A cool layout and entertaining.

Joust may be my least favorite Ted Zale design.

The Pros:
Pointy People look great in tin suits. getting 1-6 or 7-9 is not easy to do. Get that blue mushroom target to keep those flippers closed, or face the danger of open zipper flipper gap!

The Cons:
The bagatelle takes over 1/4 f the real estate on the playfield. On the copy I played, the feed out of the bagatelle on the right and it would send the ball into the left outlane 9/10 times. The lower half of the left hand of the playfield just sends the ball to the outhole. It did this quite a bit. Maybe another copy will offer better play than what I experienced.

The Takeaway:
Too much of a novelty, not enough game in this box.

Zipper flippers are definitely cool, the bagatelle, meh. I still haven't figured out what the exit alley is and if you can collect the bonus without draining the ball. I swear it happened once, but I really don't know how. There's a relay labeled exit alley, but either I'm missing something or it doesn't work right or I need to get a schematic and make this work 100%

Love the playfield layout
Always enjoyed the zipper flipper Bally machines

Jedi Pinhead Obi Wan Kenobi:
"This is not the Joust, you are looking for..."

Actually, this design is quite a well playing EM in terms of design.
Artwork is typical of the EM period.
Backglass is solid, just keep in mind two versions were produced, one in plexi and one in glass.
Layout is unique with its bagatelle mini game and the game does use "zipper flippers".
Saucer kick out really helps make the game enjoyable.
The challenge of the zipper flippers opening at the end of the bagatelle field makes shots much more challenging to keep the ball in play.
Very low production makes this game pretty much unknown now and most do not care for EM classics, and I seriously doubt there are more than a 350+ left in the world.
If you are an EM collector or like "zipper flippers" with mushroom bumpers, it is a keeper.
I uploaded some photos of a local machine.

If an owner is interested in other "zipper flipper" game classics here are others they should consider:
Fireball (Bally, 1972) (The best of the lot here)
Nip-It (Bally, 1973) (Second place with the "Balligator" feature as well)
Four Million B.C. (Bally, 1971) (Third place and a real keeper IMHO due to ball locks)
Hayburners II (Williams, 1968)
Cosmos (Bally, 1969)
Student Price (Williams, 1968)

and of course Medusa (Bally, 1981) the last "true" production game to use this feature.
Valkyrie (Jeutel, 1982) is just too low in production (roughly 100 machines) to justify, but is notable for its artwork related to the 1981 "Heavy Metal" movie.

NOTE:
Whether or not it is a game I have owned (including multiple times in some cases), still do own, potentially own, or have not yet owned regardless of title, every game I rate I have played extensively, and give a fair review. I do not base game ratings on routed games on location that are "beat to hell", as this tells a player/potential owner absolutely nothing regarding the quality of a title. Nor is every game is a "perfect 10", and should be based on the merits of its design, not technology or age. I don't believe in fanboy status, although I am very critical in deciphering attributes of gameplay and artwork.
If a game is a 9+ on my scale, there is a reason why it is there especially if a game is over 20 years old.
Unfortunately, Joust does not make the cut in this case, but is a good game for the era.

Little Known Fact:
The game was recently featured in the anti-super hero movie, Deadpool (2016). Quite rare for a 47 year old pinball machine. This was actually my personal game that was rented for filming.

My uncle in Michigan owns this machine. Been in the family for over 40 years. I grew up playing it, and when we visit on vacations Ive spent many many hours in the basement on it. That Might make me Bias but I think its a great machine! The rules are very simple, there isnt a lot of complexity to the playfield. Sad that there is no pics of it here on the site (at the time i'm writing this) I have some photos, I'll see if I can mail them to the team.