From: hlsw_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Dave Hollinsworth)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Repost:  the game-playing tips list
Date: 12 Apr 92 01:28:30 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)

Well, it's been a few weeks since I posted this list, so I figured that it
would be a good time to post it again.  I've gotten several additions from
various people since last time, but I'm still looking for more (of course).

Changes since last posting:
	- Two new flipper passing techniques.
	- A new note on stance.
	- A few more definitions.
	- Miscellaneous corrections and clarifications (gotta proofread 
this thing better....)

I'm still looking for the following:
	- Definitions of "leaf switch" and "Solid State".  This is so I can 
make a comparison of different types of flippers.

-------------------- Cut Here --------------------
The rec.games.pinball game-playing tips list.  Last update:  4/11/92.

Contributors:
Andrew Arensburger		(arensb@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov)
Andrew M. Boardman		(amb@cs.columbia.edu)
Phaedrus				(phaedrus@u.washington.edu)
Bennett				(mcelwee@wampyr.cc.uow.edu.au)
David Hollinsworth		(hlsw_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
Kamchatka Charlie		(kamchar@ibm.cl.msu.edu)
Dallas Overturf			(Dallas_Overturf@vos.stratus.com)
Tad Perry				(tvp@gibdo.engr.washington.edu)
Daina Pettit			(dpettit@javelin.sim.es.com)
Lyman F. Sheats Jr.		(lfs@mbunix.mitre.org)

This list will be published every two weeks or so, or whenever I get a lot 
of new information.  If you have any corrections, additions (please?), or 
comments, please send them to Dave Hollinsworth (address given above).

The list is organized as follows:
* General Category *
<Subcategory - not always present>
	- The tips

* Definitions *  (or, "Speak Like a Pro")
	- "Catch":  when the ball is held in the V formed by an upraised 
flipper and the lower part of the inlane.
	- "Drain":  the act of losing a ball.
	- "End of Stroke Switch":  the part of the flipper coil that "shorts 
out" a section of it so that the current is stronger.  See "Flipper Coil."
	- "Flipper Coil":  the mechanism that drives a flipper up.  When you 
press the flipper button, the current flows through only a portion of the 
coil, generating a high magnetic field that forces the flipper up with a 
lot of power.  When the flipper is all the way up, the end of stroke switch 
opens, and the current now must flow through the entire coil.  This 
creates a lower magnetic field, which holds the flipper up without 
burning out the coil (the high current would do this very quickly).
	- "Inlane":  the two lanes near the bottom of the machine that 
return the ball to the flippers.  Also called a "return lane."
	- "Outhole":  the area below the flippers where lost balls go.
	- "Outlane":  the two lanes near the bottom of the machine that 
lead to the drain area.
	- "Slam":  a form of tilting, usually caused by hitting the coin box 
too hard, by dropping the machine, by pounding the underside of the 
cabinet, or by striking the back cabinet.  This immediately forfeits your 
entire game.
	- "Slingshot":  the two triangular things located immediately above 
the flippers.  Hitting one ricochets the ball of in the opposite direction.
	- "Solenoid":  a coil, with another coil or magnet inside, used in 
flippers and kickers and such.  When the coil(s) are energized, the 
opposing magnetic fields cause the inner piece to move.
	- "Tilt":  what happens when you shake too hard.  This forfeits your 
bonus for that ball, and causes you to lose the ball currently in play (and 
on some older machines, your entire game).
	- "Tilt Warning":  if you get one of these, the game is saying to you, 
"Well, I could have tilted you, but I'll be nice.  Just don't do it again."  :-)

* Before Starting *
	- If you're a novice, and want to become a wizard, make sure you 
have the time and the money.
	- Wear comfortable clothing.

* General Playing Tips *
<Stance>
	- Choose some comfortable position for your wrists.  They will get 
tired if they aren't held properly.  About waist level is about right for 
most people, depending on height of the person and the machine.
	- The higher you hold your head, the better you'll see the ball's 
position.  The lower you hold it, the better you'll be able to judge its 
direction (e.g., while trying to decide whether or not to let it bounce off 
the center post);  find a good compromise.
	- Playing regularly is more important than playing a lot:  playing 
for five hours consecutively once a month is worse than playing for half 
an hour twice a week.
	- Learn about a specific machine by watching others play.
	- Being able to control the ball, and being able to make controlled 
shots is probably the key thing to increasing one's average score on any 
game.
	- Once you have developed a basic feel for the flippers and how the 
ball moves on them, and you're trying to make an upper-playfield shot 
that's been causing trouble, just look at the shot you're trying to make.  
Your instinct for where the ball is on the flipper is usually suprisingly 
good.
	- If you drain miserably, don't tilt the machine out of frustration.
	- Entering your initials:  left flipper button to go one letter back in 
the alphabet, right flipper button to go forward in the alphabet, start 
button to record this initial and go on to the next.  (This is true of most 
machines, although some Gottliebs have separate buttons for initial 
entry.)

