# Episode 343 - 1979 Bally Tahiti **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2016-02-17 **Duration:** 12m 28s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-343-1979-bally-tahiti --- ## Analysis Nick Baldridge analyzes Bally's 1979 Tahiti, a controversial 20-hole bingo pinball game that divides the bingo player community. The episode details the game's mechanics including section scoring with star zones, customizable mystic lines (A/B/C in any order), ball return features, and odds scaling up to 600 replays, while noting it was the last 20-hole bingo Bally produced and features Tahitian-themed artwork throughout. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Tahiti was the last 20-hole bingo that Bally produced — _Nick Baldridge, stated directly as factual information about the game's production timeline_ - [HIGH] Tahiti is controversial among bingo players, with some loving it and others strongly disliking it — _Nick Baldridge, opening assertion about community reception; he notes direct knowledge of players in both camps_ - [HIGH] Tahiti does not have pick-a-play feature, meaning the game searches to step up features for each coin — _Nick Baldridge, explaining core game mechanics_ - [HIGH] Maximum replay win on Tahiti is 1,200 replays for five in a section with maximum odds — _Nick Baldridge, calculating theoretical maximum based on game rules_ - [HIGH] Tahiti is the only 20-hole bingo that awards mystic lines A, B, and C in any order rather than sequentially — _Nick Baldridge, explicitly stating this as a unique design feature_ - [MEDIUM] The ball return feature (columns B or C) is so powerful that Bally removed extra balls from Tahiti — _Nick Baldridge, speculating on game design trade-offs and balance decisions_ - [HIGH] Nick Baldridge has not personally played a Tahiti machine — _Nick Baldridge states directly: 'of course I can't comment because I haven't played one'_ - [HIGH] Only two more bingo games were produced by Bally after Tahiti before they closed bingo production — _Nick Baldridge, stated at end of episode as factual information about production timeline_ ### Notable Quotes > "Tahiti is actually a game that is a bit controversial it's controversial because there are bingo players that love this game absolutely head over heels in love with this game and then there are bingo players that really really dislike this game" > — **Nick Baldridge**, early in episode > _Sets up the central premise of the episode—explaining why Tahiti generates such divided opinions in the bingo community_ > "This is the only game that did this. By default, the game will lock you out of moving those numbers before shooting your fourth ball." > — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-episode during mechanics explanation > _Highlights Tahiti's unique design choice for mystic lines award order, a distinguishing feature_ > "That's a really powerful feature, and that's probably why Bally removed the extra balls feature from this game." > — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-to-late episode during ball return discussion > _Offers expert analysis of game design trade-offs and balance considerations by the manufacturer_ > "The biggest disadvantage is the very low scoring potential. You know, you don't get the thrill of winning 2,400 replays off a single game. You know the max you can win is 1,200." > — **Nick Baldridge**, late episode > _Identifies what may be the core reason for player dissatisfaction—limited maximum payout despite complex mechanics_ > "I'd really like to give Tahiti a try one day and judge for myself just how much of an advantage that ball return feature is versus what Bally removed in this game." > — **Nick Baldridge**, conclusion > _Shows the host's curiosity about whether the powerful ball return mechanic actually delivers the advantage it appears to provide_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, expert analyst of bingo pinball games and mechanics | | Bally | company | Manufacturer of Tahiti and numerous other bingo and pinball machines; major player in EM era manufacturing | | Tahiti | game | 1979 Bally 20-hole bingo pinball game that is controversial among players; features unique mystic lines mechanics and ball return features | | Vic Camp | person | Guest featured on previous For Amusement Only episode 'Strictly Six Cards' discussing Nashville and Dixieland bingo games | | Nashville | game | Bally bingo game mentioned as previously covered in dedicated episodes on the For Amusement Only podcast | | Dixieland | game | Bally bingo game mentioned as previously covered in dedicated episodes on the For Amusement Only podcast; complex six-card game | | Magic Screen | game | Bally bingo game series referenced for comparison of section scoring mechanics used in Tahiti | | Mystic Lines | game | Series of Bally bingo games (20-hole) featuring column-moving mechanics; Tahiti is part of this line | | Palm Springs | game | Bally bingo game referenced for having ball return features similar to Tahiti's system | | Surf Club | game | Bally bingo game referenced for having ball return features similar to Tahiti's system | ### Topics - **Primary:** Game Mechanics and Rules, Bingo Pinball History and Production Timeline, Player Reception and Community Controversy - **Secondary:** Artwork and Cabinet Design, Game Design Trade-offs and Balance, EM Pinball Era Design Evolution, Replay Mechanics and Scoring Potential ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0.15) — Nick Baldridge maintains analytical, curious tone throughout. He acknowledges