Pinside rating

This game has received 32 approved Pinsider ratings. 18 more approved ratings are needed to get a rating and for it to be eligible for the Pinside Pinball Top 100 ranking.

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

6.972

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Found 18 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 18 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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7.506/10

11 months ago

RRK

Cloud7

Pinside+ Frequent

Caledonia, WI

8y 89,050 641 22 40

Out of all the Williams 2 level playfield games, I like Solar Fire the best. I like the theme and the rules. It doesn't have the speech like the other games but it just seems more fun to play.

9.560/10

11 months ago

EKB

Spideyguy67

Pinside member

Toronto, ON

3y 21,500 5 15 14

It sounds like Black Knight... it's not Black Knight. Really like the individual lanes and somewhat larger upper playfield. Fun and fast game. Should have made more of these.

Spideyguy67 edited previous rating on April 02, 2024.
Spideyguy67 currently owns this game.

7.433/10

1 year ago

JDW

ireweav

Pinside+ Frequent

Greensboro, NC

2y 41,550 20 4 14 1

It's a shame they only made 700 of these, I think it's the best of the 4 horsemen (BK, JL, and PH). The playfield layout is great and have a lot going on for it's age, but challenging. Everything for points is timed, so it hard but great reward when you get it. Multiball is short and sweet, but if you can get everything to the upper playfield your score is going to show it! Cool Solar gun feature. No music or speech, so some of the sounds gets a little repetitive. Overall an amazing game, if you have the chance to play or own do not past it up.

ireweav has owned this game in the past.

9.053/10

1 year ago

BSA

Allingerb

Pinside+ Frequent

1y 34,550 102 13 6

I love solar fire. It's always fun to play and challenging

Allingerb edited previous rating on April 19, 2023.
Allingerb currently owns this game.

7.270/10

1 year ago

SSE

Ssemry

Inactive member

Boise, ID

3y 13,750 14 9

If you like Black Knight you'll like Solar Fire. It is Black Knight on steroids! It has a fun upper playfield, 3 separate ball locks, 4 banks of drop targets and a doodle bug style ball. I feel like they crammed as much as they possibly could in this game. It is a really fun 80's game. The sounds are good but can be a bit repetitive (but that's expected for this era). A few hard shots especially with the roaming letters or value for the upper targets.

Overall its a great game with cool art and fun sounds. Very similar to Black Knight but with extra features crammed into it.

Ssemry currently owns this game.

10.000/10

2 years ago

???

IH_Fan

Pinside apprentice

London, ON

3y 12,500 8 11

This is one of the first machines in my collection. My wife has laid claim to this one and I don't blame her. For its era, this is a really great game. The art work and play field work for us. This is one of the set of four from Williams, and the rarest of them. I did not know this when I bought it but soon found out. The upper playfield was new for that era and is a challenge and fun. The magna save is also a great feature. This one will never leave the house! If you can find one, don't hesitate.

IH_Fan currently owns this game.

6.800/10

3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

Pinside Moderator

Rockwall, TX

5y 266K 10,120 23 271

This is a very fun game with LOTS going for it. Theme, artwork, ramps, drops, upper PF, etc. I only assume it isn't higher rated because they made so few of them...many people simply haven't played it.

Daditude edited previous rating on November 30, 2020.

7.896/10

4 years ago

XQZ

douggalecawitz

Pinside member

Naperville, IL

11y 62,900 45 85

Something about this playfield just clicks. Of all the multi level tables (i.e. black knight, elektra, flash gordon, pharoah.) this one feels like all of the shots are lined up properly. I find that in spite of the quite frankly terrible art on the playfield and back glass I can play this machine endlessly and it is easy my favorite of the run of two level pins that came out of this era.

douggalecawitz has this game on the wishlist.

8.147/10

7 years ago

GIC

goingincirclez

GIC Pinball

9y 116K 2,835 27

Sometimes these classic Williams split-playfield designs get a bad rap for not making the best real-estate use of that design gimmick, but this game has a TON going on! 4 flippers, 13 drops, a captive ball, 3 locks, 2 ramps, multiball, magna-save... almost everything but speech!

Unlike some games, the upper-pf is a fun challenge and it's possible to keep the ball in play for quite a while, but the shots never seem too easy and the ball is always at risk for rocketing down that steep ramp. On the lower side you've got a couple more locks strafing a narrow target shot, and another entry ramp with a spinner. Oh and more drop banks. Lots of tight, satisfying shots on this one!

The sounds are are-typical Williams and blend well... start multiball for a blackout and score-display show before the mode starts, which was pretty slick for the day. The art is only so-so and the color would do well for selling Doritos, but it's refreshing to play a game that outshines its art package.

I found myself playing this one a lot more than I expected to and would gladly seek one out. Unfortunately there's not too many of 'em out there...

5.004/10

8 years ago

D L

charliebrown2417

Pinside member

Kent, OH

8y 54,400 136 5 352

Basically a much more boring Grand Lizard.

3 Pinsiders flagged this.

6.070/10

9 years ago

PST

Pthrossell

Inactive member

Kelowna, BC

10y 16,750 9

Very close to black knight, layout wise.
I think the lower play field layout has more rewarding shots than black knight.
Sound is generic 80's Williams.

