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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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.” -
Atari PONG was released in June 1972 and is the first commercially successful video game and is based on a simple two-dimensional graphical representation of a tennis-like game. Players use paddles to hit a ball back and forth on a black and white screen. Pong was the first game developed by Atari Inc., by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Pong (marketed as PONG) is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left side of the screen, and can compete against either a computer controlled opponent or another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side. Players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth. The aim is for a player to earn more points than the opponent; points are earned when one fails to return the ball to the other. Pong consistently earned four times more revenue than other coin-operated machines, which resulted in an increase in the number of orders Atari received. This provided Atari with a steady source of income; the company sold the machines at three times the cost of production. By 1973, the company had filled 2,500 orders, and, at the end of 1974, sold more than 8,000 units.[20] The arcade cabinets have since become collector’s items with the cocktail-table version being the rarest. Atari eventually sold more than 35,000 units, however, many more imitations were produced by competitors. -
Missile Command is a 1980 arcade game by Atari, Inc. that was also licensed to Sega for European release. It is considered one of the most notable games from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games. The plot of Missile Command is simple: the player’s six cities are being attacked by an endless hail of ballistic missiles, some of them even splitting like multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), and in later levels smart bombs which can evade a less than perfectly targeted missile. As a regional commander of three anti-missile batteries, the player must defend six cities in their zone from being destroyed. The game is played by moving a crosshair across the sky background via a trackball and pressing one of three buttons to launch a counter-missile from the appropriate battery. Counter-missiles explode upon reaching the crosshair, leaving a fireball that persists for several seconds and destroys any enemy missiles that enter it. There are three batteries, each with ten missiles; a missile battery becomes useless when all its missiles are fired, or if the battery is destroyed by enemy fire. The missiles of the central battery fly to their targets at much greater speed; only these missiles can effectively kill a smart bomb at a distance. The game is staged as a series of levels of increasing difficulty; each level contains a set number of incoming enemy weapons. The weapons attack the six cities, as well as the missile batteries; being struck by an enemy weapon results in destruction of the city or missile battery. Enemy weapons are only able to destroy 3 cities during one level. A level ends if all the cities are destroyed, or when all enemy weaponry is destroyed or reaches its target. A player who runs out of missiles no longer has control over the remainder of the level. At the conclusion of a level, the player receives bonus points for any remaining cities or unused missiles. Between levels missile batteries are rebuilt and replenished; destroyed cities are rebuilt only at set point levels (usually 10 or 12K). The game inevitably ends when all six cities have been wiped out. Like most early arcade games, there is no way to “win” the game; the game just keeps going with ever faster and more prolific incoming missiles. The game, then, is just a contest in seeing how long the player can survive. On conclusion of the game, the screen displays “The End”, perhaps a poke at oncoming Nuclear Holocaust rather than the standard “Game Over” text (however, if the player is able to make the high score list, the game then prompts the player to enter his/her initials, with the “The End” sequence skipped). The game features an interesting bug: once a score of 810,000 is reached, a large number of cities are awarded (176 cities plus the continuing accrual of bonus cities) and it is possible to carry on playing for several hours. At some later stage the speed of missiles increases greatly for a few screens. On the 255th and 256th yellow screens, known as the 0x stages, the scoring increases by 256 times the base value. For good players these two 0x stages could earn over a million points. This enabled them to reach a score of approximately 2,800,000 (although only 6 digit scores were shown, so it would display 800,000) and at this point the accelerated rate would suddenly cease and the game would restart at its original (slow) speed and return to the first stage, but with the score and any saved cities retained. In this way it was possible to play this game for hours on end. Targeting crosshair: Aim your missiles quickly but carefully. Use the trackball to move the targeting crosshair to where you want the next missile to go, then press any Launch Control button to fire the missile. The missile will explode where the crosshair was positioned when the Launch Control button was pressed. Cities: