One of the nice things about software pinball simulations on the PC is the ability with the right software to design your own table. This is something I’m really keen on and am currently learning the Future Pinball system. Partly for my own benefit I thought I’d make the occasional post about table design elements I particularly like - or dislike.

The first is definitely a “dislike”. It’s what I call “kamikaze shots” - if there’s a more generally accepted term, please let me know!

So what is a kamikaze shot? It’s a shot that’s very important if not essential to getting a good score, extra ball or special. However it’s positioned so that if you do make the shot there’s a very good chance of immediately losing the ball. A common example is a target bang in the centre of the playfield arranged in such a way that a ball hitting it will most probably drop straight down the central out hole. Other examples include specials that can only be obtained by losing the ball down an outlane and ramps that feed the ball straight into peril.

I’m not talking about difficult shots that penalise you for failure, I’m talking about shots that penalise you for success!

To me these all fall into the category of “unfair”. Making the player choose between giving up a goal or almost certainly losing the ball isn’t my idea of good pinball design.