Editing Pinball (section)

== Components ==
{{See also|Glossary of pinball terms}}
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2020}}

=== Cabinet ===

The cabinet of a pinball machine is the (traditionally wooden) frame usually shaped like a box, with the playfield laid inside.

===Backbox/head===
The 'backbox', 'head', or 'lightbox' is the vertical box atop the cabinet opposite the player's position.  It usually consists of a wooden box with colorful graphics on the side and a large 'backglass' in the front.  The backglass usually has very stylized graphics related to the game.

=== Playfield ===
The ''playfield'' is a [[plane (geometry)|planar]] surface inclined upward, usually at six and a half [[degree (angle)|degrees]],<ref>{{cite magazine|page=27|title=Unwinnable Weekly|number=4|date=June 5, 2014|publisher=Unwinnable}}</ref> away from the player, and includes multiple targets and scoring objectives. Some operators intentionally extend threaded levelers on the rear legs and/or shorten or remove the levelers on the front legs to create additional incline in the playfield, making the ball move faster and harder to play.

The ball is put into play by use of the ''plunger'', a [[Spring (device)|spring]]-loaded rod that strikes the ball as it rests in an entry lane, or as in some newer games, by a button that signals the game logic to fire a [[solenoid]] that strikes the ball. With both devices the result is the same: The ball is propelled upwards onto the playfield. Once a ball is in play, it tends to move downward towards the player, although the ball can move in any direction, sometimes unpredictably, due to contact with objects on the playfield or by the player's actions. To return the ball to the upper part of the playfield, the player uses one or more ''flippers''.

Manipulation of the ball may also be accomplished by various tricks, such as "[[#Nudging|nudging]]". However, excessive nudging is generally penalized by losing the current player's turn (known as ''tilting'') or ending of the entire game when the nudging is particularly violent (known as ''slam tilting''). This penalty was instituted because nudging the machine too much may damage it or result in unearned play and scoring that wears game parts. Many games also have a slam tilt in the bottom of the cabinet to end the game if the cabinet is raised and dropped to the floor in an attempt to trigger the coin counting switch falsely.

=== Plunger ===

The ''plunger'' is a [[Spring (device)|spring]]-loaded rod with a small handle, used to propel the ball into the playfield. The player can control the amount of [[force]] used for launching by pulling the plunger a certain distance (thus changing the spring [[compression (physics)|compression]]). This is often used for a "skill shot", in which a player attempts to launch a ball so that it exactly hits a specified target. Once the ball is in motion in the main area of the playfield, the plunger is not used again until another ball must be brought onto the playfield. An [[electronics|electronically controlled]] launcher is sometimes substituted for the plunger in modern machines.
The shape of the ball launch button that replaces the plunger may be modified to fit the aesthetics of a particular game's theme, such as being made to look like the trigger of a gun in a game with a military or action-hero theme.

=== Flippers ===

[[File:Pinball Flippers - Demolition Man.JPG|thumb|Flippers allow the player to redirect the ball.]]
The ''flippers'' are one or more mechanically or electromechanically ([[solenoid]]) controlled levers, roughly {{cvt|3|to|7|cm|frac=4}} in length, used for redirecting the ball up the playfield. They are the main control that the player has over the ball, usually by corresponding pushbuttons on the cabinet's sides. They can primarily be switched fully on, sometimes with two different strengths for thrusting the flipper up and for holding it in position.<ref>{{Cite web|title=EM Pinball Circuits-Basics to not-so-basic {{!}} EM Pinball Tech {{!}} Pinside.com|url=https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/em-pinball-circuits-basics-to-not-so-basic/page/3|access-date=2021-07-21|website=pinside.com}}</ref> Careful timing of this limited positional control allows the player to direct the ball in a range of directions with various levels of velocity and spin. With the flippers, the player attempts to move the ball to hit various types of scoring targets, and to keep the ball from disappearing off the bottom of the playfield.

The very first pinball games appeared in the early 1930s and did not have flippers. After launching the ball simply proceeded down the playfield, directed by static nails (or "pins") to one of several scoring areas. These pins gave the game its name. In 1947, the first mechanical flippers appeared on [[Gottlieb]]'s ''[[Humpty Dumpty (pinball)|Humpty Dumpty]]''<ref name="bk-pinball-portfolio" /><ref name="bk-pinball" />{{rp|54–55}}<ref name="bk-tilt" /><ref name="bk-pinball-lure" /> and by the early 1950s, the two-flipper configuration at the bottom above the center drain had become standard.

