Gottlieb

Bank-A-Ball

Pinside Rating

This game received 31 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.203 _/10

8.203

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #42 in the Pinside EM Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.309

Artwork: 8.324

Sounds/Music: 2.373

Other Aspects: 8.103

Pinside staff rating

None of the Pinside.com staff have rated this game. Sorry, no rating from us.

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Found 21 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 21 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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8.895/10

6 months ago

SAL

Scottflips

Pinside member

6y 44,400 27 34 23

It doesn’t get much better than this wedgehead. The dual backglass animation is charming, but that’s not what keeps you coming back … it’s the just-one-more game challenge of trying to collect either all of the solids or stripes (or both!) to get the middle side lanes lit for specials.

Achieve it once, and you’ll think you can do it every time. Good luck. The gap between the flippers and the easily found out lanes make for a a lot of nudging and careful shots using those 2-inch flippers.

Some folks don’t like the minty paint scheme, but I think it looks pretty nice in my lineup.

If you enjoy single-player, short-flipper wedgeheads then grab this one if you can.

Scottflips currently owns this game.

9.842/10

1 year ago

FBA

Deerlakes6

Pinside member

Springdale, PA

7y 65,700 155 8 30

Just an amazing pin..the layout..the features of the balls being lit up then disappearing ..pool balls in backglass..very innovative and its definitely a keeper..it always draws a crowd and I believe the pin was ahead of its Time..everything about the pinball is simply spectacular

Deerlakes6 has owned this game in the past.

8.254/10

2 years ago

DEB

Dbaum88

Pinside member

Roswell, GA

11y 90,050 1,274 8 78

Great game. Made the year I was born. First pin with return lanes. I love these mechanical backglasses. Beautiful pin.

Dbaum88 currently owns this game.

7.086/10

3 years ago

ED

oilspot

Pinside member

Dover-foxcroft, ME

6y 46,050 202 10 6

If I were reviewing this game in the 60s, I would probably rate it higher, just for the Italian bottom, the first of it's kind. Large gap between the flippers but then that's why there's five balls I guess. Cool backglass animation feature. All around fun game even if the hole between the flippers is a bit wide for modern tastes. Roy Parker's artwork is lovely, though this isn't his best.

oilspot currently owns this game.

7.542/10

3 years ago

???

Coolpezman

Pinside member

3y 21,000 1 15

such a wide open playfield

8.533/10

3 years ago

TOM

marioparty34

Pinside+ Frequent

5y 176K 1,459 123 2

I play this everytime I see it.

marioparty34 edited previous rating on February 01, 2023.

8.853/10

4 years ago

JSH

John-H

Pinside member

Norman, OK

4y 38,150 19 10 37

My favorite pool-themed game and one of the best of the 60s. It looks like it would get old but it simply does not.

That unusual green color really makes this game stick out in a room. This isn't the most fun artwork but I like the guy putting an LP on the player and the funny plastics on the left. The backbox animation is super neat but please be warned those little pool balls are known to be very fragile. The lights behind the balls on the backglass turn off for an extra animation too.

Great mix of easy and hard shots on this symmetrical playfield. That 8-ball target just dares you to hit it the whole game. Top notch game here and I always hope to see one at shows.

*Wife approval* I'll have to remember to return to edit this part - been awhile since I've seen this game but her uncle just revived one from the dead. She thinks the name "Bank-A-Ball" is funny so we're starting off well.
- She finally got to play it and it's a hit. "This is neat!" Scored over 800 on her first play too - not bad. Got a kick out of the lower left plastic.

John-H edited previous rating on March 31, 2024.

9.443/10

4 years ago

???

WTB1000

Inactive member

Louisville, KY

5y 15,000 1 2 7

EM Pinball Rating.

WTB1000 has owned this game in the past.

8.921/10

6 years ago

???

Vintage-Pinball

Pinside+ Frequent

Linton

11y 61,550 747 28 10

A great game. I cannot play it enough.

Vintage-Pinball currently owns this game.

9.005/10

7 years ago

HMI

Crjfan

Pinside member

10y 34,650 37 36 18

My first single-player Em. Love the artwork, the layout, the bell sounds and the gameplay. Great player and rare to find over here in Europe.

Crjfan currently owns this game.

8.740/10

8 years ago

VCP

Vic_Camp

Pinside member

Clifton, NJ

12y 103K 1,849 44 28

I remember playing this Classic wedgehead at the Casino Arcade on the boardwalk in Seaside Hts N.J. back in 1966. This game plays just the real pool game of 8 ball does. If a player makes 1 thru 7(solids/low balls) or 9 thru 15 (stripes/high balls) the center 8 ball target will light for SPECIAL. Once the 8 ball is made after a player has made either 1-7 or 9-15 the left & right center rollovers light for SPECIAL. Exciting playing game too play once a player has dropped all 15 pool balls down in the backglass. Nice tight pop bumper arrangement for plenty of good ball action which is key to making or knocking out numbered pool balls on stand up bull eye targets or top arch rollovers lanes. Beautiful artwork on playfield and backglass with a different light green colored cabinet instead of the basic white colored cabinet Gottlieb used on alot of their wedgeheads in the 1960's.The game belongs on the top of the list with the other great classic animated Gottlieb wedgeheads for sure. A true EM player can really feel the electricity,bells banging and knocker popping flowing through his blood when he becomes one with this sensational player ! Got to go now and play mine after all this talk.....

Vic_Camp currently owns this game.