There are six cities in total on the screen at one time, three on either side of the Delta Base. If one enemy missile or Smart Bomb manages to strike a city, that city will be wiped out. When all cities are destroyed, the game is over. Alpha Base: The missile base on the left side of the screen. Press the leftmost Launch Control button to launch an ABM from the Alpha Base. Delta Base: The missile base in the center of the screen. Press the middle Launch Control button to launch an ABM from the Delta Base. Omega Base: The missile base on the right side of the screen. Press the rightmost Launch Control button to launch an ABM from the Omega Base. NOTE: The Alpha and Omega Bases launch ABMs at a slower speed than the Delta Base, so you must plan further ahead when launching missiles from those bases. Defensive Missiles : The ABMs you launch to protect your cities. Each missile base contains 10 ABMs per wave. If any missile base is struck by an attack missile or smart bomb, the remaining stock of missiles for that wave are destroyed, and the missile base is rendered useless until the next wave. You receive bonus points for every ABM you have remaining at the end of each wave. Attack Missiles : Their only aim is to destroy your cities and missile bases. Every missile wave starts off with a hailstorm of attack missiles. They never deviate from their path. They may, however, turn into MIRVs. MIRV : Surprise! There is no warning when an attack missile turns into an MIRV (with multiple warheads). Think fast. Each new missile that the MIRV unleashes is carefully targeted. Killer Satellite: A mean-looking satellite that travels across the sky at a mid-level altitude and fires attack missiles. First appears in Wave 2. Bomber: A big slow-moving target that flies across the sky at a mid-level altitude, but watch out! It fires attack missiles. First appears in Wave 2. WARNING: If you destory a bomber or killer satellite before they deploy their missiles, you may see their missiles added to the downpour. An existing missile may also turn into an MIRV. Smart Bomb: Smart enough to avoid most explosion clouds from your ABMs. Your ABM must explode next to one in order to destroy it. You can also squeen it between two explosions to destroy it. First appears in Wave 5. ‘LOW’ Warning: As soon as there are only three ABMs left in a missile base, the game displays the word “LOW” underneath that base, and a warning signal sounds. Heed the warning. -
Demolition Man is a Williams pinball machine released in February 1994. It is based on the motion picture of the same name. It is part of WMS’ SuperPin line of widebody games. Sylvester Stallone (John Spartan) and Wesley Snipes (Simon Phoenix) provided custom speech for this game during ADR sessions at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles under the direction of Jon Hey. Hey scored the music of the pinball game in part based upon the movie score by Academy Award winner Elliot Goldenthal, but including new music. Multiball modes This game is centered on multiball modes. The player has to shoot the left ramp when the “freeze” light is lit (lit by the right inlane) to “lock” a ball. When the required amount of locks are made, the player has to shoot the left loop to start multiball. Fortress Multiball (2 balls required) – A normal multiball mode with 3 jackpots and the “Super Jackpot”. 1-4 balls can be shot up. Museum Multiball (3 balls required) – Jackpots everywhere, except the standups. After the “Super Jackpot” the Multiball starts over. 3-6 balls can be shot up. Wasteland Multiball (4 balls required) – Same as “Fortress Multiball”. If not getting the lighting jackpots, the next jackpot will appear and the previous jackpot will stay. 4-8 balls can be shot up. Cryoprison Multiball (5 balls required) – The “Super Jackpot” is lit, from the beginning of the multiball. After getting the “Super Jackpot” it will lit again after hitting an arrow or more. Completing all four multiball modes lights the right ramp for the wizard award, Demolition Jackpot, which is the total amount of all the jackpots collected during the game. The Demolition Jackpot is lost if the ball drains. If you hit all jackpots in a multiball, the “Super Jackpot” light will lit. Getting the ball up to the “Cryo-Claw” whilst, you will get it. The “Super Jackpot” light turns off, if all the balls drain and the Multiball is over, the “Super Jackpot” is lost. -
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Here’s another classic single-player wedgehead. This machine was designed by Jeff Brenner with art scrolled by Gordon Morison. 3,100 units came to fruition as well as an add-a-ball called Royal Pair. This open playfield design allows for a lot of action mandated by flipper shots all the way up the playfield. The object of the game is simple…by completing all the card targets and rollovers, three specials light. Hitting the ace target up top or scoring a lit rollover awards a replay. Another unique feature built into this machine is the random rollover values one may capture. 10, 100 or 1,000 points may be scored by rolling over one of four rollover targets when lit. The shots to the targets must be precise to score from the flipper. The outlanes are unique in design as they are angled. A very interesting variation of a Gottlieb card theme machine. -
