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news & gossip reviews

What Comes Around Goes Around

By Bernard Boulevard

Picture this:  It’s Saturday night, and you’re out at your favorite pub with 4 of your friends, itching to play a few games of pinball.  You grab a couple of pitchers and head to the pinball area.  There are three games, and no one is playing them yet.  You and your buddies do the math:  There are five of you, and three pinball machines.  Since most pinball games have a 4 player limit, there’s no way you can all play the same game, unless you shuck the whole idea of playing traditional 3 ball games, and play the new Skill Shot game (patent pending), “Round and Round”!

Here’s how it works:  As in the above scenario, you’ve got three open pinball machines and five pinball-hungry friends.  Drop enough quarters or singles into one or more of the machines until each machine has enough credits for a 4 player game.  Press Start four times, and the game is on.  Whoever wants to take a turn goes next.  There is no typical “game” other than the ball you are playing, because, as is Skill Shot’s motto, “It Only Takes One Ball”!  Hop from game to game, ask one of your buddies if he’s played game So-And-So yet and let him go next, or play one ball for a half hour while your friends cheer you on.  It’s all about one ball, so don’t worry about high scores, getting your initials in, or trying to outplay your friends.  And setting up shots is great, because it can be fun to watch a newbie get the ball that you were the last to play and see him get multiball or extra ball or even Stewie Pinball (if you’re playing Family Guy).

Round and Round works with many combinations of machines and players.  Eight people can buy into one or more machines, while three people can play it on two machines.  The only time it won’t work is if two of you are playing one machine in a two player game (no matter what, it’s still a two player game, right?).  Playing Round and Round with people that are uncomfortable playing pinball (“I suck at it!”  Yeah, right.) can be awesome because each ball is like a clean slate, and it can be seen by novices as a practice session or a learning experience without the outcome of an embarrassingly low score.  Or it can be a way to include all of your friends in America’s Favorite Pastime:  PINBALL!  With Round and Round, it only takes one ball, literally.

Coming up next, another new Skill Shot game:  “Half and Half”! (patent pending)

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reviews

Why So Serious?

by  DJ B00M

In July, 1939, Robert Kahn created a character that would change the world forever. It would launch many careers and destroy others.  At the time, I doubt that Bob (Robert is too stuffy) Kane had any idea how far Batman would go: radio shows, television, movies, toys, clothing….

The latest incarnation of the Dark Knight comes to us in the form of a pinball machine. The black cabinet makes the artwork pop, with its glossy, book cover-like faces. While the game is called Batman, there can be no doubt that this is the Christopher Nolan flick. So, of course, there is a picture of Heath on the back glass and on the play field. Somehow creepy and sad.

The Mad Pub happens to have Family Guy right next to Bats. When it’s quiet, you can hit the flipper on Batman, and it will talk. Then hit the flipper on Family Guy, and it farts. Hilarious! Anyway, I have to say the voice work is pretty good, at times. The Scarecrow and Bruce/Bats sound a lot alike, which can be a little confusing when you’re given a shot prompt.

One of the easiest shots, at least for me, is the far left orbit. Hit that, the ball goes around and lands in the trap for Mystery. It’s a random choice, and you tend to get a multiplier bonus, but sometimes ya get extra ball. Yahoo! The other way to get extra ball is to collect two items from Lucius Fox, which will light extra ball on the play field. Then simply shoot the scoop to collect extra ball, which by the way, has some nice animation. Lucius  has an easy ramp, and it’s the same thing as Path of the Dead from LoTR.  So it’s easy to collect items from him. He’s got a funny sound bite here and there too.

“Careful sir, the Joker can be a tricky one.”  You got that right Alfred! I suggest using the left flipper to hit the Joker target. Another good feature is that the game lets you get Scarecrow and Joker multi-ball at the same time. Ka-ching! That comes in pretty handy too, as Bats isn’t a high scoring game, although you get 70 points when you hit almost anything. One of the nicer touches is during game play a large ‘drum’-like thing sits in the upper play field, and during Joker multi-ball it spins around to reveal a little toy Joker. I want one!

