To be defeated on the last ball by less than 1% of your score, especially if it takes bonus count to do it. You can tell if someone got “Aced” when players and bystanders start groaning about how close the game was and then they start taking pictures of the final score.
During Multiball, when a moving ball hits a ball that is cradled and causes both balls to be out of the player’s control.
To start a 4-player game and play all 4 games by yourself. Sometimes you will see this happen at pinball conventions where games are on Free Play mode.
An event where the ball goes down the middle, but it hits the area below the flippers in a way where it is able to return back through the flippers again and back into play. See also: Lazarus
To distract an opponent during play by passing gas in the immediate vicinity of the action. Usually, chemical warfare is done surreptitiously via a silent but deadly fart.
To set up a game for tournament play with all options set to ‘extra hard’ and tilts not only set tight, but polished with brasso, so there’s no chance of a hit without a warning or a tilt.
A period of invincibility earned by spelling the word T-I-M-E while playing the game Time Fantasy. During this period, if you drain the ball, you get the ball back immediately in the shooter lane.
The act of needing only one ball to win a pinball game from any deficit. Even though pinball games give you three or five balls to work with, the rules of some games are set up in such a way that any one ball could secure a victory
A sarcastic description of a player who loses a ball and resorts to cursing, slam tilting, rage tilting, etc. to release their frustration.
To watch another competitor play a pinball game, with the express purpose of answering questions about the way the game is playing.
A period in the qualification round of a pinball tournament that occurs late at night and can last until early the next morning until the qualification period closes. During this period, pinball competitors are frantically playing many entries in an effort to qualify for the tournament.
A score on a PAPA-style tournament entry set that, at the time, scores some ranking points. However, as the qualification period wears on, the score gets passed by many players and becomes worth fewer and fewer ranking points.