The Complete Handbook of Pinball Machine Accessories

Chapter 1: Understanding Pinball Machine Accessories

A pinball machine without accessories is a desk display piece. It might look nice, but it doesn't play. The flippers don't return, the balls don't bounce, and the score doesn't light up. This handbook is about the parts that make a game playable, reliable, and profitable; the replaceable components that absorb wear, transmit electricity, and protect the playfield and its mechanisms. Understanding what these accessories are, how they work, and why they matter is the difference between owning a classic piece of electromechanical engineering and owning a frustrated pile of broken plastics.

When a player steps up to a game, they are not interacting with a single monolithic device. They are interacting with a system of hundreds of coordinated functions. The flipper button on the cabinet is not the flipper; it is an electrical switch. The switch sends a signal to a coil that pulls a linkage, which swings the flipper bat. That bat is covered with a rubber ring. The coil that moves it is held in place by a bracket and a coil stop, and its plunger returns via a spring. Every one of these components is a separate accessory; every one of them can be bought individually; and every one of them will eventually need to be replaced. The moment a machine is installed in an arcade, a bar, or a family room, the clock starts ticking on each of these parts. Some wear out in months; others decaand others define