# How Lucky am I? Bally Fathom (1981) – Gonzo’s Latest Pinball Machine Find!

**Source:** Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-08-15  
**Duration:** 33m 23s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4x3jyOVbFs

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## Analysis

Gonzo acquires a rare 1981 Bally Fathom pinball machine in excellent original condition after spotting it on Pinside forum and making a quick purchase decision. He discusses the game's charm, simple ruleset, and mechanical excellence compared to his other machines, and plans to display it at UK Pin Fest 2025. The video includes gameplay demonstration and reflects on the machine's historical significance.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Haggis Pinball has gone out of business — _Gonzo stating 'Haggis Pinball have gone out of business now' while discussing the Fathom Revisited remake_
- [HIGH] Fathom was purchased for a 'bargain' price and Gonzo was the successful buyer within 30 seconds of the Pinside listing — _Gonzo's direct account of seeing the notification, messaging the seller immediately, and committing to purchase within 30 seconds_
- [HIGH] The previous owner had the Fathom for 22 years and is mechanically minded with an engineering background — _Gonzo stating the machine 'had been in the gentleman's possession for 22 years' and describing the seller's background_
- [HIGH] The previous owner is building a Futurama pinball machine from scratch — _Gonzo mentioning the seller 'is actually building his own pinball machine from scratch at the moment he's building a Futurama pinball machine'_
- [HIGH] Fathom's backglass is in 'pristine condition' comparable to the best Bally 1981 backglasses he's seen — _Gonzo stating 'this is in as good a condition i think as I've seen any Bally 1981 back glass uh absolutely amazed with it'_
- [MEDIUM] Gonzo is taking Fathom to Pin Fest 2025 (scheduled for August 22 in Daventry) — _Gonzo stating he considered taking it to Pin Fest but ultimately decided against it this year: 'we're not going to bring this this year but i probably will take it uh next year'_
- [HIGH] Pulp Fiction is being used as a single-ball tournament game at Pin Fest with prizes of £100, £50, £25, and £10 — _Gonzo describing the Jackrabbit Slim's one-ball tournament rules: 'you get one ball on Pulp Fiction and i think the highest score over the the three days of a Pin Fest um is going to the highest score gets 100 pound second highest 50 and 25 um then a tenner'_
- [HIGH] Lyman Sheets coded Batman 66 — _Gonzo stating 'that's Lyman Sheets' coding' when discussing Batman 66's rule design_
- [HIGH] Pin Fest features multiple tournament types including ladies, children, NBA, and classics tournaments — _Gonzo listing the various tournaments available at the event_
- [HIGH] Alan, a friend and frequent contributor to Gonzo's channel, recently passed away from sarcoma — _Gonzo's extended tribute to Alan, stating 'Alan sadly passed away my my friend Alan' and describing his death from 'sarcoma' after 'a long, brave battle'_

### Notable Quotes

> "It's a world I used to know, but something I've just stopped doing with my pinball machines, and that is putting coins into your pinball machine... there's something about putting coins in that makes it feel a little bit more authentic it certainly makes it feel more like an antique."
> — **Gonzo**, ~3:00-4:30
> _Reflects on the tactile and emotional appeal of coin-operated machines versus free-play settings, highlighting a nostalgic dimension of classic pinball collecting_

> "I find myself gravitating so much to these older games now with these simple rule sets... simplistic brilliance, but it has you trying to do it over and over again. And I love that."
> — **Gonzo**, ~18:00
> _Core philosophy on why classic games appeal to modern players despite technological advances; emphasis on elegance of design over complexity_

> "They probably never imagined they didn't fathom that it would be in there or similar interjection use when it was designed and manufactured in 1981... somebody'd be playing this and enjoying it in 2025"
> — **Gonzo**, ~48:00
> _Reflects on the enduring legacy and unforeseen longevity of 1981 hardware, contrasting original arcade purpose with modern collector appreciation_

> "I was right place at the right time to get this... you snooze and you lose don't you"
> — **Gonzo**, ~20:00
> _Captures the real-time, high-pressure nature of the collector market where opportunities disappear in seconds_

> "Bring Dolly because it's brutal"
> — **Sean (classics tournament organizer)**, ~25:00
> _Characterizes Dolly Parton's difficulty level and why it was chosen over Fathom for the classics tournament at Pin Fest_

