Genie

Pinside rating

This game received 112 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.261 /10

7.261

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #224 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.



Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.267

Artwork: 8.193

Sounds/Music: 5.386

Other Aspects: 7.28


Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 5 of us have rated this game.

7.413

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Found 57 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 57 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 3.

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8.137/10
10 months ago
Oh Genie. This review is based off the new board set. There really is not much change.
Set up right, Genie is a fast moving, nudge worthy, sling happy great time. It's plays like a EM on meth. There's so much playfield for the ball to explore. Pops that set the ball up for a SDM, side entrance for another skill shot, a spinner to rip, a baguette playfield with tons of drops, more drops on the main PF, a pop bumper from hell on the left side that push your nudging skill to the next level. It's a great game to mater your skills.
The art is simply only the best examples of the Columbia picture Era with Gotlieb. Sinbad is pretty rad too.
For under 2k this is a solid pin for someone that wants a EM, but doesn't want a EM.
7.703/10
10 months ago
This game is slow, somewhat boring, and drains all the time, but I quite enjoy the look of it and would love to own one for under 2k. Sounds are very limited too but this would be the early Gottlieb I would like to own.
7.072/10
1 year ago
I wanted to love this game!! I had it for about 6 months and then realized that it just didn't click for me. This is a huge surprise because I own (and still have) two Gottliebs from the same general era (Count Down 1979 and Tag Team 1985). I normally love drop target games AND love second playfields. Genie had both, and I thought with the upper left playfield having its own unique bonus structure would just make it that much more fun. Unfortunately for me, it ended being a somewhat repetitive game.

I'm not sure if this makes sense but the game was a bit too tactical in the sense of just hitting targets and hoping to get the bonus multiplier. I know for those who know Count Down, you might be saying it's the same thing! For me personally, it's different since the game didn't quite map to the theme.

Also, I HATED the left out lanes -- no matter if you nudge the pinball or not, the ball always sank! Aesthetically, it is a very pretty game and the artwork is fantastic. I still would recommend this game to people who love old school Gottlieb games that have a second playfield.
7.002/10
1 year ago
Genie:

Pro's: Interesting layout with a lot going on, better than average System 1 sounds and music, fantastic artwork.

Con's: Widebody action can be slow at times, drain monster.

Was here a few weeks, gameplay was not to my tastes. Does well in larger collection perhaps.
8.094/10
2 years ago
I’ve played Genie on Pinball Arcade and at FlipOut in London. It’s a fun pinball machine that feels like a super-big EM with a huge variety of different shots and an isolated playfield off at the top left.

It’s bright yellow, enormous and very eye-catching.

I don’t really understand the rules, but it is fun to shoot nonetheless and would not be unhappy if one parachuted its way into my front room.
8.585/10
2 years ago
Gottlieb's wide AND beautiful body :-) Fun to play, stunning artwork.
8.268/10
2 years ago
Classic. Beautiful back glass. Art work by Gordon Morison is second to none.
6.524/10
3 years ago
Playfield seems really disjointed - almost like it’s two different games. Gameplay doesn’t seem interesting, which gives a very low lastability score for me.
7.239/10
3 years ago
When I think of wide bodied pins, I think of Paragon, Superman and Genie. Of the three, only Genie is the one I would put money in to play. The machine has to be set to its highest level or else the play seems too slow! I was intrigued by the wide-bodied concept when it first came out but now, I have decided I much prefer the regular width machines! That doesn't mean I wouldn't play it! These wide playing fields still intrigue me but the novelty wears off relatively quick.
7.209/10
3 years ago
Gottlieb classic with a unique following. Wide body Playfield makes this a beautiful pin to look at.

Overall gameplay is true to era w/ bonus and multipliers. A lot of activity focused around yellow drops but upper Playfield is a treat as well.

Played many games and eventually got the timing down on threading the shot to upper PF but typically easier to hit through spinner and off bumper.

Drains common on plunge off right side until I learned how to time the side cabinet nudge (bump). I had game pitched WAY UP which made for “fast wide body play”.

If you are an early gottlieb SS fan a must for the collection.
2.623/10
3 years ago
what a HORRIBLE game. wow. maybe it was the one I was playing and being on site it sucked. wow. just bad. couldn't get into the upper playfield very well. When I did, it wasn't much fun.... FLOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAT city. not sure I could play a game that was worse than this. Rollergames was just as bad, so there is that.

Glad it was free. Couple of games and I doubt I'll ever be back on one of these.
7.092/10
3 years ago
Genie is a King Size Pinball Machine full of Fun! Having all those flippers makes this game very interesting and tactically challenging. The pop bumpers are sparsely positioned for such a big playfield which slows the game down a bit. The targets are positioned all over the playfield making this game challenging. The artwork is really cool and makes one want to play this game. I would have scored this game much higher if only it had more pop-bumpers. In short, this is a fun game and with a big playfield!
7.248/10
3 years ago
Genie is a work of art. It is arguably the best looking, hand drawn pinball art game of all time IMO. The playfield and backglass are both excellent. It is as wide a widebody as they come and that just gives you all the more art to admire.

Genie has a unique mini playfield that is interesting/challenging due to the small flippers, linked A-B-C-D roll overs, and an enjoyable set of drop targets in the center of the playfield that can multiply your bonus. The rules are straight forward and easy to remember and decent for this time period.

As a widebody it has all the issues all widebodies have of this era (floating shots, spacing issues, shot balance, etc.). However, you really don't get a Genie to be the best playing game in your collection. You get it to be the best looking. It won't disappoint in that area and you'll have fun with it at the same time.
8.309/10
4 years ago
At first Genie is a bit of a slow burn... But once you get into it it's a blast to play... Much different feel then the gimiky new machine... Its pin that need some attention if not it becomes a drain monster... I love palying it... Something about it... I guess I'm under the genie charm...
7.525/10
4 years ago
Genie is sort of a gloriously eccentric table, quite imperfect and yet still somehow addictive. Possibly one of the greatest of the wide body era.

