2/ 25-cents to 1!25-cents, 3/ 50-
cents , but I'm reluctant to change
because I might lose customers .
What do you think?
Cautious Calvin
Dear Chump :
If I could still buy gasoline for
39-cents a gallon , new pinball
machines for $800 , service help for
$1.25 an hour , and groceries for my
family at 1969 prices , I wouldn't
change either .
•• Jimmy Carter wants more
peanut vendors . ••
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Dear ,
Don't forget to bring home two
quarts of milk and a loaf of bread .
Your wife
Honey ,
Wasn 't the note in my lunch
bucket sufficient?
•• Hi , parts suppliers, how're the
reading lessons coming?· •
•••••••••••••••••••••••
sittin' around at night smokin' this
funny weed and we dreamed up this
really super game we think'lI sell but
what we wanta know , man , is if it's
risky to get into manufacturin'
games?
Pothead and Pals
Hey , Mans,
Is it risky to teach rattlesnakes to sit
up? Is it risky to be a javelin catcher?
Is it risky to gargle lye? Is it risky to
stall generators by grabbing the spark
plugs? Is it risky to call Muhammed
Ali , "Boy"?
However , you may have a head
for business .
•• Chicago Coin ,
where have you goin?" · •
•••••••••••••••••••••••
You Dreamer,
I been goin' 50/ 50 wit my
locations for years an now you guys
are saying I gotta git a 60/ 40 split,
but I kin just see me losin' all my
locations. Whaddaya say about that?
Old Pro
Mr. Answer Man ,
My supply of 1147 miniature lamps
is constantly depleted and my service
man says he has to keep replacing
bulbs in pop bumpers . I have a
suspicion that he's selling the bulbs
on the side . Am I correct?
Dear Old Pro,
Address all inqumes along these
lines to: Dear Chump .
Parts Poor
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Wrong! Pop Bumper Breath,
Actually , extensive research on
my part indicates the C .I.A . is to
blame . Having trouble getting fund -
ing from Congress, the c.1.A. has
qUietly bought stock in companies
such as Westinghouse which pro-
duce miniature bulbs . To insure an
annual dividend , the C .I.A . has
placed agents on the manufacturing
lines to sabotage all bulbs so that no
pop bumper shall remain lit longer
than six hours or 65 games ,
whichever comes first. Furthermore ,
undercover operatives have infiltrat-
ed the engineering departments of all
pinball manufacturers to abort any
electrical advancement in pop bump-
ers over the last 45 years. And that's
why we screwed up in Viet Nam .
Does that answer your question?
•• Old pinball players never die ;
they just lose their balls . ••
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Hey Man ,
Me and some buddies a mine been
PLA Y METER, October, 1977
• • Roses are red , violets are swell ,
Where would we be without
Nolan Bushnell?· •
Mr . Answer Man ,
Some of my fellow operators have
bought these new-fangled electronic
flipper games like "Evel Knievel" but
I don 't trust 'em . What do you think I
should do?
Careful in OJicagc
Mr . Careful in Chicago,
If you didn't buy a Pong game
when they came out, if you didn't
buy a Wizard , if you didn't get a
Tank , if you missed on the Sea Wolf,
if you passed up Space Mission, DO
NOT get an electronic pinball . Why
spoil a perfect record?
•• Sega? You're due , fellows.··
••••••••••••••••••••••••
Dear Answer Man ,
Looking for a little help in buying a
new game . Are there any machines
currently on the market I should
avoid?
Genefrom Moline
Dear Gene from Moline ,
I believe you'd be wise to pass up
Instant Replay by Turkey Games .
For a quarter the player gets 'to hear
highlights of Howard Cosell doing
Monday Night Baseball.
•• There's a new game called
The Godfather- a hand grabs you
by the throat and forces you to put
a quarter in it . ••
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Hey , Ace with the Answers,
How about a service tip or two?
Man in a Hurry
Hey , Hurryin' Man ,
I've got two: never change fuses
with one hand while drinking from a
water bubbler; and , get your techni-
cal tips from Robin Minnear in PLAY
METER .
• • Gerry Ney is World Wide
Distributors' electronic genius- but
he's getting married -
how smart can he be?· •
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Sonny Boy,
Dis a "new image" malarkey for da
coin machine bizness kinda make a
me mad cause I been in dis game a
long time an just cause me an rna
boys git a little rough some times don
give nobody da right to call us
"sleazy" an "hoods" ya see .
Scarface
Dear Mom,
I wish you'd quit talking like that.
Holy cow , what'll my friends think?
•• Just a little joke , Mom ...
she can be a mean mother . ••
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Answer Man ,
How come PLAY METER pub-
lishes your second-r?ltp. stuff?
Writing Critic
Critic,
Simple . I'm cheap . Who else do
you know who works for old Flying
Ace tokens and an autographed
picture of Ralph Lally?
• • PLAY METER is not your
ordinary magazine- who else's
centerfold lists song titles?· •
That's all the space we have for
questions this time, folks , but don't
fail to remember to forget to send any
query you have on the coin industry
to : Answer Man , Box 13, Shady
Rest Home for the Incurably Weird ,
Aukland , Antartica . ••••••••••
53