Acronyms. Abbreviations. Call them what you will, they’re still a PITA*.

They’re fine if you know what they mean – and let’s face it, nobody wants to keep typing out Creature From The Black Lagoon over and over – but for those times when you don’t know, here is the definitive guide for all the games from about 1990 to present, plus a few other relevant games, some technical terms and other stuff you might find useful.

*it’s in the list!

All | # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X
There are currently 374 Acronyms in this directory
007
James Bond 007, Stern Pinball, 2022

24
24 - The Pinball, Stern Pinball, 2009

A-IQ
The Avengers - Infinity Quest, Stern Pinball, 2020

A13
Apollo 13, Sega Pinball, 1995

AAB
Add-a-Ball, Machine type

ACDC-BIBLE
AC/DC Back in Black Limited Edition, Stern Pinball, 2012

ACDC-LTBRLE
AC/DC Let There Be Rock Limited Edition, Stern Pinball, 2012

ACNC
Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle, Spooky Pinball, 2017

AFM
Attack from Mars, Bally, 1995

AFMR
Attack from Mars Remake, Chicago Gaming, 2017

AGB
Al's Garage Band Goes on a World Tour, Alvin G, 1992

AH3
Amazon Hunt III, Gottlieb, 1991

AIW
Alice In Wonderland, Zidware, Never produced

AMH
America's Most Haunted, Spooky Pinball, 2014

AP
Austin Powers, Stern Pinball, 2001

B66
Batman 66, Stern Pinball, 2016

BB
Backbox, Technical term

BBB
Big Bang Bar, Capcom 1996, Pinball Mfg Inc 2007

BBBB
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball, Bally, 1991

BBH
Big Buck Hunter Pro, Stern Pinball, 2009

BD
Big Dick, Fabulous Fantasies, 198?

BDK
Batman: The Dark Knight, Stern Pinball, 2008

BF
Batman Forever, Sega Pinball, 1995

BFTK
Battle for the Kingdom, Medieval Madness mode, 1997

BG (1)
Backglass, Technical term

BG (2)
Big Guns, Williams, 1987

BH (1)
Black Hole, Gottlieb, 1981

BH (2)
Frank Thomas' Big Hurt, Gottlieb, 1995

BIBLE
AC/DC Back in Black Limited Edition, Stern Pinball, 2012

BK
Black Knight, Williams 1980

BK-SOR
Black Knight Sword of Rage, Stern Pinball, 2019

BK2K
Black Knight 2000, Williams, 1989

BLY
Bally, Pinball manufacturer, 1931-1999

BM
Batman, Data East Pinball, 1991

BoP
The Machine: Bride of Pinbot, Williams, 1991

BR (1)
Banzai Run, Williams, 1988

BR (2)
Black Rose, Bally, 1992

BRUSA
Big Race USA, Computer Pinball, Empire Interactive, 1998

BS
Breakshot, Capcom, 1996

BSD
Bram Stoker's Dracula, Williams, 1993

BSM
Black-Suited Spider-Man, Stern Pinball, 2007

BSMT2000
Brian Schmidt Music Technology sound system, Data East Pinball, 1991-2003

