smoke'. See also Up-post.
2) A software-programmed time limit found on SS games only, not requiring a physical device between the flippers. The game
is programmed to return a drained ball to the plunger within the first few seconds of play, until the set time expires. If the game
has an autoplunger, it will often shoot the ball back into play automatically along with an audio cue and an animation. Many
games also activate this feature at the start of multiball, when players may not be expecting additional balls on the playfield.
Programmed ball savers are a recent feature, introduced around 1990. Most games with this feature will return the drained ball
once, although some games can be configured to return it more than once if it is lost again within the ball saver time window. On
most games, the time limit for this feature can be adjusted by the operator or turned off altogether. Sometimes this feature takes
the form of a minimum game time, as in Stern's 1982 'Orbitor 1', where the last ball in play can get returned to the plunger
repeatedly until the set time expires.
Ball Search —
When a machine has not seen any scoring in a few seconds and thinks the ball may be stuck, it will quickly activate each
solenoid in the machine in turn, to help a ball become unstuck if it happens to be mechanically hung up, or in case the ball has
been captured by a playfield mechanism with a faulty indicator switch. This procedure is called a 'ball search', and may happen
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several times before the game either shuts down or ejects a replacement pinball.
Bally/Williams —
One of the most successful manufacturers of pinball machines, Bally/Williams is the result of a Williams buying Bally.
Bang Back —
A Bang Back is a method of saving a ball that has rolled down an outlane. By holding up the flipper on the side the ball is
coming down, and hitting the front of the cabinet when the ball reaches the base of the flipper, the ball can be made to bounce
off the playfield arch and back onto the opposite flipper. See Skills for the Pinball Wizard for an animation of this technique.
Bat Game —
Pitch & Bat games are characterized by a game design similar to baseball, in which a bat is used instead of flippers to hit the
pinball towards targets and holes at the far end of the playfield. Instead of a plunger, these games usually have a pitching
mechanism which shoots the pinball towards the bat at a speed and direction often controlled by a second player.
The playfields are usually quite bare compared to pinball machines, having no bumpers, ball guides or lights like pinball
machines, but because they share many of the same mechanical elements as pinball machines, they are included in the database.
The playfield usually contains only the targets and holes, labeled with possible pitch results such as single, double, out, etc., and
sometimes some small jumps and a second level of targets/holes at the back. Some games even mimic the players running
around the bases, often with mechanical figures in the backbox running around a baseball diamond.
Beta Test —
Before a game is produced for the open market, a small number of prototypes are produced, and these are sent to selected sites
for testing so that the manufacturer can find out how well the game rules and playfield layout performs in real play. The beta
test usually leads to minor changes in the playfield and changes to the software.
Bingo Machine —
Bingo games are those games that usually have the following characteristics: no flippers, numbered holes on the playfield in
which the balls are captured, Bingo cards displayed on the backglass along with the various odds that can usually be changed
by depositing more coins, and replay counters that normally count up to 999 replays to count the awards received.
As balls fall into the playfield holes, the corresponding numbers are lit up on the Bingo card(s) on the backglass. The ball will
then stay into that hole until the end of the game. Bingo games normally have 5 balls per game -- to make them distinctive from
the one-ball machines made illegal in most areas -- and (similar to normal Bingo) awards can usually be won by getting three to
five numbers in a row on one of the Bingo cards, with larger awards for more numbers in a row or more coins deposited to raise
the odds. Players can either play off the replays earned or have the owner exchange them for cash or prizes.
Bingo games have their roots in a 16th century Italian lottery game named Beano, later renamed to Bingo. They are a result of
the early desire to reward players with money, free games and awards. Early games to accomplish this were single ball games
with horse and dog racing themes. The (Federal Government’s) Johnson Act of 1950 caused the demise of one-ball horse racing
machines because it outlawed and made a federal offense the inter-state shipment of gambling devices, manuals and repair parts
except to states where the devices were legal, and many areas had already declared them illegal since they were deemed a game
of chance rather than a game of skill. (The addition of flippers on later pinball machines caused them to be considered a game of
skill since the player could have much more affect on the resulting score.) Since horse/dog racing games were usually one-ball
games, and since most areas declared specifically that "one-ball" games were illegal, the manufacturers could see that further
production of those types of games would be impractical and so switched to the five ball Bingo designs.
You may also want to read an article titled PINGAMES AND GAMBLING - An Historical Survey by Russ Jensen for more
historical information on Bingo machines and the laws affecting them
Biri-biri —
A repetitive electronic tune indicating that the player had reached a high score. This is a feature found in some Italian-made
pinball machines of the 1970's.
Some Italian manufacturers during the 1970's installed electronic sound devices in their games to replace the standard metal
bells. Older games could also be retrofitted with these devices. The electronic sounds they emitted were rudimentary in
comparison to today's capabilities and might be described as monophonic. These devices, while acting in place of bells, could
also be made to emit a tune at achieving a high score, and this tune was called the "biri-biri sound". No obvious award was
necessarily tied to getting a machine to produce this sound, but the location might give a free drink to the player.
To listen to the biri-biri sound, visit Federico Croci's webpage:

http://www.tilt.it/biribiri.htm
Blocking Gate —
See V-Saver gate.
Body —
See Cabinet.
Bullseye target —
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A stationary target consisting of a broad target surface (the outer ring) with a hole in its center (the bullseye) through which a
separate narrow pin protrudes from behind. Both the outer ring and bullseye pin operate their own switch for scoring. A ball can
hit the ring and miss the bullseye pin, or hit the bullseye pin without hitting the ring, or with force or angle can hit both bullseye
pin and ring for a combined score. Gottlieb used this type of target on games made from the latter 1950's to early 1960's, such as
Gottlieb's 1959 'Seven Seas', where the outer ring was painted with the familiar target rings. It appeared again on Premier's
1993 'Tee'd Off' but without the target rings.
Some Gottlieb games used these targets but without the center bullseye pin. One game that had this type is Gottlieb's 1962
'Preview'.
Bumper —
Bumpers are round, mushroom-shaped targets set into the playfield of most pinball machines. They fall into two categories:
active and passive. Both types register a hit when the ball collides with them.
Active bumpers, the most common, are round mushroom-shaped targets set into the playfield which forcefully kick the ball
away when struck. Passive bumpers look similar to active bumpers, but do not kick the ball when hit.
Mushroom Bumpers are passive bumpers, each is a post having a disk on top. When the ball approaches the bumper and
strikes the post, it lifts the disk. The disk is attached to a shaft down the middle of the post, and this shaft rises when the disk is
lifted, activating a leaf switch which registers the hit. Bally popularized this bumper in the 1960s and 1970s starting with Bally's
1963 'Hootenanny', and European games followed in its use. While Bally is popularly credited with the first use of mushroom
bumpers, Stoner used them during 1939-40 on Stoner's 1939 'Ali-Baba' and Stoner's 1940 'Fantasy'.
Active bumpers have been given various names. According to the book All About Pinball, Williams called them
thumper bumpers on their 1948 game Saratoga but eventually decided to use the shorter term jet bumpers. Gottlieb first used
the term percussion bumpers on their 1949 "Bowling Champ" game but eventually changed to the term pop bumpers. Genco
called them power bumpers. Bally called them thumper bumpers. The invention of the bumper in 1936 replaced the
well-known pins and pockets. Balls would now exit the playfield after play, while the score would appear on the backglass.
Before, players had to visually add up their score from the balls that had landed in playfield pockets.
A thumper bumper from Bally's 1975 'Freedom'.
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Cabinet —
The large lower box that holds the playfield, coin box, and flipper buttons. It often has color attention-attracting graphics,
especially on later model games with detailed many-color side art. Not to be confused with the backbox. The cabinet is also
known as the 'body'.
Captive Ball —
A captive ball is a special kind of target that consists of a pinball held captive at the end of a lane or ramp with a switch at the
far end. A captive ball is also known as a messenger ball.
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Left:Diagram of captive ball setup. Right: Captive balls and target

from Capcom's 1996 'Breakshot'
Captive Ball Spinner —

A scoring device consisting of a large metal wheel and a small steel ball enclosed in an area not accessible by the ball in play.
The wheel has small trap holes all along its outside edge. When activated, the wheel spins around its central axis, causing its
captive ball to randomly roll around with it. The wheel generally stops abruptly, and the rolling ball eventually falls into one of
the trap holes to award the indicated hole value. This device first appeared on Williams' 1966 'A-Go-Go'. Also referred to as a
Roulette Wheel.
Captive Ball Spinner from Williams' 1966 'A-Go-Go'.
Carom Spinner —
See Spinning Bumper.
Carousel roto-target —
See longer explanation under Roto-target.
Carry-over —
A sequence during game play that increases towards a goal such as extra points, an extra ball, or a replay, and does not reset to
the beginning of the sequence at the start of a new game. Instead, the position in the sequence carries over to the next game as
the starting point for the new game. This sequence is often featured prominently on the backglass to entice players to play the
machine again.
This feature might be designed to carry-over from game-to-game, or from player-to-player during multiple-player games, or
both.
Catch —
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When the ball is held in a V formed by an upraised flipper and the lower part of the inlane.
Cellar Hole —
A ramp below the playfield, entered through a hole in the playfield.
Center Post —
A stationary rubbered post or pin set between and inline with the bottom pair of flippers. Gottlieb/Premier used a center post
on many of their games. Not to be confused with an Up-post.
Check Separator —
A mechanism added onto coin slides of some 1930's payout games. If the player inserted a token (known as a "check" and had a
hole in its center) to start the game, the separator would detect this and route the token to the payout tube for future payout.
Coins were routed to the cashbox. In this way, only tokens were paid out for winning scores. This was only necessary for
locations that did not allow cash payout.
Chicane Lane —
A lane with several curves to it, and a ball rolling through this lane will exhibit a zig-zag or wiggling motion on its way down. An
example of this feature is found on Bally's 1971 'Sea Ray'. The lane usually has inserts in its path to light what awards or
features will be earned by a ball passing through it. The curving aspect of the lane slows the ball down.
Chromium Steel —
This is not steel that has been dipped in chrome to give it that brilliantly shiny veneer finish of which we are all familiar. It is
steel that has been alloyed with chromium to make it resistant to corrosion. Stainless steel contains at least 10.5% chromium.
Clear Coated Playfield —

