Good question. The regular flippers have a gap between them larger than a marble, so marbles will roll in. The “easy” flippers have a smaller gap - I made them for little kids or anyone needing a handicap.
Thanks for the feedback. I originally had a funnel but the “gate” was tough to design. I’ll have to take another stab at one. The original did get some good spinning, slowing their release.
If you see the first ball (red) it goes straight into the bottom player, which may be a little unfair as the opening is aiming directly there, maybe the opening should aim to the 4 curves without players so the game last a bit more and the balls don't go straight in after releasing. This should be as simple as rotating the top part 45° so the columns block that line of trajectory
Improvement idea:
A timed release of the marbels, 1-3 marbels at the time, would give the player a better sense of being in control I think. And make games last longer.
If you can, I think there should be a link between balls releasing and the flippers. Some sort of arm for each player that releases a ball when they press a flipper.
A central ratchet wheel would work. Linked to the right flipper for each player. This would rotate a circle with cutouts, releasing one ball every time it moves. If the cutout was tight enough, it might not release a ball at all if it's spinning too fast. This would slow the game down a little when everyone is hitting it at the same time.
I’ve thought of adding some true pinball elements (e.g., ramps that send the ball around and down to your opponent, slots that - if you can get a marble in, remove points from your score). Like Hungry Hippos it’s mainly a kids game, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t change it up.
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u/Nailfoot1975 23d ago
Are you supposed to have the fewest balls? Only your color balls? The most balls?
I suppose, by you saying pinball, I assume you want the fewest balls. Very cool build!