It is often the case that a machine in poor repair is already difficult to play, almost without intending it. And from 1999-present, I have found plenty of machines in poor repair, in a convenience store just designed to eat a few quarters. But I have also found them with oversensitive TILT, laterally unbalanced, or the steep incline you describe. I mean, the feet are adjustable!
Sometimes even more egregious are the custom settings on classic video games. You can walk up to a Ms. Pac-Man or a Galaga and find all the action is sped up 1.5x, or just the ghosts/bombs/adversaries are always overtaking you. I think that a few decades of evolution in the ROMs either gave way to crooked ones that could be set to "impossible" levels, or the settings were always there and waiting to be discovered.
So a well-tuned pinball machine was a joy and a pleasure. I played mostly from 1992-1998. I did not enter any tournaments or play competitively. But I had a habit of entering the initials of my current "crush" when I achieved high scores. Sometimes, in a lonely place, I could aim to fill a top 10 board and attribute it all to the object of my affections. Good times!
Sometimes even more egregious are the custom settings on classic video games. You can walk up to a Ms. Pac-Man or a Galaga and find all the action is sped up 1.5x, or just the ghosts/bombs/adversaries are always overtaking you. I think that a few decades of evolution in the ROMs either gave way to crooked ones that could be set to "impossible" levels, or the settings were always there and waiting to be discovered.
So a well-tuned pinball machine was a joy and a pleasure. I played mostly from 1992-1998. I did not enter any tournaments or play competitively. But I had a habit of entering the initials of my current "crush" when I achieved high scores. Sometimes, in a lonely place, I could aim to fill a top 10 board and attribute it all to the object of my affections. Good times!