# Episode 8 - Star Zones

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-03-19  
**Duration:** 10m 33s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-8-star-zones

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## Analysis

Nicholas Backbone discusses the technical mechanics of 20-hole Mystic Line bingo machines, focusing on star zones and how they function differently across game variants (Magic Screen vs. Mystic Line). He provides detailed guidance on opening and servicing bingo machines, explains differences in extra ball unit design between game eras, and shares personal gameplay experiences with his Double Up and Bounty machines. He concludes by recommending the Bally Bingos in Britain forums as a valuable technical resource.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] On Magic Screen bingos, red/yellow/green odds advance independently; on Mystic Line bingos, green and blue odds move together while red and yellow move independently — _Nicholas Backbone explaining bingo card odds mechanics in opening segment_
- [HIGH] On Double Up, the star zone feature allows all four lit star zones to score either 300 or 600 replays — _Nicholas Backbone describing his own machine's mechanics_
- [HIGH] Nicholas Backbone has only hit the 600 replay star zone feature once in the couple years he's owned Double Up — _Nicholas Backbone sharing personal gameplay experience_
- [HIGH] The extra ball unit lighting issue on Mystic Line games is purely cosmetic and not a functional problem because the machine only grants extra balls when multi-step activates — _Nicholas Backbone explaining the technical workaround discovered by Ernie Height_
- [HIGH] After acquiring Bounty (a Magic Screen bingo), Nicholas Backbone's gameplay preferences shifted and he now plays Mystic Line bingos infrequently — _Nicholas Backbone discussing his personal gameplay evolution_
- [HIGH] The Bally Bingos in Britain forums experienced a server crash/migration that resulted in loss of all user accounts and historical content — _Nicholas Backbone explaining why he stopped posting on the forums_
- [HIGH] Bingo playfields are lightweight except for the motor and attached switches in the bottom left — _Nicholas Backbone providing technical servicing guidance_
- [MEDIUM] Older bingo machines have playfields screwed to wooden rails inside the cabinet, a design that went away after about the 1970s in flipper pinball — _Nicholas Backbone describing bingo cabinet construction details_

### Notable Quotes

> "When you hold down the R button, instead of looking in the orange section, it would look for those star zones and the balls located therein. And once it found the required number, it would drop all the balls and start ticking up the odds."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~4:30
> _Explains the technical mechanism of star zone detection and odds advancement on Mystic Line bingos_

> "I hit for 600, and that was a very good feeling. Unfortunately, it's never been repeated."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~6:00
> _Personal emotional connection to the rare 600 replay achievement, illustrating the high-variance nature of the feature_

> "So in effect, there's no real solution to fix this, nor is it really a problem. It's just cosmetic and interesting because it worked just fine previously."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~10:30
> _Demonstrates technical problem-solving expertise and clarifies that design differences don't impact actual gameplay_

> "I loved playing it. I played it every day and nothing beat coming out, opening up a beer and just trying to get four in the star zones and get 600 replays again."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~12:00
> _Reveals the appeal and accessibility of bingo machines for casual home play_

> "But as soon as I acquired Bounty, my tastes changed and I'd always enjoyed playing Steve Smith's Magic Screen Bingos."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~13:30
> _Documents a shift in personal preference toward Magic Screen machines over Mystic Line variants_

> "You don't want to just let go of it and have it slammed down... this is a heavy thing."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~17:00
> _Practical safety guidance for servicing bingo machines, emphasizing the weight and fragility of internal components_

