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Gottlieb released the game “Sinbad” in both solid-state and electromechanical formats in June of the year. Designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison, there were 12,000 S.S. games and 950 E.M. games made. This machine is the rare two-player version of the game, of which 730 were made. Drop targets are the main theme of this game. Knocking down the single white drop target awards a 2x bonus and lights the white rollover. The three yellow drops were next. If hit, 3x bonus is awarded when the ball drains and the 5,000 rollover lights at the top of the playfield. The four purple drops were next. Making these would award 4x bonus and light the extra ball rollover. Finally, the five red drops; when hit would award 5x bonus (the maximum bonus that could register is 15,000 points times the bonus) as well as light the special rollover. Four flippers allowed for interesting play, also.
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Kasco Manufacturing Company produced about eight machines of various themes in their productive commercial life. This machine is the most popular of the games they made. This shoot’em up game awards a free play if a score of 80 is made. The game board is elaborate for its day and looks 3-D. Blacklight, holograms, and mechanical chain link drives are all synchronized at different speeds (the faster the ninja moves, the more potential points you can earn if you hit one). Hitting a ninja produces a flash of light and points. Audio enhances your experience. Lighting colored artwork from behind a mirror creates the animation effect seen in this game. There’s only eight molded targets in the game, but it appears a lot more are present due to the computer’s timing of their action. Give it a shot! -
This unique woodrail game was screwed together in November of the year following the success of a Gottlieb space theme called Rocketship. Harry Williams designed the playfield and game rules while George Molentin inked the artwork. The object of the game is to score at least three rockets on the backglass in order. Doing so awards a replay. This is not an easy task as most of the rockets are “selected” at the top of the machine’s playfield and, even though you may have had a countdown going on a desired numbered rocket to complete this feat, the next ball will most likely change the selected rocket in your countdown sequence! To spot a rocket, you must count down five levels to light the fire bumpers. Hitting one of these spots your actively selected rocket. More replays are yours if you can achieve four, five, six, or seven rockets in order, an extremely rare feat. Score is also another way to score replays. A very challenging playfield for sure, between trying to change your selected rocket and the high-side drain exits take some time to master. -
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! -
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May was the release month for this game. Designer Ed Krynski and artist Gordon Morison put together the package. Production run was low, at 675 units. This is an add-a-ball game variant, the replay version was called High Hand. The challenging part of this playfield design is trying to lock a ball in the eject hole for extra balls. Four batteries of drop targets in four colors are along the sides of the playfield. Making a completion of a color of drop targets increases the value of the eject and side drains. If all the drop targets are completed, the extra ball features light up. Score is another way to win balls set by the operator. No match units were incorporated into these games as, again, that was considered a form of gambling, i.e. winning a free game. -
This classic game is currently rated as the number two game of its generation. 4,650 units were produced in April of the year with design credits going to Roy Parker for artwork and Wayne Neyens for design. The game was produced to coincide with the New York World’s Fair of 1964-1965. The 11 ferris wheel cars depicted on the backglass are represented on the play field by roll overs and targets. Hitting a numbered car lights the corresponding backglass car. The interesting gadget developed for this game is the center spinning disc (i.e. ferris wheel) in the middle of the game. By spinning the disc, one randomly spots a ferris wheel car on the backglass. Completing all the cars awards a replay and the randomly advancing lighting of a rollover which, if you’re skilled enough, would award a replay if hit. Score is another way to conquer the machine. Enjoy trying your hand at this classic machine. -
Galaga is a single-screen shoot-em-up in which the player controls a “fighter” spaceship and must defend the home planet against the on-coming hordes of alien invaders. The fighter can only move left and right along the bottom of the screen. Galaga aliens fly onto the screen in a variety of formations – dropping bombs as they do so – before forming troop lines at the top of the screen. Once a troop line is formed, the aliens separate and start attacking the player’s ship in ones, twos and threes. The top line “boss” aliens need to be shot twice before they are destroyed. The boss alien has a tractor beam that can capture the player’s fighter. A captured fighter changes color from white to red and stays with that particular boss Galaga until it’s destroyed. The fighter can be retrieved by destroying the boss Galaga that captured it, but players must be careful not to destroy the captured ship itself, or that ship is lost. A rescued fighter changes color back from red to white and links up with the player’s current fighter, doubling its fire power. As players progress through each screen, the speed and number of alien attacks increases. Alien formations also become more complex, making the aliens harder to shoot. Bonus fighters are awarded periodically throughout the game, as players reach specific point values (dictated by the “bonus life” dip-switch setting). Each enemy ship also has an assigned point value (see scoring below). The alien troop lines that form at the top of the screen are, from top to bottom: Boss Galaga, Butterflies (red/white bug ships) and Bees (blue/yellow bug ships). I cut my teeth on video games like this back in the ’80s. Pinball lost momentum in this era as video games ruled the arcade at this time. -
This is the next-to-last machine Williams made under the Bally moniker and the first game made to “reinvent” pinball in a last-ditch effort to save Williams from ceasing pinball manufacturing. 6,878 machines were made. George Gomez designed the new platform with Greg Freres and John Youssi designing the art package. This is Star Wars; the last games from Williams were the most technologically advanced games pinball has ever known. The incorporation of a reflecting video monitor with interactive playfield video feedback is revolutionary. The top of the playfield is mostly hidden from view except for a few selectively placed spots which light on occasion. This machine consists of nine different modes which must be conquered to proceed to the ultimate mode, that being the destruction of Mars. A very different game that sold well. However, Williams pulled the plug on pinball and thereafter focused on slot machines.