This four-player machine is almost always considered to be in the top five best solid-state games of its genre. Brian Eddy designed this machine with art by Doug Watson. 3,450 examples of it were made. This fast-paced game is not based on the “Mars Attacks” movie but ironically came out the same time as the movie’s release. A sequel to this game is also in the museum by the name “Revenge From Mars.” The main theme of this amusing game is to complete the five attack waves activated by hitting the three drop targets in front of the saucer. Doing so drops the targets and allows shots to the saucer. After so many saucer hits, the saucer explodes into a flurry of strobe lights (first time used on a pinball machine) and sounds. If you make it to Mars Attacks, the game goes into hyper mode with a flurry of options and actions. Total annihilation of Mars is the ultimate goal. Many more feats and multi-balls are also present.
This May release was created 5,700 times. The designer was Jim Patla with Greg Freres doing the group’s artwork. The Beatles never had their own named machine, but some rock groups did get their own pinball workover (see the Bally “Kiss” machine in the museum). Knocking down the “Satisfaction” targets awards the “Satisfaction” tune to play. Knocking down the “Satisfaction” target exposes the kick-out saucer, which scores the bonus. Doing this a second time with the same ball awards an extra ball. The four right-side drop targets, when completed, advance the bonus points feature. If you’re skillful enough, this feature advances to a special if completed four times during the same ball. The bonus multiplier is tied into the r-o-c-k lanes. Completing this feature advances the bonus multiplier from 2x to 3x to 5x to special. The game is fast-paced and a very desirable collectable of its era. No speech yet, but soon to come!
Bally produced a ton of these machines starting back in the 1950s. They were known as the most complicated and toughest machines to maintain and keep running due to their electromechanical complexity. The object of this flipperless game is to win a slew of replays by shooting five or more balls down the play field and randomly having those balls fall in such a pattern on the backglass to award replays. The more one feeds the machine with coins at the beginning of the game, the better replay payout odds are awarded as well as more cards to choose from for winning combinations. You may also try to win extra balls to increase your odds of winning. Most people who played these games didn’t play their replays as many of these games had “knock off” switches. These buttons would be pressed by the operator at hand to subtract all your winnings and pay one off for the games won; gambling, anyone?
This game was released in April of the year by the folks at Bally Manufacturing. It was designed by veteran Ted Zale and 1,750 games were made. This single-player game was produced as a replay game and an add-a-ball game in Italy where replays were illegal at the time. This game has the Bally-patented mushroom bumpers which, when hit, lift and score the feature it was intended for. This game has a free ball gate, a building bonus activated by the six mushroom bumpers, as well as a protected mushroom bumper for the advancing super bonus, which is held over from ball to ball. The only way to score this bonus is by landing in the kick-out hole right between the flippers. This lifts the protection gate, the ball is ejected from the flippers, and if you’re lucky, you can score up to 500 points toward a free game. A free ball through the right exit and a special is also an option if you can hit all six mushroom bumpers during one play.
This two-player mechanical masterpiece is one of three versions of this machine that were produced back in January of the year. This game doesn’t allow for replays and is the most popular novelty version of the game. The All-Star Bowler looked the same but allowed replays. The Super Bowler was again a duplicate machine but had a hidden matching unit that lit up a light on the backglass. The attendant, upon seeing this light ignite, would award the player a free game or a payout. The game is a timed event where you must shoot the three-inch ball just when you feel your aim is true for the most scoring potential. The ball is propelled by a catapult/slingshot mechanism at a pretty rapid rate to score 10 frames of regulation bowling. This wood-rail machine was prone to breaking down in regular play as the ball return mechanism would go awry. When working, 10 frames takes under a minute.
This early mechanical and battery-operated machine was a popular game with patrons, and 500 machines were produced for three weeks in its heyday. Everyone back then was trying to come up with a new gadget to catch the player’s excitement. This machine incorporates seven cannons to shoot into, which “fire” the ball “uphill” into higher scoring areas. Next, land a ball in the action hole. This shoots all seven cannons! If you’re skillful enough to make the top cannon and advance it to shoot the ball into the repeater hole, all balls are fired twice! The main object of the game is to get as many balls into the “shell hole” through the large tubular cannon to score a bunch of points for rewards dictated by the location you played the game. A bar scene would award free beer. A pharmacy would award cash or soda fountain treats. These games literally had be monitored for dead batteries as they wouldn’t work without one. Electricity eventually came.
June marked the month when Bally let Greg Kmiec and Christian Marche unveil their newest creation to the pinball world. This two-player game awards an extra ball when the A-B-C-D sequence is completed. C and D when completed, award the double bonus. The third flipper in the middle right of the playfield gives the player maximum control to shoot for the Aladdin’s Alley. Hitting the rollover at the top of this shot scores the lit value and then advances the value for the next completed shot. If you’re skillful enough to make it to the 5,000 shot, the next shot scores a special. This special remains lit for the balance of the ball in play. All in all, a typical Bally game of the era. This game was released at the same time as the classic Captain Fantastic Bally machine (that game is in the museum). Captain Fantastic made Bally #1.
Bally released Evel Knievel in June of the year. Both electromechanical and solid-state versions of the game were fabricated. The reason two different platforms were made was due to the newness of the solid-state platform not being fully trusted or many arcade operators not being versed in the solid-state computerized machines. The “old faithful” mechanical versions used the same technology since the beginning of pinball that included relays, steppers,and score motors. This game was produced in mass quantity in the solid-state format with 14,000 pieces being fabricated. This game is one of only 155 made. This is probably one of the best examples of this rare run of machines. The play parallels the solid-state version, but an accumulated memory of targets hit isn’t stored in memory and awarded. This game just remembers your last hit of the last target. Enjoy!
Mata Hari was released in April of the year and designed by Jim Patla with artwork accolades going to Dave Christiansen. 16,200 of these machines were produced in the new solid-state format (as seen in the museum) as well as bunch of electromechanical machines (170, to be exact) to keep the non-computer savvy operators happy and buying machines they knew how to fix. This machine before you is one of the finest examples of this ultra-rare mechanical format. Like the solid-state version, the center kickout hole scores 3,000 points and each successful shot in the hole advances the bonus multiplier. The A and B skill shots advance the horizontal sequence of increasing values in the center of the playfield. 50,000 points are awarded when a battery of drop targets is hit. If both batteries are knocked down, the drop targets reset and hitting all again awards the replay. Score is another replay option.
This game was very sucessful for the Bally company. It was initially released in 1981 as a full upright pinball with a production of 8,250 games. This version of the game in its third release had a run of 8,850 games. This cabinet was a unique design for Bally, as was used in a few other games like Pac-Man pinball. Designed by George Christian with art by Margaret Hudson, the pool-themed game is a classic. The basic object here is to hit all seven drop targets representing pool balls. The eight-ball drop target then pops up. Upon hitting it, “deluxe” lights up behind where the drop targets were. Making “deluxe” increases your bonus upon completion of the ball and advances the deluxe hold-over feature on the backglass. Hitting the in-line drop targets awards points and specials. The same is true if you shoot the left ramp to the top.
