Absolutely the finest table from arguably the greatest year in pinball. A classic from head to toe, it has no peer. I implore fans of modern pinball to go back and embrace the addictive simplicity of games of this era. After dredging through lofty rulesets for years and playing for code completion on some of the deepest games ever I’ve really found myself fully magnetized to games like Centaur, Fathom, Xenon, Flash Gordon and Space Shuttle. Easy to learn but tough to master. True beasts of risk and reward. There is no better feeling than loading up your bonus x and having a massive scoring fit. And no worse feeling than setting it all up just to watch it crash immediately. ONE MORE GAME TO BEST YOURSELF. That’s pinball, that’s the name of the game. 1981. It’s coming back. Centaur specifically is the leader of the pack and highly regarded for a reason.

Now…if someone could patch in code to account for rollovers that would be great.

Not great. I get that it’s a throw back but man this game just isn’t fun. The callouts and music started to annoy me really quickly and felt like nails on a chalk board. Again, I never played the original so maybe it’s supposed to be like that but I am not

Sounds in this game are perfect….love the callouts that taunt the player. So many great features….the ORBS drop targets in order, the Queen’s chamber, the outlane ball save opportunities….which i might add seem to have just the right degree of difficulty. All in all, a fantastic machine and a true classic from 1981 Bally. Also, i might add the colour scheme (or lack thereof) is very innovative….cant recall ever seeing a pin before Centaur in black and white (and a splash of red)….bold move!

For an 80's game this is packed with features, it's a fantastic layout that utilizes a cool captive ball to inline drop setup, a magnet, and even a 5 ball Multiball! Had I seen this in an arcade in the 80's I think my head might of exploded. Check it out if you see one in the wild.

Honesty is difficult. Especially when dealing with machines that are overly praised and overrated.
Flippers and investors fear less than perfect reviews because it may affect their profits, and fans are prone to getting upset because you don’t agree with them.
Very few people have the understanding and can accept that not everyone likes the same thing.
So it becomes important to back up your argument with a decent explanation.
As can be seen from my overall score, I don’t hate Centaur. Far from it, but it’s not fantastic either.
It’s still better than eating peanuts while chewing gum.
Don’t ever try that by the way.
Let’s start with the main draw, the art.
Wow wow wow wow…..
Wow!
Yeah! This is an awesome looking pinball machine! Bally had mastered how to capture sci-fi/fantasy novel art styles with Xenon and kept on going upwards from there.
Until they stopped and somehow flushed themselves down the toilet. Wanna play Hardbody anyone?
Centaur was probably the pinnacle, and definitely is designed to atttract the 1980s black and white indie comic fans. Granted, it’s not exactly Frank Frazetta art, Heavy Metal magazine, or the Conan black and white magazine, but it’s dang close!
If I were to score it on the artwork alone, I’d give it a ten out of ten.
But that’s the problem that even comic books had. You can’t just have pretty artwork with no substance.
What you end up with is Todd McFarlane filling six issues of a new Spider-Man comic with the only dialouge being the word “Doom!” over and over.

The “Doom” here is those “centaur” drop targets.
Sorry, but I had a pun all lined up for that.
Is it me, or do they send the ball straight for the centaur drain with some mad flipping to prevent it?
Okay, I’m done with the puns.
The center drop targets are a minor issue, as is the sound of some guy telling me over and over to destroy centaur. I don’t mind repeating yourself but I got the message the first time.
Maybe he repeats it because I have, never once in nearly forty years, succeeded in destroying centaur… it he mocking me?
The biggest problem, for me personally, is that I have played multiple copies of Centaur over the years, and always find I’m pretty much done after two or three games. I lose interest.
Compare that to Xenon, where I can still sink hours in, and it has a lot less to do and even less going on. Then there’s the almighty quarter gobbler Pin•Bot, which hates me with a passion, and yet I keep trying.
It might be the imbalanced difficulty, it’s certainly not balanced in the centaur!
Ha!
Seriously, Centaur seems too easy and too willing to let you get somewhere on those things that should be hard and exciting when they happen, but impossible on those things that should be easy and seemingly unimportant. Multiball is easy, and happens frequently without trying, but aimed shots rarely result in what you hoped for. See the aforementioned drop targets.
It’s the long term enjoyment and value for money that matters most, and I just don’t see that with Centaur.
In an arcade, it’s perfect, but it’s not really a pinball machine you would say, “Oh yes! Instead of buying both a Xenon and a Pin•Bot, I’d rather spend the same amount on one Centaur!”
That makes no sense, and the prices for a decent working Centaur is ridiculous nowadays.
Yes, I know I reuse examples, and I could have just as easily said, “Would you pay Star Trek TNG or Stern Mandalorian, or Stern AC/DC money for a overrated Bally game from the 1980’s?”
In the end, it’s up to the buyer, and I understand both nostalgia and the desire to have the coolest toys plays a huge part in that.
I go into this a lot, but these pinball reviews aren’t here to be trashtalk against a game that pissed you off, nor are they hollow echo chambers of eternal and unwavering praise and worship for the almighty top 100.
It’s an opinion, designed to help others decide if they’d want to commit to the investment of owning one.
Not a popularity contest.
With that in mind, I’ll say this:
Unless you really love Centaur, find a place to play it several times before committing. It’s a hefty cash investment and it may let you down when you look at other games in the same price range and wonder if you made the right choice.
On the positive side, it’s a 1980s Bally. Non-game specific parts are cheap and plentiful, and the game specific ones are all heavily reproduced and available from multiple sources.
Furthermore, the MPU, along with all the other boards, are super easy to work on. (Or replace with modern fake emulator boards if you must) and there are few parts on the machine overall that are prone to failure or randomly breaking.
Thats a huge financial and maintenance advantage over modern pinball.
The bottom line is that the looks are incredible and enticing, but long-term gameplay may leave you cold.
It’s a very black and white game, but that somehow balances out somewhere in the Centaur.
Two puns for the price of one.

