The pinball machine has a spring-powered launcher that shoots gumballs into the sloped playfield, where they roll down toward the trough, interacting with obstacles along the way. The flippers above the trough are operated by buttons on either side of the machine, flicking the gumballs back up into the playfield. Various targets around the machine represent different point values when triggered. A central ramp can be rotated to shoot gumballs into three elevated playing areas, and ultimately down the winning ramp, where the gumball can be claimed as a sweet prize. When gumballs do fall out of play and into the trough, a cool mechanism called an Archimedes screw stores them and moves them back toward the launcher again for a new game.
By building and playing with this pinball machine, you can explore lessons in physics and mechanical engineering as you build and play with the pinball machine. Learn about force, motion, collisions, simple machines and more. Includes approximately 45 delicious gumballs (99 grams).