Williams produced this game in October with 7,053 units produced. Norm Clark designed the game and Christian Marche did the art package. This four-player electromechanical game is based on the game tic-tac-toe. Making 3 x’s or 3 o’s in line or diagonally lights the eject holes to award an extra ball and 5,000 points. Making the A and B roll-overs lights the center target. Hitting it opens the gate and 1,000 points. A bonus feature is incorporated into the game and this is awarded when the ball drains. Lighting all the squares activates the side rollover lanes to score a replay. Score and matching are also incorporated into the game. A fast-play field design that’s fun to play.
This “special edition” game was produced to recognize the fact that this game, when initially released two years earlier, was the biggest number production game ever made in the contemporary era, with a total production run of 20,270. This game was produced in 1,000 examples. Pat Lawlor designed the machine with John Youssi getting accolades for the artwork. Gadgets abound in this machine, which is augmented by the gold detailing over the standard unit. The main theme here is to complete all 12 parts of the house panel. Doing so brings you to the ultimate level of excitement. Multi-ball options abound as well as “Thing”, consisting of just a hand, grabbing the ball in the upper-right corner of the machine. A magnet under the play field provides strange ball play as well as Thing “flipping” the ball remotely if hit. The sounds and art are fantastic representations from the movie of the same name. This game is #3!
This game is the most complicated solid-state pinball machine for complexity and gadgetry ever made. 15,235 of these were made and design credits go to Pat Lawlor with art by John Youssi. Multiple multi-ball options, magnets, a porcelain power ball a gumball machine and an extra-wide play field are only part of what’s before you. The main object of the game is to complete all the segments of the door in the bottom of the play field. These segments illuminate a light in the door. If by rare chance you complete the feat (you can “buy in” extra balls at the end of your game), all heck breaks loose in the form of a “lost in the zone” ultimate stage in the game. All six balls pop out, every option special, and bonus is lit all at once, and then, as if by magic, the flippers stop working (as this is a timed event) and your bonus is totaled. The battle in the zone magnet-controlled play field and power ball are neat!
This machine is one in a trilogy that Williams produced with an amusement park theme. 9,400 were made with design accolades going to Barry Oursler and art by Python Anghelo. Ronald and Nancy Reagan appear on the backglass. The Comet and Cyclone are two roller coasters from the Coney Island era. If you ride the Comet ramp six times, a million-point shot is possible. The Cyclone ramp in the upper right awards the accumulated jackpot on the backglass if hit three times. Hitting the spook house drop target exposes a gobble hole which spins the backglass wheel for a point award or extra ball. A ferris wheel bonus a shooting gallery bonus and a bonus multiplier shot in the lower left complete this impressive package. “You pay your money, you take your chances” in this classic machine.
This creation by designer Steve Ritchie and art by Constantino Mitchell stands out as the break-through game for multi-ball action. 17,410 were made starting in February of the year. This game also incorporated the first lane change feature where you could change the upper lanes via flippers to achieve the letters needed to complete the fire feature. Animated led readouts are a first here, also. This great-sounding machine is a blast. Hitting all six targets in the center play field lights two lock holes. All three holes are lit after the six targets are hit again. If you lock all three balls, the game fires all the balls out with triple bonus scoring. Getting “firepower” via targets advances the super bonus toward a replay. A hit of all targets in the lower play field lights the kickback kicker to pop the ball back into play if lost down the left drain. This game reinvented pinball for the Williams company at the time it was released. A sequel was made three years later.
This two-player game was brought out to celebrate the bicentennial of the country. The patriotic theme of the machine was designed by Steve Kordek and artwork by Christian Marche. 3,000 of these games were screwed together in the Chicago suburbs. The layout of the machine is symmetrical with four drop targets spelling the word b-e-l-l. Hitting all four targets advances the “star” bonus lights. Upon hitting the four targets the first time during a ball in play awards the double bonus if the ball drains through the side drains. Three stars completed alternates the side drains to score an extra ball. If you make it to the fourth star, every time you complete the four drop targets, you register a replay for your efforts. The top kick-out hole advances a point bonus up to 30,000 points. The quarter-a-game machine also has the advancing bonus feature built into it.
This one-player August release was designed by the great Steve Kordek with artwork by Christian Marche. 3,376 were made. Bowling was popular in the ’70s. This machine was made to take advantage of this fact. Making the a-b-c and D targets light the upper kick-out hole and the green star. Making the a-b-c and D targets a second time lights the bottom red star. This lit star indicates a free ball is won. Making the top kick-out hole three times lights the blue star. This indicates that the bonus accumulated during your current ball will be held over to the next ball, giving you a headstart toward a higher bonus. Making the top kick-out hole five times lights the side specials. The value of the upper kick-out hole is increased on the last ball. Oh yes, bowling…completing the 10 pins scores a strike and points. Three strikes completed during a game award a ton of points and a replay.
Williams produced this game in October with 7,053 units produced. Norm Clark designed the game and Christian Marche did the art package. This four-player electromechanical game is based on the game tic-tac-toe. Making 3 x’s or 3 o’s in line or diagonally lights the eject holes to award an extra ball and 5,000 points. Making the A and B roll-overs lights the center target. Hitting it opens the gate and 1,000 points. A bonus feature is incorporated into the game and this is awarded when the ball drains. Lighting all the squares activates the side rollover lanes to score a replay. Score and matching are also incorporated into the game. A fast play field design that’s fun to play.
This one-player September release was designed by Steve Kordek with art package laid out by Christian Marche. 1,130 units were made, which is a pretty low production run. This is an add-a-ball game with a replay version also released called “Superstar.” This machine incorporates not one but three pop-up posts to deflect the ball from draining through the side drains as well as the flipper drain. The object of the machine is to extend your playing time by winning more free balls. This is achieved by completing the s-u-p-e-r roll-overs at the top of the play field. Doing so lights the hidden center kick-out hole. By dropping the target in front of this hole, one has a shot at the extra ball prize. If both specials are lit, two free balls are awarded. Completing each five-star sequence also advances the center shot award. Score is another to earn extra balls per game. Replay games were much more popular back in this era, but not every locale allowed replays.
4,900 of these machines made their way to the public in March of the year. Designer Steve Kordek and artist Christian Marche bundled this package together. This machine incorporates the Williams rotating target mechanism where, if you hit the center target squarely, it scores the visible reward and then ratchets ahead 90 degrees to the next target. If you’re skillful enough to light one of the stars by hitting the one to three sequence for that color, a light illuminates at the bottom of the game and the free ball gate opens. Lighting two stars increases the value of certain targets. Three stars gets you the special light to win replays if the rotating target is hit. This four player game is a challenge to complete and light the specials. Have fun trying!