The game has this teeter totter in it as well, but it doesn’t really do anything. So I’m not going to talk about it. I like that Stern used the larger dot graphics display, like in the new Indiana Jones game (which I have a feeling will quietly go away soon, not one of Stern’s better games).  Batman, however, is pretty damn good.  Fast paced, check. Lots of pretty lights and sounds, check. Only two flippers, so no “how the hell am I gonna make that shot” issues, check.  Sounds like a pretty good game to me. Think I’m going to start saving my pennies and buy myself one. Now if only it had a peg in front of the center drain. . . . . . .

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reviews tips & tricks

Welcome to Champion Pub

by Geoffro

Welcome to Champion Pub, Kid. I hear ya fancy yerself a bit of a boxer – well, we’ll just see about that. We got plenty of fellas here waitin to knock yer teeth out. But if ya think ya got what it takes, Kid, I ain’t gonna stop ya. Let me show ya around a bit first, this place can get a little rough.

First off, yer gonna need to test yer skill shot. Hold down that launch button and see what ya get. I’d recommend the door prize, those can be pretty useful.

You wanna be the Pub Champ, I can see it in yer eyes, Kid. Well, to do that yer gonna have to go thru five of the toughest brutes around. I can’t say who’ll be here on a given night – might be Sir Winston Pounds, the English Gent. Maybe you’ll run up against old Knuckles O’Brien. Or maybe you’ll run into SteveO – I guarantee he’ll like ya real well, Kid.

Course ya can’t hop in the ring just like that. Ya wanna fight, ya gotta do a little trainin first. There’s the heavy bag, that’s in the middle there. And ya got yer jump rope up on the left and yer speed bag up on the right. Ya work on those a bit and hit Start Fight when it lights up.

That bag will spin around and you’ll be face to face with yer first opponent. Use the green hook ramps to land a few right on his kisser. Make sure ya don’t miss too much tho, cause he’ll be fightin back. That’s the general idea, Kid, but as long as I’ve got ya here, let me show ya a couple more things.

Ya got yer video modes. First there’s the poker night – that’s generally a door prize. If yer any good at cards ya might land yerself a multiball or even an extra ball, among other things. And then there’s the spittin gallery. Move that spittoon around and catch the spits. I’d recommend mostly holdin down the flippers, Kid, rather than just tappin em. And keep yer eye out for that extra ball.

Now don’t forget about yer multiballs. They can generally be stacked if yer into that. There’s the MultiBrawl, that’s pretty standard. Lock 3 balls and this pub goes ballistic! And then there’s the Fisticuffs multiball – that’s a 2 baller – just keep poundin the heavy bag fer that one. You’ve got Raid Multiball, that starts after ya win yer 3rd fight. Lastly there’s Champion Multiball – ya get that once you’ve become the Champ.

Well Kid, I’m running out of time. Ya gotta train and fight to be the Pub Champ. Ya gotta complete yer multiballs. But ya gotta remember to collect yer jackpots. Also, try out yer jab combos and see if ya can get a win by K.O. Ya do all these things and ya got yerself the Ultimate Challenge… I won’t even get into Cash Fights.

Alright Kid, I gotta run – this pub doesn’t run itself, ya know.

And hey… Kid… good luck.

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reviews

Sheriff Wanted

by DJ B00M

I never cared much for westerns as a kid. However, as an adult I can watch Unforgiven or The Magnificent Seven and appreciate the subtle acting, the beautiful locations and the straight forward “good versus evil” of the stories. But I think it was the “simpler times” aspect that drew me to Cactus Canyon.

Sure the game features four multi-balls, the pop up targets of the ‘bad guys’ (four in all), and even a shoot out at the OK Corral. But it’s the pacing, the sense of accomplishment that drives me to place dollar after dollar into the machine. Granted the game came out in 1998, and it was the last one that Bally/Midway made before the dreaded Pinball 2000 mess that was Mars and Star Wars. But it just has that certain something.

There are some pinball purists that will say that Cactus is nothing more than a toy, that it doesn’t have the true depth that a pin should have. True, it’s not that hard to play. True, the software has a few bugs in it. However, it’s also true that it has one of the best soundtracks I have ever run across, as well as some of the funniest dot graphics I’ve seen in a while. The playfield layout is perfect, and the art work on the machine draws you in from across the room. Then there is the voice work, which is worthy of any Paul Dini cartoon. This game is simply fun to play.

With over 20 modes, or stories, to complete this game always has something to shoot at. In fact, Rosie the barmaid says just that. “Honey, just shoot anything,” she croons. From saving Polly from the mine shaft to battling the Bart brothers, this game is a hoot! Sadly, only 903 of these games were made during the initial production run. A company in Australia is re-issuing the game, with a release date for later this year. But that’s what they said in ‘07.

