Flippers

"Flippers" is one of the few words that conjurs up images of Pinball Machines. It now has a firm place in Pinball History.

Pinball Machines had already cemented their place in history by the time they were invented. As Pinball Manufacturers were now back in full production after World War II, new and inventive features were being developed.

Pinball had now become a favourite pass-time for many people, and new pinball models were rolling off the production line quite frequently.

The manufacturers of the time were trying to out do each other with sales of the machines, and in the process new ways to excite players became the focus.

D. Gottlieb and Co. had come up with a new and exciting way to play pinball, and released it on a new machine called...

Humpty Dumpty

Gottlieb's chief designer, Harry Mabs, created the "Flipper Bumpers".

Gottlieb used two sets of three Flipper Bumpers on their pinball design "Humpty Dumpty" in 1947, to give players more control over what the ball did on the playfield.

It is possible that they were invented for a dual purpose - A new feature to help out sell competitors, and to make pinball more a game of skill, than a game of chance.

These were not powerful as the ones used on current machines. They were only 2 inches long, and aligned near the top, middle and bottom of the playfield on each side.

The bumpers were operated by pressing a button on either side of the cabinet. The left button caused the left bumpers to move, and the right button caused the right bumpers to move. Each set of bumpers moved in unison once the button was pressed.

The Flipper Bumpers operated differently to the current version. They still project the ball up the playfield, but they rotate from the outside of the playfield towards the middle, rather than rotating from the middle of the payfield towards the outside.

And they were indeed more like Bumpers than Flippers by today's standards. These bumpers had just enough power to propell the ball to the other side of the playfield, but not far back up it.

But this was just what was needed on Humpty Dumpty. The idea was to get the ball back into the centre area of the playfield where the higher scoring targets were located.

Flippers became the norm on pinball machines after Humpty Dumpty, but the way they worked was about to be changed...

1950's

Flippers now had a strong hold on Pinball Machines, and in some ways, defined what they were.

Regardless of how many were used in a machine - 2, 4, 6, etc.. they always rotated in the same way, that is, starting from the side of the playfield, heading towards the middle and shooting the ball upwards.

Steve Kordek in 1947 (while working for Genco Manufacturing), was the first person to locate them in the position that they are known for today, but his still operated the same as the others.

Gottlieb again revolutionised Pinball by changing the way their flippers worked.

The earliest known use of them in their current way of operating, was on Gottlieb's "Just 21" in 1950.

Gottlieb used this new flipper operation on all, bar a handful of games, during the early 1950's. After about 1955, all Gottlieb pinballs used this new form.

Williams, the other major manufacturer of the time, took a while to catch on to this new idea. They did use it in on a few pinballs in the early 1950's, but again, it wasn't until 1955 that they abanded the old way for the new way.

For many years after the flipper was invented, the bat was only 2 inches long. The next step was an increase in size...

3 Inches Long

Williams may have been behind Gottlieb when it came to changing the way flippers operated, but they made the change to 3 inch bats first.

In 1968, Williams released "Hayburners II". This was the first pinball to feature 3 inch bats.

Bally soon followed with "Bally Hoo" in 1969 (Yes, almost the same name as "Ballyhoo", the one that started Bally in the pinball world. And there is another "Ballyhoo" manufactured by Bally in 1947!)

Gottlieb was slow to follow suit, but eventually did in 1971 with "Now". The 3 inch bat was short lived at Gottlieb, reverting back to the 2 inch for the next pinball. It wasn't until mid 1972 that Gottlieb finally used, and stayed with, the 3 inch bat again.

A new version of the Flipper also emerged at about this time...

Zipper Flippers

While "Hayburners II" was the first pinball to feature 3 inch bats, it also featured "Zipper Flippers".

Zipper Flippers was the term used for flippers that actually moved their position on the playfield! They could either be in the standard location, or they could move closer together!

Having them closer together made it much more difficult for the ball to drain, but you couldn't just set it up that way.

Zipper's were part of a feature on the pinball. Through playing the game, you could activate them to move, and improve your chances of a higher score.

But during this feature, you also had the chance of turning off the Zipper's, and reverting them back to their normal state.

Bally was the innovative manufacturer behind the Zipper Flippers. They first featured on "Bazaar" in 1965. Also, the very popular game "Fireball" (1971) had them too.

Bally used these on 21 of their games, while Williams used them on only 4. A couple of obscure pinball manufacturers used them on one or two of their machines.

It should be noted that "Zipper Flipper" is a Bally trademarked name. Williams called it "Closing Flipper Action".

There is another important improvement in Flipper technology...

Solid State

Pinball Machines always had, and still have, mechanical devices that operate the bats.

Electro-Mechanical (EM) pinballs used the button to control the power going to the solenoids (coils). Pressing the button completed the circuit, energised the coil, and the bat moved.

Even the Electronic (or Solid State) pinballs employed this process.

In the 1990's, the control of the bat changed. Now some electronics applied the power to the coil once the button was pushed.

Williams was the first to use a solid state version in "Addams Family" (using the Bally name). They added a "Flipper Controller Board" to the backbox electronics, which now meant that the machine could also control the flippers without the player pressing the button!

Data East soon followed, and introduced their solid state version. They named their board "TY-FFASI" in response to Williams suing them for a variety of things at the time. "TY-FFASI" stands for (be careful kids) "Take Your F*%@ing Flippers And Stick It". Something that still amuses people involved in pinball today.

Solid State Flippers have been the norm since the early 1990's, and have gone through only a few minor changes.

There you have it, a journey through the evolution of Flippers in Pinball History.