New Pinball Dictionary

Pinball terms used by the pinball gaming community which may not be a part of the official pinball lexicon. Besides, some of these terms I just made up… ^_^

Belsito (named for pinball player Jim Belsito)

To wait until the very last minute to attempt a qualifying entry for a pinball playoff, and succeed in qualifying for the next level of competition.

Example: Players were attempting to Belsito their way into the final with only a few minutes remaining.

Bowen (named for pinball player Bowen Kerins)

To jostle the machine in such a violent way that it should have titled, but yet it does not.

Example: I pulled a Bowen by sliding the game a full foot, without tilting, to win.

Colin (named for pinball player Colin Horner)

See “the Bowen” but add more animated body english to the move.

Example: “You want two warnings so you can Colin the (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) mist ball twice? – I don’t think so.” — Chris Newsom

Drop a Bomb

To achieve a substantially higher score than most competitors on a pinball game in a tournament atmosphere.

Example: Wow, I played poorly on my last qualification game. It looks like I’m going to have to drop a bomb on my last game of this entry in order to get enough points to qualify for the playoffs.

Eddie Murphy

To start a 4-player game and play all 4 games by yourself. Sometimes you will see this happen at pinball conventions where games are on Free Play mode.

Example: There were 4 credits left on the machine so I decided to play Eddie Murphy.

Free Look

To watch another competitor play a pinball game, with the express purpose of answering questions about the way the game is playing.

Example: One of the advantages of going last when playing against other pinball players is that this allows you to see them play and learn important information such as:

1. The tightness/looseness of the tilt settings
2. The ability to dead-flipper-pass/live catch/drop catch the ball when it emerges from a kick-out (e.g. The Addams Family chair and swamp kick-out holes, the FunHouse right kick-out hole, the Attack from Mars right kick-out hole, The Twilight Zone slot machine kick-out hole)
3. The ability to backhand certain shots (e.g the left ramp from the left flipper in Twilight Zone, the Doc Ock shot from the right flipper in Spider-Man, the Aragorn ramp from the right flipper in Lord of the Rings)
4. etc. …

Example: A free look allows you to learn about the way this particular game behaves without taking any risks of losing a ball..

House Ball

A ball that you have no opportunity to flip at; a very short ball; a “Worst Ball Ever.”

Example: Tournament games set on hard settings with steep inclines can result in at least one house ball per qualification attempt, which is why scores are lower than normal.

House Game

A game wherein all of your balls are house balls.

House Entry (coined by pinball player Ed Zeltmann)

A tournament entry where all of your games consist of a majority of house balls. You know when you’ve had a house entry when you feel like you’ve just wasted your entry fee while learning nothing about any of the games you’ve played.

Lemmings

During multiball, when two or more balls drain through the same outlane at or close to the same time.

Example: After bouncing around the right outlane post, those pinballs acted like Lemmings.

Lyman (named for pinball player and programmer Lyman Sheats)

To play a game in the practice bank at a pinball event, and put up a score nobody thought possible, usually with many people watching.

Example: He pulled a Lyman and got over 2 Billion points on The Addams Family with a crowd around him taking pictures.

Madison (named for pinball player Paul Madison)

The act of needing only a single qualification attempt to qualify for a pinball playoff

Example: Why can’t I do a Madison and just show up, play once, and be done with it?

McEwen (named for pinball player John McEwen)

To complete a rewarding shot an abnormal amount of times repeatedly.

McEwen Special (named for pinball player John McEwen)

To light all four rollovers and make the goal in one shot while playing the game World Cup USA Soccer 94

Example: It’s possible to quickly light all four Ultras by making four McEwen Specials on my World Cup USA Soccer 94 machine.

Newsom (named for pinball player Chris Newsom)

To travel a long distance to compete in a pinball tournament. Also known as a “Pinball Pilgrim.”

Example: Anyone traveling more than 100 miles will be declared to have “pulled a Newsom” and will receive 2 free mini-tournament entries.

Play Pachinko

To have a very poor game, usually involving one or more house balls.

Example: He was Playing Pachinko on that game; the game lasted only a minute and he was only able to flip at the ball maybe once or twice.

Scottified (named for pinball player and tech extraordinaire Scott Charles)

To set up a game for tournament play with all options set to ’extra hard’ and tilts not only set tight, but polished with brasso, so there’s no chance of a hit without a warning or a tilt.  When players complain, Scott’s reply is, “it doesn’t tilt for me.”

Example: You might get away with that slap-save now, but don’t try that after the machine has been Scottified.

SDTM (Straight Down the Middle)

To lose a ball via the center drain because the ball was travelling so fast and/or in such a perfect line, that there is no way the player could have saved it, not even with a miracle slap save.

Example: I told you not to shoot the center clock target in Twilight Zone with the Powerball. It sends the ball SDTM.

Sharpe; Sharpe-ing; Sharpe out (named for named for pinball players and tournament organizers Josh Sharpe and Zach Sharpe)

To strategically time out a mode, especially a low scoring or potentially dangerous one, in favor of safer, better scoring opportunities later.

Example: It may be wise to Sharpe out the Supercharger mode on The Getaway if the inner loop shot is hard to make and you want to go for “Red Line Mania.”

Example: You should Sharpe out the New York bulldozer mode on Road Show since the bulldozer targets can cause center drains; they aren’t worth very much during the mode, and you don’t get closer to multiball.

Shatz, Shatz-ing, Shatz-Tap (named for pinball player Neil Shatz)

To exhibit outstanding ball control, especially when multiple balls are trapped on the same flipper

Shatz-pot (named for pinball player Neil Shatz)

To have two balls trapped on the same flipper, tap ball x into the air, hit the jackpot with ball y and regain control of ball x.

Shatzing the Inlane (named for pinball player Neil Shatz)

To flip a ball at the absolute last second so that the ball travels under the opposite slingshot and scores the opposite inlane switch.

Example: Some classic games like Gorgar require that you score both inlanes to achieve higher scores. Shatzing the Inlane helps players to do this and avoid the possibility of outlane drains.

Spider-Man Shimmy (coined by pinball player Ed Zeltmann)

The action of rapidly shaking the machine when the ball is on it’s way down the right inlane so that the ball can be caught and held on the right flipper. Usually, the successful execution of the Spider-Man Shimmy results in repeated backhanded shots to the right vertical up-kicker (Doc-Ock Hole). This move is also known as the “Batman Shimmy” because it’s also a good move on that game (Scarecrow Hole).

Warning: Do not try the Spider-Man Shimmy on a machine with a tight tilt, as it may cost you some tilt warnings. This is known as a “route move” because it usually works with machines on route (in arcades and other establishments like bars and pizza places, etc.), but it rarely works on tournament machines that typically have more conservative tilt settings.

Split Drain

During multiball, when two balls drain through the opposite outlanes at or close to the same time.

Example: I was feeling good during World Poker Tour’s Ace-In-The-Hole Multiball until I had a Split Drain.

Trifecta

To score 3 consecutive shots, usually of increasing value with the same target. An example of this is when a player collects the single, double, and triple jackpot at the beginning of Whitewater Multiball via the Insanity falls shot.

Example: He was able to get back into the game after making the trifecta on Whitewater.

Example: If he makes the trifecta of skill shots on The Addams Family he will get the multiball ready and collect the T-H-I-N-G award.