I was recently spending time with my 7-year-old nephew, Nicholas, while he was playing “Madden Football” on his Xbox. His player got tackled and after expressing some short-lived frustration, Nicholas hit the “restart” button on his controller without hesitation.

Turns out, I was more annoyed than my nephew because I realized how easy it was for him to just start the game over. Growing up in the 1980s, one of my favorite games was pinball, and if you saw the dreaded “tilt” or “game over” message on the screen, you had to really start over and put more money in the machine, not merely hit “restart.”

One of my favorite memories was being at my family’s restaurant, The Kerrymen Pub on Route 1 in Saco, and asking my grandmother for 50 cents to play the pinball game upstairs in the bar. She was happy to fulfill this small request. It’s worth noting that my 50 cents gave me one game with just three pinballs, and in the 1950s, the same amount bought 10 games with five balls each ”“ so much for the power of inflation.

On weekends, my dad might take us bowling or to The Pier in Old Orchard Beach and we’d find a pinball machine. We’d each get a few dollars in coins to play a handful of games. This was fun until I realized my dad never seemed to lose; we’d wait what seemed like a lifetime for our crack at the game. Growing up in Biddeford-Saco, one of my dad’s favorite pastimes was to play pinball at Palace Playland, where he’d play for hours. I grew up knowing this was a good game.

Beyond the bright lights, Western heroes on horses, space aliens, scantily clad women and music, part of the lure of pinball was, and still is, getting out of the game what you put into it; whatever you pay to play, you have unlimited opportunity to score more points and get free games. When I mentioned to someone recently that my next column was centered on pinball, the 24-year-old asked, “What’s pinball?” This shocked me because millions grew up playing pinball for the first three quarters of the 20th century. By no means, though, is pinball on the way out. There is a Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, an International Flipper Pinball Association and a professional and amateur pinball association, and a National Pinball Museum, to name a few.

In a National Public Radio broadcast, the head of the National Pinball Museum in Baltimore, Md. called pinball machines a “scrapbook of American history” since the machines often reflected what was going on in our culture at the time. For instance, in 1953, the popular game “Coronation” was released to honor the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The artwork in the “backglass” or the cabinet, portrayed the Queen as a pin-up girl with a crown, as pin-up girls were images American soldiers who fought in World War II were used to seeing.

Pinball was considered a “man’s game,” so it wasn’t a surprise to see the Queen in pink platform shoes. Games like Western-themed “Dodge City” were popular in the 1950s, while “Space Invaders” reigned in the 1970s. Today, you’ll see more modern themes like “Avatar.”

Compared to today’s gratuitously violent games like “Grand Theft Auto” or “Resident Evil,” most pinball games might seem antiquated or dull to non-fans, but what many people don’t realize is that pinball was illegal in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles during the Depression and not legalized in New York until 1976. Pinball was considered a form of gambling, and when combined with racy images of women and Western masculinity in the pinball cabinet, it must have just been too much for the faint-hearted.

It’s interesting how games have evolved with the times. Games today are electronic and high definition rather than mechanical. This extra stimulation causes sensory overload, contributing to a lack of basic appreciation for even a bit of patience. As with many activities in today’s culture, I find that many people are sitting on the sidelines rather than getting involved in activities ”“ whether it’s watching pro sports rather than playing them in your own backyard, or playing golf on Wii rather than hitting a course.

What disturbs me, though, is the ever-increasing ability in today’s culture to just start over; the lack of commitment by some is startling. I hope hitting the “restart” button isn’t an attitude that permeates into other areas of life. There’s something to be said for seeing things through to the end, even a game.

Next summer, when the arcades reopen in Old Orchard Beach, I’ll be introducing Nicholas to his first pinball machine with plenty of quarters.

— Nicole Petit holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in American and New England studies. Petit has spent the past 10 years working for nonprofit groups that deal primarily with disabilities and child welfare. She is originally from Portland, but has strong family ties to Biddeford/Saco.