ChipS's ratings

Pinsider ChipS has rated 7 machines.

This page shows all all these ratings, and forms ChipS's personal top 7.


Rating comments

ChipS has written 7 rating comments:


8.089/10
4 months ago
This is one of the most beautiful games Gottlieb ever produced. The backglass and playfield art are simply incredibly! Gordon Morrison truly outdid himself with this one.

But while it is the best looker of the mid-to-late 1970's era of Gottlieb, it is not the best player. The bagatelle lanes on the right side are copied from Atlantis (which copied them from "Sheriff"). IMO they work better as the sequence advancer in Atlantis than they do as a temperature advancer here. Same with the standup targets on the right side. On the left side of the playfield, there are just 4 drop targets and one rollover lane. (As opposed to 10 drop targets and a 5,000 point payout for hitting two adjacent targets.) So there's not much you can hit with the right flipper. In my opinion, Atlantis did a lot more with a very similar playfield layout, and is the superior game.

Only 1,600 of them were made, so it is hard to find. I've had the chance to buy it a couple of times, but just can't pull the trigger. I already own Atlantis. Do I really want two games that are that similar? If I was just going to turn it on and look at it, then maybe yes. But not for the price that people are asking for it.
3.261/10
4 months ago
In a word, "Meh." This game has only two things going for it - it's pirate theme and name, Jolly Roger, which is the same name as a fabulous amusement park in Ocean City, Maryland.

The backglass is dull and there are a total of three shots to hit on the playfield. The goal is to advance the reel and then hit and collect the value. If you're looking for boring, look no further. The only reason I'm rating it as high as I am is because it's an EM.
8.265/10
1 year ago
Our family went to Ocean City Maryland every summer and in the late 1970's this was the first game I sought out in the Sportland arcade. I loved it! Part of that love was because it was fun to play, but another part, I must admit, was because it was so easy to beat. (And for a 15-year-old boy, "beatability" was a HUGE plus as quarters were limited. The only game easier to beat was Bally's Aladdin's Castle.) And because you were awarded replays for scores and runs, you could easily win twice as many games.

Now that I'm collecting pinball, I've thought about buying this game. But I realized it is different from most of Gottlieb's wedgeheads which have progressive gameplay (meaning you have to complete a series a tasks in order to reach your goal). Big Hit is not really progressive - you simply do the same thing over and over. Runs are most easily scored by rocking the targets, and the upper flippers are set up in such a way that it's relatively easy to complete a target bank with just a couple of shots. That will light up the Home Run rollover (also an easy shot) and eventually special, and reset the targets. With each ball, the tasks are essentially the same. Far different from the classic wedgehead progressive gameplay of Atlantis, El Dorado, Abra Ca Dabra and Jacks Open.

Aladdin's Castle was the first pinball machine I bought when I began collecting 4 years ago. I was in Heaven - for a couple of weeks. But it was so easy to beat and so repetitive, that I sold it after 3 months. I'm afraid that if I bought Big Hit, the same thing would happen. So I'm going to just let it live in my memory.
10.000/10
4 years ago
A lot has been said about this game already - and it's all true. It's one of Gottlieb's best wedgeheads!

What I find amazing is that it's two games in one: 3-ball and 5-ball and each one has a different strategy. Set to 3-ball, the focus is on the targets: drop them all down and hit the center target and you advance two spots, halfway to 5,000 and then special. But if you're playing 5-ball games, you need to shoot for the rollovers first and foremost - cause there's no way you're going to knock down all the targets 3 or 4 times. Also, in 3-ball play, you can really rack up the points with the bumpers, since they light up for 1,000 with every other hit.

In 3-ball play, you have the opportunity to really rack up the specials - that is if you can keep the ball in play, which isn't always easy. In 5-ball play, you have more opportunities and can make up for those balls that go SDTM.

Without a doubt, one of the all-time great EMs!
8.247/10
4 years ago
Want to correct a comment made by another reviewer (Kaytrox) as it gives the wrong impression about this game. He said "And here's the part of this game that I REALLY REALLY hate. ONLY the drop targets advance the bonus!" I'm not sure if his game wasn't working properly or he wasn't paying attention, but that is TOTALLY INCORRECT.

The drop targets aren't the only thing that advances the bonus - the LIT STAR ROLLOVERS also advance the bonus. In fact, that is integral to the strategy of the game. For every lettered (A, B, C, D, E) rollover you collect, you light up another star rollover. Those stars now count 500 + add a bonus. The only way you're going to get the bonus to 15,000 is through the star rollovers, not the drop targets. (Obviously - if there are only 8 drop targets, and they don't reset, then how else could you get to 15,000 bonus???)

My strategy is to shoot the ball to the top as much as possible - not only to get the lettered rollovers, but then to hit the stars and add the bonus. Get all five lettered rollovers and now the kickout hole lights (alternately) for EXTRA BALL. Then go for the drop targets. Get all 8 drop targets and now the center hole lights for DOUBLE BONUS or SPECIAL (assuming the lettered rollovers are all collected).

Spirit of 76 is a COMPLETE GAME, assuming you understand the rules and your game is working properly.
9.042/10
5 years ago
The first time I played this game in an arcade, I thought it was just so-so. Probably because the flippers were weak, I couldn't hit all the drop targets and I didn't really understand the game rules. But I was looking for a Gottlieb EM to buy and just couldn't stop looking at photos of Surf Champ, so when one came available at a decent price, I jumped for it.

And after fixing it up and playing it over and over, it has won me over. Yes, you can't hit all the drop targets with the right flipper - that's part of the challenge! You have to bank it off the bumpers, or backhand it with the left flipper. Same with the spinner: hit it with the right flipper and it's coming back at you - SDTM. But hit it with the left and it's up into the bumpers and probably through one of the rollovers, which is what you want.

I also love the fact that it's two games in one: completely different rules set and strategy depending on whether it's set for three or five balls. At five balls, bonus is key, and hitting the left rollover with the right flipper is the shot you have to master. Don't shoot for the star rollovers until you only have one left, then go for it and double bonus.

If it's set for three balls, then the pop bumpers count 1,000 (instead of 100) and you want to pound them as often as possible. Yes, you still need bonus, and the five star rollovers to set up the double bonus rollover, but you can't get to replay without the pops. And the points can add up fast.

My first thought was "what the hell is going on with this game?" And once I figured it out, I realized it was designed by a genius!
7.696/10
5 years ago
This game takes me back to my family's vacation in Ocean City, MD in the summer of 1976 when I was 14. We stayed at a condo on 67th Street and the sub shop across Coastal Highway had two pins: Aladdin's Castle and Abra Ca Dabra. My brother and I walked over there every night for a week and played them both.

This game is really quite simple: Hit the Aladdin's Alley with the right flippers and the spinner with the left. Your main goal is to get C-D (for double bonus) and A-B-C-D for extra ball. (I kinda miss not having to make a shot after ABCD for extra ball.) If you are patient, a skilled flipper technician can make the Aladdin's Alley shot all night long. And there's no greater satisfaction than hearing the "Over the Top" buzzer going off, letting everyone in the joint know that you...are...the...master.

This game is a great addition to any EM collection, IMO.

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