Glossary
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This needs plenty of stuff added to it, contents bar at the top is kind of annoying but this will mostly be linked to specific terms, not directly viewed.
For ease of reading, please separate Glossary Terms with '----' which creates a horizontal line.
1 A
1.1 Auto-Fire
A solenoid based Plunger in the shooter lane that launches the ball under game control. Can be used to launch balls in rapid succession at the onset of a Multiball
2 B
3 C
4 D
4.1 Dead Bumper
A plastic bumper with a rubber ring around its body and a scoring skirt. Usually lighted. There is no solenoid on this type of bumper, the rebound is provided solely by the rubber ring and force of the ball hitting it.
4.2 Drop Target
A plastic target that when hit 'drops' below the surface of the playfield, with the top edge remaining flush on the playfield. Drops can be arranged in banks of multiple targets or singly. Some games have 'memory' drop targets, where the game itself can drop targets on its own for game features or to remember your progress on a bank.
5 E
5.1 Electro Mechanical (EM)
A pinball that has no digital components. Game programming is done through switch stacks and relays, it does not have a computer. The common way to tell if a game is EM or SS is to look at the scoring system. EM machine will either have lights in the backbox that show the score or rotating wheels with numbers on them. SS machines have digital displays of one type or another. EM machines have bells or chimes to mark when points are made. Some games were released in both an EM version and SS version (Mati Hari)
6 F
6.1 Flippers
Player controlled bats to direct the ball to various targets on the playfield. Controlled by buttons located on the side of the pinball cabinet. Early pinball machines did not have flippers and were considered more of a gambling device than a 'game of skill'. The first flippers were fired both at the same time, now each flipper button controls individual flippers. Some machines have several flippers. Most flippers come in 2" or 3" size and a few called Banana Flippers were curved.
7 G
8 H
8.1 Home Use Only (HUO)
This means that a game has only been used in the home and was not placed in an arcade or out on location.
9 I
9.1 Insert
A plastic window, sometimes colored which is embedded in the playfield. A lamp below the playfield under game control, can illuminate the insert. This is done to indicate an available shot, or to show a bonus or achievement that has been reached is desirable. Inserts which say 2x 3x 4x 5x ... 10x appear on many games and indicate a bonus multiplier that will be used at the end of the ball to calculate the total bonus achieved and add it to the current player's score. Inserts come in many shapes, colors and sizes.
10 J
11 K
11.1 Kicker
A playfield device used to propel the ball in play when struck. Controlled under the playfield by a solenoid and on the playfield usually by a switch behind a rubber band. The most common kickers are located to either side of the flippers under triangle shaped plastics.
12 L
13 M
13.1 Multiball
Simply put, multiple balls on the playfield at once. This term was introduced to modern solid state games with Firepower which had a 3 ball Multiball (tm) when the name was first trademarked by Williams Electronics Inc in '80. Other manufacturers were forced to used different terms, for example Data East used "M-Ball" but later licensed the use of Multiball from Williams. Multiball has become the default name used. There was the concept of multiple ball play in EM games (and bagatelles as far back as 1934), but the pinball EM accolade is usually awarded to Bally Balls-a-Poppin '56 which had a 9 ball Multiball.
14 N
14.1 New In Box (NIB)
Refers to a game that is still in its original shipping box and has never been setup.
14.2 New Old Stock (NOS)
A part that was made by the original game manufacturer or parts supplier and has never been installed in a game.
15 O
15.1 Outlane
Lanes at the bottom of the playfield, usually on the left and right sides leading to the drain. The ball often passes a through a rollover scoring switch which on some games triggers points and on others a 'Special' when lit.
16 P
16.1 Playfield
The area where the ball rolls. Made of American Hardwoods Inc 17/32 Mapletop (formerly Weber Inc.). This is the same stock that was supplied to Churchill Cabinet of Chicago, IL who made playfields 50 years ago. It is still used for Stern Pinball games manufactured today. Also known as Playboard in Europe.
Playfields can be multi-level as on Gottlieb Black Hole and also split-level as on WMS Black Knight. There are also small mini-playfields (usually suspended above the main playfield) such as on Bally Twilight Zone (TZ) or Stern The Simpsons Pinball Party (TSPP).
16.2 Plunger
The tool used to launch the ball, usually pulled back and released manually. On some machines this is done through a solenoid (coil), see Auto-Fire
16.3 Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
A board with copper tracks or traces to which ICs and passive components like the resistors, capacitors and diodes are attached.
17 Q
18 R
18.1 Return Lane
Sometimes called an inlane, a lane that near the flippers that returns the ball to the flippers.
19 S
19.1 Solid State (SS)
A pinball game that uses transistors, IC chips including a CPU and often has digital scoring displays.
19.2 Special
An award of a Replay (Free Game) or sometimes an Extra Ball depending on the game settings. Being awarded a 'Special' often sounds the knocker loudly or rings a bell to attract attention in the arcade to the person playing. Some insets for Special are red and found in the lower playfield (inlanes or outlanes) saying 'Special when Lit'. Other Special awards are found elsewhere on the playfield, depending on the game design.
19.3 Straight Down the Middle (STDM)
Acronym for the way a ball drains between the flippers. Usual meaning is a ball that couldn't possibly be reached by flipping.
20 T
20.1 Test Chip
A special diagnostic ROM chip installed in a machine to perform testing functions, memory tests, other diagnostics and tests above and beyond what the machine includes in its own self test routines.
20.2 Topper
Anything added to the top surface of the machine's backbox to dress it up and attract play. Some are interactive and react to playfield scoring/features. Manufacturer supplied toppers include the Addams Family mansion, Doctor Who's Dalek topper, Fish Tales flapping fish, and Whirlwind's fan assembly.
20.3 Toy
An enticing playfield attraction that interacts with the ball or player in some fashion. Playfield toys can move, flash, open/close, hold balls, etc. Examples of interactive toys are Red and Ted's heads, and Ted's bulldozer blade on Williams Roadshow, and the Medieval Madness Castle. An example of an interactive backbox toy include Stern's Terminator 3 RPG cannon.
21 U
22 V
23 W
24 X
25 Y
26 Z
26.1 Zipper Flipper
A pair of flippers that when the appropriate target/goal on the playfield is achieved, move together to close the normal flipper gap. Both Bally and Williams used zipper flippers in the 1960s to the early 1970s. The only solid state game with zipper flippers is Bally's 1981 Medusa.