"If you're gonna shoot the ball, why not do it with some skill?"
- Dr. Emmett L. Brown, Back to the Future
An example of a "plunger strength" skill shot from Tales of the Arabian Nights. The player has to plunge the ball into the indicated hole seen on the display.
A skill shot is an award that the player can go for right at the start of a ball, usually by determining the strength of the plunger, or by making a particular shot from the flippers after launching the ball. More recent tables have super & secret skill shots that can be made by holding either flipper off of a plunge or through other methods.
Types of skill shots[]
There are different kinds of skill shots that the player can execute and it may be helpful to understand common types of skill shots to become more skilled at pulling them off.
Some of the most common kinds of skill shots include:
- Plunger strength: At the start of the ball, the player must use the plunger itself to shoot the ball at a certain target and will need to determine the correct amount of force to apply to the plunger in order to hit it. Used in tables like Deadpool and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
- Plunger timing: The player must shoot the ball, typically at high or full plunger force, to hit a certain target at a particular time. Used in tables like DOOM and Jaws.
- Flipper-assisted: Unlike the two types of skill shots listed above, this kind of skill shot requires a well-timed flipper shot once the ball is shot into play that takes the ball up a certain lane or towards a certain target. Used in tables like Alien vs. Predator and The Walking Dead.