A playfield which has had any of several choices of coatings (such as Varathane) applied to the playing surface for purposes of
restoration, protection, or aesthetics. This term generally refers to coatings applied after the playfield left the factory, and is not
the same finish that the manufacturer had used. However, Williams, for instance, in around 1990 began producing playfields
clearly marked as "diamond-plated" which had a clear coated finish.
This finish almost always produces a strikingly polished and reflective surface, more than the playfield possessed when it came
from the factory. Thus the practice goes beyond the protective effect of a good waxing by adding a permanent visual effect. For
IPDB purposes, these playfields do not show users how the game looked when first produced.
Cocktail Table —
These machines are smaller versions of the standard pinball machine, usually about the size of a cocktail table, from where they
get their name. These machines have no backbox and the playfield top glass is unsloped and horizontal, allowing drinks to be
placed on it. These machines were developed for locations that did not have the room for a standard-sized pinball machine. Play
is similar to other games, and the score and play information is usually displayed on the cardholder at the "bottom" of the
playfield near the player.
Coil —
See Solenoid.
Coil Sleeve —
A plastic or nylon (and sometimes aluminum in older games) sleeve that passes through the center of a solenoid, and in which
the metal slug moves when the solenoid is engaged. The coil sleeve must be clean and smooth or the metal slug can hang and
bind when the solenoid is activated.
Combo —
A defined sequence of shots that need to made in rapid successions without missing are called combos.
Console Cabinet —
Most often, this term describes a floor-standing machine that has wood panel sides extending down to the floor on all four sides,
instead of four individual legs. An early example of this is C. F. Eckhart & Company's 1933 'Wahoo'. Some pinball machines
were made in two versions: with individual legs and as a console, such as Keeney's 1947 'Cover Girl'
In some styles, the back portion of the cabinet will extend to the floor as one piece with only the front end supported by two
individual legs. Games such as United's 1962 'Bonus Baseball' might be described as having a console cabinet.
Other consoles are too small to have any individual legs, and the cabinets rest on the floor. An example is Genco's 1952 '400'.
Conversion Kit —
Conversion kits were designed to allow an owner/operator to convert one game into another while reusing the most significant
portions of the previous game to save on cost. Note that these differ from the Converted Games in that the owner/operator
makes the conversion rather than the game being converted at a manufacturer’s location.
Conversion kits usually contained a backglass and instruction cards, and sometimes a new wired playfield (that plugged into
the old connections) but which reused the electromechanical or solid state controllers, cabinet, cabinet art, coin mechanisms,
scoring mechanisms, etc. Some conversion kits included additional items, such as cabinet side decals, new game roms, manuals
and miscellaneous other items. Some later kits even contained new solid state electronic boards to upgrade the control system.
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In kits where only only a backglass and instruction cards were included, the game play and scoring was not changed in any way
and the original manufacturer’s name was often still on the game, which can lead to confusion regarding the status of similar
games and their manufacturer.
Because the controllers were usually reused, conversion kits were designed to convert one specific game into another.
Converted Game —
Similar to the Conversion Kit games, these were also conversions of one game into another, reusing a significant portion of the
previous game, such as the cabinet, score mechanisms, etc.
Unlike conversion kits, which were designed to be installed by the owner/operator in the field, converted games were converted
at a manufacturer’s facilities (and usually not by the original manufacturer) and then sold as "new" games by the new
manufacturer. This process became popular during World War II when a ban — announced March-26-1942 — was placed on
the manufacture of new pinball machines beginning May-01-1942 and lasting four years until May-1946, when the ban was
finally lifted.
Converted games were remanufactured several ways. Some games were given a new backglass and playfield, while others
were given little more than minor playfield changes, such as a retouching of the original playfield art. Some conversion
manufacturers, such as Victory Games, would not even remove the original manufacturer’s name from the machine. Other
conversions would go as far as completely stripping the components from the game and rebuilding it with a new theme, possibly
rescreening the playfield, and even including new side art, manuals, score cards, etc. in addition to a new backglass.
Owners would often send in their games to be converted, but manufacturers also purchased games on their own to convert and,
using additional parts available from stock, resell to a different owner.
A number of new companies were created solely for the purpose of offering pinball machine conversions. According to the
Pinball Collectors Resource (by Robert Hawkins & Donald Mueting), there were only four manufacturers of pinball machines
from before the ban that were still producing them when the ban was lifted!
See also Re-themed Game.
Counter Game —
See Table Top Game.
Crossover Return Lane —

A flipper return lane that by design has swapped places with the outlane, and is separated from the flipper by this outlane. A
ball entering the top of the return lane has to cross the outlane in order to reach the flipper. The speed of the ball usually allows
it to jump the outlane and not drain, although success of this is not guaranteed. An example of this feature is found on Bally's
1982 'Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball'.
Cue Game —
Games that use cue sticks to shoot the ball rather than a plunger.
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Data East —
One of the major pinball manufacturers of recent time, now out of business. Data East was known for only making games
based on a licensed theme, such as a TV show or movie, but had used unlicensed themes in the past. Data East became Sega
Pinball, Inc., which is also no longer in business.
Death Save —
A method of saving a ball that has rolled down an outlane. By moving the cabinet forward and to the right as the ball hits a
plate near the drain, tha ball can be made to bounce back into play.
Designer —
The person who designs the playfield and/or game rules.
Disk roto-target —
See longer explanation under Roto-target.
Diverter —
A playfield object that can swing (usually controlled by a solenoid) to divert the ball onto one of several paths. Diverters are
commonly used on ramps and on lanes to allow the ball to divert to a special target or lock during certain phases of the game.
For instance, Williams' 1994 'Demolition Man' uses a diverter on the ramp that can lead to the cryo-claw to divert the ball
onto a habitrail when the cryo-claw is not activated.
Not be be confused with Diverter Magnet.
Diverter Magnet —
A magnet that does not stop the ball but influences its path when the ball passes over it or near it, causing the ball to change its
speed, direction, or trajectory. Diverter magnets may or may not be under player control, and may be permanent or electric.
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The Addams Family 'The Power' diverter magnets are not under player control. The Magnasave feature found on several games
is under player control.
Not to be confused with a Diverter.
See Playfield Magnets.
Dot Matrix Display —

Plasma displays (not usually LEDs which are much dimmer) in an individually addressable dot grid rectangular array, capable of
displaying graphics and text by energizing selected dots of the display. These displays usually use Neon gas, which glows orange
when ionized by a high voltage electric current passed through the segment.
This type of display replaced the earlier Alphanumeric displays.
A dot matrix display from Capcom's 1996 'Breakshot'.
Drain —
Where lost balls exit the playfield (noun), as well as the actual act of losing a ball (verb). Also known as the outhole.
Drain-o-Matic —
A pinball game where balls drain too easily. Derogatory.
Drop lane —
A vertical lane directly above an outlane that causes the ball entering it to drop straight down into the outlane. In this way, it
makes the outlane have more than one entrance. An example if this feature is found on Bally's 1967 'The Wiggler'. A game
having two of these lanes is Bally's 1968 'Dixieland' where the left one is very long and has a detour gate in its path, if earned
by the player. In the example of Williams' 1970 'Gay 90's' the drop lane also serves as an extended kickback lane.
Drop Target —
A type of standup target that is dropped into or below the playfield when hit.
On early versions of this target, the surface that the ball hit did not drop. What dropped is a piece of decorative plastic behind
the target that the ball never touched. An example of this is found on Gottlieb's 1951 'Minstrel Man'.
Starting with Williams' 1962 'Vagabond', the surface struck by the ball is what dropped into the playfield. This type of target is
often found in a row of several, referred to as a drop target bank.
See also Memory Drop Target.
Bank of 5 drop targets from Bally's 1975 'Freedom'
Dual Outlanes —
Two outlanes on each side of lower playfield, as in the examples of Gottlieb's 1962 'Sunset' and Williams' 1964 'Zig Zag'.
The design feature was prevalent prior to the introduction of flipper return lanes in 1965.
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Eddy Sensor —
See Proximity Sensor.
Eject Hole —
A hole which holds the ball visible to the player until a scoring objective is achieved then kicks it back into play. Also called
Kick-out Hole.
Electro-Mechanical Game —
Early games, mostly pre-1978, that rely on electromechanical components, such as relays, stepping units, motors and scoring
wheels rather that solid-state electronics. Also called EMs. Compare to Solid-State games.
Electromagnet —
A coil that acts like a magnet only when electricity is applied. When electricity is removed, the magnetism stops. Most often
used as a solenoid, but sometimes used under the playfield to affect ball travel. Electromagnets may or may not be under
player control.
Electropak —
Brand name for a power supply manufactured by Electrical Products Company of Detroit Michigan. It is a combination
transformer and rectifier. Rectifiers convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).
Power supplies such as this were used in pinball machines as the evolutionary step after batteries to allow a game designed for
DC operation to be powered by an AC wall outlet.
Electrical Products Company was owned by Avery B. Chereton, who was also a coin machine manufacturer before WWII. See
Patent 2,028,191.
For additional info, see this article from The Billboard, Feb-20-1937, page 88.
Manufacturing Plate
Click to Zoom
An Electropak missing its Rectifier

