# Episode 298 - 1956 Bally Key West

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2016-01-03  
**Duration:** 10m 13s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-298-1956-bally-key-west

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge presents a detailed technical and aesthetic analysis of Bally's 1956 Key West, a Magic Squares bingo pinball game featuring a 25-number card and innovative triple-deck scoring that allows independent scoring in red, yellow, and green odds simultaneously. The episode covers the game's mechanical features including rotating quadrants, extended time tree, corners feature, and select-a-score capability, along with its beach-resort themed artwork.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Key West was the first Magic Squares game to award replays in multiple colors independently at the same time — _Nick Baldridge, episode analysis of Key West mechanics and design innovation_
- [HIGH] Key West will score replays as soon as you shoot your fourth ball, enabling multiple color scoring without double-awarding — _Nick Baldridge explaining Key West's unique mechanical advantage over previous extended time tree games_
- [HIGH] Select-a-score is one of the only games with that feature, allowing players to choose between red-for-red/yellow-for-yellow or red-for-yellow/yellow-for-red — _Nick Baldridge describing select-a-score as a rare feature on Key West_
- [HIGH] Triple-deck scoring carried on from the previous game, Big Show — _Nick Baldridge noting the technical lineage of the triple-deck feature_
- [HIGH] Key West has a ballyhole (number 16) that grants first extra ball when lit — _Nick Baldridge describing game features_

### Notable Quotes

> "With triple-deck scoring, Bally had the opportunity to award players replays in multiple colors all at the same time, and Key West was the first game to do so."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~mid-episode
> _Core claim about Key West's historical innovation in bingo pinball mechanics_

> "You can score in multiple colors independently. There's a separate replay counter for each color inside the head, and if you win on that, the game knows how many replays you've won, and therefore will stop awarding them."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~mid-episode
> _Technical explanation of the mechanical solution that made simultaneous multi-color scoring possible_

> "This game is a game I would love to play and love to own having the ability to score in multiple colors is very very rewarding"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~near end
> _Host's personal enthusiasm for the game's design innovation_

> "I think that adds a whole other layer to the strategy of the game, because you have to choose before shooting your fourth. So if you don't already have a winner set up, you have to be fairly confident that you can do it on your fourth and fifth ball."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~closing segment
> _Analysis of select-a-score strategy and gameplay depth_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, expert analyst of electromechanical bingo pinball games |
| Key West | game | 1956 Bally Magic Squares bingo pinball game featuring 25-number card, triple-deck scoring, and innovative multi-color replay mechanics |
| Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer that produced Key West in 1956 |
| Big Show | game | Bally pinball game that preceded Key West and introduced triple-deck scoring feature |
| For Amusement Only | organization | Podcast dedicated to EM and bingo pinball game analysis and history |
| Magic Squares | game | Mechanical bingo feature in Bally pinball games allowing quadrant rotation for number manipulation |
| Nightclub | game | Earlier Bally bingo game with separate red and yellow odds lines, mentioned as rare precedent for multi-line scoring |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Magic Squares bingo mechanics and design innovation, Triple-deck scoring system and independent color odds, Extended time tree feature and mechanical implementation, Select-a-score feature and strategic gameplay depth
- **Secondary:** 1950s Bally pinball game design and manufacturing, Beach and resort themed artwork in vintage pinball, Replay and scoring mechanics history in bingo pinball

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Nick Baldridge expresses clear enthusiasm and admiration for Key West's innovative design, mechanical complexity, and artwork. His tone is educational and celebratory of the game's technical achievements. No critical observations or negative sentiments expressed.

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Detailed technical analysis of Key West as a pivotal moment in bingo pinball evolution where triple-deck independent scoring was first successfully implemented (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge's explanation of how Key West solved the double-scoring problem that prevented previous extended time tree games from awarding multiple colors simultaneously
- **[design_innovation]** Key West introduced independent replay counters for each color, enabling simultaneous multi-color scoring without mechanical double-counting errors (confidence: high) — Detailed description of separate replay counter implementation and how it prevents double-awarding
- **[gameplay_signal]** Select-a-score feature creates additional strategic layer requiring pre-fourth-ball decision-making about color selection (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge's analysis of select-a-score strategy and how it forces players to commit to color choice before final ball shots
- **[design_philosophy]** Key West demonstrates designer intent to maximize player reward opportunities by allowing independent advancement and scoring across multiple color channels simultaneously (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge notes that scoring in multiple colors simultaneously is 'very very rewarding' and represents a significant design improvement
- **[community_signal]** Podcast episode exemplifies passionate collector/enthusiast community's deep interest in understanding and celebrating technical innovations in vintage electromechanical games (confidence: high) — Detailed technical podcast episode dedicated to single 1956 game with expert analysis of mechanical systems and design rationale
- **[restoration_signal]** Episode serves as technical documentation for restoration and operation of Key West, detailing feature activation sequences, scoring mechanics, and corner features (confidence: medium) — Comprehensive explanation of feature lighting, money-pay advancement systems, and multi-feature interactions useful for restorers

