Pinside rating
This game received 171 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.015 /10
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game design: 8.031
Artwork: 8.98
Sounds/Music: 6.252
Other Aspects: 8.053
Pinside staff rating
This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 6 of us have rated this game.
Ranking history
An overview of this machine's ranking over the last years. Lower is better.
Rating history
An overview of this machine's rating over the last years. Higher is better.
Found 71 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 71 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 3.
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Brockenhurst
9.660/10
4 months ago
Ashland, OH
Fathom. Ahhh, Yes.
Up front, I am fond of early Solid State games. Fathom ranks at the top in my humble opinion.
I love the inline drop targets. The task of knocking down barriers for a greater reward is very satisfying. Drop targets appeal to me in general and adding in two banks of the standard variety along with the double inline targets gives us plenty to aim for.
Good shot options. Hitting the left orbit shot to the inline drops/saucer with either right flipper makes me smile. Good spinner shot. I like spinners as much as I like drop targets and this one is well placed/directs the ball nicely to the A-B-C rollovers. The only clunky shot I find myself hitting is the area between the right pop bumper and outside edge of the Cave Trap. Every drop target and the standup can be hit with a well aimed flipper shot. . . I just need to work on my aim ;).
Artwork is amazing -- the backglass, playfield, and even the cabinet draw you in and provide a treat for the eyes. Enough said.
Sound is very good, especially considering the era and compared to my other games of similar vintage. The speech incorporates well with the sound -- not sure if its normal but my game provides a lot of "Ahhhh"s.
Lighting is decent. A little dark in the middle of the playfield but translucent rubbers help.
Scoring and gameplay seem to consist of two parts.
Scoring involves collecting playfield points but a good score also involves a well built bonus. Luckily you have two area of bonuses to build and multiple ways to multiply it!
Gameplay has a right/left or green/blue feel. Using the large drop target bank and center 1-2-3 target bank to build your blue or green bonus ties the two sides together. Hitting the 1-2-3 in sequence lights the yellow standup. . . but can you hit it in time? I appreciate like the additional features provided by the A-B-C rollovers and the fact the letters can be moved with the flippers. The inlane/outlane reversal is a fun mix up of the usual anatomy in this area. Multi-Ball is great; the fact that playfield scores are doubled/tripled during makes achieving and maintaining MB worth your while.
I really do like this game. No ramps, no DMD, no modes. . . just classic pinball. It is a treat to look at and a blast to play -- very glad to have the opportunity to restore and add one to my collection.
Up front, I am fond of early Solid State games. Fathom ranks at the top in my humble opinion.
I love the inline drop targets. The task of knocking down barriers for a greater reward is very satisfying. Drop targets appeal to me in general and adding in two banks of the standard variety along with the double inline targets gives us plenty to aim for.
Good shot options. Hitting the left orbit shot to the inline drops/saucer with either right flipper makes me smile. Good spinner shot. I like spinners as much as I like drop targets and this one is well placed/directs the ball nicely to the A-B-C rollovers. The only clunky shot I find myself hitting is the area between the right pop bumper and outside edge of the Cave Trap. Every drop target and the standup can be hit with a well aimed flipper shot. . . I just need to work on my aim ;).
Artwork is amazing -- the backglass, playfield, and even the cabinet draw you in and provide a treat for the eyes. Enough said.
Sound is very good, especially considering the era and compared to my other games of similar vintage. The speech incorporates well with the sound -- not sure if its normal but my game provides a lot of "Ahhhh"s.
Lighting is decent. A little dark in the middle of the playfield but translucent rubbers help.
Scoring and gameplay seem to consist of two parts.
Scoring involves collecting playfield points but a good score also involves a well built bonus. Luckily you have two area of bonuses to build and multiple ways to multiply it!
Gameplay has a right/left or green/blue feel. Using the large drop target bank and center 1-2-3 target bank to build your blue or green bonus ties the two sides together. Hitting the 1-2-3 in sequence lights the yellow standup. . . but can you hit it in time? I appreciate like the additional features provided by the A-B-C rollovers and the fact the letters can be moved with the flippers. The inlane/outlane reversal is a fun mix up of the usual anatomy in this area. Multi-Ball is great; the fact that playfield scores are doubled/tripled during makes achieving and maintaining MB worth your while.
I really do like this game. No ramps, no DMD, no modes. . . just classic pinball. It is a treat to look at and a blast to play -- very glad to have the opportunity to restore and add one to my collection.
8.884/10
11 months ago
Gorgeous game! It has that old-school charm. It is easily one of the top early SS games. It is a blast to play and it has that "one more game" feel.
9.295/10
1 year ago
Just became the proud owner of one of these games. Played one in mint condition at pinball at the zoo in 2018 and loved it. Took almost another year to aquire one under $5000. If you appreciate the early Dawn of multi ball talking pinballs,; whereas, the entire goal is to achieve multi ball, then Bally fatham is right there with firepower! I have firepower and for the longest time couldn't appreciate the increased cost to fathom, but if you collect early solid state pins as your hobby, having a fathom is required in your collection. Great game and even better shots, unique outlanes....Fathom!
8.592/10
1 year ago
One of the brightest points of Bally's super, super hot streak of the era and a game clearly designed by people that understood inline drops are the greatest thing ever. The game also looks amazing. Fathom came out within 4 months of Centaur and Medusa. Can you imagine if 3 works of art were released in such short succession today? 1981 was really the good old days.
9.639/10
2 years ago
This is the first ‘80s game in the Top 100, and it’s a Pin from 1981! Amazing! Art, theme integration , layout, gameplay, it’s got it all. Get one while you can.
8.862/10
2 years ago
When you look in the pinball dictionary this should be the example. It's a Classic for sure just on looks alone and the game play holds up to its looks. The 1st game even my wife said "wow that's a nice looking game"
8.297/10
2 years ago
Plain and simple fun! The gameplay is so easy to learn, yet near impossible to master. The art is gorgeous and the theme of mermaids and sea nymphs drowning dudes is genious! I'm normally not a huge fan of early 80s pins, but it just doesn't get better than this! Just make sure to have other games around however, as even though I owned a near perfect example of the game, it just doesn't hold up in the "lastability" category. It gets a bit boring overall...
Pukekohe
Vaughan, ON
9.500/10
2 years ago
I recently had the pleasure of fully restoring a Fathom. I didn’t get too many games on it before the restoration because it didn’t work well when I got it. I knew it would be a good game from all the positive comments of others; so I just dove in with restoring the playfield and cabinet. It came out way better than expected and plays silky smooth! As expected, the game play is great all around. Rules are easy to understand, shots are challenging and multiball is rewarding. The artwork on this game has got to be among the top for Bally.
Since finishing my game, I’ve played others at shows. There is a huge difference in a player that isn’t tuned well and a minty example.
Since finishing my game, I’ve played others at shows. There is a huge difference in a player that isn’t tuned well and a minty example.
1.616/10
2 years ago
Reminds me of an old EM machine from the 50's . I just don't get some of the 80's machines which so many hold in high regard. I played this a few times back in the 90's and remember disliking it very very much .
Rio De Janeiro
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