Pinside rating

This game received 277 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.082 _/10

8.082

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #68 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.018

Artwork: 8.741

Sounds/Music: 7.161

Other Aspects: 8.103

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 7 of us have rated this game.

7.688

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Found 134 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 134 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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9.410/10

29 days ago

VEE

Veemonroe

Pinside member

London

2y 53,050 128 7 146

This one has definitely grown on me and I didn’t even know the full rules until today. Maybe I’ve got a special affection for it because my Centaur score was my highest score/placing in the UK Open 2023.

It has a very varied layout for a single-level pin with an interesting combination of a captive ball, and inline, standup and drop targets. More interestingly, it has an up to five-ball multiball! Woot!

The B&W art package is cohesive and distinctive, with a real ‘edgy biker bar’ vibe. Callouts are great and memorable for the period (“Destroy Centaur”!) Amazing pin that stands the test of time.

Veemonroe has this game on the wishlist.

8.469/10

8 months ago

MAO

Aiken

Pinside apprentice

Gelsenkirchen

1y 11,500 9 6

One of the best

Aiken currently owns this game.

9.494/10

10 months ago

EVN

EvanDickson

Pinside member

Charlottetown, PE

10y 91,550 2,671 5 49

What an amazing game, I can't believe it's over 40 years old! This thing is just packed with neat and fun features. A gate / nudge mechanic to allow you to save balls from the outlane. Add-a-ball to regular game play for finishing target banks in sequence. Add-a-ball to regular game play for completing inlane and outlane rollovers. Drop target completion spotting and memory from one ball to the next. 5 ball multiball - in 1981! This thing was way ahead of it's time!

EvanDickson currently owns this game.

8.113/10

1 year ago

TLG

Gordo14131

Pinside+ Frequent

Chesterfield, VA

5y 34,000 3 26

Great game. Really like the silver/black with red theme, has a unique look from other games. Lots to shoot for, keeps me coming back for one more game.

8.000/10

1 year ago

???

dosbox40000

Inactive member

Unknown

3y 17,000 1 10

The beast from Centaur and a group. The group formed on some pinball like Highspeed and Spy Hunter. The big guns came out and made another 5 ball gimmick. You try to go up the lanes and the game has a flip back which gets harder in time. The newbies may miss how it's related to Fathom with all the evo events these days. Some flippers get sick quick on this one but it's okay in the end making it related to Steam and the Pinball Arcade. Part two is a rare find also.

4.102/10

1 year ago

DAV

WarriorPin

Pinside member

Seattle, WA

3y 39,050 176 5 15

Rented this game for two months and hated every minute of it. Can not understand why this game is rated so high (and above so many games far better to it).

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.674/10

1 year ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

6y 184K 12,543 70 2

Centaur is a game that anyone can play but rewards the skilled player. I love the early Bally solid state games and think Centaur is one of if not the best during this timeframe. Medusa might be a touch prettier but art is just the garnish on a fine game and Centaur is clearly the better of the two. Flash Gordon is right there in the gameplay running but suffers from underutilization of speech and perhaps single ball.

The multi ball implementation on Centaur is perfect from the progressive earning of balls to the various release triggers.

gdonovan edited previous rating on July 26, 2022.

7.746/10

1 year ago

C P

Skatewake

Pinside+ Addict

2y 99,550 487 8 63

Great game to play.

9.347/10

1 year ago

BMK

noiseprisoner

Pinside member

8y 31,150 37 6 10

Centaur is a true classic and the theme works incredibly well on many levels. The speech and music are creepy and add to the overall darkness of the concept overall. The artwork is some of my favorite EVER on a pin, absolutely stunning. The gameplay is tough but rewarding when you can hit those special shots particularly in the upper left and upper right of the playfield. The cherry on top is when the ball drains you get a satisfying bonus countdown that sounds like you are racking up those points (even if you might not be!). It makes you feel good and ready to take on the next ball or game! Love this one!

noiseprisoner has this game on the wishlist.

8.568/10

1 year ago

ABF

Sheev_Palpatine

Pinside+ Frequent

4y 102K 549 64

one of my all time favs

Sheev_Palpatine edited previous rating on November 07, 2022.

8.676/10

2 years ago

GKD

FoghornLeghorn

Inactive member

Brentwood, TN

10y 30,650 163 1 7

My favorite early 80s pin.

8.400/10

2 years ago

MFA

Mishap

Pinside member

Seattle, WA

2y 27,300 16 5 32

One of the best of an outstanding era. Shot variation and precision rewards are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and vocal commands/taunts also feel ahead of its time. Features and tech are thoughtful and the different ways to get multiball also add to the modern feel.

Pros: Phenomenal synth score! Worthy of Near Dark or Suspiria in its horror atmosphere. Game would be still be good with a different theme, but the overall package/experience is so strong, it's hard to think of the game without the music and effects. Also has a solid "you get what you shoot" rule set.

