Did they used to make flipperless pinball machines?
Dear Cecil: According to my father, who misspent his youth as thoroughly as I am trying to misspend mine, pinball machines didn’t always have flippers. When he was a boy, he says, the machines allowed you only the use of the plunger–you shot the ball up to the top, and then watched helplessly as it rolled down the board. Is this true? (Not that I doubt my father, but he is given to strange flights of fancy.) If so, was this supposed to be fun, or what? — B.F., Morton Grove, Illinois Dear B.: Show some respect, my son. We children of the 1990s, constantly on the prowl for “kicks” and “action,” require nonstop razzle-dazzle if we are not to become bored. But our ancestors were more easily amused. They were still able to take pleasure in the majestic forces of nature, such as gravity. This explains the appeal of flipperless pinball, which is actually a modern variation on the age-old game of bagatelle. It was said to have been invented by the ancient Greeks, who used to amuse themselves
Dear Cecil: According to my father, who misspent his youth as thoroughly as I am trying to misspend mine, pinball machines didn’t always have flippers. When he was a boy, he says, the machines allowed you only the use of the plunger–you shot the ball up to the top, and then watched helplessly as it rolled down the board. Is this true? (Not that I doubt my father, but he is given to strange flights of fancy.) If so, was this supposed to be fun, or what? — B.F., Morton Grove, Illinois Cecil replies: Show some respect, my son. We children of the 1990s, constantly on the prowl for “kicks” and “action,” require nonstop razzle-dazzle if we are not to become bored. But our ancestors were more easily amused. They were still able to take pleasure in the majestic forces of nature, such as gravity. This explains the appeal of flipperless pinball, which is actually a modern variation on the age-old game of bagatelle. It was said to have been invented by the ancient Greeks, who used to amuse thems