OK folks, the time has finally come for middle-pop games to get their own thread. Welcome!

Middle-pop pinball machines feature an uncommon but fun layout: A pop bumper between the flippers! This creates a wider than usual flipper stance and forces the player to learn new strategies of play. Trapping and passing the ball requires extra finesse to cross the gap and occasionally requires the use of the pop bumper. Many times the ball can be nudged back into play by using it alone, which often adds a fun level of unpredictability. Middle-pop games are thus a terrific way to spice up a collection of pins with traditional layouts and provide an opportunity to learn new skills.

I have combed the entire IPDB twice and, to my knowledge, the middle-pop + flippers layout began with Wayne Neyens' 1952 All-Star Basketball. A few months later in the year, Harry Williams designed Majorettes. Both have a similarly wide flipper stance and lower rebound slings:

"All-Star Basketball" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=54&picno=42764

"Majorettes" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1529&picno=65529

The two designers each released a middle-pop game in 1953 as well... with Wayne's beautiful Marble Queen followed by Harry Williams with Lazy-Q. Notice how both designs again follow one another, now with twin center drains below the pop bumper:

"Marble Queen" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1541&picno=1477

"Lazy-Q" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1422&picno=23814

In 1954, Neyens released Hawaiian Beauty which was the only middle-pop that year and the only one ever produced with a cluster of three. BTW, from this point onward, take notice of the large area Neyens dedicates to the lower playfield area below the flippers. He repeats this "big lower area" style for his next (and last) two middle-pops:

"Hawaiian Beauty" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1138&picno=19348

1956 sees a total of five middle-pops produced... and the last from the woodrail era. Two by Neyens (Derby Day, Score-Board) - again, notice his "large lower area" style below the flippers:

"Derby Day" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=664&picno=17111

"Score-Board" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2063&picno=20423&zoom=2

...and three by Williams (Cue Ball, Shamrock, and Tim-Buc-Tu):

"Cue Ball" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=609&picno=581

"Shamrock" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2107&picno=16366

"Tim-Buc-Tu" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2561&picno=8931

Bonus round: Neyens designed a third middle-pop-ish game in 1956 called "Register". However, I don't think this one qualifies because the central bumper is a dead bumper (no action) and doesn't create a gap between the flippers... so it functions more like a bumper-shaped obstacle than a true middle-pop.

"Register" http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1942&picno=14826

With the conclusion of 1956, no further middle-pop games would be designed by Neyens or Williams. The layout would remain dormant until the end of the woodrail era and well into the middle of the next decade. That is, until an innovative new designer at Williams revisited the idea...

In 1966, Norm Clark released 8-Ball, a 2p multiplayer - Player 1 shoots for solids, player 2 for stripes. Shooting the 8-ball after completion earns an extra ball.

With 8-Ball, Norm is credited with inventing a type of stepping/bank arrangement which could retain the players' pocketed ball count as the game progressed. The stripes/solids were displayed on the playfield and backglass simultaneously.

8-Ball

Clark's next middle-pop was produced in 1967 - the gorgeous-looking Magic City. By now, Norm was developing a reputation for being an innovator. His original design for Magic City included a spinning color wheel behind the fountain on the backglass. Alas, it was deemed too expensive for production and was never built as intended.

Magic City

In 1968, Ted Zale (of Bally) designed one middle-pop game, Safari. Perhaps due to the differences in coil specs between Bally/Williams, the middle pop bumper on this game isn't very strong compared to the ones designed by Clark.

(I don't own a Safari, but if I did, I'd likely remove a few turns of wire or swap in a stronger coil.)

Safari

Norm Clark's next middle-pop would be a return to his middle-pop + horseshoe layout. In 1969, he released two single-player versions of his earlier hit, 8-Ball. One in replay version (Miss-O) and the other Add-A-Ball (Cue-T). Layout is identical on both, with similar artwork.

Cue-T

In 1972, Norm Clark again produced a third iteration of his middle-pop + horseshoe layout with Spanish Eyes... which can be configured for replay, AAB, or novelty play. This was the first middle-pop game with 3" flippers, as the pinball industry had phased out the smaller 2" flippers by this time.

Spanish Eyes also re-introduced the concept of "flipper drains" (the first was '62 King Pin, Norm's first game). If the flipper is lifted while the ball travels underneath, it will fall through the playfield and drain. Beware! A hilarious surprise for unaware players.

Spanish Eyes

Later in 1972, Clark threw the kitchen sink at the middle-pop format... combining his roulette wheel invention (1966's A-Go-Go) with the Spanish Eyes middle-pop/flipper drain layout... a kickback and a shooter lane gate... and adding all of it to a huge 4p multiplayer: Fan-Tas-Tic. Which it is!

