Cumberland, RI
What would make your list of most creative/unique playfield features from any pin?
I was watching a video of the Haunted House upside down sunken playfield and thought it was neat:
The electomagnetic playfield in TZ:
(Topic ID: 5166)
That haunted house lower PF got me hooked on the game. HS2 turbocharger is still fascinating to me
the technology in Pinball 2000 is amazing and could count as most creative/unique on its own. but i'll go with pat lawlor's integration of the backbox in safecracker, banzai run and mini pinball in family guy. love em all.
Quoted from Hyperion:The MOST creative & unique feature of any pinball above any ramp, spinner, dmd and etc etc is good ART & THEME! No toy or gimmick can ever outshine that.
I agree. The theme draws players into the game.
Grimsby, ON
Johnny Mnemonics glove feature is pretty cool too, along with the mini playfield and diverters on The shadow. Two vastly under rated games that collectors seem to be snatching up lately. The ball lock "swoop" on the Shadow is pretty sweet too.
Quoted from The_Gorilla:HS2 turbocharger is still fascinating to me
Now that I've finally gotten to play it, I must say the HS2 supercharger is pretty dang cool. Honorable mention: DW's mini pf.
Bayswater
Nailsea
I absolutely love the blinders on Tommy. Not only is it an incredibly cool toy, but it also perfectly blends with the theme.
TOTAN. The whole thing.
Seriously, the ramp/diverter and fireball magnet, the disappearing ball magnet under the genie, the skill shot, 3 different lock shots, and of course the shooting star spike cage ball savers on the outlanes are f@%ing unbelievable especially the first time.
I am going to have to say Williams Varkon.
A rare upright pinball cabinet, with a mirrored-reversed playfield.
Joysticks are used instead of flippers.
It also has a lower playfield accessible from a difficult ramp.
Played it at CA Extreme 2011. It was awesome!
http://www.ipdb.org/images/2721/image-23.jpg
Quoted from n2kenai:I am going to have to say Williams Varkon.
Woah, that is really unique!
Copenhagen
For creativity, it's hard to beat Rudy, as it was the first sizable ball interactive feature on any pinball game. Added to this he has a certain perfection having dual ball interaction on the jaw (throat) as well as speaking as well as eyes and eyelids.
I'll give a nud to The Ringmaster. Having hide/appear, ball grab and spring neck execised by the usage of the magnets, ball hit as well as go under.
Like the Slam Ramp for the unique airball feature and the stress factor for making the shot in time.
Litvinov
To me, the best and most creative and unique playfield toy ever is the magic wand on PM !! Excellent use of an electro magnet needing timing to release the ball into the critic's mouth... The 'magna flips' on TZ are also great of course... why neither of these have been used on other pins is a mystery to me! Love the tilting mini p/f on IJ too!!
Quoted from guymontag451:TOTAN. The whole thing.
Seriously, the ramp/diverter and fireball magnet, the disappearing ball magnet under the genie, the skill shot, 3 different lock shots, and of course the shooting star spike cage ball savers on the outlanes are f@%ing unbelievable especially the first time.
I agree! But you forgot the spinning lamp...
Quoted from bugray:What about the uniqueness of that flipper that flips itself..... is it the one in AF???
Forgot about that one. A truly great idea that was well executed. This same concept was used again on MB, but I have always found the implementation on TAF to be cooler for some reason. There is just something really satisfying about watching it automatically flip the ball straight into the swamp.
Quoted from guymontag451:(TOTAN) Seriously, the ramp/diverter and fireball magnet, the disappearing ball magnet under the genie, the skill shot, 3 different lock shots, and of course the shooting star spike cage ball savers on the outlanes are f@%ing unbelievable especially the first time.
+1 on that..
My God, there are so many:
NGG - Slam Ramp & Hole in one shot
MM - Castle
CV - Ringmaster
TOTAN - Everything
TOM - Trunk/Tiger Saw
TZ - Everything
CP - Jump Rope, Speed Bag, Boxer
Shrek/FG - Mini Playifled
TAF - Thing Hand
Rudy/Red & Ted
Essentially, this is just agreeing with everyone else, but there you go 
I think the magnasave is an underappreciated feature. Black Knight started it with the outlane magnasaves, Black Knight 2000 brought it back, then it started getting other uses, like holding the ball for the upper flipper shot in Rollergames, holding the ball in the loop on Twilight Zone, and a SDTM save on World Cup Soccer.
Hard to pick one. I was going to mention the magnet but somebody got to it. The slam ramp is fun as well. Another fun one would be the ferris wqheel in Cyclone
Couple interesting articles from Popular Mechanics:
Top 8 Most Innovative Pinball Machines of All Time
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/toys/4276614
Top 6 Weirdest Pinball-Machine Designs
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/toys/4342589
Throw in this one for the hell of it (not really related):
Top 17 Science-Fiction-Themed Pinball Machines
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/toys/4342588
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