Click to Zoom
EM —
Acronym for an Electro-mechanical game.
End-of-Ball Bonus —
Points added to the score when the ball drains, based on targets hit, modes completed, and/or multipliers earned. On some
games, bonus is such a large portion of the score that tilting the game results in a major loss of points.
End-of-Stroke Switch —
A switch that is activated by a mechanical device when the device reaches the end of its stroke. On Bally/Williams flippers,
the switch is used when the flipper reaches the end of its movement to switch to a lower current feeding the flipper coil to
prevent it from burning out. This allows high current to initially move the flipper quickly, but low current to hold it in the up
position. Abbreviated EOSS.
In EMs, end-of-stroke switches are used in several places. For instance, a slingshot score is not activated by the standup
switches, but the standup switches activate the kicking coil which, when fully engaged, hits the end-of-stroke switch which
pulses the score relay. They are also used on pop bumpers and some stepping units.
EOSS —
See End-of-stroke switch.
Extra Ball Buy-in —

Many modern games allow the player to purchase an extra ball after the last ball of a game drains. This is called an extra ball
10 de 30 26/02/2012 10:48
buy-in. The extra ball often costs as much as an entire game would, and so is only usually used when the player is very close to
completing a goal for which the extra cost may be worth it. Some early EM games have this feature, or the equivalent of it. An
example is Bally's 1934 'Champion'.
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Flip Card —
A domino-sized and shaped device that is hinged on one side and which flips back and forth to show status, much the same as a
drop target or a light shows status. Only three machines have this feature, all of them manufactured by Bally.
Flipper —
Those thingies that move when you hit the flipper buttons. Some people use these to propel the pinball. The first game credited
to have used them is Gottlieb's 1947 'Humpty Dumpty'. See also Impulse flipper.
Flippers were already used on many games prior to 1947, but they were non-electrical, "manually-operated" bats used on
baseball games, one to a playfield. 'Humpty Dumpty' is the first pinball machine manufactured with flippers that were
electromechanical. According to the book Pinball 1, David Gottlieb wanted to name this game 'Flipper' but a legal check found
a patented countertop game that had a manual bat, Smith Manufacturing Company's 1932 'Flipper'.
From an interview with Harry Williams on March 18, 1978, pinball historian Russ Jensen later wrote that "at the time when
Harry Mabs at Gottlieb came out with the first flipper, Williams [Manufacturing Company] had also been working on a
similar device. Theirs, [Harry] said, used a shallow hole into which a ball would drop, which would then be kicked out by a
"bat" behind the hole. This was an "automatic" action, however, and not controlled by buttons on the cabinet."
Flipper Return Lane —

A wireform that allows the ball to roll behind the slingshot and towards a waiting flipper.
According to the book All About Pinball, Gottlieb's 1965 'Pleasure Isle' and its replay version Gottlieb's 1965 'Paradise'
were the first playfields designed to have flipper return lanes. However, Gottlieb rescheduled the production of a subsequent
game designed with these lanes, Gottlieb's 1965 'Bank-A-Ball', so that it could be released first.
See also Crossover Return Lane.
Flipperless —
These machines have no flippers. When used as a specialty designator in this database, it is used for games manufactured after
the invention of the flipper (in 1947, see Gottlieb's Humpty Dumpty) that don’t have flippers.
It is also used for games made before the invention of the flipper but after the invention of the passive bumper (in 1936, see
Pacent's Bolo) because playfields in this time frame can often look similar to flippered playfields and so we identify them as
flipperless to clarify this fact for those users who may not be familiar with when the flipper was invented.
Mechanical games and other games made prior to the invention of the passive bumper are obvious to the eye that they would
not or cannot have flippers, therefore we do not bother to mark those games as flipperless.
This specialty designator is occasionally used to identify other games, usually those for which not having flippers is an
interesting notation.
Many games manufactured just prior to 1947 may have had flippers retrofitted into them by their operators in an attempt to
keep their games profitable after new games were released with flippers. When used for these games, this specialty will
designate that the games were manufactured without flippers, even though a particular instance of the game has them. These
retrofit flippers can be found in various locations on the playfields, as operators fit them in wherever there was room and where
they did not interfere with existing wiring.
Free Ball Return Lane —

A lane that delivers the ball to the shooter alley. Typically, this lane has no gate and therefore is always "open". An example of
this is found on Gottlieb's 1970 'Scuba' where it is referred to as a "mid-field ball back feature".
Free Play Hole —

A hole in the playing field that delivers the ball back to the ball lift mechanism, to allow the player to shoot it again, without
subtracting from the count of balls played. These are seen most often on pre-flipper games.
Frenzy —
A special mode earned in some games where everything on the playfield scores a lot of points.
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Gate —
A thing the pinball can go through in one direction but not the other. You can often find gates at the end of the plunger lane.
There are several styles of gates.
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A type of gate from Bally's 1976 'Freedom'. The ball can pass
through from the left, but not from the right.
Gimmick —
A feature of the game that is put in there to attract attention and make the game unique in some way. A gimmick can also be a
decoration on the cabinet or backbox.
Gobble Hole —
A hole in the playfield through which the ball in play may fall, ending that ball. Falling into this hole usually scores a large
value or a special. This was a common feature in the woodrail era, and rarely seen after that.
Also a hole in the playfield that gobbles the ball, causing it to drain. See also Sinkhole.
Gottlieb Made In Italy —

Some Italian backglasses and playfields repeat the Game Name as the manufacturer. For instance, a backglass for the Italian
version of Gottlieb's "Golden Arrow" has a logo printed on it indicating "MFD by Golden Arrow, Italy" instead of indicating
Giuliano Lodola, the acknowledged manufacturer of this version. This information appears in a rectangular box resembling the
Gottlieb logo of the period. This raises questions of who really manufactured those backglasses and playfields. Federico Croci,
a collector in Italy, offers this explanation:
"I talked about an old operator about the fact that sometimes there are games with the words "manufactured by" (or "mfd by")
and the name of the game itself, which makes little sense. He told me that, as far as he remembers, when that copy of a Gottlieb
game was built by, for example, RMG, it has the logo RMG in both the backglass and the playfield. It could be a game entirely
made of new parts, or a reconstructed old game, but if RMG ordered playfields and backglasses, they usually were marked
RMG.
"But, you could go directly to the printing facility, which was external to the many pinball manufacturers, not connected to
them in any way, and ask to buy one of the playfields and backglasses they were manufacturing for someone else. The printing
guy always produced some more playfields and backglasses than requested by, for example, RMG, just to sell these for
himself. And he modified the name of the manufacturer, if present; so, he removed "Giuliano Lodola", if present, and
substituted it with the same exact name of the game. Or he added "The Best", before the same exact name of the game. Or he
added something else...things like that. He made this in order to not be accused of selling designs made by someone else, but
also, if you have a playfield and a backglass, to have the name of the game printed on it somewhere, it helps to recognize the
parts.
"So, if we have a Golden Arrow made by Giuliano Lodola, usually we have a pinball which was assembled in the Giuliano
Lodola's factory. If we have the same exact game, but the only difference is in the logo, it means that the kit was assembled by
the operator, buying somewhere the playfield and the backglass. In this case, it's also possible they also buyed a new cabinet, or
had it sprayed new."
01/10/2008
Gottlieb/Premier —
One of the major pinball manufacturers. Gottlieb, before it was bought by premier, is one of the oldest pinball manufacturers
around, with three generations of the Gottlieb family in the business.
Gunching —
Jolting the machine during play to change the way the ball travels or bounces.
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Habitrail —
A ball path made from pieces of steel wire and set above the normal playfield ball level. In games of the 1930s, they were
called "ball elevators". See also wireform.
Head —
See Backbox.
Head-to-Head Play —
These machines allow two players to play against each other at the same time using the same ball.
High Score Game —

