Pin

Lore & Background

In the chaotic multiverse of Smash, items are drawn from the collective imagination of every world that has ever crossed a battlefield. The Pin is the most mundane of those objects—a humble office supply, a craft-store staple, the kind of thing a kid might use to hang a drawing on a corkboard. Yet the very fact that it has been pulled into the fray speaks to the game's philosophy: in Smash, nothing is too small to matter.

Fans often joke that the Pin represents the 'anti-smash' ideal. Where a Great Ball or a Hammer delivers spectacle, the Pin whispers. It asks the opponent to question whether the tiny glint crossing the stage is a threat or a trick. In a game built on over-the-top power-ups, that quiet uncertainty is its own kind of violence.

Across its appearances, the Pin has remained largely unchanged in design—a small metallic head on a slender needle. Its consistency is part of its charm. Players who have dodged a thousand Pins across tournaments carry a small, irrational dread of that single glint, a testament to how even the smallest thing can leave a mark.

In Their Own Story

The stage was quiet. Two fighters circled each other on a narrow platform, the crowd's roar a distant hum. The item spawn point glowed softly in the corner. A pin tumbled out, tiny and silver, catching the light like a single star.

She caught it without looking. Threw it—just a flick of the wrist—across the gap. It zipped in a dead straight line, no arc, no curve. Her opponent's eyes tracked it. A half-step back. A shield raised, just barely, just in time.

Two percent. The pin clattered off the shield and bounced twice before rolling off the stage into the void.

He stared at the spot where it had been. She smiled, already turning away. The next item would be a hammer. But for this one breath, the whole match had balanced on a thumbtack.

Reader's Guide

The Pin is thrown in a perfectly straight line from the thrower's position, with no arc or gravity curve. It travels at a moderate speed and bounces off walls, the ceiling, and the floor, which can make its path harder to predict after the first segment. Damage on hit is very low—typically in the single-digit percentage range—so it will not KO a healthy opponent. Its real utility is disruption: it can interrupt weak recovery moves, force a shield that blocks a follow-up, or make a grounded opponent panic-dodge into a more dangerous position.

In competitive play, the Pin is a mind-game tool rather than a damage source. Skilled players use it to create a one-frame window of hesitation, then punish with a real attack. Because it is so small and travels in a line, it is easy to dodge if you are paying attention, but that very ease is the trap—opponents often overthink it and waste a more valuable action. In team or free-for-all modes, a Pin bounced off a wall can create a cheap, unexpected hit on a distracted opponent.

New players should not fear the Pin. If you see it coming in a straight line, a simple hop or sidestep handles it. Save your shield for actual threats. Veterans, however, should respect the timing: a Pin thrown at the exact moment you commit to a jump or a weak attack can turn your offensive move into a punishable flinch.

Did You Know?

• The Pin is one of the smallest throwable items in the series and is too tiny to be grabbed or held by characters after it lands.
• Despite its minimal damage, a Pin can interrupt certain weak recovery or attack animations, making it a legitimate combo-breaker in the right hands.
• Because it bounces off walls and stages, a single Pin thrown at an angle can cross the stage multiple times, creating a harder-to-dodge path than its straight-line launch suggests.
• The Pin's design has remained remarkably consistent across Brawl, 3DS/Wii U, and Ultimate, making it one of the most visually unchanged items in the franchise.