Double Header is done!

For this game, I had to write two separate sets of animations, position double the amount of elements as on a standard game, and do lots and lots of testing.

Great game! I can't wait to play it on real hardware.

Down to 13 left.

One of my new favorite things, since starting this project, is finding schematic errors. The next game is called 'Big Show'. It was produced 3 months before Key West, and shows that there is a red or yellow relay on the schematic (like on Key West). Doesn't exist (I think)! Haha!

I looked ahead. Key West has a relay called 'Change Scores'. It also notes the red or yellow relay, energized the same way on Big Show. It directs stepup to either the red or yellow odds according to the schematic. I don't know why, though. Especially on Big Show, where there's no incentive to keep odds low for red or yellow.

I'm leaving it out for now... I'll leave a note in the code for now.

Oh. Duh. The red or yellow relay allows the early games to alternate stepup of red and yellow to prevent the odds from staying in sync. I initially didn't implement it. It kept the odds in sync every single time.

I added it - and hey! It works. Also: the relay IS on the schematic. I just had to look all the way on the right side. (whoops).

Haha!

Big Show is done!

This was the first game with Triple Deck scoring - separate scoring for red, yellow and green lines. Unfortunately, the game will not score until you shoot the fifth ball. Since there's not an After Fifth on the time tree, you cannot reposition the numbers to put them into different lines to score.

For Bally, though, this was a big advance - the following games will allow for some really advanced scoring opportunities.

12 left!

Does anyone have a United Playtime schematic? I've read that it is very similar to Showtime, but I can't verify without the schem.

I can implement exactly as Showtime for now, until I find a schematic. Might be time to get an order together for PBR...

Something that makes me wonder is that Brazil is similar to Bally games of the era, but not the same.

Thanks Vic! Yes, I am absolutely amazed with the way that Don Hooker and Lyn Durant were able to design the circuits inside these games. Everything moves so gracefully inside the machine - doing exactly its job.

In computers, there is one theory that every program should do exactly one job. You send it a thing, it does something with it and sends something back out - nothing else is modified anywhere else. That style is used throughout the bingos (and at least the later one balls). It's incredible. I knew going into this (having repaired several different eras of bingo pinball machines), that these were truly amazing machines, but the phrase 'ahead of their time' is a constant refrain when I am looking at portioning circuitry.

That said: there's no wasted wire inside the machines. In the early days, to cut down on search disc circuitry, they had a switch that would guide the search to different cards. But that doesn't mean that they didn't come up with ways to improve reliability, either. And through it all, the engineers were thinking of the player experience. The move to 8 step timer units was a big one: in older games, the game would tilt itself if it timed out. This was an easy way to conserve motor life. Moving to the 8 step timer, in combination with the 'R' button, allowed the games to 'soft' tilt, which let the player wake it back up and continue play. Some problems were caused with these changes, similar to software bugs today!

It really has been incredible to look at the evolution of the games. The remaining 12 utilize the same 25 hole playfield, but I am very interested to see how the 20 hole games changed the internals of bingo pinball machines. The tower games, the first commercial solid state hybrid pinball machines, really were a great way to experiment with the new technology while keeping one foot in the older. Think about that - in the 1960s, Don Hooker was experimenting with solid state design. While other designers were content to continue down the 'tried and true' paths, here was an engineer willing to try something completely different. Beautiful.

I would like to know one day who the designers were at Keeney and Williams for their games. Keeney's in particular were a bit ahead of their time. Bally used very similar circuitry for their 70s six cards with double or nothing. I wonder if they purchased a Keeney patent? It's that similar.

In short: I have really fallen even deeper in love with these great games as I've worked my way through all the different eras. The things they were able to accomplish with only a small variation in playfield layout (for 25 hole games) is astounding.

Well, you know what that means: you'll have to come to York again this year.

Double Header is truly fun, and what a gorgeous game. The playfield and backglass are fantastic. It's a bit of a novelty (because payouts are low). If you want to win quickly, play game #1 - play for the doubled lines and ignore the spotted number feature and game #2. You can pump some money into game #2 to improve your chances of winning (the card layouts are completely different), but your big money is on game #1. Doubled lines of at least one color will light fairly quickly - that's where I stop and play.

I'll see if that holds true with the 'real thing', but that's how I played the simulation.