See $ovelty Play.
Home Model —
The popularity of commercial pinball machines created a desire in players to own one in their home and the home models were
the result of this. These machines are similar to the coin operated models they’re based on, but they do not accept coins and are
usually smaller, often designed with shorter legs and younger art for children.
These home models are usually not valued as highly as their commercial models because of their simpler design. The electronics
(used in later models) are hard to find.
Horserace Game —
Common features of horserace games are: no flippers; one ball game; selection of horses 1 through 7; has 3 or 4 areas on the
playfield, consisting of 7 holes (win, place, show, purse); usually has multiple coin play for progressive odds.
Horserace games are were an attempt to capitalize on the popular sport of horse racing by using a game that could be claimed to
not be gambling because of the interaction of the user in shooting the ball. These games used a horse racing theme and they
allowed a player to shoot a single ball for each game. The player would try to shoot the ball and cause it to fall into a scoring
hole, which caused the player to win that payoff. These games usually allowed players to enter more than one coin at a time to
increase the payoff odds. The playfields were often divided into the areas of Win, Place and Show with appropriate odds on the
holes in that playfield area.
A note about the ‘one ball’ designation listed above: Some ‘one ball’ horserace games manufactured after World War II actually
contained 5 balls, even though still only 1 ball was used to score. The additional four balls were first shot by the player into the
"Skill Lane". This was done to allow operators to continue using the games in the areas where "one ball games" were
increasingly being classified as gambling devices.
For these 5 ball horserace games, the first four balls shot by the player were stored in a pocket positioned just to the left of the
rebound spring at the left edge of the rebound arch at the top of the playfield. The only skill required to reach this "Skill Lane"
was the ability to shoot a ball hard enough to reach the left side of the playfield. Making all four balls into the "Skill Lane" had
no effect on the game play or the payout. After four balls were in the "Skill Lane", the rebound spring was reset to the normal
position to allow the 5th (scoring) ball to properly rebound when shot. If more than one ball made it onto the playfield and
dropped into a scoring hole, the payout was disabled for the extra balls.
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Impulse flipper —
A design of flipper mechanism used on some woodrails where the flipper does not stay energized for the entire length of time
that the flipper button is depressed. Pressing the flipper button causes the flipper to quickly energize then de-energize, as if the
player had only tapped the flipper button. The flipper cannot be held in the "up" position and the player must release and press
the button to pulse the flipper again. Sometimes referred to as a Pulse flipper. Used by Williams prior to 1956.
Inlane —
The path feeding a falling ball from the playfield to the flippers, usually behind a slingshot. See also outlane.
Insert —
See Backbox Insert.
See Playfield Insert.
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Jet bumper —
The name used by Williams Electronics to describe active bumpers. See Bumper for a description.
Jumper Bumper —
An active bumper where the entire upper half of the assembly (not just the metal ring that comes in contact with the ball but the
bumper cap and light bulb, too) moves up and down with the action of the solenoid. Invented by Dennis Nordman and first
appearing on Midway's 1989 'Elvira and the Party Monsters'.
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Kick-out Hole —
A hole which holds the ball visible to the player until a scoring objective is achieved then kicks it back into play. Also called
Eject Hole.
Kickback —
Usually located at the left outlane, the kickback, when activated, kicks the ball back into play instead of allowing the ball to
pass to the drain.
Kicker —
In general, an interchangeable term for Slingshot (see below). But there are also "slot kickers", which kick the ball out of a
slot/trough/channel.
Knocker —
The solenoid that bangs the inside of the cabinet or backbox to produce a loud cracking noise that signals a free game. Also
see Match.
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Lane Change —
Games featuring lane change allow the player to shift the lit lights in a set of lights on the playfield, such as a set of lights on the
outlanes and inlanes showing which lane has an award.
Leaf Switch —
A type of switch which consists of two tounges of metal, separated by an insulator, which come into contact when pressed
together, such as via a lever or mechanical device. Leaf switches are used to detect a ball coming through a gate or going up a
ramp. In older games leaf switches are used throughout most of the game, while newer games also rely on microswitches,
magnetic proximity sensors, and optos (opto-electronic sensors).
A basic, single-pole leaf switch
Light Shields —
See Playfield Plastics.
Linear Target —
A scoring device consisting of a target affixed to a long horizontal metal rod visible to the player. The harder the ball hits the
target, the further the target and rod are pushed into the rest of the device and the more points are awarded.
This device was Williams' version of the Gottlieb vari-target. It's first (and possibly only) appearance was on Williams' 1989
'Bad Cats'.
Lockdown Bar —
The common name of the metal piece (or wood on woodrail games) at the bottom of the playfield, which keeps the playfield
cover glass from sliding out. Often labeled "Front Molding" in the manual. Usually removed via a latch inside the coin door,
allowing the playfield glass to be slid out and the playfield then removed.
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M-Ball —
The name Data East used for multiball before they licensed the word multiball from Williams.
Magnasave —
A player-activated magnet above an inlane that will try to catch a ball headed for the outlane. Magnasave has appeared on
some Williams games and is a trademark of Williams Electronics.
Magnet —
Manufacturers —
There have been several pinball manufacturers through the years. Currently, there is only one force in the pinball business, Stern
Pinball. Williams was one of the best known manufacturers and merged with Bally, another well known company, before going
out of business in 1999.
Marquee —
An advertising area. See Backglass Marquee.
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Match —
A free game given away by the machine to one of the players for no apparent reason at the end of the game. There is around a
10% chance of receiving a match on older games, but newer solid-state machines allow this to be set as low as 1%, with the
factory setting at 7%. When a match occurs, the knocker is usually used to inform the player.
Mechanical Backbox Animation —

When used as a specialty in this database, this term is used to indicate games that contain mechanical backbox animation. This
specialty is not used for games that use light based animations, attract mode lights, dot matrix displays, or flashers.
Memory Drop Target —

A drop target feature found on many solid state games and most evident when two or more players are in play. Unlike EM
games where all dropped targets reset for the next ball regardless if it was for the same player or for the next player, the CPU of
a SS game will "remember" which drop targets were hit by each player at the end of their previous ball in play, so when a
player's turn comes up again, causing the drop target bank to reset, the specific targets that were hit previously by that player
and thus stored in memory as dropped will immediately drop again before the new ball is shot into play. In this way, each player
does not lose the advantage of the hit targets at the end of his/her last ball in play. On some games, this memory feature can be
disabled by the operator, making all drop targets reset at the start of a new ball, just like EM games.
See also Drop Target.
Messenger Ball —
See Captive Ball.
Microswitch —
A type of small switch used under rollovers and other parts of a game. Microswitches are much smaller than leaf switches, are
self contained and enclosed to protect their mechanism, and have a button that when pressed activates the switch. Many
microswitches are fit with a lever that will press the button when something depresses the lever, which gives the switch a larger
range of motion than pressing the button directly.
A microswitch with a lever and formable wire attached.
Mini-Post —
A smaller version of the Up-post, made of wood or other hard material, used to block exit to the outlanes. Sometimes used
elsewhere on the playfield as a way to open and close a gate entrance, for instance. Also called Mini-Up-Post.
Mini-Post Screw —
A small, stationary metal post screwed into the playfield. A rubber ring (23/64 or 27/64 inch diameter)is affixed at its top. A
typical placement of this device is between and below the flippers at the bottom of the playfield to bounce an otherwise drained
ball back into play.
Mode —
Two different meanings:
1) Mode of Play. Replay, Add-a-ball, or Novelty. Many games are manufactured to allow the operator to select which mode
of play the game will have for purposes of awarding the player for high scores or for achieving certain play objectives.
2) Periods of game play where the rules change and sometimes special shots are made available. Most modern games (that is,
solid state) contain these modes. Common types of modes are where one target scores a value that counts down from its highest
value to nothing or when repeated ramp shots score an increasing number of millions. Some games have a certain number of
modes you must complete to get a reward or enter a wizard mode.
Multi-Level Machine —
A multi-level machine has at least two distinct playfields at different elevations, each of which contains at least one player
controlled device.
Multiball —
When several balls are in play at one time. During multiball, there is often some sort of objective, most commonly a jackpot
target that scores an obscene amount of points. Multiball is trademarked by Williams Electronics.
Multiplier —
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A feature found on many games that allows you to multiply the end of ball bonus or a mode bonus by some factor, such as x2,
x3, etc., if certain targets are hit enough times. Some games will allow multiplers of x10 or more.
Mushroom Bumper —
Mushroom bumpers are a type of passive bumper. See Bumper for a description.
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$ew Old Stock —