The widebody layout is almost like having one machine on the right side -- with an open playfield and fairly straightforward features -- and a half a machine on the left, with the upper mini-playfield and hazardous bumper-rollover combo on the left almost a throwback to woodrail or at least early drop target designs.

The shots aren't as well designed as they could be; there are lots of angled posts and weird rolls that play differently from other widebodies or standard widths, and the shots are almost all crossovers of various sorts. There isn't really a straight shot on the whole table.

But this, has the odd benefit that you have to do a lot more planning for rebound and bounce shots -- especially given the sequence between shooting on the "main" field and the mini playfield. It's not classical in terms of the shot aiming but the result is a strangely unnerving tension when playing that actually adds to its lastability.

Basically you can go for the bonus by alternating the right, lower drop targets to get them lit, work your way up to 5X, then rip the spinner to try to max out bonus and then collect it at the outhole. That's a fairly straightforward game, albeit one that is hard to control because of the rolls.

Then there's the extra ball game, more of a long player strategy, of getting the A-B-C-D rollovers -- with two places, kitty-corner to one another -- and getting the two sets of drop targets in the mini left upper playfield, playing like an old 2 inch flipper game, and collecting the extra balls. With a max of one per ball, though, it's worth noting on five-ball play you can still get as many as ten balls -- practically an add-a-ball game in that regard.

In this mix is the way the ball flings from one side to the other; you have two spinner shots from trapped flippers, or a short shot at the drop targets, on the right, open side, but a successful spinner shot is liable to kick the ball either over to the mini playfield (where you can work that for a while) or to the more dangerous drop off slopes of coming off the upper bumpers on the far right, where there are some ugly drains (some SDTM on an angle) waiting for you.

It's inelegant but as a package somehow works. There are no curved shots in this game, only thudding line drives, and on a well-tuned game it can play faster than you might think (for slower ones at too low a pitch, it can be plodding waiting for the ball to return).

I will add that this is a game where it's especially important to have the tilt tuned just right; without the ability to artfully nudge on balls running down the half-playfield on the left side, or to escape the double outlanes on the right, it can be a real drag, but having the tilt too far down makes escaping these danger zones too easy. It does not play fun if too tight or too losse.

The bright yellow art package is a little unusual for the era, and while there's not much of a coherent story to the theme -- is it 1001 Arabian Nights, or I Dream of Jeannie? -- ou can't figure it out from the art -- it's not distracting to game play either. It's beautifully executed.

I'm not sure this is the first machine you'd want in your collection but it's a good extra if you want an example of a good to look at and interesting to play widebody, and as a tournament game it works surprisingly well (although, I might add, somewhat less mercurial if set to five-ball play.)
7.764/10
4 years ago
I remain a fan of Genie as opposed to “I Dream of Genie”. Perhaps it’s because I like the color yellow. I really enjoy playing the game and it’s something special when you crush the bonus and get rewarded with it during gameplay. I also like how the extra balls are awarded with the upper mini play field. The double A-B-C-D rollovers trick you into thinking that accomplishing it is a lot easier than it is. While the back glass is faded on just about every original I’ve seen, the colors are great and the use of the mirrored effect is outstanding. I wish they would have spruced up the cabinet paint a bit more but it fits the era. All in all a fun game that I enjoy playing.
6.111/10
4 years ago
I have been making a point to play more EM games these days and this one isn't bad, but it's nothing special in my opinion. I have definitely enjoyed a number of other EM games way more.
8.214/10
5 years ago
Very fun game. Its challenging to try and get the extra ball, yet easy to keep the ball in play. Play seems slow but its a wide body, and I like it for a change of pace from fast newer games. Its relaxing to play, and has fun and interesting things to shoot for. I play it a lot and I have 17 games. Playfield is well lit and EZ to see. One thing I don't like is the glare from the BG, and I added soft glow LEDs but still has a Glare. if it weren't a widebody Id consider getting anti glare glass.
8.700/10
5 years ago
Beautiful wide body machine with plenty to shoot for. Rules are easy to understand but difficult to execute. Keeps me coming back for more.
7.587/10
5 years ago
I put this pin in the same rare category as Paragon: "Old wide-bodies I actually like." The great art reminds me of a comic book. I would buy it if one comes up near me.
9.705/10
5 years ago
Highly underrated game! It's always a favorite to play over and over by everyone. So much to do and shoot for on this giant widebody. Endless fun! Update with leds and this machine really pops!
7.953/10
6 years ago
Played the version with European code adding the skill shot and ball save. Thought the game played really great. Wonderful tourney game.
4.172/10
6 years ago
I don't understand the fuss. The game plays like every other Gottlieb game: slow and plodding with a wide body which should give you enough space for some good shots -- if only the parts and min-playfields weren't just haphazardly placed on the playfield. The audio is no good either, giving us an indecipherable tune that plays over and over, which is more than annoying. It doesn't make me want to keep playing. The "theme" isn't really a part of the gameplay, either. It's just something that feels tacked on so that Gottlieb can make a sale. They've done better than this.
8.304/10
6 years ago
Can sometimes feel like a bit of a mess, but the playfield layout is so unique that it just stays interesting. It is so massive it feels like three pinball machines in one. Very addictive.
8.560/10
6 years ago
slow and floaty game. makes for a nice change of pace compared to a modern standard size game
There are 57 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 1 of 3.

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