Our Favourite EM Games

• Abra-Ca-Dabra – Our Favourite EM Games : Gottlieb single player EM game made in 1975. It’s a popular game and requires some restoration work since it didn’t work when I bought it as part of a package deal with a Buccaneer from Rod Wideman who is the most meticulous restoration person I have ever met. One bit of wisdom Rod told me was to focus on single player games since there is far less scorewheels that need attention and the game is lighter without all those scorewheels. The game looks nice and everything is there, just a matter of restoration since it’s in the same shape as when Rod bought it. There is an add-a-ball version of this game made in 1977 named “Team One” which was also has an Itialian market version known as “Kicker” also made in 1977.

• Alpine Club – Williams single player EM game with a snow skiing theme made in February of 1965. I bought this game from Jim Swenson for 400 bucks on April 3th of 2011 and it’s in good condition for a game of this age. The game features the same kind of odd cabinet design similar to Full House which was made the same year by Williams, and there were 1,200 games produced (not that many). It features 4 flippers, 4 pop bumpers, 3 passive bumpers, 2 slingshots, 2 kick-out holes, 1 standup target, and a right outlane ball return gate. Lots of things going on for this game. It also features a backglass marguee and backglass light animation which shows a climber ascending a mountain. When the climber is almost at the top of the mountain a flag at the summit flashes. When the climber reaches the summit the player is rewarded with a replay and the animation resets. Note that this is a carry-over feature from game to game. It uses a bell instead of chimes for sound effects. The game was designed by Steve Kordek with artwork by Art Stenholm. There is an add-a-ball version known as “Ski Club.” An interesting note is that the backglass shows the mountain climber is silkscreened fourteen times but only 10 lamps were used in the stepping mechanism to light the climber. You will also find that near the upper flippers are holes where a lamp should be, however there are no lamp sockets wired to these holes. A very interesting game.

  Big Hit – I got this game from my pinhead buddy Tim in June of 2012. This is an Exhibit Supply game made in February of 1946, so this is an old guy. The game doesn’t have flippers and is an EM game with 13 scoring bumpers, 1 kickout hole, and 3 lanes in the center of the playfield. Although this game doesn’t have any flippers, it’s still a neat old game that was made months after WWII was over. It even has a card in the backbox that says “Important Due to acute wire shortages it has been necessary to substitute colors in some instances.” This was caused by the war of course since copper wiring with cloth insulation was in short supply. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot known about the game and in particular, no idea of the number of games manufactured, who designed the game, or who did the artwork.

• Big Shot – Gottlieb single player EM game with a pool theme made in August of 1973. I bought this game from Kim (Mr.68) for 400 bucks and it’s in great condition. Looks like it was a game that was never on a route it’s so clean. There were 2,900 games made and it has 2 flippers, 1 pop bumper, two 7-bank drop targets, and one kick-out hole. The game was designed by Ed Krynski and artwork was created by one of my favorite artists – Gordon Morison. There is a 4-player version named “Hot Shot’ and a single player add-a-ball version named “Pro Pool” which has an Italian version named “Play Pool” which was made in 1972.

• Big Top – Genco single player game made in February of 1949 (the game is older than me). It’s a woodrail game that features 2 flippers (that flip in the opposite direction when compared to newer games) with 2 pop bumpers and 5 kick-out holes. The game was designed by Harvey Heiss and there isn’t any more info about the game. The backglass has some issues, but the cabinet and playfield look nice for such an old game. I got this game for $150 from Jim Swenson on April 30th of 2011.

• Buccaneer – Gottlieb single player EM game made in 1976. I bought this game from Rod Wideman as part of a package deal along with Abra-Ca-Dabra. The great thing this game has going for it (other than it’s a fun game to play) is that this is a Rod Wideman shopped game. That means that everything is meticulously restored and looks like a game you could eat off of it’s so clean. Probalby the finest example of a restored game that I own thanks to Rod’s work. There’s an add-a-ball version of the game made in 1976 known as “Ship Ahoy.” I sold this game to a fellow pinhead in 2014 that should really enjoy this classic game.

• Captain Kid Rifle Game – Although not a Pinball game, it is an EM rifle game featuring a spinning ship’s wheel with targets, a captain’s face that rotates from side to side periodically throughout the game, and a couple of pirate flags that raise up and down during play. Very fun game. I got this game along with the Magic City EM from Jim Swenson for $250 in April of 2010. Took some minor switch adjusting that Jim did to get the game basically working, and only needed to be cleaned and a power cord replaced. I ended up selling this game to fellow pinhead Steve Dankanich along with a few other games in 2014.
  