9.128/10

9 years ago

CWF

earflaps

Pinside member

Melville, SK

9y 42,300 306 4 13

I've owned this game for a couple of months. I actually regret selling it but the guy I sold it to said if he ever sells it, he'll give me first chance at buying it back...I think I'll take him up on it.

Basically, this is a player's game...you keep coming back to it to see if you can do better. The rules are not overly complicated but with the split playfield, you determine how you want to play. I really enjoyed taking may chances for big points on the lower playfield.

Again, great classic game that really commands you bring you "A" game.

earflaps edited previous rating on April 21, 2016.
earflaps has owned this game in the past.

9.196/10

9 years ago

???

Nick104

Inactive member

Kelowna, BC

9y 15,750 1 11

Love it, I would change nothing. I keep playing it over and over. I rather play this then the new 2014 mustang siting next to it.

Nick104 has owned this game in the past.

5.182/10

10 years ago

RHO

spiroagnew

Inactive member

11y 121K 982 161

Can't get a licence for Star Wars or Heavy Metal? Just subtly steal their space themed art! That's what Solar Fire did. Part of the Fantastic Four of two level games, its basically a complete ripoff of Black Knight's layout. In itself, it would be the basis for Oursler's Grand Lizard a few years later. A game so nice they remade it thrice, I suppose. This game has the usual bag of sounds used on Williams games of the era, leaving a lot to be desired. The bright orange cabinet makes the game really stand out. Mitchell's artwork is passable, but is a bit of a convoluted muddy mess in its execution (a mishmash of Star Wars and Heavy Metal imagery). Game needs to be in tip top playing condition to be a gamer, and even then it ain't much fun. Solar Fire came out in the dark dying days of 1980s pinball...which partly explains why the game is a cop-out and a bit of a dog.

8 Pinsiders flagged this.

7.760/10

10 years ago

ANB

Jokercyclone

Inactive member

11y 43,550 640 33 12

For me this is easily the best of the four multi-level games from Williams. The theme is great, gives you one magna save and hit the targets for more. The solar gun is a neat feature. Collecting the letters for Solar fire is a challenge.

Jokercyclone currently owns this game.

9.383/10

11 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,455 51 1011

Solar fire was the last of the fantastic/fabulous/whatever f-word you want to use four from williams. I got lucky and found one with a great pf and a flaky bg...

The Pros:
Great shots and a variety of risk vs. reward considerations. For a real challenge, set up double scoring from the fire timer, start multi ball with 3 balls and hit the upper bank of targets at 100k x 2 x3 for 600k! It's not a jackpot in a traditional sense, it's much harder. I have had this game for years and done it twice! Go for the mystery ramp in m'ball to make the most of your PF x as well. Keep your balls on the upper pf and is 2-3x when hit. The special is a "Special" shot that is best collected in m'ball as well. As a player's game you must think hard about every shot you make. It could easily be your last, from anywhere on the pf. This game does not reward flailing. It punishes it. Great shots from the lower left flipper using backhand shots for the Solar Ramp as well as the center lock. I rarely say "Whoo-hoo! Connie Mitchell!", but this art pax meets my stamp of pin-approval with flying colors.

The Cons:
The lower left pf can be a trap! but you have to get those locks for mb and the solar shot for big scores. Most players never get the game into the millions digit. Can be downright demeaning to be treated like this by a pin. Multiball takes a while to set up and rarely lasts more than 20 seconds. For some reason... this game feels like it needs a spinner or two.

The Takeaway:
This game is not for sissies. This game is for real players only! A man's man's pinhead man's of a man's man's pinball game. I have owned this game for a while and have only gotten to 3 million on my best game yet! Now I can understand why the game might not have done well on location. It's completely, utterly, unrepentently vicious. Imagine a little kid in 1981 playing this game for 45 seconds and then wondering: "How can I make my $.50 last longer... I've only got 2 bucks in my wallet!" Could this be Williams doing what they can to reduce playtimes and make the ops happier? Who knows. But as a collector, I love playing this game. The trouble with this game is... I go to this table when I want a quick game, which quickly turns into a few dozen more. Wax the PF, rebuild your flippers, Set this game up steep and work it! This table still plays with deadly speed. Only real pinball players need apply. Eventually, I got the new BG in... CPR did a bang up job. Well done guys.

Caucasian2Step currently owns this game.

12 Pinsiders starred this!

6.800/10

12 years ago

BUK

pinballslave

Pinside member

Litvinov

12y 138K 6,379 133 149

Not a bad game, but not great either... probably the worst of the 4 'quadrilogy' of games Williams put out at the time, but the most desireable due to the rarity... Much prefer Black Knight and Pahroh... Don't know what pinball Letter K is talking about below me, because this is not a wide-body game.

pinballslave has owned this game in the past.

8.087/10

14 years ago

K

Letter_K

Inactive member

Stockton, CA

14y 36,900 523 5 63

A great wide-body. It feels open but full of shots. I even tried to buy this one from under a guy that had already paid for it.

1

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