Bally

Black Rose

Pinside Rating

This game received 298 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.689 _/10

7.689

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #147 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.715

Artwork: 7.759

Sounds/Music: 7.065

Other Aspects: 7.814

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 8 of us have rated this game.

7.066

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Found 145 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 145 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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7.532/10

6 years ago

MIK

Micky

Mad Mickys

7y 168K 3,045 42

A very underrated game.
It looks so simple but once you start playing you realise just how much fun it is. The way it plays and flows is very enjoyable.
The sounds and music are just great. The way it ramps up the music as you play is something that is sadly missing in many modern pins.

8.820/10

6 years ago

SFS

sservas

Pinside member

Suwanee, GA

18y 41,250 8 8 10

Black Rose is a fun game and has many challenging shots the multi ball lock is great and sinking the ships is rewarding and not easy. The area that gets kinda boring for me are the pop bumpers, its tough to get points up in that area and often leads to those nasty direct down the middle ball loss of balls or bounce down the side drains. The ramps are fun and jack pot shot is very rewarding to collect. Overall a fun game in my opinion and worth a try.

sservas has owned this game in the past.

9.680/10

6 years ago

APB

Whitewater

Whitewater mods

Manly

8y 47,050 220 22 14

This table is very underrated.

It is a great game and even my wife enjoys it! The pirate theme is awesome and visitors to my house always gravitate straight towards the black rose. Sinking a ship still gives me a thrill and the changing music as you progress through the game really adds to the atmosphere gaming experience. The graphics on the dmd could be a bit better, but outswimming the shark is fantastic. I love this pin and enjoy it as much as my AFM. Great toys and a nice flow make this a game that can be enjoyed by both beginners and pin heads alike.

Whitewater currently owns this game.

8.940/10

6 years ago

JWO

JeremyON

Pinside+ Frequent

7y 49,150 62 39 3

ARRRR...matey! Who doesn't like a classic pirate theme? This machine is more timeless than Stern's POTC and half the price. Lot's of video modes make the machine stand out. The stock outlanes gobble balls a lot. I cured the excessive outlane drains by adding some rubber to the up posts and bending the inlane-outlane divider rail over toward the outlane slightly. With these mods, the outlane drain frequency is now comparable to a modern Stern. Love the pop-up cannon. Love the "swashbuckling" pops. The GI lighting uses a lot of dimming/flashing during play and may not respond very well to change over to LEDs. Using LEDs only in the playfield inserts makes sense for this one. The light show is excellent. Playfield can be rather dark in the back though, so nice to add a couple of spotlights to illuminate the ship, a yellow LED strip to illuminate the ball lock area, and a white strip to illuminate Davey Jones' locker ramp. Nice classic pin with timeless theme. Good for a quick game and very satisfying to sink ships.

JeremyON edited previous rating on May 28, 2019.

7.632/10

7 years ago

ROB

Robertstone0407

Pinside member

Marysville, OH

7y 122K 3,054 9 64

Great game at a pretty affordable price point. Cannon is fun, love sinking ships and pirate theme is on point. Lots of multiballs but not crazy deep rules. Still a very fun casual game.

5.435/10

7 years ago

ROB

aerobert

Inactive member

8y 57,800 489 2 57

Such a waste of a fun theme. The center cannon ramp is such a drag, and the pf layout is simply uninspired to say it nice. One of williams worst DMD games. Don't know why it's held in such a high regard.

5.255/10

7 years ago

GPS

onetaste

Pinside member

Adelaide Hills

10y 63,650 142 23 114

Possibly the most one dimensional bally williams dmd

7.880/10

7 years ago

KEN

Kenz

Pinside member

Unknown

8y 58,800 397 19 57

Played it at a meet. Fun game. The ramp down the middle can be a bit off putting for some.

9.139/10

7 years ago

ZAC

zacaj

RPC

Rochester, NY

11y 158K 10,383 84 122 1

Amazed this game isn't more popular. Cool layout, with lots of planning about how to get from one shot to the next, different things from different flippers, etc. Great ruleset with multiple strategies, each of which weave in and out of the others to give a good advantage to planning ahead. Challenging multiball which requires good ball control and juggling skills. You need to set it up tough though, or it can be really unbalanced. 15s double boadside, 4s right ramp, no letters to start, alternating ramps in multiball... My only real complaint is that double broadside is cumulative, and that the upper flipper/cannon aren't used in multiball.

zacaj currently owns this game.

7.124/10

7 years ago

TBK

xTheBlackKnightx

Pinside member

8y 128K 4,097 137

"Queen of the High Seas"?
Unfortunately, not.

Another "hit 'n miss" title from John Trudeau.
Fun, but clunky.
Good for a few rounds.
The problem with the game design lies in game leveling.
You have to keep things like the cannon ABSOLUTELY level, or the game is just unplayable, with the ball hopping air balls and causing flying ramp shots.
The same goes for dialing in all the ramps.
I REALLY disliked the ramp down the middle of the playfield, as it obstructs the player's view.
The sinking ships gets repetitive quickly (ie center cannon shot), as progress seems uneventful, leading to comments of one dimensional gameplay, which is entirely correct.

