1. Earliest pinball memory?
Honestly I can't recall playing pinball until I was at university - I may have done but I just can't remember it. We lived out in the sticks and didn't frequent the sort of places that had pinball machines when we were in town. [I do remember playing some sort of racing car game as a kid. It was a track that I think changed after every couple of laps, had a steering wheel that could circle forever, and had obstacles (grease?) on the road to avoid.] So my earliest pinball memory is from my university days.
I arrived at the University of Newcastle in 1986 to do a Bachelor of Mathematics with a major in Computer Science and some of the guys I befriended in class decided to hang out at the pinball room hanging off the bar. It was a smoke-filled room (such passive smoking wouldn't happen these days, thankfully) with three pinball machines in it. We played all three titles but our favourite was the Eight Ball Deluxe sited at the far left. People would put their 20c pieces on the glass just in front of the lockdown bar to reserve their turn. Unfortunately I cannot recall the other two titles - I have tried but just can't remember them.
At the time I was not living on a lot of money so didn't have too much spare cash to waste. Playing for credits soon became important. There was a gun player who was there a lot and we made friends with him so we could play his credits when he walked away from the machine. Eventually I got to play well enough to leave credits on their myself. It was a good feeling to be there with a small crowd and to be heading for a bank shot special, a left lane special, or a saucer special, and then actually make it!
Later on the university changed things around and moved the pinballs out into a courtyard - less atmosphere but less smoke, too! The saddest day was when Eight Ball Deluxe was moved on (maybe it wasn't making enough money any more??). We continued to play pinball but I can't remember the newer titles that were placed there. I think one had some sort of space theme but my trawling through IPDB has turned up nothing familiar so far.
Not long after I completed university I met my now wife and then got married in Adelaide. For the first two years of our marriage we lived in a house provided by an Anglican church as we were running their youth work for them. The house came with an old pinball machine which I did put some time on, but again I have zero recollection of the title. It was nowhere near as interesting as Eight Ball Deluxe!
After we shifted to Melbourne we started having children and I had forgotten about pinball, really (although I have played the very occasional DMD title over the years). It was only in the last couple of years that I was reminiscing about Eight Ball Deluxe and thinking how great it would be to own one, so I did some research and discovered that you could still buy pinball machines. So I did buy some last year.
2. All time favorite pin? Why?
Well, it has to be Eight Ball Deluxe. There is something so right about this machine, with the drop down targets plus eight ball, bonus multipliers leading to the bank shot, and the rollovers all building up to potential specials. To me it epitomises classic pinball: simple but great gameplay, the right balance of risk vs reward, the fact that you can be a hero one game and a zero the next, and the speech telling you what to shoot for next. Combine that with some nicely designed graphics and you have an absolute classic. This machine is a players' game, and we have the worn to wood playfields to prove it!
3. Favorite pinball manufacture?
You know I am going to say Bally: they made Eight Ball Deluxe! But they made a bunch of other great titles through the 80s and beyond as well.
4. Favorite game in your collection? Why?
This is why I have been waiting so long to answer the questionnaire: I finally have an Eight Ball Deluxe! Obviously there is a strong connection with a machine you learned pinball on, and it is a classic title. As soon as I saw this machine at the start of this year I put a deposit on it as the (original) playfield is just amazing for a machine that usually shows significant wear. I picked it up last week.
5. How long have you been collecting?
Just on a year. I started with two machines late last year: Dirty Harry and Mousin' Around! I figured it would be best to have at least two machines as that way if one breaks down you can still play the other while you fix the broken one. This has proved to be a good strategy, because they do break down every now and then. I have a background in hobbyist electronics and am competent with a soldering iron so I do all my own repairs with assistance from this forum and spare parts from our sponsors. I like the mix of mechanical and electrical problems as it makes troubleshooting more interesting! Most of the problems I have fixed to date have involved resoldering wires.
6. First game and how did you find it?
First game was Dirty Harry. It is a theme that appealed to me (yes I am a Clint Eastwood fan) and the gun ball launcher and onfield cannon are fun. Plus it has actual recordings of Clint!
[edit] Forgot to say how I found it - well there was a guy on AA called Silverball and he had a mate bringing in a container of pins...
7. Do you still have it?
No, I don't. I swapped it for a Getaway: High Speed II. After swapping my Mousin' Around! for a Cactus Jack's I found it to be a bit on the slow side. Getaway is not slow. The Getaway is more towards the project end as far as machines go, and the previous owner had a friend hankering after a Dirty Harry. So the deal was done as a straight swap.
8. What are you currently working on?
Getting a decent score on the Getaway. It is a bit of a mongrel as far as keeping the ball in play for any real length of time.
The EBD has a few minor issues that will need addressing before I can play it.
9. Most wanted game to add to your collection?
This is a tough one. From some reason I would like a Cue Ball Wizard, a Striker Xtreme and an Apollo 13 (just for the multiball, really - it is insane). Oh yeah, wouldn't mind a Revenge from Mars, either. If I had the money right now and could choose any of those titles, I think I would pick the RFM with Apollo 13 a close second.
10. Best all time bargain game added to your collection?
None of my machines have been bargains so far - I just don't attract bargains like some people seem to! But they have all been well-priced for what was provided and I have been happy with my purchases.
11. Worst ever miss – tell us about the one that got away!
No stories to tell here. I just haven't been collecting long enough.
12. Worst ever purchase – tell us about the game you wished you never bought
Nothing to tell here either. Have been happy with all my games so far.
13. Describe your collection
Currently I have an Eight Ball Deluxe, a Getaway: High Speed II and a Cactus Jack's.
14. Describe your gamesroom
It is the garage. Brick building with metal roof. $2 worth of carpet off eBay on the floor. It is not used as a garage but as a storage shed so it has a bike area with 6 bikes, a tool area, a table and cupboards housing my VZ200 collection, books and associated magazines of the era plus other junk, a pinball wall with 3 pinball machines, a TV used to watch TV, and another TV set up to watch DVDs and to play the Wii, and a workbench complete with computer with wireless network adapter so I can look up the forum if I am working on pinballs out there. I can fit at least one more pinball machine in there in the current configuration.
15. Do you have other games other than pinball?
Yep, we have a Wii, an air hockey table (not great) and a foosball table (good quality) - they are all in the garage.
16. Where can you see the hobby in 10 years?
This is a very interesting question. It will definitely still be alive for secondhand, spare parts and reproduction dealers. Most of the collectors I know will still be collecting in ten year's time, so there will still need to be a pinball industry to support them. Will Stern survive? Only time will tell - they certainly need a few wins rather than some of the more ordinary titles they have released lately.
The other real interesting question is whether any of our home-grown Aussie systems leave the shed and have an impact on the market. I am talking about blokes like Nug and Nick, Mike, and Marty who may be able to commercially release a 'build-your-own' system that allows us to design our own pinball machine. Now that could be exciting!