> "What a charming game, what a charming pinball machine... there's something very very special about these games. Very special indeed"
> — **Gonzo**, ~50:00
> _Summarizes the appeal and magic of 1981-era pinball design, emphasizing intangible qualities beyond mechanics_

> "He never, even the last time I had a text exchange with him was two days before he passed away. And he was asking two things... he was still trying to get me to give Twilight Zone a fair crack"
> — **Gonzo**, ~38:00
> _Poignant tribute highlighting Alan's persistent passion for pinball until the very end of his life_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Gonzo | person | Content creator (Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama YouTube channel), pinball collector, enthusiast, and community member based in UK |
| Bally Fathom | game | Classic 1981 Bally pinball machine with nautical/underwater theme; recently acquired by Gonzo in excellent original condition |
| Dolly Parton | game | 1978-1979 Bally pinball machine themed after the country music legend; owned by Gonzo, restored by Keith at New Forest Pinball, next to Fathom in collection |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer that produced Fathom Revisited remake; reportedly out of business |
| Pinside | organization | Online pinball forum community where Gonzo found the Fathom listing and conducts collector transactions |
| Pin Fest | event | Major UK pinball tournament and community gathering scheduled for August 22, 2025 in Daventry; features multiple tournament categories and free-play machines |
| King Kong: The Myth of Terror Island | game | Recent pinball machine owned/played by Gonzo; he finds its shot quality exceptionally good, rivaling Godzilla in appeal |
| Keith | person | Operator/restorer at New Forest Pinball who performed the restoration work on Gonzo's Dolly Parton machine |
| Sean | person | Organizer of the classics tournament at Pin Fest; runs tournament with sponsorship from Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama |
| Alan | person | Dear friend of Gonzo who recently passed away from sarcoma; frequent contributor to the channel; lent numerous machines for featured videos; passionate pinball enthusiast |
| Steven Martin | person | Technician from GoPimble; scheduled to visit Gonzo on Tuesday to repair flipper buttons and other mechanical issues on multiple machines before Pin Fest |
| Lyman Sheets | person | Programmer/designer of Batman 66 pinball; credited for the coding that enables the simple yet elegant rulesets Gonzo admires |
| Batman 66 | game | Pinball machine admired by Gonzo for its simple, elegant ruleset designed by Lyman Sheets; features Commissioner Gordon target mechanic |
| Eight Ball Deluxe | game | Pinball machine owned by Gonzo; scheduled for complete overhaul and restoration; features inline drop targets |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | game | Pinball machine recently acquired by Gonzo at good price; third machine of this title he's owned; featured on his top 10 games list; intended for Pin Fest display |
| Pulp Fiction | game | 1994 Stern pinball machine being used as single-ball tournament game at Pin Fest; donated by Gonzo to support classics tournament prize pool |
| Jaws | game | Pinball machine in Gonzo's collection; entered in main Pin Fest tournament; currently needs flipper button repair before the event |
| Theater of Magic | game | Pinball machine in Gonzo's collection; temporarily out of rotation due to intensive play of Fathom and King Kong |
| Twilight Zone | game | Pinball machine that Alan repeatedly tried to convince Gonzo to appreciate; referenced as brutally difficult in tournament context |
| Labyrinth | game | Machine hosting the Stall Ball tournament at Pin Fest 2025; features magnets to stop ball for single-ball high score competition |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Classic pinball collecting and acquisition, 1981 Bally pinball machine condition and restoration, Pin Fest 2025 UK tournament event and logistics
- **Secondary:** Simplicity vs complexity in pinball game design philosophy, Pinball community, friendships, and tribute to Alan, Authentic coin-operated pinball experience vs free-play
- **Mentioned:** Haggis Pinball's closure and Fathom Revisited remake, Gonzo's collection diversity and machine rotation strategy