Email sent. Thanks Dennis.

Key West is done! Key West is the only game with Select-A-Score. This lets you swap the red and yellow odds. The trick with this feature is both to achieve it (it's relatively rare to earn it), and to achieve it before your odds are at max or even with each other...

which seems to be the only time I ever earn it. :-/

Another great game, and this time, After Fifth is back! Now you can reposition the numbers to be more favorable even after the game is over. There is not a way to earn the after fifth through coin play, instead, you have to earn the rollovers feature, then hit the lit rollover (alternates with each coin).

11 left!

I'm working on the next game, but didn't get started 'till very late last night. As such, I only got the portioning complete for odds, features, and extra balls, and haven't finished the search routine or the graphics positioning.

That's tonight!

Once this game is done, I should be close to having a clear path to finishing the remaining Magic Squares games. I still have two Magic Numbers games and 3 Roto games after all the Squares games are complete.

I'm coming up on one of my all-time favorite games. So excited to be able to play this one in my home, as I am with all the rest...

And thanks to Vic for posting in the bingos on Craigslist thread with a Keeney Rainbow! This is one of the first games to use an R button for scoring, and the backglass on this one is flawless, unfaded, and you can actually see it! Beats the heck out of the one I have in the game currently. Photo saved for future upgrade.

Thank you! I agree. I am unreasonably bad at taking photos and posting them. I will attempt to do so once I finish my little sprint here.

I'm up to 94 at the moment, and 95 will be done tonight!

Finished Showtime! 10 left!

Showtime rearranged the Magic Squares and put them in the center of the bingo card. Bally also added a Horizontal square underneath - letter E. Only the fifth column couldn't move.

Bally will fix that in their next game!

Triple deck scoring, and the first game to use a real time tree - rather than a series of relays that allow for extended time to make selections, Bally added a dedicated stepper unit, with rollovers guaranteed at certain positions.

Great game!

House is clean, kids wanted to watch a movie, so I got to finish another game! Sun Valley is another of my favorite games. It was the first Magic Squares game to allow you to reposition every number on the bingo card.

Appropriately themed for winter (but not appropriately attired!)

sun_valley (resized).png

9 left!

Good question! My opinion is really based on a couple of things: mechanics and playability. I am interested in having a variety of games available, so my answer will differ by a LOT from what others will say.

1) Caravan - Roto feature allows for repositioning of 8 numbers, arranged in a circle. Along with red diagonal scoring, guaranteed 8 balls carryover feature and lite-a-name for 5 in a row wins.
2) Lido - futurity feature allows you to 'bank' the red letter game, and white button play allows lighting of both super sections.
3) Gay Time - Four Magic Lines, two spotted numbers, corners and Magic Pockets! What's not to love?
4) Sun Valley - Magic Squares and a Magic Line - squares allow repositioning of every number except the far right column, which can move based on Magic Line.
5) Night Club - Quadruple scoring on certain lines and after 5th allows for some really nice scoring opportunities.

There are lots of runner-ups, 5 is such a small number!

As to prices, those tend to fluctuate - and most of the prices I follow are for non-working machines. I will say that some games, like Caravan, can be expensive due to rarity on the East Coast. Others, like Lido or Gay Time, are expensive due to feature set or rarity (Lido rather than Gay Time). Sun Valley and Night Club are average in price, though finding woodrail bingos in the southeast can be a bit challenging.

When I finish them all, I have another from-scratch project that I'll post about. I'm still working through mechanics in my head, I keep changing the schematic in my mind... which means I need more time to cook this project. More to come when I'm ready to announce something.

When I finish the remaining games to finish the 105 playable on the default playfield, I'll be restoring the cabinet and adding graphics to the cab and head. Then I have some other cosmetic upgrades I need to make, then I'll work on the other games playable on alternate playfields and wire them up for swaps.

Note that there's about another 30 games needed (after the 105) to complete this project. About 16 of them are 20 hole games!

I've also started a thread for ideas for NEW EM bingos (or solid state/EM hybrids) - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/help-design-a-new-em-bingo

For now, I'm working on Cypress Gardens.

Cypress Gardens is complete - this game is very similar to Showtime (though has different portioning).