I bought one as a project. For its time the light show is stunning. The art is great. The sound is fantastic. The magnet andhow they built the ball trough are unique for the time.

I really wanted to love it but frankly the gameplay is meh. I had this, ebd, and fg at the same time. I love ebd and fg. I got so bored with centaur in a hurry. It ended up being a massive let down. While the multiball is unique for its time, I just don't feel the pf shoots as well as other Ballys of this era.

UPDATE: Have owned a Centaur for a couple of months now. This is the JJP of the 80s. Honestly, it’s all about multiball and, unlike many modern pins, they’re thoroughly earned. There is nothing more joyful than starting a two-ball multiball and then adding a couple of extra balls, and ramping the multipliers up to maximum. Total kinetic satisfaction.

This one has definitely grown on me and I didn’t even know the full rules until today. Maybe I’ve got a special affection for it because my Centaur score was my highest score/placing in the UK Open 2023.

It has a very varied layout for a single-level pin with an interesting combination of a captive ball, and inline, standup and drop targets. More interestingly, it has an up to five-ball multiball! Woot!

The B&W art package is cohesive and distinctive, with a real ‘edgy biker bar’ vibe. Callouts are great and memorable for the period (“Destroy Centaur”!) Amazing pin that stands the test of time.

One of the best

What an amazing game, I can't believe it's over 40 years old! This thing is just packed with neat and fun features. A gate / nudge mechanic to allow you to save balls from the outlane. Add-a-ball to regular game play for finishing target banks in sequence. Add-a-ball to regular game play for completing inlane and outlane rollovers. Drop target completion spotting and memory from one ball to the next. 5 ball multiball - in 1981! This thing was way ahead of it's time!

Game is awesome. Five ball multi-ball from 1981. Ahead of its time. I like the balance of shots you need to make on both sides of the game. Lane change is great and critical for this game.

Great game. Really like the silver/black with red theme, has a unique look from other games. Lots to shoot for, keeps me coming back for one more game.

The beast from Centaur and a group. The group formed on some pinball like Highspeed and Spy Hunter. The big guns came out and made another 5 ball gimmick. You try to go up the lanes and the game has a flip back which gets harder in time. The newbies may miss how it's related to Fathom with all the evo events these days. Some flippers get sick quick on this one but it's okay in the end making it related to Steam and the Pinball Arcade. Part two is a rare find also.

Rented this game for two months and hated every minute of it. Can not understand why this game is rated so high (and above so many games far better to it).

Centaur is a game that anyone can play but rewards the skilled player. I love the early Bally solid state games and think Centaur is one of if not the best during this timeframe. Medusa might be a touch prettier but art is just the garnish on a fine game and Centaur is clearly the better of the two. Flash Gordon is right there in the gameplay running but suffers from underutilization of speech and perhaps single ball.

The multi ball implementation on Centaur is perfect from the progressive earning of balls to the various release triggers.

Great game to play.

Centaur is a true classic and the theme works incredibly well on many levels. The speech and music are creepy and add to the overall darkness of the concept overall. The artwork is some of my favorite EVER on a pin, absolutely stunning. The gameplay is tough but rewarding when you can hit those special shots particularly in the upper left and upper right of the playfield. The cherry on top is when the ball drains you get a satisfying bonus countdown that sounds like you are racking up those points (even if you might not be!). It makes you feel good and ready to take on the next ball or game! Love this one!

one of my all time favs

My favorite early 80s pin.

One of the best of an outstanding era. Shot variation and precision rewards are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and vocal commands/taunts also feel ahead of its time. Features and tech are thoughtful and the different ways to get multiball also add to the modern feel.

Pros: Phenomenal synth score! Worthy of Near Dark or Suspiria in its horror atmosphere. Game would be still be good with a different theme, but the overall package/experience is so strong, it's hard to think of the game without the music and effects. Also has a solid "you get what you shoot" rule set.

Cons: While there are a decent variety of shots, it can be a little repetitive when building one's bonus. Additionally, the features on each upper side keep the game from having any real flow.

The sounds on this machine and the theme are really cool.

Incredible art, rule set that challenges the best of players. Very unique game, one of the best solid states.

Five ball multiball is pretty cool, if you can get it.

This era of games isn’t really my thing but I do recognise Centaur and Fathom as being among the best. Theme and art do nothing for me but the system of achieving multiball and then trying to stay in it keeps me coming back for more and the layout is more inventive that many from this era.

Spectacular Art. Great sound effects call outs. I think this game the best of its generation (yes - better than fathom :) !!!)

Simple gameplay but you always come back for more.

Typical bally from this time period. The art makes the game cool.