Just my opinion... I thought I would post it in this thread because the other one I find too aggressive and personal....
Keep in mind that prior to Humpty Dumpty in 1947, the ONLY way you could influence ball trajectory, apart from shooter rod impact, was to nudge a machine. Even before flipper tricks, there was nudging. It is a basic principle of pinball. Flipper control is but a part of it.
Unfortunately, once flippers started getting longer and outholes getting smaller (you think Pinbot is a drain whore, play a woodrail!), nudging skills became less used by the average players, or often, over-used in an aggressive manor.
A skilled player will control his nudging. It is quite impressive. I had the priviledge of playing with Bowen Kerins at Bally Boy's place and his playing was quite impressive. His nudging was very slight and very controlled. I don't get impressed easily in pinball, and that night I was. He was not what I call a spastic player like Rick Stetta. Very calm, and he barely moved his body. He kept a light pressure on the lockdown bar, which permitted to move his hands quickly if needed.
It looks like the etymology of the word is 17th centruy Scandanavia, meaning "to push with one's elbow". Like "nudging in line."
In the UK, it is popular to have Fruit Machines (Slot Machines), with buttons that advance or "nudge" the reels after a spin. It's usually given as either a computer generated guaranteed win (unless you're absolutely daft, in which case people have launched cases wanting to ban nudging for taxing stupid people) or as a "teaser" for a close win. This is done purposefully as opposed to shaking the machine, but one wonders if it's use here originated from those trying to cheat the final stopping place of reels on a fruit machine.
I think they (Williams, Bally, Stern, etc..) let nudging get out of control...even catering to it in some of the above mentioned games.
I think nudging should have been discouraged greatly with higher/more difficultly set tilt limits....but whatever, too late now...Nudge if you got to. I just try to control the ball/shots so I don't have to nudge.
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Without nudging there is very little ball control around outlanes, in competition we all nudge.
On the bagatelles, bingos, flipperless - nudging was also discourged, (tilt mechanisms introduced in the 30's) It is my understanding that they were mainly games of chance, intended only to be influenced by the amount of force applied to the shooter rods. Much like the trade stimulators before them, the player was lead to "think" they had some control or skill over the outcome.
I believe it's because of that (prizes of free games, drinks, cigars, and money were given), that Pinballs got a reputation (long before the "teen hangout" crowd) amongst City officials, and were banned as gambling devices. And thus the invention of Flippers became an inevitable move towards "legitimizing" the pinball as a game of "skill" (and hence some of the older signs you see too).
With later machines, nudging became an acceptable form of ball control, so much so that manufactures allowed the adjustment of TILT bob sensitivity, AND later variable number of TILT warnings. Thus once again giving players the impression that they could influence the outcome (at least to the point that the operator either thought he was losing money, or the machine was being damaged).
P.S. Slamming your palms down on the Lock Bar after a disappointing game IS NOT considered nudging.
Always been a nudger. This WoF I've been funning around with...yep, nudge city. Never been one to shy away from a good nudge. When I got beat by World ranked #4 last Canadian pinball open playoffs, I paid careful attention to his nudging techniques...in fact, all the top Amarican players, that was what seperated them from the Canadian players...thank GOODNESS one of our own won...but until then, these guys were mowing down some good Canadian talent and I'd say it really boiled down to a couple nudging techniques they had over the Canadian dudes. And I'll tell you what, I learned those techniques too...been a few months honing them and they're STILL not 100% there yet. But getting closer. Nudge away.
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Some people nudge a game from start to finish but I only nudge when I have to.I like to let the game do all the work.
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I'd like to politely point out that Hippochrome voted (I asked him), and yet there's no vote cast yet for "No. Nudging is cheating."
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I have to confess. the other day when no one was looking I nudged. I was so scared of getting caught my heart was racing. Boy did I like it. It was like crack. I nudged twice on the next ball, didn't even bother to look around the room. Now I can't stop. I nudge when people are watching the game and I don't feel guilty about it! I HAVE TO NUDGE every game now to get my fix. Am I a nudgeaholic? Can someone point to the nearest NA meeting? I can't stop thinking about nudging. I need to stop before the nudge police find me. Shhh is that hippochrome?
I nudge but its all based on the games sensitivity and who's house i'm at . I've played games in the arcade that didn't have the tilt hooked up and used to throw the machines around. Now though, I find it much better when the tilt is sensitive but not over sensitive....like in tournaments where a high scoring, intensly fast paced game sets off the tilt, that really bums me out but its all good ......
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If it were cheating, then there would be a rule against it in the tourneys. I am not very effective at nudging but I do do it. "My Pin Fu no good."
Not to mention the tilt would swing like a grandfather clock if you so much as sneezed around the thing if it weren't allowed. It's always been a part of pinball and I still stink at it, I understand the theory but can't put it into practice.
It's not really cheating unless you remove the glass and have 100% control over the ball, but let's be clear: If I'm beaten out by a nudge then it's cheating, but if I still win then it's not.
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I find that I am more prone to nudge when playing in a commercial setup; I get kinda shy nudging on a friend's pinball for some reason.
Me too, sort of like asking a guy if you can slap his wife around a bit and having him just stand back and watch you pound away at her. I know that when people beat the hell of out of my machines, I get a raw feeling in the bottom of my stomach, almost like I should call the cops or something
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Where i ' m from , all the pins were owned by the same guy , no mather if it was in a bar , pool room or bowling alley (no arcades around) . He ' d always keep the tilt really tight . So , nudging was a "no can do" . It ' s hard to break the habit of not nudging , but , being a centaur owner , i ' m getting better at it . I find it hard to do so with my fathom since you have to nudge it side ways instead of upwards . Ho well ...
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. I've played games in the arcade that didn't have the tilt hooked up and used to throw the machines around. Now though, I find it much better when the tilt is sensitive but not over sensitive....like in tournaments where a high scoring, intensly fast paced game sets off the tilt, that really bums me out but its all good 
......
, Police Force, Special Force, JPTLW, Baywatch, Maverick, South Park, FIRE! x2, F14 Tomcat, Twister
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