The last game of ’65 is a two-player add-a-ball game. It was designed by Ed Krynski with art by Roy Parker. A replay model also exists by the name of Paradise. Production run was a meager 265 units; the replay game had 2,100 units fabricated. The animated backglass on this game contains a dancing hula girl. When extra balls are won, they are represented as beach balls on the backglass. If you complete the sequence A, B, C, and D in that order, a free ball is your reward. Roto lights advance and indicate the value of the kickout holes. Points set by the operator award free balls also. An interesting guide rail is on either side of the flipper drains, a variation on a theme. This game is very rare due to its low production numbers. -
Gorf is an arcade game released in 1981 by Midway Mfg., whose name was advertised as an acronym for “Galactic Orbiting Robot Force”. It is a multiple-mission fixed shooter with five distinct modes of play, essentially making it five games in one. It is well known for its use of synthesized speech, a new feature at the time. The player controls a spaceship that can move left, right, up and down around the lower third of the screen. The ship can fire a single shot (called a “quark laser” in this game), which travels vertically up the screen. Unlike similar games, where the player cannot fire again until his existing shot has disappeared, the player can choose to fire another shot at any time; if the previous shot is still on screen, it disappears. Gorf consists of five distinct “missions”, each with its own patterns of enemies. The central goal of each mission is to destroy all enemies in that wave, which takes the player to the next mission. Successfully completing all five missions will increase the player’s rank and loop back to the first mission, where play continues on a higher difficulty level. The game continues until the player loses all their lives. The player can advance through the ranks of Space Cadet, Space Captain, Space Colonel, Space General, Space Warrior, and Space Avenger, with a higher difficulty level at each rank. Along the way, a robotic voice heckles and threatens the player, often calling the player by his current rank (for example, “Some galactic defender you are, Space Cadet!”). Some versions also display the player’s current rank via a series of lit panels in the cabinet. The missions are: 1.Astro Battles: The first mission is almost an exact clone of Space Invaders. This is the only mission that is not set in space, but rather against a sky-blue background. A small force of enemies (24 in Gorf vs. 55 in Space Invaders) attacks in the classic pattern set by the original game. The player is protected by a glittering parabolic force field that is gradually worn away by enemy fire. The force field switches off temporarily while the player’s shots pass through it. 2.Laser Attack: In this mission, the player must battle two formations of five enemies each. Each formation contains three yellow enemies that attempt to dive-bomb the player, a white gun that fires a single laser beam, and a red miniature version of the Gorf robot. 3.Galaxians: This mission is a clone of Galaxian, with the key differences being the number of enemies (24 in Gorf vs. 46 in Galaxian) and the way the enemies fire (pellets in Gorf, missiles in Galaxian). Gameplay is otherwise similar to the original game. 4.Space Warp: Mission 4 places the player in a sort of wormhole, where enemies fly outward from the center of the screen and attempt to either shoot down or collide with the player’s ship. It is possible to shoot enemy shots in this level. 5.Flag Ship: The Flag Ship is protected by its own force field (similar to the one protecting the player in Mission 1), and it flies back and forth and fires at the player. To defeat it, the player must break through the force field and destroy the ship’s core: if a different part of the ship is hit the player receives bonus points and the part breaks off and flies in a random direction, potentially posing a risk to the player’s ship. If the player successful hits the Flag Ship’s core, the Flag Ship explodes in a dramatic display, the player advances to the next rank, and play continues on Mission 1, with the difficulty increased. -
This one or two player upright video game is not just one dedicated game like Pac-Man or Missle Command. Through the use of modules or packs installed in the machine, more games could be added to its itinerary of playable classics. Early video games had full circuit boards within the machine as well as dedicated transformers and controls. Nowadays, emulators have taken over the arcade and home markets, allowing thousands of games in the footprint of one machine. Pinball machines have also been emulated in this formats. These games are finding themselves more and more in the home market for obvious reasons: you can have 100 of your favorite machines to come home to in one solo unit–and you own the keys! -
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This wide-body solid-state game was a high-production model with 6,800 units produced. The artwork was Gordon Morison’s creation with Ed Krynski penning the playfield. This pre-vocal machine is jam-packed with features. A mini playfield in the upper left consists of drop targets which, when completed correctly, light extra ball and special targets on the main playfield. Hitting a, b, c, and d on the top rollovers lights an extra ball feature on the mini playfield. Hitting the yellow star drop targets advances the multiplier bonus up to a 5x level. Interesting side drain configurations as well as the potential to score the kick-out hole playfield bonus prior to draining a ball is interesting. Five flippers grace the game. All in all, a great package and interesting flow for an early wide-body creation. -
