Classic Mode

Play Meter

Issue: 1978 February - Vol 4 Num 3

Foosball
Do you have any info on what
happened to Foosball Sport-
system of Cincinnati, Ohio? They
were big in the late '60s.
Also, how about a regular
foosball column in your fine
magazine, even just a paragraph
or two?
Mailbox ....
J &N E nterprises
Colchester, Connecticut
Your route
mechanic's tool box
is out of order.
T(~) l s and pal1s are everywhere. Th 're hard
to find . 'er ice call s tak longer. Maintenance
costs go up. (And if tools get lost. some s rvice
call s might not e en get compl ted .)
Wi th a Platt tml case. things like that don't
huppen. It 's designed to keep a mechan ic on the
job. work ing wi th his tlxlls, rather than in his tool
box. look i ng for t Ik'm.
Wit h a Platt case. he'lI know just wh re e\'t'ry·
thing is. Smaller tcKlb arc in indi\'idual pockets in
our patented olll"piece pallet. Larger Itwlls and parts
are in compil1111lents. And papers and orcier I)(Klk are in
lid pockets.
And a Pl att tm l case not only helps a mechanic Iw mOil' pl'Ilfl'ssional. It makes him
look more professional. It Cll11lCS in hand~lml'.lightll'('ight. durable ABS Thrll11o,
plastic. Or lich look ing vinyl reinforced by :\ It ' Thermoplastic.
V'. llat's more. it also has a 5 year guaran tee.
A I'latt tool cmie keeps a mechan ic's equipml'nt in order. So he dOL'S a better job
of keeping your machi nes in order.
Contact us for complete infoll11ation on Platt's
full li ne of tool Cilses and your nearest distributor.
L
:tt
p a..
Cases for business and industry.
~ .' P ralrll' ,\ \l' " Chll·a),:, •. tt l. NI6t6 1.'121 22:;·hh70
[Ed-As far as Foosball Sport-
system, aU we have been able to
find out to date is that apparently
they went under around 1975. If
anyone has a later word about
them, we would appreciate it. As
for your second question, a
request for a foosball column,
check this issue. We have Mr.
Joe McCarthy of M&M Distrib-
uting and editOr of Foos Noos
supplying us with such a column. ]
Solid state com pla int
I would like to see anyone from
the solid state crowd go into a
taproom at 6 p.m. Saturday night
to repair an Evel Knievel, as I
have experienced.
Four players are in the middle
of a game, the display lights
flicker back and forth, the two
pop bumpers start to pop and
score for no reason. And I should
repair the game in 1,2,3? An
electro-mechanical game? Yes;
solid state? No way, forget it!
William S. Anthony
Anthony Music Systems, Inc.
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Suggestions
I have only received two copies
of your magazine so far . I find
them very informative and stim-
ulating.
However, I would Like to see
some information on the rating of
recently issued games, financial -
ly, as compared to other estab-
lished moneymakers.
I would like to see more about
setting up pinball and foosball
tournaments. Also, a useful guide
to the beginning and still -learn -
ing mechanics would probably
prove to be a worthwhile publica-
tion.
Michael Mendelsohn
Games Unlimited
Santa Monica, California
[Ed - I think you will find that
that is what PLAY METER is all
about, Mr. Mendelsohn. Our
"Critic's Corner" column from
Roger Sharpe each month rates
pinball games according to player
appeal. A nd from a recent survey
8
PLAY METER . Fe bruary , 1978
of U.S. operators, we learned
that the games he rated the
highest were in turn usually the
games that, according to our
readers, earned the most. As for
ideas on running pinball tourna·
ments, check this month's Coin·
man for some interesting ideas.
And nearly every issue is like
that - with articles on how to
promote your games whether
they be your pool tables, air
hockey tables, or whatever. And
our "Technical Topics" section
provides mechanics with useful
technical information.
joystick because the quicker
response time enchanced the
realism (and , therefore, the ex·
citement) of t he battling star·
ships. The buttons also proved to
be more reliable than the joy·
ticks tested and should give
operators a more reliable and
profitable product.
Likewise , the lack of outer
space artwork was another much·
