Simple Tip For Adding More Speed To The Ball

The other night I wanted to make the play field surface pop a little more. I don't have wax, which is what is used on real pinball machines. I don't know how well wax would work in this case because the artwork on the surface is actually just paper permanently adhered to a piece of medium density board. I did however had a bottle of Armor All. Yes folks, this stuff ain't just for cars. I use this on a ton of other stuff like hardwood furniture, speaker cabinets, etc.

Rather than spray directly to the surface (not recommended) I sprayed just a little bit on a folded up paper towel and started to gently wipe it around the surface. Then I wiped the excess off with a clean paper towel. This leaves an invisible slightly oily layer, making the surface slippery and smooth. When I started up the machine again and started playing.... WOOAH!!!! That ball just flies all over the play field. This added much more speed and drastically preserves the energy to the ball when hit by a flipper or bounced by a bumper. So count surface friction as another factor in the slow-ball movement issues. It's ridiculous how different it feels now. It feels far more like real pinball machine gameplay.

It's obvious now to this amateur that even though the ball is perfectly spherical and rolls around, much of the time it's slid around. Something I never thought of before. There's a reason bowling alleys heavily wax and lubricate their bowling lanes. If you watch the ball carefully, much of the time it's sliding rather than rolling, so a slick surface is critical for the ball to keep speed. Pinball machines are no different in this regard.

With each little simple adjustment the much maligned Zizzle machine is just keeps getting better and better, and dramatically so.

Now if you'll excuse me, I got some pinball to play...