Sega

Baywatch

Pinside Rating

This game received 198 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.803 _/10

7.803

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #124 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.219

Artwork: 7.457

Sounds/Music: 6.869

Other Aspects: 7.997

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 3 of us have rated this game.

7.581

Your Rating?

You need to be logged in before you can rate pinball machines. No account yet? Registering only takes a sec!

Found 106 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 106 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 5.

List options

Ratings sort order

Type of ratings to show in list

Owner status of review

Exclude flagged ratings

Keyword or username search

8.520/10

85 days ago

???

Pindaim01

Pinside apprentice

Heemskerk

3y 15,250 9 11

Every time when i start the game it gives me a big smile ,the tune of baywatch,
And then the gameplay perfect fits the theme , beach ,sharks,rescue,sun and fun.
Love it.

Pindaim01 currently owns this game.

8.100/10

3 months ago

WHB

Rudedog1961

Pinside+ Frequent

<1y 41,150 6 45 3

I really enjoy this game. Lots of fun shots. Although I could do with the lock ball dead drop....seems dumb. Lots of skill shots and pretty forgiving while you learn it.

Rudedog1961 edited previous rating on February 11, 2024.

8.840/10

7 months ago

OCP

Plenty of variety here. And not just "it's got 4 flippers", but things like the short shark flipper occasionally flips by itself (as an unexpected shark feature) - things like that. Really nice integration of the theme which I watched when I was younger. I love this era as the games are simple to understand, but with enough variety to keep you interested.

My game had a few minor issues and I've found working on it similar to a solid Williams of the same era (ie very robust).

All in all a great game for me, a little different to the rest of my lineup, so offers great variety.

8.432/10

9 months ago

???

Travellingfoxes

Pinside apprentice

Unknown

2y 8,750 1 8

We are fortunate to have a decent sized pinball collection, from 90s through to 2023, but for the sh%T's and giggles factor we constantly find find ourselves playing this one as much as the rest.... frustrating and fun...always puts a smile on the dial, very under rated.

6.604/10

10 months ago

TWS

TroyS

BomberMods

Longmont, CO

1y 107K 1,048 8 77

This game shoots like TMNT but plays great and flows good. Great game to get if you like modern games but want a 1995 feel.

7.883/10

1 year ago

APP

aaron6920

Pinside+ Frequent

Dorchester, IA

3y 62,050 492 18 12

I picked up a Baywatch and it is a great pin with some interesting features. First, it is loaded with mechs on the play field, this would be a stern super premium today. Wire forms everywhere, ramp with subway and physical ball lock for multiball, Vuk in center, etc……. Very loaded pin with mechs. The layout is very good and has several interesting shots.

Code is pretty good for a 90s pin, enough depth to make it fun to play but not too much to understand. Typical 3 shots for each mode of the era but they implement it very well. Sound is probably the weakest aspect of the game. The theme is a bit cheesy but that is what I love about it. The big Hoff on the black glass looking into your eyes lol. Too funny and the side art is just funny is a good way.

aaron6920 currently owns this game.

8.456/10

1 year ago

MJF

mikespins

FlipMods

Monroe, NY

3y 93,300 673 9 11

Baywatch is a "sleeper" of a game. Yeah I am probably biased since I own one, but the game was made in 1995 and has several cool mechs, a deep ruleset and is super fun.

mikespins currently owns this game.

8.036/10

1 year ago

PIE

SilverballGamer

Pinside member

4y 57,650 29 5 88

In my opinion, Baywatch is Joe Balcer’s best game, though I need more time on TSPP (which at the moment I believe has a lot of excellent elements, but doesn’t come together for me).

Pro’s:
Great layout, especially for a first design! The shots themselves are really smooth and flowy.

Rules aren’t super deep, but are enjoyable.

Sound is pretty good, the jackpot collected theme being a highlight.

DMD animations are really well done for the time, and use the large display well.

Light show is pretty good, but I have an issue with it.

Con’s:
Art is… fine. I don’t despise it like a lot of others do, but I can say it’s not great to with some certainty.

Not really a big fan of the constant clicking GI at times, especially with the relay that has to be activated.

Sound quality isn’t the greatest.

The game does kind of rip off it’s layout from Addams family and STTNG, but it plays much differently.

Overall, a very solid game from Sega, if not their best one, and one of the best Joe Balcer designs.

7.832/10

1 year ago

PKH

LUVNSUMPIN

Pinside member

6y 29,250 2 6

Really like it. Just not enough room for everything.

