The first problem that faces a novice pinball player is avoiding losing the ball. The skills in this section are the most basic skills to playing pinball -- whacking the ball with the flipper. * :: \\ - Double Flipper Hit :: :: This is not really a skill. This is a definite sign of inexperience. If you have a natural tendency towards hitting both flippers at once, try to break it. Yet if you are just getting used to pinball, make sure you can hit the ball with two flippers before going to one. \\ - Single Flipper Hit :: :: Advantageous because it allows for further skills to be employed. Single flipper hits allow the possibility of Slap Saves, and improve timing and aiming, which thus improves control and power. \\ - Aiming :: :: Aiming is usually the first skill which provides a challenge to new players. The basic concept is that you want to wait until the ball is on a certain part of the flipper before flipping thus sending the ball toward the target you are aiming for. If you have the ball coming down the left inlane, and you want to hit a target on the far right, hit the ball when the ball is above the tip rather than when it just reaches the base. \\ * ::

Once the skills in this section have been mastered, move on to skills for the intermediate player. /pinball/ Back to the Pinball Pasture /pinball/playing/ Back to Playing the Game of Pinball /pinball/playing/VFBTF/skills.html Back to Skills for the Pinball Player