I don't do it but it's your game. If it increases your enjoyment of the game I say go for it.

I don't because once I beat a game I lose interest in it. I have a buddy I got into pinball that was SO BAD he initially set his pins to 10 ball until he could have a reasonable game, then 5, then finally 3. Kind of like training wheels. He still didn't get far with the 5 and 10, but they let him learn the ropes without getting too frustrated.

All my games are set to 5 ball.

I get a lot of crap about this from my "friends", but as I read here once, "Hey it's your game. If you want to play a longer 5 ball game rather than two 3 ball games, go for it."

I have all mine set to 5 ball. Go for it. I'm probably not that great of a player so it helps see some more than I would on 3 ball.

I set mine on 5 ball for one day, but felt guilty and set it back to 3. Anyway it is hobbit so 3 balls should be enough

I don't know if I'm as old as @pismoarcade, but I also grew up with 5 ball games. All mine are on 5 ball as well.

Tim Arnold's Pinball Hall of Fame usually has the new Sterns set to a high price with a "Full Five Ball Game" notation.

I do the same thing but start with 9 balls. As I learn more of the game I go down to 5 and then 3. Nothing wrong with that if you're not a good player.

In the 70's most games were 25c. When games started going to 50c AND they were set on 3 ball we went somewhere else. I mean damn 50c and ONLY 3 balls. Your nuts.

So yes, all mine are on 5 ball but my stuff is early ss too.

Nothing wrong with 5 ball. It's a good way to le finish run the rules of a game without getting too frustrated. Then it feels amazing to set a new grand champion once you e set back to 3 ball.

Nope, 5 ball is training wheels. But it’s your game, your house, do what you want.

I set all mine to 5 ball too. I generally suck and like to see some of the features. I also could care less what others think of 5 ball.

10 balls not an option? Whaaaaaat!?!?

I’ve set a number of my pins to 5 balls as well; and the main reason is that my wife and youngest son find them far more enjoyable as well as less frustrating.
They like to see some of the more difficult to reach modes or levels. This is particularly the case on my newer Sterns where I have them set up a bit steeper and playing very fast.
For myself and older son, it’s not ideal and from time to time, we move them back to 3 ball and closer to factory settings.
For my friends who are more avid players, the pins are always re-set back to 3-ball factory levels.
The most important objective in our house is for everyone to have a blast.
If we were competitive players or participated in a league, all pins would be set up 3 ball for certain.

Feel no Shame.

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Totally agree. The wife and kids wouldn't even play if it was 3 ball.

5 balls on anything other than an old EM, naw never have done it. But I don't expect everyone else go have grown up playing pinball and be totally awesome at it so I guess they can do whatever they like.

All my games are set up to three balls with extra balls off except my EM games but it's your machine set it up the way you enjoy it.

All set on 5 , want my grandchildren to enjoy playing.

The key is to learn how to obtain extra balls on each game. Get that sorted and most games become 5 ball

Count me in on the 5 ball. I’m older so it seems normal. I grew up on 5 ball games.
That and the ever so deep rules on Stern make for a more enjoyable experience imho.

Its your game, do what makes you happy! When Pinside starts crowdfunding your collection, they can tell you how many balls you can play.

I tried to stay true to the 3 ball, but some games I just could not make significant advancement without using 5 ball. I switched my Star Wars LE, Ghostbusters LE and GOTG Pro to 5 ball. It started with Ghostbusters and the flipper gap- I was literally getting kicked in the nuts with ball drains. Some games would be a sin to change to 5 ball-like Transformers, Hobbit, and other long ball time games.

Mine are all set to 5 as well for the same sort of reason. The kids’ friends and neighbors “aren’t that good” and I don’t want their game to be over in 2 minutes. 5 balls gives them a fighting chance for a multi-ball or other fun features.

Never crossed my mind to change the # of balls for a game.

All mine set to 5 ball. When I started in the hobby we also used to remove all the tilt pendulums...but now I leave them in. Change all the points awards for specials and such to extra balls. Why the hell not...this is supposed to be fun.