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Gonzo expresses genuine joy, gratitude, and fascination with his Fathom acquisition. The tone is celebratory and appreciative, with deep affection for classic game design. The tribute to Alan introduces somber notes but maintains respect and warmth. Overall sentiment is overwhelmingly enthusiastic about pinball, community, and collecting.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Pin Fest 2025 positioned as major community event with multiple tournament categories (ladies, children, NBA, classics) and interactive gameplay opportunities; Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama sponsoring classics tournament (confidence: high) — Extensive discussion of Pin Fest tournaments, prize structures, machine donations, and Gonzo's role as sponsor and participant
- **[event_signal]** Pin Fest 2025 (August 22, Daventry) featuring Stall Ball tournament on Labyrinth machine as special mechanic-based competition; proceeds supporting classics tournament prize pool (confidence: high) — Gonzo detailing Stall Ball rules: 'Jackrabbit Slim's one ball The Twist which is going to be you get one ball on Pulp Fiction and i think the highest score over the the three days of a Pin Fest'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Fathom acquisition sparked debate on Pinside forum about pricing fairness and resale flipping; seller maintained integrity despite pressure to raise price (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'there were a lot of people saying to the chap who'd sold it oh you know you're selling this too cheap and I bet this is just going to get flipped and turned over for a profit... the chap that sold it he was under quite a lot of pressure to up the price and he never did he stuck to his price'
- **[design_philosophy]** Collector gravitating toward 1981-era games with simple, elegant rulesets over modern complex rule systems; appreciates 'simplistic brilliance' and accessibility for non-expert players (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'I find myself gravitating so much to these older games now with these simple rule sets... And I love that about any game... if people come over to play particularly non-pinball playing folk they'll play these games for hours because you just explain the rules in 30 seconds'
- **[market_signal]** Secondary market for classic pinball machines remains active with rapid transaction velocity; Fathom spotted and sold within minutes on Pinside forum (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'a notification popped up saying that there was a Fathom for sale. I jumped on there really quickly... I must have done it within 30 seconds, made the decision, committed to buying it'
- **[community_signal]** Fathom's previous owner is building custom Futurama pinball machine from scratch; mechanical engineering background ensures machines are meticulously maintained (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'the chap that I got it off is is just mechanically minded he is of an engineering background so much so that he's actually building his own pinball machine from scratch at the moment he's building a Futurama pinball machine'
- **[community_signal]** Alan, long-time community contributor and friend, passed away from sarcoma; first Pin Fest without him represents significant community loss (confidence: high) — Gonzo's extended tribute: 'this will be the first Pin Fest um without Alan for a while' and detailed reflection on Alan's influence and final interactions
- **[product_concern]** Haggis Pinball reported as out of business; Fathom Revisited remake discussed but not owned/tested by Gonzo despite strong interest in acquiring one (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'Haggis Pinball have gone out of business now and I haven't played the remake I was very very close to getting one and it was only a certain set of circumstances that stopped that happening'

