(Topic ID: 131304)

When was the golden age of pinball?

By Deez

8 years ago


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    There are 75 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.
    #51 8 years ago

    1967-1976

    #52 8 years ago

    System11 era. Whirlwind set the apogee of pinball greatness.

    #53 8 years ago
    Quoted from Deez:

    I really enjoyed reading all these responses. It's amazing how vastly different people see the different eras of pinball. I didn't know back in the 1970's that pinball was so commonplace that you would find it everywhere. That would explain to me the huge amount of EMs that always seem to be floating around. They must've produced tons and tons of them if they're in the corner of every laundromat and Podunk bar.

    Not only pins, but ball bowlers and shuffle bowlers were in just about every single bar and bowling alley. Not to mention EM gun and sub games could also be found at your neighborhood discount and convenience stores. Games were everywhere.

    #54 8 years ago

    Up to the arrival of SS games.

    #55 8 years ago

    I would say right now. Most of us are lucky enough to own our own pinball machines and to me, it doesn't get any better than that.

    #56 8 years ago
    Quoted from wayout440:

    Not only pins, but ball bowlers and shuffle bowlers were in just about every single bar and bowling alley. Not to mention EM gun and sub games could also be found at your neighborhood discount and convenience stores. Games were everywhere.

    This must've been heaven. I remember growing up in the 80's that there were games in a lot of places. Unfortunately, my parents would never give me any money to play them. By the time I was making my own money caddying at the local country club, I'd mostly play fighting games. I wish I would've known a place to go to that had the BW 90's DMD games for me to play.

    #57 8 years ago

    I would say mid 1975 to about 1982. at least from what I have seen that was when alot of people remember seeing those kiss evil kneivel space invaders rolling stones black knight pins. gottlieb wedgeheads were neat too in the 60s.
    hard to say but I think to me I always thought that pocket between 1970s to early 80s

    #58 8 years ago
    Quoted from Deez:

    This must've been heaven. I remember growing up in the 80's that there were games in a lot of places. Unfortunately, my parents would never give me any money to play them. By the time I was making my own money caddying at the local country club, I'd mostly play fighting games. I wish I would've known a place to go to that had the BW 90's DMD games for me to play.

    marcs funtime pizza palace was a great location with a lineup of 90s games, cool ohio spot and there is a realy neat video someone put on youtube that shows a walk thru. place was huge and loaded with great games.

    I also heard of a older pinball spot in cleveland from a older guy who said it was called Rockys and the owner would paint his quarters red to see them in circulation.

    #59 8 years ago
    Quoted from rollinover:

    marcs funtime pizza palace was a great location with a lineup of 90s games, cool ohio spot and there is a realy neat video someone put on youtube that shows a walk thru. place was huge and loaded with great games.
    I also heard of a older pinball spot in cleveland from a older guy who said it was called Rockys and the owner would paint his quarters red to see them in circulation.

    Are you referring to Rocky's skating rink? I used to go there all the time as a kid. It's closed now but I rode my motorcycle past there the other day and peeked in the window. It still has this loud 80's tastic paintjob on all the walls. That's the place I remember playing f-14 tomcat for the first time.

    #60 8 years ago

    im going to change my vote..after reading this thread I realized the" golden age " was really the same years for all of us..age 11 thru our teenage years..before responsibility took over our lives ..no question different machines for different times but the same thrill and awe of the game if you were playing in 1955 or 1985..