A term used to describe parts, generally accepted to mean original manufacturer new parts (and not reproductions or later new
production) that were manufactured a while ago and have never been used in a machine. It is an item that is old but has never
been used, and since it was never used and has been sitting on a shelf for years, it is considered technically to be a "new" part
from "old" stock. Abbreviated as $OS.
Note that since it is a part that has been around for several years, it may not be in pristine condition depending on how it was
stored, and in some cases the term has been inappropriately used to describe parts that are used but are claimed to still be in
pristine "new" condition, a usage which is generally frowned upon.
$ixie tube —
A type of digital display used in some pinball machines in the 1960s. It uses discrete, true-form digits, each in a neon gas-filled
tube. They require a high voltage (approximately 170 volts DC) power supply for operation.
The term 'Nixie' was trademarked by the Burroughs Corporation and was derived from 'NIX I' which stood for '$umeric
Indicator eXperimental No. 1.'
An example of a pinball game using Nixie tubes is Rally's 1966 'Rally Girl'.
Compare $umitron tube.
Each digit in a Numitron tube is a seven-segment digit (like an led display). Nixie tubes use discrete elements for each digit.
Numitron tubes are powered by logic level 5v whereas Nixie tubes require high voltage.
$OS —
See $ew Old Stock.
$ot A Pinball —
When used as a specialty indicator in this database, this term is used to indicate that a game is not a pinball game, but some
other type of arcade game. This indication is used for some games that have been added to the database because they are often
confused with a pinball machine or to clarify an issue about it or it's manufacturer.
$ovelty Play —
Novelty play games offer no rewards or payouts, and are played for no other purpose than to try and achieve a high score.
These machines are sometimes also referred to as High Score games. Novelty play games were especially significant during
the eras when pinball machines with payouts were being attacked as gambling devices, and the literature for these games often
noted their novelty play status. Even offering a free game (a thing of value) to the player could cause a pinball machine to be
classified a gambling device in some areas, so novelty play games did not even offer that simple reward.
When used as a specialty indicator in this database, this denotes games that were manufacured as a novelty play only model and
which had a separate model number given to it by the manufacturer. If the game merely had novelty play available as an
option, but did not have a separate model designation, then it will instead be marked in the notes.
$RA Stamp —
A "blue eagle" symbol placed on products and in shop windows from 1933 to 1935 by businesses that supported the National
Recovery Administration's "codes of fair competition". These codes were intended to set minimum wages and maximum
working hours for workers and promote fair business practices.
The NRA was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933.
Initially, there was one "blanket code" in 1933 but during the following year and a half, this blanket code was replaced by over
500 codes that were negotiated for individual industries.
The NRA code specific for coin machine manufacturers became effective February 2, 1934, ten days after its approval by
President Roosevelt.
The NRA subsequently was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on May 27, 1935.
We can expect to find the NRA stamp on pinball machines made after February 2, 1934 and until probably a little beyond May
27, 1935, allowing for a probable response time by the pinball industry.
$udge —
A method of controlling the ball by moving the machine itself. See Shaking/Nudging in Skills for the Pinball Player for a full
16 de 30 26/02/2012 10:48
description.
$umitron tube —
An RCA tradename for a type of digital display first made available in 1970. It uses segmented digits in a vacuum tube. The
individual incandescent segment filaments are driven directly by Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL) circuits at 3 to 5 volts.
An example of an arcade game using Numitron tubes is Chicago Coin's 1975 'Super Flipper'.
Compare $ixie tube.
Each digit in a Numitron tube is a seven-segment digit (like an led display). Nixie tubes use discrete elements for each digit.
Numitron tubes are powered by logic level 5v whereas Nixie tubes require high voltage.
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One Ball Game —

These machines allow the player to shoot only one ball during a game. The user tries to shoot the ball so that it falls into a hole
on the playfield and they will then be given an award based on the odds for that hole. These games often allowed more than
one coin to be played for a game, raising the payoff odds for that game. These machines either made a cash payout or rewarded
replays (usually up to 999) which could be used to play additional games instead of adding coins, or which could be cashed out
by the proprietor.
Opaque —
This adjective describes something through which light cannot pass and, it follows, a person cannot see through it.
Sometimes, this word is incorrectly used to describe inserts that are actually translucent.
See also Translucent and Transparent.
Operator —
A person who owns or runs a pinball game, often at multiple locations (restaurants, bars, etc.).
Opto —
A type of switch that detects the ball using light.
Opto-Electronic Sensor —
See 'Opto'.
Outhole —
See Drain.
Outlane —
The lanes that usually are placed to the far sides at the bottom of the playfield and lead to a drain.
Over The Top —

Generally, this term refers to any instance of achieving a score higher than a particular machine's ability to count it. The player's
score went "over the top".
On EM games with bulb scoring, this would mean reaching the maximum sweep of the Score Advance Unit, and the backglass
score would be maxed out as visible to the player. The machine is unable to record any additional points for the remainder of
that game in progress.
On EM games with score reels, this would mean the score reels all turn from 9 back to 0 and continue to score normally from
that point. A player can say s/he "flipped over" the score.
On pre-DMD SS games having 6- or 7-digit scoring, the score will "flip over" to all zeroes and continue scoring from there. On
some of these games, the High Score To Date shown in Game Over mode cannot record that this occurred, therefore no credits
are awarded for High Score. On other games, the High Score To Date in Game Over mode will show the player's score as all 9's
flashing, and any credits earned for that achievement will be awarded.
Bally EM games in the 1970's specifically used the words "Over The Top" in the production runs of several different multi-
player games as a feature displayed on the backglass. On these games, five score reels were used per player, allowing a
maximum score reel display of 99,990 points each. On Early Production games in these runs, if a player achieved a score
exceeding 99,990 points, the reels would flip over to zeroes and a buzzer would sound for a second or two while the
silkscreened words "Over The Top" would briefly appear on the backglass. This was a temporary display, not retained by the
game during game play or at Game Over. This system was changed during the production run(s) to add 100k relays, one for
each player, allowing each player to light a silkscreened "100,000" upon achievement of that score. This type of score display
was retained during game play and at Game Over. The words "Over The Top" were removed from the backglass on these
modified games.
At least one Bally EM game of this period appears to have used Over The Top for its entire production run. If we assume the
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addition of 100k relays was a refinement that Bally intended to retain from the point they implemented it, then we are not sure
why subsequent production run(s) started over with using Over The Top just to be modified again with 100k relays. More
research is needed in this area.
Williams used "Over The Top" in at least one EM game, Williams' 1971 'Doodle Bug'.
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Pass —
Moving the pinball from one flipper to another. See the skills guide.
Passive bumper —
See Bumper.
Payout Machine —
These machines have the ability to dispense an award to players who achieved a goal. Giving players awards was an early
method used to attract players to games and to encourage them to spend more money on the game. The awards have taken
many forms (free games, tickets, candy, merchandise, etc.), but the most popular was probably coins.
Coin payout machines were eventually labeled gambling machines and outlawed in most states. At that time, manufacturers
converted to awarding and accepting tokens instead of coins in an attempt to circumvent the gambling laws for several years.
Permanent Magnet —
A magnet having a constant magnetic field (not dependent on a flow of electricity) even when the game is off. Example is Soc.
Elettrogiochi's 1967 'Calcio "Italia" (2nd series)'. Permanent magnets are not under player control.
Pin Game —
Another term for a pinball machine.
Pin Table —
This is an older term and refers to a game that was manufactured with legs to allow it to stand on the floor. Games that did not
come with legs were often smaller in size and were referred to as Table Top Games (aka Counter Games ). Many games made
in the 1930's and early 1940's were made in both a table top version and a pin table version.
Pitch & Bat —

