# Episode 288 - 1954 Bally Variety **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2015-12-24 **Duration:** 10m 52s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-288-1954-bally-variety --- ## Analysis Nick Baldridge, host of the For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, provides a detailed technical and artistic analysis of the 1954 Bally Variety pinball machine. Variety was the first game to feature Magic Lines, a moving numbers mechanism that allows players to reposition numbers on the backglass using foot rail knobs to convert losing games into winning ones. The episode covers gameplay mechanics (single-card bingo, corners feature, super cards, extra balls), the innovative Magic Lines feature with its unique mechanical-beeping sounds, cabinet and playfield artwork themed around a variety show, and practical considerations for operating the machine. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Variety was the first game to feature magic lines — _Nick Baldridge, opening statement of episode_ - [HIGH] Magic Lines were the first moving numbers feature that Bally produced — _Nick Baldridge, technical section explaining Magic Lines_ - [HIGH] Players can rearrange the first three columns of numbers out of five on the backglass — _Nick Baldridge describing Magic Lines mechanics_ - [HIGH] The game has physical memory of the Magic Lines last location, which resets when starting a new game but the foot rail dial does not move — _Nick Baldridge describing operational quirk of Magic Lines feature_ - [HIGH] Players can earn up to three additional balls after shooting the first five — _Nick Baldridge describing extra ball feature_ - [HIGH] The first nickel qualifies the main bingo card and may randomly award features like magic lines — _Nick Baldridge explaining coin-op mechanics_ ### Notable Quotes > "Magic Lines were the first moving numbers feature that Bally produced. And the way they work is if you earn the Magic Lines feature on Variety, you get to move all three of the Magic Lines." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~mid-episode > _Core explanation of the game's signature innovative feature_ > "This feature allows you to turn a losing game into a winning game potentially." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~mid-episode > _Describes the strategic value of Magic Lines to players_ > "I really enjoy about Magic Lines are the unique sounds that they make... It's kind of hard to describe, but it's really fun to experience because there's really nothing like it." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~mid-episode > _Emphasizes the distinctive sensory experience of the Magic Lines mechanism_ > "The cabinet has the beautiful bally red gold and yellow and black. The stencil incorporates curtains a trumpet flags stars musical notes a cane and a top hat." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~late episode > _Describes the visual design of the cabinet_ > "Being the first moving numbers feature, I'm sure they were quite excited to get the word out there and make sure people understood the earning potential that these had." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~end of technical discussion > _Contextualizes Bally's marketing approach to the innovation_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, knowledgeable about electromechanical and bingo pinball machines, restorer and operator | | Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer that produced Variety in 1954 | | Variety | game | 1954 Bally pinball machine, first game to feature Magic Lines moving-numbers feature | | Magic Lines | product | First moving numbers feature in pinball, debuted on 1954 Bally Variety, allows players to reposition numbers on backglass via foot rail knobs | | For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast dedicated to electromechanical and bingo pinball machines, hosted by Nick Baldridge | ### Topics - **Primary:** Magic Lines moving-numbers feature, 1954 Bally Variety game mechanics and design, Single-card bingo gameplay, Electromechanical pinball machine features - **Secondary:** Cabinet and playfield artwork design, Variety show entertainment theme, Bingo pinball machine history, Operational quirks and player strategy ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Nick Baldridge expresses clear enthusiasm and appreciation for the Variety machine's innovation, design, and gameplay. He highlights the beauty of the artwork, the novelty of the Magic Lines feature, and the enjoyment of experiencing its unique sounds. His tone is educational and celebratory of this historical innovation. ### Signals - **[historical_signal]** Variety (1954) documented as the first Bally game to feature Magic Lines, the first moving-numbers feature in pinball history (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge's explicit statement: 'Variety was the first game to feature magic lines' and 'Magic Lines were the first moving numbers feature that Bally produced' - **[design_innovation]** Magic Lines represent a significant electromechanical innovation: foot rail knobs controlling moving numbers on backglass via physical mechanism, allowing players to rearrange columns to improve outcomes (confidence: high) — Detailed technical explanation of how players use knobs to move numbers up/down with wrap-around function, repositioning three of five columns before shooting fourth ball - **[gameplay_signal]** Variety offers layered gameplay mechanics: single-card bingo, corners feature (4-corner spots for 200 replays), super cards (3x3 grids scoring 4 for three-in-row), magic lines (player-controlled number repositioning), and variable extra ball awards (confidence: high) — Comprehensive gameplay breakdown covering multiple win conditions and earning mechanics - **[restoration_signal]** Physical memory quirk documented: Magic Lines feature resets to default position when game ends, but foot rail dial does not reset, potentially causing misalignment on subsequent games with Magic Lines (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge's detailed explanation: 'One thing about magic lines that makes them a little tricky is that they have physical memory of their last location' - **[community_signal]** Podcast episode focused on deep technical and aesthetic analysis of a specific 1954 machine, indicating strong community interest in EM/bingo pinball history and preservation (confidence: high) — Dedicated 30+ minute episode structure with comprehensive coverage of mechanics, artwork, cabinet design, and operational quirks - **[industry_signal]** Reference to Bally's flyer documentation practices showing company effort to educate operators/players about new features like Magic Lines to increase play frequency (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge: 'Being the first moving numbers feature, I'm sure they were quite excited to get the word out there and make sure people understood the earning potential' --- ## Transcript What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight, I wanted