# Episode 329 - 1970 Bally Bonus-7

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2016-02-03  
**Duration:** 7m 40s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-329-1970-bally-super-7

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## Analysis

Nicholas Backbone provides a detailed technical breakdown of the 1970 Bally Bonus-7 bingo pinball machine, a follow-up to Super 7 that adds a solid-state bonus game feature alongside traditional mystic line gameplay. The episode covers the machine's core mechanics including advancing odds, pick-a-play buttons, the bonus-7 game where players shoot for increasingly valuable holes, and cosmetic differences from Super 7 (green lines instead of blue, green cab instead of brown). Backbone emphasizes that despite plain artwork, the gameplay is challenging and rewarding.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Bonus-7 is a follow-on to Super 7 and includes all features from Super 7 — _Nicholas Backbone, episode opening description of Bonus-7 mechanics_
- [HIGH] Bonus-7 includes a solid-state bonus game feature (the bonus-7 game) where players shoot balls into holes to create the number seven, with payouts ranging from 2 to 288 replays depending on which holes are hit — _Nicholas Backbone describing the bonus game mechanics in detail_
- [HIGH] Three numbers on the back glass are outlined with sunbursts; if all three are lit with features, the next game awards maximum odds for the bonus-7 game automatically — _Nicholas Backbone explaining the sunburst feature system_
- [MEDIUM] The special bonus games significantly hinder standard mystic line gameplay, making it difficult to win using traditional gameplay — _Nicholas Backbone's analysis of game balance trade-offs_
- [HIGH] Bonus-7 artwork is almost identical to Super 7, with only cosmetic changes: outlane squares have alternating green lines instead of blue, cab base is green instead of brown, and a stenciled 7 appears on the head — _Nicholas Backbone's detailed artwork comparison_

### Notable Quotes

> "The big draw for this game is the bonus game aside from the standard Mystic line gameplay."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~4:30
> _Identifies the key differentiating feature of Bonus-7 versus Super 7_

> "The bonus 7 game is Papa Duke cool and it sounds really difficult and so I really want to try it at some point."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~5:45
> _Expresses enthusiasm for the novel bonus game mechanic despite difficulty_

> "The only thing that gives you pause or should give you pause about playing these special games is that they really hinder the gameplay of the standard Mystic line game"
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~7:15
> _Highlights a core tension in the game design between bonus modes and standard play_

> "The artwork on these games is rather plain, but the gameplay sounds Papa Duke outstanding and difficult."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~15:30
> _Balances aesthetic criticism with recognition of strong mechanical design_

> "It's not something that should be dismissed simply because of a lack of really, really beautiful artwork."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~15:45
> _Advocates for valuing gameplay over aesthetics in evaluation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nicholas Backbone | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; provides detailed technical analysis of 1970 Bally Bonus-7 |
| Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer; produced Bonus-7 in 1970 |
| Bonus-7 | game | 1970 Bally bingo pinball machine; follow-on to Super 7 with added solid-state bonus game feature |
| Super 7 | game | Bally bingo pinball machine that preceded Bonus-7; Bonus-7 includes all features from Super 7 |
| For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast hosted by Nicholas Backbone; focuses on electromechanical and bingo pinball machines |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Bingo pinball mechanics and gameplay, Bonus-7 solid-state bonus game feature, Mystic line gameplay and odds progression
- **Secondary:** Game artwork and aesthetic design, Machine feature comparison (Bonus-7 vs Super 7), Game balance and design trade-offs

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Backbone expresses genuine enthusiasm for the Bonus-7's gameplay complexity and the novel bonus game mechanic despite minor criticism of plain artwork. He appreciates the technical depth and recommends not dismissing the game based on aesthetics alone.