Some pinball models have a third or fourth flipper. A few later machines have flippers that the machine's software could operate independently of the flipper button. During "Thing Flips" on ''The Addams Family'' pinball machine, the upper-left flipper automatically triggers a brief moment after the ball passes an optical sensor just above the flipper. Very few machines came with curve-shaped [[Time Warp (pinball)#Banana Flippers|banana flippers]].

The introduction of flippers ushered in the "golden age" of pinball, where the fierce competition between the various pinball manufacturers led to constant innovation in the field. Various types of stationary and moving targets were added, spinning scoring reels replaced games featuring static scores lit from behind. Multiplayer scores were added soon after, and then bells and other noise-makers, all of which began to make pinball less a game and more of an experience. The flippers have loaned pinball its common name in many languages, where the game is known mainly as "flipper".

=== Bumpers ===

''Bumpers'' are round knobs that, when hit, will actively push the ball away. There is also an earlier variety of bumper (known as a ''dead bumper'' or ''passive bumper'') that does not propel the ball away; most bumpers on machines built since the 1960s are active bumpers, variously called "pop bumpers", "thumper bumpers", "jet bumpers", or "turbo bumpers". Most recent games include a set of pop bumpers, usually three, sometimes more or fewer depending on the designer's goals. Bumpers predate flippers, and active bumpers served to add interest and complexity to older games.

Pop bumpers are operated by a switch connected to a ring surrounding the bottom circumference of the bumper that is suspended several millimeters above the playfield surface. When the ball rolls over this ring and forces one side of it down, a switch is closed that activates the bumper's solenoid. This pulls down a tapered ring surrounding the central post of the bumper that pushes downward and outward on the ball, propelling it away.

=== Kickers and slingshots ===
[[File:Pinball Slingshot - The Machine.JPG|thumb|upright|Slingshots have rubber bands around them. Switches behind the rubber detect the ball's impact and a solenoid-driven lever kicks it away.]]

''Kickers'' and ''slingshots'' are rubber pads that propel the ball away upon impact, like bumpers, but are usually a horizontal side of a wall. Every recent pinball machine includes slingshots to the upper left and upper right of the lowest set of flippers{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}; older games used more experimental arrangements. They operate similarly to pop bumpers, with a switch on each side of a solenoid-operated lever arm in a typical arrangement. The switches are closed by ball contact with the rubber on the kicker's face, which activates the solenoid.

Early pinball machines typically had full solenoid current passing through trigger switches for all types of solenoids, from kickers to pop bumpers to the flippers themselves. This caused arcing across switch contacts and rapid contact fouling and failure. As electronics were gradually implemented in pinball design, solenoids began to be switched by power transistors under software control to lower switch voltage and current, vastly extend switch service lifetime, and add flexibility to game design.

The smaller, lower-powered solenoids were first to be transistorized, followed later by the higher-current solenoids as the price, performance, and reliability of power transistors improved over the years.

=== Targets ===
[[File:Pinball Target - Demolition Man.jpg|thumbnail|upright|Stationary targets detect the ball's impact and typically increment the player's score.]]

* ''Stationary Targets'': These are static targets that simply record when a ball strikes them. These are generally the simplest playfield elements. They are also known as ''spot targets'' or ''standup targets''.
* ''Bullseye Targets'': These are static targets that have two concentric elements, similar to a stationary target. Hitting the outer ring usually scores lower than hitting the center bull's eye. They are found chiefly in older electro-mechanical games.
* ''Drop targets'': These are targets that drop below the playfield when hit. Eliminating an entire row in this manner may lead to any of various features. Once an entire bank of drop targets is hit, the bank may reset or pop back up. Alternatively, the drop targets can be placed in front of other targets, requiring the drop target to be knocked down before the targets behind can be hit, or the drop target may only pop up at specific times to deny the player the ability to shoot the ball into whatever is behind it. If used in the latter way, the target is usually blocking a lane or ramp.
* ''Kicking Target'': Used rarely, these targets look like stationary targets, but when hit, they kick the ball away in the opposite direction, much like a slingshot or bumper.
* ''Vari-Target'': These targets award different points depending on how hard the target was hit. It is a metal arm that pivots under the playfield. When a ball hits it, it ratchets back sometimes, resetting immediately or resetting only after it is hit all the way back. A large sum of points is usually awarded when the target is hit back all the way with one strike of the ball.

=== Holes and saucers ===

* ''Holes'': The player directs the ball into a hole. In modern games, there are both vertical and horizontal holes (also called ''scoops''), and the game may include mechanisms to move the ball between them. A "gobble hole" is sometimes included in some older games, which does not return the ball, but gives a large bonus or a game feature, which may be the ball itself.
* ''Saucers'': A shallow hole with a kicker inside. The ball remains visible on the playfield and is kicked out straight up (usually into a duct or rail chute) or sideways back onto the playfield.

