In the olden days of pinball, there wasn’t much to adjust. Free game scores were hard wired into the machine and couldn’t be changed. But with the introduction of Williams High Speed in 1986, things got more complicated.

The new machines would dynamically adjust the free play score based on an algorithm. It also introduced a method where if you had already scored a free game, it was impossible to win a random free game.

The post goes into much more detail over at Cheap Talk, but ultimately, these algorithms exploits, and the layouts of the tables themselves got so complicated that new players couldn’t figure out how to master them. And, as we all know, pinball faded into the night. If you’re at all a fan of pinball, it’s an interesting read. Head on over to check it out. [Cheap Talk via Retro Thing]

Image via ktpupp

Lego: It’s not really a secret that Lego building blocks are widely loved. They’re perfect for any age, but a particularly fun gift for an engineering or physics nerd who lacks some brightly-coloured fun. Whether you go for a Millennium Falcon, a Mindstorms NXT robot set, or a smaller kit, just be sure your beloved recipient has time for construction. Prices vary widely. [Lego; Image Source]

BuckyBalls: 216 pellet-shaped rare earth magnets may scream “physics lesson”, but in reality they’re a jar full of fun. Your science nut can construct all sorts of 3D shapes for hours of mindless — or extremely brain-intensive — entertainment. And should he ever manage to get bored with the balls, he can just use them for one heck of a refrigerator magnet collection. $US30 [Gizmodo; Busted Tees]

DON’T BUY A Star: I don’t know how you could imagine that getting someone a sheet of paper proclaiming that you’ve named a star after her is a clever idea. It’s a scam to begin with and even the most thoughtless gift certificate would be a better idea (and won’t leave you stuttering that you thought she “likes space and umm… stuff”).

Photo by jared

I’ve never seen a stocking that didn’t like being filled with a bit of awkward science-themed, cotton-based humour and somehow science nerds in particular have a soft spot for geeky shirts. You can head to ThinkGeek, Threadless and Snorg Tees if you’re looking for some of the shirts we’ve mentioned in the past — my personal favourite is still the ingredient shirt. $US19 [Snorg Tees]

Chemistry Experiment Kit: This one’s more geared to the younger lab rats, but no science nerd should miss out on a proper chemistry set. This C3000 set is a nice splurge and even guides you through building a DIY fire extinguisher for when experiments go wrong, but you can certainly go for a smaller kit or even put one together on your own. $US230 [Scientifics]

Casio EX-FC100: Science types want to document the entire world in pictures and video. Thanks to technological advancements, falling prices and MythBusters, high-speed slow-mo photography has carved out a nerdy niche in recent years. Casio’s EX-FC100 may not be an EX-F1, but it’s nice and small and has most of that slow mo covered, plus some nice nature-watcher tricks in still shooting, too. Despite the fact that still picture quality isn’t as high as a similarly sized Canon, the FC100’s set of unique talents make it a worthwhile toy for active observers of the physical world. $US226 [Review; Casio Exilim]

Giant Plush Microbes: If you’re in need of a stocking stuffer for a biology nerd, these plush microbes are a sure thing. They’re cute (just look at syphilis!) and add a bit of silliness to many all-too-serious subjects. $US12 [Think Geek]

Processing Time on a Supercomputer: If you’ve got a mad, crazy, number-crunching, super science nerd on your hands — along with your own pretty thick wallet — then you can go through a company like Exa and get them some quiet time with a supercomputer. Your nerd will be able to run her insane calculations using high-performance computing and save quite a bit of time, so be sure to have some hot chocolate for two ready for a calm evening after. Prices vary, but they’re gonna clean out your pockets. [Exa]

Photo by Argonne National Laboratory

Don’t forget to recommend your own favourite gift ideas for science nerds in the comments.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favourite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We’ll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

I mean, it’s not the kind of game that should be played at a distance, and this custom-built board doesn’t even have holes along the track. Although, I have to give the designer credit for the gumball prize — that was a nice touch. Check out the project page for full details on the build. [Marble Maze via Trossen Robotics via Hacked Gadgets]

Baseball King Balls are specially designed polyethylene baseballs from Japan. By making adjustments to that band in the centre of each ball, you can alter their aerodynamics, thereby throwing a sinker, curveball, knuckleball, riser or screwball at will (no special training required!). The catch? There is no catch! Well… other than the obvious fact that these puppies aren’t regulation.

But I’m sure that millions of fans and countless MLB officials won’t even notice you holding the Baseball King on the cover of Sports Illustrated. [Japan Trend Shop via OhGizmo!]

If I ever have kids, odds are that they’ll turn out to be gadget-obsessed bookworms. But even if they don’t, we’d probably spend a few afternoons flipping through these interactive iPhone-powered books together, giggling in delight at the stories.

Dubbed Phonebooks, these neat little books combine with your iPhone to create a fun experience at every page turn. And while I rail against using iPhone apps for parenting purposes, this is an extraordinarily cute and age-appropriate way for your lil’ one to play around with an iPhone. [Japan Trends via Dvice]

[Akihabara]

How can you make 117 toys stand balanced over one single 4×2 Lego brick? I don’t know, but artist Walter Wick has the answer and he’s made this really cute video about it. [Boing Boing]

Call me a dinosaur all you want, I prefer the original over this $US15 “modern” update, faults and all. This thing makes everything so easy and carefree. How boring.

On a related note, 3D Etch-A-Sketches? You’re cool. [Etch A Sketch Freestyle via OhGizmo]

In a Skittles array of colours, the Big Shot’s actually designed to be put together and taken apart again, unlike real cameras, and it’s aimed squarely at kids, developed by Columbia University’s Computer Vision Lab. It’s actually a fairly sophisticated kit in some ways — the really unique component of the Big Shot, the lens wheel, contains three different lenses and viewfinder stencils — and it has a crank for manual, battery-less power.

It’s not for sale yet because it’s still in final testing, but I’m really excited to see what this thing can do — for digital lomography, it could be more popular with hipsters than kids. [Big Shot via Make]

It may be $US375 and not out until the first quarter of 2010, but this replica of the bike driven by Kaneda in Akira is ridiculously awesome. It’s a one-sixth scale, comes with plenty of sound effects, LED illumination and a workable suspension. All you need is a bit of adventuring spirit. [BigBadToyStore via Nerd Approved]