The New Pinball Dictionary

In one of my IFPA rounds, someone in my group lost to Johnny Plunge Sr. on Time Fantasy. It was pretty remarkable because on ball 3, Johnny managed to complete all 5 lanes up top using just the pop bumpers and with no lane changes!

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Good thing John Plunge, Esq. wasn’t opposing counsel v. Roger Sharpe et al. or that verdict may have gone the other way!

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“Post Pinball Depression” [PPD]

The feels that happen when a player either:

  • Realizes they have failed to qualify for the finals after the “Late Night Beat Down
  • Has played their last ball of a tournament and is eliminated from the finals
  • Has to leave after the PAPA/Pinburgh After Party closing time
  • Keeps replaying the last ball they played in the tournament over and over again in their head, trying to figure out what they could have done differently.

Derivatives: “Post PAPA Depression”, “Post Pinburgh Depression”

Facebook video link example of PPD

Nominators: Bryan Broyles, Brian Dye
Renominated by: Benjamin Franklin Granger

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“Crank it Off”

It’s a tweak on crank it down … Make sure you’re running version 1.6 or earlier on Metallica, be losing by less than 5 million, shoot in the CIU scoop, choose to Crank it Down for 5 million, walk away from the game victorious …

Only to realize there’s a bug that doesn’t award any points when you crank it down, lose the game, yell at Lyman who happens to be less than 30 feet away and convince him that he’s the reason you lost the game instead of taking responsibility for always making sure your score passes your opponents score before walking away :slight_smile:

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So, the opposite of a walk-off home run victory is a Crank It Off loss?

Actually, I don’t see a term for the shot that produces a Walk-Off win in the Pinball Dictionary. We need a variation of “Flip-Off” for the shot that puts your score over the top to win (Flip-Off sounds too much like something else). Maybe Clincher Flip?

While I’m in this thread, I don’t see “airball” on the dictionary page. Seems like it ought to be there.

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You are correct. There are quite a few terms and other jargon that could be there. I may have to go on a “dictionary entry posting streak” to catch up.

That’s a reason why I am glad there are places like this topic here on TiltForums. It serves as a place where people with good ideas can just post them, discuss them here, and don’t have to wait for me to make posts to the “Hall of Fame”.

Plus, since far more people visit TiltForums than my site, people are more likely to see this topic here first before noticing the “Main Page” on FWB.

I’ve also got some terms in the bullpen. Here are a few of them in no particular order:

Avatarred, Valid/Validation, Magna Drain, MagnaPass, Dead Money, Donator, Perfect (as a prefix), The Usher, The Arkanoid Drain / The Breakout Drain / The Inside-the-Park Home Run, Skillz, Juggling, Bunny Hop/Flipper Hop

Others can be found on one the alternate NPD areas:

NPD on reddit
Facebook Group
NPD on Pinside

In honor of Prince. Experiencing numerous outlane drains on Ghost Busters = “Purple Pain”.:grin:

“Play it forward”

To start a session on a game that someone has left a credit for you to play, and perform well enough to leave a credit for someone else, without paying any money yourself.

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I like the “GC Donor” version of that: post the GC score and walk away, leaving multiple credits for whomever.

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The Donor(1) is also Playing it forward if they didn’t need to pay for the games when they started.

But, other types of Donors(2) are in the tournament scene. They help to increase the pot.

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Might I suggest one? I don’t know if it’s too inappropriate, but a term I personally use is humper to refer to a player who nudges the machine forward every time he or she presses a flipper button, as from behind, it looks like the player is, well, humping the machine. Things change if there’s a multiball though. Sometimes, they stop, but sometimes, they become a vigorous humper in that now they’re nudging the machine a lot more. Unsurprisingly, humpers get a lot of tilt penalties.

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Oldsters do this.

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What about those who hump the machine in frustrating after a drained ball? I know I’ll give a machine a love check on occasion if it wants to play rough.

Personally, I’d call that Tough Love.

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fifth wheel: Someone who loses a tiebreaker to make it to the finals

The Drains: Like the “shanks” in golf, when you are just not able to have a good game all night, no matter what you try. “Nah, I’m not playing int the weekly tonight, I have a bad case of the Drains, so I’m going to head on home”

Gordon Bombay: Named after Emilio Estevez’s character in “the Mighty Ducks”, a player who hits more posts than shots. “I’m Gordon Bombay tonight, 10 shots, not one ramp, all posts”

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Kitty: When the machine you’re playing courteously gives you a Lazarus then you proceed to unintentionally let go of the flipper letting gravity put that ball back down the drain. Referring to the flipper resembling a cat batting at something. (Credit to Nick Greenup of KC,MO)

“Trough Lollie” - When in a new Stern machine the trough optos get confused or fail and the game serves you up a second ball. For an instant you think, sweet, (or when you first start learning to play) - free multiball, only to realise as soon as you drain one your turn is over, and indeed, often enough, so is the rest of the game - the machine has taken a wee on you.

Named from the old style urinal cakes (aka dunny onions or trough lollies) found in mens toilets.

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Chop Save: On Rob Zombie pinball, leaving one chop light unlit and collecting the final light on an outlane drain.

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Royal Farewell Bomb: when you finish Royal Madness with a troll bomb as the ball drains. (league a couple of months ago)