BTTF
Back to the Future, Data East Pinball, 1990

BW (1)
Barb Wire, Premier Technology, 1995

BW (2)
Baywatch, Sega Pinball, 1995

BW (3)
Bally/Williams, Manufacturer

C1812
Class of 1812, Gottlieb, 1991

CBW
Cue Ball Wizard, Gottlieb, 1992

CC (1)
Cactus Canyon, Bally, 1999

CC (2)
Caribbean Cruise, International Concepts, 1990

CCC
Cactus Canyon Continued, Extended custom software for Cactus Canyon, 2012

CCR
Cosmic Cart Racing, Multimorphic, 2018

CCRM
Cactus Canyon Remake, Chicago Gaming, 2021

CF
Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Bally, 1975

CFTBL
Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bally, 1992

CH (1)
Car Hop, Premier, 1991

CH (2)
Crocodile Hunter, Prototype, Mr. Pinball Australia, not produced

CJ
Cactus Jack's, Premier, 1991

COC
Coin-Op Carnival, Publication, 2019+

CP (1)
Checkpoint, Data East Pinball, 1991

CP (2)
The Champion Pub, Bally, 1998

CPU
Central Processing Unit, Electronics term

CRT
Cathode-Ray Tube, Electronics term

CSI
Crime Scene Investigation, Stern Pinball, 2008

CV
Cirqus Voltaire, Bally, 1997

CZ
China Zombies, Homepin, 2020

DaC
Drop-a-Card, Gottlieb, 1971

DCS
Digital Compression System, Williams sound system name, 1993-1999

DD
Dr. Dude, Bally, 1990

DE (1)
Data East Pinball, Manufacturer, 1986-1994

DE (2)
Dinosaur Eggs, Alvin G, 1993

DE2
Dona Elvira 2, 1996, Petaco

DH
Dirty Harry, Williams, 1995

DI
Dialed In!, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2017

DK
Batman: The Dark Knight, Stern Pinball, 2008

DM
Demolition Man, Williams, 1994

DMD
Dot Matrix Display, Technical term, 1991-2017

DMOS
Demolition Man on Steroids, Custom Demolition Man software, Pinnovating, 2011