See Bat Games.
Playboard —
Another word for the Playfield, sometimes used in Europe.
Playfield —
The part of the pinball machine where you actually move the ball around. When referring to playfield positions, the "lower"
playfield area is considered nearest the player while the "upper" playfield area is nearest the backbox.
Some games may have multiple playfields, with various methods for the ball to travel between them. The additional playfields
are usually smaller and located either above the main playfield, or below the main playfield and visible through a window of
some sort. (Habitrails under the playfield do not count as additional playfields.)
Some games have a 'split-level' playfield where a portion of the playfield is raised above the main playfield. This is distinguished
from 'multiple' playfields because in a split-level playfield there are no real play areas under the raised portion.
A example of a split-level playfield is Williams' 1980 'Black Knight'. An example of a multi-level playfield is Stern's 2003
'The Simpsons Pinball Party', which has a small second playfield in the upper left corner of the main playfield.
Playfield Insert —
Translucent plastic pieces sunk into the playfield with a light beneath. These are lit to show the bonus count, indicate a target to
hit or area to shoot for, or a current mode status (for example).
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Several playfield inserts from 'Cirqus Voltaire'
Playfield Magnets —
Magnets set under the playfield. Contrary to popular belief, very few machines have magnets, and when they do, the magnets
are either under player control (magna-save, magna-flip) or an integral part of game play. Games simply do not contain covertly
placed magnets used to cheat the player.
The two types of magnets used in pinball play are Permanent Magnets and Electromagnets.
These magnets perform different actions on the ball in play. We have categorized three main types of actions below.
Diverter Magnet
Stop Magnet
Thrust Magnet
Some magnets might perform more than one of the above actions. Magnasave can either divert a ball or stop-and-drop it,
depending on when the player activates it.
The magnet in Midway's 1994 'The Shadow' stops the ball then thrusts it. The magnets in Williams' 1992 'The Getaway:
High Speed II' do not stop the ball but increase its speed.
Playfield Plastics —
Plastic parts on the playfield, such as plastic covers, light shields, dinosaurs, spaceships and palm trees. Usually refers to the
flat plastic colored pieces that cover the light bulbs on the playfield, and which are usually mounted to the top of several posts
on the playfield.
Playfield Spinner —
A large, round scoring device mounted into the playfield having a clear plastic top that forms part of the playfield surface. This
plastic surface acts as a window and does not move. In most examples of this device, an arrow is attached to a center fulcrum
inside the unit and is visible to the player through this round window. Point values, extra balls, and/or Specials are identified on
the playfield at equidistant positions around the window's perimeter. Typically, a ball landing in a playfield kick-out hole is
locked in that hole, the arrow spins around and stops at a value, the value is scored to the player, and the ball then ejects from
the hole. The spinner may also be activated by a ball draining via an outlane.
An example of this device appears on Williams' 1970 'Straight Flush'.
A similar device on Williams' 1989 'Bad Cats' uses a spinning disc instead of an arrow.
Another type has the entire spinning mechanism out of view to the player except for a circle of playfield inserts. The spinning
mechanism rotates a light from insert to insert until it stops. An example of this is found on Gottlieb's 1970 'Snow Derby'.
Arrows are used in the example of Gottlieb's 1968 'Fun Land'. In each case, the spinning of this unit is tied directly to the
revolutions of one or more spinning targets.
Plunger —
The object used to launch a ball onto the playfield. While the plunger is usually a mechanical, spring loaded handle, some
modern games (such as Williams' 1993 'Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure') have electrically activated autoplungers
and plungers in the shape of gun handles, fishing pole handles, or other items.
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Left: A common standard plunger. Right: Gun handle plunger from Indiana Jones.
Plunger Lane —
The ball lane, usually on the right side, that leads from the plunger to the playfield.
Pop Bumper —
The name used by Gottlieb to describe active bumpers. See Bumper for a description.
Pot —
See potentiometer.
Potentiometer —
An adjustable resistor used to adjust electronic circuits.
Power target —
A target that looks more like a long metal paddle pivoting on one end, like a flipper. The harder it is hit by the ball, the further
back the paddle is pushed and the more points it awards. This device was Chicago Coin's response to the Gottlieb vari-target.
This feature first appeared on Chicago Coin's 1969 'Action'.
Prototype —
Before a game or its software is released, it goes through a number of prototype stages. Each prototype is tested and it is
determined which changes are necessary for the next prototype or release version.
Proximity Sensor —
A magnetic sensor that can be mounted under the playfield, but can detect a metal ball rolling above it by noticing how the
metal of the ball causes a change in the inductance of the sensor. (These sensors do not contain magnets themselves.)
Proximity sensors have a small circuit board to convert the change in inductance of the sensor to an on/off switch signal. The
original proximity sensor circuit boards have a small potentiometer on them to adjust the sensitivity, while newer games have
automatic circuit boards that are self-adjusting. The sensor itself can be as simple as a small circuit board with a circular trace
pattern.
Pulse flipper —
See Impulse flipper.
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Ramp —
An inclined surface, set at an angle steeper than the playfield that usually leads either to a habitrail or to a raised playfield.
They can be made from various materials, including metal or a clear plastic (PETG - Polyethylene Terephthalate, Glycol
Modified, 1.5 Millimeters thick).
Re-themed Game —
A game which was completely changed into another game with no intended connection to the first game, usually by completely
stripping and then repainting the cabinet, playfield, and backglass, turning it into a custom one-of-a-kind game.
While re-themed games are converted games, the Specialty designator of Re-themed Game is reserved on this site for those
conversions which were not done by pinball manufacturers or other pinball companies of the historical past, but were done by
contemporary pinball collectors, private individuals, hobbyists, and others.
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The mission of this website is to feature pinball machines as they were made by the manufacturers. These re-themed games
made by individuals would by definition fall outside of this purpose. However, we know our users may search our site for games
about which they have seen or heard, whether or not they know who made the game. Therefore, we will show re-themed games,
usually with minimal text and with three basic pictures: full backglass, full playfield, and full cabinet view. In this way, users
will find at least some information on a game for which they could have otherwise assumed was a manufacturer's game
inadvertently omitted from the site.
Redemption Game —
These games are primarily designed to award tickets (from a dispenser) that can be "redeemed" for prizes, or in some cases,
small prizes themselves such as baseball cards. These games are often designed for younger audiences and can be set up at a
shorter height for children.
Reflexing Feature —
A feature that in some way changes depending on how the game is being played over time. For instance, the number of ramp
shots needed for an extra ball may increase if the game is played extremely well for several games. The most common reflexing
feature is the replay score, which increases a little each time a replay is won, and decreases if no replays have been awarded
for a while.
Replay —
A free game won by scoring more than the current replay score.
Replay Score —
The number of points required to win a replay.
Return Lane —
Two definitions:
1) Flipper Return Lane.
2) Free Ball Return Lane.
Reverse Wedge Head —

See Wedge Head.
RFG —
Roman F. "Doc" Garbark, head of mechanical engineering at Gottlieb, whose initials appeared on many schematics.
Rolldown Game —
There are two types of rolldown games:
The first type are those designed as a rolldown game using an oversized ball which the player rolls down the playfield (which is
itself protected by a cover glass) aiming to land in score holes in the playfield. Examples of this are Genco's 1945 'Total Roll'
and Genco's 1946 'Advance Roll'. These were designed by Harvey Heiss of Genco and produced right after World War II.
(According to Harvey Heiss and Steve Kordek, due to the wood shortage after the war, the wood used in these games was left
over from the manufacture of Howard Hughes Spruce Goose airplanes and was flown from California to Chicago for use by
Genco in these and possibly other games, although that was not advertised.)
The other type of rolldown games are pinball games with designs modified to comply with local laws. Instead of the current ball
being delivered to a plunger, it is dispensed into a cup on the front of the game. This is claimed to increase the skill of playing,
thereby making it a game of skill instead of a game of chance which would be illegal in many anti-gambling regions. These
games have a playfield glass which is open on the upper end and the player rolls the ball over the glass and it drops onto the
upper end of the playfield where it then rolls back towards the player and into score holes in the playfield. Another glass is
placed above so the player cannot cheat. There were relatively few of these games produced.
Rollover —
A target scored by rolling over it. The most common places for rollovers are in the inlanes, outlanes, and in special banks of
two or more lanes.
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Rollover target from center playfield of 'Cirqus Voltaire'
Rollunder —
Essentially, this is an aerial rollover switch. It's a wireform, generally U-shaped, hanging inside a metal frame. A ball passing
through this frame will push the wireform to make it swing and close a switch under the playfield. Rollunders can be used in
places too wide for a narrow rollover channel, or at one end of a ramp, or in any place where a rollover switch is desired but
would not fit.
Rollunder Spinner —
See Spinning target.
ROM —
Read Only Memory. Pinball software is stored in ROMs.
Rotating targets —
This is the Williams' term for their version of roto-targets. They also referred to it as Four Position Targets.
Roto-target —
A spinning group of playfield targets, 'rotating' in the sense that each spin action changes which targets in the group face the
player once the spinning has stopped. The spin action can be initiated a number of different ways, depending on the game
design, such as the ball in play hitting a designated rollover or target, or landing in a kick-out hole or outhole, or hitting one of
the roto-targets, or even being served to the shooter alley. Although these targets spin, scoring their values are intended only
when the targets are at rest. Compare Swinging Target.
On a given playfield, this group of targets will appear in one of these two configurations, never both:
Disk roto-targets – A circle of targets arranged flat like a disk, vertically mounted under the playfield to allow the targets to
travel in an arc trajectory through a slit in the playfield as the disk spins. A game designer will place stationary posts in front of
the disk to choose for that game the number of targets to be exposed to the ball in play. Only one target is visible in the example
of Gottlieb's 1957 'Falstaff'. Two non-adjacent targets are visible in Gottlieb's 1965 'Buckaroo'. Three adjacent targets are
visible in Gottlieb's 1977 'Super Spin'.
Carousel roto-targets – For Gottlieb games, a ring of rectangular targets tightly spaced and mounted horizontally on the
playfield, in the shape of a tambourine. In this configuration, never are all targets available at the same time to be hit by the ball
in play. Typically, five adjacent targets are visible and facing the player, allowing the player to flip the ball to hit any of them.
An example of this is Gottlieb's 1966 'Dancing Lady'. For Williams games, the carousel is four round targets positioned 90
degrees apart around a central axis. Only one target is ever visible to the player, to be hit by a flipped ball. An example of this is
Williams' 1962 '4 Roses'.
Below are examples of casual terminology, not necessarily adopted by players as a group:
Twin roto-targets can be another name for a carousel showing two non-adjacent targets, mentioned above.
Double twins can refer to two twin roto-targets on the same playfield, as in Gottlieb's 1962 'Liberty Belle'.
Double roto-targets or double roto-disks can refer to two separate disks on the same playfield, as in Gottlieb's 1961
'Oklahoma'.
Double carousel can refer to two separate carousels on the same playfield, as in Williams' 1967 'Derby Day'.
A carousel roto-target from Gottlieb's 1967 'King of Diamonds'
Roulette Wheel —
See Captive Ball Spinner.
Rubber —
Rubber loops and pads fitted along the edge of playfield parts.
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Safety Gate —
See V-Saver gate.
Saucer —
A target that consists of a shallow depression in the playfield and a solenoid that can kick the ball out of the saucer.
Save —
The act of preventing a ball from draining.
Scoop —
A curved piece of metal, usually mounted above a sinkhole, that catches and directs the ball to a specific location.
Three scoops on Capcom's 1996 'Breakshot'
SDTM —
Acronym for "Straight Down The Middle", a description of the path the ball takes before it drains.
Sega Pinball Inc. —