It adds the 'Stop and Shop' feature that was only used on three games. This allows you to input more coins or play off more replays in the middle of the game, hopefully increasing your scores or features - a useful feature.

Ballyhole's function has been changed to a carry-over - if you hit it while lit, next game, the magic squares feature will automatically step to the top.

8 left!

I do have a 20 hole playfield, but it needs to be rewired. Shouldn't take long, just need to do it.

I'll have time(?) soon.

Thank you!

And Beach Time is complete - Beach Time expands on Cypress Gardens making the Stop and Shop feature a stepper unit instead of trip relays.

Because of this linear change, the game allows for stop and shop before 3rd, before 4th or before 5th.

Ballyhole awards A-F Squares/Lines and the Magic Line F remains a GREAT feature. I have always liked the looks of this game, and I suspect this may supplant Sun Valley in that top 5 above. Sun Valley's Ballyhole awards first extra ball, which is a big advantage... toss up until I play it in real hardware.

7 left!

Next up - Bally's last Magic Squares game, Bonanza!

My gosh, this is wildly, wildly different from the earlier games inside.

Wow, that was a weird game inside. Bonanza is done! One of a small number of western-themed bingo pinball machines, Bonanza brings back Magic Squares in the corners of the card, and moves the Magic Line into the center column.

Produced in 1976, Bally made numerous changes to the hardware inside. One of a handful of 40 coin max games, Bonanza will portion each coin in a completely, 100% different way from almost any other game I've been through... it was a challenge.

Bally removed all the mixers, and replaced with a program disc assembly and a scramble disc. They also added a continuous stepper to count the number of coins and do initial portioning. It's super confusing to read from the manual and schematic, as Bally decided to switch to this handwritten style that is incredibly hard to read - they also changed from their prior wire color per rivet scheme to a code number per wire color - so essentially, each rivet bears absolutely no relation to the wire color connected... woof.

Now, to the game - the game removed Extra Balls, but added odds steps - there are 12 different odds steps per color, and Bally added a new color: blue! Unlike in some other quadruple deck scoring games (namely the 20 holes) - blue operates independently.

The Magic Line can spot independently of the Magic Squares unit - which is completely unlike any other Magic Squares game with a line.

Fast game - before and after 5th return. The 40 coin max keeps the game moving, along with the lack of extra balls.

Huge accomplishment that will make the rest of the final 5 games in this playfield a bit anticlimactic: GAME #100 is complete!!

Playtime was the last bingo pinball produced by United. It bears a striking resemblance to Bally's Showtime. Showtime was produced in Feb of '57 and Playtime in June of '57.

I have examined the schematic and manual for Playtime (which doesn't meet the normal United quality - seems very rushed and written in a style unlike any other United game). I suspect that there was a huge rush to get this done and out the door.

The circuitry, upon inspection, is EXACTLY, 100% the same as the Bally counterpart. Sure, small things are changed here and there, like removing the green odds, pushing yellow to the bottom, and inserting orange under the red... or swapping the red and yellow rollovers... but otherwise - carbon copy.

I KNOW there's a cool story here somewhere, but I don't have any proof yet. I'm working on it!

Beautiful game - United went out on a high note, for sure.

This was the final Magic Squares game that I had left on my list. Only 5 remain until this playfield is complete.

I've completed the main backglass artwork for three out of the five remaining glasses.

The last games for this playfield are:

Caravan (artwork complete and separated)
Starlet (artwork complete and separated)
Stardust (artwork reconstructed from shattered, flaked backglass, except for the extra ball area near EB 1 - I also have to make a template for the second Roto)
Touchdown (artwork complete, not yet separated, and I need to make a template for the Magic Numbers)
Acapulco - no great source images exist. I've put out a feeler for a good image.

I've also read into the portioning for the three United games - a natural extension to Pixies, and the actual gameplay should fall fast.

Touchdown and Acapulco are real oddballs. The only two games Bally produced with Magic Numbers, Touchdown, at least, uses a special disc that handles part of the portioning. I'm figuring out right now if it's worthwhile to emulate, or to force it into a regular mid-Bally style. Right now I'm leaning towards just using the regular mid-Bally style...

Looking at these games in detail as I have... I pull some small nuance from each game. More on those later, but very excited to get these last 5 in the system.

