What's so special about a SPECIAL?

[stevesabol]

Ah, all this time, I never realized why the term "special" was used instead of "free game" or "credit" until now. And now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

And the other half is split evenly between red lasers and blue lasers.

http://www.80stees.com/products/The-Battle-G-I-Joe-T-Shirt.asp

 

[Matt McIrvin]

There's also tournament mode, in which, I think, the machines generally don't give out either extra balls or free games.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

There's also tournament mode, in which, I think, the machines generally don't give out either extra balls or free games.

Correct. It varies by table if the game substitutes point awards or nothing for a special in tournament mode. If it does award points, it can range from pathetic (1M on Twilight Zone, where the default replay score is 250M) to fairly substantial (8M on Iron Man, default replay score 12M).