What IS the free game noise called? We break it down regionally.

Story by Doc Monday and Loren Silverman

We’ve all had a first time. Maybe you were too young to appreciate the significance, but you know that at the moment it happened, it felt important. It made you stand tall and puff out your chest. You’d spend your free time counting the minutes, wanting it to happen again and again, as soon as possible. Just over and over. Forever.

We speak of course, of hearing the sound of your first free game on a pinball machine

You remember it vividly, yet we challenge even the most skilled impersonator to recreate it accurately. Is it Thnok? Is it knock? Maybe the onomatopoetic version, like c’Lock or c’Luck by forming an “O” with my mouth and clicking my tongue off the roof of my mouth.

You know what we’re talking about. The sharp, loud crack of the hammer against the cabinet, amplified by the resonance of the cab, screamed out across the arcade. Heads turned. In that moment you were addicted, always chasing that high — like crack. But what is the free game noise called? Well, surprisingly enough, it turns out that depends on where you live.

For the answer, we go, as always TO PINSIDE

When in doubt, Pinside is usually the answer, the hub of pinball “thought”, we went there to get a bird’s-eye-view of what people across the country are thinking. Pinside is helpful for this reason: Pinside lets folks list their general location in their profiles, so it’s easy to track… And also, literally, any question you can think of has probably already been asked there.

Here’s our completely unscientific analysis of that thread.

The South

I haven’t spent much time in the south. I mean, I was in North Carolina for a while, but I feel like people in the South don’t really think of NC as true South. What do I know? Well, I guess I know people say that things move a little slower down there. I know that they soak pickles in koolaid. And I know that Southern states seem to get pretty literal with their interpretation of the sound a free game of pinball makes.

THWAPP!!

- MrWizzo, Oak Hill, VA

MrWizzo gets it. I like it because it’s visceral. It’s to the point, and it uses a lot of exclamation points and makes liberal use of CAPS. THWAPP!! works, and yet I don’t know if it totally nails the violent action the knocker makes.

POP! POP!

Rawley D, Roanoke, VA

The double knock is one of the best feelings in pinball. One free game? Nope, try two. Rawley obviously digs the double knock or digs Magnitude from Community. Either way, POP! is a pretty good representation of the sound a free game makes. It’s big, noisy, and sorta surprising — even when you know it’s coming. Respect, Rawley D. Respect.

id spell it KWAAAK!

Way2wyrd, Fort Worth, TX

You know, I never thought I’d say this – but Way2wyrd, you’re too weird. KWAAK!? Bird calls, man. Bird calls. I already know that people from Texas are gonna be pissed that we included them in the south. To those people I say, guess what direction I drive to get from where I live to where you live. Hint: South. You might love briscuit and the yellow rose of Texas and all that shit, but you ARE the South, OK? Luh you!

The Northeast

What can we say about the Northeast? Crowded, industrial, and full of sarcasm and like, amazing fits of public rage. I always thought I was an east coast guy until I moved to the west coast. That said, y’all got The Sopranos, Seinfeld, and the Comedy Cellar. And Pizza, yeah, we get it. Pizza is GOOD IN NEW YORK. Can we all just move on? Anyway, here’s what you gabagools call the free game sound.

Thhwopp

Herbertbsharp, Ballston Spa, NY

Has sort of a Cardi-B vibe, right? Bring a bucket and a mop… I like the New York flavor of Thhwopp. Kinda has a bit of sauce to it. Extremely based. That said, it doesn’t feel right saying P at the end. You’re making this TOO juicy. I don’t say that lightly. I love juice. Ask anyone. Thhwopp is pretty fun though. Say it outloud. See what I mean?

I would spell it thusly: Bazinga!

PR Mailers, High Bridge NJ

Boy, this might be my favorite of all the responses. From the sorta incelly use of ‘thusly’ to the ridic exclamation point at the end. I love it. It’s the best. Put it on the wall of fame. PR Mailers, you a real one.

West Coast Pinball

*Just looking to settle down with the right person and create an all-pink business*

I put a couple randos in West Coast. Here’s why: west coast people are weird. I can say that, I lived in the Bay area for a nice stretch of my adulthood. Don’t get me wrong: I love it there. But y’all are insane. I saw stuff on my daily BART commute that would literally kill Tucker Carlson. I mean that in a good AND bad way. So anyway, if I had a real weird one, I usually put it here. Y’all got the weather, money, and entertainment industry. You’ll be OK with some extra weirdies. One love, bruh.

THWACK

Tracelifter

A variant on the classic THAPP!! The THWACK gets closer to that smacking sound at the end. Is the beginning still too soft? Maybe. Honestly, the reason this one is in the west coast is because Tracelifter sounds like a west coast handle. Maybe like a super sick vape guy or something.

Knock. Hence the term knocker.

Kid Fresh

A little aside here about Kid Fresh, he got salty enough in the rest of the comments that the rest of this pinside thread basically was half-about what a dick he was. That said, he is dropping good knowledge here. Knock. It’s a classic. Like Coke.

I hear THWACK and try to get my knockers that go DUD to go Thwack!

Charles4400, Los Angeles, CA

Something very soothingly and classically LA about this response. The sleazy double entendre, the fun Batman 66-style Thwack! At the end. One note: ‘knockers that go DUD?’ I dunno, man. DUD?

Midwest

*Amazingly, the “Hudson Tap” is one of the few answers we didn’t record.*

The place I’ve spent the most time. Every place mentioned has heart disease, but let’s be real: WE DO IT RIGHT. The best part of living here: we have actual seasons, nothing is burning all the time, casserole culture, plenty of water, and you never have to wait in line at the grocery store. The worst parts of living here: winter slush, no one comes here for vacation, and, like more racism than you’d expect. Here’s the thing: there’s a reason the Nudge HQ is here. The midwest is a power base, ancient and cool. Rivers, wildlife, trees. Deal wid it.

Crack

Jason, Eau Claire WI

This one came to me via text, an almost instantaneous response. I like the wry cheekiness of it. Crack also conjures images of, well, crack. You know, the drug. So you’re saying it’s, like, addictive. Like crack. Get it? Crack.

I never have spelled it. I just like the sound.

tamoore, Grayling, MI

You know what TA? That’s totally valid. And does feel sort of midwestern. It’s like, a profound, boring answer. And also: It rings true, don’t it? Why try to describe the indescribable? You can’t describe the face of God, but does that make it any less frickin’ sweet?

A song by any other name would still rip as hard

In the end, maybe tamoore got it right. It really doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you’re getting them. All the time. And if you’re not, why not? Get better. Get that knock. The thnock needs you. KWAAK KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK

What do y’all call that sound? Hit us up. We’re interested.

If the game is a Thnokin’, don’t come a Knockin’