Multiball

A game state in which two or more balls are in play simultaneously, typically triggered by locking balls in designated features and then releasing them all at once. Multiball is the climactic event in most modern pinball designs — the moment when scoring multipliers peak, the music intensifies, and the player’s ability to track and control multiple balls determines whether the round produces a massive score or a rapid drain. Williams’ Firepower (1980) is credited as the first machine to feature multiball as a designed gameplay objective, and the mechanic has been central to pinball game design ever since.