# Episode 184 - 1960 Bally Circus Queen

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-09-11  
**Duration:** 22m 51s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-184-1960-bally-circus-queen

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge provides a detailed technical and aesthetic breakdown of the 1960 Bally Circus Queen magic screen bingo machine, emphasizing its historical significance as the first game to give dedicated scoring to the blue section of the magic screen. He discusses the playfield mechanics, the extended time tree feature, triple deck scoring, pick-a-play functionality, and extra ball acquisition, while also praising the game's circus-themed artwork. The episode is framed as part of his coverage of games expected to appear in the bingo row at the upcoming York White Rose Game Room Show in Pennsylvania.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Circus Queen was the first game to give the blue section on the Magic Screen its own dedicated scoring — _Nick Baldridge, speaking as podcast host with expertise in bingo machines. This is presented as historical fact about the game's mechanics._
- [HIGH] Two balls in the blue section can award 600 replays, compared to 600 replays for five in a line at max odds on one of the colors — _Nick Baldridge explaining Circus Queen's scoring mechanics in technical detail._
- [MEDIUM] A common operator modification was to disable the two-in-blue feature because it only takes two balls to win 600 replays — _Nick Baldridge discussing typical operator behavior on magic screen machines._
- [HIGH] Number 16 on the magic screen is described as 'the hardest number to hit in the game' — _Nick Baldridge referencing prior episodes and his own gameplay experience._
- [HIGH] Circus Queen has an extended time tree and triple deck scoring — _Nick Baldridge explaining the game's technical feature set._
- [MEDIUM] The game plan is for Circus Queen to appear at the York White Rose Game Room Show in October — _Nick Baldridge stating 'the plan is that this game will be there as well' but noting 'they're all maybes' and 'nothing's set in stone' with less than a month until the show (recorded September 10th)._

### Notable Quotes

> "Circus Queen is the first game to give the blue section on the MagicScreen its own dedicated scoring. This feature carried on through many, if not all of the rest of the MagicScreen games"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, early in episode
> _Core historical claim about Circus Queen's innovation in magic screen game design._

> "The blue section was an important advancement in scoring on the magic screen from the player's perspective."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, mid-episode
> _Frames the innovation's importance to player experience and game balance._

> "Very, very attractive artwork, very busy, not in a bad way. It looks like there is a lot happening in the circus."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, late episode during artwork discussion
> _Expresses aesthetic appreciation for the game's visual design._

> "I have never played one of these. However, it looks like a really fun game."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, near conclusion
> _Acknowledges lack of direct play experience while expressing enthusiasm based on mechanics analysis._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, expert in bingo pinball mechanics and history, creator of MultiBingo homebrew machine. |
| Circus Queen | game | 1960 Bally magic screen bingo pinball game; subject of this episode. First game to give dedicated scoring to the blue section of the magic screen. |
| Roller Derby | game | Predecessor to Circus Queen; also a Bally magic screen game previously featured on the podcast. |
| York White Rose Game Room Show | event | Annual pinball show in York, Pennsylvania; October 2024 edition discussed. Features a bingo row exhibition of bingo-themed machines. |
| Bally | company | Manufacturer of Circus Queen and numerous other classic bingo and pinball machines; established manufacturer producing circus-themed games. |
| For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge; specialized coverage of electromechanical and bingo pinball machines. |
| Magic Screen | product | Key mechanism in bingo pinball games featuring a moving metal screen over a bingo card; games in this family share common design patterns. |
| Vic | person | Referenced expert on magic screen number positions, particularly number 16 targeting. |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Magic screen game mechanics and history, Bingo pinball machine design and features, Circus Queen game details (1960 Bally), Blue section scoring innovation
- **Secondary:** Playfield artwork and cabinet design, Extra ball mechanics and operator modifications, York White Rose Game Room Show, Bingo row at pinball shows