DOHO
Hidden reference in some Bally/Williams dot matrix display artwork

DP (1)
Dutch Pinball, Manufacturer

DP (2)
Diamond Plate, Williams/Bally playfield protective coating

DP (3)
Deadpool, Stern Pinball, 2018

DPM
Dutch Pinball Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands

DPO
Dutch Pinball Open, Pinball Show, Netherlands

DW (1)
Doctor Who, Bally, 1992

DW (2)
Deadly Weapon, Gottlieb, 1990

EATPM
Elvira and the Party Monsters, Bally, 1989

EBD
Eight Ball Deluxe, Bally, 1981

EBD-LE
Eight Ball Deluxe: Limited Edition, Bally, 1982

EHOH
Elvira's House of Horrors, Stern Pinball/Wizzbang Pinball, 2019

EK
Evel Knievel, Bally, 1977

EM
Electromechanical, Pre-electronic pinball design

EOS
End-of-Stroke (switch), Technical term

EPROM
Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, Technical term

ES
Earthshaker!, Williams, 1989

F-NoES
Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Gottlieb, 1994

F14
F-14 Tomcat, Williams, 1987

F2K
Flight 2000, Stern Electronics, 1987

F6
Flip-VI, Inder, 1991

FA
For Auction, Internet forum term

FB
NBA Fastbreak, Bally. 1997

FF
Flipper Football, Capcom Pinball, 1996

FG (1)
Flash Gordon, Bally, 1981

FG (2)
Family Guy, Stern Pinball, 2007

FH
Funhouse, Williams, 1990

FH2.0
Funhouse: Rudy's Nightmare, Pedretti Gaming, 2021

FOL
Flip Out London, Pinball Club, UK

FP
Firepower, Williams, 1980

FR
Fathom Revisited, Haggis Pinball, 2021

FS (1)
For Sale, Internet forum term

FS (2)
Future Spa, Bally. 1979

FT (1)
Fish Tales, Williams, 1992

FT (2)
Full Throttle, Heighway Pinball, 2014

FT (3)
For Trade, Internet forum term

FYI
For Your Information, Internet forum term

GB
Ghostbusters, Stern Pinball, 2016

GC (1)
Golden Cue, Sega Pinball, 1998

GC (2)
Grand Champion, Gameplay term

GE
Goldeneye, Sega Pinball, 1995

GI (1)
Gilligan's Island, Bally, 1991

GI (2)
General Illumination (lighting), Technical term

GL
Grand Lizard, Williams, 1986

GnR
Guns 'N Roses, Data East Pinball, 1994

GNR-JJP
Guns N' Roses, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2020

GoT
Game of Thrones, Stern Pinball, 2015

GotG
Guardians of the Galaxy, Stern Pinball, 2018

GP
Grand Prix, Stern Pinball, 2005

GS
The Bally Game Show, Bally, 1990

GSR
Grand Slam Rally, Multimorphic/86 Pixels, 2019

GTB
Gottlieb, Pinball manufacturer, 1931-1996

HD
Harley Davidson, Bally 1991, Sega Pinball/Stern Pinball 1999

HH
Haunted House, Gottlieb, 1982

HM
Heavy Metal, Stern Pinball/Incendium, 2020

HoaDC
Horse of a Different Colour, Mode in The Wizard of Oz, Jersey Jack Pinball

HoF
Hall of Fame, Las Vegas location or Honour Roll

HRC
High Roller Casino, Stern Pinball, 2001

HS
High Speed, Williams, 1987

HS2
The Getaway: High Speed 2, Williams, 1992

HST
High Score Table, Gameplay term

HUO
Home Use Only, Technical term

HW
Hot Wheels, American Pinball, 2020

I500
Indianapolis 500, Williams, 1995

ID4
Independence Day, Sega Pinball, 1996

IFPA
International Flipper Pinball Association, Organisation

IJ
Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure, Williams, 1993

IJ4
Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Stern Pinball, 2008

IM (1)
Iron Man, Stern Pinball, 2010

IM (2)
Io Moon, Petaco, 1994

IMDN
Iron Maiden, Stern Pinball, 2018

IMVE
Iron Man Vault Edition, Stern Pinball, 2014

INDISC
It Never Drains In Southern California, Pinball Tournament Event

IPB
Illinois Pin Ball Company, Parts & machine manufacturer

IPDB
Internet Pinball Database, Website

IR
Infra-Red, Technical term

J*B
Jackbot, Williams, 1995

JB
James Bond 007, Stern Pinball, 2022

JD
Judge Dredd, Williams, 1993

JJP
Jersey Jack Pinball, Manufacturer

JM
Johnny Mnemonic, Williams, 1995

JP (1)
Jurassic Park, Data East Pinball, 1993

JP (2)
Jackpot, Gameplay term

JP (3)
Jurassic Park, Stern Pinball, 2019

JY
Junkyard, Williams, 1996

KK
King Kong, Data East Pinball, 1990

KoS
Kings of Steel, Williams, 1984

KP
Kingpin, Capcom Pinball, 1996

LAH
Last Action Hero, Data East Pinball, 1993

LCD
Liquid Crystal Display, Technical Term

LE
Limited Edition, Model variant

LED
Light Emitting Diode, Technical term

LiS
Lost in Space, Sega Pinball, 1998

LITZ
Lost in the Zone, mode in Twilight Zone, Bally, 1993

LL
Lower Left, Technical term

LL:GG
Lexy Lightspeed: Galaxy Girl, Original name for Lexy Lightspeed: Escape from Earth, Multimorphic, 2017

LOTR
The Lord of the Rings, Stern Pinball, 2003

LOV
Legends of Valhalla, American Pinball, 2021

LR (1)
Lower Right, Technical term

LR (2)
La Renata, Geiger, 1992

LTBR
AC/DC Let There Be Rock Limited Edition, Stern Pinball, 2012

LW
Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Sega Pinball, 1997

LW3
Lethal Weapon 3, Data East Pinball, 1992

LZ
Led Zeppelin, Stern Pinball, 2020

M90
Mundial 90, Inder, 1990

MA (1)
Mousin' Around, Bally, 1990

MA (2)
Mario Andretti, Gottlieb, 1995

MB
Monster Bash, Williams, 1998

MBR
Monster Bash Remake, Chicago Gaming, 2019

MC
Mystery Castle, Alvin G., 1993

MET
Metallica, Stern Pinball, 2013

MG
Magic Girl, Zidware, 2017

MGC
Midwest Gaming Classic, Pinball Show, USA

MGoW
Mars: God of War, Gottlieb, 1981

MJ
Michael Jordan, Data East Pinball, 1992

MM (1)
Medieval Madness, Williams, 1997

MM (2)
Metal Man. Inder, 1992

MMR
Medieval Madness Remake, Chicago Gaming Company, 2014

MNF
Monday Night Football, Data East Pinball, 1989

MONO
Monopoly, Stern Pinball, 2001

MOP
Metallica Master of Puppets LE, Stern Pinball, 2013

MSF
Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, Sega Pinball, 1994

NASCAR
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Stern Pinball, 2005

NBA
National Basketball Association, Stern Pinball, 2009

NBAF
NBA Fastbreak, Bally, 1997

NEMO
Captain Nemo Dives Again, Quetzal Pinball, 2017

NF
No Fear: Dangerous Sports, Williams, 1995

NGG
No Good Gofers, Williams, 1997

NIB
New In Box, Descriptive term

NLA
No Longer Available, Descriptive term

NM
Night Moves, International Concepts, 1990

NNS
New New Stock, Remade parts, Descriptive term

NOS
New Old Stock, Original parts, Descriptive term

NWPAS
Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show, Pinball Show, USA

O1
Orbitor 1, Stern Electronics, 1982

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer, Official parts

OOS
Out Of Stock, Sold Out, Descriptive term

OT (1)
Operation Thunder, Gottlieb, 1992

OT (2)
Off-Topic, Not related to this discussion, Internet forum term

P*P*Y*
Popeye Saves The Earth, Bally, 1994

P2K
Pinball 2000, Pinball platform, Williams, 1999

PAGG
Pin-A-Go-Go, California pinball show

PAPA
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association, Pinball organisation

