# Episode 150 - Multiball **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2015-08-08 **Duration:** 5m 57s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-150-multiball --- ## Analysis Nicholas Baldridge explores Bally's innovations in multiball design during the EM flipper era, tracing the feature from Balls a Poppin' (1956) through variable multiball stacking mechanics and Ted Zale's three-ball multiball design in Starjet (1963). The episode examines how Bally pioneered and refined multiball gameplay, a feature that had existed in the 1930s but was largely abandoned until Bally's revival in the 1950s. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Multiball existed in the 1930s but was lost during World War II; Bally was the primary company revisiting it after the war — _Nicholas Baldridge, For Amusement Only podcast_ - [HIGH] Balls a Poppin' (1956) allowed players to stack up to 8 additional balls for a total of 9 on the playfield via rollover buttons controlling a score reel — _Nicholas Baldridge describing Balls a Poppin' features_ - [HIGH] Circus (1957) was a sister game to Balls a Poppin' with the same layout but displayed the multiball counter on the playfield with inserts instead of the back box — _Nicholas Baldridge describing Circus design_ - [MEDIUM] Bally left variable multiball stacking alone from 1957 until 1963 — _Nicholas Baldridge's historical timeline assertion_ - [HIGH] Ted Zale designed Starjet in 1963, which was the first game to feature three-ball multiball — _Nicholas Baldridge crediting Ted Zale_ - [HIGH] Ted Zale was a big fan of multiball and revisited it many times throughout his career as a designer — _Nicholas Baldridge characterizing Ted Zale's design philosophy_ - [MEDIUM] Modern games like Mustang from Stern feature variable multiball stacking similar to Balls a Poppin' — _Nicholas Baldridge comparing historical and modern mechanics_ ### Notable Quotes > "Multiball existed in there or similar interjection the 1930s but was one of the innovations that was lost to the dark ages of World War II." > — **Nicholas Baldridge**, ~0:30 > _Sets up the historical context for Bally's multiball revival_ > "It's Papa Duke crazy. Now, I'm AC/DC (Premium Vault Edition) never played a real one, but I have played it virtually, and the game looks like it would be a huge ton of fun." > — **Nicholas Baldridge**, ~1:30 > _Expresses enthusiasm for Balls a Poppin' mechanics despite not having physical experience_ > "This variable multiball is something which of course is quite popular today in there or similar interjection The Games like Mustang from Stern. But back then, it was Papa Duke darn novel." > — **Nicholas Baldridge**, ~2:15 > _Highlights the novelty of variable multiball stacking in the 1950s and its continued relevance in modern design_ > "Ted Zale was a big fan of multiball and revisited that feature many times throughout his career as a designer." > — **Nicholas Baldridge**, ~3:30 > _Establishes Ted Zale's design philosophy and focus on multiball mechanics_ > "In there or similar interjection fact one of my new favorite The Games is Mad World. I just was lucky enough to get the chance to play one of those a few weeks ago and I Game of Thrones (Stern AC/DC (Pro Vault Edition)) to say that the layout is really cool and different and the way multiball is triggered is really neat." > — **Nicholas Baldridge**, ~4:00 > _Personal anecdote indicating recent hands-on experience with a Ted Zale design_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nicholas Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only podcast, EM and bingo pinball enthusiast and historian | | Bally | company | Major pinball manufacturer credited with reviving and innovating multiball mechanics in the post-WWII EM era | | Ted Zale | person | EM era pinball designer known for taking risks and revisiting multiball mechanics, designed Starjet and Mad World | | Balls a Poppin' | game | 1956 Bally game featuring variable multiball stacking up to 9 balls via rollover buttons and score reel | | Circus | game | 1957 Bally sister game to Balls a Poppin' with playfield insert counter instead of back box display | | Starjet | game | 1963 game designed by Ted Zale, first to feature three-ball multiball | | Mad World | game | EM game by Ted Zale with cool layout and innovative multiball triggering, recently played by Nicholas Baldridge | | Mustang | game | Modern Stern game featuring variable multiball stacking mechanics similar to Balls a Poppin' | | Fireball | game | EM game featuring multiball, mentioned alongside other Ted Zale designs | | For Amusement Only | organization | Podcast focused on EM and bingo pinball, hosted by Nicholas Baldridge | ### Topics - **Primary:** Multiball mechanics in EM era pinball, Bally's design innovations and contributions to pinball, Ted Zale's design philosophy and career, Historical evolution of pinball features, Variable multiball stacking mechanics - **Secondary:** Comparison between vintage and modern pinball design, World War II impact on pinball industry ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Nicholas Baldridge expresses genuine enthusiasm and appreciation for the multiball mechanics pioneered by Bally and Ted Zale. He uses positive language like 'fantastic' and 'Papa Duke crazy,' and shows excitement about both historical designs and modern implementations. The tone is educational and celebratory of pinball innovation. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Nicholas Baldridge actively playing and analyzing EM games; recently played Mad World, showing ongoing hands-on engagement with the hobby (confidence: high) — Personal anecdote: 'I just was lucky enough to get the chance to play one of those a few weeks ago' - **[design_philosophy]** Variable multiball stacking mechanics in Balls a Poppin' and Circus represent innovative player agency in EM era, directly paralleled in modern games like Stern's Mustang (confidence: high) — Nicholas Baldridge explicitly notes that variable multiball stacking was novel in the 1950s and remains popular in contemporary design - **[market_signal]** Ted Zale positioned as underappreciated EM designer with consistent focus on multiball innovation across multiple titles (confidence: high) — Nicholas Baldridge describes Zale as 'a big fan of multiball' who 'revisited that feature many times' and highlights Mad World as a favorite recent discovery --- ## 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 wanted to continue our conversation about Bally's contributions and innovations during the EM flipper era. Today I wanted to talk about Multiball Multiball existed in the 1930s But was one of the innovations that was lost To the dark ages of World War II After the war, no one was really messing with Multiball except for Bally. Bally's first attempt at multiball was really something fantastic. Balls a Poppin' came out in 1956. At that time, the game had two flippers, four pop bumpers, two passive bumpers, 4 slings and a kick out hole now what made this fascinating besides having all those playfield features was the ability to stack your multiball before releasing it You could have a single additional ball, or up to eight additional balls, for a total of nine on the playfield. You do this by simply rolling over some rollover buttons, and each one ticks up a number on a score reel, which is located in the back glass. When you hit the kick-out hole, all the wild balls fire. It's pretty crazy. Now, I've never played a real one, but I have played it virtually, and the game looks like it would be a huge ton of fun. It's really quite surprising to me that Bally didn't revisit this idea for many years. But right after Balls of Poppin' came out, there was essentially a sister game called Circus. Circus came out the very next year and had essentially the same layout. However instead of having the counter appear in the backbox it actually shows on the playfield with inserts Which makes keeping track of that while you playing the game quite a bit easier This variable multiball is something which of course is quite popular today in games like Mustang from Stern. But back then, it was pretty darn novel. And it still is today. There's only a handful of games that allow you to stack balls at will like that. Bally left that feature alone from 1957 until 1963. Ted Zale, the designer who took an awful lot of risks and made some very unique designs in the 60s, 70s, designed a game called Starjet in 1963. This was the first game to feature a three-ball multiball. Ted Zale was a big fan of multiball and revisited that feature many times throughout his career as a designer. In fact one of my new favorite games is Mad World I just was lucky enough to get the chance to play one of those a few weeks ago and I got to say that the layout is really cool and different and the way multiball is triggered is really neat. But I'll save that for an in-depth Mad World podcast. Capersville, The Wiggler, 4 Million BC, Fireball, and Nippet. These are all EM ballets that had the multiball feature, aside from the ones that I've already mentioned. I enjoy multiball quite a bit. The challenge of getting the ball is where you need them to be in order to start the multiball is half of the fun. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you again for joining me. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, or you can call me on the bingo 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 nbaldridge. Or you can listen to us on our website, which is formusementonly.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: 96d701b4-d396-4a98-b62c-af775d8c697f*