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Nick Baldridge expresses clear enthusiasm for Circus Queen's design innovation, mechanical depth, and artwork. Despite never having played the game, his technical analysis conveys appreciation. Only minor hedging occurs around certainty of appearance at York show due to timing.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Circus Queen expected to appear in bingo row at York White Rose Game Room Show in October 2024, though not confirmed. (confidence: medium) — Nick states: 'the plan is that this game will be there as well' but notes 'they're all maybes' and 'nothing's set in stone' with episode recorded September 10th, less than a month before show.
- **[historical_signal]** Circus Queen identified as first magic screen game to give dedicated scoring to the blue section, establishing a pattern continued in subsequent games. (confidence: high) — Nick explicitly states: 'Circus Queen is the first game to give the blue section on the MagicScreen its own dedicated scoring. This feature carried on through many, if not all of the rest of the MagicScreen games.'
- **[operational_signal]** Disabling two-in-blue feature was common operator modification on magic screen games due to difficulty and high payout. (confidence: medium) — Nick notes: 'Very often, two in the blue would be cut on games... that was a favorite operator mod to disable the two in the blue from ever triggering... because it only takes two balls to win 600 replays.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Circus Queen's orange section scoring offers additional scoring potential as advancement over other magic screen games. (confidence: high) — Nick explains: 'circus queen has that extra scoring potential' when three in the orange section scores as green three, whereas on other magic screens this would be wasted.
- **[content_signal]** Episode 184 part of ongoing series covering games expected at York show bingo row. (confidence: high) — Nick states: 'Tonight I wanted to continue and discuss games which should make an appearance in the bingo row at the York show.'
- **[restoration_signal]** Detailed technical and visual analysis of Circus Queen playfield and backglass artwork suggests active collector/curator interest. (confidence: high) — Nick provides extensive descriptions of trapeze artists, clowns, ringmaster, cabinet artwork with big top, and playfield action with female clown, juggling, bowling pins, trapeze artist flipping.