6.254/10

9 years ago

CWE

Zorgar

Inactive member

Göttingen

9y 16,250 43

One of many pool themed pinball tables and maybe the ugliest of them all. Collect the numbers just like on many, many other tables. No drop targets because their days were still coming. Neither will you find a roto-target or any backglass game. First game with inlanes.

Zorgar edited previous rating on December 04, 2014.

7.713/10

10 years ago

ROB

RobKnapp

Pinside member

Colorado Springs, CO

13y 110K 3,116 13 183

Hard to find Fun EM

9.032/10

10 years ago

JSG

oldcarz

Pinside+ Addict

Holland, PA

10y 71,400 478 27 6

I recently bought an excellent restoration of Bank-A-Ball. I was delighted to find one with great backglass and playfield. The restorer, who is quite partial to the game himself, made sure that the game played "as it should" and all the flippers and mechanicals work wonderfully.

I remember this game vividly as it was one of my teen age favorites from 50 years ago. At that time, I was a regular at the arcades and Bank-A-Ball was one of the games that kept calling me back. (I also liked "Riverboat").

The game is simple in rules: hit the appropriate numbered targets and rollovers. A neat animation in the wedgehead shows a corresponding plastic ball for each of the targets. Once the target is hit, the corresponding ball falls onto a rack and is displayed. Following a little of the pool table theme, you can get a replay for hitting all the solid colored balls (1-8) or the striped balls (9-15). Get them all and a center target with the 8 ball will light and hitting that gives another replay.

Like many of the electro-mechanical games of the era, the scoring is lower relative to the high scoring games of the solid states. No multi-balls or fancy ramps and loops and multipliers, etc. that bring scores into the millions, or billions. With Bank-A-Ball, you get excited when the pops give you 10 points and the bonus gives you 50. Scoring 1,000 points is a great game and will give you a replay.

Good vintage fun...sit on a stool with a beer. A classic!

oldcarz has owned this game in the past.

7.904/10

10 years ago

SS

Shapeshifter

Pinside member

13y 150K 10,466 8 144

Another classic Gottlieb with great artwork. Game is very addictive as usually fall one number short and they are tough to hit due to locations and small targets. Found that the number 8 spoiled the flow a little. Prefer Sure Shot and Bank Shot for pool games but artwork better on this game. Will update if I get more plays on this.

Shapeshifter edited previous rating on December 21, 2013.

8.703/10

10 years ago

GM

BallyWizard

Inactive member

London

10y 34,150 2 24 98

This is a very, very good game. So much so that I've just bought a really lovely example. Simple rule set used in various guises and excellent artwork make this a top 10 game for sure.

BallyWizard edited previous rating on November 10, 2013.
BallyWizard has owned this game in the past.

10.000/10

10 years ago

ROG

bearsfan27

Inactive member

Omaha, NE

11y 27,400 148 19 14

The first game with flipper in lanes. The start of modern pinball as we know it. Very easy rules. Get 1-7 or 9-15 to light the special. One of the all time classics.

bearsfan27 currently owns this game.

8.299/10

10 years ago

DAN

Rat_Tomago

Pinside member

Plano, TX

11y 107K 3,491 22

This was the very first EM I ever bought. This game is fun at first but after 3 months it will get very stale. It is a pool, theme and the first game that introduced return lanes straight to the flipper. The theme is fun but I think there are better pool games out there like Big Shot but it was years later before we saw drop targets. 2 inch flippers make this game hard to get used to and make it a challenge to get it past the pop bumpers and back to the top. The pool balls that fall down in the backglass as you collect the balls is very nice. I wouldn't buy this game again to own because It would feel like I have "been there and done that". If you collect 60's Gottliebs then this would be one you would want to get. I would recommend it's add-a-ball cousin "Flipper Pool" instead.

Rat_Tomago has owned this game in the past.

8.746/10

11 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,455 51 1011

Classic Gottleib Wedgehead pinball fury unleashed!

The Pros:
A brilliant PF with a timeless "simple but not easy" ruleset that keeps you saying... Day-um! I thought I could play pinball!?!?! The pf is open and allows for shots up and down the PF with ease and make sure that your ability to knock down the targets/balls is really up to you. Great action in the pops means that your game will move with surprising speed if you aren't on point. The balls dropping into the "rack" keep you well informed of your progress and taunt you with, Can't you hit that last target? with each glance at the wedgehead. The 7/15 center lane is a must-hit shot that requires nudging and patience with each plunge. The blend of challenge and frustration is incredibly well realized with this table.

The Cons:
The blend of challenge and frustration is incredibly well realized with this table.

The Takeaway:
Master K makes you work for every ball that drops down on the BG. All bow down to the power of The Krynski! "Just one more game, I know I can get that last target down and knock that special!" The hooks are in... how hard are you gonna fight?

8.184/10

11 years ago

B13

Bribo13

Pinside member

Ortonville, MI

12y 70,550 412 24 69

Very colorfull and fun game, love this machine, it is tougher than it looks, i belive it was one of the first with return lanes in the outlane. ?? I think it is a chalangeing machine.

9.611/10

11 years ago

JMS

John_in_NC

Pinside member

Chapel Hill, NC

15y 95,050 1,960 19 26

One of the classic animated backglass wedgeheads from the 60s, a must own. Animated backglass, classic layout, nostalgic, It has everything I look for in an EM.

John_in_NC edited previous rating on April 14, 2020.
John_in_NC currently owns this game.

1

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