I had a couple of friends over tonight, so I got the game in good playable condition - all 100 games were available, and a handful were played. I took a new person through the history, beginning with Turf King, and ending with the Multi. Along the way I explained the evolution of features and gameplay.

After the pair had their fill, they asked me to 'show them how it was done'. After explaining that I mostly lose with occasional bright spots of winning, I was talked into playing Miss America '57 on the Multi. I fired it up, put in a handful of coins, and played a game - believe it or not (I still don't), in the one game of bingo pinball I played tonight, I hit 5 in a line in a white line for 300 replays!! I explained the reflex unit, and showed them the replay reset on the Multi. As the machine gun was going off, my wife poked her head downstairs and yelled, "I never get tired of that sound". Me, either.

All that said, I've been working on a fun, special episode of the podcast (will be released momentarily) and spent some time on Starlet. I have the roto feature working in game, and am working on a new, slightly improved way to light the lamps behind the roto unit. Once that's done, I should be able to test. Hopefully tomorrow will bring 101.

Thank you Dennis. Super excited to be rounding the largest corner.

Thanks NoQuarters! Now, if I could only do that every time... haha!

In other news... Starlet is done! Starlet is one of the three games that United produced with their unique moving numbers feature, the roto. The roto is comprised of eight numbers that move in a clockwise circle. I've never seen a Starlet in real life, but I will say that it's a great game. Horizontal in line winners can score separately from diagonal or vertical, meaning that you can get two different three in a row winners on the same card!

In Starlet's case, you can also earn a feature that allows 3 in a row to score as 4 or 4 as 5, but only on horizontal winners.

This is the second roto game I've played (I own a Caravan), and I have to say that I really enjoy the mix of features. Caravan replaces the horizontal scoring with red diagonal scoring.

So... that's 101! Down to 4 left. I also received the graphics for Acapulco needed.

I also couldn't resist and spent a moment at lunch looking at Shoot-A-Line. It's a very simple six card that uses a 28 hole playfield. I've got the code for that machine done now. I should be able to resist working on those alternate playfields, but I'm weak! One less to do later, and serves as a template for Shoot A Line '63.

And Caravan is complete!

This is one of my favorite games. This is the second of the three 'roto' games that United produced, and has some of the most beautiful artwork of any pinball machine (in my opinion).

Instead of the horizontal scoring in Starlet, Caravan brings back red diagonal scoring.

Lite-a-name scores a 5 in a line, as do corners, and the spotted numbers are reduced by two positions, but with the rollovers enabled, you can earn an additional four spotted numbers. With a total of five spotted numbers, and the eight rotating numbers in the center... that's a lot of scoring opportunity.

Did I mention that the special pocket awards all 8 balls on the next game?

Some games feel like you can't lose, then you get the lite-a-name feature lit another game with only one letter to go and all eight balls... and completely miss the rollovers through the whole game...

Love it! Three left!

... and the final United bingo using the standard 25 hole playfield is complete.

Stardust was the only game produced with two separate 'Roto' units - one per card.

The roto units are enabled at the same time.

There is no more scoring on red diagonals. Each card scores separately (second card is enabled on second coin).

There is a high-scoring feature: horizontal lines. Each horizontal 3-in-line can score as 4 or 4 as 5, but each horizontal line has to be enabled during coin play.

As United removed the spotted numbers, I was able to move the roto units to the left and right button. Pretty cool that these roto units can be rotated independently!

Alright, down to 2.

Well.... it turns out that there's ONE MORE game that I hadn't previously assigned properly. United's 3-4-5 is their first game using a standard playfield. No photos exist of this game on the Internet. Without a backglass photo, I cannot implement. I've put that firmly in the 'future' column for now.

I did finish implementation of Shoot a Line '63 while I was puzzling through the last of the United portioning on Stardust. I still have graphics to write for the Shoot a line games. One day soon.

Happy New Year everyone! Touchdown is complete! This game is quite odd inside. There is a motor variator disc in this and Acapulco that will allow for movement of the mixers for a set period of time. Implementing this would be absolutely insane.

I ended up implementing the mixer steps in the way of a standard Bally game.

Touchdown is one of only two games with the Magic Number feature. Magic Numbers are similar to Magic Squares, but allow for movement of six numbers at once. Fully qualified, you can move 24 of the 25 numbers and spot the static number 16!