When I owned the machine, I felt like always I was battling the machine in a poor way, even though it was in good shape.
If you have not owned one, you probably do not know what I am talking about here.
You won't keep the machine forever, you will sell it, but enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Dots and animations were above average for the time period.
Ruleset is average.
Shots are tight and achievable, but just do not offer the best satisfaction.
Strong flippers are required for both the whirlpool and backside ramp shot.
Artwork package all around is good, but the reds notoriously fade.

Game needs to drop below the top #100 quickly, there are many more better games from the same rough period out there.

Even today, it is roughly a $1800-2000 game.
DO NOT spend an Ebay $5k pricetag on this title, geezus!

10.000/10

7 years ago

SLV

maddysdaddy

Inactive member

Lady Lake, FL

8y 21,250 5 1 17

bangin

maddysdaddy has owned this game in the past.

7.895/10

8 years ago

AMK

amkoepfer

Pinside member

Toledo, OH

9y 162K 4,922 23 51

Good shots, fun game

9.940/10

8 years ago

???

mazzzulatoro

Inactive member

Riccione

12y 19,000 56

Great pinball, good design TransLite, playfield beautiful, gorgeous theme and attractive music, truly one of the best pinball machine ever made in the era of the gold Bally, one of the 90

9.100/10

8 years ago

ALB

BertoDRINK1

Pinside member

Acworth, GA

8y 75,800 586 27 25

Awesome game lots of fun. Before I knew the rules it was still fun and easy enough to understand.

BertoDRINK1 currently owns this game.

8.980/10

8 years ago

A$$

Bohdi

Pinside member

Burnsville, MN

11y 68,550 2,839 3 7

Very Underrated game. Owned it for a year and never got tired of it. Hope to have another some day. Always a favorite of guests. Love the theme, layout and gameplay. Video modes get a little old, but still fun. Good flow and love the callouts. When LED'd properly, it looks fantastic. Sound is great too. Sinking ships never gets old. Overall a keeper in my book.

Bohdi has owned this game in the past.

6.016/10

8 years ago

EDH

TigerLaw

Pinside Moderator

Jennings, LA

14y 224K 20,098 24 240

Somewhat of a one trick pony in my view.

7.448/10

8 years ago

ACE

wingnut707

Pinside member

10y 32,900 5 2 39

Black Rose is a childhood machine so I will try not to take any bias.

It's mid. There is a lot worth going for but your main goal is to sink ships. Shots are good, but scoring can be unbalanced. The center shot is innovative and it can be tough to get all the rewards. Brian Eddy killed it on the software front as there are some cool easter eggs and hidden shot combos. Music and SFX are top tier but callouts can get annoying. The queen's voice is great.

I love playing this at arcades whenever I find it, but would likely never own one.

wingnut707 edited previous rating on January 15, 2024.

5.917/10

8 years ago

???

StuMac9

Inactive member

Pooler, GA

8y 19,500 1 4 9

To be honest I found Black Rose a little one dimensional and quickly grew bored.

StuMac9 has owned this game in the past.

8.608/10

8 years ago

AFJ

Its_me_aj

Bite Me Cake Company

Pueblo, CO

9y 85,350 1,112 46 27 1

At first I wasn't too sure of it, but after played quite a few games I'm having a blast! Great game!

Its_me_aj has owned this game in the past.

8.404/10

8 years ago

ATL

Lemank

Pinside member

8y 70,050 470 9 63 1

I really like black rose. It's a great game and it's fun to sink the ships. The 3 ball multi ball is challenging to get but worth it. This game is a great game to play

Lemank has owned this game in the past.

9.680/10

8 years ago

JEF

TampaJeff

Pinside member

Clearwater, FL

8y 40,150 13 3 16

A great and under rated game for sure. Lots of great shots to make and I plan to add this game to my collection someday.

9.469/10

8 years ago

SR

IceMaster

Pinside member

Lombard, IL

8y 41,300 201 4 6

Great game. Very underrated. DMD animations are not so great. I don't like video modes but thankfully, all three are very short and smashing the flipper buttons as fast as possible to outswim the shark never gets old. The rules aren't very deep but are still fun and accessible for newer players. Sinking ships feels like a real accomplishment because sometimes the ball will bounce out. Multiball is usually short but easy to get back into. The music is fantastic. The callouts are good and infrequent so you won't get tired of them. The cannon doesn't interfere too often, on mine at least, but doesn't usually result in a drain when it does. Personally, I enjoy the added bit of randomness.

IceMaster has owned this game in the past.

8.640/10

9 years ago

JNS

TecumsehPlissken

Pinside member

Longwood, FL

9y 115K 2,558 10 103

Great title really love spending time on this one / lots of shots , fun & probably a bit under rated / traded my Blackwater 100 for it

TecumsehPlissken currently owns this game.

7.408/10

9 years ago

DOO

Doodbird

Inactive member

Easley, SC

11y 47,650 23 32

This is a pretty cool game, but my family and friends like it much better than I do. It is a very nice looking game, but the cannon area makes play unpredictable.

Doodbird has owned this game in the past.

9.660/10

9 years ago

DOK

ziddosi

Inactive member

Magione

12y 26,250 8 81

Very good Pinball,design beautiful and happy game!

ziddosi currently owns this game.

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