the game's interesting mechanics and design choices with apparent appreciation, but recognizes the controversy without taking a strong stance. He expresses desire to play the game himself to form his own opinion, showing openness. Slightly positive lean due to genuine interest in the game's design complexity. ### Signals - **[historical_signal]** Tahiti was the last 20-hole bingo that Bally produced, with only two more bingo games following it before Bally ceased bingo production entirely (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge states: 'in fact, it was the last 20-hole bingo that Bally produced' and 'There's only two more before they close up bingo production for good' - **[design_philosophy]** Tahiti features unique design choice where mystic lines A, B, C are awarded in any order rather than sequentially, distinguishing it from other games in the line (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'This is the only game that did this' in reference to awarding mystic lines in any order - **[gameplay_signal]** Ball return feature appears so powerful that Bally removed extra balls from the game as a balancing trade-off (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge speculates: 'That's a really powerful feature, and that's probably why Bally removed the extra balls feature from this game' - **[community_signal]** Tahiti is controversial in bingo player community with strongly divided opinion—some love it, others strongly dislike it, though reasons for dislike are not definitively established (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge states game is 'controversial' and notes players who love it 'head over heels' versus those who 'really really dislike this game' - **[gameplay_signal]** Very low maximum scoring potential (1,200 replays) compared to other bingo games may be a core reason for player dissatisfaction (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge: 'The biggest disadvantage is the very low scoring potential...the max you can win is 1,200' - **[design_philosophy]** Star zones in Tahiti create treacherous default mechanics, mitigated by mystic lines and ball return features to rebalance gameplay (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge explains star zones give 'absolutely nothing' by default, requiring complex mitigation strategies via mystic lines and ball return --- ## Transcript What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight I wanted to talk about Bally's 1979 Tahiti. Now, if you've been listening for a while or following along in the chronological list of Bally's bingos, you'll notice that I skipped over Nashville and Dixieland. Well, that's because I've actually talked about Nashville and Dixieland on their own dedicated episodes some time ago. I've also talked about them with Vic Camp on an episode called Strictly Six Cards. So check out those shows if you'd like more information about those fantastic six-card games. Those are the most complex and featureful of the EM six cards. so Tahiti is actually a game that is a bit controversial it's controversial because there are bingo players that love this game absolutely head over heels in love with this game and then there are bingo players that really really dislike this game and I've heard of people in the former camp, but I know some folks in the latter camp, and I've always been curious as to what made this a stinker to them. So let's see if we can find out together. All right, Tahiti is a 20-hole bingo. In fact, it was the last 20-hole bingo that Bally produced. So in typical bingo pinball fashion, you drop in your first quarter, the game will reset, it'll set you to your default odds, and at that point you can either shoot your ball and play for default odds, or you can insert any number of quarters up to 40 per game to try and increase your odds and features. this game does not have pick a play and that means that for each coin the game will search and try to find a particular thing to step up so let's talk about odds your main goal in a bingo pinball machine is to try and earn the maximum number of replays per game. So by default, if you get 3 in a section, you'll win 4 replays, 16 for 4 in a section, and 80 for 5 in a section. The odds go all the way up to 192 for 3 in a section, 480 for 4 in a section, and 600 for 5 in a section. As far as features go, any of the different colors, of which there are 4, can be doubled. So your maximum win is going to be 1,200 replays for five in a section with your odds all the way up at max obviously So your different sections are red yellow green and blue And like many of the 20 games Tahiti brings back mystic lines Because there is no in-line scoring on the mystic lines games, on the 20-hole games, Valley had to come up with something different, and that is section scoring. so the section scoring if you'll recall I've talked about before on Magic Screen Games and by default you have an inline scoring setup and you can reveal the section scoring setup while on the Mystic Lines games there's only section scoring so the numbers that you have to hit don't correspond with numbers that you would see vertically, horizontally, or diagonally They're oddly shaped sections. And in these sections, one number in each section is white with the color of the section in a star. These are called star zones, and by default, they give you absolutely nothing. So if you get three in a section, including the star zone, you don't win. You have to get three in a section without the star, and you only get the star awarded as part of your replace