Touchdown is also special as it is the only football-themed game.

One left on this playfield! Acapulco. I should be coming back to you later with the good news...

Thanks Vic! I've played a Touchdown and had a hard time with it. The magic numbers feature enables fully on a handful of coins, and your yellow and red odds jump easily. The problem is that almost all of the connecting lines are green!

This game also has one extra odds position on the green vs the other colors, so playing for your guaranteed double jump is important (it has pic a play).

It is a beautiful game, and the magic numbers really make it a lot of fun. I will say, for me, it is harder to keep the winning numbers in a quadrant in my head vs a magic squares game.

What's next? A lot! I have several additional projects that I will reveal through the coming year. I mentioned the schematic for my next project needing revision. I should have a moment to work on that in the coming weeks.

I am planning to refurb the cabinet, and have the additional playfields to wire up. It'll take a few days per playfield, then I have to work on those additional games.

There are a couple of playfields I do not have yet, so until that time, I'll fall a bit short of the 132-4 total games. I'm very happy (for now) with 105, though!

One Hundred Five Games Complete.....!!!!

The final game, Acapulco, is now complete.

Acapulco is a tremendous game. I am incredibly excited by this game. This game brings back the Magic Numbers from Touchdown (moving 24 of the 25 numbers on the bingo card), but adds some amazing new features.

First, Hole #16, if hit on the first, second or third ball, will advance your red odds all the way to the top when the feature is lit.

Another feature, all four stars score - now score a flat 600 replays, and the stars have been moved to number quadrant D. This keeps you putting in money until you can move all the numbers in that section.

And the final, and most powerful feature: one horizontal line will score similarly to a super line (3 scores as 4 and 4 scores as 5), but 5 in a row scores a unique set of super scores - almost double the standard 5 in a row odds. You can only choose one line, and have to choose the line before shooting your fourth ball. Very difficult - it looks like a LOT of fun to chase.

Now... to take a short break. The game had a lot of play this weekend from friends and relatives, and continues to hold up well.

During my 'break', I'm working on something new. I'm in the process of drawing that schematic I mentioned.

This is a completely new design, and unrelated to bingos.

I'm very excited (as always).

Haha, you know, maybe I didn't mention it.

All games have been pushed to the public repository at https://github.com/bingopodcast/bingos except for Acapulco, which I apparently didn't check into the private repo yet!

So, though the readme says 105 games available, it's really 104 (whoops!). I'll correct that ASAP.

Acapulco is in there now.

Small interlude - I've been working on a brand new EM game - not a pinball. Much more to come, but the design is complete and the first draft of the schematic is done. Here's a typical blurry pic. Announcement to come one day in the future...

IMG_20170107_022317_826 (resized).jpg

I started a thread to document the new EM game here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-em-arcade-game

Schematic inking is complete.

I probably have the largest collection (housed in a single cabinet )

I've been working on cabinet artwork for the past few days... And likely the next ten or so weeks.

I scanned my rev. b schematic for the multi. Will post around when reviewed.

Multi-Bingo Rev. B.pdf

Well, here 'tis. Doesn't look like much, but it was quite a challenge for someone as horrible at drawing anything as I am...

This is all that's needed to wire up every single game on the cabinet side. There is a set of Jones Plug documentation that will be incorporated in the eventual manual.

I could not find my Rev. A. schematic to scan. This was my working copy of Rev. A while I wired, and realized that I needed new coils or switches due to differences between how certain mechs worked and how I /thought/ they might work.

d0n that is a great looking Touchdown. The glasses on these really didn't hold up well and that one looks pretty darn perfect.

I think the artwork on the playfield and backglass of this game is fantastic, though I do wish the side art was better.

I also think the gameplay is a bit rough around the edges. It was the first of two games to use that rotating number feature, and while the feature is cool, the main color you can score in is green. The green odds do not step easily.

If fully working, it might go for a bit of money based on the condition I see. Around $800-1k might do it, though it looks like it is really really nice (so maybe more).

If not working, the cosmetics are still fantastic. $250-400? (If complete).

Diving back into programming a bit for the weekend. Ideally, I would like to sort out... one of the several other games with unique playfields.

I have less than 30 games left to program.