Magna-Save

A patented Williams mechanism that uses an electromagnet beneath the playfield to grab and hold a steel ball as it rolls toward the outlane. The player activates the magnet by pressing a dedicated button — separate from the Flippers buttons — at precisely the right moment. If the timing is correct, the ball sticks to the playfield surface long enough for gravity to pull it back toward the flippers. Magna-Save was introduced on Black Knight in 1980 and appeared on a handful of subsequent Williams titles. It remains one of pinball’s most dramatic save mechanics: a physical intervention that feels like cheating the laws of physics.