> "There is a ton of great technical information and the folks that are on there totally know their stuff and they're very friendly and very helpful."
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, ~38:00
> _Positive endorsement of the Bally Bingos in Britain community forum as a technical resource_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nicholas Backbone | person | Host of For Amusement Only podcast; EM/bingo pinball enthusiast and technician; owns Double Up and Bounty machines |
| Ernie Height | person | Discovered and documented the extra ball unit lighting issue on Mystic Line bingos; technical expert in bingo community |
| Steve Smith | person | Owner of Magic Screen bingo machines; played by Nicholas Backbone at shows |
| Phil | person | Runs a website containing the full technical write-up of Ernie Height's extra ball unit discovery |
| Double Up | game | Bally bingo machine owned by Nicholas Backbone; features star zones that can score 300 or 600 replays |
| Bounty | game | Magic Screen bingo machine acquired by Nicholas Backbone; influenced his gameplay preferences away from Mystic Line games |
| Magic Screen | product | Bally bingo game variant with rotatable metal plates on a chain; odds advance differently than Mystic Line models |
| Mystic Line | product | Bally bingo game variant with sealed bingo card unit; newer design with different odds mechanics and extra ball behavior |
| Mystic Lion | game | Specific Mystic Line bingo variant with its own star zone feature and extra ball unit behavior |
| For Amusement Only | organization | EM and bingo pinball podcast hosted by Nicholas Backbone |
| Bally Bingos in Britain | organization | Online forum community dedicated to Bally bingo machines; experienced server migration with data loss |
| Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer that produced bingo machines including Magic Screen and Mystic Line variants |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Bingo machine mechanics and odds systems, Star zone features and replay scoring, Machine servicing and maintenance, Extra ball unit design evolution
- **Secondary:** Personal collection and gameplay preferences, Community forums and technical resources, EM pinball history and design variations

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Nicholas Backbone expresses enthusiasm for technical knowledge, appreciation for his machines, and positive regard for community resources. Some ambivalence about Double Up's gameplay (currently 'cold' on it) but overall tone is knowledgeable, helpful, and optimistic about the community. Educational and encouraging toward listeners.

### Signals

- **[technology_signal]** Detailed technical documentation of Mystic Line vs. Magic Screen bingo mechanics, including odds advancement, star zone functionality, and extra ball unit behavior (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone provides comprehensive explanations of how odds move independently/together across variants and the discovery by Ernie Height regarding extra ball cosmetic issues
- **[restoration_signal]** Practical guidance on opening, servicing, and maintaining bingo machines including backbox access, light board handling, and playfield removal procedures (confidence: high) — Extended technical segment covering proper procedures for opening bingo heads, handling fragile components like back glass, and safely lifting playfields
- **[community_signal]** Bally Bingos in Britain forum experienced server migration/data loss; Nicholas Backbone re-engaged with community and endorses it as valuable technical resource (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone explains forum software crash and subsequent re-signup; positively characterizes community as knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful
- **[collector_signal]** Personal collection evolution shows shift in preferences from Mystic Line (Double Up) to Magic Screen variants (Bounty) based on extended home play experience (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone documents how acquiring Bounty changed his gameplay tastes and led to infrequent play of Mystic Line bingos despite their appeal to visitors and children
- **[gameplay_signal]** Star zone 600 replay feature on Double Up is extremely rare; achieved only once in couple of years of ownership despite frequent play (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone states he's only hit the 600 replay star zone feature once and that it's never been repeated despite regular attempts
- **[design_innovation]** Control unit design changes between Magic Screen and Mystic Line eras created differences in extra ball unit behavior and lighting sequences (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone explains how control unit cam design differences resulted in cosmetic extra ball lighting issues that don't affect actual gameplay
- **[historical_signal]** Older bingo machines use wooden rail construction for playfield mounting; flipper pinball moved away from screwed-in design after 1970s (confidence: medium) — Nicholas Backbone notes that all bingos he's seen use wooden rails with screws, which became obsolete in flipper pinball around 1970s
- **[content_signal]** For Amusement Only podcast providing multi-episode deep-dive into Mystic Line bingo mechanics with plans to cover 1960s flipper EMs in future episodes (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone concludes episode by previewing next episode on 1960s flipper EMs; episode is part of multi-part series on bingo mechanics

