Williams

Fish Tales

Pinside Rating

This game received 802 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.082 _/10

8.082

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #72 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.102

Artwork: 8.313

Sounds/Music: 7.411

Other Aspects: 8.221

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 9 of us have rated this game.

7.562

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Found 449 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 449 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 14 of 18.

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4.863/10

11 years ago

LAN

Bluefishy

Pinside member

Hornchurch

18y 58,150 20 5 69

No Idea why people like this game. I was looking forward to playing it as people rave about it. Quite frankly its boring , dont like layout and dont see the point. No interest in playing it ever again

7.770/10

11 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,455 51 1011

FishTales can be fun. Fishtales can be frustrating. There are many strategies with this Ultimately it's a setup for a single shot. But what a shot it is... Risk/Reward to a high degree.

The Pros:
More goofy Python humor. Challenging shots can be DEATH on this table. The Boat cuts the whole PF in half with the exception of the orbits and the shot to the lock. If you can rock the Super JP to hundreds of millions of points... you are king. Funny backhand shots make things interesting.

The Cons:
Banjos and boats do not make a good combination for pinball, or for Ned Beatty. I can feel myself getting dumber as the main music plays on. Bluegrass makes me say "Durrrrr!". This girl is finicky for solid play and has to be setup and leveled... just right.

The Takeaway:
Hard like Creature, not the same quality of play. I have a hate/respect relationship with it. FT is a control/skills table, but Creech is still the king of this type of game design.

Update:
I have to admit it. This game is a damn fine tourney game. And while I may not be in for banjo pickin' music by choice, this sound package is a great fit for the fishing theme. The balance between risk/reward for most players may be overwhelming and the top players can run away with it on command. But I still find this game challenging and there are many ways to boost your score to a winning competition game that make this game a worthwhile player. You can still find them for a decent price and along with BSD, are two of the best lightning flipper games ever made. Enjoy!

Caucasian2Step edited previous rating on May 25, 2017.

9.420/10

11 years ago

JDB

RedNeckHunter

Pinside member

Clarkston, WA

11y 18,400 22 3 8

I love Fish Tales! It has the best video mode you will ever play. Multiball is tough to get and usually doesn't last long. No disappointments!

RedNeckHunter currently owns this game.

8.159/10

11 years ago

RPG

tilted81

Pinside+ Addict

11y 104K 2,389 45

the criss cross ramps are simple but keep you comming back for more. I love the ball lock and topper! the music and speech suit the game very well..

8.964/10

11 years ago

DJD

Djude

Pinside member

Windermere, FL

11y 28,400 36 6 17

Some complain about repetitive shots on this game, but it is very face paced and a lot of fun to play. Great theme that never seems dated. Sadly I don't think I've ever seen one that didn't have serious cab fade.

8.580/10

11 years ago

POP

RTR

Pinside+ Frequent

Franklin, TN

11y 118K 4,004 8 6

FT is a great machine for a larger collection or a good one to rotate into a smaller collection for a while. I like it enough that I would sell mine to buy one that is in pristine shape if it comes along. It is a keeper! (get it?)

Downside is that for a good player, you feel like you know all about the game pretty quickly - even though you may not topple the GC score. New players feel like they are accomplishing something when they play.Is also fast game, especially if you dont nail your ramp shots.

RTR has owned this game in the past.

8.517/10

11 years ago

ARP

adamprice271

Inactive member

St Louis, MO

11y 15,400 81 2 11

I really love this game. The shots are not difficult, other than the ball lock...it is hard to be consistent. The game is great for beginners and pros alike because it's easy to know what to do, but not the easiest to do over and over again. It can get pretty repetitive, shoot left ramp, right, left, right repeat til stringer is full, then hit spinner for monster fish. The ticket to a highscore is getting your multiplier up, and making the ramp shots until you have enough fish for a feed frenzy. I always lose the ball as soon as frenzy lights... Only toy on the game is the fish topper, which if you are playing right, you don't have time to see it flapping around, but you sure can hear it. Great game overall.

9.520/10

11 years ago

NRW

keysersoze981

Pinside member

Baltimore, MD

11y 22,150 84 5 6

Great game all around! Good luck finding a cabinet that isn't faded. I was able to find one LED'd out and I have been very happy with it ever since. The moving fish is a little over the top but overall it's a very colorful and vibrant machine and it's certainly one I plan on keeping and passing down to my children.

keysersoze981 has owned this game in the past.

4.864/10

11 years ago

MRM

diskoboy

Pinside member

Brentwood, TN

12y 27,400 520 1 9

I have never been a big fan of Fish Tales. I worked at an arcade back in the early 90's that sold a Twilight Zone machine for one, and I have loathed this game ever since they brought it in. For months afterwards, I ragged on the owner for buying it. The music is annoying and the gameplay is tedious and repetitive. Williams really hit a low point with this one.

7.496/10

11 years ago

JFS

Sgtmax

Pinside member

Palm Beach

11y 32,150 302 2 7

Love the criss cross ramps.. Doesn't have long last ability though

Sgtmax has owned this game in the past.

7.622/10

11 years ago

ZUN

pinBilly

Inactive member

Mission Viejo, CA

11y 59,400 398 21

Great art, theme, sound, appearance. Good action, lots of fun, good balance, pretty challenging with lightning flippers.

pinBilly edited previous rating on September 06, 2013.

6.613/10

11 years ago

NJL

njlovold

Inactive member

Duluth, MN

12y 25,900 103 1 9

I may be being overly critical of this game. It is fairly fun to play, but it gets frustrating very quickly. It tends to drain a lot down the sides and center.

8.480/10

11 years ago

ATE

AdamTheGamer

Pinside member

11y 56,150 270 2 133

Fish Tales is another great Mark Ritchie game that I enjoy very much. Fishing has always been a part of my life, so this theme really fits in with me.

