Coin Slot Magazine - #046 - 1978 - November [International Arcade Museum]
o'clock in the evening to seven o'clock in the morning. We didn't
even notice the time pass away until it was ready for both of us
to go to work. We ended up leaving for work right out of the
basement only to return anxiously later that day to do it all over
again. They sure don't make them like they used to!
P.S. - If any of you Coin Slot readers are ever in the area, you can
play the machine by contacting me!
COMMENTS FROM JOHN FETTERMAN:
This game is mentioned in the McKeown Pinball Portfolio book,
and at the time I first saw its picture, it was the most radical
flipper game I'd ever seen. The single flipper, midget playfield,
and asymetrical main playfield leave no doubt but that this is a
mid-fifties Williams pintable. Whereas Gottliebs from this era are
unmistakably the forefathers of modem pins, and consequently
easier to accept, playing the fifties Williams game and enjoying it
is an acquired taste. Apparently, Bjig Ben's taste, once acquired,
is addicting.
Big Ben was released by Williams Electronics on May 18, 1954.
Previous to the game were a series of pintables which carried the
industry's first digital score reels - an idea ahead of its time, as
Big Ben is a 'bulb' machine, one which reads out its score by
bicklighting numbers painted on the backglass.
This is one of
the earliest, if not the earliest use of the midget playfield; it is not
unique. Natkin & KirK's All About Pinball (reviewed herein July
1978) shows a picture of Colors, post-dating Big Ben by some
five months, a game possessing two such midget playfields, and
the later-still
till Spitfire
Spitfire has two different midget playfields flanking
the middle of the main
mat playfield.
The numbers spelled out on the backglass which Mr. Balde
describes are the ancestor of the modern match unit.
In later
Williams games, the end-of-ball spot number or letter would be
concealed from the player until he drained, making it more ran
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Northwestern Gumball & Peanut Machine Pamphlet, plus - 4 addi
tional sheets on Gumball Machines — $5.95 plus postage.
Complete Gumball Collection For Sale - 1899-1930 - Call any
Wednesday Evening, 612-473-3871.
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
One Penny Wonder — 805 Terraceview Lane — Wayzata, MN 55391