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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 continue and discuss games which should make an appearance in the bingo row at the York show, the White Rose Game Room Show in York, Pennsylvania October. çok� You know, they're all maybes. Anything can happen between now and the show. It's September 10th today. It's a little less than a month before the show, so you know, nothing's set in stone. But the plan is that this game will be there as well. It is a magic screen game called Circus Queen. It was produced in 1960. It was actually the follow-up to Roller Derby which I have featured on the podcast previously. Circus Queen is the first game to give the blue section on the MagicScreen its own dedicated scoring. This feature carried on through many, if not all of the rest of the MagicScreen games but the blue section if you land three balls in will score as either 300 or 600 depending on which trip relay is activated or if you're really lucky or unlucky as the case may be the game will award you two in the blue scores 600 so for two balls landing in some pretty difficult shots you can get six hundred replays that's pretty phenomenal compared to your normal earnings for a five in a line at max odds on one of the colors you'll get six hundred replays but how rare is that The answer is pretty rare. Pretty darn rare. The blue section was an important advancement in scoring on the magic screen from the player's perspective. Now, very often, two in the blue would be cut on games. Not all the time, of course. The game is a game of course, but that was a favorite operator mod to disable the two in the blue from ever triggering. And the reason is because it only takes two balls to win 600 replays. So the shots that you have to make in the blue section, remember on the Magic Screen games there is a moving metal screen which covers the entire bingo card. The interface available on all Xbox pinball degrees including woization,eptic,ents personn,detℷp있 pioneer. From a constant feedback bistrope you can enjoy a touch of the innovative features to enjoy fairly automaticーthe bendee pедин x″ remaining the space entry! Cine and Bl invers aligned 어려 propulsion are like a sigue early old in my armorww life that you must canviance turn isn't unique, Picture that could beey hai nail pinball generic editor orsee without,eniz lineland interference like this in other اس mommy In this case it's seven positions. And the positions that you can move are indicated by the letters on the back glass. So the game will light, for example, A, B, C, and D. If it awards you the basic magic screen feature, it lets you move the screen four positions. And the game will essentially flash. The game also has an orange section, and if you'll recall the orange section is revealed a However that pretty cool one Now you can have an okay lit which also allows you to see the orange section without having that tripped if my understanding is correct So, essentially you can get an okay game or get three in the orange section without actually getting that award of three in the orange scores as green. uh... you couldn't have that three in the orange score as green without having okay the okay qualifies that because that's what allows you to move the screen uh... over those couple of positions so now that we've gone over the basics of the screen let's talk again about the blue section the blue section shows up only beginning at letter E. So if you just have the basic magic screen feature lit A, B, C, and D, you won't even know that the blue section is there. And therefore the game doesn't pick a three in blue scores as three hundred or six hundred or two in blue scores as six hundred. It just won't like that feature at all until the game awards you E, F, or G and it may not even do it with e now that i think about it all have to look in the uh... wiring diagram and see what but that's tied to to know for sure but uh... essentially when you're able to see the blue section then it will allow you to win those massive numbers of replays The numbers that you have to hit in position F on the MagicScreen are 13, 17, and 20. 13 is usually pretty easy. It's on the far right side on the second row down. It's pretty simple to hit that without a whole lot of thought or nudging put into it. 17 is quite a bit harder. It's the number right beside 16, which as I've mentioned many times is the hardest number to hit in the game. Now as Vic said, there are numerous, numerous ways to hit that 16, but you know, I have a lot of trouble doing that consistently. The number twenty is the second number down, or the second number from the left on the fourth row down. And this number is significantly more difficult to hit only because it is so far down. And I normally tend to work my way over to the right hand side of the machine Lat gallons ballots unter하 նMatt A bit later�� You are towards and direction rather and the ones on the left I don't know if that's because right-handed One but it's something that i've noticed about myself and then trying to correct in my playing style is that most that time I am that shooting for the numbers on the right uh... twenty is our number put for me for that reason so let's talk about The screen fully extended. Position G moves the blue section to cover the numbers 16, 13, and 21. Now again, 13 is almost a given. If you've been playing bingos for a while, it's pretty easy to hit number 13. 16, very, very difficult. 21 is a little easier for me. So I have a choice to make. Before I I shoot my fourth ball. Do I want to go for 16 and 21 or do I want to go for 17 and 20? And most of the time I go for 16 and 21 just because I have such an easier time hitting 21 over 20. So that's the blue section in a nutshell and Let's get back to the features here. This game has an extended time tree which means that it will by default light press buttons before fourth ball if you have the magic screen awarded. It also has press buttons before shooting fifth and after fifth. Now games with an extended time tree, one of the ways to get the extension is if you have the rollover buttons lit, which I don't know that I've Hestiotyناven cultivated illetta monthly money made even scroll pedically on u So they went with a standard convention So the yellow rollover would award before fifth The red rollover would award after fifth Now you wouldn get the red rollover unless you already had before fifth And similarly you wouldn get the yellow rollover if you already had after fifth or if you didn have the magic screen at all Now this game has triple deck scoring which means that it's got three different sets of