Gottlieb

Cue Ball Wizard

Pinside Rating

This game received 93 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 6.775 _/10

6.775

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #276 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 6.96

Artwork: 6.558

Sounds/Music: 6.608

Other Aspects: 6.846

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 2 of us have rated this game.

7.312

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Found 47 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 47 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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6.872/10

10 years ago

DAN

BeaverBrewing

Pinside member

Beaver Falls, PA

11y 80,150 289 7 282

Fun pin that is totally unique....what other pin has an enormous pool ball in the middle of the playfield! Reminds me a little of Circus Voltaire.

Right ramp shot is key to scoring but the targets tucked away in the back are also important. Would be right at home in a bar in Tennessee...

5.840/10

10 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,455 51 1011

Cue Ball Wizard is an interesting design by Jon Norris.

The Pros:
Great shots all over the table. Vertical drop targets high on the PF remind me of Gottlieb 2001. This game features 2 (yes 2) billiard balls on the table. The cue ball on the lower PF has got to be one of the best randomizers ever put on a pinball deck and the next time we see it (to a lesser effect) would be Cirqus Voltaire for training animals. The upper playfield is simple, but really well done and does not affect the play underneath it over the pops. The u-turn loop will keep you on your toes especially if that cue ball is rolling about.

The Cons:
Suffers from Gott/Premier one shot ramp rape syndrome, big time. There is more to the game than thisâ€¦ but that ramp just supersedes everything else on this deck. A shame, really.

The Takeaway:
Other than being a one shot wonder, this is a great layout with some really cool shots on it. You can find them inexpensively and I have known a few pinheads who I greatly respect as players who have modified their own copy to make it more of a player. Find one on the cheap and play on!

7.964/10

10 years ago

ROG

bearsfan27

Inactive member

Omaha, NE

11y 27,400 148 19 14

Fun game. Cue ball on the playfield is different.

bearsfan27 currently owns this game.

7.623/10

10 years ago

???

Conjurer

Inactive member

Centurion

16y 14,250 10 6

This is really a nice game to play. Gives you that "real old saloon feeling". Fun and fast passed game. Out of all the games I sold so far, I'm the most sad about this one.

8.724/10

11 years ago

JFM

APOLLO_13

Inactive member

12y 56,650 1,665 8 11

This is a sleeper imho, fun game. Think it won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

APOLLO_13 currently owns this game.

6.041/10

11 years ago

MSL

flipperilaakso

Pinside member

Vantaa

11y 29,050 12 11 10

Much better Gottlieb/Premier system 3 machines out there than this one. Clint Eastwood style comments are fun (before they become repetitive). Just plain horrible video modes. Overall pretty boring game which has similar scoring issues than other system 3 machines (at least Mario Andretti) with the availability of 1/2 billion shot.

flipperilaakso has owned this game in the past.

3.808/10

11 years ago

DAV

PersonX99

GSP mods

Manchester, NH

12y 87,550 1,102 16 36 1

The good: Simple, family friendly game with catchy country-western music. Inexpensive game with DMD. Helpful callouts.

The not so good: Single ramp, bland lighting.

The bad: Video modes that are poorly done and make no sense in the game theme. Callouts are so frequent and repetative, they get very annoying.

Overall: A good 1st pin for newbies (like me). Not bad, but not a keeper.

PersonX99 has owned this game in the past.

8.616/10

11 years ago

SZM

MrJones

Inactive member

Telki

11y 16,500 1 11 13

From the billiard themed machines this is a good one. This machine show exactly why Gottlieb went bankrupt. They made this pin at the same time as Williams/Bally made it's best machines in the early 90's, but Cue Ball Wizard represents the 80's. The game looks very nice, unfortunately becomes boring soon although it has some very difficult shot combinations.

MrJones has owned this game in the past.

6.805/10

11 years ago

LUC

luch

Pinside+ Frequent

Newmarket, ON

11y 109K 3,569 74

great voices , and fun first few games , overtime voices drive you nuts , "shot the ramp" "nice shot" etc.etc.

6.448/10

11 years ago

MAT

chalkup8

Pinside member

Sunshine

12y 72,800 1,134 4 17

An ok and reliable system 3 machine.Simple and kind of fun.

Excellent for beginners and kids.A good first pin for the family.

chalkup8 has owned this game in the past.

