Play Holes

A broad category of playfield holes found on pre-Flippers pinball machines of the 1930s and 1940s, where the ball drops through a hole in the playfield surface rather than being deflected or captured above it. The most common subtype is the Free Play Holes, which returns the ball to the shooter lane without counting against the player’s ball allotment. Play holes frequently appeared alongside Trap Holes on the same playfield — IPDB records over 60 machines featuring both — creating a risk-reward landscape where some holes ended the ball and others rewarded the player with another shot.