Most Evil Pops

I'm a huge fan of evil pop bumpers. Are you?
Remember when pop bumpers were both friend and foe?

I was just examining a 1980 Stern Big Game, and noticed that it has a set of THREE pops that all fire the ball mercilessly back at the player. They seem to gobble up all shots into the center of the upper PF. Incredibly evil. I don't know the game well, but I'd be terrified to take any sort of center shot at all.

I'd like to hear from you what pops you consider the most evil in post-EM pinball !
I'd also like to hear any conjecture as to why evil pop bumpers have been designed out of pinball? Can you find any exceptions to the "new pop rule" and find any with '1 or more evil pops' (post-1982)?

For best results:

1. Include one machine per post (multiple posts are fine of course)
2. Describe how many of the pops have line of sight to a drain (that you fear!)
3. Give thumbs up to machines you agree with
4. Please post a link to a pic or movie or ipdb.

thanks!
-mof

#2 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Evil Pops !

[5] pops with line of sight to a drain:
1981, Gottlieb Black Hole (5* of 6) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=307

[4] pops with line of sight to a drain:
1979, Bally Future Spa (4 of 5) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=974
1981, Gottlieb Volcano (4 of 4) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2742
1981, Bally Medusa (4 of 4) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1565

[1] pop with line of sight to a drain:

1979, Williams Gorgar (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1062
1979, Stern Meteor (1 of 1) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1580
1982, Gottlieb Haunted House (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1133
1984, Williams Space Shuttle (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2260
1985, Game Plan Cyclopes (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=619

DMDs with [1] pop with line of sight to a drain (just one calorie of evil):

1993, Williams Whitewater (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2768
1993, Midway Twilight Zone (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2684
1997, Bally Circus Voltaire (1 of 2) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=4059
2012, JJP, Wizard of Oz (1 of 3) http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=5800

* While Black Hole has (5 of 6) dangerous pops, please be advised that only 3 are in play at once on the upper playfield. This effectively means that the "evil per square foot" is BELOW that of Volcano and Future Spa. So roughly speaking, Black hole belongs in the [3] group.

Post last edited 9 years ago.

#3 9 years ago

MOF

mof

I'm gonna go with Black Hole upper PF.

3 in the middle of the upper playfield
1 near the outlane
(3 of 4) on the upper PF are evil.
2 of 2 on the lower PF.
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=307

EDIT: I have demoted Black Hole with a *. While it literally has 6 pops, and 5 of the 6 are evil, only 3 are in play at any one time with evil intent. This to me, makes it honorable mention, and no longer the leader of the pack.

-mof

#4 9 years ago

???

lladnip

Inactive member

13y 32,400 972

time warp? not alot of shelter from the pops

#5 9 years ago

MOF

mof

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2684&picno=37888

Stern Big Game

3 pops all sitting dead center in the upper PF. It carves away a huge swath of the PF that you may want to re-consider shooting into.

-mof

#6 9 years ago

GAB

gabegabegabe

Pinside member

14y 54,300 502 18

Beasts Lair on Paragon. For me, it seems like every time the ball goes in there, i can pretty much guarantee it will go out the drain.

#7 9 years ago

DEN

jibmums

Pinside member

12y 96,900 3,962 16

Quoted from gabegabegabe:
Beasts Lair on Paragon. For me, it seems like every time the ball goes in there, i can pretty much guarantee it will go out the drain.

Damn, beat me to it. Can't get a more evil pop bumper than Paragon.

#8 9 years ago

RAS

Pinside member

14y 54,300 502 18

Sharpshooter, 2 pops by the flippers are quite evil as well. Very 'in your face'!

OP
Quoted from mof:
Defender

The ones on defender are fairly high on the playfield and not as evil as the popup drop targets in the middle of the playfield. Those are definitely evil!

#14 9 years ago

DDJ

Pinballrus

Inactive member

Emeryville, CA

11y 44,150 751 1 19

Alien Star.
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=49

#15 9 years ago

DUG

trilogybeer

Pinside+ Frequent

Elkhorn, WI

11y 150K 8,880 14 1

Slayer . It's got pops for flippers .