8.604/10

2 years ago

BTS

bsolby

Inactive member

Longwood, FL

2y 15,750 1 11

Great pinball machine. Very fun to play.

9.476/10

2 years ago

SAM

Tizio

Pinside apprentice

Rimini

4y 12,750 1 13

È il più bel flipper sega , c'è poco da aggiungere ...nessun altro flipper prodotto dalla sega è piu bello di questo !....questo non vuol dire che è un flipper stupendo perché ha i suoi difetti ma se lo vogliamo paragonare ad altri fatti da sega ,lui è decisamente il migliore , può non piacere il tema ma difficilmente non ti divertirsi a giocarci , questo è tutto per un flipper !!!

7.160/10

2 years ago

???

TwirlingFern

Inactive member

Unknown

2y 7,500 31

Excellent layout and plays very well.

7.847/10

2 years ago

SEB

BaronMARTo

Pinside member

6y 29,050 29 17 12

One of the three best Data East, yes it is clearly a Data East, an underrated game due to its poor theme but yet a great game, of a very wide variety, which uses all its board and which has remarkably well integrated cancellations and video games in the gameplay. A must have.

BaronMARTo currently owns this game.

7.604/10

2 years ago

SUS

Grayont

Pinside member

Encinitas, CA

6y 51,550 84 1 129

This game has a fun layout, and hitting the ramps is definitely fun. The rules are easy to understand. There isn't too much to this game, but it shoots well, and the modes are classic 90s pinball style.

8.431/10

2 years ago

LB

SirMachismo

Pinside+ Addict

3y 89,300 505 9 12

Theme kills this pin's rating. It has so much packed into it, 4 flippers (one with a shark fin on it), 4 ramps, 2 vuks, drop targets, a physical ball lock (which I turn off because I love the mini orbit it creates), standup targets, pops, upper control gate (that creates an orbit that reminds me of the orbit on Deadpool Premium), a spinner, a upper right ball launch to the upper left flipper, and left outlane kickback, a wonderfully large DMD with video modes, and to top it off code that still feels good despite being made in 1995 (I am running Chads 4.01 code...so nice). If you overlay Baywatch over the Stern TMNT layout Baywatch has more shots and because of the left outlane kickback & shark flipper Baywatch doesn't induce the cursing at the greedy outlanes. Borg ripped off this layout from Balcer and made it worse (I know they all borrow layouts from each other). This is a top 50 game hiding in a 100+ rating and affordable price tag. Damn, I love this game and for the price i paid for it I don't think I can part with it. It is so easy to push the start button and play just one more game. I will mock up a layout comparison between TMNT and Baywatch just to actually see what I believe is true.
Update: After several years I still can’t bring myself to part with this pin, the price to fun ratio weighs heavily on Baywatch’s side. I added a color DMD and I can’t believe how modern this pin feels while still being approachable.
Never had a better day!

SirMachismo edited previous rating on February 23, 2024.
SirMachismo currently owns this game.

7.209/10

3 years ago

NOU

Ghostly

Pinside member

5y 34,150 33 6 59

I really like the Play field & cabinet artwork 6/6.

Backglass is meh-to-bad. The composition is crappy, they just shoved as many characters as possible onto it, for facial recognition. Who thought putting that dudes face, just staring at you, was an aesthetically appealing idea? They could have still incorporated all the same TV characters with better composition. :shrug: 3/6

Theming is pretty decent, love the beach theme. Maybe I have a bias for it.

Probably the only Sega pinball I enjoy. One day I'll put it on my WTB wishlist.

Ghostly edited previous rating on December 02, 2020.

9.179/10

3 years ago

RAP

RyanStl

Pinside member

Fenton, MO

9y 134K 12,063 1 108

I have to preface this that my wife and I are big fans of the theme, so the common comment of great game if you can stand the theme is not something I would say. I have also been waiting to review this game until I was able to get rom version 4.01 loaded. I really liked the game before, but the latest code fixes some major problems. First, the strobe effect that was annoying during multi-ball has been tamed. The skill shots, which is a cool feature of this game, are now more reliable.

This game is loaded and has a playfield layout that I really love. It has four flippers with at least a half a dozen shots. I really like the heavy use of wireforms. The lighting is mostly good (flashers galore), especially converted to LED, but the middle of the playfield could use more inserts.

I love the boat and the hand drawn art on the plafield. The only photoshop art is on the backglass that is just okay. I have to admit, CJ is nice to look at though. The backsides of the three lifeguard on the side art are very nice.

Let's not forget the jumbo DMD. The shading of the dots could have been better, but that is made up for by the big DMD.