Initially, holes and saucers worked by using tubes behind the playing field, with a pin at the top to hold the ball for later drops. Another version of the tube uses two spinning wheels to transfer the ball from hole to hole. Newer versions use an electronic track with a carriage or an electromagnet to pull the ball between holes.

=== Spinners and rollovers ===
[[File:Pinball Roll Over Targets - Demolition Man.JPG|thumb|upright|Rollovers detect when the ball passes over them.]]

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

=== Switches, gates, and stoppers ===

* ''Switch'': A switch is an area that is blocked off after the ball passes through it once. An example of this is the initial firing lane: as a ball passes through the firing lane, it hits a switch and cannot reenter that chute.
* ''Gate'': This block will allow balls to come through one way but will block the ball if it is going the other way.
* ''Stopper'': Also called a ''magic post'', this is a small pole most often found centered between and just below the lowest set of flippers and also rarely next to the outlanes. When activated (typically by hitting a specific target or targets), the pole ascends from inside the machine, blocking the area between the flippers for a limited time, making it more difficult to drain and lose the ball. After time expires, it returns to its resting place just below the playfield.

=== Ramps ===
[[File:Pinball Wire Ramp - Demolition Man.JPG|thumbnail|upright|A wire ramp along which the ball can travel]]

Ramps are inclined planes with a gentle enough slope that the ball may travel along it. The player attempts to direct the ball with enough force to make it to the top of the ramp and down the other side. If the player succeeds, a "ramp shot" has been made. Ramps frequently end so that the ball goes to a flipper so one can make several ramp shots in a row. The number of ramp shots scored in a game is often tallied, and reaching certain numbers may lead to various game features. At other times, the ramps will go to smaller "mini-playfields" (small playfields, usually raised above the main game surface, with special goals or scoring).

=== Toys, magnets and captive balls ===

* ''Toys'': Toys are various items on, above, or beneath the playfield (items beneath the playfield visible through windows) or attached to the cabinet (usually to the backbox). Usually, each toy is unique to the machine it was made for, and reflects the game's theme. They may be visual only, and have no effect on gameplay; they may be alternate ways of performing common game functions (for example, instead of using a drop hole to hold the ball, a hand or claw might reach out, grab the ball, and capture it that way); or they may be an integral part of the game rules and play (for instance, having a smaller playfield over the main playfield that can be tilted right and left by the player, using the flipper buttons).
* ''Electromagnets'': Some machines feature electrically operated magnets below the playfield to affect the ball's speed and trajectory according to the current state of gameplay. This may be done to make the ball's movement unpredictable, temporarily halt the ball (as a ball saver, for example), or otherwise control the ball by non-mechanical means. Electromagnets may also be used in above-playfield elements (often as part of the playfield toys) to grab the ball and move it elsewhere (onto a mini-playfield, for example). The Williams machine ''The Twilight Zone'' featured a mini-playfield that used electromagnets controlled by the flipper buttons, allowing the player to flip the ball on the mini-playfield, essentially working as invisible flippers. Contrary to a popular myth, there are no professionally produced pinball machines that contain magnets under the playfield intended to clandestinely make gameplay harder or increase ball losses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipdb.org/glossary.php#Playfield_Magnets |title=Pinball Glossary |publisher=Ipdb.org |access-date=October 27, 2012}}</ref>
* ''Captive balls'': Sometimes a ball can move around only within a confined area. A typical application of this has a short lane on the playfield with a narrow opening, inside which a captive ball is held. The player can strike this captive ball with the ball in play, pushing it along the lane to activate a rollover switch or target. In games such as ''Theatre of Magic'', captive balls sometimes have what is called a "Newton Ball", which is a stationary ball adjacent to a free ball in a small lane. The ball being played strikes the Newton ball which, in turn, transfers its momentum to the adjacent ball, which causes it to move.

=== Backglass ===

The ''backglass'' is a vertical graphic panel mounted on the front of the [[Glossary of pinball terms#backbox|backbox]]. The backglass contains the name of the machine, [[graphics]], and score displays (lights, mechanical wheels, an [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] display, or a [[dot-matrix display]] depending on the era). Some backglasses include a mechanical device tied to gameplay, such as ''[[NBA Fastbreak (pinball)|NBA Fastbreak]]'', which featured a miniature basketball and hoop. For older games, the backglass image is screen printed in layers on the reverse side of a piece of glass; in more recent games, the image is imprinted into a [[Glossary of pinball terms#|translite]].