Some people call it the best game ever or the Holy Grail of pinball. I just call it a good western.

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news & gossip reviews

Skill Shot # 5 News & Gossip

Originally published in Skill Shot issue 5, August 2008

Curiously, both Shorty’s and the Madison Pub replaced their Lord of the Rings with the new Indiana Jones pinball machine! Since both places were having problems with LotR, we guess it wasn’t a big surprise, though the Pub did take the new game as an opportunity to raise the prices of all their pinball machines to 75¢! They also recently raised the price of beer, and we’re left wondering what’s next: pay toilets?

While we are speaking of the Madison Pub, it has come to our attention that Stern’s new Batman pinball is going to be there soon. It’s going to be a classic Marvel versus DC (comics) battle, and it looks like DC is going to win! Apparently there’s some kind of delay at the factory because the game was originally supposed to be released in time for the new movie. Another thing that’s been delayed is the return of Gilligan’s Island to the Lava Lounge. It’s been gone so long now that people are beginning to think that we made it up, and that the Fish Tales has always been there!

And speaking of Fish Tales, there’s a new one in Seattle at the Comet Tavern! The Comet’s one of the oldest bars in Seattle, and back in the day they had a bunch of games, so it’s nice to see that pinball is back. Especially since the other pin they have is No Good Gofers, which we love. Meanwhile next door, the King Cobra has recently been put up for sale; let’s hope whoever buys the place keeps the pinball!

Did you go to the Northwest Pinball and Game Room Show at the beginning of the summer? It was a big success, and there are already plans for another one next year! Read our complete review of the show below. The next big pinball event in Seattle will be the 11th Annual Pinball Tournament at Shorty’s on November 9th, so mark it on your calendars now! And we’re not just saying that because they bought our back page ad either.

The Northwest Pinball and Game Room Show

June 6 -8 at the Seattle Center

The first annual NW Pinball Show was great fun with over 100 pinball machines all set at free play! It was only $25 for the weekend and we certainly got our money’s worth after being there all three days. The pins were from the 1960’s up to the most current Stern releases, with lots of both classic machines and some rarities (but no flipperless pins which we were hoping to see/play).

As soon as you entered the hall there was a long row of older electro-mechanical machines and it was really neat to see so many of these pins set up together. Their bells and buzzers and old school back glass art work were exciting to see and gave a cool first impression. Another area of the show that had older games was devoted to Silverage Silverball, owned by Dominique, who had a home-built machine opened up to display the mechanics involved. He also purchased the Sure Shot pinball machine to put into the Sure Shot Café in the U-District!

The show had many newer games that are not currently available to the Seattle public such as Star Gate, The Shadow, and Godzilla, as well as more accessible favorites like Guns N’ Roses, Centaur, No Fear and Attack from Mars. Older solid-state classics such as Eight Ball Delux, Firepower, and Black Knight were also represented throughout the hall.

While the new Indiana Jones and Shrek pins were understandably popular, the busiest part of the hall was the section that had the awesome line-up of Monster Bash, Theater of Magic, Medieval Madness, Tales of the Arabian Knights, Cactus Canyon, and Bay Watch. In this group, Bay Watch was the biggest curiosity for us because there isn’t one around town, so imagine our surprise when we got a “special” and saw the babes wiggling out of their pants on the dot matrix display: Hilarious!

Classic video games were also represented (Tron, Galaga, Asteroids, and of course Donkey Kong) and Steve Wiebe from the movie “The King of Kong” made an appearance during the weekend with a short talk and answering questions.

Steve Richie (currently at Stern) also had a well attended seminar about his many years working in the pinball industry. Mr. Richie is responsible for designing many classic games, most of which were grouped together at the show. Airborne Avenger, Flash, High Speed, Hyperball, and No Fear are among the games he worked on. Apparently Richie is working on a top secret pin due out in 2010. Rumor is that it will be based on the television show 24, but anyone who knows at this point is sworn to secrecy.

Another exciting part of the show was the IFPA Pinball Tournament that attracted players from around the country and Canada. Royal Flush, Harlem Globetrotters, Funhouse, Whirlwind, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Indiana Jones, and (Black Costume) Spider-Man were the games used for the contest which was won by Keith Elwin from Carlsbad, CA (the pro division) and 9 year old Garrett Dubofsky (in the novice tournament).

