# Episode 229 - 1962 Bally The Twist **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2015-10-26 **Duration:** 13m 9s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-229-1962-bally-the-twist --- ## Analysis Nick Baldridge discusses Bally's 1962 bingo machine "The Twist," themed after the 1960s dance craze. He analyzes the machine's unique mechanics, including the "magic cards" feature that rearranges column numbers rather than rotating the entire card, triple-deck scoring, and single-button gameplay designed to skirt gambling device regulations by guaranteeing some advancement with each coin. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The Twist uses a magic cards feature unique to this game that shifts columns of numbers into different positions rather than rotating the entire card screen — _Nick Baldridge describing the mechanism from bingo.cdyn.com mechanism pictures_ - [HIGH] The Twist's magic cards feature can be moved 11 positions total — _Nick Baldridge analyzing the game schematic and mechanics_ - [HIGH] Numbers appear multiple times on the card in different positions (e.g., 16 appears as third in first column and fourth in fourth column; 25 is both center and bottom-right) — _Nick Baldridge examining mechanism pictures and card layout_ - [HIGH] The game uses single-button gameplay with no pick-a-play feature, guaranteeing some award advancement with each coin to avoid being classified as a gambling device — _Nick Baldridge analyzing schematic and gameplay mechanics_ - [HIGH] The Twist does not have a score extra step relay, limiting advancement to one or two positions per coin rather than larger jumps — _Nick Baldridge checking the schematic directly_ - [MEDIUM] The Twist is relatively unusual/uncommon, as Nick Baldridge has never seen one in person — _Nick Baldridge's personal observation and search for the machine_ ### Notable Quotes > "Instead of actually moving the screen, which will change which numbers are in the yellow, red, or green odds, it actually shifts the numbers on the card around into different positions by utilizing the same rotating mechanism that the magic screens use, but only moving the columns of numbers." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~4:30 > _Explains the novel magic cards feature that distinguishes The Twist from typical bingo machines_ > "That's kind of crazy. Because of that feature, this game looks like a lot of fun to play. I am really curious to play this one someday because it looks like you can drive yourself crazy really easily trying to get one of those numbers that lights multiple positions." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~7:00 > _Expresses enthusiasm for the design complexity and gameplay challenge_ > "So the game will tell the player that, yes, in fact, the next coin that you put in will do something. That's why it's not a gambling device." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~10:30 > _Explains the legal design strategy behind the single-button guaranteed advancement mechanic_ > "I've certainly never seen one, so it must be relatively unusual to come by. or they were produced and shipped to parts of the country in which I am not physically present." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~15:00 > _Indicates scarcity and difficulty sourcing the machine_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; pinball enthusiast and analyst discussing bingo machine mechanics | | Bally | company | Manufacturer of The Twist (1962) and other bingo and pinball machines | | The Twist | game | 1962 Bally bingo machine themed after the dance craze; features magic cards mechanism and triple-deck scoring | | Caravan | game | Bingo machine that Nick Baldridge was playing before recording this episode; he achieved 250 replays | | For Amusement Only | organization | EM and bingo pinball podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge | | bingo.cdyn.com | organization | Online resource containing mechanism pictures and documentation for bingo machines | ### Topics - **Primary:** Bingo machine mechanics and design, Magic cards feature as design innovation, Legal design strategies to avoid gambling device classification - **Secondary:** 1960s dance craze theming, Scoring systems and advancing odds, Artwork and cabinet design - **Mentioned:** Machine rarity and availability ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Nick Baldridge expresses genuine enthusiasm and appreciation for The Twist's innovative design, mechanical creativity, and gameplay complexity. His tone is analytical but warmly appreciative of the design ingenuity, particularly around the magic cards mechanism and its legal cleverness. ### Signals - **[design_innovation]** The Twist features a novel 'magic cards' mechanism that rearranges column numbers rather than rotating the entire card screen, allowing numbers to appear in multiple positions on the same card—a departure from traditional Sudoku-style constraint (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge's detailed analysis of the mechanism from bingo.cdyn.com documentation showing 16 appearing twice and 25 as both center and corner - **[design_philosophy]** The Twist uses single-button guaranteed advancement gameplay as a legal design strategy to avoid gambling device classification while maintaining player choice through which type of advance occurs (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge's explanation: 'The game will tell the player that, yes, in fact, the next coin that you put in will do something. That's why it's not a gambling device.' - **[restoration_signal]** The Twist (1962) appears to be relatively uncommon; Nick Baldridge has never encountered one despite extensive bingo machine research and play (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge stating 'I've certainly never seen one, so it must be relatively unusual to come by' and seeking information on where to find one - **[historical_signal]** The Twist represents mid-cycle bingo machine innovation (1962) with mechanical complexity (11-position magic cards, triple-deck scoring) and thematic integration (dance craze artwork) (confidence: high) — Detailed analysis of the 1962 design including magic cards with 11 positions, triple-deck scoring, and Twist dance theme cabinet/backglass artwork - **[gameplay_signal]** The Twist's design creates complexity and strategic challenge through number overlap—players must manage multiple occurrences of the same number across different positions (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'you can drive yourself crazy really easily trying to get one of those numbers that lights multiple positions' --- ## 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've been playing a lot of caravan I had a fairly heavy duty session here tonight and racked up about 250 replays before squandering quite a few of those, attempting to get a 5 in a line. I had a great set, just needed the number 5 and could not for the life of me make it. I left the game in a state where the light of name is almost maxed out, so I'll be getting a nice five-in-a-line boost here at some point. That's what the game awards you if you spell out the name Caravan. So, today though, I didn't just want