Pinball Glossary
Pinball terminology for beginners and advanced players.
Advanced Techniques
Bangback — An illegal move where hitting the front of the cabinet pops a draining ball back up between the flippers.
Death Save — An illegal move where violently jarring the machine bounces a ball from the outlane back into play.
Shatzing (Alley Pass) — Shooting from one flipper up the opposite inlane and catching on the other flipper.
Ball Control
Cradle — Holding the ball still in the pocket where the flipper meets its base.
Dead Bounce (Dead Flip) — Keeping the flipper DOWN so the ball bounces off the rubber to the other side, slowing its momentum.
Micro Flip — A tiny flipper tap to nudge a slow-rolling ball.
Shielding — Holding a flipper UP to block the center and redirect a fast ball.
Trap — Catching and holding the ball in a cradle between shots.
Catching
Drop Catch — Dropping a raised flipper as the ball arrives to absorb its momentum.
Live Catch — Flipping at the exact moment the ball makes contact, killing its momentum and trapping it.
Post Catch — Pinching the ball between the flipper and slingshot post.
Machine Parts
Apron — The metal/plastic cover at the bottom of the playfield that hides the ball trough.
Auto-plunger — A solenoid-driven mechanism that launches the ball automatically.
Backbox — The vertical box at the rear holding the display, speakers, and backglass artwork.
Bash Toy — A large themed mechanical feature designed to be hit repeatedly.
Cabinet — The main wooden body of the machine that houses the playfield and electronics.
Captive Ball — A ball trapped in a confined area, scored by hitting it with the main ball to transfer momentum.
Dead Bumper — A passive bumper with no solenoid; the ball simply ricochets off it.
Drop Target — A target that drops below the playfield surface when hit; often in banks that must be cleared.
Flipper — The player-controlled mechanical levers used to strike the ball.
Habitrail — A wireform track that transports the ball through the air, often returning it to an inlane.
Inlane — Narrow lanes on either side that guide the ball safely back to the flippers.
Kickback — A solenoid in the outlane that kicks the ball back into play.
Lane Guide — Wire guides that channel the ball along a specific path.
Orbit — A curved lane the ball travels around in a loop.
Outlane — Outer lanes on each side that lead directly to the drain.
Playfield — The angled playing surface inside the cabinet where the ball rolls.
Plunger — The spring-loaded rod used to launch the ball onto the playfield.
Pop Bumper (Jet Bumper) — Round mushroom-shaped bumpers that use a solenoid ring to actively kick the ball away on contact.
Ramp — An elevated lane the ball rolls up above the main playfield.
Rubber — Elastic rings/sleeves on posts and flippers that bounce the ball.
Shooter Lane — The channel on the right side where the ball is launched from.
Slingshot (Kicker) — A triangular mechanism above the flippers that forcefully kicks the ball sideways when hit.
Spinner — A rotating target that scores each time the ball passes through.
Standup Target — A fixed target that registers hits but stays in place.
Tilt Bob — A pendulum sensor that detects excessive machine movement.
VUK (Vertical Up Kicker) — A mechanism that shoots the ball straight up from a hole, usually to feed a ramp.
Passing
Alley Pass — Shooting the ball up the opposite inlane so it feeds down to the other flipper. Also called a Shatz.
Loop Pass — Shooting around an orbit so the ball arrives at the opposite flipper.
Post Pass — Shooting gently into the slingshot post so the ball bounces to the other flipper.
Ski Pass — Letting the ball roll down a raised flipper so it slides across.
Tap Pass — The lightest possible flipper tap to send the ball through the inlane.
Saves & Nudging
Ball Search — An automatic sequence where the machine fires all solenoids to dislodge a stuck ball.
Center Drain — When the ball goes straight down between both flippers.
Double Danger — A warning state before a full tilt; one more nudge will tilt.
Drain — When a ball falls off the playfield through any outlet.
Nudge — Physically pushing the machine to influence the ball's trajectory without triggering a tilt.
Slap Save — Nudging the machine while flipping to extend reach and save a draining ball.
Tilt — A penalty triggered by excessive machine movement, disabling the flippers and forfeiting end-of-ball bonus.
Scoring & Game Concepts
Ball Lock — A sequence where the machine captures balls until a condition releases them all at once, triggering multiball.
Ball Save — A brief grace period after launch where a drained ball is returned for free.
Bonus Multiplier — A multiplier applied to your end-of-ball bonus score.
Combo — A sequence of shots made in rapid succession that build in value.
End-of-ball Bonus — Points awarded when a ball drains, based on achievements during that turn.
Extra Ball — An award that gives you an additional ball to play.
Hurry-up — A mode where a point value rapidly decreases until the player makes the required shot.
Jackpot — A high-value target available during multiball. Can escalate to Super Jackpot.
Match — A random chance at game end: if your last two score digits match the machine's number, you win a free game.
Mode — A timed scoring objective activated by completing certain targets.
Multiball — When two or more balls are in play simultaneously.
Replay — A free game awarded for reaching a certain score threshold.
Skill Shot — A high-value target hit during the initial launch, before hitting other targets.
Wizard Mode — A special mode unlocked by completing all regular modes — the ultimate challenge.