No.. I don't think I will. It will have very light play for the rest of its life.

If you change your mind, I created a template. Remember that for this title, the ball is contacted at approximately the same spot everytime as the "target" area never changes for at least the first shot. Your game looks great and lucky there is no wear! Congrats on a fun game

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/strikes-n-spares-gottlieb-95-club#post-4545741

Doesn’t someone sell custom balls for this game? I just picked one up that had rusty balls which caused a lot of playfield wear. I’d like to buy new custom balls for it. I thought I’ve seen them before

This is where I got mine. Way cheaper than other sources.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RBZ168N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00

Make sure you are using the proper Gottlieb flipper rubber. Not having that causes wear down by the flippers on Gottlieb games.

can anyone help me with a manual for strikes n spares. i acquired a very nice one but has some wiring issues that need addressed.

Steve Young - PBR
He’s the official licensee for Gottlieb materials. pbresource.com

Any consensus? I just talked to Steve and he said “it should say L5” but my game says “/6”
For the ROM. Looking for some guidance.
Also what menu option is free play? I didn’t find it anywhere but some people are saying they found a Freeplay option? Someone said tournament mode is freeplay?

Can reach an agreement?

Hello! New to the club! Mine's almost working 100%...

Just picked up my Strikes 'N Spares yesterday and spent some time disassembling the playfield ramps and other parts to give it a good cleaning. I also swapped the bulbs under the playfield to LEDs. Once I got everything back together, it all worked fine with ONE exception: one of the plastic bowling pins now comes down as it should during a new frame, but then instantly goes right back up before you launch the ball and take your shot. I'm assuming I have a switch closed or something, but I do not have a manual to reference. The pin that goes up automatically before taking your shot, does not register it as scoring unless the rollovers are hit when playing. So it scores/plays as intended when playing - with just the exception of the one single pin not being in the down position as it should.

Curious if anyone out there has had this same issue or if anyone has any opinions on how I can troubleshoot (what should I be looking for?) - Thanks for any help! Also, happy to take a video if I'm not explaining the issue well enough.

EDIT: The issue ended up being the mechanism that lowers and raises that individual bowling pin. It appeared to operate just fine, but it wouldn't catch on the latch that keeps the bowling pin in the down position. I solved the issue by just applying a tiny amount of lubricant to the mechanism to give it a greater range of motion with less friction. It was enough to solve the issue. I think I'll end up taking each of them apart to clean them.

Looking to join the club soon but have a question. I was wondering if anyone can tell me the height of the game with the back box folded down? I being told it might not fit in my explorer.

Not sure on an explorer, but it did not fit my 2016 escape. About an inch too tall. If no one else can help, I can try to get a measurement on mine.

you're going to need 37" in height clearance to fit it in.

So I'm taking the plunge and doing my first attempt at a rebuild and re-theme of my newly acquired Strikes N Spares to the The Big Lebowski bowler as Pinstein previously has done. (that's his picture below, not mine) I know the purists out there probably hate that I'm changing a game that only had 750 made and maybe only a few hundred exists anymore, but to hell with the haters - lol

Anyway, I've discovered the customer messages you can add in attract mode and have tried a few things to see what would look good. (see pics below - and don't worry I'm not keeping those LEDs in there) What I'm wondering now is if there is a way to add custom sounds/callouts to the soundboard on these games? I know pinsound has some options for newer machines, but not sure if anything is available for an Gottlieb from 1995? I want to change the back ground music to the dream sequence in the movie and change some callouts to actual quotes from the movie. Any help is greatly appreciated.

sns1 (resized).jpeg

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tbl1 (resized).jpeg

One came up locally I was very much interested in looking at with the sole purpose of doing a conversion... but the asking price was too high, $3K (CDN) for a Strikes&Spares is a complete non-starter for me. Especially since it is going to take another $1K to get all those nice Lebowski artwork across the boarder.

I bought Strikes N Spares with the same purpose of doing the retheme. I bought Pin2dmd displays and plan on adding some custom dots to the display. Still on the back burner as I finish up some other projects.

Thanks! Next question is what degree is recommended for the playing field?

I paid way too much for mine, even by Los Angeles standards. I figure I'll have a total of about $3,200+ into it by the time I'm done with the conversion (getting some powder coating done on the legs and lock down too), but I figure I'll keep it for a long time and having it as a Big Lebowski will open it up to a much larger market if/when I decide to sell. I personally have always wanted a bowler and I don't have the room for a large shuffle bowler, so this fits the bill perfectly. It's also VERY approachable for anyone who isn't into pinball, everyone knows the game of bowling. Making it a Lebowski just makes it even more fun. I think the game play is great for what it is.

I haven't really messed with mine much once I set it up, let me check and get back to you on it.

I didn't even know this existed. Doing a deep dive now.

IN THE CLUB!

I had the same thought! The limited time I do have in the PIN2DMD editor though has pretty much scared me away from doing anything custom on it, my brain just doesn't click with it. Keep the thread updated if you do something, would be really cool to see.

I went all through the settings (also don't have a manual) and could not find a timed flip setting or anything specific. I did see the strike difficulty setting. I'll mess with that to see if it makes it act like yours.

Got started on some of the conversion. I had to cut out about an extra half inch on the marquee so the word "Lebowski" would be lit up. Planning on installing the rest of the cab decals next weekend.

TBLa (resized).jpeg

TBLb (resized).jpeg

Looks so good. Following closely. Keep the group updated.

Changed out the GI lights to non-colored LEDs and added the side blades today. Project is now on pause until after Thanksgiving. I'm still hoping to figure out a way to add TBL music and callouts after I get the cosmetic finished.

