# Episode 168 - 1952 Williams Four Corners

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-08-26  
**Duration:** 10m 10s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-168-1952-williams-four-corners

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge provides a detailed technical and artistic analysis of the 1952 Williams Four Corners, a bingo-themed pinball machine with a travel/tourist attraction theme. He discusses the playfield layout featuring 16 numbered trap holes, passive bumpers, rollover lanes, artwork by George Melenthin, and complex replay mechanics combining three-in-a-line and four-in-a-line combinations. The episode emphasizes the game's challenging nudging requirements due to impulse flipper technology and tightly-spaced trap holes.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Four Corners was made by Williams in 1952 — _Nick Baldridge, opening statement_
- [HIGH] The game features a bingo card with 16 different numbers and 16 trap holes on the playfield — _Nick Baldridge describing backglass and playfield layout_
- [MEDIUM] The game likely has impulse flippers, making shooting for particular holes challenging — _Nick Baldridge inference based on game vintage_
- [HIGH] The flyer states there are 33 different ways to score replays, combining three-in-a-line and four-in-a-line combinations — _Nick Baldridge citing game documentation_
- [HIGH] The artwork was created by George Melenthin — _Nick Baldridge describing cabinet artwork_
- [HIGH] The game uses a typical credit wheel and can score between a dozen and thirty replays, operator adjustable — _Nick Baldridge discussing replay credit mechanics_
- [HIGH] Nick has never seen a Four Corners in person and has only seen one come up for sale during his time in the hobby — _Nick Baldridge personal observation_

### Notable Quotes

> "This game being made by Williams immediately makes it of interest, but beyond that the bingo card is made up of 16 different numbers."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, early
> _Establishes the unique appeal of the machine—both manufacturer prestige and bingo mechanics_

> "I've never played one of these games, but because of the vintage of this game, it most likely has impulse flippers, which would make shooting for a particular hole pretty challenging based on the layout."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, early
> _Highlights the technical difficulty introduced by early flipper technology_

> "The trap holes are much closer together than they are on a Bally bingo."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid
> _Comparative design observation that contextualizes the game's difficulty and design choices_

> "The artwork is by George Melenthin and it is beautiful. The travel theme is very apparent from the back glass with the depiction of roadways and then the cabinet stencil itself, which is that of a train making its way across the country."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid
> _Praises the cohesive artistic execution of the travel theme across multiple game elements_

> "It's unlikely that you're going to make enough on this game to actually sell back, assuming you're a good player."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, late
> _Commentary on operator economics and how the credit wheel caps earnings potential_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; pinball enthusiast and content creator focused on electromechanical and bingo machines |
| Four Corners | game | 1952 Williams pinball machine with bingo mechanics, 16 numbered trap holes, travel theme, artwork by George Melenthin |
| Williams | company | Classic pinball manufacturer that produced Four Corners in 1952 |
| George Melenthin | person | Artist who created the backglass and cabinet artwork for Four Corners |
| For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge, focused on vintage electromechanical and bingo pinball games |
| Bally | company | Pinball manufacturer referenced for comparative design purposes (trap hole spacing mentioned in contrast to Williams bingo games) |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Bingo Pinball Mechanics, Vintage Pinball Design (1950s), Playfield Layout and Difficulty
- **Secondary:** Artwork and Cabinet Aesthetics, Impulse Flipper Technology, Operator Economics and Replay Systems, Game Rarity and Collecting

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Nick expresses clear appreciation for the game's artwork, theme coherence, and interesting gameplay mechanics. He acknowledges the game's difficulty and rarity, lending it mystique. Some neutral/analytical tone when discussing technical aspects, but overall tone is enthusiastic and respectful toward the machine.

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Detailed technical and artistic analysis of a 1952 Williams bingo pinball machine, contributing to archival documentation and preservation of EM-era game knowledge (confidence: high) — Comprehensive playfield layout description, artwork attribution, mechanical feature analysis, and rarity observations
- **[design_innovation]** Williams Four Corners demonstrates innovative integration of bingo card mechanics into pinball playfield with 16 numbered trap holes and complex replay award combinations (33 total paths) (confidence: high) — Backglass bingo card with 16 numbers, 16 trap holes on playfield, 33 different ways to score replays via three-in-a-line and four-in-a-line combos
- **[gameplay_signal]** Game designed with significant technical difficulty due to impulse flipper limitations, tight trap hole spacing, and challenging corner ramp shots requiring expert nudging (confidence: high) — Nick notes impulse flippers make hole shooting challenging, trap holes closer together than Bally bingos, corner ramp shots require excellent nudging, and describes layout as 'pretty rough'
- **[collector_signal]** Four Corners appears to be a scarce machine—Nick has never seen one in person during his time in the hobby and recalls only one coming up for sale (confidence: medium) — Nick statement: 'I've never seen one and I think I've seen one come up for sale ever but I haven't been in the game that long, comparatively'
- **[operational_signal]** Game's credit wheel caps replay earnings between approximately 12-30 replays (operator adjustable), limiting profitability even for skilled players (confidence: high) — Nick notes game unlikely to generate sellable replay quantity and credit wheel potential limited to 'a little bit more than a dozen or so, but not much further than, say, thirty or so'
- **[design_philosophy]** Four Corners exhibits strong thematic coherence across multiple design elements—travel/tourist theme reflected in backglass roadway depiction, cabinet train stencil, and overall game aesthetic (confidence: high) — George Melenthin artwork shows roadways on backglass and train on cabinet stencil, with Nick noting travel theme is 'very apparent' across cabinet design