#16 9 years ago

TLC

rockinganker

Inactive member

Chatham-kent, ON

12y 31,150 415

Twilight Zone

Three pops, left drain out of the pops

#17 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from rockinganker:
Twilight Zone
Three pops, left drain out of the pops
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2684&picno=37888

I love the pop placement on TZ, but I would categorize it has having
[0] evil pops -- none can line-of-sight drain to the outlane. Correct ?
-mof

#18 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from Pinballrus:
Alien Star.
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=49

That's some evil right there.
(3 of 3)
-mof

#19 9 years ago

JZM

bangerjay

Pinside member

Yomamasville

12y 106K 4,818 46

Most evil!

image-36.jpg

#20 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Star Gazer
(2 of 3)
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2346&picno=3149
-mof

#21 9 years ago

Darcy

Pinside member

Leduc, AB

11y 124K 6,360 17

Abra Ca Dabra. 2 pops just a few inches away from the lower ball guides. Try to convince yourself that the pops are your friend, on this game.

#22 9 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,201 18

WhiteWater has some very evil pops.

#23 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from vid1900:
WhiteWater has some very evil pops.

I don't know the game well. Do any of those three pops have direct line of sight to an outlane?

I would call any protected pen in the lower quadrant like TZ or WW "aggressive" (only by 90's standards), but does it really rate against pops with direct line of sight to a drain?

C'mon guys...
That's not 1 calorie of evil.

thanks,
mof

#24 9 years ago

CMS

Xenon75

Pinside member

11y 86,800 1,969

Flash Gordon, Viking, future spa

#25 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from Darcy:
Abra Ca Dabra. 2 pops just a few inches away from the lower ball guides. Try to convince yourself that the pops are your friend, on this game.

I am looking for (solid state) games, but that is one evil EM for sure... (2 for 2)
-mof

#26 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from Xenon75:
Flash Gordon, Viking, future spa

FG (2 for 2)
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=874
Viking (2 for 4)
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?2737
Future Spa (4 for 5) <-- now that's some evil !
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=974

Nice
-mof

#27 9 years ago

MOF

mof

1980 Stern Ali
(3 of 3)
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=43

#28 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Are there *ANY* evil pop bumpers after 1984?
-mof

#29 9 years ago

JGI

John_I

Space Coast Pinball

19y 179K 9,072

Jack in the Box and Jumping Jack. Both can either slam dunk the ball straight down or send it between the flippers. They produce the hardest hit ball losses of any game ever.

image-25.jpg

#30 9 years ago

MOF

mof

1980 Stern Galaxy (2)
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=980
-mof

#31 9 years ago

JCD

WaddleJrJr

Pinside member

Avon, OH

9y 91,900 2,738 22 20

It's not incredibly harmful compared to these older games, however I have seen the pops on TWD give some nasty center drains. Nothing too extreme but it's the best modern example I can think of, and will add a little diversity to the list.

#32 9 years ago

DUG

trilogybeer

Pinside+ Frequent

Elkhorn, WI

11y 150K 8,880 14 1

OP
Quoted from mof:
Are there *ANY* evil pop bumpers after 1984?

Spooky Pinball's Pinball Zombies , 2015 ?

#33 9 years ago

MOF

mof

http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=762&picno=3154

Quoted from trilogybeer:
Spooky Pinball's Pinball Zombies , 2015 ?

Let's hope so!
-mof

#34 9 years ago

SBS

o-din

Pinside+ Addict

11y 158K 58,784

Spanish eyes.
image-17.jpg

#35 9 years ago

BOY

vid1900

Pinside member

Sana'a

12y 164K 40,201 18

Quoted from vid1900:
WhiteWater has some very evil pops.

OP
Quoted from mof:
I don't know the game well. Do any of those three pops have direct line of sight to an outlane?

Yes, sometimes they directly throw the ball down the right outlane.

