Re: Poll Ranking: Best AAB Games

Mark if it says WOW on the playfield, it's a WOW game!
i really think it's that easy. The usage of a 2nd stepper
for WOW is weird, and not what i would call the "common"
thing for an add-a-ball, but i don't put those in any sort
of different category really.

On Jan 4, 1:58 pm, Mark Clayton <spamuser1...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Clay:

It's not a matter of being "correct", it's a matter
of coming up with sensible distinctions.  I define
Gottlieb WOW games as games with two separate ball
counters: one for "BALLS TO PLAY" and one for the
WOW ball counter.  Non-WOW games I categorize as
games with a single visible ball counter going to at
least 9, with a bi-directional ball count unit
and labeled as "BALLS TO PLAY" rather than
"BALL IN PLAY".  Going by whether there is "WOW"
artwork on the playfield does not determine what
a true "WOW" game is, to me.

I agree with you about the "convertible" games, but they
do make the distinction of being the beginning of the
extra ball feature that we all expect now.  How pinball
went from Specials to add-a-balls, to extra balls to
extra balls plus specials is interesting.

-Mark
-----http://pinballpal.com



c...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Mark that's not correct.

Most WOW single player Gottlieb have a standard
single ball counters. For example, Gold Strike,
Dimension,  Pro Pool, Pin Up. These all have a
standard 0-10 ball counter. So you can rape those
games for upto 10 balls when you have WOW set up.

Now yes there are a few games like Bank Shot that
have that secondary WOW stepper unit. But it's a pretty
rare feature. And yea i don't like it as much. It feels
like they took Sure Shot and added the WOW stepper
to make it AAB (which may be the case). But again
it's not common. I think actually Bank Shot was the
first game to do that (don't know about Astro), and it
probably happened more on some later 1976-1979
gottlieb AAB games.

But again, most WOW add-a-ball games allow up to
10 balls in a single ball play, and on a single stepper unit.

In regards to the Bally and Wms "convertables"
"extra ball" games. F*CK THEM. those aren't
add-a-ball!  Not even close. That's like a "one shoe
size for all" type game. It's NOT add-a-ball. It's a
poor excuse for add-a-ball.

For a game to be "add-a-ball", you have to be able
to win more than ONE ball in a single ball play,
and have a means of counting above 5 balls.
That's my definition anyway.

A friend of mine puts it this way - the game must
say "Balls TO play" instead of "Ball IN play",
for it to be a 'real' add-a-ball.

And most Italy add-a-balls are "real" AAB games.
At least that's what i've seen. (which isn't much
frankly, because they are rare).

On Jan 4, 4:41 am, Mark Clayton <spamuser1...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
There are really three different varieties of add-a-balls.

1) Ball counter aab.  These have a BALLS TO PLAY indicator
rather than the BALL IN PLAY indicator had by replay games.
The giveaway in this case is a ball counter going to 9 or 10
on the backglass, labeled as BALLS TO PLAY rather than BALL
IN PLAY.  BTW, Dimension is this style, not a WOW game.

2) WOW aab.  These may also have a BALLS TO PLAY indicator,
but the indicator is limited to 1-5 balls.  But in addition
there is a separate extra ball counter, usually labeled
WOW, but sometimes by flags or other graphics.  The WOW and
balls-to-play indicators are usually (always?) back-lit numbers
or symbols on the backglass, while ball counter aab's have
conspicuous graphics for the number of balls to play, visible
without backlighting.

3) Extra ball aab.  This is how most (all?) of the multi-player
add-a-balls work, such as New York, Bristol Hills and Lariat.
This is also how most (all?) of the "convertible" games operate,
since they have a "BALL IN PLAY" counter that can only
count up, and no separate "Wow" ball counter.  All they can
do is offer an extra ball to the current player.

Also, there are additional Italy-only versions of some
of the add-a-balls, such as Star Trek (Astro) and
Rancho (Cowpoke).

Love them add-a-balls...

-Mark
-----http://pinballpal.com

ron wrote:
What are your Top 5 Add a Ball Games?  
Here's the poll ranking (based strictly on mentions) for the best AAB
games with a few notes
of my own identifying the replay version, flipper size and if a Wow
design to help me narrow down my search..
Two personal revelations came with your help:
- Differences between WOW and non-WOW design (thanks Clay!)
- Although Gottlieb’s got most of the love, did not know William’s and
Bally made convertible AAB's so will definitely check out Spanish
Eyes, Odd’s and Evens etc (thanks AL, Mark C and David M.!
Any leads appreciated for a good / very good condition AAB pin.  I’m
going to look for the easier to find replay versions to get a small
taste of a AAB preview at Lucky JuJu and at upcoming Pin a GoGo,
California Extreme and Pacific Pinball Expo shows.  For sure on my
list is Melody as I played Larry Z's very sweet Sing a Long and fell
in love / lust with the layout.
Any errors and omissions are mine as I was surfing IPD for info below
in the wee hours of the night.  The asterisks represent games I found
in my initial research so thanks all for the collective input to
dramatically expand my options!
\r
Number Mentions, AAB Game Name, Replay GameVersion, Flipper Size and
if a Wow Design
7  Dimension, 2001, 2", Wow
7  Lucky Hand, Jacks Open, 3", Wow
6  Gold strike     , El Dorado, 3", Wow
5  Diamond Jack, King of Diamonds, 2", Not Wow
5  Majorettes, ?, 2", Not Wow
5  Capt. Card, High Hand, 3", Wow
5  Pop-A-Card, Drop a Card, 2", Wow
4  Melody*, Sing a Long, 2", Not Wow
4  Subway, 2", Not Wow
3  Cowpoke, Buckaroo, 2", Not Wow
3  Flipper Pool, Bank a Ball, 2", Not Wow
3  Hearts and Spades, Spin a Card, 2", Wow
3  Ice Show *      , Ice Revue, 2", Not Wow
3  Pro Pool, Big Shot/Hot Shot, 3",   Wow
3  Rock Star, Blue Note, 3", Not Wow
3  Spanish Eyes (Williams' Convertible), 3", Not Wow
3  Team One, Abra Cadabra, 3", Not Wow
2  Flipper Cowboy, 2", Not Wow
2  Home Run, Playball, 3", Not Wow
2  Palace Guard *, Royal Guard, 2", Not Wow
2  Pin Up, King Pin, 2", Wow
2  Ship Ahoy, Buccaneer, 3", Wow
2  Square head, Egg Head, 2", Not Wow
2  Jungle King *, Wildlife / Jungle, 3", Wow
   3 Jokers
   Add-a-Ball
   Astro
   Bally Hi Deal (a true add-a-ball)
   Bally Odds & Evens in AAB mode
   Card trix *
   Flipper
   Flipper clown
   Flipper Fair
   Flipper Parade
   Freefall
   Fun park
   Granada
   Gulfstream (Williams' Convertible)
   Hawaiian Isle / Pleasure Isle*
   Hi-Deal (Bally Convertible)
   Hurdy Gurdy
   Love Bug
   Magic Town
   Mini Pool *
   Neptune *
   Odds & Evens (Bally Convertible)
   Playmates
   Post Time
   Skill Ball
   Smarty
   Tropic Fun
.

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