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## Transcript

 Sometimes you just get an opportunity to get a surprise and unexpected addition to your pinball collection and that's exactly what I've got here with this Fathom which is one of the classic ballet 81 games now it sits very very nicely next to uh as you all know a machine that's very very dear to my heart which is dolly parton which i think is 1978 or 1979 um that's a ballet it's quite interesting having spent so much time playing the dolly parton game from what is two three years earlier to now spending time with this game from 1981 and just sort of having a look back and seeing how much technology has jumped on has moved on because these games are absolutely full of charm um in fact that probably demonstrates one of the first things that I noticed the difference between the two games. So whilst Dolly Parton has chimes and has some form of melody to it, you turn it on and it goes... This actually has call-outs. In fact, I'm going to demonstrate one to you now, because the guy that I got this off has introduced me to a whole new world. It's a world I used to know, but something I've just stopped doing with my pinball machines, and that is putting coins into your pinball machine. This is not set to free play. As I understand it, you can't actually set it to free play, but there are ways you can get around it. Certainly on Dolly Parton, I don't have to put any money in. But if I just put this money in now. Fantastic. Oh, yes. I'll do it again. I don't know what it is, but there's something about putting money in makes it feel a little bit more authentic it certainly makes it feel more like an antique which is precisely what this game is but make no mistake about it it's an antique that you're very much gonna enjoy playing a lot of you are gonna need no introduction to this game at all haggis have recently done a remake obviously haggis have gone out of business now and i've not played the remake i was very very close to getting one and it was only a certain set of circumstances that stopped that happening so i've been very much in the market for for a fathom for quite some time this was completely unexpected when this came up and i'll tell you i'll tell you the story i was i was on the forum on on pinball info which is obviously the UK forum. In fact, I wasn't. I was doing something else on my computer and a notification popped up saying that there was a fathom for sale. I jumped on there really quickly and I sent a direct message to the person that was selling it and said, yes, please. I mean, I must have done it in 30 seconds, made the decision, committed to buying it. Now, it was a bargain, an absolute bargain. So I said, yes, please, I'll take this. It had been in the gentleman's possession for 22 years and I'm very lucky well firstly because I got a bargain but secondly the chap that I got it off is is just mechanically minded he is of an engineering background so much so that he's actually building his own pinball machine from scratch at the moment he's building a Futurama pinball machine in fact it's quite close to completion when I went around to collect this game uh he showed it to me um we've had a really really good look at it and i'm going to go and revisit him uh separately to go and produce a video just demonstrating that game um it was amazing so i was really lucky it's not only has it been beautifully cared for it's been in the hands of somebody who's mechanically minded well for for almost half of its life and that's a real benefit when you're going to get a game like this it means there's really it means there's really very little for me to do to it it's it's in original condition there's no leds i tell a lie i put leds in it just to see what would happen you might well see on the back glass there's a little bit it's a little bit more blue here on on this um halfway down this mermaid's tail and uh and yeah you probably see it's popping out a little bit more but aside from that it's it's in original condition and i think it looks absolutely fantastic particularly when you see it it's not had the sort of overhaul and refurbishment that dolly parter next to it has had which was done by keith uh he's just a great guy at new forest um pinball and actually whilst dolly parter and i know you can't see the full thing on the screen but we've featured this game on this channel so many times you'll have seen that plenty of times before if you if you're an established subscriber on the channel this is a uh this is a remake this is i think it might be cpr possibly i think that's a cpr remake this is original it's in as good a condition i think as i've seen any bally 81 back glass uh absolutely amazed with it and i've got an eight ball deluxe and i got a cpr remake for that back glass as well so this is in an absolutely pristine condition and the story goes when i there was a lot of people interested in this game and ideally i would have sort of bought this game without anybody knowing and then just done a the reveal video but what happened was there were there were there were a lot of people obviously wanted this game and there were a lot of people saying to the chap who'd sold it oh you know you're selling this too cheap and I bet this is just going to get flipped and turned over for a profit and I was watching this unfold and there was there was one there was one guy in particular who had sort of semi got accused of getting this game of course he hadn't it was me that got it and so in the end I had to pop on there and say look it's it's me it's me I've I'm the one that's purchased the machine and to be fair to the the chap that sold it he was under quite a lot of pressure to up the price and he never did he stuck to his price and so i got a real bargain for this and i'm very very grateful for it as as he knows um and i've invited him to come back and play it anytime he wants i'm very lucky because he lives locally and also he needed it gone quite quickly and i've got a van and everything all the planets aligned for me to get this this wonderful wonderful game and i was thinking actually of of taking it to pin fest which is well pin fest is on the 22nd of this month in daventry and if you've not got a ticket and you're not going to pin fest it's not too late you