There were many raffles during the weekend, with the two notable ones being for Stern’s Pinball machine (won by a very excited woman) and a Black Spider-Man game won by our friend Keith Nelson! But one of the best things we saw this weekend were all the little kids playing pinball (some of them even carrying around their own stepstools: cute!). All in all the future of pinball is looking mighty fine after this great event.

Other notable Pins at the show:

Banzai Run had a motocross theme and a playfield that ran straight up the back glass.

Safe Cracker is a time based game; it would give you an unlimited number of balls as long as you could keep adding to your clock, so even if you didn’t drain the ball your game could still end if you ran out of “time.”

An Atari wide body Superman pinball (designed by Steve Richie) that had a ton of drop targets!

The Devil Riders was a game suffering on and off again malfunctions, and its playfield glass even shattered at one point.

Spectrum seems part pinball and part Master Mind (the board game). It didn’t have a plunger and the playfield was ringed with various color banks and ball traps. It’s a very unique and challenging game that we would love to play again (and again).

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reviews

Free Spin, Use It Or Lose It!

By Bernard Blvd.

What do Pat Sajak, buying vowels, and a generous “Free Spin” ball saved feature have in common? Wheel of Fortune pinball, that’s what! WoF is a recent addition to the Stern repertoire, and man, is it ever fun! It is a lot like the television show, which is fast-paced and exciting without being too cheesy… Well, maybe it is a little cheesy, but hey! Who cares when it is so flippin’ addictive?

The playfield is bright and colorful, and, of course, has a huge spinning prize wheel near the top. There are 3 contestants in the middle of the game towards the top, named Keith, Maria, and Lonnie. When you hit one of the characters, they make an attempt at solving the current puzzle by guessing letters, and the results are displayed on the screen. The best contestant is Maria, who is from California and shouts her letters like she is screaming at her mischievous kids. When she says “A!” it sounds like someone across the room is yelling “HEY!!!” Pretty funny.

The aforementioned Free Spin ball saved feature is awesome. The Free Spins are located under each side drain, and there are 2 on each side. That’s 4 possible saved balls! To light the Free Spins, you have to hit a drop down target or make the mini ramp when Free Spin is lit. If the ball goes down one of the side drains, if one or both of the Free Spins are lit and the ball rolls across that switch, you get another ball! This creates great suspense when one Free Spin is lit, because there is a rubber post that, if you shake the machine just right, can bounce the ball over the switch with the lit Free Spin. But WoF giveth and WoF taketh away: The center drain has a column of rubber posts right in the middle, and while it is useful for bouncing the ball back into the playfield, this feature creates a slightly larger drain hole between the flippers, and leaves 2 chances for the ball to go straight down the playfield and into the drain. This happens a lot when hitting the contestants straight on from the flippers. Unique feature, but is it fair? You decide.

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news & gossip reviews

Sure Shot Classics

By Geoffro

Originally published in Skill Shot #4, Summer 2008

Maybe you’ve got a Jones for some pinball but you’ve already been down to Shorty’s three times this week. Or maybe you want to shoot a game or two and it also happens to be time for your once-a-month departure from Capitol Hill. Maybe you’re looking to drift back to a time before games took $5 bills and scored in the bazillions. Or maybe you’re just bored, dammit. In any case, a trip to the U-District for some pinball is never a bad idea, and the first games to head for are the 3 vintage pinball machines tucked away in the back room of the Sureshot Cafe.

You’ll find this coffee shop just off the corner of 45th and University. After purchasing a cup of Joe, wander on back to the game room. It is home to a number of classic arcades, as well as the occasional extra table or chair, but the centerpieces are definitely the pinball machines. On the far left is Wizard, originally manufactured by Bally in 1975. And yes, it is based on the movie Tommy. Wizard’s stand-out features are 4 flip flags on the right side of the playfield. The general idea is to flip these flags, primarily by hitting their corresponding stand up targets. After flipping as many flags as possible, shoot for the kick-out hole in the upper area of the playfield. Then merrily watch as it punches the ball down the right lane, resetting the flags and activating their various bonuses. Just one little quarter gives you 5 chances to do this as much as you can! Up to 4 pinball wizards can play at a time.

