The Shadow sanctum lock. Never gets old.

Flight 2000, coolest ball lock and multiball launch.

The great grand-daddy of "cool", outside of the box locks (that even correlates to the story being told): Pin-Bot!

Lost World Jurassic Park the snagger claw comes down and picks up the ball very cool mech

Doctor Who simple just shoot the two saucers then the time expander raises which I always thought was cool

Judge Dredd with the dead world mode very cool seeing the balls on the disc spinning

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein thought it was a cool mech Frankenstein throws the ball

Johnny Mnemonic glove grabs the ball and puts it on the grid awesome mech

Kiss Gene blocking the balls and spitting them out for multi ball always thought it was a cool toy

TSPP locking the balls on the couch it's simple but it's a cool look and design.

Rollergames - Pretty cool that it periodically ejects and recollects locked balls instead of just sitting idle.

Mousin Cheese Traps always makes me smile!

Id love to see the mech reused today.

WOZ monkey picking up the ball and moving it to the castle!

Rollergames is cool when it juggles the balls around the upper track.

Good topic and it turns out I like games with a fun lock sequence. There are a number of games with a good virtual lock too, but these were satisfying enough to make the list. Best Pinball Locks ->
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Banzai Run - qualify, lock on playfield, lifts into vertical playfield, shoot to top of vertical playfield, BR lock, flasher lightshow, ball empties onto lower playfield to begin multiball and attempt 1M point shot
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BSD - Stack 2 multiballs, 2nd locked ball misting across playfield, bash loose and begin multiball for 30M point shots
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TOM - qualify, trunk rotates, ball hops up onto trunk lock, trunk rotates to keep ball, starts lightshow and begin multiball
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TOTAN - bash genie, magnet grab, ball disappears into lock, bash genie to begin multiball
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STTNG - steep side ramp, into Borg ship lock, auto launches out of Borg to begin multiball.
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MM - bash bridge down, bash gate up, into lock and castle blows up
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Shadow - bash wall, magnet grab, wall lowers, thrown upward into lock and begin multiballLOTR - launch into ring lock, knock ball thru with another to begin mulitball
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TSPP - bash garage or treehouse ramp, vuk to upper playfield, lock behind mini lcd, up ramp into couch lock, begin multiball and lock balls into couch
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LOTR - start 3 game mulitballs, ring lock suspends ball in air, shoot ball out with another to start multiball
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MET - bash captive ball, magnet grab, hammered into playfield lock, starts lightshow and begin multiball
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Hobbit - start Erorbor, shoot ramp into windlance lock, ring button release, use upper right flipper at lit target, video show
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Alien - bash Xeno, magnet grab, light show, ball grab lock and begin mulitball
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Houdini - narrow lane, trunk opens, launches in air into trunk lock, catapult throw to begin mulitball
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JJPOTC - collect sails, qualify, load cannon lock, fire into dauntless hole and lightshow

Shadow

/thread

Lock on stranger Things Premium/LE is cool

See Stange Science and its Atom Smasher.

You gotta have the STTNG Borg ship lock on this list

Houdini trunk throw.

Shadow Sanctum

WOZ has two good ones - the monkey capturing Dorothy with the accompanying video clip is brilliant. The munchkin hut lock is also very cool in the way it releases a ball back into play when a ramp shot is made and "lock" is not lit.

Ripley's Believe It or Not shot by the shrunken head reminds me of Shadow Sanctum shot.

Not bad.

Yes, not only are the traps fun, but the way they pull the balls down below the playfield to open up other shots is clever too. A great way to make use of the under playfield space.

I'm liking my Jolly Park where you have to lock the 3 balls on the mini playfield using the "magnet flippers". Also fun to just see how long you can keep the ball bouncing around up there using the magnets.

I haven't played it yet (who has?) but just on design and potential I can confidently state that the Danesi Lock 2.0 on Rick and Morty will soon be universally acclaimed as the absolute best lock in pinball.

Well, very very cool, at least.

The most fun ball lock on a game I've owned? Although my memory might be off...might be a mode and not a true ball lock for multiball. Still damn cool.

Rescue 911. The helicopter flies down the playfield to pick up a ball, then flies back up to the top of the playfield and drops a ball into the hole. Especially fun when you change the setting so you have to press a button to time the ball pickup instead of the helicopter automatically grabbing it without input.

this one is very cool and not easy to do

TNA is pretty cool

Have not seen it in person, but the ball lock looks to be about the best thing in Stranger Things

Raptor pit in JP is also very cool as is the Trex, though it doesn't hold the ball, so not technically a ball lock

always thought the fishing reel ball lock in FT was neat

Strange Science ! Seeing the balls locked and loaded in the Atom Smasher.. waiting to pour out on to the playfield !
Capture (resized).JPG

Ah ...just noticed someone mentioned the Atom Smasher already

Guys guys guys… there is no contest here.

The machine shakes while the dinosaur eats the ball.

DE Jurassic Park!

I always get excited for Firepower multi release, with the countdown and sounds. It still takes allot of concentration for me to get them all locked..

TNA - I'm a huge fan of in-line drop targets so combining that with a ball lock is great.
TS - "Magnets, how do they work."
FT - Pretty simple, but the real is a nice theme integration.
Congo - The lock isn't anything special, but it's a physical lock and the volcano erupting is cool.

TOM
TNA. I like to see more of this down the road.

F14!! One those lights on the head get going it’s a rush every time.

Tz gumball machine effect....
Jjp potc with the moving chest lid lock
Bsd mist mb lock

I can't believe that the thread made it this far without mentioning one of the greats -- The Addams Family w/Thing!

That's my vote.

Demolition Man’s cryogenic claw is pretty cool too. A game that gives me an opportunity to control and interact with a captive ball, is a game that gets pinball right.

My favourites are

MET Prem/LE Hammer Lock
AS Toybox
TAF Thing

Ditto.

C’mon guys, how is a hammer smashing the ball through the Playfield into a coffin not the greatest ball lock of all time?

Aerosmith a close second. Makes me miss the game just thinking about it.

TNA and TAF tied for third.

What about Star Wars and the hyper loop?

The upper ball lock on BBB is still one of my favorites

Cirqus Voltaire comes to mind!

I agree. A hammer smashing the ball through the playfield in to a coffin is the best ball lock of all time.

I miss our MET Roadcase. Only game I ever regretted selling.

I really like the katana handle in DP; Shadow sanctum is my personal favorite...clever and fits the theme perfectly!

Houdini and Baywatch are a couple of my favs. The Shadow is up there as well.

Haven't played it in person, but the Alien ball lock looks pretty kick ass to me. As for games I've played, the Nascar lock gets alot of shit but I think its really cool.

Airborne has a cool lock on the left side of the apron.

It's also used in Data East Secret Service.

Old school - Bally's Capersville

I think the Shadow is the winner.... at least for the games that I have played.

My favourite is still the sword lock on lord of the rings, love how the balls can be locked up an the ramp continues to function normally while not in multi ball by just releasing one ball, still amazes me.