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This is it. The ultimate collectible game of the ‘70s according to the literature. Bally put together Ted Zale and Dave “Mad Dog” Christianson to design the game. Production run was 3,815 units. Many firsts here. The whirlwind spinning disk was a first to throw off the ball once rolled upon. A messenger ball (captive ball) was a variation on a theme. The art package is truly amazing. A lower-left kick-back kicker, when activated, returns your ball to play. A free ball gate returns your ball to the plunger. “Zipperflippers”, a first, closes the gap between the flippers, when activated, preventing the loss of the ball thru the center drain until turned off. Once you lock two balls in the “odin” and “wotan” kickout holes, then hit “release messenger balls”, three balls are in play. No jackpot in multiball in this game was developed. You just had a period of high scoring and pinball chaos to contend with until you lost the first two balls in play.This very collectible game of the ‘70s was another in a series of celebrity-themed tie-in games Bally found license to produce. 17,000 units were made, a sizable number for the day. A prototype speaking version of this game was made ahead of its time but failed to be marketed. The object of the game is to spell out the name KISS. If you complete four times, a super bonus is awarded. Do it again and a colossal bonus is awarded. A third time awards a replay and a ton of points…which can be doubled if the 2x value drop targets are completed. The A, B, C, and D targets also can award extra balls and specials. The left drop targets award the KISS line when completed. All in all, an exciting game with great graphics but no speech. Talking pinballs finally made the scene with the release of Gorgar (in the museum). Replays are also awarded by score or matching. Matching is the process by which the last two numbers of your score match the generated number produced by the game.John Popodiuk designed this magical game with artwork penned by Linda Deal. 6,600 units were manufactured. This game is always in the top 10 machines in collectibility. The magic trunk is the centerpiece of the playfield. Its multifunctional sides rotate according to the storyline of the machine at the time. Eight illusions are to be collected in a typical game. This is one of four requirements needed to complete the grand finale stage of the game. Advancing the clock to midnight by shooting the right-side lane 12 times or hitting the captive ball completes this feature. Multiball must be made at the trunk to complete the third part of the puzzle. The last issue is completing the word “theater” by certain ramp shots. Grand finale is tough to achieve but a neat show awaits you. Vanish is another feature that makes a ball disappear when shot up the left-side ramp; the ball reappears when the right ramp is made.Gottlieb Pop-A-Card was another classic ‘70s playfield designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison. Only 825 of these units were made. The replay version of the game was called Drop–A-Card which, as usual, was a much higher produced machine. The open playfield of this game gives ample room for scoring the three banks of drop targets. To win free balls with this game, you have to either complete the 2, 3, 4, and 5 targets, or the 6, 7, 8, and 9 targets…or the 10, J, Q, K, and Ace targets. The first two options light the wow feature to award free balls during that ball in play. If you hit the 10 thru Ace targets to completion, four rollovers light up to score extra balls. Of course, score is another way to score more balls.This game was a breakthru game. It is the first-ever talking pinball machine. Games of this era had synthesized sound, but this game spoke. The speech wasn’t very clear or very wordy, as memory chips of this era couldn’t hold too much information compared to today’s games, but it was a sensation for Williams. The production run for the game was 14,000 units. It was designed by Barry Oursler with art by Constantino Mitchell. The top three rollover lanes would, if completed give up two, then three times bonus. The snake pit in the upper-left playfield has a magnet under it, which captures the ball for bonuses and Gorgar’s chance to use his seven-word vocabulary. Spelling out the word “Gorgar” makes the monster say his name and increases bonus values. This game also incorporates the background noise made famous in the Williams game Flash (in the museum). This time the background sound is of a heartbeat. It gets faster and faster as you advance.Gottlieb produced a few baseball-themed games, but Williams Manufacturing was the king of these types of games. This game, designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison, had a run of 775 units. This is the add-a-ball version of this game, so it is rarer. The replay version is called Grand Slam. This game has eject holes which activate the roto-target, a Gottlieb exclusive device, which stops and a man is lit on a corresponding base to the eject hole on the baseball diamond. The rollover button lights when the bases are loaded. This scores 1,000 points whenever the bases are loaded. Runs and score are the ways to win free balls with this game.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.Pro Pool originated in December with 800 units being fabricated. This add-a-ball machine was designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison. Two replay versions of the game were also made: a two-player version called Big Shot and a four-player version called Hot Shot. Obviously the theme of this game is the game of pool. The playfield is symmetrical and the way to win extra balls is by completing the left and/or right drop target battery. Doing so will lift the left and/or right wow rollovers for this award. The drop targets reset once the sequences are completed. Of course, an operator-adjusted score is another way to score a couple of balls. Back in the ‘70s, multiple balls or replays could be achieved on the game. Today, one free game on a current solid-state game is the common win. Operators have made it harder to achieve free games today as free games yield no income and only result in down time for the machine to earn coins in the till.This solid-state game was very popular when it was released and has a lot of smooth shots to complete. It was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Paul Faris. Production run was 18,250 units. This pre-speaking pinball has Hugh Hefner on its backglass with Bunny Sondra Theodore posing. At the top of the game are four rollover lanes, which advance when hit to a special and advance the bonuses and grotto award. Hitting the five Bunny targets also advance a feature to win extra balls and specials. A unique kickback lane advances with every entrance into it. A five-pack of drop targets also advance certain features on the game. If 20,000 points are made on the bonus system, this point count is carried over to all remaining balls and then some. The nicest shot on the game is going up the right side from the flipper and looping the ball into the grotto. The sound originates from the old TV show “Playboy After Dark.”This game by Gottlieb is a very challenging design. It was invented by Ed Krynski and artwork was drawn by Gordon Morrison. This game has 10 drop targets lined up the left side of the playfield. If one target is hit, one scores 500 points. If, however, you’re skillful enough to hit a blue and white target at the same time, 5,000 points are awarded. Completing the sequence 1-9 lights the special at the bottom left rollover as well as lights the drop targets to score a special if all the targets are dropped. The player had to be wary when trying to freeze the ball on the right flipper, as one could lose the ball up the right guide rail (which has an opening in it the size of a ball). This playfield design was used a few times by Gottlieb, as it was a successful design (games like Gottlieb 300, for example, a bowling themed game). Scoring games by core were another option.This rare add-a-ball game was released in April. It was designed by John Osbourne with artwork by Gordon Morison. A minimal total of 270 units were soldered together at the time. This is a small number for a pinball run. The replay version had a much larger production and the name of that game was Hit The Deck. As you can see from the backglass, Gottlieb tried to experiment with a score reel that was completely different in coloring. This was to attract attention to the game and attract quarters. The object of the game is to roll over the red number and/or black number sequence inherent in the game. If you are skillful enough to get the 9 to Ace sequence, some wow options will light up to score extra balls. A kickback feature is incorporated into the game in the upper-left area. This single-player game is challenging and a rare sight to see.
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