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## Transcript

 The The 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 want to talk about a particular game. 1952's Four Corners made by Williams. This game has a theme of travel. Visiting the Four Corners, which is a big tourist attraction here in the United States. What's interesting about this game is if you look at the back glass you'll notice immediately that there is a bingo card. This game being made by Williams immediately makes it of interest, but beyond that the bingo card is made up of 16 different numbers. There are 16 different trap holes located on the playfield. I've never played one of these games, but because of the vintage of this game, it most likely has impulse flippers, which would make shooting for a particular hole pretty challenging based on the layout. The So let's talk about that for a minute. On the playfield, you have a variety of passive bumpers. Up at the top just outside of the shooter lane, in fact, you have five arranged in an arch. Below that, you have some posts. The numbers 1 are arranged in a star pattern an upside down star pattern right in the center of the upper playfield Below that you have two pops to the left and right Then you have two rollover lanes Then you have two more passive bumpers Then your flippers located in the typical position They are not reverse articulated They flip in the normal fashion we accustomed to seeing Then below that you have a variety of trap holes numbered from seven Atomic);a ramp shot type in pinball PneumAUDIBLEas in the corner of the table. Reference of the first three You would have to be on top of your nudging game in order to get it all the way down through. There are a couple of posts and the trap Holes are much closer together than they are on a Ballybingo. So let's talk about what your goal is here. Well, you have multiple. In fact, the flyer says there are 33 different ways to score replays, but they are combining a lot of 3 in lines and 4 in lines in order to get that number. So any 3 numbers in a line will get you a replay. Any 4 in a line will get you another replay. Game acaba, Knapper lbumps tweet roar moralism humane all of wrote a key name and yanlış spell how to for feature after allowinged and we have was however It is well worth a read because there seems to be a variety of interesting gameplay related to this game, much of which I have completely forgotten. I think it helps with this type of game if you're actually able to lay hands on it. I never seen one and I think I seen one come up for sale ever but I haven been in the game that long uh comparatively So I sure they out there Now that said uh let talk about the artwork The artwork is George Melentin and it is beautiful Um the travel theme is very apparent from the back glass with the The pinball show is a playfield where there's a depiction of roadways and then the cabinet stencil itself which is that of a train making its way across the country. A manga card. 111-9-2 then it will light all four rollovers on both sides and the three special bonkers at top in each hit on those bonkers and rollovers will score a replay that's pretty awesome on especially since the game does have a ball return if you happen to have balls trapped In various holes on the way down and you're really good at nudging to that specific area, then it should be possible for you to get multiple ball returns and thus earn many, many free games. Now those bumpers at the top are passive, which means that they are not going to kick into each other and grant you a billion replays, but having more than one chance to knock across them. Fun fact. This is actually damn interesting. Soundtracks�데oknowsheat.com. Thank you for watching. And you know you'll get heard from after a minute, now. So you have situations where you light bumpers for each hit Trapping a ball up in the top area earns you Tripping al built tremendously cartount area fearful hundred thousand per ball and then it's possible delight on the playfield that all role overs score five hundred thousand each time they're yet So, as you can hear, the scoring potential is pretty high. Now let's talk about replays for a minute, because in a typical bingo, of course, your goal is to earn as many replays as practical and then sell them back. In this case, it uses a typical credit wheel, so you're going to get up into the double The pinball show is a game that is a little bit more than a dozen or so digits, but not much further than, say, 30 or so, which is of course operator adjustable. So it's unlikely that you're going to make enough on this game to actually sell back, assuming you're a good player. The game is a very fun game. I do love the artwork. I think the theme is pretty cool. A cross-country journey to a tourist attraction is a neat idea. The gameplay looks really challenging. I would find it very difficult, I think, to actually hit the four corners. The layout of the numbers looks pretty rough for doing that. So that's all for tonight. Thank you again 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. This is a free free pinball giveaway and you can win $500 for free in the $500 prize and $500 prize in the $500 prize. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at bingopodcast, you can follow me on Instagram at nbaldridge, or you can listen to us on our website which is forumusementonly.libsyn.com. Thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 1eed4d36-9dea-4fd0-882b-f2ddd89ef67f*