Play Meter

New Bally pin
Well, it does seem like old times
this time around because the one
game we'll be looking at is almost a
throwback to another age, and yet it
couldn't be righter for the present.
Admittedly, there was' always the
fervent hope by this writer, once
there was a such thing as a multi-
level playfield or even a multi-ball
game, that those qualities which
tended to make these types of
machines special and different
wouldn't be overused, abused and,
worse, replace the standard design
game. I was willing to accept the
notion that for' an interim period
everyone would follow the pack and
show that they too could do it,
because that is the nature of the
coin-machine business, whatever
the type of game, and probably
always will be.
But my great fear was that
manfacturers would blindly throw
away the old rules and try to change
everything in the hope of attracting
back players. It was a misplaced
concern, since the players who have
always liked pinball will find their way
to it if the games are interesting and
challenging-which doesn't neces-
sarily mean more balls on the field at
once or even more levels on the field.
Instead, it means a well-thought-out
game designed by
purposeful
programming and enhanced by all
the glitz of speech, flashing lights,
bold artwork, whatever.
And so it was with these feelings
and apprehensions that I faced the
new games coming through the
chute and realized that everyone
was just trying to get his act together,
and that maybe things would once
again venture back into those
features that make pinball-
pinball, and make it the unique
60
attraction tha is: that balance of
skill and luck and the placement of
features on a board that can satisfy
the novice as weD as the die hard
player.
This isn't to suggest that the game
we'll be focusing on this month has
accomplished all these things, but
it was a relief o see it and then play it
and realize tha maybe there was
going to be some sanity back in
pinball and tha things, design in
particular, migh just be put in
perspective.
·
This need for normalcy can't be
stressed enough if pinbaD is to begin
recapturing a regular playing
audience that isn't attracted, initially,
because of the glitz and, instead, is
challenged for something more than
just a few curiosity-inspired plays.
By the same token, things must also
continue to evolve. Interestingly,
some games we'll be looking at in
upcoming issues appear to be pretty
exciting ,espe c ia lly th e newest
Gottlieb effort, Mars , and Williams'
Jungle Lord. The hope, however,
even after looking and playing these
two is tnat the basics won't be
forsaken over the long haul.
On another,more ominous, note is
something which occurred in New
York at the end of March. There was
a firebombing of a Brooklyn pinball
arcade which injured four boys and
touched off a near panic among
parents who live near the Franklin
Square, Long Is la nd location.
Beyond the outrage and fear of such
an event, editorials in the local ·
papers were quick to point out that
as a result resistance has stiffened
regarding existing arcades or those
wanting to open. From a story in the
New York Post came this account:
"We are terrified," said Priscilla
•••
Parks. "We've been expecting it to
happen here." She was one of 100
parents who demonstrated yester-
day in front of the 30-game Foosball
World, 1057 Hempstead Turnpike,
Franklin Square. "Weare sitting on a
time bomb," said Patricia Friedman,
president of Garden City South
Community League :~. ;
"I don't know what that firebomb
was meant to say," said Linda
Capoziello, a mother of five . "But it
sure said something to us."The
parents fear the vandalism and
burglaries of cursing, fighting ,
urinating, beer-drinking teenagers
they say the arcade attracts every
night. Even worse, they say, is the
violence they associate with mob
takeover attempts
The Brooklyn bomb accelerated
opposition to game rooms through-
out the New York area, said William
Cohn, attorney for Foosball and
other arcades. "It alarmed people
already upset by the arcades." he
said.
Foosball World owner Daniel
DeLuca has been threatened several
times and was nearly struck by a car,
he toJd officials two weeks ago, and
an e~ployee's car was overturned.
"We don't want to wind up on the
front page of The Post," said
Rosemarie Bates, another mother.
Hempstead Deputy Town Attorney
Jeffery Stadler went into state
Supreme Court in Mineola, New
York for an order closing the parlor
on a zoning violation. The case will
be heard next month."
Admittedly, this isn't the type of
news anyone would like to hear, but
it's out there all too frequently and
really not too much can be done,
·except for self-regulation by owners
and local distributors and associa-
PLAY METER, June 1, 1981