About

This guide covers over 400 pinball machines made from the 1960's through the mid-1980's. The guide begins with general information about these games and some terminology, then moves on to skills, techniques and strategy. The main section has specific details and advice for each machine.

You should be able to click any game or technique section at the left to go directly to it; it might take a few moments, though, since this is a long document. I occasionally add games or update the tips on existing games, so this guide does change over time.

Hi, I'm Bob Matthews, a.k.a. BobMathUse, a.k.a. BMU [high score initials]. I started playing pinball in 1972. It was 10 cents a game, all Electro-Mechanical games, "EMs" for short. The machines were add-a-ball only, since replays were not permitted where I lived in upstate New York. (Fortunately, upstate and New York City often disagreed on things, and still do; there was no issue with pinball's legality where I was.)

To make my dimes go the furthest, I had to strive for long games. This is some of my accumulated knowledge from the past 50 years. My ideas aren't always perfect, nor my execution of them, but they've worked pretty well for me. In some cases, expert players may have different opinions on choices of shots or which flipper techniques to use than what I describe here. That's fine; if you find or hear of something better that works for you, use it! If you find the tips here help you, you're welcome, and spread the word. And if you want to pass this along to someone or somewhere else, go ahead, as long as it's attributed to me.

You can reach me at bobmathuse@aol.com; I've done social media for 40 years, but I don't do fb.

FYI, I do photography on the side. My wife and I sometimes sell them, but I've put a large number of general photos online for public view. You can find them at the address below. Subjects include the Rose Parade, balloon festivals, auto shows and museums, gardens, trips to Europe, "Fun with Ice," and some wacky races and parades. Like this guide, the photo catalog changes over time and I add descriptions when I can.

flickr.com/photos/150168823@N06/albums

I'm Frank aka FRG aka silverballmania. My journey into pinball began a bit later in life, in 2006, when we got a STTNG machine for some office fun. Before this, my pinball experience was limited to just one game on a Terminator 2 back in the early '90s, which quickly convinced me that I was more adept at enjoying a good beer than playing pinball. My real passion for pinball took off in 2009 after I added a second machine and started participating in tournaments from 2010.

Fast forward to today, and my enthusiasm for pinball has only intensified. Every aspect of learning and playing the game brings immense joy, with competition sparking an even greater passion in me. Over the past decade, my interest has led to a rapid turnover of pinball machines, as I found myself falling in love with nearly every machine I played. This passion eventually drove me to delve deeper into the world of pinball in my own basement, where I could explore these machines in detail. My particular affection for classic pinball machines meant that discovering Bob's Guide on the IFPA page was like hitting the jackpot; it resonated with me on so many levels.

Initially, my quest for knowledge had me turning to various resources such as the pinball archive, YouTube, flippermarkt, tiltforums, and pintips. But it was just a few weeks ago when I came across Bob's Guide. This guide proved to be an incredible source of inspiration. I contacted Bob to discuss making his guide more accessible for web and mobile users, and with his consent, we've done just that - or at least, that's the hope!