What are deep rules in pinball machines?

At first glance, it might seem like every pinball machine plays the same: you just try to keep the ball in play for as long as possible, right? Not quite. Pinball machines may share similar parts such as flippers, bumpers, targets, but their arrangement on the playfield and rule logic radically change how each game feels. Fifty years ago, some machines reused playfields with just cosmetic changes. But those days are long gone.

Competition between manufacturers sparked innovation. Every new release had to offer something special. The introduction of ramps added dynamic movement across the playfield, allowing designers to create shortcuts and vertical gameplay. And with solid-state machines came more processing power, enabling rule systems that could rival video games in complexity. Today’s machines are designed around themes. You don’t just play pinball, you enter an interactive world under glass, that tells a story and has ith goals to achieve.

What do rules actually mean?

If you’ve never played pinball seriously, it might seem strange to hear about rules. But pinball machines have distinct gameplay logic. Most beginners focus on keeping the ball from draining. That’s step one. But soon you’ll notice an odd pattern: sometimes your score is high after a short game, and sometimes you score little after a long one. That’s because scoring depends on hitting the right targets, in the right order, at the right time, not just keeping the ball in play.

Older machines were simple. Hit a target, earn a point. More difficult targets were worth slightly more. Then designers added conditional features like special when lit. This meant a target was only valuable if certain preconditions were met, like completing a set of drop targets or rolling over a sequence of lanes. Suddenly, the game had a purpose. You weren’t flipping randomly, you had to strategize and aim carefully to unlock bonuses. Gameplay became layered and rewarding for skilled players.

The arrival of solid-state systems transformed everything. Before, adding new rules meant wiring actual switches and components. It was expensive and space-limited. If you’ve looked inside an older electro-mechanical machine, you’ll understand: they’re already packed. But with microprocessors, designers could create more complex logic in software. As long as the ROM had space, new features could be programmed easily. This freed designers to be more creative than ever before.

A complicated electro-mechanical game. When the cabinet is full, you can't add any more rules..

The Rise of Mode-Based Gameplay

Modern machines began using alphanumeric and dot-matrix displays to communicate rules, objectives, and scores. Some even embedded basic video-game sequences into the display. Themes evolved beyond mere artwork. Gameplay now supported storytelling. A few examples:

• High Speed – Escape police pursuit by completing objectives.
• Cirqus Voltaire – Perform stunts to join the circus.
• NBA Fastbreak / World Cup Soccer – Simulate sporting events with proper scoring.
• Medieval Madness / Attack from Mars – Conquer castles or defend Earth against invaders.

Players don’t just press buttons or bounce a pinball around: they participate in themed missions. That’s where modes come in. A mode is a timed segment with its own rules and objectives. Multiball is a classic example: once triggered, you juggle multiple balls, and some shots become jackpots or high-value targets.

Modern machines feature wizard modes: ultimate challenges unlocked after completing other tasks. During wizard modes, only specific shots count, and time pressure adds urgency. Wizard mode is typically the pinnacle of play, often with its own high score table and demanding precision under pressure.

Rules that allow stacking

The first mode-based games in the 1980ies were simple. You would qualify for a mode, all other normal gameplay would pause, and the mode would run. Once the mode had ended (because you completed it or time ran out), normal gameplay would resume. You could again continue and try to quality and start another mode. But only one mode could run at the time.

Games with modes that can be stacked are different. They allow activate multiple modes at once. Usually this happens in combination with a multiball. A specific order is required: you have to start a mode and can then lock the final ball to start a multiball, you can't do it the other way around.

This type of gameplay became popular in the 1990ies and this type of gameplay is still implemented in most games and loved by players. It's the strategy where people talk about. You have to know what to combine, when to start a specific mode for optimal scoring. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the key to scoring big is to run several multiball modes simultaneously. In White Water the key to scoring high is to start the 5X playfield multiplier just before locking the third ball and start multiball. All scored jackpots are then multiplied by 5.

This complexity and strategy has changed pinball a lot. Whereas in the 1970ies and 80ies scoring high was mostly skill-based as in keeping the pinball on the playfield for a long time and increasing bonus multipliers, this has totally changed. If you want to compete in competitions now, you have to know the rules in detail of the machines you're going to play. You need to know what strategy to follow: where to start modes and multiball, and in what order you have to do these tasks to maximise your score.

How Difficulty Affects Enjoyment

So why would anyone buy a hard game for home? Because challenge offers longevity. If you're a skilled player, or eager to improve, a tough machine keeps you engaged. You can practice endlessly without dropping coins. It took me nearly a month of playing my Twilight Zone every night before I truly began to enjoy it. In a pub, I might play a game three or four times and move on. But at home, a steep learning curve isn’t a problem, it’s part of the reward.

Easy games are great at first. But if you improve quickly, they may feel repetitive. You want a game that offers variety, evolving objectives, and just the right mix of randomness and structure. When you reach one goal, the next should feel different and require new tactics.

Skill level matters. If you’re casual and play infrequently, a deep and difficult machine might not be enjoyable. Starting with a simpler game makes more sense. All modern machines have adjustable difficulty settings too, so if the game becomes too easy, you can raise the challenge—or eventually upgrade to a more complex machine.

For kids, simplicity is key. They're happy just keeping the ball alive and watching the lights flash. They won’t grasp subtle rules, so look for games that reward general play: hit everything that’s lit works perfectly. Add flashy sounds and they’ll be thrilled.

In the end, pinball is about enjoyment. Choose a game that suits your personality, goals, and experience level. If a machine is too hard, you might only access a fraction of its features. If it’s too easy, it may lose its charm over time. Like any hobby, finding the right fit makes all the difference.

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