6.613/10

11 years ago

BB

Blackbeard

Pinside member

12y 106K 12,108 6 20

Not a bad pin, just not that great. Found it somewhat repetitive in shooting the right ramp. The huge cue ball in the middle of the playfield seems unnecessary as well.

Decent call outs on this though.

7.376/10

11 years ago

RSF

blackheart

Inactive member

Palmetto, FL

11y 22,500 32 2 8

Flat out fun to play. Floating cue ball is a cool feature. Undervalued game.

blackheart edited previous rating on April 08, 2013.
blackheart has owned this game in the past.

8.496/10

11 years ago

TIM

MT45

Pinball Loft

Lenoir City, TN

11y 110K 2,371 38 10

This is a pin to play when you're exhausted from playing an intense deeper pin like TOM or LAH. Relaxing slower pace than those but fun in a different way. Like the western callouts and theme. A little unbalanced in scoring when the 9 ball awards 500,000 million but so what, this is not a pin folks tend to compete on, they just play and have fun. Ramp is harder to hit than you think. Skill shot at start is really easy but well integrated into theme. Time your plunger shot to make the 8 ball in the upper PF hit the blue switch targets and get 5MM. Upper PF is used on skill shot opener and during gameplay to send cue ball in lower PF into targets that trigger the upper PF 8 ball to move - that particular shot is very satisfying! Very nice light show on this pin, even without LEDs. The artwork is not over the top but well done surrounding the western theme. Just a 2 ball multiball AND it's very controlled in that you determine the launch time of both balls but that is part of the "relax" and enjoy elements of the game. Buy one cheap and enjoy!

MT45 has owned this game in the past.

7.847/10

11 years ago

DBK

DanteBK

Inactive member

Canoga Park, CA

11y 14,900 80 1 6

This game is a lot of fun, especially when you can hit the cue ball just right to fire a shot into the back panel. Of course, it can also be very frustrating when the cue ball obscures your shot or causes you to drain down the middle, but such is life. Lots of modes and variety of play. The repetitive voice samples can be a little annoying.

7.418/10

11 years ago

SOK

DrLeon

Inactive member

Kangaroo Point

12y 25,250 2 28

Overall, the game was good. Initially, I found the game a little bit tedious compared to other newer games, though after a few credits it grew on me. Yes, it's not that complex of a game, though it's definitely still heaps of fun. Everything is well placed and you don't get too many drained balls (my pet peeve). Not revolutionary, though easy to learn and fun to play!

7.131/10

12 years ago

DJG

nasco62

Pinside member

Sydney

12y 67,800 801 14 54

Great toys the pool ball cue, I always find this a fun game to play. Love Clint's voice for the right money would have this in my collection.

7.756/10

13 years ago

TJA

VegasAlleycat

Pinside+ Frequent

Las Vegas, NV

13y 82,050 1,026 14 24

Played this several times at the Pinball Hall of Fame today and really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how I would like the cue ball blocking the middle of the playfield but it added a nice challenge to successfully hitting the horseshoe behind it. Fun game overall.

VegasAlleycat edited previous rating on May 15, 2012.

8.463/10

13 years ago

???

Nic1995

Inactive member

Unknown

13y 2,500 6

Good pin to play for younger people. Easy to just play and have fun! Simple theory, tells you what to hit next...... shoot the ramp!

9.392/10

13 years ago

???

kng9395

Inactive member

Chattanooga, TN

14y 5,250 3 8

Great game, like the Eastwood voice and the pool theme. Has varied DMD games and actual pool balls in middle of game.

kng9395 currently owns this game.

7.588/10

13 years ago

DEL

SealClubber

Pinside Moderator

14y 127K 11,060 246

The pool balls are cool. Game play is alright and Dots are good. Sound is annoying as heck though.

SealClubber edited previous rating on February 22, 2011.

8.989/10

13 years ago

CMM

maldoror

Inactive member

Idaho Springs, CO

14y 33,650 662 26 34

This is a very underrated game, quite a bit different than what Williams was doing around this same time frame. I find this game to be extremely fun, and a refreshing change. The sound is not the greatest, the lighting however is superb easily one of the best lit machines I own. Seriously, give this game a play or two it is well worth your time. Can be a bit too easy on the wrong settings level, suggest setting game to "hard" settings, seems right that way.

maldoror currently owns this game.

8.360/10

14 years ago

LUC

LUCKAS77

Inactive member

Chicoutimi, QC

15y 35,750 2 4 65

Very under rated machine. Great gameplay and rules not too complicated. I like it.

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