This game was an “add-a-ball” game; the replay version was called 2001. Production run was 490 units. This was the first game to feature the in-line drop targets in a bank of targets. It was designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison. A total of 20 drop targets divided into 5 targets per color. Knocking down a full left set of targets or a right set of targets awarded extra balls to be played during your current game (versus free games as the replay version awarded). The targets would reset after each ball. Extra balls were also awarded if certain scores were achieved as set by the operator. Previous high scores could be posted by the arcade on the backglass as a contest to try and beat the high score. This game was near the end of single-player Gottieb games with the smaller flippers. All in all, a classic game requiring accuracy in your shots to gain extra balls! -
This game scores as the #10 most desirable game of the ’70s. It came out in August, designed by Ed Krynski and Allen Edwell with artwork by Gordon Morrison. Backbox animation is included in the game. A giant thermometer advances when drop targets are hit and by rolling over the rollovers. If the thermometer is advanced to the top, the special lights on the eject hole. A, B, C and D rollovers, if hit, advances the thermometer 5 advances. If a player completes all the letters, he gets 5,000 points in the eject hole. A double bonus feature is present also. All in all, a very fast-paced game. Artists, as a general rule, didn’t help design playfields. They were given the game mechanically more or less completed and had to invent the graphics and theme on their own. -
This unique game has the distinction of having the first mechanical head on a pinball machine. His name is Rudy, and he not only follows the ball during play with his eyes but harasses you with a flurry of comments as the game proceeds. This game was designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry Demar with art accolades going to John Youssi. 10,750 games were made. The object of the game is to advance the clock to midnight. This makes Rudy fall asleep. If you’re skillful enough to shoot the ball into Rudy’s mouth, he wakes up, spits the ball out, and your next goal is to shoot the ball into the trap door for a jackpot. The mystery mirror contains different objectives to achieve. Completing the mirror awards “super frenzy” where all contacts award higher points. Another unique feature of the game is the left plunger, which shoots the “steps” when activated for various awards. The best part of the game is Rudy, though. He taunts you through the whole game. -
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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. -
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 rollovers 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 playfield design and fun to play. -
It’s probably a very rare person who has never played Pac-Man. Even for those who may have missed it in the 1980s, Pac-Man has been re-made on nearly every video game platform since then. Pac-Man even appeared on the front page of Google (as a playable game) on Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary. However, for those few who are unfamiliar with the game, here are the basics. You, the player, control the yellow, circular Pac-Man using either keyboard arrows or a joystick. The goal is to move Pac-Man around the maze-like screen gobbling up all 240 dots before the four ghosts (sometimes called monsters) get you. The four ghosts are all different colors: Blinky (red), Inky (light blue), Pinky (pink), and Clyde (orange). However, they all turn dark blue when Pac-Man eats one of the four power pellets available on each level; the pellets enable Pac-Man to eat the ghosts. Occasionally, fruit will appear on the screen. If Pac-Man gobbles those up then he earns a point bonus, with different fruit worth different values. While all this is happening, Pac-Man makes a wocka-wocka sound that is nearly as memorable as the yellow character himself. When first launched in Japan by Namco in 1980, the game received a lukewarm response, as Space Invaders and other similar games were more popular at the time. However, the game found far more success in North America. Pac-Man’s success in North America took competitors and distributors completely by surprise in 1980. Marketing executives who saw Pac-Man at a trade show prior to release completely overlooked the game (along with the now-classic Defender), while they looked to a racing car game called Rally-X as the game to outdo that year. The appeal of Pac-Man was such that the game caught on immediately with the public; it quickly became far more popular than anything seen in the game industry up to that point. Pac-Man outstripped Asteroids as the best-selling arcade game in North America, grossing over $1 billion in quarters within a decade, by the end of the 1980s, surpassing the revenues grossed by the highest-grossing film “Star Wars”. The player controls Pac-Man through a maze, eating pac-dots (also called pellets). When all pac-dots are eaten, Pac-Man is taken to the next stage. Between some stages one of three intermission animations plays. Four enemies (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) roam the maze, trying to catch Pac-Man. If an enemy touches Pac-Man, a life is lost and the Pac-Man itself withers and dies. When all lives have been lost, the game ends. Pac-Man is awarded a single bonus life at 10,000 points by default. -
