109 SMITH JOURNALBe aware that you’ll have to change your strategy as
you make progress. “The game opens up the further
into it you get,” Jones explains. “The targets get
harder, but they also become more valuable and you
get more opportunities to access dierent modes.”
It’s by progressing through these dierent modes
that you increase your score and get more replays.
The ultimate objective of pinball is to progress to
‘wizard’ mode, where the most points can be scored.
Bumping or shoving a pinball machine doesn’t mean
you’re losing your cool; ‘nudging’ is a permitted
technique that, when done well, enables a player
to influence the ball’s trajectory. Don’t overdo it,
however. Most games only allow three nudges per
ball (‘Danger’ will flash up on the screen each time
and a warning will sound), so keep count of how
many Dangers you’ve incurred. Nudge one time
too many and you’ll lose both points and the ball.
Key to adapting your play is learning how to
‘trap the ball’ – which means bringing it to
a standstill by cradling it in a flipper. While
the natural reaction to seeing a ball heading
for the chute is to try and hit it straight back
into action, trapping is a far safer option than
‘hitting on the fly’. Not only does it allow you
to take a breather; it also allows you to reassess
your game and set up for the next shot.No shot is ever completely safe in pinball. “The game
is probably 80 per cent skill, 20 per cent luck,” Jones
notes. “Getting the big scores means going for the
diicult shots, so you’re constantly having to measure
risk against reward.” Newer games, as a general rule,
are designed to be more forgiving. The tilt mechanism
is usually looser, meaning you can be a little rougher
with your nudging, and you’ll get five balls per
game instead of three. A good place to start. •TIP 5: LEARN TO NUDGE
TIP 3: ADAPT YOUR PLAY TIP 4: MASTER THE TRAP
TIP 6: CALCULATE RISK VS REWARD