Messenger Balls

A variation of the Captive Ball in which one captive ball acts as an intermediary, transferring the momentum of the ball-in-play to a second captive ball deeper in the assembly. The player’s shot strikes the first ball, which relays the force to the next — a chain-reaction mechanism inspired by Newton’s cradle. Messenger balls appeared on approximately 64 IPDB-cataloged machines and add a layer of indirect physics to the captive ball concept, requiring a firm, well-aimed shot to transmit enough energy through the intermediary to register the scoring switch behind the final ball.