TBLc (resized).jpeg

I put the strike difficulty on very hard and can still cradle the ball and take a timed shot. I wonder if yours or my game has an issue. I've played 3 or 4 of these and they all allow a cradle for a precise shot attempt.

Any other owners able to chime in?

You can always cradle the ball. There is no time setting for that. I think the very hard strike setting is referring to switch activation sequences for make a strike.

That does seem to be the case. I thought I read somewhere in here that another pinsider's game wouldn't allow a cradle. Glad to know mine is fine, though.

I am pretty sure his case was a combination of playfield pitch along with flipper alignment or flipper stoke length. Where his ball would just roll off the end of the flipper if he attempted to cradle.

I could be totally incorrect.

I believe in the manual that you’re not supposed to be able to cradle it. I’d have to ask Steve Young, he remembers it fondly. I have my setup to allow cradles because why not? Lol

No cradles in my opinion...a set up shot like that makes it too easy....The timing is supposed to be a skill shot.

Please adjust your playfield angle as designed, which I think makes it a bit more fair for all players..

What is the recommended angle?

I totally agree, no cradling. I don’t think there is a setting to prevent it.

I used to own this machine and so did a buddy of mine, his was set so he could cradle the ball and "cheated" all of the time...Mine was set where you couldn't catch and release it, if you didn't hit the ball it would fall off, of the flipper, so there must be a proper angle to prevent holding..not sure of the actual degree might be.

This game, like all System 3s, has a very steep flipper angle (flipper travel is more than other modern games). I can't imagine a playfield pitch that would cause the ball to roll off and not allow a cradle. I just believe this is the way the game is. No one has advised of a setting that would stop the cradle, so I believe it was the factory intention to allow it.

Finally got my game in the basement. Turned it on, 5 mins in during attract mode, it started to do the ball cycle thing. It’s been on for a couple hours now, no games played, and it hasn’t done the ball cycle again.

Do you have an uneven number of balls in the game? Maybe it's calibrating where the balls are at the start. Maybe a switch isn't seeing a ball. Does it do this for only one side or both and several balls worth?

4 usable balls per side. 6 decoration.

Maybe it is a calibration thing. I have been playing the game daily for the past week and leaving the game powered up for long periods of time (12 plus hours) and I haven’t experienced any cycling of balls during attract mode.

The only thing I can think of, cycling occurs when a connector on a board becomes unplugged and then reseated.
First time I ever got the game I had unplugged all the connectors to reseat them as the game had sat for a number of years un-used. I had cycling then. Then it stopped.

I had removed the head of the game to get it into the basement. When reconnected, I had a cycling when I first powered on. None since.

Could be just coincidence.

Can anyone recommend how to fix the issue of the kicker not being able to kick balls into the return lanes? It struggles greatly if there’s more than one ball in the back.
I’ll rebuilt it but it looks good right now. It’s nice and clean, hard to imagine the rebuilt will fix this issue

What’s the latest code it’s supposed to show? I believe mine is L114

First off, if you have the manual (I don’t), verify they coils are the correct ones. Next would change the coil sleeves and make sure there are no burrs on the plunger.

These two things are the ones I would suspect if both kickout are struggling to pop out the balls.

What's one of these things go for these days? Ever since I got my shuffle alley, it just kind of sits there not getting played.

I'm thinking you're correct. A wire for my battery holder fell off the board so I took it out and had my buddy fix it for me. When I powered everything back on, it required the yellow CPU board button reset like it always does. After a couple minutes of being powered on, it went through the ball cycling. Then it stopped and hasn't done it since.

I'm guessing following the reset, it's trying to figure out where the balls are and runs through a calibration to get them where they need to be.

Tim here at the Pinball Hall of Fame.

We bought this game new and have been running it for years. VERY popular machine.

The constant kicking problem was covered by a Gottlieb issued tech update. You have to wipe all resisters in your ram by pulling the battery out. For some reason if the ram had a certain combination of digits it caused the program to go into a loop. I didn't think this would have been possible, but I did as the update required, and the problem went away. Every couple years, it happens again, and I take the "free repair" and get one with other more pressing problems.

The problem with the balls not being fed by the hole kicker is another fix covered by Gottlieb when the game came out. The delay spring on the kicker arm is the same spring they used on their regular pinballs with the 1 1/16th ball. The larger ball in this game causes the spring to delay too much and not allow the full stroke. You can shorten the exsisting spring by 10 to 15 percent, or find a stiffer spring.

Thanks for the tips Tim!

After debating buying this for years…literally years…I finally splurged and bought a NOS playfield. Seems a little silly for this game, but I’ll probably clear coat it before installing.

B788E9A1-7516-4705-8FE2-F991F8748859 (resized).jpeg

I too bought an NOS Pf. I think it needs a clear coat for sure. Soooo many have wear at the flippers.

Does your NOS pf have the factory mylar that stops before the flippers?

No mylar at all.

Where?! I could use one

I saw one for sale on the Pinball Resource website not too long ago. $600 I think was the price.

The flipper wear on this game and on most Gottlieb games is caused by installing the incorrect flipper rubber. If operators would've used the proper rubber, they wouldn't wear in that area. Since it is NOS, may as well clear it, but I don't think it is necessary if you use the correct rubber. Where did you get that, if you don't mind saying? I know (or thought) PBR had sold all his inventory.

Can anyone confirm the exact proper leg length for this game? Mine came with powder coated WPC legs and they are not right. It sits high using those legs on the lower leg bolt holes. Should it be 27 on those holes? Or 31 on the higher set of holes? I don't have a manual to confirm.

Thanks for any info.