Fingerbang: When the machines are too close together and you brush the fingers of the player next to you.
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Any term for that instance where youâreplaying in a public place, and someone enthusiastic is trying to have a conversation with you and physically hits you, causing an adverse effect?
'Cause I was playing at an AC/DC in a movie theater about two weeks ago, and a lady on a cell phone had just hung up. Apparently looking for someone to talk to, she started conversing with me. It was hard to concentrate on both the game and her conversation (especially as she was talking about a friend of hers I donât know) but I tried to just speak what I could. Eventually, she got so caught up talking to me that she went up to me and nudged me on the shoulder, causing me to drain. (She wasnât mad or anything. Just really, REALLY into whatever she was talking about.)
I feel like there HAS to be a term for that kind of personâŚ
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You are a very considerate player. 
My first thought was to suggest a term with the word âInterruptusâ in it since your play was being interrupted. The goal being to define the situation instead of the person.
But then I remembered that the term âPinballus Interruptusâ has been nominated as:
When the arcade suddenly turns the power out at closing time, especially when you are having a very good game.
Nominators: Steve Marsh, Ray Brehm
So I am back to square one, so far.
Now, words like âExtrovertâ âUnintentionalâ and âProjectionâ are crossing my mind âŚ
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This always reminds of âJazz Hands Jeffâ (right?) from the Elwinsâ video.
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Yeah, and I think âAnnoying Alâ is the one that probably fits the scenario @SunsetShimmer described.
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Heh, thanks for the suggestions. Itâs the sort of thing Iâd probably talk about many years later, as I had never seen a bystander do such a thing before (and I hope to never have it happen again), and I had hoped thereâs something less clumsy to say than âPerson who enthusiastically wants your attention while playing and will do so physically.â
âAnnoying Alâ sounds nice to use. Is there any person named Al that itâs based on?
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Would this also account for situations like when a player slides the game next to you into yours, causing you to drain / tilt?
Something like that can upgrade an âAnnoying Alâ to a âBulldozing Billâ, a âBum-rushing Barbaraâ or a âBashing Bobâ.
Since it doesnât exist, we can coin it. How about âBusybodyâ?
(Still trying to avoid using names ⌠)
You guys notice how normally people are pretty sensitive about personal space, but when youâre at a pinball, you get treated like furniture?
Itâs happened to me bunches of times in a bar, folks hanging out nearby will just lean their butt right up against my flippin finger. Like hello, how do you not feel some giant jazz hand wriggling underneath your bum?
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How about the small child that squeezes in between two machines to see what youâre doing. now on the plus side its cool to see them take an interest, hopefully he becomes a player, but their head blocks view of the pf, their body gets in the way of your flipping hand, and you just know someday youâre gonna forget theyâre there and get in major trouble when you have to pull off a sudden slide save and BAM!
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What about just being âKissedâ? Gene Simmonsed may be more accurate, but itâs kind of a mouthful (see what I did there?).
Demon Drained.
Kids between games donât bother me, as long as theyâre not waving their hands over the playfield. The ones I donât like are the ones who climb under the games, or between me and the game. You want to yank them aside, but theyâre not your kids, so you canât!
I play a lot at a location that has tons of kids (sportsplex). The cool thing about kids is theyâll blurt out whatever is on their mind. Dozens of times Iâve had a kid watch me for a minute or less, then say âYouâre really goodâ. I always thank them, then tell them that I practice a lot. It does wonders for your ego hearing âYouâre really goodâ over and over, even if itâs just coming from kids. Hell yes I am really good. d;^)
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bummed out?
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In our league we always say âGene Simmons gives terrible headâ.
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When they are blocking my flipping hand, all of a sudden I feel like I am playing while in a straitjacket. I hope I get really accurate, because I donât want to have to move anything. Itâs like the ultimate TILT warning.
Come to think of it, âstraitjacketâ needs to be a word for a thing. Not sure for what though.
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Pity like for the excellent Dad-joke!
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Oftentimes, the people leaning up against the machine as youâre playing them donât really mean it. I always say, âExcuse me please, but Iâm playing this machine,â and theyâll back off in a mix of surprise and guilt. It is quite bizarre to me though when they do it as someone is playing.
My guess is that they think they ARE giving you the space you need, as I think to most people, the idea of nudging never even comes up or they think itâs cheating. Also, Iâm sure they assume that pinball machines would be like other similarly large items in that they are rigid and fixed, not realizing they actually give a little bit to allow for nudging. When theyâre right up against the flipper buttons, on the other handâŚI have nothing I can think of besides that they are likely people who donât really respect private space to begin with (or, in rare instances, are subtly trying to suggest for you to leave).
To see what youâre doing? Heck, at Chaparral Lanes on weekends, they will CLIMB ONTO THE MACHINESâ PLAYFIELD GLASS, even when youâre playing them! Theyâre too busy chasing each other having too much fun to realize someone might actually be using them! Chaparral Lanes, you see, has a row of five to seven machines, and the kids will usually climb onto one at an end and run across them screaming and squealing. This is rare though; more often, they run underneath the machines or will try to shove you out of the way. (I do remember one case where a little girlâs mother saw her shoving me, and she walked into the arcade area, grabbed her by the wrist, and escorted her out telling her not to shove people. The girl was not really listening and was too upset that her mom had ended her fun.)
Between these kinds of incidents, of people leaning on machines when youâre playing on them and kids treating them as jungle gyms, itâs a pretty dismal sign when the average person just treats pinball machines as blocks up against a wall, bercause someone actually playing on them is such an unexpected occurrence to them. Or maybe itâs just me.
Itâs kind of like a mini drop catch out of the inlane. It slows the ball down just enough to trap it on the same flipper. If itâs going too fast Jorian is able to do some little baby flicks to keep it on the right flipper. Iâve used that move before but Iâve never heard a name for it.
Flip stop?
Inlane catch?
Drop stop?
New term per PAPA Classics 1 for coming from behind by more than a score rollover to win a game on the final ball: Getting Stoned - - see semifinal game with Zach, Bowen, Bob and, as player 4, Kevin Stone.
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