    #61 8 years ago
    Quoted from Shapeshifter:

    1954.
    Simply stunning range of games that year
    Green Pastures, 1/54, 750 produced, A, 2 kick out holes, no gobble holes, no trap holes.
    Lovely Lucy, 2/54, 850 produced, B-, 6 gobble holes, backglass holdover replay feature.
    Mystic Marvel, 3/54, 1050 produced, A, 2 gobble holes, double-award, first game with "balls played" ball arch lights.
    Jockey Club, 4/54, 1150 produced, B, 5 gobble holes.
    Hawaiian Beauty, 5/54, 900 produced, A, 2 gobble holes, double-award, 3 pop bumpers below the flippers at bottom of playfield, balls played lights on lower ball arch.
    Dragonette, 6/54, 950 produced, B+, 5 trap holes, double-award, BALL COLLECT TRAY, complete side bumpers 1 to 8 in order to light playfield replays, outstanding Roy Parker backglass and playfield art.
    Daisy May, 7/54, 600 produced, A+, 2 kick out holes, no gobble holes, no trap holes, double-award, 4 flippers at bottom of playfield, BALL COLLECT TRAY.
    Gold Star, 8/54, 700 produced, C, 7 gobble holes, double-award, balls played lights on lower ball arch.
    Lady Luck, 9/54, 700 produced, B, 4 gobble holes, 3 kick out holes, double-award, "balls played" ball arch lights.
    4-Belles, 10/54, 400 produced, B+, 5 trap holes, double-award, Four Belles was an exact copy of Dragonette (6/54) except for different artwork. Because of that, this game uses a BALL COLLECT TRAY (and hence no "balls played" lights) and does not have a game over relay. LAST GAME TO USE TRAP HOLES, complete side bumpers 1 to 8 in order to light playfield replays, outstanding Roy Parker backglass and playfield art.
    End of Trap Hole era.
    Diamond Lill, 12/54, 700 produced, A, 2 kick out holes, no gobble holes, no trap holes, double-award, center horseshoe around a pop bumper, reverse flippers. Has the old style BALL COLLECT TRAY (and hence no "balls played" lights) and does not have a game over relay (probably because this game was designed earlier and not released).
    Super Jumbo, 10/54, 500 produced, 4 player, Gottlieb's first 4 player woodrail game with score reels. Replays only awarded based on score.
    Stage Coach, 11/54, 650 produced, B, 5 gobble holes, "balls played" ball arch lights.

    ^^^^^What he said. Regardless if you like or have even seen a woodrail, that isn't the point. In that year they made over 1 game PER MONTH, in an era where EVERYTHING was done by hand. No computers, no copy machines (3D or otherwise), no CAD, not even a calculator. No just-in-time inventory, noFedex, no email, no faxes, just typewriters. And they shipped out over 50 games PER DAY, all year. Think about that. And over one new game per month, from concept to design to production to the loading dock. Hand-drawn schematics, art of a quality that has stood the test of time, complex logic (for the time), and not one preorder in the bunch. Of course, no OSHA and no EPA probably helped a bit too

    #63 8 years ago
    Quoted from Deez:

    Are you referring to Rocky's skating rink? I used to go there all the time as a kid. It's closed now but I rode my motorcycle past there the other day and peeked in the window. It still has this loud 80's tastic paintjob on all the walls. That's the place I remember playing F-14 Tomcat for the first time.

    not sure if it was a skating rink, I thought it was a pinball only location, didnt even know there was a rocky skating rink thats pretty neat. I used to go out to this huge place on the east side, with a indoor putt putt and giant waterfall and rows of arcade games. I think it was out near willoughby, I cant remember the name but it was all indoor and then one day it was just shut down back in the late 80s. Would love to know more about local places from that golden time!

    #64 8 years ago

    I don't think the "golden age" is necessarily one's favorite period. I'm a 90s B/W guy, but don't think that's the "golden" age. The golden age of comics starts with Action comics and Superman, the golden age of movies started with the end of silent movies. I think 1947 has to be the start of the golden age of pinball and it runs for a decade or two, it's when pinball became pinball.

    #65 8 years ago

    The golden age of pinball was about 2 weeks ago when I hosted league night in my new gameroom. It's all been downhill since then.

    #66 8 years ago
    Quoted from Shapeshifter:

    4-Belles, 10/54, 400 produced, B+, 5 trap holes, double-award, Four Belles was an exact copy of Dragonette (6/54) except for different artwork. Because of that, this game uses a BALL COLLECT TRAY (and hence no "balls played" lights) and does not have a game over relay. LAST GAME TO USE TRAP HOLES, complete side bumpers 1 to 8 in order to light playfield replays, outstanding Roy Parker backglass and playfield art.