AdamTheGamer has this game on the wishlist.

8.403/10

11 years ago

WUF

wolfy

Pinside member

Winston-salem, NC

14y 80,850 1,087 15 113 1

This game is just plain addictive. Best bang for the buck out there. Fast games that are always a rush. Monster fish, rock the boat,video mode,fill the tackle box,jackpot -multiball all fun and not easy to get them all. Get one if you have 2,6,10 machine collections. Crazy fun every time.

wolfy edited previous rating on January 29, 2019.
wolfy has owned this game in the past.

9.868/10

11 years ago

LEE

pseudokings

Inactive member

Unknown

11y 11,250 1 81

FT is excellent. I don't hunt. I don't fish. I do care a hell of a lot more about how a table plays than its theme. FT plays fantastic, one of the absolutely most fun pins I've ever played. Yes, the music is terrible, but I don't care that much about a pin's music. Yes, the theme is kinda lame, but it's done specifically to be GOOFY, to show that it doesn't take the theme seriously, and even if it is a lame theme, it is extremely well executed. Pretty highly rated, and yet, to me, still way underrated.

pseudokings edited previous rating on June 04, 2013.

3.818/10

11 years ago

NEO

CaptainNeo

Playfield restorations

Burlington, WI

11y 148K 22,441 37 77 1

terrible theme, terrible music, terrible layout. Aweful game. Only reason people give it a chance is because it says bally williams on the backglass. If this game said gottlieb on it, you guys would rank it up there with waterworld.

CaptainNeo edited previous rating on May 11, 2021.

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

3.415/10

11 years ago

ANS

tattoomommy

Inactive member

Lincoln, NE

11y 9,750 15 16

Just one of those pins I couldn't get into. The theme is interesting, just don't believe the overall gameplay was excuted well.

8.000/10

11 years ago

RUS

RUS7T3

Inactive member

Narre Warren South

11y 11,900 64 2 7

This is one of them good ol obscure themed Pinballs that just don't get made anymore.
It is great fun to play & i keep going back for more.
I would cetainly rather play a pin like this than some of the more recent machines that are just movie or music based.
At the end of the day it is all just a matter of opinion & preference.

RUS7T3 edited previous rating on July 31, 2012.
RUS7T3 currently owns this game.

8.396/10

11 years ago

BEN

TZBen

Pinside member

14y 62,050 1,543 13

put about 150 games on mine in the three weeks I've had it up and running good after a full shop job. I like the criss-cross ramps and captive ball target a lot, works well in a collection for a quick game machine. Not everyone has 30-minutes to enjoy a lotr marathon.
Machine looks good with Leds, I putt green supers in the gi and it's nice and swampy.
I enjoy the fish flapping around up above the game. I putt some target deadening foam on it to quiet it down a little and that works well.

fun game.

update: I've gotten the super jackpot a couple times now, my hands get sweaty when I see that super target blinking.

TZBen edited previous rating on August 14, 2012.

8.092/10

11 years ago

LTW

sixsixtie

Inactive member

12y 26,400 268 1 31

FT is a game I always have to play in tournaments. It kicks my ass. I'm like two for my last thirty Monster Fish and that includes my last game where I got two. That and I've never even got a SUPER. I guess I need to go and grind it for a week straight and we'll see who's boss. That said the art is some of the best on any game, I just love it. The game has enough going on to keep it interesting and it really is a good machine.

6.979/10

11 years ago

CDB

kaverne

Pinside member

Brisbane

12y 26,000 7 4 13

Kind of fun, would love to like it more but something is not taking on me ...

kaverne edited previous rating on December 29, 2023.

7.192/10

11 years ago

HAR

shovelhed

Pinside member

Napa, CA

12y 83,550 2,426 1 20

Not a fan. Music and speech get old very fast.

shovelhed has owned this game in the past.

8.176/10

11 years ago

ROB

MAJRob

Pinside member

Bel Air, MD

11y 76,300 1,030 5 29

I owned a Fish Tales a while back and truly enjoyed the game. It's music may be botehrsome to some, but I did not mind it. The boat in the middle of the playfield is a cool touch for that time and I liked the video mode where you shot the skiers.
The cabinet artwork and backglass is pretty cool epsecially if you are fisherman/water person.
Only Con's I hvae are the Fish on top that can get pretty loud and wake the kids (if that applies to you) and it can get a little repetitive if you don't have a few games to go with it.

MAJRob edited previous rating on January 02, 2015.
MAJRob has this game on the wishlist.

8.261/10

11 years ago

RAY

abcdelmrs

Pinside member

Atlanta, GA

11y 23,900 289 17 5

This is one of only two games that I have owned three times. The other one is Whitewater and I will always own a Whitewater. I've only had three of them because I found a nicer playfield, cabinet, etc. I would swap bits and pieces around to make my best keeper and sell the non-keeper.

I really like FT a lot. It is a blast to play and always make me smile or laugh at the call-outs no matter how many times I've heard them before. Whenever I come across one I give it several plays and smile the whole time. However, I prefer games that have more depth to them for my gameroom. I don't doubt that I'll own this pin again someday, but I'm also pretty sure that once again it will be moved out for something with more rules and shots.

abcdelmrs has owned this game in the past.

8.136/10

11 years ago

BAY

Bay78

Phantom

Winnipeg, MB

12y 69,900 674 31 10

Very good game. I didn't hear much good about this game so I wasn't expecting much when I played it I was amazed at how entertaining this machine is. The rules are not super deep, but that being said there are lots of good shots in the game and its not easy either. I've owned the game a while and I haven't been able to nail down a Super Jackpot yet.

Bay78 has owned this game in the past.

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There are 449 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 14 of 18.

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