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## 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. Tonight I wanted to talk about Bally's Key West, which was made in 1956. Key West was a Magic Squares game. It had a single bingo card made up of 25 numbers, with the corresponding 25 numbers on the pinball play field. You shoot 5 balls and you try to get 5 in a row on the bingo card. The magic squares allow you to rotate quadrants of 4 numbers in the upper left, bottom left, upper right, and bottom right. By default, if you get this feature by paying in money, you can only move A, B, and C. The first three quadrants, the bottom right, will not be lit by default. As you keep paying in more money, that unit will advance, and it will either grant you a spotted number, 2 or 18, and then finally quadrant D. game has triple deck scoring, which carried on from the previous game, Big Show. That means there are separate odds for red lines, yellow lines, and green lines on the back glass on the bingo card. All the odds have the same sets of numbers, but they can advance independently, meaning they all have the same sets of three numbers indicating your replays awarded for 3 in a row, 4 in a row, and 5 in a row. Your 3 in a row odds bottom out or start at 4 replays for 3 in a row, 16 for 4 in a row, and 75 for 5 in a row. the maximum replays you can earn in any color 192 for three in a row 480 for four in a row and 600 for five in a row now as I mentioned they can advance independently so perhaps you have your red odds all the way up to 600 but your yellow odds are back down at 96 somewhere in the middle and your green odds may be stuck at 96 but a lower 96 for five in a row Looking at the back glass image should enlighten you This game has a ballyhole. Ballyhole is number 16. If you land a ball in that, and while the feature is lit, it will grant you first extra ball on this game. This game also has an extended time tree. You can either push your buttons before shooting your fourth ball or, if the machine grants it to you, before shooting your fifth ball. Now what's fantastic about this game, there are two things which are really special. The first is that it will score replays as soon as you shoot your fourth ball. Now, you may be wondering why that's a big deal. Well, if a game had an extended time tree previously, you would not be able to score twice. First of all, because odds were not counted separately, except in rare instances like nightclub, for example, where there were red and yellow lines, which could be boosted to score different amounts. Secondly, this was a built-in mechanical check against awarding you twice as many replays as it should. With triple-deck scoring, Bally had the opportunity to award players replays in multiple colors all at the same time, and Key West was the first game to do so. You can score in multiple colors independently. There's a separate replay counter for each color inside the head, and if you win on that, the game knows how many replays you've won, and therefore will stop awarding them. It won't award you twice. this also because it would start counting replays as soon as you shot your fourth ball if you tilted you would still get some replays that's not the case if you had an extended time tree before and tilted as you shot your fifth ball kind of frustrating So you had to be on your P and Q in order to get any payoff at all This game also has a corners feature If you get the feature lit in all four corners you earn your green five odds This game also has select-a-score. This is one of the only games with that feature. select a score will award the yellow odds for a red winner or the red odds for a yellow winner. And you get to choose. Number one scores regularly, red for red, yellow for yellow. And number two, red for yellow, yellow for red. so this was a handy feature if you had red or yellow odds which were much higher than the other and you have the feature lit and you're able to make a combination in one or the other you can still get the higher payoff it's pretty handy now I'm just guessing but that feature has to be locked out before you shoot your fourth ball otherwise it's going to count things twice that it shouldn't. Now, the yellow and red rollovers each light independently, but they do the same thing. If yellow is lit and you roll over it, or if red is lit and you roll over it, it advances your time tree to after fifth. That's a handy thing. So, let's talk about the artwork. On the back glass, Key West, as you might imagine, is another beach theme, a resort theme. You have multiple women at the beach. One's even hanging out with a guy under a beach umbrella. Unusual for the bingo artwork. You see the ocean in the background, palm trees far in the distance, and a lot of blue sky. Some of the women are wearing hats, the wide brims of which contain some of the odds. The cabinet has a palm tree on the head much like other cabinets that we seen previously And the lower cabinet has a variety of sailboats on the water sailing in the sunset The playfield has multiple women hanging out at the resort, getting ready to go to the beach. Some of them are just hanging out in front of the house, or on the house, or hotel, or whatever this place is. you see a tree with hanging moss in the near distance very cool and unusual and you see several ferns lying about and even some suntan lotion over by the number 23 with the woman directly above that putting it on at the moment this game is a game I would love to play and love to own having the ability to score in multiple colors is very very rewarding speaking as a magic screen player getting that extended time tree and having the ability to collect in red, yellow, and green is one of the greatest thrills doing the same on a Magic Squares game would be fantastic. And I've played a couple of games with Magic Squares, Advancing Odds and Extended Time Trees, but this game has some great artwork and I've never seen it before, so it would be fun to give it a shot, especially with the swapping yellow and red. I think that adds a whole other layer to the strategy of the game, because you have to choose before shooting your fourth. So if you don't already have a winner set up, you have to be fairly confident that you can do it on your fourth and fifth ball. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much 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 bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS1, 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Cast via RSS, 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 4amusementonly.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: a06e434b-1396-4971-991a-d7a8c718115c*