to talk about 1954's Bally Variety. Now, Variety was the first game to feature magic lines. but before we get into how those work variety is a single card bingo you win the indicated number of replays by getting three four or five in a row to do this you shoot your balls and land in the trap holes which correspond with the numbers that you're trying to achieve on the backlash this game has advancing odds and pays anywhere from four for DeniseGUARD fully The game's first game is a 3x3 grid of numbers, which is the number of hits, when lit, will spot either the number 10 or 25, depending on which rollover you hit. On the card, the bingo card, you can earn the corners feature, which if you hit all four numbers in the corners, then you will earn 200 replays automatically. You can earn the corners feature, which if you hit all four numbers in the corners, then you will earn 200 replays automatically. This game also features two Super Cards. A Super Card is a 3x3 grid of numbers, and if you get three in a row, it scores as four. Now, this game's main feature is the Magic Lines. Magic Lines were the first moving numbers feature that Bally produced. And the way they work is if you earn the Magic Lines feature on Variety, you get to move all three of the Magic Lines. and the magic lines without having to earn additional features So I have a magic lines game where you have to earn each additional line but in this game you get all three at once which is pretty cool Now when they lit there are knobs on the foot rail that you turn either to the left or right to move the numbers on the back glass either down one position or up one position Now if you move the numbers up that are at the top of the card, they will wrap around and display on the bottom of the card. This feature allows you to turn a losing game into a winning game potentially. You are able to rearrange the first three columns of numbers out of five. Now you have to do all this before shooting your fourth ball by default, but this game has an extended time tree. and that means that you can extend that all the way up to before you shoot your fifth ball. Now The beauty of this Well, there's a couple beautiful things. The game actually knows which position that the numbers are in so it will light the appropriate one. But one thing that I really enjoy about Magic Lines are the unique sounds that they make. and if I was more on the ball, I would record those. I'm sure I will at some point when I get into the technical aspects of Magic Lines, but they make this cool kind of cross between mechanical and beeping. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's really fun to experience because there's really nothing like it. This game also has the ever popular extra ball feature, you can get up to three additional balls to play after you shoot your first five. Now of course you have to pay money for all this stuff, nothing in life is free. Your first nickel qualifies the main bingo card and may randomly award you something like the magic lines, but it's increasingly unlikely that it will if you're on a winning streak. The same goes for the extra balls. The machine may or may not give them to you easily with just a few nickels. It may take quite a few to loosen that lifter. So let talk about artwork The artwork on this game uh kind of evokes a variety show so you got uh music and dancing and a stage you got these great blue and purple curtains in the background which wrap around this curved stage with lots of ladies uh... that look like they're taking a rest in between dancing and then one lady in the front who is in fact dancing wearing a top hat, carrying a cane the whole nine yards Out below the stage there are musical notes and stars rising makes it seem like the band is playing right there doesn't it? I really enjoy the artwork around The magic lines. There's a special insert which lights to tell you if the magic line is in the up or down position which is pretty handy. One thing about magic lines that makes them a little tricky is that they have physical memory of their last location. So let's say you get the magic lines feature and you move magic line number one or column one up. Well, you finish your game and start a new one. You don't have magic lines in this new game and so the magic line one jumps back to the default position when you start the game. Your dial on the foot rail has not moved though. It's still in the previous position. And so, let's say you finish that game where you didn't have magic lines and start a new and this time you do get magic lines. In this case you shoot your first ball and the first column will jump into the up position. So that's the real only downside. You just have to pay attention to what you're doing. Luckily because you can reposition them as much as you want until you shoot your fourth ball, it's normally not a problem, but you do have to, you know, look at what you're doing. The Cabinet the cabinet has the beautiful bally red gold and yellow and black The stencil incorporates curtains a trumpet flags stars musical notes a cane and a top hat It very attractive and of course evokes a variety show Now the playfield has multiple acts going on at the same time and they're performing in sync with each other twin acts all the way up. You have the band up at the top and below that you have a man and a woman dancing on the left side and the right side. The man is lifting the woman up into the air. Below that you have two tap dancing ladies in costume with top hats and canes and that representation of the stage. As usual, very attractive. I would I hope to play this game at some point and hope to do so here in the nearish future. In the show notes tonight I'm going to link to the back page of the flyer for this game which will show you how the magic lines work. It's pretty cool flyer of course Bally was very good about describing their new features Franchi, artist at Spźniejpinballelectronic Flier, this one in particular spells things out very well, very clearly, so it's fairly easy to see. Being the first moving numbers feature, I'm sure they were quite excited to get the word out there and make sure people understood the earning potential that these had. The idea being if you win more, you'll play more. Well, that's the idea of any gambling machine, right? You want to keep people on them. Keep them feeding in money and the way you do that is that you let them win every once in a while. These magic lines are just the first of the moving numbers features which would allow exactly that. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for listening. My name again is Nick Baldrige. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's seven to four bingos one seven to four to four six four six seven one you can listen to us on itunes stitcher pocketcastsvrss on facebook on twitter at bingo podcast you can follow me on instagram also at bingo podcast or you can listen to us on our website which is forumusementonly.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: 8c7eb929-779c-4b79-85f3-9979e7dfc684*