I know pinball has long lost it's popularity, but if this were
provided
this could gain more money for the operators while still being
player
friendly.
Basically, the idea here is to have a pinball machine set up so that
if
you put in the normal game fee worth of quarters (1 quarter or
2
quarters, which can be changed by the owner of the machine by
flipping a switch inside the scoreboard) it will give you 3 balls as
usual BUT if you put in twice the amount that would normally take
to play, it will give you 5 balls (or a 2 player 3 ball game as a
normal
game would do in this situation, maybe selected on the screen, via
the flipper buttons? or the start button could be pressed twice for
a 2
player game, or held for a 1 player 5 ball game?)
This would also have a seperate high-score level so that a skilled
player on 3 ball mode wouldn't lose their high score to someone
who
sucks but played 5 balls. Also, the bonus scores, i.e. the score you
must reach to get an extra ball or free game will be adjusted to
compensate, so that you have a more-or-less equal chance of
getting
a bonus. Also, you can also have a 2-player, 5 ball game, but of
course you have to put in enough for 2 5-ball games, and select 5
balls when you start the game
This function will be stated on a card that is on the coin door, and
on
the traditional pricing card that is on the metal cover, right below
the ballpark.
This way, one could vary the length of their game if they're short
on
time or something-like you just want to pass the time before your
movie starts at the movie theater, but you don't want to play a 5-
ball
game because you may then miss the beginning, for example, you
could just put in the normal game starting price
Also, if you later want to extend your game by putting more
money in, you can do so. Upon game over, a countdown timer will
appear on the screen, much like some coin-op video games. If the
game costs 50 cents to play, inserting 1 quarter mid-game will
give you an extra ball, for example, and the same goes for
continuing with your current score and any ball-locks (if present)
will remain as-is, and will only cancel the ball locks if the
continue countdown runs out.