I had a chance to play about 8 games on Wonka this afternoon at Helicon Brewing. I watched the reveal stream, but this was my first time playing the game. A short review follows:

Shots and layout: this machine has a lot of quality shots from all 4 flippers. The shots are incredibly smooth. The ramps are very makable, and provide great flow. The left outlane was a drain monster, but I am guessing it will not be too bad in a HUO game. The particular machine I played did not have a post, which was operator’s choice. As such, that amplified the left outlane drains.

Art and Lightshow: the standard cabinet art is not great. I imagine it will be flanked by other pins in a 3+ pin lineup. I really liked the playfield artwork. It is bright, and there is no question that it screams Wonka. I disagree with some other reviews about the lack of lightshow. I saw it next to Pirates and DI, and think it has the best lightshow of the bunch. I imagine that people walking by the pin will stop and notice it due to the great lights. It really stands out.

Code: I’m not sure this is much of a mode based game. Although there are 6 modes, this seems like it will end up much more shallow than the other JJP pins. It does not appear that it will ever be anywhere near deep as The Hobbit, Pirates, WOZ or even DI (which has fantastic code). I have no idea what version of code the machine was running, but the code still has a lot of room to grow.

Theme Integration: I watched Wonka several times as a child, but would not call myself a huge fan of the theme. I did not notice that that were substantially more callouts and clips from the movies than the release stream, but I can’t say for sure. It does not appear that JJP got the same licensing deal from WB than they got with The Hobbit. Code is still early, so this can change. As it stands now, this is a major question mark.

Music and Callouts: I was able to hear the audio very well, and enjoyed it. It did not bother me at all. The melody from “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” is now stuck in my head.

Innovation: I really love the Wonkavision. It is much larger than JJP’s typical in-game LCD, and I believe this is a solid enhancement. There are also several shots (from various flippers and angles) under the screen, so it does not interfere with gameplay. Helpful instructions are provided on the screen.

I also really enjoyed the use of the camera throughout the game. It is a fun toy. I cannot recall whether photos are saved with high scores at this point, but I can not recall any.

The Gobstopper mech is not particularly innovative, but I enjoyed locking balls.

Final Thoughts: I believe this game has some pinball magic (though in no way is it connected to the gobstopper toy). As it stands now, my highlights are the shots and layout, the Wonkavision, the camera ramp in the back of the machine (upper right flipper), and the lightshow. We’ll have to wait and see on the code and theme integration.