odds which can advance independently. The red letter or OK game is tied to the green odds just like in all the MagicScreen games. And this game has pick-a-play. Pick-a-play are the three different buttons on the front of the cabinet that you can push The first coin that you deposit is going to go to red automatically or you can push it to tell it, sure, hey, do this thing. But if you're coming up to a machine where a game has ended and you put in a nickel, well, I can think of an exception actually, but that's only if you're going to deposit a coin that's going to go to red automatically. You play for extra balls. So setting that aside, you push the red button, you drop in your nickel, it's going to start a game. Then you have a choice to make before you put in your second nickel. Do you want to play for scores only, meaning odds? Do you want to play for features only, meaning magic screen, super section, the three in the orange section, the okay game, the extended time tree, etc.? Or Do you want to play for both now? Just because you push the blue button to play for odds it does not guarantee that you're going to get an odds jump except in one instance and that is The guaranteed double jump in the odds when you deposit your second coin Only so the first coin goes to red automatically The second coin if you push blue and then put in your money, it's going to give you a guaranteed jump up two odd brackets to the 96, 24, and 8. And that'll do that in all three colors simultaneously. So that's a pretty good award to get for just 10 cents total. If you're playing for features, there is a chance that you will not get any features when you put in your money. Same with the scores button and same with the red button. The game auto portions itself, so depending on where your odds are, you're less likely to get features, and depending on where your features are, you're less likely to get odds. Now this portioning also comes into play with the extra balls. After you finish shooting your five balls, you can attempt to earn extra balls by dumping in, yes, more money or playing off credits that you've already won. When you push the yellow button, it puts it into extra ball mode. Each press of the extra ball button, the yellow button, will allow the machine to search and look for an extra ball. If it finds one, it's gonna, it'll step up and once it lights ball, it will load a ball in the shooter lane. It's not actually searching for an extra ball, it's just searching for the right combination of rivets in the reflex unit, the mixer, the spotting disc, and the extra ball disc in order to give you an award. All those things have to be working together in order for your extra balls to step up properly. Now, once you get your extra ball, you can shoot it and then you can pay more money to attempt to get a second extra ball and a third. Most of the games with extra balls have three extra balls, so it's generally pretty easy to walk up to a bingo and try to get a second extra ball. and no if it has that extra ball uh... information listed at the bottom of the back glass which you're in for you're in for a multi-coin experience where you're uh... putting in more than one credit to try to earn an extra ball it is unusual but it does happen again depending on the auto portioning circuitry that the game will award you an extra ball with your first yellow button press Game You're odds have to be very low and your features also have to be very low. Or you have to be You really bad player like myself Game from a big into just give me one Game it s to really want to win anyServing anyone a let's talk about this games are work This is a circus theme very similar to some of the other Ballybingo circus themes that came out during the years of Bally production run This one has the titular circus queen right in the center of the back glass And there are trapeze artists climbing ropes on either side. Clowns, the ringmaster, it's a very appealing back glass and then there's the tent in the background and at the very top where it has circus queen listed and the ballet logo of course. and it's all framed in what appears to be giant curtain. It's very very attractive. The letters in circus are your red letters so your red letter game is tied to one of those letters. Your cabinet artwork is a scene with a big top and several smaller tents. I really like the artwork I generally Chloe ŠoRL pic Ilove circus-themed� morning squoshes Crapman, Franchiaspberryas in the comment section below the video. Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video. I hope you enjoyed the video and I'll see you in the next one. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. The It has very attractive artwork and I'm just drawn to that particular theme I think it's really cool, and it probably has something to do with hearing about this godly circus my entire life The playfield artwork has a lot of action going on you've got a Female clown in the Atomicgines, Black Water, person's name or role at Stern pinball There's some bowling pins sitting beside her apparently she is juggling some balls up in the air near hole number 11. You have several other ladies which are hanging out on the sides of the playfield looking on. Trapeze Artist, which is prominently featured in the first ring. And then you have a lady balancing on a beam in ring three. Then you have a clown and all this culminates in a trapeze artist flipping through the air at the top of the playfield. Very, very attractive artwork, very busy, not in a bad way. It looks like there is a lot happening in the circus. It's very cool. More of the curtain motif as if you're peering through the tent at this action that's happening. The artist I think just knocked it out of the park on this one. There you go. That's my thought. I have never played one of these. However, it looks like a really fun game. The orange section scoring is pretty important. So if you get three in the orange section, it scores as green three. Normally, that's a wasted area. So if you manage to get three in the orange Orange section it doesn't matter because two will qualify your okay game any additional balls in the orange section are for not in many of the other magic screens so circus queen has that extra scoring potential and I think that's fantastic and I'm really looking forward to playing one at this year's York show well that's all for 24 DECYCLEcontroverspra, at the RSS on facebook, on twitter at bingo podcast, you can follow me on instagram at nbaldridge or you can listen to us on our website which is foremusementonly.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: 497c37a1-dd9f-4dc7-8b14-a9ef12d9d5ea*