Fan-Tas-Tic

By 1975... several interesting twists of fate occur.

Norm Clark, ever the innovator who was experimenting with emerging solid state technology at this time, is subsequently hired by Bally as the head of their pinball department. He joins Greg Kmiec who is on a hot streak having recently designed "Wizard!" the first blockbuster to top a 10,000 production run, Bow & Arrow nearing 8,000 units, and is busy designing his next hit, Old Chicago, which would go on to exceed 7,000 produced.

It is an exciting time for Bally... brimming with hit games, high production runs, new and experienced designers coming on board, and the advent of exciting technology on the horizon. "Freedom" is subsequently produced by Bally as their newest game and proof of concept.

Freedom isn't officially credited to a single designer. IPDB claims Kmiec remembers it was "designed by George Christian under the direction of Norm Clark". However, knowing what we know of Norm Clark's prodigious design history (and the fact that he has stated in interviews that his favorite personal touch was "putting a pop bumper between the flippers"), it is clear to me that Freedom was largely his work as well as a team effort. Let us examine the evidence...

Freedom prototype

The lower layout is obviously a continuation of Norm's previous work on Spanish Eyes and Fan-Tas-Tic, complete with his signature flipper drains. The spinning award wheel in the center is also quite similar to the roulette wheel on Fan-Tas-Tic. However, we do notice some Bally-specific elements for the first time. None of Norm Clark's prior games had sequential rows of drop targets nor spinners (perhaps only "Eager Beaver" as O-din mentioned below had any drop targets at all). Where did these elements come from? Let's have a look at what Kmiec was designing next door...

Old Chicago

Well well well... Old Chicago just happens to have a row of five drop targets on the side, at the same approximate height and angle. It also has a spinner at the upper left with a similar trail of round inserts underneath. Another similarity: Two kickout holes... one in the center, one to the right. Flip them on a vertical axis and they'd be practically identical to Freedom.

I'm guessing Norm, having just joined Bally with a new house of company toys to play with, just might have borrowed a little inspiration from Kmiec next door who was on a hot streak using the same parts. It is telling that Freedom, Old Chicago, and Night Rider were all on the project table at more or less the same time... and thus the similarities are not entirely a coincidence.

George Christian, for his part, might have contributed the three offset pop bumpers at the top which is a common feature in his designs. Otherwise, Freedom doesn't really resemble his style. Again, I think Freedom largely served as a learning platform since he had little commercial experience otherwise. The biggest fingerprints on the Freedom layout are obviously Clark's. It is his last middle-pop design to be produced.

I've gushed a bit about Norm Clark and the Freedom prototype in another thread so I'll try not to repeat it here. Check it out if you'd like to know a few more facts about Clark's inventiveness: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/11-em-games-mini-pinraid-worth-anything#post-3284223

It suffices to say that of the middle-pop games, the Freedom prototype is pretty special for a number of different reasons. It had an extremely low production run, is the only middle-pop design to be built on the last Bally EM hardware platform (which was the best, IMHO), and is the last middle-pop game to be commercially produced. It is also amusing to note how the prototype narrowly escaped the European revision with its "freedom" intact (ironic considering the bicentennial theme).

Perhaps most significantly of all, Freedom went on to become Bally's first commercial solid-state game in production and prove the strength of the concept. It laid the groundwork for Bally's subsequent rise to overtake and dominate the market through 1982 and lead the pinball industry into a glorious new era. Freedom is thus a significant game in the history of pinball and I hope we can eventually track down as many of the 100 of the prototypes as possible if they can still be found.

To sum up...

If you are looking to add a middle-pop game to your collection, the good news is that they were produced in fairly plentiful numbers:

3" flippers (1970's) - Spanish Eyes (3905), Fan-Tas-Tic (5680), Freedom prototype (100)

2" flippers (1960's) - 8-Ball (3250), Cue-T (2800/AAB)/Miss-O (2351/replay), Magic City (2675/replay)/Magic Town (3950/AAB), Safari (1100)

Woodrails (1950's) - All-Star Basketball (1000), Cue Ball (?), Derby Day (1600), Hawaiian Beauty (900), Lazy-Q (?), Majorettes (?), Marble Queen (1000), Score-Board (1300), Shamrock (?), Tim-Buc-Tu (?)

I personally recommend Fan-Tas-Tic as the best overall choice in terms of availability. Due to the high production count they are still fairly easy to find and relatively inexpensive. However, keep in mind it is a 4-player with the roulette wheel and is thus a bit more complex than most EM's. Lots of pieces to clean and restore. But hey, you'll have Norm Clark's "kitchen sink" middle-pop game with tons of fun features!