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## 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 today i'd like to continue our discussion about 20 hole mystic line bingos so i had mentioned for magic screen games there are red yellow and green odds that all advance independently on the 20 hole mystic line bingo there are red yellow green and blue odds. Green and blue odds move together, while red and yellow move independently. In my last episode, I had mentioned that the red letter was tied to the red odds after they switched the unit from the okay unit to the red letter unit. Now, the way you earned a red letter game was different in these 20-hole bingos. In the magic screen bingos, you would light okay, and then you would have to sink at least two balls into the orange section, which was normally not visible. you had to move the screen to the left. On a Mystic Lion bingo, it's a little tougher. You have to sink two or three, depending on which is lit, balls into star zones. And when you hold down the R button, instead of looking in the orange section, it would look for those star zones and the balls located therein. And once it found the required number, it would drop all the balls and start ticking up the odds, just like on a Magic Screen game, loading up your odds and features for the Red Letter game. On Double Up, my game, there's another star zone feature, and that star zone feature, it works similarly to the blue section on a Magic Screen game. That star zone feature allows for all four lit star zones to score either 300 or 600 replays. Now, in the time since I've owned this machine, which has been a couple years now, I've only done this once. However, I hit for 600, and that was a very good feeling. Unfortunately, it's never been repeated. Also interesting is when they switched to the Mystic Lion games, they changed the way the extra ball unit worked. Previously, you would get a little teaser light that would light each line in first, extra, and ball. And once it lit ball, it would load up an extra ball into your shooter lane. When they switched to the Mystic Lion games, they changed it so it would only light first on your first button press. And then for each additional, it would do the little chase light sequence where it shows you, hey, you can win this. but it wouldn't light extra until it lit ball. So when you push the yellow button, it lights first, perhaps you push it a second time and it steps up the unit one more, and then it'll light extra. There a suggested fix which would move a particular switch on one of the control unit cams to a different cam but unfortunately it doesn pulse high enough to allow the switch to close and do the proper thing Now the interesting thing is this doesn't matter at all because the machine will only grant you an extra ball when it applies a multi-step step-up to the extra ball unit. So in effect, it doesn't matter if it lights extra at all because you won't receive an extra ball until ball is stepped up to, and it'll only step up to ball when multi-step is activated on the extra ball unit. So in effect, there's no real solution to fix this, nor is it really a problem. It's just cosmetic and interesting because it worked just fine previously. But changes in the way the control unit were designed between Magic Screen Games and Mystic Line Games caused this. By the way, this was discovered by Ernie Height, and the full write-up is on Phil's website, bingo.cdyn.com. Now, when I first got Double Up, I loved playing it. I played it every day and nothing beat coming out, opening up a beer and just trying to get four in the star zones and get 600 replays again, just match that feeling. But as soon as I acquired Bounty, my tastes changed and I'd always enjoyed playing Steve Smith's Magic Screen Bingos And of course, I always played them at shows. And I'd been to a couple places to do some repair work or look at various bingos that people were selling and were able to play a few different models. But what really clicked for me was having the ability to play it for a long duration at my own house. And since then, I play the Mystic Lions bingo very infrequently. My children love it. Visitors flock to it. And so I think it has good staying power. And every once in a while, I try to relive that four in the star zone for 600. Unfortunately, it's just never happened. So I'm kind of cold on double up at the moment, but as soon as I have a big win, that's going to turn right around. For our tech segment today, I wanted to talk about how to actually open up a bingo, because I realized that I just mentioned all this stuff about the internals of a bingo, but not really how to open it. And it's different than most other pinball machines. So first of all, the head. you have your back glass, and in order to take the back glass out, you have to use a key. Now, the way this key works, it's located on the side of the machine near the bottom of the head. You take a key and put it in the lock, and as you rotate, it's actually rotating the lock out of the cam inside. Then you can pull the side rail off of the head Once you do this you can slide the back glass out carefully being careful not to press very hard against the backboard because