    Going to look at a super sweet 4 Belles this weekend; stoked!!!

    #67 8 years ago

    I would have to say now as well. Many of us that grew up in the arcade days can afford to buy some of those games. The internet makes it possible to find games, parts, and info on how to fix games. Great fun games are still being made. Being involved in pinball as a hobby instead of casually playing now and then is lot more fun.

    #68 8 years ago

    The early 1930's for sure. Hundreds of manufacturers and they couldn't make them fast enough with huge runs like Baffle Ball and Bally Hoo....
    These are the roots of the games you love to cherish today. This era is always being forgotten for the newer LED stuff, so lets show it the respect it deserves. No other era can even begin to compare.

    John P. Dayhuff
    Battle Creek, MI.
    269-979-3836

    #69 8 years ago
    Quoted from Deez:

    I really enjoyed reading all these responses. It's amazing how vastly different people see the different eras of pinball. I didn't know back in the 1970's that pinball was so commonplace that you would find it everywhere. That would explain to me the huge amount of EMs that always seem to be floating around. They must've produced tons and tons of them if they're in the corner of every laundromat and Podunk bar.

    They were everywhere. Bars, laundromats, convenience stores, bowling alleys, skating rinks, you name it, they were there. And usually more than one.

    You had three manufacturers going and a fourth, CCM, throwing in the occasional game.

    Really, even into the early 80s and the dawn of SS, they were still going. Video games really hurt them,even though they came back.

    But the amount of games you find on location now is just a small drop in the bucket of games that used to be on location.

    #70 8 years ago
    Quoted from EMsInKC:

    They were everywhere. Bars, laundromats, convenience stores, bowling alleys, skating rinks, you name it, they were there. And usually more than one.
    You had three manufacturers going and a fourth, CCM, throwing in the occasional game.
    Really, even into the early 80s and the dawn of SS, they were still going. Video games really hurt them,even though they came back.
    But the amount of games you find on location now is just a small drop in the bucket of games that used to be on location.

    Yes, I loved going to the grocery store with my parents. The local A&P had 2 machines.

    #71 8 years ago

    For me, it's now for all the reasons already discussed - access to information, great condition machines, endless information on maintenance and restoration. It would be nice if machines were less expensive but you can't have it all.

    #72 8 years ago

    The "Golden Age" of pinball occurred during the 1970s and early 80s. There has only been one Golden Age. It is a term defined by the popularity, proliferation and commercial success of pinball. After the early 80s, pinball was never the same and was in decline and still is today. In 1980 during the Golden Age there were at least 3-4 arcades in every town. Now there are virtually zero.

    #73 8 years ago

    I am going to say 1975-1982 as well. Not only were Arcades dominated by pins but they were everywhere. Every grocery store I can remember around us had one or two pins. Some of the drug stores and almost every discount department store had three or four. Every pizza joint had them about half of the gas stations had them. The local VFW and American Legions had one or two. All the bowling alleys and even a lot of hotels had game rooms with pins in them.

    Trying to find pins on location now is almost impossible. I live in a area of over 100,000 and the pickings are slim to say the least. But back in the late 70's early 80's they were everywhere.

    #74 8 years ago

    For me, the Golden Age is NOW! I was finally able to buy some 50's 60's and 70's pins and am playing the heck out of them.

    #75 8 years ago
    Quoted from DefaultGen:

    I don't think the "golden age" is necessarily one's favorite period. I'm a 90s B/W guy, but don't think that's the "golden" age. The golden age of comics starts with Action comics and Superman, the golden age of movies started with the end of silent movies. I think 1947 has to be the start of the golden age of pinball and it runs for a decade or two, it's when pinball became pinball.

    This is the best answer so far.

    There are 75 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.

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