See Data East.
Service Credit —
A credit gained by pressing a credit button inside the cabinet.
Shaker Ball Machine —

Shaker ball machines were a concept used in only two games produced by Allied Leisure. These games have a much shorter
cabinet length, about half that of a regular pinball machine, and shorter playfields. The flipper buttons are on top of two
handles that stick up from the front of the cabinet. These handles are connected to the playfield within the cabinet. The
playfields were suspended on tracks, and these handles were designed to be used to "shake" the playfield to try to affect the
ball; tilting would occur only with the most energetic shaking.
The games display the playfield on an upright mirror although the playfield is really on the bottom of the cabinet. Balls are
released from the top of the playfield; there is a track that the ball can roll back and forth on when launched. Pressing a flipper
button causes the ball to be released from the rail, allowing the player their attempt at hitting strategic locations.
Sinkhole —
A hole in the playfield used as a target. See also Gobble hole and Cellar Hole.
Skill Lane —
See Horserace Game.
Skill Shot —
At the beginning of a ball, a designated shot that can be made for a special award. Usually involves launching the ball directly
at a lit target.
Skirt —
See apron.
Slam Tilt —
Tilting the game so violently that it immediately stops all games in progress and reboots (EMs only go into game-over mode).
Easily achieved by kicking the coin box or lifting the machine past horizontal. This type of behavior will also get you thrown
out of an arcade and is considered very bad manners.
For additional information, see http://www.pinball-fixers.com/tilt.html
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Slap Save —
A save accomplished by slapping the side of the machine and the flipper button so a ball headed SDTM hits the tip of the
flipper and can be flipped back onto the playfield.
Slingshot —
The (roughly) triangular objects above the flippers that kick the ball in the general direction of each other and the outlanes.
Solenoid —
A coil, with another coil or magnet inside, used in flippers, kickers, and other emchanical devices. When the coils are
energized, the opposing magnetic fields cause the inner piece to move. Solenoids are the principal method that pinball machines
use to create movement in mechanical objects on the playfield.
A flipper solenoid. 8ote the 3 taps, indicating two coil

cores.
Solid-State Flipper —
Flipper mechanism used by Data East and as a backup mechanism in newer Bally/Williams games.
Solid-State Game —
A pinball machine that uses solid-state electronics (transistors, integrated circuits, printed circuit boards, microcontrollers etc)
rather than the earlier electro-mechanical components. Modern solid-state games are quite sophisticated with generic CPU and
audio boards controlled entirely by computer software. Compare to Electro-mechanical games.
Special Award —
A special award is usually a free game, but can be set to some other award, such as an extra ball or a number of points. The
special award usually has it's own playfield insert on the playfield, often near the inlanes or outlanes.
Spinner —
One of many different types of devices used on a pinball machine where either all or part of the device spins. The spinning
action might be driven by a motor, or initiated from contact with a ball in play. The different types are, for the most part, easily
distinguishable from each other due to their appearance, location, or mechanical operation. However, the manufacturers may
refer to any of them by the same general term of "spinner", but this one-word term is insufficient identification when trying to
differentiate between the different types of spinners in a discussion. On this site, we differentiate using these expanded terms:
Backbox Spinner or Backglass Spinner
Captive Ball Spinner
Playfield Spinner
Spinning Bumper or Carom Spinner
Spinning Posts
Spinning Target
Whirlwind Spinner
Spinning Bumper —
A motorized bumper that continuously spins around a vertical axis in one direction only throughout game play. One type
consists of a rubber ring stretched around three posts positioned in the shape of a triangle, as in Bally's 1967 'Rocket III'. This
type does not score points when hit and functions only to upset ball trajectory. Another type uses a round rubber disk fitted
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around a center post. It is non-scoring in the example of Chicago Coin's 1948 'Spinball', or scores points in the example of
Stern's 1982 'Orbitor 1'.
Spinning Posts —
On most games, this is a circular, non-motorized plastic turntable that is inset into the playfield as part of its surface. Two
rubbered posts are affixed to its outer edge and 180 degrees apart from each other. This device remains static until a ball in play
hits one of the posts, causing the turntable to turn on its axis either clockwise or counterclockwise and, in most cases, actuate
switches under the playfield to score points and/or advance a bonus. Depending on the angle and force with which the ball hits
either post, the turntable may turn only slightly, not at all, or spin several revolutions until it slows down on its own. The
spinning surface may affect ball trajectory only slightly, as the ball is more affected by hitting the posts and deflecting away.
Compare this feature to the Whirlwind Spinner.
Playmatic used a variation of the above design. There is no turntable, as the two posts are attached by their tops, one to each
end of an aerial support that spins around its central axis whenever the ball hits either post. An example of this design is found
on Playmatic's 1974 'Joker'.
Spinning Target —
A metal plate, usually about 1" x 1.5", which spins about its center along a horizontal axis. The ball passes underneath, striking
the lower half of the spinner, causing it to spin several revolutions.
A rollunder spinner from Bally's 1975

'Freedom'.
Square Machine —
A pin table with a cabinet of (approximately) equal length and width. Games that commonly carry this designation were built
prior to 1934. Their round playfields are fixed and do not rotate.
SS —
Acronym for a Solid-State game.
Stancor Univerter —
A type of transformer used in many games made by Western Equipment and Supply Company.
According to the book Pinball 1, the Standard Transformer Corporation, a subsidiary of Western, manufactured these
transformers at 852 Blackhawk Street, which was Western's former address and the original address of Western Electic Piano
Company.
Standup Target —
A target that is in a vertical position, such as a round plastic "spot letter" target, or a color rectangular target.
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A round standup target. The tab

on the front is used
to mount the target to the
underside of the playfield.
Stop Magnet —
An electromagnet that catches a moving ball, bringing it to a dead stop, then releases it according to game rules. An example is
Williams' 1979 'Gorgar'. Stop magnets may or may not be under player control. Magnasave magnets can stop the ball if
player timing, ball speed, and trajectory are favorable.
Swinging Target —
A moving target that moves constantly due to a motor, or intermittently due to a solenoid.
Switch Stack —
Several leaf switches, stacked on top of one another, and all activated in unison by the same action.
A switch stack with six switches.
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Table Top Game —