* Etiquette *
	- Don't touch another player's cabinet.
	- Give other players plenty of space.
	- Shut up.  It's usually OK to tell someone things that they couldn't 
have seen (such as how big the jackpot was), but people usually don't like 
it when you point out the obvious to them.  Same goes for trying to 
engage in idle chatter while someone is playing:  unless the player is a 
good friend of yours, this is usually frowned upon.
	- If you walk away from a machine, you forfeit any credits on it 
(so don't ask someone to watch the machine while you go to the 
bathroom. If you come back and find him playing your credits, don't be 
surprised).
	- If you want to play a game that someone else is playing, ask the 
person *between balls*.  In many places, it is customary to plunk down a 
quarter on the glass, on top of the rules sheet;  just make sure that you 
do this between balls.  If you do either of these while a person has a ball 
in play, it could interfere with his concentration, which could make him 
interfere with your life.  :-)
	- Keep an eye on any small children in the immediate area.  A lot of 
games have ended because of kids deciding that your start button would 
be a fascinating plaything.  If the kids are yours, don't let them run 
around near pinball machines.

* Shaking and Nudging *
	- Machines are usually much more sensitive to side-to-side 
shaking than to forward-to-back.  Shake this way whenever possible.  
However, there are situations where side-to-side shaking is necessary 
to save the ball.
	- Forward-to-back shaking is effective for the entire playfield, 
while side-to-side shaking is really only effective for the lower part of 
the playfield.
	- Don't be shy about using body english:  although, of course, it's 
much more impressive if you manage to get a high score without ever 
nudging the machine.

* Saving a Center Drain *
<Without a center post>
	- Slap saving:  if a ball is going to go down the center, choose 
(quickly) which flipper you think the ball will come closer to.  Wait until 
the ball is a few inches above that flipper, and then wind up and slap 
both the flipper button and the side of the machine.  Hard.  If you do this 
with the right timing, the ball will hit the tip of the upraised flipper.  
Usually, the ball will also have an almost horizontal direction after it 
hits the tip of the flipper, sending it over to the opposite flipper, so 
you'll probably want to follow up the first slap with a lighter one on the 
other flipper button.

<With a center post>
	- Center posts are a little more tricky, since you have to decide 
whether to use the flippers or whether to let the post do the work for 
you.  On a game without a post, you always go for the slap save, but on a 
game with a post, there's that additional split-second decision making 
thing going on that makes games with posts a little more challenging 
(although they look easier).
	- It takes practice to develop the nerves to just let a ball bounce 
off of the center post.  Generally, the ball will only bounce back into play 
if it is heading *straight* down the middle towards the post.  Some 
people prefer to always go for a slap save whenever possible, and to only 
let the ball bounce if it is heading exactly between the two flippers.
	- If you do decide to let the ball bounce, *don't flip*.  If you use 
the flippers and the ball hits the post, most of the time the ball will just 
hit the underside of a raised flipper and drain.  Also, try to nudge the 
game in such a way so that the ball will hit the post as squarely as 
possible.  This will help to put the ball back in play, as it can counteract 
any spin that the ball has picked up.

* Saving an Outlane Drain *
<An ounce of prevention>
	- Nudge the machine forward as the ball strikes the slingshot 
bumpers or heads for the outlane area, to force the ball back up the 
playfield.  Note that this does not work well with some outlane 
configurations (The Addams Family, for example - never try this here).
	- If the ball is heading toward an outlane, try to bump it out of the 
way before it gets to the top of the outlane (e.g., try to bump it against a 
slingshot).  Once it gets to the post that divides the inlane from the 
outlane, it's much harder to save it.
<The "Death Kickup">
	- This is a way to save a ball after it has gone down an outlane.  
Usually, it works better on the right side, but it also works from the 
left.  Basically, when the ball drains down the side, hold up the flipper on 
that side, and wait until the ball is about to hit the piece of metal below 
and between the flippers (where the kicker that returns the ball to the 
ball storage area near the plunger is).  Just when the ball is about to hit 
this piece of metal, give the machine a hard bump down and forward.  
Depending on the speed of the ball, the distance between the piece of 
metal and the flippers, and the tilt sensitivity, you may experience a 
moderate degree of success at getting the ball back in play.
	- Before you try this on a game, look immediately below the 
flippers.  On some games, there are two small metal rods sunken into the 
playfield.  If your game has these, the technique probably won't work.
	- This technique is the one that should be practiced the least, 
because of one reason:  it is very prone to slam tilts.  Loose coin doors 
and sensitive slam switches are usually very uncooperative when it 
comes to popping the ball back up into the play area from behind the 
flippers.  You may want to pre-test a game's slam sensitivity before you 
actually do it when you are playing.
	- Some people find that this technique works better with crossed 
hands (i.e. if the ball drains out the right side, use your left hand to hold 
up the right flipper and bump the machine with your right hand), and 
others say that it works better with hands in the normal positions.  If 
you do decide to try this technique, try both ways and see if one is 
preferable to you.