can still go and do that now the link will be well i was going to say the link will be in description google uk pin fest that's that's your quickest route if you google uk pin fest you can go and buy a ticket there and i'm quite sure you come down on the day as well you can either sort of buy a ticket i guess to join in for the whole weekend or the vip sessions or one single day but there's lots of us down there and it's um you know it's a really really big event and certainly you know the highlight of the of my pinball year is going up to that event and i love it and and phil puts on a great show but there's tournaments there and lots and lots of stuff going on so i'm taking a number of games up to pin fest i am taking we'll get to this in a second i am i i'm taking jaws jaws is going in the main tournament the uh the the open tournament i am also taking i'm possibly taking star trek next generation now about two days after i acquired a Star Trek Next Generation came up for purchase, again, at a really, really good price as well. And funny enough again from somebody that had the game for 10 12 years something like that so i ended up getting that as well and i hoping it wasn fully working so i been trying to get that ready and get that prepared because i want to take that to pinfest as well so that's star trek next generation also i thought it'd be really good to feature it on this channel i've had it before it features on my top 100 list i think actually it doesn't well it means means we can do that oh no it does sorry there you go on gonzo's top 50 it's it's about halfway it's a top 10 it's top 10 game but it'd be really good to feature on this channel to have a really good look at it and it was the third game i ever owned for star trek next generation so i thought it'd be really good to get that be good to take it to pin fest so people can can play it and enjoy it i'm also taking pulp fiction now pulp fiction is interesting because one of the tournaments at pin fest is the classics tournament now um again when i said i was donating uh the uh the pulp fiction to the classics tournament again there was um there was a there was a bit of a reaction online to it and sean who's running the classics tournament who does a great job had had a really good idea but there's a lot of people saying you can't put in a classics tournament you can't donate that machine it's not a classic and we're we're sponsoring this year a gonzo's pinball flipperama are sponsoring the classics tournament at at pin fest and when we did that we knew what sean had in mind but unfortunately we didn't particularly want to reveal what the plan was with that game to make the tournament just um well to give the tournament more prize money really and just to make everything a little bit more interesting and that was to run a side tournament um which is going to be a what was a jackrabbit slimmed one ball twist which is going to be you get one ball on pulp fiction and i think the highest score over the the three days of a pin fest um is going to be the highest score gets 100 pound second highest 15 and 25 um then a tenner and whatever proceeds that game takes will then be going with the rest of the money that's been generously donated and which sean has collected and runs this and um he's going to be going to the the prize pot for the for the classics competition now i did say to sean i can bring fathom if you want because i'm donating the game to go in the main bank as well and and i said because i was originally going to take dolly parton but sean said no no i want dolly parton because it's brutal and he's right dolly parton is brutal so we're not going to bring this this year but i probably will take it uh next year but that we're going to be bringing that and i think people will really enjoy it it's just a wonderful wonderful game and just get back on track really i find myself gravitating so much to these older games now with these simple rule sets and i guess i could be very linear in my thinking and when i'm playing this game i just i want to lock one ball into the top saucer i want to lock another ball into the cave traps you've got lagoon trap and cave trap um silly silly little things like you hit these three targets here in sequence then you hit this one here and you get an extra ball. I mean, it's simplistic brilliance, but it has you trying to do it over and over again. And I love that. I love that about any game. I find myself, as I say, quite linear in my thinking in the same way that if you ever played Batman 66, what a great game that is. What an amazing game. And in fact, so good. I've got a James Bond premium. I'm probably going to look to try and swap that out and possibly get something else in but batman 66 would be high up there because i just love it but you've got the commissioner gordon target on there and it's just so tempting to keep hitting that time and time again try and hit that a number of times before you then go and answer the bat phone it's it's coding genius of course that's lyman sheets coding but the genius is in the simplicity of it and the multipliers on that it really is an excellent excellent game so since i got this i've been playing it a lot and what i would say is it's probably a a measure of how good this is but also a measure of how good it's just behind me now how good king kong myth of terror island is that i've been playing that as well um because ordinarily i wouldn't just the shots on king kong myth of terror island are just so good they are so good um i must be honest when i went when i first went to neil's house and i did video with him and he said i think this might be people might end up liking this more than godzilla i thought like i thought no but i can totally understand what he was saying now i can totally understand it that is an incredible game but anyway my point is they've got a bit it's got to be a good game to stop me playing this because i just want to play it all the time because i think these old games are completely addictive they are wonderful anyway i just wanted to tell you the story about this game uh for regular watchers of the channel announced that i have a fathom in my collection now which i'm absolutely thrilled with uh absolutely thrilled um poor old theater of Magic has stopped being played