PB
Playboy, Stern Pinball, 2002

PC
Pinball Circus, Bally, 1994

PCB
Printed Circuit Board, Technical term

PF (1)
Police Force, Williams, 1989

PF (2)
Playfield, Technical term

PF (3)
Punny Factory, Pinball Adventures, 2021

PHoF
Pinball Hall of Fame, Pinball location in Las Vegas

PITA
Pain in the Arse/Ass, Derogatory term

PLD
Pat Lawlor Design, Pinball design company

PM
Pinball Magic, Capcom Pinball, 1995

POA
Path of Adventure, Playfield feature, Indiana Jones, Williams, 1993

POS
Piece Of Sh*t, Derogatory term

POTC
Pirates of the Caribbean, Stern Pinball, 2006

POTC-JJP
Pirates of the Caribbean, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2018

POTO
Phantom of the Opera, Data East Pinball, 1990

PP
Pistol Poker, Alvin G., 1993

PPE
Pacific Pinball Exposition, Pinball show, 2007-2012

PPM
Pacific Pinball Museum, Pinball location in Alameda, California

PS
Pool Sharks, Bally, 1990

PSTE
Popeye Saves The Earth, Bally, 1994

PTC
Punchy the Clown, Alvin G., 1993

PZ
Party Zone, Bally, 1991

PZBG
Pinball Zombies froim Beyond the Grave, Spooky Pinball, Not produced

R&B
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends, Data East Pinball, 1993

R&M
Rick and Morty, Spooky Pinball, 2020

R911
Rescue 911, Gottlieb, 1994

RAZA
Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland, Zidware/Deeproot Pinball, Never produced

RBG
Riverboat Gambler, Williams, 1990

RBION
Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Stern Pinball 2004

RCT
Rollercoaster Tycoon, Stern Pinball, 2002

RFM
Revenge from Mars, Bally, 1999

RG
Rollergames, Williams, 1990

RGP
Rec.Games.Pinball, Internet pinball newsgroup

RITR
Ranger in the Ruins - P3 title, Nicholas Baldridge/Multimorphic, 2020

RMPS
Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown, Pinball Show, Denver

RS (1)
Roadshow, Williams, 1994

RS (2)
The Rolling Stones, Stern Pinball, 2011

RTFM
Read The Flippin' Manual, Internet forum term

RTU
Rule The Universe, Mode in Revenge from Mars

RZ
Rob Zombie's Spookshow International, Spooky Pinball, 2017

SA
Shaq Attaq, Gottlieb, 1994

SB
A.G. Soccer Ball, Alvin G., 1991

SBM
Silverball Mania, Bally, 1978

SC
Safe Cracker, Bally, 1996

SC (2)
Super Canasta, Quetzal Pinball/Bitronic, 2019

SD
Scooby-Doo Where Are You!, Spooky Pinball, 2023

SDMEWM
Super-Duper Mega-Extreme Wizard Mode, Mode in The Simpsons Pinball Party, Stern Pinball, 2003

SDTM
Straight Down The Middle, Gameplay term

SF
Silver Falls, Nicholas & Sophia Baldridge/Multimorphic, 2021

SF2
Street Fighter 2, Gottlieb, 1993

SFGE
Southern-Fried Gaming Expo, Pinball Show, Altanta

SG
Stargate, Gottlieb, 1995

SJ
Space Jam, Sega Pinball, 1997

SJP
Super Jackpot, Gameplay term

SM
Spider-Man, Stern Pinball, 2007

SMB
Super Mario Bros., Gottlieb, 1992

SMB (1)
Spider-Man Black Suit Edition, Stern Pinball, 2007

SMB-MW
Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World, Gottlieb, 1992