• Casino – Williams single player wood rail EM game that featues 2 flippers, 4 pop bumpers, 2 kick-out holes, and 1 gobble hole. Rollovers and kick-out holes will light playing cards on the mirrored backglass which is often distorted (the mirroring). I got this game through a trade with my pinhead buddy Tim. I traded him a clear-coated Target Alpha that had most all of the playfield parts replaced and 200 bucks for the working Casino game. The game was designed by Harry Williams with artwork by George Molentin.
  

• Central Park – Gottlieb single player EM game made in 1966. Central Park is a very fun game to play and unlike many other games from the 60s, the playfield is usually found in a very nice condition for some reason. The playfield looks new with no wear on it and plenty of targets. The game works and I had it set up for awhile, but due to space constraints (ugh), I had to take it down and store it on end. I’ll set it up one of these days since it’s a very fun game to play. I bought this game for $900 from John Detweiller (Sir Tiltsalot) who sent me email not too long afterwards wanting to know if I would be interested in selling it back to him since it was so popular in his house. 
• SOURCE

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Most of us grew up watching cartoons early in the morning or when we get back from school. Who doesn’t love a classic cartoon? Some cartoons I watched growing up were Looney Tunes, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, & The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends

Here are some information on when these classic cartoons and when these machines were released plus what they look like!

1) Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is an American animated comedy series produced by Warner Bros. from 1930 to 1969 during the golden age of American animation alongside its sister series Merrie Melodies

2) The Flintstones

3) The Jetsons 

“Meet George Jetson.” Just those words will prompt viewers of a certain age to join in singing the show’s catchy theme song. This popular primetime cartoon show features the Jetson family living in a utopian future. People live in housing in the sky, work a three-day workweek, drive aero cars that look like flying saucers and have incredible conveniences that leave them with plenty of leisure time. George, his homemaker wife Jane, and their children, Judy and Elroy, also have a robotic maid named Rosie and a talking dog named Astro. Airing first on ABC in the 1960s, the series was resurrected in the 1980s, with more episodes produced for syndication.

Original series:
September 23, 1962 –
March 17, 1963
Revival series:
September 16, 1985 –
November 12, 1987

The Jetsons pinball machine was released in February 2017, manufactured by Spooky Pinball LLC.

Game Design
The layout of the playfield is great and it really works with this game. It reminds me of Avatar. Obviously, it only has the one ramp (like Avatar). But it has plenty of shots including the target on the far left, the Spacely scoop on the far left to lock balls, Astro spinner loop shot on the left, the long Judy ramp, Elroy shot to the right of the ramp, the 6 George targets, the captive ball, the Cogswell lock and the Orbitty spinner loop on the far right. There is plenty to shoot at and the game is very fast as are all of the Spooky games. For some reason, maybe speed, Spooky games always feel a little small to me. Overall, it shoots smooth and feels solid to play.

Rules
I have been running Version 2 since the second day I had it. We played our local league night last Saturday night with these rules. First, I have to mention that the scoring is very balanced. There are 28 people in our league. Everybody had time to practice and the scores ranged from 5 million to 37 million. Most were in the 6-12 million range. There was no easy route to a big score. The three skill shots are made by holding the launch button to get different amounts of power on your plunge. There are left, center and right skill shots. I understand a super skill shot is coming where you collect all 3 skill shots in the game and then make a shot to collect it. I also understand that some new “hurry ups” are coming. I just got some new code today.Collecting the different characters is intuitive and the Spacely vs. Cogswell multiball is achieved by hitting the Spacely scoop 3X and then hitting the Cogswell shot. You then collect jackpots by alternating those 2 shots. There are 3 multiballs to achieve, but the best is the “EEK OPP ORK” multiball that lasts the length of the famous Jetson’s song.

Lighting
The lighting on the game is excellent. The inserts are intuitive, but some features are still catching up with the code. The game is bright and the balls are easy to follow. The topper and backbox are lit very well.

Theme and Lastability
I love the theme and the game definitely has that “one more game” factor. I’m not sure how many they will make, but I am very happy to have one. I have owned AMH and RZLE by Spooky. IMO, this one is better than both of those. At $6 grand, it is not cheap, but it includes an interactive topper, art blades, beautiful armor and some nicely crafted toys on the playfield.

Dependability and Build
The game is rock solid and has not had an issue with about 300 plays. No stuck balls; No removing the glass; No loose screws; No inserts ghosting and no cabinet issues. Feels solid when you play.

Source

Did you watch these cartoons growing up? What other classic cartoons did you enjoy?

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PINBALL ADVENTURES

Pinball Adventures is a North American manufacturing company producing fresh and unique Pinball machines. Our goal is to create to the highest standards, and spark the same joy we found as gamers when we rolled our first quarter into that coin slot so many years ago. Stemming from a lifelong passion, Pinball Adventures is created by gamers, for gamers. We strive to bring high quality, innovative, and captivating experiences for all to enjoy.

Visit our website at pinballadventures.com and also check out our new Instagram page for more updates https://www.instagram.com/pinballadventures/

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