at the moment because I've been playing King Kong. But it'll have a renaissance again. Jaws has not been getting played. I still love Jaws, but it's not working. So I've actually got Martin from GoPimble, who is coming over on Tuesday, I believe, to come and give a few games a once over and get that. It's just the flipper button's not working. So he's going to come and fix that. And there's a few other things and a few other games. so we're going to get the games working ready to go to pin fest um so yeah as i say get down to pin fest 26 22nd of august in daventry just google uk pin fest and everything you need to know is on there if you haven't pre-registered for the tournaments no problem you can do that when you're there that's no problem it's just with the classics competition you got a free t-shirt and stuff like that um you can still do it when you're there and i would encourage everybody to to get involved and in so many of the tournaments there you've got the the ladies tournament which is um which is absolutely incredible obviously as you can tell well hopefully i'm not allowed to enter that one i might go in disguise you never know um the children's tournament uh which was great great opportunity for the kids to win some prizes uh you've got nba which is which is run by um Elsa and Colin, absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, that is. I'm definitely going to be doing that. Definitely be having a go at that. I struggle on that NBA. I never quite managed to nail it. But anyway, I'm certainly going to try. I'm going to try on this year. I'm going to try again. I try that every year. And then you've just got so many machines all set on free play. And there'll be lots of new stuff to try. Lots of games. it'll be stall ball which i think stall ball gotta get this right i think stall ball is being run on labyrinth um this year and of course i must say this this will be our you know this will be our first year without alan and alan sadly sadly sadly passed away my my friend alan who you've seen on this channel so many times and um is responsible for so many so much of my love of pinball he lent us so many games lent us so many he was we always used to joke about adam was always trying to get me to like a twilight zone but but he lent us the monsters le which we featured on the channel uh he lent us um or the uh oh world cup soccer i wouldn't have my love for world cup soccer it wasn fallon he was always so generous with his machines we did two games from tours with Alan We featured his wonderful whitewater restoration on here To say he's a friend of the channel would be doing him a disservice. A dear, dear friend who sadly passed away with sarcoma. And after a long, brave battle where he just did so well. He did so, so well and never, ever lost his love for pinball, Alan. He never, even the last time I had a text exchange with him was two days before he passed away. And he was asking two things. Firstly, he was still trying to get me to give Twilight Zone a fair crack. But, you know, ask him, what have you got? What pinball machines have you got? What are you playing at the moment? He loved pinball. Wonderful, wonderful man. and this will be the first pin pin fest um without alan for a while and last you'll probably remember actually the time before last it was myself and alan did a video he was doing stall ball that was on twilight zone um so it won't be twilight zone this year it will be stall ball will be on labyrinth i don't i couldn't tell you anything about the game i don't know where that obviously it's going to need magnets the original stall ball was the shadow so you just need somewhere with magnets where you can stop the ball so clearly on labyrinth summer it's got some way you should do that but that's another great thing and a great way for people to get involved well i'm going to take that um that camera off the tripod there i'm going to give you a little close look on this have a little close look have a look around and then hopefully we can um we'll we'll try and have a quick game it'll be nothing spectacular i just thought i'll just do a quick introduction video so you can see the game so you'll have to excuse the mess because well we're getting ready for pin fest and uh yeah there's there's boxes of stuff and all manner of things getting ready to go um first of all you'll see i just want to make this point because we've got a restored game here and this is this is an original game and you can see it's it's in really good condition now ideally i'll get this door polished up just like this one which looks fantastic and i will get the twanger polished everyone likes a buffed twanger as you'll see this one well it looks it looks like it's um you know whatever it is 45 years old hasn't got the same twang if i'm honest anyway i'm absolutely delighted with the condition that this game is in i want to show you the side art without having to pull it out you'll see it's in pretty damn good condition this game just show you here the lock bars on each one so again this has been highly polished isn't chrome i'm pretty sure it's not knowing keith i think these are all just it just really really highly polished so I think we'll get the same done on here well let's take a close look at the game shall we so as I say it's completely original and what is really interesting I'm going to show you you something in a second is look at the inlanes so the out lane goes in and the in lane goes out familiar you're damn right it is because I'll just go over here look what we got here this is Kong it's exactly the same thing it's the reverse and there you have it there now i guess talking about innovation from sort of one game so just refresh your memory on dolly parton the glass is on here but you've got the three pop bumpers you've got the stand-up targets here which i think are just wonderful i love those the spinner which is just so important in this game um i mean the rules on this are simple you have to spell dolly parton you spell dolly by hitting these targets you spell parton by getting it into the saucer it's really really easy well i don't mean the game's easy the game's hard the rules are easy to understand there's a little bit more to it on this and you'll start to see the development of a game we've got an