Cons: While there are a decent variety of shots, it can be a little repetitive when building one's bonus. Additionally, the features on each upper side keep the game from having any real flow.

Mishap edited previous rating on July 10, 2023.

7.100/10

2 years ago

JMO

PinDaddyDrain

Pinside member

Unknown

2y 25,500 1 54

The sounds on this machine and the theme are really cool.

8.704/10

2 years ago

GPS

onetaste

Pinside member

Adelaide Hills

10y 60,900 142 21 112

Incredible art, rule set that challenges the best of players. Very unique game, one of the best solid states.

onetaste edited previous rating on February 26, 2023.
onetaste has this game on the wishlist.

9.000/10

2 years ago

TTB

TempleTheBard

Inactive member

Eugene, OR

2y 17,750 15

Five ball multiball is pretty cool, if you can get it.

6.276/10

2 years ago

NAT

Medieval_Gofers

Pinside member

Ipswich

12y 73,400 208 3 79

This era of games isn’t really my thing but I do recognise Centaur and Fathom as being among the best. Theme and art do nothing for me but the system of achieving multiball and then trying to stay in it keeps me coming back for more and the layout is more inventive that many from this era.

9.491/10

2 years ago

JEM

jmanc62

Pinside member

Wyomissing, PA

3y 29,450 2 5 6

Spectacular Art. Great sound effects call outs. I think this game the best of its generation (yes - better than fathom :) !!!)

Simple gameplay but you always come back for more.

jmanc62 currently owns this game.

6.756/10

2 years ago

EJH

ehex9

Pinside member

Saint Albans Town, VT

3y 46,650 5 7 179

Typical bally from this time period. The art makes the game cool.

9.487/10

2 years ago

???

Wmasspin

Pinside+ Frequent

Silver Spring, MD

3y 27,000 1 4 11

One of Bally's best playing ,keep you coming back for more.

Wmasspin has owned this game in the past.

6.641/10

2 years ago

TNA

flip17000

Pinside apprentice

La Rochelle

2y 23,000 1 85

good old flip

9.247/10

2 years ago

RIV

SteveRivet

Pinside member

Ashburn, VA

10y 35,650 29 2 22

After a long session on a perfect example this weekend I realized I'd forgotten how great this machine is. It's critical that all of the features work right and machine is set up properly, and I've noticed on routed machines in the past certain parts were screwy, impacting overall play. Only thing I dislike on the playfield is the gap in the Orb targets can set up an SDTM drain a little easily.

For the time period, this is one of best Bally solid states out there, with plenty of shots, decent speech/sounds for the time, and playfield / backglass art of the Paragon / Lost World / Viking quality.

SteveRivet has this game on the wishlist.

8.773/10

2 years ago

JBM

Jomo33

Pinside member

4y 39,900 23 253

My favorite Bally Class of ‘81 pin. Amazing art, great layout, and definitely gives you the “1 more game” feel. Looking forward to a Haggis remake (hopefully). Might be my 2nd NIB pin ever. Then I can listen to both Centaur and Deadpool heckle me with each missed shot. “Bad move human.”

Jomo33 edited previous rating on January 17, 2023.
Jomo33 has this game on the wishlist.

7.616/10

2 years ago

PO

pat4race

Inactive member

Unknown

2y 19,000 1 73

While I completely enjoyed playing this game - with drop targets, plenty of specific items to aim for, straight-forward rules, and amazing artwork, it does seem to drain quarters and balls at an alarming pace. While I keep coming back to play, its also frustrating to not be able to establish any lengthy gameplay. Many different shots to try, and more strategy than I could try on my first exposure - I'm more into playfield design, game play, lastability and fun, but the artwork and sounds definitely add to the experience. Excellent game other than the large number of quick “no fault” drains

pat4race edited previous rating on May 01, 2021.

7.987/10

3 years ago

DIA

mrossman5

Pinside+ Frequent

Warren, PA

6y 197K 3,059 7 252

This and Fathom are my two favorite games from this era. I might even prefer the gameplay of Centaur a little more than fathom. Multiball is incredible for the time and the callouts are great.

mrossman5 has this game on the wishlist.

8.276/10

3 years ago

LEX

ssjakie

Pinside member

9y 19,700 5 13 21

After owning 3 centaurs i feel like an expert.... Haha, seriously this is one of the only tables that lets you forget everything else around you. The sound is inviting you to become one with the machine and it plays you -> bad move human :)

It's hard to get those 5 balls out and even with 2 balls out you have to work.

If it plays slow or cluncky then your machine is not dialed in the way it should be.....It begins slow and ends in mayhem and it will hypnotize you like no other machine can.

Compared to my addams family or shadow it holds its ground and thats impressive!

ssjakie has owned this game in the past.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

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