I know I'm a little late to the party when saying this (and a little embarrassed to say that), but I just played a Champion Pub and thought that the interactive jump rope toy was pretty brilliant. I'm not a huge fan of the theme, but it was well done, and worked really well in my opinion.
It got me thinking, I've probably overlooked a boatload of neat little things they've included in pinball machines lately. What's your favorite toy or gimmick that they've used in a pinball machine?
A stretch on your question, but my fav gimmick is how Stern came up with their "Good, Better, Best" marketing strategy and pin building model. Don't like it--it has jacked up the price of all pinball machines-- but a nice way to maximize profits on their part.
Quoted from RVH:Mini playfield on twilight zone, the magnets under it controlled by the flipper buttons is allways fun
Back when I first played this game, that feature blew my young mind. I thought it was just so cool.
Quoted from PopBumperPete:The crane in Batman TDK
Such a fun feature!
This might be a stretch for a gimmick but hitting all of the pool balls on Hot Shot is something so simple but oh so satisfying to achieve. I haven't played many pool based games so there might be others that did this before or after but that one was the first to come to my mind.
Rudy, for sure, both in terms of complexity and personality. He is of course just plain creepy. He taunts the player. He screams like a banshee when you make a jackpot. His eyes follow the ball around the table, darting left and right based on what switches are hit. When asleep, his mouth hangs open, and his lip even quivers in time with his snoring. He gives each player a unique nickname and calls them that for the duration of the game. No other pinball feature or toy comes close to all that.
The super charger from getaway was always at the top. I'm really digging the lt5 on corvette too. I also like the shaker interactions and the sinking building on sample earthshakers
Quoted from jmountjoy111:The super charger from getaway was always at the top. I'm really digging the lt5 on corvette too. I also like the shaker interactions and the sinking building on sample earthshakers
First time I saw the supercharger....I had to own it. Rudy also ranks very high in our gameroom
Zaccaria also did some really clever stuff in the 80s. On their Time Machine, I think it's neat how they had an entire section of the playfield raise and lower. It kinda reminds me of the rotating playfield on Lights Camera Action. Simple, but effective.
Best gimmck in pinball is magnets.
It doesn't matter what game. Any game where a magnet does something during a game is great.
My one friend who really isn't into pinball said it best while playing my Iron man. Quote " I know its just a magnet but every time I see that it's so cool!"
Double Trouble drop targets on Jungle Lord and the Flash Bank drop targets on Solar Fire and Grand Lizard.
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