upper flipper incredible and that upper flipper hits these hopefully you can see them here drop targets. Each target 900 points. Now when the game starts, when I press the start button, which I'm not going to do yet because it makes a constant sound, these targets here will pop up and the idea is to lodge the ball into here into the cave trap we've got a spinner here which i'm going to get again i'm going to get that so as it gets so as it can be ripped properly so that's going to have to be balanced out correctly get some clock oil on there and yeah that get that spinning really nicely and then you've got this back section here which is the lagoon trap but it's all original but i think it's just an incredible condition given its age and i have to say i'm not looking to change too much on it which will be very very different to eight ball deluxe which is going to get a complete overhaul i'm not sure i want to do that on this So just want a few things, you know, sort of polished up. And more or less, I'm going to leave it as it is. The back glass is tremendous. Absolutely tremendous. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what these mermaids are doing to this poor geezer. But it looks suspicious. Anyway. um just an incredible game i'm very very lucky to have it very lucky i couldn't tell you the amount of times i've i've just missed out on you know just missed out and then you know you snooze and you lose don't you and that's what people would say but yeah i was right place at the right time to get this and you know i was able to go and get it quickly and i was local and it was just very very lucky anyway um should we see it let's do a game let's have a game okay hopefully this gives you a good enough view let's press start there it is um so all the targets have popped up into sequence now when it's going over oh my goodness you don't really want to let it do you don't want to let it See, it's vicious. It's funny because Short said, bring Dolly because it's brutal. That... Yeah. That was pretty harsh on me there. But you've got to love these games. OK, so I got it there. So I don't know how to play this game. I wouldn say I got a strategy I really I either going to hit those in sequence or go in for that there oh damn it which i didn manage oh you see it lit the actual guy if you see that target there it lit but it's not gonna let it let me have the ball so i'm not gonna be able to hit it oh that's such a shame which is a real shame because i hit it but i was too late oh no it's it's just a fun game i love what i love about these games if people come over to play particularly non-pinball playing folk they'll play these games for hours because you just explain the rules in 30 seconds and they're um they just enjoy them so much which you just can't do with modern games no oh damn it i'm gonna have another go because well because why not actually thinking about it i don't know if you watch this sean i i'm thinking about it dolly parted is set to five balls and i don't know how to change it so someone better know how to do that before uh pin fest because you're not going to want that set to five balls let's have another game oh yes oh man it's so hard now when it's going over those um the abc there it's it's increasing here you've got um you've got a blue bonus you've got a green bonus and going through b i think multiplies both of them oh dear and it's funny though on the eight ball deluxe oh no no no yes yes yes i did it on the 8 ball deluxe it's got a don't you dare yes you see me oh dear a cruiseman oh i got it in there a cruiseman playfield a repo so it's and then cruiseman's done the clear coat on it which is great it's gonna be great that game when it's finished I quite like the undulations though I'm not in a hurry to change it's got undulations to it because it's old it changes the ball path and dolly's the same I can you know you can feel the inserts I'm cool with that I don't mind it at all I think it gives them I think it makes the game harder actually and I don't know I like it not not every game's got to be perfect and pristine has it oh man i thought i was going to get in that lagoon trap then and i broke in the traps don't you dare oh what a save no no no oh dear oh man i got a daltiple That's a shame Didn't last very long the old multiball Yes, I got it in the top one. Dive again. Oh. I'm trying to get it up to that spinner, oh dear. not spinning enough unfortunately oh dear that was not a bad one that was a good ball again a lot of bonus there that was a lot so i'm up to well i'll show you you can see it there you go see six hundred and four thousand one more ball left that's about as long a ball as you're gonna have on fathom well as long as i'm gonna have which i was just about to say you know only means one thing which is you're about to lose the ball um there it is what a charming game what a charming pinball machine um i could play that for ages well i have done um there's something very very special about these games very special indeed and i'm quite sure that when they were built and whoever designed this particular game i don't know i should know really i'm doing them a disservice by not knowing but they probably never imagined they didn't fathom that it would be in use when it was designed and manufactured 1981 they probably had no idea that in 2025 somebody'd be playing this and enjoying it and yeah i mean they just wouldn't have done these things were meant to earn a bit of money in an arcade and you'd put your coins in well actually i'm gonna put another coin in you'd put your coins in coin brilliant you put your coins in and it would earn some money for the location for the arcade then they'd be thrown away uh absolutely wonderful so there's a fathom i'm very very um grateful to have this no it won't be being flipped and sold and that sort of thing it's going to be enjoyed and people are going to play it and i'm going to enjoy it and uh yeah so and funny enough i just should say this as well my 11 year old daughter has been playing this so um i've just noticed actually i think the high score is two billion that's incredible i yeah i think i've got 800 900 000 my best go anyway there you go belly 1981 fathom

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 4a7dda37-81e1-4fa0-a6e2-03df1fd51ea9*