You cannot begin to consider yourself experienced in the pinball world until you have ticked off at least 90% of these.
Install the wrong number of balls, causing a fault.
Put glass back on with balls not in machine.
Diagnose and fix a fault - by yourself.
Attempt a repair, but cause more damage.
Diagnose and fix a fault on someone else's machine over the phone.
Give away FREE, parts to a stranger online or at a show.
Visit and fix someone else's machine.
Diagnose and fix a fault on someone else's machine over the Internet.
Break a playfield glass.
Break a backglass- bonus point if it's unobtainable.
Have the back box drop onto the playfield, because you forgot to secure it.
Move a machine with the backbox unsecured, causing it to crash down.
Have a machine fall off a sack truck.
Take a machine to a show.
Hire a van to take multiple machines to a show.
Take a machine to a show, come back empty handed.
Take a machine to a show and come back with a different machine.
Buy a machine at a show.
Drop a round of drinks at a show.
Set up/take down other people's machines at a show.
Lose the ratchet strap you arrived with when it comes time to set down and have to improvise.
Have a machine fall over in a van.
Travel more than 2hrs to buy a machine.
Travel more than 2hrs to buy a machine, but leave empty handed.
Travel to a different country to buy a machine.
Buy a used machine sight unseen
Buy a used machine sight unseen from abroad.
Get lost with a van load of machines returning from a show.
Lose the keys to the lock and have to drill the door.
Redecal a machine.
Repaint/stencil a machine.
Build a cabinet/backbox from scratch.
Buy a project machine.
Buy a project machine, but never do anything with it before selling it.
Buy a machine from a 'barn/garage' find.
Get a machine by exchanging for a non-pinball item.
Get a machine free of charge/given to you.
Lose over 50% on a machine when you sell it.
Bring a project machine back to life.
Build/retheme a machine
Temporary trade of a machine with someone
Loan out a machine to someone.
Forget who you've loaned machines out to, or where they are.
Have more than 50 machines pass through your hands.
Own too many machines to be able to set them all up.
Have machines set up in more than 1 room in your house.
Buy a machine without using the Internet at all.
Wonder why a machine hasn't kicked a ball out of the lock - when there's a ball in the shooter lane.
Get an electric shock from a machine
Cause a short by dropping the tool you were working with.
Break a plastic while cleaning it.
Burn yourself while soldering.
Forget to remove batteries causing acid damage.
Buy a machine with woodworm.
Make a game specific part that can't be bought.
Have a playforld come off it's runners
Have playfield drop on your head
Forget to pull the power cable out before attaching backbox
Leave balls in trough before lifting playfield, causing them to drop out and smash plastics.
Spend hours checking coils, but not check the fuse.
Have that toasty burning smell of a locked on coil.
Rip clothes by catching on a shooter rod as you walk past.
Forget to take enough photos while stripping a playfield, thus meaning it takes you hours longer than it should to put back together.
Reassemble a playfield forgetting a single piece, meaning you have to strip it all back down again.
Have a ball just disappear completely from the playfield.
Unload a machine in the pouring rain.
Unload a vanload of machines in the pouring rain.
Leave a tool in a pin, then forget where it is altogether so you buy a replacement.
Enter a competition.
Take someone to the first competition.
Persuade someone to buy their first machine.
Sell a pin at mates rates.
Book a foreign holiday around a pinball show/tournament.
Gain a huge amount of spares from machines you've refurbished, just in case you'll need them again in the future. This includes washers, screws, bulbs, rubbers, coils, coil sleeves, game specific parts
(spoiler alert - you won't).
Install the wrong number of balls, causing a fault.
Put glass back on with balls not in machine.
Diagnose and fix a fault - by yourself.
Attempt a repair, but cause more damage.
Diagnose and fix a fault on someone else's machine over the phone.
Give away FREE, parts to a stranger online or at a show.
Visit and fix someone else's machine.
Diagnose and fix a fault on someone else's machine over the Internet.
Break a playfield glass.
Break a backglass- bonus point if it's unobtainable.
Have the back box drop onto the playfield, because you forgot to secure it.
Move a machine with the backbox unsecured, causing it to crash down.
Have a machine fall off a sack truck.
Take a machine to a show.
Hire a van to take multiple machines to a show.
Take a machine to a show, come back empty handed.
Take a machine to a show and come back with a different machine.
Buy a machine at a show.
Drop a round of drinks at a show.
Set up/take down other people's machines at a show.
Lose the ratchet strap you arrived with when it comes time to set down and have to improvise.
Have a machine fall over in a van.
Travel more than 2hrs to buy a machine.
Travel more than 2hrs to buy a machine, but leave empty handed.
Travel to a different country to buy a machine.
Buy a used machine sight unseen
Buy a used machine sight unseen from abroad.
Get lost with a van load of machines returning from a show.
Lose the keys to the lock and have to drill the door.
Redecal a machine.
Repaint/stencil a machine.
Build a cabinet/backbox from scratch.
Buy a project machine.
Buy a project machine, but never do anything with it before selling it.
Buy a machine from a 'barn/garage' find.
Get a machine by exchanging for a non-pinball item.
Get a machine free of charge/given to you.
Lose over 50% on a machine when you sell it.
Bring a project machine back to life.
Build/retheme a machine
Temporary trade of a machine with someone
Loan out a machine to someone.
Forget who you've loaned machines out to, or where they are.
Have more than 50 machines pass through your hands.
Own too many machines to be able to set them all up.
Have machines set up in more than 1 room in your house.
Buy a machine without using the Internet at all.
Wonder why a machine hasn't kicked a ball out of the lock - when there's a ball in the shooter lane.
Get an electric shock from a machine
Cause a short by dropping the tool you were working with.
Break a plastic while cleaning it.
Burn yourself while soldering.
Forget to remove batteries causing acid damage.
Buy a machine with woodworm.
Make a game specific part that can't be bought.
Have a playforld come off it's runners
Have playfield drop on your head
Forget to pull the power cable out before attaching backbox
Leave balls in trough before lifting playfield, causing them to drop out and smash plastics.
Spend hours checking coils, but not check the fuse.
Have that toasty burning smell of a locked on coil.
Rip clothes by catching on a shooter rod as you walk past.
Forget to take enough photos while stripping a playfield, thus meaning it takes you hours longer than it should to put back together.
Reassemble a playfield forgetting a single piece, meaning you have to strip it all back down again.
Have a ball just disappear completely from the playfield.
Unload a machine in the pouring rain.
Unload a vanload of machines in the pouring rain.
Leave a tool in a pin, then forget where it is altogether so you buy a replacement.
Enter a competition.
Take someone to the first competition.
Persuade someone to buy their first machine.
Sell a pin at mates rates.
Book a foreign holiday around a pinball show/tournament.
Gain a huge amount of spares from machines you've refurbished, just in case you'll need them again in the future. This includes washers, screws, bulbs, rubbers, coils, coil sleeves, game specific parts
(spoiler alert - you won't).