To the right of Wizard is another game by Bally from 1975, Hocus Pocus. It’s the only 2 player game in the room, and also unlike its counterparts, yields just 3 balls per game rather than 5, but it is possibly the most fun. The goal in Hocus Pocus is quite straightforward. There are 4 lit lanes in the upper playfield – A, B, C, and D. Once the ball has rolled down a lane, the letter goes out (various switches and targets accomplish this as well). Get A, B, C, and D all unlit and they reset, while you collect your prize. This can often be an extra ball or even a replay! A particularly satisfying feature of Hocus Pocus is going “over the top” (scoring 100,000 points), and listening to the machine buzz loudly for 5 to 10 seconds. Simply magical!

The third machine in the room is Space Mission, made by Williams in 1976. The central feature of Space Mission is obvious. It’s the “swinging target” plopped smack dab in the middle of the playfield, and the game revolves solely around it – like the earth around the sun… Also somewhat unique to this machine are the two ball kickers just outside of each flipper. Any ball that falls in one of these is immediately shot back out towards the swinging target, for better or worse. At times, hitting the target will cause “Extra Ball” to become unlit. Most of the time, however, hitting the target – without draining – yields positive results. Mastering this is the key to Space Mission.

All three games are nicely restored and, generally speaking, very well maintained. They’re refreshingly simple, and there’s something very pleasing about their primitive ticks and dings. In a city of ever-breaking and disappearing machines, it’s nice to know that these 3 relics continue to stand the test of time.

Sureshot Café is located at 4505 University Way NE

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reviews

A Family Affair

By Bernard Blvd.

“It seems today that all you see is violence on movies and sex on TV…” And in a pinball game! It’s Family Guy pinball, distributed by Stern. If you are familiar with the show that the game is based on, you are in for hours of fun with Family Guy pinball. If you aren’t familiar with the show, watch Fox on Sundays to see new episodes of the show that got cancelled and returned years later due to the demand of fans. The whole Griffin family is here: Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Brian. Many other characters show up to play, even Quagmire. Giggity-giggity!

The playfield is fun and very animated, with each family member represented by a plastic model that denotes their area of the game. Lois stands next to a ramp entrance that has a spinning picture of her face. Peter stands on a bumper behind Brian, who is on top of a Pawtucket Patriot beer can. Chris is directly next to his dad, behind the ramp that threatens to start the “Evil Monkey” feature. Stewie of course stands near Lois and Meg is alone on the left side, and if you hit the target beneath her, she usually gets hit in the face with something on the display and whines about it.

The game has four main features: TV modes, Beer Can modes, Fart Multiball, and Stewie Pinball. The TV modes are shown directly above the flippers, and include “Sexy Party” and “Chicken Fight.” These are activated by spinning the Lois picture and then sinking the ball into the TV “scoop”. The Beer Can modes are displayed directly below Brian on his beer can, and include “Happy Hour” and “Lard Multiball” (two balls). Hitting the beer will get these modes going. Fart Multiball (three balls) is activated by knocking down the four drop targets that spell out “FART” three times. Family Guy’s skill shot is hitting the “F” in “FART” after pulling the plunger, so practicing this skill shot helps to advance you toward Fart Multi-ball.

Stewie Pin-ball is the best feature of the game, utilizing a second, smaller playfield located in the top right corner. To get to this mode, you have to hit the two trapped balls that border the TV, or hit the scoop itself. When the lights that spell out “PINBALL” are all lit, putting the ball in the hole activates Stewie Pinball, and the regular play-field is temporarily turned off. To advance you hit the ramps or targets to spell out each family member’s name. Be careful, because the flippers are shorter, and the ball tends to jump over them into the drain, especially after rounding the Lois ramp. There is a 15 second “shoot again” limit, which can be extended if you hit the somewhat hidden Stewie targets before hand (look for them next to the word Stewie!). If you can keep the last ball in play, you have no time limit and once all the family members are lit, you have activated Stewie Multiball! This is a four ball multiball that incorporates both playfields, although it is wise to concentrate only on the main playfield and flippers. This feature looks like a lot of fun, but since I have yet to get to it (not for lack of trying…a lot), I have to rely on both of my talented Skill Shot collaborators to “show me how it’s done”.

The features, modes, and jackpots are plentiful. The music and sounds are a direct reminder of the reason this game is so much fun, which is Family Guy: the little TV show on Fox that could.