-
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 game was very successful 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.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.
