Besides the usual type of tilt sensor which kills your ball in play on modern pinball machines, they are also equipped with a second type of tilt sensor which usually requires significantly more effort (read violence) to trigger. The primary intent is to prevent damage to the machine by slamming, kicking, etc. the front panel, or other activities which could damage the machine. A slam tilt causes a soft reset of the game, ending all games in progress.

Occasionally, a game with a loose coin door can trigger slam tilts unusually easily with ordinary shaking of the game. Players often solve this problem by wedging a coin between the door and its frame. Due to the width required to wedge the door, the coin which fits best is usually a penny, and this is called "pennying" the door.

It's customary when a group of friends are playing a multi-player game, and somebody slam-tilts, that that player buys replacement games for all players whose games were prematurely ended.