This game also has a bunch of modes and the rules/goals are easy to understand. The shots are nicely labeled and the corresponding lights make it clear what to do.

The biggest downside is this game is it is a pain to shop. I haven't done mine, but people are saying it's an eight hour job and for me to just change the left slingshot rubber was a PITA. There are several GI bulbs that require complete removal of the top of the playfield to get to, as well as rubbers. However, there is no maintenance category in the rateing.

RyanStl has owned this game in the past.

7.112/10

3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

Pinside Moderator

Rockwall, TX

5y 266K 10,121 23 271

This game has some opposites going for it. The theme is not really one I care for. The art and sound leave a lot to be desired as well. The gameplay, on the other hand, is really good. It has a great multiball, fun layout, and lots of shots.

I don't see myself owning one due to the theme, but I wouldn't pass up a chance to play it on location either.

There are definitely a lot of things going for it at the price point.

Daditude edited previous rating on October 19, 2020.

8.760/10

3 years ago

TTM

dimthedaylights

Pinside member

Depew, NY

4y 40,550 195 8 9

Criminally underrated game based on cheesy theme. But might be my favorite game to play In my collection. Shots are great. Plays awesome once dialed in. Great rule set. Don’t be fooled by the theme this game like last action hero gets dogged based on theme only

dimthedaylights edited previous rating on August 04, 2020.
dimthedaylights currently owns this game.

9.440/10

3 years ago

HMS

Deadman

Pinside apprentice

Plano, TX

5y 14,500 3 8

One of the most underrated pins of the mid 90's. Great gameplay, tons of shots, high speed gameplay, fantastic multiball, it's all good. Most people make fun of the theme, but personally I loved Baywatch as a young lad so this machine is the first one I searched out to buy. Will be in my collection forever - great replay value!

Deadman currently owns this game.

8.556/10

3 years ago

MAT

sixtyfourbits

Pinside member

6y 85,300 1,400 18

A ton of fun, with lots of nicely flowing shots throughout the playfield. A color dmd is a must for this game. Most people don't really care much about the theme, but the gameplay is more than enough to carry this pin on its own. If you get the chance to play or buy one, you really should do it!

sixtyfourbits edited previous rating on September 28, 2020.

8.300/10

4 years ago

TEZ

allsportdvd

Pinside member

Brisbane

13y 101K 2,336 21 45

All my reviews are going to follow a simple formula for those reading.
Number of shots to make - Pro's - Con's - Must Have Mods - What To Look For When Buying

Number of shots - 8 High

Pro's:
* DMD animations are fantastic
* Having both horizontal and vertical modes is a nice addition
* Plenty of shot making to be had, just feels fun!
* I quite like the music and call outs
* Nice ball lock feature
* 4 player doubles lots of fun

Cons:
* The regular flashing of all the lamps can be irritating
* Highly annoying if the skill shots don’t work properly
* A 6 player game means very long waits between turns, unlikely this feature is utilised much

Must Have Mods: (Note I will not include things like LED's, Color DMD, Invisiglass or Speaker Upgrades unless it's really badly needed)
* The color dmd led is an absolute must
* Chad’s code also a must have
* Custom painting the lifeguard tower

What To Look For When Buying
* That the coils to launch and kickback on the right are strong enough, essentially that the game can always perform the side ramp skill shot
* Wear in and around the shark hole
* Ramps aren’t broken as they are tough to find
* Pop bumper caps aren’t broken as they are unobtainable

allsportdvd currently owns this game.

8.144/10

4 years ago

JTD

StoneyCreek

Pinside+ Frequent

5y 60,800 603 20

What keeps me coming back to plug quarters into Baywatch? Super Fun, Great sexy theme, silly video modes, and the shark flipper. There are enough shots to keep things interesting. I'd love to see a color DMD mod on one.

7.746/10

4 years ago

JNS

TecumsehPlissken

Pinside member

Longwood, FL

9y 115K 2,558 10 103

despite the art package & a somewhat lame theme this games Rocks! extremely fun to play , hands down the best Sega pinball machine

8.010/10

4 years ago

PSG

PeterG

Pinside member

8y 88,300 2,144 65

Solid pinball, nice campy theme, artwork is not that great but also no bad. The shots are great. This one keeps me comming back for more as a good pinball machine should do. I like this a lot.

Next 1 2 3 4 5

There are 106 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 1 of 5.

You too can add your own comment by rating this game! Click here to rate this game!

Over the years

Visualizing this game's rating and rank over the years

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!