Pinball's a game that hit peak in the golden arcade era of the mid-1900s, characterised by its loud flashing lights, the rapid firing of flippers, that toss around a silver ball or two, to hit its magic mark.
But for the game's hardcore fanatics, it's more than just a bit of fun. Pinball is a sport, and an internationally competitive, albeit niche, sport at that.
One of those rising up the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) league tables is New Zealander Danielle Peck — who has just returned home from a competition in Indiana in the US. She's one of more than 100,000 pinball players listed in the association's database.
She took out the title as Women's World Pinball Champion 2024 this year, just a week after winning the Texas Takedown Woman's Championship — bringing home a stash of prizes including sparkly cowboy hat and a cowboy boots trophy.
"I'm feeling so excited, that little old me from Pukekohe can go to Indiana and win a world title," she said. "My first memory was playing games with dad as a kid. I used to swap scores with him, as he was better than me, and I used to win that way."
But she didn't have to do that for long, soon the scores were all her own. The pinball player, who works in insurance by day, said she's travelled to the US, Europe and Australia to compete.
"My first international tournament was in Denver, Colorado ... we drove down Route 66 in a hearse with pinball machines in the back."
Her love for the sport stems from her father David Peck, a long time Pinball machine collector — top of the Pinball charts competitor too.
"I bought my first pinball machine when I was 18 or 19 years old from a pizza shop that was closing down, I got another one, then another one ... I stopped counting at a hundred."
He's proud of his daughter's success and is keen to see more women like her join the Pinball ranks.
Danielle Peck said it's all about having fun. "The makings of a good pinball player is about having good ball control, learning rule sets, and having fun."
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