Of free spins and multiballs

The cult playground equipment of the 20th century is on the advance again. Many people remember back to their youth, the countless hours in which one has sunk time and time again his small change in the pinball machine in the pub next door.

You think back to the time when you used wires to manipulate the machine for free spins - of course inconspicuously so that the host didn't notice anything. How one cursed oneself and the pinball machine when the ball was lost, even though it seemed to be the game of life, only to invest 50 Pfenning again.

Or even the loud crackling sound that sounded as soon as you had won a free game. Today I know that the manufacturers made this noise so loud that the landlord always knew which machine was giving many free games - and therefore less turnover to set the free game limit higher or to make the pinball machine heavier in another way, but more about that in another mail.

Each of us associates these machines with special memories and some of us may even know the name of the Flipper, who shaped his youth, and enriched with fun and excitement. Was it Terminator II (1991), High Speed (1986) or King Rock (1972)?

When you remember, you'd find a device like this on every corner. Whether in the smoky pub next door or in the barracks where they played against their comrades. But over time these devices disappeared from the public eye and thus from people's minds. What remains are the memories of a time when appointments were still binding, winters were still full of snow and pubs were still full of pinball machines.

Although the machines are hard to find in public, they still exist and are more sought after than ever before. Many of the devices have defied the ravages of time in the past decades. They still function perfectly and enjoy a rapidly growing fan base. A fan community that has grown up in the meantime, has children and cones and is now proud to be allowed to call itself flipper owners.