My GOTG is set to 5, i'm not the player some are, and I want to proceed through some of the objectives farther.

You can also try setting the ball save to a longer time, setting the timers on any modes to last longer if applicable, and awarding an extra ball for getting a fixed replay score in addition to the five balls. Can always reset the scores like you said and go back to defaults once you have the shots, rules, and strategy figured out. No shame in having fun. Do what works for you! The only caveat is that if you do anything super cool like get to a difficult wizard mode, it is a bit bittersweet.

Nope. I will admit to setting special to awarding an extra ball because it's free play

I should have noted in my previous post that I have a LOTR. Want to see if I can get an hour long game with 5 balls.

My record so far is 48 minutes...

My neighbor has his games on 5 ball, however I didn't notice if he had ball save. Mine are 3 ball but I added ball save some games longer bs than others. IMVE is 10 seconds, WOZ is 3.

I also have you can't start a new game until you finish the one your playing. However, I have adjusted replay up to 4 times based on scoring, that way if I have a stinko game it won't last long but a game that I'm having success with will last longer and I can get into deeper play. I'm not that good a player so this works for me.

You can make a 3 ball game play like a 5 ball with extra ball settings, ball save time, moving posts in, etc. And just the opposite on a 5 ball

Don’t let the 3 ballers shame you!

Play it however you like it!!!

You aren’t Bowen or Elwin, thankfully, imagine how boring a pin would get so fast being that good

I played TSPP with 5 balls when I first bought it. I see no shame in that.

I wish all pins had an easy access home mode, like hold a flipper and you get 5 ball but no high scores. I put mine on 5 when I feel like it but I always power off so the scores don't save. I've always been a content tourist with video games so I have the same mindset with pinball. If I pay for something I want to see and enjoy all of it.

Seems like a good way to get sick of a game quick. Almost all games have at least one gimme EB, so you are playing 6 balls. If it's a 90s Williams or Pat Lawlor game, you are probably looking at 8-9 balls a game. And, if you are going this route, you probably have your replay set to EB. Maybe even more than one.

so yeah, who wants to play a 5-10 ball game and think they won't get sick of it? If "seeing everything" is your goal just take the glass off and play with your fingers.

Games can be made easier in less dumb ways. You can close up the outlane posts, extended ball saves, etc., and have your game still in some semblance resemble an actual pinball game.

EM- 5 ball
Solid State- 3, or 5
Modern- 3 & leave EB on, or adjust outlanes, PF angle, tilt, and settings if too hard.
Pinball is supposed to be difficult and fun at the same time. 5 ball on a modern game with minute+ ball times is just too long, especially if you have 3-4 players, and extras, etc..
Going 5 ball just cause a game is new is like skipping chapters in a book, don't you want to enjoy the challenge a bit? Doesn't anyone enjoy finding things and figuring out the rules?

what is this, The Confessional?

Just one of many confessionals trying to get some foothold.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/5-ball-or-3
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/poll-huo-ball-settings-3-or-5
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-many-balls-do-you-play-with
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/3-ballsgame-vs-5-ballsgame-for-1980s-era
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-many-ball-per-game

Let's not even get into the whole "extra balls instead of replays" threads

All on 5. I also set my extra balls to fixed. I like to play longer games and see as much of the game as possible.

When pinheads come play i set to 3 and auto extra ball to shorten games so wait times are not too long.

I didn't realize there was so much animosity towards 5 ball. It's what I grew up with and just seems right. Tough crowd.

Seems like this may be a Cali thing?

I have 5 ball on my BOPP.
I have hardest dip switch settings and inlane rubber that make my Stern Galaxy harder with 3 ball. No extra ball.
All modern games I prefer with 3 ball and ball save.

What's ball save?

We went to location and the modern games seemed like 30 minutes. You lost a ball and it just kept getting saved and coming back. If you want 10 balls set it on 10 and be done.

Y'all crazy. It's 5 balls, extra ball if you earn extra ball and special if you earn a special.