to brag about my mediocre playing skills. I wanted to talk about Bally's 1962 bingo machine, The Twist. Now, The Twist, as you can imagine, was themed after the dance craze. and the back glass and cabinet artwork reflect listening to music and there are several ladies dancing the twist on the back glass all in a different phase of the dance keep you guessing and then the play field is arranged in such a way, it's a typical 25-hole play field. I really like the artwork on this one, and they have wavy lines going down for each column of numbers. so starting with the number 1 which is in the upper left of the playfield going down to 8 which is the first in line in the second row 14, first in line in the third 19 and 23 those are all highlighted in blue with a white outline and in between the white outline there's a thread of red which weaves all the way up to one or two diagonal columns away It a pretty cool effect I pretty impressed with this artwork The columns are either blue or orange and the holes are outlined in yellow I think it's a very attractive game. Now, let's talk about the gameplay itself. This is a bingo game with the typical 5x5 card in the back glass. It's a single card game, but it has a few unique features. The first and most prominent is the magic cards feature. Now, I haven't talked about this before, it's unique to the twist. And instead of actually moving the screen, which will change which numbers are in the yellow, red, or green odds, it actually shifts the numbers on the card around into different positions by utilizing the same rotating mechanism that the magic screens use, but only moving the columns of numbers. That's a pretty cool idea. And looking at the mechanism pictures on bingo.cdyn.com, it appears that the columns are arranged differently. So, for example, the leftmost column in the default position appears to be 14, 5, 16, 7, and 2. Now, if you were to move the magic card one position to the left, you would imagine that it would repurpose those same numbers, 14, 5, 16, 7, and 2. But it doesn't. it, in fact, puts an entirely different set of numbers in there. So rather than what you might consider a Sudoku puzzle, right, it can only use each number one time on the entire card. Instead, it provides a random mixture of numbers. In fact, in multiple positions, a number will show up at least twice. For example, on the default position, again, 16 is the third one down in the first column. Now, if you've been listening for a long time, 16 is normally the center number. Well, 16 also appears in the fourth column as the fourth number down. That's kind of crazy. Because of that feature, this game looks like a lot of fun to play. I am really curious to play this one someday because it looks like you can drive yourself crazy really easily trying to get one of those numbers that lights multiple positions. So looking at this image some more and just kind of following it to its conclusion in the default position the number 25 is the center number 25 is also the bottom right corner number So you already have a set just by getting a single number on the play field That pretty unique and really interesting Now there some other interesting things about this game. It's got triple deck scoring, which as you know means that there are red, yellow, and green sets of advancing odds. Aside from that, it's got an extended time tree, but it's not the typical before fourth, before fifth, and after fifth. It also doesn't have rollovers, so there's no way to increase your time tree just by playing the game. Instead, the time tree actually selects after you shoot your first ball. So, once the first ball goes up, it'll select either before fourth or before fifth. Again, there's no after fifth. Now another unique feature is that the game only uses a single button. There's no pick-a-play. So there's just a red button and the game will tell you what it's going to award you on the next coin. So it always awards you something. You're always playing towards an increase somewhere, but the game will choose if it's going to award more of the magic cards feature, which by the way can be moved 11 positions, which is just crazy, whether it's going to advance your scores in either the red, the yellow, or the green. So the game is either going to advance one of the odds colors, or it will advance the magic cards. Now what it doesn't tell you is how much it's going to advance. So similarly to the skill shot feature on the bounty, if you go back and listen to that episode, that has a guaranteed advance. So every coin that you put in, it's going to jump one position at least. Now in some instances, it will jump two positions, and that is randomly awarded. Now the same can probably be said of the twist. Now whether it has a score extra step relay, which allows scoring to jump up multiple positions, not just two, but maybe five positions off of a single coin. I'm not sure. Let me check. So, bad news. Just read the schematic, and this game does not have the score extra step relay. but that means it can still grant either one or two jumps at a time. It's also quite possible that I am just not seeing it, but I checked in line with the score discs. We see I sure someone will correct me if they hear me steering people wrong And please do if you do However, what I will say is that that is pretty neat. And that was a way to skirt the law. So the game will tell the player that, yes, in fact, the next coin that you put in will do something. That's why it's not a gambling device. Now, let's pretend for a moment that we've played through a normal five-ball bingo game. We don't have a winner, but we're really close. Like me, with my caravan earlier. So, we play for an extra ball. This game has the extra ball feature. Now, what's interesting, again, looking at the schematic, it appears to use the normal extra ball circuitry that I'm familiar with from many other games. And the thing about that is that there is not an automatic award with that feature. Instead, the game will flash and search, and you'll witness this. And if the circuits within the machine align properly, then it will step up the extra ball unit. Now, the number of times it steps is dictated by the extra ball circuitry. But, it's not a guaranteed award. So, I think this game looks super fun. I've certainly never seen one, so it must be relatively unusual to come by. or they were produced and shipped to parts of the country in which I am not physically present. So if that's the case, if anybody has any info on where I might find one of these, I would like to know. I'd especially love to play one one day. Well, thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at 4musementonlypodcast 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 at nbaldrich, and in fact, I did want to let listeners know that on Instagram I do tend to post little short clips of these games that I'm talking about, so that folks can see some of the unique features and gameplay of these games. They're typically, you know, the normal Instagram video length, like 12 seconds or whatever it is. you can also listen to us on our website which is foramusementonly.libsyn.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: 480ddecb-3015-43be-a879-8ab3336384a1*