# Past Times Pinball History Ep 8: Bazaar **Source:** Past Times Arcade **Type:** video **Published:** 2023-12-27 **Duration:** 3m 10s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMGjQ_tAsRc --- ## Analysis Past Times Arcade showcases eight zipper flipper pinball machines from the 1960s-70s era, primarily designed by Ted Zale for Bally and Valley manufacturers. The host explains the mechanical innovation of zipper flippers—notched flipper designs that open and close via dual coils—and highlights specific machines including Bazaar (1966), Rocket, Joust, Valley Joker, 4 Million Bad Cats, Valley Fireball, and Valley Pinball (Fonz game). The episode positions this collection as representative of a significant era in pinball design history. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Ted Zale created 78 games for Bally over 10 years, with 23 of them being zipper flipper games — _Host of Past Times Arcade episode, speaking about documented game designer history_ - [HIGH] Valley Joker is a rare game with only 110 units manufactured and never reached full production — _Host describing specific machine in arcade collection_ - [HIGH] 4 Million Bad Cats is the host's favorite zipper flipper game — _Host personal statement about arcade collection preference_ - [HIGH] Valley Fireball is the second-to-last zipper flipper game ever made and the second-to-last game Ted Zale designed — _Host describing specific machine lineage and designer history_ - [HIGH] Valley Pinball (Fonz game) was the very last zipper flipper game ever made — _Host concluding history of zipper flipper era_ - [HIGH] Zipper flipper games feature notched flippers that open and close via dual coils for clearance — _Host explaining mechanical innovation visible on machines_ ### Notable Quotes > "Ted Zale created games for Bally over 10 years, 78 games to his credit, 23 of them being zipper flipper games." > — **Past Times Arcade host**, early in episode > _Establishes Ted Zale as prolific designer and frames him as key figure in zipper flipper innovation_ > "You can recognize a zipper flipper game without even playing it... you see these little notches on the inside of the flippers here. That gives it the clearance in there to open and close." > — **Past Times Arcade host**, technical explanation section > _Educational explanation of signature mechanical feature that defines the zipper flipper design category_ > "Valley Joker. That's a rare game. Only 110 of these were made. Never hit full production." > — **Past Times Arcade host**, arcade tour section > _Identifies rare variant in collection and explains production constraints_ > "4 Million Bad Cats. We have that one down here. And then we also have the second to last zipper flipper game ever made. Which is Valley Fireball." > — **Past Times Arcade host**, arcade tour conclusion > _Positions two machines as historically significant bookends of era_ > "This one is my favorite of the Zipper Flipper games. One next to it here, Fireball, is probably the most popular of them." > — **Past Times Arcade host**, final machines section > _Distinguishes personal preference (4 Million Bad Cats) from community consensus (Fireball)_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Ted Zale | person | Prolific pinball game designer who created 78 games for Bally over 10 years, including 23 zipper flipper games; designed Bazaar (1966) and Valley Fireball | | Bally | company | Historic pinball manufacturer for which Ted Zale designed games including zipper flipper titles during 1960s-70s era | | Valley | company | Pinball manufacturer that produced zipper flipper games including Valley Joker, Valley Gator, Valley Rockmakers, Valley Fireball, and Valley Pinball (Fonz game) | | Past Times Arcade | organization | Arcade venue featuring eight zipper flipper machines; host of this pinball history documentary series | | Bazaar | game | 1966 Bally zipper flipper game designed by Ted Zale; featured in collection at Past Times Arcade | | Rocket | game | Zipper flipper game in Past Times Arcade collection; one of Ted Zale's designs | | Joust | game | Two-player zipper flipper game in Past Times Arcade collection | | Valley Joker | game | Rare Valley zipper flipper game; only 110 units manufactured, never reached full production; featured in Past Times Arcade | | Valley Gator | game | Valley zipper flipper game in Past Times Arcade collection | | Valley Rockmakers | game | Valley zipper flipper game in Past Times Arcade collection | | 4 Million Bad Cats | game | Zipper flipper game identified as host's favorite of the category; featured in Past Times Arcade collection | | Valley Fireball | game | Valley zipper flipper game; second-to-last zipper flipper game ever made and second-to-last Ted Zale design; features spinning disc and ball lock mechanics (Odin and Wotan gods); in Past Times Arcade collection | | Valley Pinball | game | The last zipper flipper game ever made; Fonzie game from Happy Days; featured in Past Times Arcade collection | ### Topics - **Primary:** Zipper flipper mechanical innovation, Ted Zale game designer legacy, Bally and Valley pinball manufacturers, 1960s-1970s pinball era history - **Secondary:** Pinball machine rarity and production numbers, Arcade venue operations and collection curation ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Host demonstrates enthusiasm for the machines, refers to personal favorites, and positions the collection as historically significant and worth visiting. Educational tone and clear passion for pinball history preservation throughout. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Past Times Arcade producing educational documentary series on pinball history, positioning the venue as a curator and educator for the community (confidence: high) — Episode 8 of 'Pastimes Pinball History' series documenting specific machines, mechanical innovations, and designer legacies with detailed technical and historical explanations - **[design_philosophy]** Zipper flipper represents a distinct mechanical design philosophy from 1960s-70s era with recognizable visual signature (notched flipper design) that enabled gameplay mechanics variations (confidence: high) — Host explains dual-coil system enabling open/close mechanics controlled by targets; notes this design enabled 'some games have a feature where you can open and close them by hitting certain targets' --- ## Transcript For this episode of Past Times Pinball History, we're going to feature this 1966 Bally Bazaar. This was created by Ted Zale. Ted Zale created games for Bally over 10 years, 78 games to his credit, 23 of them being zipper flipper games. We have eight of them here at pastimes. I'll show you how this zipper flipper works. So if we go over the top here, you can recognize a zipper flipper game without even playing it, but John Youssi these little notches on the inside of the flippers here. That gives it the clearance in order to open and close. So this game is on. If I were to hit the U, John Youssi the flippers close. If I lose the ball, they'll open. Some games have a feature where you can open and close them by hitting certain targets. Kind of a neat little feature. Let's show you how it works. So what we have here, we have two coils. We have one that'll pull the zipper flipper shut like that, and then we have one that will release it like that. Open and close, and all the zipper flipper games have this same arrangement underneath them. Let's walk down the road. We'll show you a couple more. We have Rocket We have a three right here, zipper flipper game. That's two of our eight. We have some more Ted's Ale games. We gonna come down here and feature some more of those zipper flipper games Let see we have Joust Another one Two player We have three of them here in a row. Valley Joker. That's a rare game. Only 110 of these were made. Never hit full production. We have that one here on the floor to play. Valley Rockmakers. We have Valley Gator. And probably, I'm going to make a circle back around and head on up the other side of the rail. Because probably our two most popular zipper flipper games are going to be down here at the end. One of them is actually my favorite of all zipper flipper games. 4 Million BC. We have that one down here. And then we also have the second to last zipper flipper game ever made. Which is Valley Fireball. It's actually the second to last game that Ted Zale made too. So we have 4 million VC. This one is my favorite of the Zipper Flipper games. One next to it here, Fireball, is probably the most popular of them. The spinning disc in the middle, you had some ball locks, Odin and Wotan, would catch your balls, and then you would release them from the gods. The very last Zipper Flipper game came after this, also popular, Valley Nippet, famous from Happy Days, Fonzie's game that he played. We have eight of them here. Unique feature on these games. Come on in, Past Times Arcade, check out these zipper flippers. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 307bca55-771f-4b43-9a90-ff8210e44bf4*