This wide-body mouthful of a game incorporates not one talking head (like in the game “Funhouse”) but two…and they talk to each other during game play. Williams made around six wide-body machines such as this so as to incorporate more real estate space for playfield action and toys. They went by the moniker of the “Super Pin.” This machine was designed by Pat Lawlor and inked by John Youssi. 6,259 were made. In a nutshell, the object of this machine is to cross the US to achieve the ultimate jackpot round. Each time you hit Ted, the day of the week advances in front of him. When you reach Friday, it’s payday. This starts the three-ball multiball series. The jackpot is achieved when you shoot a ball into sleeping Ted’s mouth! Much mayhem, a vibrating motor, two plunger shots, and a lot of characters pop up to taunt you on your way across the country. Country singer Carlene Carter is the voice of Red. -
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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 game is a classic and is rated # 5 in collectible machines of the ‘60s. The game was created by Wayne Neyens with artwork by Roy Parker. Production run was 2,875 units. The main action in the game comes from the four in-line kickout holes set across the center playfield. The object of the machine is to hit a suit of four cards vertically under the kickout holes. If you get all four, a hole will randomly light up to score a free game (i.e., a special). The challenge here is to sink the ball in the kickout holes once a special is lit. All four holes can light up if you’re lucky enough to score all 16 cards. Finally, another special in the top rollover lanes randomly lights if you score just the four top cards on the pattern of cards. Score also was a factor as dropping balls in the kickout holes with many cards lit scored a lot of points very quickly. -
In this, the first proper sequel to Namco’s legendary pill-eating maze game, players must once again run around a number of mazes, eating all of the pills that are scattered throughout. The ever-present ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Sue) return to hamper the player’s progress. The infamous “power pills” are also present and correct, with four appearing in each maze. Namco introduced a number of changes and enhancements over the original game. The first difference is in the main character. For the first time in video-game history, the game’s lead character was female. Ms. Pac-man is almost identical to the original character with two main differences: she wears a bow in her “hair” and is also wearing lipstick. Another change from the original is that the bonus fruit items are no longer static but now move randomly around the mazes. Ms. Pac-man features four different maze layouts, which alternate every two to four screens: the first maze is only encountered in rounds 1 and 2 and has 220 dots and four power pills. There are two sets of tunnels in this maze equidistant from the center of the maze. You must clear this maze twice before moving on to the next maze. The second maze is only encountered in rounds 3, 4, and 5, and has 240 dots and four power pills. There are two sets of tunnels in this maze: one set in the lower half, and the other set at the very top. You must clear this maze three times before moving on to the next maze. The third maze is first encountered in round 6 and has 238 dots and four power pills. Unlike all other mazes, there is only one set of tunnels in this maze, slightly above the center of the board. You must clear this maze four times before moving on to the next maze. The fourth and final unique maze is first encountered in round 10 and has 234 dots and four power pills. There are two sets of tunnels in this maze, directly next to one another in the middle of the maze. The turns at the entrance to the tunnels change the usual immediate accessibility of the tunnels and should be taken into account. You must clear this maze four times before moving on to the next maze. -
This contemporary machine was designed by Keith Johnson and Joe Balcer. The art package was created by Matt Groening’s cartoon team and the voices inherent in the game are from the actors who play the characters on the show. This well-designed game is basically an extension of The Simpsons TV show with all characters accounted for. Opening the garage door allows you to try and lock three balls in the couch to start couch multiball and score a jackpot or super jackpot. The three drop targets on the bottom right must be hit, the ball dropped into the hole behind them…and then repeated once more to start the Itchy and Scratchy multiball. If you’re skillful enough to complete all the modes to the basic game, the spoiler modes kick in. One of these modes reverses the flipper buttons’ function. A very complicated game enhanced by Homer following the ball around the playfield; this game is busy.