Why are pinball machines addictive?

Silverunicorn

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Is it the lights? The sounds? The art?

Is it wanting to relive the days when you visited arcades?

I have no idea really, but when we finished our basement, I thought I'd have 1 or 2 pinball machines down there with our pool table, maybe some cool beer ads on the walls, etc.

Here's what it looked like in June, 2006:

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2 floods and 5 years later we have this:

6349645419_8598bb7b2b.jpg



To those that are getting into pinball, and think you can have only one, BEWARE!!!


:D

Chris
 
I have no clue but had ongoing dreams last night that I got a pinball machine and it was awesome. It was some type of non-existant Williams game that was a cross between Funhouse, Taxi, and Whitewater. I can't remember the exact theme.
 
Why is bungee jumping more thrilling than watching a first peron perspective movie about bungee jumping?

I always felt that with a good pinball machine, you're playing a real game (like pool, Foosball, air hockey etc) and you are more physically in tune with the machine due to its physical nature. Even the most recent digitally fun pins are still very much an analog and physical experience compared to the best video simulators. Don't get me wrong, I am a video game fan and must admit that the experience can be just as physically demanding if not more so than pinball and mastering a video game is a great accomplishment. But even if you master a pinball machine you never know exactly where that ball is going to go - and you cannot program a CPU to cheat physics.

Bright, dazzling lights (that you still can't get the intensity of from a CRT) - a heavy, dangerous feeling projectile inches away from your face, under glass, and brightly painted art work, the "Mousetrap" complexity and Rube-Goldberg like rules all add up to an experience that is very different, and unforgettable, than anything else.
 
There is something about pins that I find even more addictive than video games. They are a nice break from the patterns of video games I think. The ball never bounces the same way from one game to another, as opposed to pre-programmed patterns/ screens/ levels. Just my $.02.

Greg
 
probably the same as slot machines and pavlov's dog.

you get rewarded on an unpredictable schedule which is the psychological key to "addiction"

and it's a full sensory experience. tactile, visual, aural.
very physical experience that engages you 100% mentally.
Then throw in rewards for meeting challenges and it's a HOOK.

Here at our house even the 2 yr olds are captivated by it, much more than the video games. even they can hit a flipper button and pull the plunger. cause/effect. ooohh ahhhh!
 
Is it the lights? The sounds? The art?

Is it wanting to relive the days when you visited arcades?

I have no idea really, but when we finished our basement, I thought I'd have 1 or 2 pinball machines down there with our pool table, maybe some cool beer ads on the walls, etc.

Here's what it looked like in June, 2006:

167386800_ba58bba289.jpg




2 floods and 5 years later we have this:

6349645419_8598bb7b2b.jpg



To those that are getting into pinball, and think you can have only one, BEWARE!!!


:D

Chris

That's an awesome lineup Chris. Luckily for me, I have a close friend who has a really nice collection of pins, and he allows us to play them. As deep as some of the games are, a lot of times I just play without thinking; just hit the ball and have fun. That's how my daughter (she's 6) plays them. Hit the ball and have fun, listen to the sounds and look at all the flashing lights. Gotta love that.
 
Is it the lights? The sounds? The art?

Is it wanting to relive the days when you visited arcades?
...
To those that are getting into pinball, and think you can have only one, BEWARE!!!

Couldn't agree more! We're up to 5 pins now and I find myself *only* playing the pins.

Don't get me wrong, I love the atmosphere the video games create... but I just don't find myself playing them much.

I think there comes a point when you are as good on games as you can get. I can get a million on Joust, 200k on Wizard of Wor, 700k on DKjr, 2 million on Galaga, etc... there just isn't a point to most of my games anymore(for me at least).
 
On my way to owning 3.. Have two now but they are the first things I play nowadays.. I want a Diner next.. Also they have to be System 11 or lower Williams pins..

Doesn't help that my last name is WILLIAMS!!
 
Because they are truly varied and random. Most arcade games have patterns that if you can memerize and repeat, you can dominate. Not so with pinball. Not only is pinball random and the ball wild, two seperate titles of the same machine will not even play completely the same. It takes a lot of skill to master and it can literally be a new game each time you play.
 
I also started out with a Black Knight pinball machine back in 1998. Then a week later I added a Black Hole. Over the years I had over 100 different machines. Bought/sold/traded and now at 17 keepers. I still have the Black Knight and the Black Hole but the games after that were sold and I started to get into the higher end 'A'-Title games from the 1990's.
 

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With nostalgia removed pinball is way more fun than classic arcade games. Yes, this is a subjective statement but most will agree. It also represents a different kind of challenge in terms of repair and restoration.

I also started with one, collected arcade games, and wanted nothing to do with pinball. Now I've got over 100 pins and I could give a shit about arcade games. It happens ;)
 
On my way to owning 3.. Have two now but they are the first things I play nowadays.. I want a Diner next.. Also they have to be System 11 or lower Williams pins..

Doesn't help that my last name is WILLIAMS!!

You should seek out an F-14. One of few pins I've owned (not counting a few project pins I plan to restore). It's a great game and the light show is beyond impressive.
 
I love pins but they are prohibitively expensive for me. At one point, I had a Cyclone and Black Knight 2000. I got bored with the Cyclone and got a Tommy instead. I ended up selling both BK2K and Tommy. The condition of the BK2K was pretty bad (although it worked flawlessly) and Tommy got sold when I moved. I am hoping that I can convince the wife to agree to either a pin or a pool table for the next tax return. We will likely need another vehicle by then, though, so we will see what happens. With any luck, both will be possible. I am torn between a pin and pool table, though. I would love to have both. I have no idea what a decent table costs, however.
 
Here are my former pins. The Sound Stage EM is something that I got for free. I never got it working and eventually gave it away. There definitely is something addicting about pins. Its completely different than video games. I think it takes more concentration to play a pinball. Both types of games are controlled environments with their own rules but lpinball is more reactionary (if that is a word). You really have to be paying attention. If there is a really good theme, music and sound effects its easy to get pulled in. Video games can be the same way but trying to control a moving physical object without being able to touch it is a fairly unique experience.
 

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I love the em's, easy to work on, and you can't beat the real sounds of the bells, etc. I am a sucker for ease of maintenance and nostalgia!
 
They are so addicting because unlike videos, you can't do the exact same thing and get the same results. Mechanics and randomness of a ball make every game different. Lets face it, you'll never get to a "Kill Screen" on "The Addams Family". Also, the rush from a "Great Ball" simply makes you want to try it again and do even better. At least this is my opinion since I only have a few pins...
 
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