* Other Flipper Techniques *
<Trapping the ball>
	- Beginning players tend to just flail randomly at everything that 
comes near a flipper.  Intermediates tend to just hold the flipper up and 
keep it there.  This works for some cases, but in others the ball will 
bounce randomly back up into play, or roll up the inlane and right back 
down the outlane, or any of a number of uncontrollable things.
	- The "Dead Trap":  when the ball is moving toward a flipper, in 
such a way that if you held the flipper up for the duration, the ball would 
roll up the inlane (either a little or a lot), hold the flipper up, and just as 
the ball hits the flipper, let the flipper drop.  This will absorb almost all 
of the ball's energy, and you'll wind up with the ball just sitting on the 
lowered flipper.  It's easier said than done, and usually takes a lot of 
practice to master.  But it's well worth it.  (This works best with 
Williams flippers, but then again, what doesn't?  :-) )
	- The "Live Trap":  basically, this is the opposite of the Dead Trap.  
Instead of holding the flipper up, time your flip so the flipper will be all 
the way up at the instant the ball hits it.  If done properly, the ball will 
then roll down into the standard catch position.
	- The "Bounce":  if a ball is heading toward a flipper, and you really 
wish the ball was heading toward the other flipper so you can "catch" it, 
just keep the flipper down and let it bounce off the flipper rubber and 
over to the other flipper.  This won't work very well if the game you are 
playing has loose flipper rubbers.

<Flipper Passing>
	- These are techniques designed to move the ball from one flipper 
to the other.  Note that the "Bounce," given above, also applies here.
	- The "Trap Pass":  with a flipper up and the ball caught on that 
flipper, just release the flipper and very, very, very quickly give it a tap 
back to the up position.  The ball should hit the lower corner of the 
slingshot, hit the flipper (or the bottom part of the return lane), and 
move over to the other flipper.  It's actually pretty easy to do;  all it 
takes is a little practice.
	- The "Tap Pass":  with a caught ball, release the flipper and then 
very gently and quickly tap the flipper button just enough to move the 
ball to the other flipper.  Technically the ball does not have to be trapped 
on the flipper to use this technique.  It can be moving or not;  it depends 
on how refined your control of the flippers is.  Trapping it to start is the 
easiest way, but it can be used while the ball is moving, where the trap 
pass is not possible to do.  This tends to work better with the "old" 
Williams flippers than with solid-state ones.  Note:  the difference 
between this and the "trap pass" is that you do not bank the ball off the 
slingshot or anything else.  It is a pass from flipper to flipper that when 
done correctly touches nothing but the two flippers.  Also, in the case of 
the "trap pass," the flipper noticeably moves, but in the case of the "tap 
pass" the flipper normally moves no more than .25 inches.
	- The "Lane Pass":  this is much more risky.  Basically, you want to 
shoot the ball across the opposite flipper and up through the opposite 
return lane.  With the ball in the same position as above, just let the 
flipper down, so the ball starts rolling down the flipper toward the 
center drain.  Hit the flipper button just as the ball reaches the tip end 
of the flipper.  The ball should shoot just over the opposite flipper and up 
the opposite return lane.
	- The "Touch Pass":  With the ball in the catch position, lower the 
flipper and let the ball roll to about halfway down the flipper.  Then, tap 
the flipper button extremely lightly (do not push it all the way in).  The 
ball will bounce over to the opposite flipper.  Strength required depends 
on the condition of the flippers.  Flipper button switches must be in good 
shape for this to work, but it works on more machines than you might at 
first imagine.  On some machines, it can be an incredibly consistent and 
indispensible shot.
--
*******************************************************************************
*Dave Hollinsworth           * With a bit of a mind flip, you're into the time*
*hlsw_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu* slip - nothing will ever be the same. - RHPS*
***********   DISCLAIMER:  They're my opinions.  Are they yours?   ************