#36 9 years ago

JIM

Jvspin

Pinside+ Addict

Redwood City, CA

11y 95,050 3,368 15

OP
Quoted from mof:
Are there *ANY* evil pop bumpers after 1984?
-mof

WOZ

1 of 3

#37 9 years ago

BIL

dothedoo

Pinside member

12y 106K 7,265

Can't believe nobody has mentioned EBD. How many times have you plunged a ball only to have it go SDTM out of the pop bumper nest?

#38 9 years ago

DSD

Winball_Pizard

Inactive member

Austin, TX

12y 75,400 1,104 12 54

Lots of older games have some terrible pops but, BSD is probably one of the hastiest I can think of. I've had plenty of SDTM drains followed by ball save SDTM drains. I think its also worse that doing well on ramp shots eventually sends you back to the pops for more pain. TWD steep enough can be brutal as well. I've also had double no flip drains from it as well. None of the pops are really line of sight drains but, that doesn't seem to matter at all.

#39 9 years ago

LAW

Law

Inactive member

9y 87,800 1,320 124

No mention of KISS yet? It's basically a wall of pops.

Cirqus Voltaire is one where anything involving the pops usually ends in me draining. Particularly if the post in front of the boom balloon is missing.

#40 9 years ago

ERW

chuckwurt

Pincinnati

10y 193K 31,343 16 13

OP
Quoted from mof:
Stern Big Game
3 pops all sitting dead center in the upper PF. It carves away a huge swath of the PF that you may want to re-consider shooting into.
-mof

not as mean as you would think. the lower right pop will send the ball SDTM if you make a mistake and hit straight into it, but other than that, the pops are pretty forgiving. They are essential for hitting the 1-3 and 4-6 drops though.

#41 9 years ago

TWP

rollitover

Pinside member

South St Paul, MN

10y 76,550 2,070 5 19

Quoted from chuckwurt:
not as mean as you would think.

Agreed. A shot between the two nearest pops to the furthest one is almost always beneficial. The left pop can grant you either the "G" or "A" stationary targets or sometimes the XB or Spec left rollover. The right pop affords the 4-5-6 and 7-8 targets. Hit the left or right pop incorrectly though and it's to the left or right drain lane you will go!

#42 9 years ago

►♠◄

Pin-it

Inactive member

Sunbury, PA

11y 64,900 7,217

Quoted from o-din:
Spanish eyes.

Yes ↑ its an Evil one

#43 9 years ago

SJD

muzikman

Pinside member

10y 58,400 142 88

I agree with EBD!! No way to avoid the pops on the plunge. I have mine set on 5 ball because often 1 or 2 balls per game I don't get to touch the ball with a flipper. The evil pops combined with the hungry outlanes are a deadly combo!

Both the bottom pop and the right pops can direct the ball down the middle or toward the right outlane.

_{Post edited by muzikman: fix typo}

#44 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from dothedoo:
Can't believe nobody has mentioned EBD. How many times have you plunged a ball only to have it go SDTM out of the pop bumper nest?

Quoted from Law:
No mention of KISS yet? It's basically a wall of pops.

EBD
(2 of 3)
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=762&picno=3154
-mof

Kiss
(3 of 4)
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1386&picno=1329

#45 9 years ago

SSD

TheNoTrashCougar

Danesi Designs

Sleepy Hollow, IL

12y 130K 3,899 21 7

I vote for Slayer as well as it has controllable pop bumpers instead of flippers.

#46 9 years ago

MOF

mof

Quoted from vid1900:
-
Yes, sometimes they directly throw the ball down the right outlane.

Quoted from Jvspin:
WOZ, 1 of 3

Okie Dokie.

Added, Woz and WW.

-mof

#47 9 years ago

MJS

schudel5

Pinside member

20y 166K 6,392 27

Cyclopes. It just wants to rocket a ball out the left outlane or between the flippers. Pure EVIL!

image13.jpg

#48 9 years ago

MOF

mof