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Silver Ball Century ep. 43 - Late 1984

List of the tables in this episode, also listed below

It's hard to find more variation in pinball quality than this episode. In late 1984, we get to play the wonderful Space Shuttle, but first, we have to play Spy Hunter, a pinball game that I would best describe as "kuso".

It's not that Bally entirely forgot how to design a pinball machine just because they got absorbed into Midway! They also made Black Pyramid, a solid game featuring off-brand Indiana Jones that feels like their early-1980s hits.

Gottlieb's The Games is playable enough but unsatisfying. You know who is satisfied, though, apparently: the aquatic monsters in the unexpectedly lusty artwork of Playmatic's Nautilus. This is the kind of thing that makes it exciting to put Spanish pinball designs into the list.

Speaking of Spanish pinball, can anyone tell me what "Petaco" means? Why is it the name of a pinball company, and also the name of two games by a different pinball company?

Silver Ball Century goes live at 8pm Eastern on Thursday, on twitch.tv/arborelia.

Tables in this episode