If you haven’t spent an extended duration in Japan or delved into the realm of obscure games, chances are you won’t be too acquainted with the game of pachinko.
Pachinko is classified as an amusement game, meaning that although players engage in a form of gaming, they do not violate any laws.
Here’s the setup: envision an upright pinball machine with some distinctive features. It incorporates diminutive steel balls, about 11mm in size each, which players utilize and lease from the proprietors of the pachinko apparatus. These machines are typically found in specialized venues known as pachinko parlors.
Participants need to launch the steel balls onto a metal pathway using a triggering mechanism. The balls rotate along the pathway before gradually slowing down and entering the playing zone, which is equipped with brass pins and receptacles. If the ball rebounds off the pins and lands in a receptacle, the participants secure a prize.
However, if the ball rebounds off the pins, misses landing in a receptacle, and falls into the catcher, participants do not win. These machines operated mechanically until the 1980s, at which point they started to evolve into electrical devices.
How to Play Pachinko
In pachinko, players launch small steel balls, significantly tinier than those in a standard pinball machine, into a vertical playing field by manipulating a knob situated at the lower right-hand corner of the apparatus. If a ball enters the ‘start’ hole at the center of the field, it triggers a drum, akin to the one in a slot machine. Until around a decade ago, most machines featured rotating drums, but nowadays, the majority sport animated screens.
When two symbols align on the drum or screen, a player stands a chance of achieving a ‘reach,’ which signifies a potential win. The objective is to match three symbols. Upon achieving this, a cascade of thousands of steel balls pours out into a reservoir at the machine’s base. The player then transfers the contents into a plastic container positioned on the ledge below. These containers are precisely sized to accommodate the typical number of balls (usually 4,000) dispensed during a single victory.
During wins, the lamp at the pinnacle of the machine begins to flash, and both the machine’s ‘song’ and the central screen undergo alterations. For instance, if the symbols on the drum depict animated women with a seductive aura, the primary character may start disrobing. However, there is a recent shift away from sensuality in favor of a more endearing aesthetic.
Charming dinosaurs, diminutive baseball players, and wide-eyed explorers in the jungle are becoming increasingly prevalent compared to alluring women, possibly reflecting the fact that women now constitute a significantly larger proportion of pachinko patrons than in previous decades.
Pachinko Pros
Nevertheless, there exist individuals known as ‘pachinko experts’ who earn their livelihood by engaging in the game. They typically achieve this by attending the debut of new establishments or by frequenting older ones whenever a fresh type of machine is introduced.
Recent reports from the media suggest that, in an effort to avoid projecting an image of a nation of gaming enthusiasts to international observers, owners of pachinko parlors complied with government appeals to abstain from installing new machines during the World Cup year. Despite this, it’s improbable that pachinko attendance saw a significant decline; the game is simply too widely favored.
Due to the fact that pachinko is not government-run, the level of customer service varies significantly from one establishment to another. Some establishments offer sweets to their patrons, maintain cleanliness, and instruct their attendants to be courteous and helpful. Certain shops feature shelves overhead filled with the used plastic containers used for holding balls.
Typically, when a container is filled, an attendant will approach, supply the player with a fresh container, and place the full one on the floor. This is crucial, as a full container often needs to be set down on the floor while a player is still in the midst of a winning streak and cannot release the knob.
Swift players can release the knob, grab the container, pivot around, and set it down on the floor (perhaps balancing it on several other already full containers), then turn back, grasp the knob, and start shooting—all in one seamless motion, without prematurely ending the winning streak (referred to as a ‘punku’, from the Japanese term for ‘puncture’).
However, it takes some time to become skilled at this; thus, initially, it’s advisable to visit an establishment where attendants promptly come by with a smile.
Generally speaking, if foreigners are playing, it will be assumed that they’re unfamiliar with the game, and so the attendants will keep a watchful eye and have an empty container ready if the need arises.