the backboard has bulbs sticking out and wood which will scratch your back glass. Pull the paint off. Once you've taken out your back glass, set it somewhere carefully, very carefully, especially if it's cold outside or you're setting it on a cement floor. Just try to avoid doing that at all costs. What you'll see is the light board, and the light board contains the bingo card. It also contains all the lamps that are normally hidden by the back glass. So you'll be able to see all the lamps that light the different odds, all the lamps that light the different features, and all the little chase lights that show you that you've almost received a feature. So this panel can actually be folded down onto the playfield glass. And to do that, there are two little latches up near the top, and you lift both of them. Now, when you lift them, this is very heavy, so you want to keep your hands on it. And there's really no way to lift those latches and then forget about it. You know pretty much instantly that this is a heavy thing, but you don't want to just let go of it and have it slammed out. So behind the back glass, you have the bingo card. And the bingo card is either a sealed unit in these Mystic Line games, or it is a set of metal plates that rotate around on a chain that's attached to a motor on the Magic Screen games. There are also various steppers for the features and the replay unit and the replay counters for each different color. Moving around to the back of the machine, there are two different locks in the back of the head, which, when opened, allow you to pull back on a little ring attached to the back and open up the head. From there, you can lock the head into an open position, and you'll see the mixer unit, which is at the top of the backbox, typically. And moving down, you'll see all the relays, the trip bank, which is a huge bank of relays, and various feature and scoring relays, which we'll go into at a later date. in the middle of the backbox. So not the part that folded down and not the part that opened up. You'll see the control unit. And the control unit, again, is kind of like the score motor, but on steroids. So once you've finished with whatever maintenance task brought you into the head in the first place, fold it back up in reverse order, close up the back, lock it up, close up the light board, latch it in place, put the back glass in, put the side rails on, and lock them in place. And then there's the play field. So on older games typically they were screwed in to small wooden rails that ran along the side of the cabinet on the inside And every bingo I ever seen was screwed in in this fashion The screws are typically a pretty attractive part of the package but it something that went away after about the 1970s in flipper pinball. So you have to loosen all four of the screws, which latch the playfield down, and then you can lift the playfield. Now lifting a bingo playfield, as I mentioned in the last episode, is very easy because they're lightweight, except for the motor and attach switches in the bottom left of the playfield. So when you lift the playfield, you have to be very careful not to pull it forward too far too quickly to prevent mutilating all those switches which are attached to the shutter motor. Once you've lifted the playfield, you'll see the wire bundle which goes to Jones plugs in the head. You'll also see the platform that the balls fall on when the shutter opens up. You can take this off with four screws and then you can get access to the relays and steppers that are in the cabinet if you have a Mystic Lions game, or just clean inside if you've got a Magic Screen game. One last note for this episode. I had mentioned in the second episode about the Ballybingos in Britain forums and how I didn't really post there anymore. Part of that was because the forums software that they were using crashed or there was some kind of problem with the server they were on, and when they moved, they lost everything, including all the users that had previously signed up. So I just never took the time to sign back up. And I would occasionally take a peek at it, but wouldn't really post anything. And I didn't really have a need to. And honestly, I just don't know enough to answer all the highly technical questions. So I left that to the experts that are already on there. But I signed back up tonight and took a look. And I remember what I loved about those forums and that's that there is a ton of great technical information and the folks that are on there totally know their stuff and they're very friendly and very helpful so i highly recommend reading those forums if you were to make a bingo purchase and lurking for a little bit and seeing you know kind of what the prevailing mood is uh just like any forum and that's all for this episode join me next episode where i start talking about some of the flipper ems from the 1960s. Thanks again. Talk to you soon. Thank you again for joining us. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com. You can find us online at 4amusementonly.libsyn.com or via Stitcher if streaming's your thing, Pocket Casts, iTunes. See you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3ac3d16e-ad3d-41aa-8f37-581958432869*