SMVE
Spider-Man Vault Edition, Stern Pinball, 2016

SnS
Surf n Safari, Gottlieb, 1991

SoF
Swords of Fury, Williams, 1988

SOL (1)
Stroke of Luck, Attack from Mars playfield feature, Bally, 1995

SOL (2)
Sh*t out of Luck, Internet forum term

SOT
Sort of Off Topic, Internet forum term

SP
South Park, Stern Pinball, 1999

SPI
Stern Pinball Inc., Pinball manufacturer

SPP
The Simpsons Pinball Party, Stern Pinball, 2003

SRP
Steve Ritchie Productions, Pinball design company

SS (1)
Solid-State, Computerised, Technical term

SS (2)
Scared Stiff, Bally, 1996

SS (3)
Slingshot, Playfield feature

SS (4)
Silver Slugger, Gottlieb, 1990

SSO
Sharkey's Shootout, Stern Pinball, 2000

SST
Starship Troopers, Sega Pinball, 1997

ST
Star Trek: Into Darkness, Stern Pinball, 2013

ST-TNG
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Williams, 1993

STDM
Dyslexic version of Straight Down The Middle, Technical Term

STRT
Stranger Things, Stern Pinball, 2020

SW
Star Wars, Data East Pinball 1992, Stern Pinball 2017

SW-E1
Star Wars: Episode One, Williams, 1999

SWP
Star Wars Pin, Stern Pinball, 2019

SWT
Star Wars Trilogy, Sega Pinball, 1997

SX
Striker Extreme, Stern Pinball, 2000

T2
Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Williams, 1991

T3
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Stern Pinball, 2003

TABA
There And Back Again, Mode in The Lord of the Rings, Stern Pinball, 1992

TAF
The Addams Family, Bally, 1992

TAFG
The Addams Family, Special Gold Collectors Edition, Bally, 1994

TAG
Thunderbirds Are Go, Homepin, 2017

TAP
This is Spinal Tap, Homepin, 2022

TAV
The Avengers, Stern Pinball, 2013

TBL
The Big Lebowski, Dutch Pinball, 2015

TF (2)
Title Fight, Gottlieb, 1990

TFTC
Tales from the Crypt, Data East Pinball, 1993

TH
The Hobbit, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2015

TIST
This Is Spinal Tap, Homepin, 2021

TLA
Three-Letter Acronym/Abbreviation

TM (1)
Time Machine, Data East Pinball, 1988

TM (2)
Trademark, Technical term

TMNT
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Data East Pinball, 1991

TMNT2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Stern Pinball, 2020

TNA
Total Nuclear Annihilation, Spooky Pinball, 2017

TO
Teed-Off, Gottlieb, 1993

TOM
Theatre of Magic, Bally, 1995

TOTAN
Tales of the Arabian Nights, Williams, 1996

TPD
Tokyo Perfect Drift, Quetzal Pinball/STR Pinball, 2018

TPF
Texas Pinball Festival, Pinball Show, USA

TRS
The Rolling Stones, Stern Pinball, 2011

TS (1)
The Shadow, Bally, 1994

TS (2)
The Sopranos, Stern Pinball, 2005

TS4
Toy Story 4, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2022

TSPP
The Simpsons Pinball Party, Stern Pinball, 2003

TTM
Tour The Mansion, Mode in The Addams Family, Bally, 1992

TTR
Transporter: The Rescue, Bally, 1989

TZ
Twilight Zone, Bally, 1993

UL
Upper Left, Technical term

UM
Ultraman, Spooky Pinball, 2021

UR
Upper Right, Technical term

USAF
USA Football, Alvin G., 1992

VA
Vacation America, Chicago Pinball, 2003

VJ
Vacation Jackpot, Feature in Whitewater, Williams, 1993

VND
Viper Night Drivin', Sega Pinball, 1998

VUK
Vertical Up-Kicker, Technical term

W?D
Who Dunnit?, Williams, 1995

W/L
When Lit, Gameplay term

WAMONH
Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity, Multimorphic, 2022

WC90
World Cup '90, Mr Game, 1990

WCS
World Cup Soccer '94, Bally, 1994

WH2O
Whitewater, Williams, 1993

WMS
Williams, Manufacturer

WN:BJM
Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons, Stern Pinball/WhizBang Pinball, 2015

WO
Wipe Out!, Gottlieb, 1993

WOF
Wheel Of Fortune, Stern Pinball, 2007

WOZ
The Wizard Of Oz, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2013

WOZ-ECLE
The Wizard of Oz: Emerald City Limited Edition, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2013

WOZ-YBR
The Wizard of Oz Yellow Brick Road Edition, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2019

WPC
Williams Pinball Controller, Electronics system, 1990-1999

WPT
World Poker Tour, Stern Pinball, 2006

WSC
World Soccer Challenge, Gottlieb, 1994

WTB
Want To Buy, Internet forum term

WTD
Wanted/Want To Deal, Internet forum term

WTS
Want To Sell, Internet forum term

WTT
Want To Trade, Internet forum term

WW (1)
Whirlwind, Williams, 1990

WW (2)
Whitewater, Williams, 1993

WW (3)
Waterworld, Gottlieb, 1995

WW (4)
Whitewood, Development playfield without artwork, Technical term

WWATCF

WWE
WWE Wrestlemania, Stern Pinball, 2015

WWF
WWF Royal Rumble, Data East Pinball, 1994

WWTCF
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Jersey Jack Pinball, 2019

XB
Extra Ball, Gameplay term

XF
The X-Files, Sega Pinball, 1997

 

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