Spanish Eyes would be my second choice since it is also relatively easy to find. Although the rules are a bit simple, the action is blazing fast... the fastest middle-pop of all, actually. Really fun game. I love the artwork but it puts off some folks.

Of the 2" middle-pop games keep in mind that 8-Ball/Cue-T/Miss-O all share the same horseshoe layout (similar to Spanish Eyes but without the flipper drains). Of the three, I'd go for 8-Ball since you get multiplayer and the cool stripes vs. solids gameplay/backbox lights with extra ball potential. Though really you can't go wrong with any of them... they're all fun.

Magic City and Safari are the most unique 2" middle-pops as they share no layout with any other game. If you get a Magic City, be sure to put rotating color bulbs or color blinkers behind the fountain (to honor Norm's original design specification). It looks great when done with care.

As mentioned, I think Safari is a near-miss for a couple of reasons. The first issue is the weak middle-pop. It really needs more zip. [UPDATE: This is a DEAD bumper with NO pop action whatsoever - basically only disguised as a pop bumper! For this reason Safari should be disqualified as a middle-pop game].

The second issue isn't really fixable: The lack of "air" in the lower part of the layout. Safari is the only middle-pop designed by Ted Zale and he doesn't seem to have understood the concept quite as well as Neyens, Williams, and Clark. Examine how the lower pop bumper/drain lane/flipper arrangement is all smooshed together down there. Safari doesn't provide any air space for the ball to rebound/zing around versus all of the other layouts. It's not a total fail, but it could have been improved upon if Zale had experimented a bit more with the geometry.

The tigers are concerned... where's the 'air'?

As for the woodrail era, I've played Marble Queen and Derby Day but that's about it. They are a bit tamer in terms of gameplay compared with the crazy speeds of the Norm Clark-era... but still more fun than you'd expect.

The Freedom prototype is not only my favorite middle-pop game, but my favorite EM, period. Obviously if you see one, grab it immediately! They should all be preserved and restored. It is a fantastic game with a perfect balance of skill/chance and always gets heavy amounts of play and favorable comments at my events.

With so many regular production Freedoms still circulating out there, I'd like to try converting one back to the original prototype. It will require extensive playfield rework and reproducing the lower plastics, but I think it can be done with reasonable effort. I'll post it here when the time comes. If it proves to be worthwhile, it would be great to have more of them out there for people to play.

Bottom line: Middle-pops are great! The gameplay isn't mere novelty. It's a legitimate & worthwhile twist on a familar game and will give you a new skill set the more you play. It's a great way to shake up a pinball collection with something unexpected and fun. I suggest keeping one around as a secret weapon if you run tournaments. *grin* Now take some pics and show us what you got!

NICE looking Spanish Eyes! BG looks perfect, great cab, playfield... excellent. I've seen Fan-Tas-Tic pop up around here a couple of times around the $350 price point but didn't know enough about middle-pops at the time to spring for them. Argh!

While the slope on that MQ is a bit floaty, you are correct that it is a lively-looking woodrail. Always loved the artwork and with no side drains it doesn't look like a punishing game even with the gobble hole. In fact, it might be a little too easy... at least for me.

I had an opportunity to purchase one last year... passed on it because I had (have) too many projects. It also looks a little *too* easy for me. But if it comes up again I'll pass it along here.

Are you saying I look like a horse? :p

One of our local VECTORIANS (Pinsider dallaspinball) recently picked up an 8-Ball. I can't wait to play it. He also has a Spanish Eyes.

Two of our other members are seeking Fan-Tas-Tic and Magic City. If we get all of these going, we'll do a glorious middle-pop row at TPF in 2018. Sound like fun?

They're actually fairly common and I've seen at least a half-dozen on CL over the past couple of years. Often for less than $400. Keep looking and subscribe to the project/EM craigslist finds threads. They do show up semi-regularly!

Thanks! But if only I had the time... and frankly I'd rather use my knowledge to build concept games and engineer new parts/hybrids. It's all about the making for me.

The asking price was about $1300 in pretty good shape. I think that's a good ballpark depending upon condition. It is one of the more desirable classics IMHO, even for those who aren't middle-pop savvy.

Haha always a favorite... rassen frassen fricken TYVM!

Yes it is quite bewildering. Some kind of Tae Kwon No Can Pinball Do.

Good catch! I've asked the mods if I can edit and include it. Historically it's a good introductory machine, though it isn't quite like the others in the sense that the distance is so great from the flippers (with lanes dividing the path and the pop surrounded by kickouts) that it functions more like a nudge & tilt machine from the pre-flipper era. Almost zero chance of a rebound back to the flippers which I think is one of the essential interactive qualities of a middle-pop game. But... it is what it is... so let's recognize it.

D'oh! Missed that one... added a comment and will remove mine if I can edit the main copy again.