that you earn if it is the fifth number that you earn. So, the star zones can be treacherous. To mitigate this, Bally added the mystic lines. Mystic lines allow you to move columns of numbers. The B column will swap the leftmost two columns totally, so one will move into the second position. The A column allows you to move the center column up and down one position. And then the C columns allow you to swap the rightmost two columns' positions. Now what makes Tahiti interesting is that instead of awarding you A, then B, then C, as is typical with Mystic Lions games, it can award you any, in any order. So you can get C first, you can get B first, or you can get A first. That's interesting. Typically, the Mystic Lions are a big help if you have A, B, and C lit, of course, allowing you to move every number on the back glass. If you only had C lit, that would be interesting in a certain subset of situations. So that would be interesting to try. This is the only game that did this. By default, the game will lock you out of moving those numbers before shooting your fourth ball. But you can earn, through more credits of course, before fifth or even after fifth. this game has no extra balls so that after fifth is very desirable this game brings back any four stars but instead of adding the red letter game as many of the other Mystic Lines games did, especially the later ones, you only get score for the star zones, and only if that feature is lit. So if you have all four star zones, it scores 100. Now, in order to soften the blow, Bally added in any three star zones, and in this case, it scores 25. So, Bally must have thought that getting those star zones would be pretty easy, and the reason why is because of this next feature, the ball return. Now, you've heard about this before with games like Palm Springs and Surf Club, if you've been listening for a while. Those games would allow you to return any of the odd or even numbered balls. In this case, you can return either the columns indicated by B on the back glass or the columns indicated by C. And that is also very interesting because let's say that I'm shooting for the blue section. The blue section is shaped like a boomerang in the bottom left corner of the back glass. The two columns that don't have any numbers in the blue are the rightmost two columns or the letter C. So if I'm shooting for blue, let's say I get three in the blue and I really want five, but the other two numbers that I hit are in the green or the red over on the rightmost two columns. Well, I return C, and then I have the chance to shoot those last two again and try and hit the blue. That's a really powerful feature, and that's probably why Bally removed the extra balls feature from this game. On top of that, that's probably why the any three or four stars value is so low, because Ballad gives you the opportunity to try again without inputting any additional credits after you start your game. So, from a feature standpoint, I think Tahiti is very interesting. From a gameplay standpoint, of course I can't comment because I haven't played one. I would love to hear from people on both sides of the argument, though. Especially someone who really loves Tahiti. I would love to talk to them. Because it appears that this game gives you a fairly decent advantage. The biggest disadvantage is the very low scoring potential. You know, you don't get the thrill of winning 2,400 replays off a single game. You know the max you can win is 1 and I sure that a very rare event that it lights double and you have max odds So let talk about artwork Tahiti Backglass has a Tahitian kind of theme In the corners of the backglass at the top left and top right you have a flower. It appears to be an orchid. And then the B, A, and C for the Mystic Lions are seashells. On the left and right side of the bingo card, you have two women. And then there's a woman's face close up in the middle right of the back glass. In the bottom left, you have Ivy and Ferns underneath the replay register and to the left of the odds. There are more seashells and orchids spread throughout, and the background is green. So looking at the cabinet, you have a woman's face stenciled on the side of the cabinet, and her head is sitting on top of these fern leaves. The same leaves adorn the side of the head, but there is a flower, which is just a hair above center. The background of the cabinet is yellow. And then on the playfield you have two women left and right kind of standing in a fern. And up at the top of the playfield you have an orchid. and then you have bamboo which is kind of constructed around each of the holes on the playfield making them look like structures which were created there and that's pretty cool looking I'd really like to give Tahiti a try one day and judge for myself just how much of an advantage that ball return feature is versus what Bally removed in this game. So as I mentioned at the top of the show, this was the last of the 20 whole games that Bally produced. And we are closing in on the last of the games that Bally produced in the bingo line. There's only two more before they close up bingo production for good. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's 724-BINGOS1 724-246-4671 you can listen to us on iTunes Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS on Facebook, on Twitter at bingopodcast you can follow me on Instagram also at bingopodcast or you can listen to us on our website which is forumusementonly.libson.com thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 1c2f5964-85ee-4ec8-9e5b-a512a051997b*