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Detailed documentation of 1970 Bally Bonus-7 mechanics including advancing odds, mystic lines, and pick-a-play buttons (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone provides comprehensive breakdown of all game features including odds progression (4, 16, 75 to 192, 480, 600) and button mechanics
- **[design_innovation]** Bonus-7 incorporates a solid-state bonus game feature on an electromechanical machine, representing early hybrid technology integration (confidence: high) — Episode explicitly states bonus-7 game is a 'solid state feature' contrasting with mechanical mystic line gameplay
- **[design_philosophy]** Host argues for prioritizing complex, difficult gameplay over attractive artwork in game evaluation (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone states: 'It's not something that should be dismissed simply because of a lack of really, really beautiful artwork'
- **[product_strategy]** Bonus-7 as a direct follow-on to Super 7 with cosmetic variations and one major new feature, suggesting incremental product development (confidence: high) — Artwork differences limited to color scheme changes (green vs blue lines, green vs brown base) plus the new bonus game feature

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## Transcript

 What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight I wanted to talk about 1970's Bonus 7 by Bally. Bonus 7 is a follow on to Super 7 and as such it includes all the features from Super 7 including Advancing Odds from 4, 16 and 75 all the way up to 192, 480 and 600. Pick a play to advance either odds and features with the red button, features only with the green button or odds only with the blue button. Mystic lines to allow you to swap the leftmost two columns with B, the center column moves up and down with A or the rightmost two columns with C, doubled or tripled odds in any one color, an extended time tree from before fourth to before fifth to after fifth, twin numbers twelve and seventeen and eight and ten which when you hit one the other will light automatically, Numbers lit in all four of the star zones award either 300 or 600 replays and your red letter game in the word bonus and the number seven. Any three numbers in the star zones will award it or any two. And if you get the red letter game, what happens is you hold the R button down and all your balls will drop and then the game will award you a brand new game for free with guaranteed odds and features The big draw for this game is the bonus game aside from the standard MysticLion gameplay This you coin up with the white button and this is a solid state feature. Your goal in this game is to get seven. You do so by shooting your first two balls and landing them in two holes which equal the The number seven. When you do so, this qualifies your win and you can either take it and earn anywhere from two replays up to seventy-two or shoot for a red outlined hole in which case you go from four to a hundred and forty-four, doubling your odds or you can double it again. Shoot for yellow outlined hole and you can get anywhere from 8 to 288 replays. If you shoot again and land in a red outlined hole you can get anywhere from 16 to 576 replays. Now, that bonus feature, the bonus 7 game is pretty cool and it sounds really difficult and so I really want to try it at some point. But aside from that this game adds another feature. Three of the numbers on the back glass are outlined with these little sunbursts. And if you have the feature lit, if you light up the number in all three of the sunbursts then the next game will award you maximum odds for the bonus seven game automatically. In some instances it light only two of the sunbursts are needed for the top scores awarded the top odds for that bonus seven game Now from what I read apparently it fairly easy to get this lit up So that would be something that you would definitely want to shoot for because it makes it so that you have nothing to lose by playing that bonus seven game. The only thing that gives you pause or should give you pause about playing these special games is that they really hinder the gameplay of the standard MysticLions game and because of this it probably makes it very difficult to win using your standard MysticLions gameplay so let's talk a little bit about that. What is the standard gameplay? I just jumped right into features. You come up and you drop a coin and the game is going to load a ball into the shooter lane. At this point you can either shoot the ball and play for your default odds or you can try and increase them with those pick-a-play buttons I was talking about. After you shoot five balls, if you have three, four, or five in a section that matches the color of the odds, then you'll win that indicated number of replays. But remember the Insidious evil star zones are back and they count for nothing unless they are the fifth in that section or you have one of the starzone features lit that I talked about earlier so after you shoot your first five balls you can make a decision do you want to move on to the next game or do you want to play for extra balls if you do you push the yellow button and then start depositing coins And eventually it light first extra and ball and it will lift your first extra ball to the playfield You can get up to three So let talk about artwork This game has almost exactly the same artwork as Super 7. The only difference is that the outline square around the bingo card, instead of having alternating blue lines, has alternating green lines. And then on the cab, instead of brown as a base coat, you have green. And something I didn't mention last night is on the head, there's a stenciled 7. The playfield is brown and again, instead of the alternating blue color, you get alternating green. The artwork on these games is rather plain, but the gameplay sounds pretty outstanding and difficult. So it's not something that should be dismissed simply because of a lack of really, really beautiful artwork. And there's nothing wrong with this artwork. It's certainly serviceable, but at least for me, I certainly like to have artwork that's a little more Um, inventive. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS-1. 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. Thank you 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: 33a95b02-c11b-4024-b5a1-a0eded2e6e90*