These machines would normally rest on a counter or tabletop. Generally, the smaller versions are referred to as counter games
and the larger are table top machines. The table top variety can often be found with legs attached; they were sold as an optional
accessory. These games are generally 36" long or smaller.
Thrust Magnet —
An electromagnet that accelerates the ball in play. In the case of Midway's 1994 'The Shadow', it is in the form of a
stop magnet which first catches and holds the ball, but then propels it up-field by quickly de-energizing, energizing, and
de-energizing. In the case of Williams' 1992 'The Getaway: High Speed II', three electromagnets operate in succession to
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propel the ball in the elevated Supercharger loop. Thrust magnets are not under player control.
Thumper Bumper —
The name used by Bally and Williams to describe active bumpers. See Bumpers for a description.
Thwacker —
See Knocker.
Tilt —
A pinball machine will tilt, ending the current ball and discarding the end-of-ball bonus if the player moves the cabinet too
violently or tries to lift it. Also see Slam Tilt.
There are three mechanisms that are used to detect machine abuse. The first is simply a conical pendulum suspended inside a
metal ring. This is called a tilt bob. As the machine is nudged, the pendulum will swing, and if it ever touches the ring, a TILT
occurs. Most new machines can be set to give one or more tilt warnings before actually tilting, and tilting in this fashion causes
immediate loss of both the ball in play and your accumulated bonus for that ball.
The second tilt mechanism is the "ball roll" tilt; it's a pinball sitting in a metal track inside the cabinet. The track has a shallow
slope in the same direction as the playfield, so the ball usually rests in the bottom of the track; at the top of the track is a sensor.
If you physically lift the front of the machine, the ball rolls up the track and contacts the sensor. At the very least, this is an
immediate tilt with no warnings. On most machines, it's a slam tilt.
Finally, there are usually one or more impact sensors, placed in places likely to be the subject of player abuse, such as the coin
door and cabinet. Banging on one of these places hard enough to trigger one of these sensors will cause a slam tilt.
For additional information, see http://www.pinball-fixers.com/tilt.html
Diagram of a Tilt Bob Assembly
Tilt Warning —
Many solid-state games will issue one or more tilt warnings before actually tilting, so a player has a chance at one or two
powerful shoves before losing the ball.
An example of an electromechanical game with this feature is Como Manufacturing Corp.'s 1951 'Stadium'.
Token —
Some arcades use tokens in place of coins.
Translite —
A thin piece of translucent white substrate containing artwork, located behind a clear piece of glass in the backbox, used
instead of a painted backglass on newer games. It is created via a photographic emulsion that is exposed and then developed
like film.
Whereas older games have the art painted directly into the backglass, newer games use a translite held onto a piece of clear
glass using plastic trim. Removed from the glass, a translite appears a lot like a poster, and is more resistant to damage than a
backglass, although the colors are often less brilliant than those found on a backglass.
Translites are sometimes referred to as backglasses when the distinction is not important.
Translucent —
This adjective describes something that allows light to pass through it but a person cannot see through it.
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Playfield inserts are commonly translucent as one cannot look through the insert from above and see the light bulb underneath.
An example of this is the insert located between the pop bumpers on Keeney's 1962 'Arrowhead'.
Sometimes, this word is incorrectly used to describe inserts that are actually transparent.
See also Transparent and Opaque.
Transparent —
This adjective describes something that allows light to pass through it and a person can see through it as well.
Playfield inserts that are transparent allow one to look through the insert and see the light bulb underneath. An example of this
are the string of inserts located between the two side targets on Gottlieb's 1962 'Sunset'.
Sometimes, the word translucent is incorrectly used to describe inserts that are actually transparent.
See also Translucent and Opaque.
Trap —
Catching the ball so it comes to rest in the angle formed by a raised flipper.
Trap Hole —
Unlike a kick-out hole, this type of hole does not kick the ball out but instead keeps the ball in it for the remainder of the game.
The trapped ball rests partially above the playfield surface such that other balls in play can bump into it (but not dislodge it).
Some playfield designs used trapped balls to guide other balls around them to reach higher scoring trap holes.
Most mechanical pinball machines that have trap holes will have point values painted near them as the necessary way to
designate the points that a ball earns by landing in them. Once the electric bumper and progressive scoring appeared on games
starting in 1937, balls no longer had to end their play in a trap hole to score points but could continue in play, bouncing off the
scoring bumpers and racking up more points on the progressive score totalizer. Then the ball could exit the playfield via an
outhole and in some cases be recycled as the next ball in play.
Trap holes did not disappear from use after 1937, however. They were still used in a number of electromechanical flipper
machines into the 1950s. One example is Williams' 1953 'Grand Champion'. They are the main component of all
bingo machine playfields to this day.
In all instances, the trapped balls actually rest on a baffle board underneath the playfield. This board in its closed position holds
the trapped balls in place. In EM games, the board contains a small switch for each trap hole, allowing the weight of the ball to
close the switch for scoring. At the beginning of each game, the baffle board moves slightly, allowing all trapped balls to fall
through and return to the ball shooter for play. In older games, pushing the coin chute with a coin in it will move the baffle and
drop the balls. In later games, the baffle would move under electric motor power.
Tri-Ball —
One name Data East used for multiball before licensing the use of the word multiball from Williams.
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Up-Post —
A large, round ball-saving device located between the flippers, typically made of translucent plastic. It does not spin, and
moves only up or down. In the Down position, it is flush with the playfield, allowing balls to roll over it. It raises up during game
play in response to a ball hitting a specified target or rollover. A light bulb inside the device illuminates the post when raised, to
be more noticeable to the player. In this Up position, it closes the gap between the flippers and acts as a post, blocking balls
from exiting the playfield. Instead, the ball typically hits it, stops, and rolls along its edge to rest against one or the other flipper.
This post drops back down at the end of the ball in play or in response to hitting specified targets or rollovers. First used on
Rally's 1967 'Playboy'.
See also Mini-post.
See also V-Saver gate.
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V-Saver Gate —
The metal, V-shaped ball-saving device that would raise and lower between flippers on some Gottlieb games during 1950-1951.
It's purpose was to close the flipper gap and route balls to either flipper for flipping back into play. It is the precedessor of the
round plastic Up-post used in 1960's games and later. Gottlieb referred to this device as a Blocking Gate or Safety Gate.
Vari-target —
A playfield target which scores higher and higher values the harder the target is hit by the pinball.
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A vari-target described on Gottlieb's College Queens Flyer.
Vertical Up-Kicker —
Acronym for Vertical Up(right) Kicker. A VUK is a device that kicks the ball straight up, usually onto a habitrail.
Video Mode —
A mini video game used as a mode on a pinball machine, displayed on a dot-matrix display.
VUK —
See Vertical Up Kicker.
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Wedge Head —
Refers to the trapezoidal shape of some cabinet backboxes when viewed from the front. This shape resembles a wedge, with
the top being wider than the bottom. The term is popularly associated with many Gottlieb single-player games of the 1960's and
1970's because that manufacturer used this design extensively during this period. However, other manufacturers also used this
design, including manufacturers outside the USA. This type of backbox was predominant in the electromechanical era and with
rare exception was used only for single-player games. This is because the shape and size of the backbox did not conform well
with the space requirements of multiple-player EM scoring mechanisms.
An example of this type of backbox is found in Gottlieb's 1965 'Sky·Line'.
When the bottom of the backbox is wider than the top, it is referred to as a Reverse Wedge Head. An example of this is found
on several Williams EM games, such as Williams' 1963 'Skill Pool'.
Whirlpool —
A funnel-shaped device where the ball enters at the top and spins to the bottom.
Whirlwind Spinner —
A circular, motorized turntable inset into the playfield as part of its surface. It spins rapidly during game play. Depending on the
game, it will spin continuously throughout game play, or only occasionally. Its surface can either be flat or have a ribbed plastic
mat adhered to it. When spinning, it will upset the path of a ball in motion across it, often sending the ball quickly in unexpected
directions. Compare this feature to the Spinning Posts.
Widebody —
These games have wider playfields and cabinets than "standard" games of the same period. This additional space allows
designers to add extra features to the playfields that give them a unique play feel, but also cost more to produce.
As an example, Williams' 1993 'Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure', a popular wide-body game, has a 25" wide
cabinet/playfield, while other games of that period have a 22 1/2" wide cabinet/playfield. Backboxes of the wide-body games
are usually the same width as the "standard" games.
Wireform —
A length of single-strand hard metal wire used on a playfield to guide or control the path of a ball. In most cases, each end of
the wire is embedded into the playfield surface. Flipper inlanes, for instance, use bent wireforms to guide a ball towards a
flipper. In many games, a straight piece of a shorter length are mounted just behind each flipper, its entire length touching the
playfield surface, acting as a speed bump to dampen a ball rolling over it. Other wireforms may be installed in a game to prevent
the ball from accessing off-limit areas of the playfield.
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Habitrails are examples of multiple-strand wireforms. Some consist of only two parallel wires, forming a track upon which the
ball rides. Others consist of several wires assembled in the shape of a hollow tube. Each end of the track or tube may be
anchored to the playfield surface or to another playfield part.
Wizard —
An extremely skilled pinball player.
Wizard Bonus —
A reward that is so difficult to achieve, only pinball wizards ever find it.
Wizard Mode —
A mode of game play which requires a lot of effort and skill to reach, and which only Wizards are likely to reach.
Woodrail —
A term referring to games manufactured prior to around 1961 that used wood to frame the playfield glass rather than the metal
siderails used on later games. The lockdown bar was also made of wood on these games.
In the late 1950's, manufacturers began phasing in the use of metal for the siderails and lockdown bars. Gottlieb was the last to
manufacture a woodrail pinball game with their 1960 game "Kewpie Doll", after which they converted to metal rails for the
production run of their next pinball game "Flipper" (although some test games of that model still had wood rails). Williams was
the last company to make a woodrail pitch and bat game with their 1961 "Batting Champ".
Note that in 1962, some games — such as Williams' "1962 World Series" — had metal side rails with wooden trim around the
backglass, but games such as these are not considered woodrails because the "rails" on the cabinet are metal. Backbox
wooden trim was still occasionally used until 1965.
Also note that there were conversion kits to convert woodrail games to metal rail cabinets.
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Pinball Glossary

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Pinball Glossary

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Pinball Glossary http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.

The Internet Pinball Machine Database Glossary

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Alphanumeric display from WMS's 1990 'Funhouse'

Alvin G. & Co. —

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Alao called a Backglass Spinner.

To listen to the biri-biri sound, visit Federico Croci's webpage:

A thumper bumper from Bally's 1975 'Freedom'.

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Left:Diagram of captive ball setup. Right: Captive balls and target

Captive Ball Spinner —

Captive Ball Spinner from Williams' 1966 'A-Go-Go'.

Clear Coated Playfield —

See also Re-themed Game.

Crossover Return Lane —

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Not be be confused with Diverter Magnet.

Not to be confused with a Diverter.

See Playfield Magnets.

Dot Matrix Display —

This type of display replaced the earlier Alphanumeric displays.

A dot matrix display from Capcom's 1996 'Breakshot'.

See also Memory Drop Target.

Bank of 5 drop targets from Bally's 1975 'Freedom'

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See Playfield Magnets.

An Electropak missing its Rectifier

Extra Ball Buy-in —

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Flipper Return Lane —

See also Crossover Return Lane.

Free Ball Return Lane —

Free Play Hole —

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Gottlieb Made In Italy —

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High Score Game —

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See Playfield Insert.

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A basic, single-pole leaf switch

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Mechanical Backbox Animation —

Memory Drop Target —

See also Drop Target.

A microswitch with a lever and formable wire attached.

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$ew Old Stock —

Compare $umitron tube.

Compare $ixie tube.

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One Ball Game —

See also Translucent and Transparent.

Over The Top —

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See Playfield Magnets.

Pitch & Bat —

Several playfield inserts from 'Cirqus Voltaire'

An example of this device appears on Williams' 1970 'Straight Flush'.

This feature first appeared on Chicago Coin's 1969 'Action'.

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