discu sed topic. We decided to go
with the present design because
t hose involved in the project
t hought that the solid black
background around the screen
enhanced the feeling of being in
outer space. At one time we had
artwork of battling spaceships,
but the action in the artwork ran
a poor second to the action on the
screen.
I hope this sheds light on
que tion you or your readers
may have. Once again, let me
t hank all of you for your kind
words of encouragement. Live
long and prosper!
Tom Stroud
Cinematronic8, Inc.
E) Cajon, California
The Force
I would like to thank Ralph
Lally, Gene Beley, Robin Min·
near and Coinman of t he Month,
Maurice Terry for picking our
pace Wars game as a hit at the
AMOA show. Their many kind
words are greatly appreciated at
Cinematronics and did much to
boost our morale. May the Force
be with all of you .
There were several questions
a ked of Cinematronics in these
piece , and I will be glad to
an wer these for you. The
que tion I am referr ing to are (a)
how did a small company like
Cinemat ronics end up with such
an advanced game? (b) why are
t he tar hips controlled with
button rather than a joystick?
and (c) why t he lack of artwork
on the cabinet?
A to how Cinematronics end·
ed up with Space Wars, I would
like to say that we were sharp
enough to go out and find it and
put it into production; but,
unfortunately, that was not t he
ca e.
pace Wars' inventor, Larry
Rosenthal, came to us only after
being turned down by t he giants
in the industry- like Bell Tele-
phone, Edison Power and Light,
and Polaroid. Cinematronics was
a mall company t hat recognized
a breakthrough and decided to
take a chance on it. Our acquisi-
tion of pace War wa the old
American combination of guts,
luck, and foresight.
The decision on the starship
control and cabinet design were
made after many long discussions
by tho e involved in the project.
Buttons were chosen over the
PLAY METER , February, 1978
ARCADE
SPECIALISTS
Arcade & Video .
ALLIED Street Burner ..... $3.95
AMERICOIN Junk Yard .... 895
ATARI Cops N Robbers .... 795
ATARI Dominos ..... .. .... . 895
ATARI Formula K .... .. .... 495
ATARI Gran Trak 10 .. ..... . 595
ATARI Jet Fighter ........ . 695
ATARI Night Driver . . ..... 1345
Atari outlaw ............ . .. 495
ATARI Quak .. . . .. .. . .. .. . 395
ATARI Sprint II ... .. .. .... 1595
ATARI Steeple Chase ... . .. 595
ATARI Tank ....... . .... . . . 645
ATARI Tank II ..... . ... . ... 745
CINEMATRONICS
Embargo ..... .. .. ... . 1295
DIGITAL Heavy Traffic .... . 395
ELECTRA Air Combat . . . . . 1495
EXIDY Alley Rally . ...... . . . 995
EXIDY Car Polo ... . ...... . 2695
EXIDY Death Race ....... . 1345
EXIDY Score . ..... ... .... . 995
EXIDY Ole Time Basketball . 695
FUN GAMES Tankers ..... . 595
FUN GAMES BiPlane . .. .. . 695
FUN GAMES Race ...... . .. 595
GREMLIN Blockade . ..... . . 995
GREMLIN Comotion II ... . . 995
MEADOWS Drop Zone 4 .. . 495
MEADOWS Bonkers . .. ... . 795
MEADOWS
Lazer Command ....... 995
MEA DOWS Cobra Gunship . 895
MIDWAY Gunfight ... .... 1095
MIDWAY
Tornado Baseball ..... 1095
MIDWAY 280 Zap .... .. ... 1295
MIDWAY Wheels .......... 795
M IDWA Y Wheels II . . .... . . 925
MIDWAY Racer ... .. . ... .. 745
MIDWAY Sea Wolf . .... . . 1295
SEGA Road Race . . ...... . . 795
SEGA Fonz ..... . ... . .. . ... 895
SEGA Tracer ....... . .... .. 895
COCKTAIL
TABLES
FUN GAMES Take 5 ...... . . 695
BAILEY Fun Four ... . . . ... . 695
KEE Tank II ............... 1095
MIDWAY Gunfight . .. . ... 1195
MIRCO 21 (new) . .. . .... . .. call
MIRCO Super 21 (new) . .... call
PHONOGRAPHS
ROCK· OlA 442 W1 ........ $625
ROWE MM2 ........ .. .. .. . 445
ROWE T1 · 1 .. .. .......... . . 945
SEEBURG SPS· 160 ....... . . 975
SEEBURG STD· 160 ..... . .. 1225
N .S.M . Century 21 · 0 . . . . .. 1095
N .S.M . Prestiege 160-0 .... 1095
WURLITZER Atlantic II ..... 995
W e alway s h ave u sed fl i ppers
for immediat e d elivery !
ADVANCE DISTRIBUTING CO., INC.
2820 N. Grand Blvd
Saint louis , Mo 63107
call c ollect :314 / 652-1600
9

Download Page 8: PDF File | Image

Download Page 9 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.