My opinion: Pops have been in almost every game. They take up a lot of space and are not a controlled part of the game. When I see them I feel like they are a cop out on features or are forced in there because they are told to put them in each game. On a positive I like making a tight loop shot through pops.
Opinions?
Keep the pops, get rid of an outlane (Sharpshooter). I like the randomness the pops give, when placed correctly. I'll agree that sometimes they're just filler though.
They really make pinball boring for me. Games where you get your ball stuck in the pops for what seems like an eternity couldn't be more boring.
You could get yourself a Big Guns ... one of the only games I can think of that doesn't have pops.
Are there others anyone else can think of?
Quoted from SkyKing2301:Are there others anyone else can think of?
Yep, I've got Judge Dredd sitting next to No Fear. Shadow is another.
That being said, all my other games do have them, and the older the machine, the more purpose they serve. Some have as many as five.
Variety is key in my lineup.
Quoted from SkyKing2301:You could get yourself a Big Guns ... one of the only games I can think of that doesn't have pops.
Are there others anyone else can think of?
o din beat me to it
Heresy! If there's anything that makes a pinball machine truly a pinball machine....aside from flippers....it's pop bumpers.
Quoted from pinballaddicted:o din beat me to it
Well, if you spent as many late nights as I have playing both of those as I have lately, it would be fresh in your mind too.
Ya know, there was a time when pop bumpers were an integral part of scoring and advancement in a game. Like Pit Stop, you wouldn't get shit for laps without pop bumpers helping to move you along.
Quoted from jibmums:Heresy! If there's anything that makes a pinball machine truly a pinball machine....aside from flippers....it's pop bumpers.
Where does the little silver ball rank on your list?
Quoted from ChippyWonka:Where does the little silver ball rank on your list?
As a given, just like the playfield.
There are actually 1000s of pinball machines that were made without pop bumpers. Too many to list.
Pops are pretty generic now. But no more generic than the lower half of the playfield called the Italian bottom.
They could benefit from better placement and usage. Get rid of them and you might as well do away with slingshots too.
I want a game with a manual pop bumper. Just one....and it should have a purpose. Save the ball, keep the ball from exiting a certain area, hit a target or back up a small Black Knight (the original) or Flash Gordon type ramp....something, but it has to be done with an extra button near the right flipper button (the extra button near the left flipper button will be for the manual kickback).
ORBITOR 1 for truly the most “un-pinball” experience in pinball!
I believe the old EM Loop the Loop doesn’t have pops.
Actually... a ton of Ted Zale games don’t have pops.
Justin used pops in a pretty cool way on his Castlevania custom game . In an orbit entrance/ exit and a sling across from them .
Quoted from o-din:Well, if you spent as many late nights as I have playing both of those as I have lately, it would be fresh in your mind too.
Ya know, there was a time when pop bumpers were an integral part of scoring and advancement in a game. Like Pit Stop, you wouldn't get shit for laps without pop bumpers helping to move you along.
We have put a fair bit of time into JD and really like it.
You have nailed it re the pops. The pops need to be an integral part of the game that you need to complete or advance or do something that forces you to hit the pops.
Quoted from VGC1612:[quoted image]
3 pop bumpers. whoopee.
Going' Nuts has seven.
image-2 (resized).jpgI love the pops. They're a great part of the DNA and history of pinball.
One of my favorite uses in a modern pin is Houdini with some important scoring shots having to thread the needle right though the group of three pops. It's a blast when I can make it cleanly.
If you think that they're taking up too much playfield real estate, you could always look at the disappearing one from CV.
Quoted from pinlink:The Shadow
He knows!
Quoted from GSones:I love the pops. They're a great part of the DNA and history of pinball.
The single one on TNA works pretty well. Same with Stars.
In my book, pop bumpers can be divided into two categories.
The good:
Bumpers make the ball wild with uncontrollable feeds all over the place.
The bad:
Pop bumper nest on top of the playfield with one entrance and one exit.
Pop bumpers are fun!
But, mostly they need to be coded better so they become integral to the game's scoring or progression.
what makes pinball pinball is the physical randomness of it!!! Pops are part of this along with wear and tear etc... which all affects game play.
May as well go play a video game if you want rid of all that!
Unfortunately, bumpers, pop or dead, haven't really been used properly much since the woodrail era and early 60's, they just became a sort of a thing to design around, but not include much in game strategy. Games like the ones pictured above in this thread , use the bumpers as critical components of the game.
I'd rather have one out in the open mid game than 3 at the back that really only help in terms of a break during frantic multi's. Wouldn't bother me if they vanished but at the same time if they stay its not going to affect my pinball joy. 
As long as the pop is exposed to the PF and not hidden in a nest, it can be a wildly fun feature as you really never know the angle which it will kick. Pop nests however... boring.
Quoted from dgpinball:Unfortunately, bumpers, pop or dead, haven't really been used properly much since the woodrail era and early 60's, they just became a sort of a thing to design around, but not include much in game strategy. Games like the ones pictured above in this thread , use the bumpers as critical components of the game.
I like how Batman Forever uses them to change the next mode started. As the ball is bouncing off the pops, wait until it highlights the mode you want to start next, pull the trigger on the Batgun to lock in that mode (or "Lite Extra Ball" which is also in the mode list). Sometimes it goes too fast and the ball has to be sent back up into the pops.
I've never thought The Shadow needs pop bumpers. More new games should go without them.
Quoted from Agent_Hero:I like how Batman Forever uses them to change the next mode started. As the ball is bouncing off the pops, wait until it highlights the mode you want to start next, pull the trigger on the Batgun to lock in that mode (or "Lite Extra Ball" which is also in the mode list). Sometimes it goes too fast and the ball has to be sent back up into the pops.
I've never thought The Shadow needs pop bumpers. More new games should go without them.
I like how they do the same in whitewater.
It’s always a great time when you’re about to get mb, then keep tossing it into the pops to try light 5x.
Usually turns out for me that I’m on ball 3, can’t drain of course for an ‘easy’ plung and have to hit the ramp then falls. Love it!
I don't miss pop bumpers on my Shadow but always nice to see them in new games. Same thing for spinners and drop targets. You can make great games without them but nice to have all that. Problem is most of the time these features are not used very well. What games use the pop bumpers well and make you want to shoot for them? Funhouse for advancing the clock and frenzy modes come to mind. Whitewater for 5x. What else?
HIdden in a nest -
For example
-Transformers
-Fish Tales
- Whirlwind
-Monopoly
Damn, 1/2 my lineup has uneventful nest clustered pops. I still love 'em though!!
Quoted from northerndude:HIdden in a nest -
For example
-Transformers
-Fish Tales
- Whirlwind
-Monopoly
Damn, 1/2 my lineup has uneventful nest clustered pops. I still love 'em though!!
Monopoly has SIX pop bumps, one is a nest, the other is positioned right in your left orbit so if you don’t shoot precisely it will probably drain out of those pops.
They could have left only the 3 in the lower left but Pat decided it needed the nest up top for some reason.
It's weird that so many people basically agree with this guy's post in the thread, but the ratio of downvotes/upvotes is the opposite. I think the OP is more referencing pop bumper nests that sit in the back and do nothing? I do agree, modern pop bumpers are frequently the least exciting part of the game.
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