# Episode 4 - Futurity **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2015-03-17 **Duration:** 10m 22s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-4-futurity --- ## Analysis Nick Baldridge discusses bingo pinball machines, specifically Magic Screen games like Bikini and Golden Gate. He explains advanced mechanics including the Futurity feature (banking OK games for favorable odds), the three-color odds system, and the reflex unit (an automatic difficulty adjustment mechanism). He also covers practical restoration advice, motor maintenance, Pick-a-Play button functions, and payout hoppers used in commercial locations. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Bikini and Golden Gate are both Magic Screen games with rare extra features, including the Futurity feature — _Nick Baldridge discussing Steve Smith's restorations_ - [HIGH] The Futurity feature allows players to bank an OK game until odds and features align favorably, rather than being forced to take it immediately — _Nick Baldridge explaining the Futurity mechanism_ - [HIGH] Magic Screen games feature three independently-moving odds steppers (red, green, yellow) that can advance at different rates — _Nick Baldridge explaining odds advancement mechanics_ - [HIGH] The reflex unit automatically tightens or loosens the machine based on winning replays, similar to auto-replay adjustment in modern games — _Nick Baldridge citing Phil Hooper's documentation of the reflex unit_ - [HIGH] Some operators installed payout hoppers on bingo machines that automatically dispensed nickels but added significant weight and made machines difficult to move — _Nick Baldridge discussing commercial payout mechanisms_ ### Notable Quotes > "I've heard the comparison before that flipper games are like checkers and bingos are like chess, and I find that very apt and repeat that often." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~2:30 > _Encapsulates the complexity difference between pinball and bingo machines_ > "I enjoy having things running at a factory standard. And one of the games is kind of playing against the machine. And what's enjoyable to me is if I get on a really good winning streak, if I can just do no wrong and always land in the hole that I call, then I want the machine to be more difficult." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~9:20 > _Reveals his philosophy on keeping the reflex unit connected despite it being restrictive_ > "Futurity allows you to bank that OK game until such a time as you've got the guaranteed odds and features that you really want." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~3:00 > _Core explanation of the Futurity feature mechanics_ > "The reflex unit will advance as you win replays so it'll move forward from its home position. Now, if you are putting in nickels or pushing the buttons on the front, it will make the unit go backwards." > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~8:40 > _Technical explanation of how the reflex unit responds to player actions and outcomes_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; enthusiast and restorer of bingo pinball machines | | Steve Smith | person | Bingo machine restorer based in Richmond; has restored Bikini and Golden Gate machines; collaborates with Nick Baldridge on troubleshooting | | Phil Hooper | person | Runs a bingo technical documentation site; documented the reflex unit mechanism | | Bikini | game | Bally Magic Screen bingo pinball game featuring the rare Futurity feature; owned/restored by Steve Smith | | Golden Gate | game | Bally Magic Screen bingo pinball game with rare extra features; owned/restored by Steve Smith | | For Amusement Only | organization | EM and bingo pinball podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge focused on electromechanical and bingo machine discussion | | Magic Screen games | product | Class of bingo pinball machines featuring electronic display screens showing multiple extra ball awards and game outcomes | | Bally | company | Manufacturer of the Bikini, Golden Gate, and other bingo/Magic Screen games discussed | ### Topics - **Primary:** Bingo pinball mechanics and features, Futurity feature on bingo machines, Reflex unit automatic difficulty adjustment, Magic Screen game odds systems, Bingo machine restoration and maintenance - **Secondary:** Commercial bingo machine payout mechanisms, Motor and mechanical component maintenance, Pick-a-Play button functionality ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Nick Baldridge is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about bingo machines. He praises Steve Smith's restoration work and Phil Hooper's documentation. He expresses appreciation for factory-standard operation and mechanical complexity. Tone is educational and collaborative rather than critical. ### Signals - **[historical_signal]** Discussion of evolution from single-advancing odds to multiple-color odds systems in Magic Screen games, with implications for design complexity (confidence: high) — Nick explains the shift from single advancing odds to three-color system and references previous line games with similar features - **[design_innovation]** Futurity feature represents sophisticated player-controlled odds banking mechanic unavailable on most bingo machines (confidence: high) — Nick describes Futurity as allowing players to bank OK games for strategic advantage, present on only Bikini and possibly one or two other games - **[restoration_signal]** Practical guidance on bingo machine restoration including fuse checking, stepper maintenance, motor cleaning, and component refurbishment (confidence: high) — Nick details ball lift motor cleaning, control unit function, mixer unit operation, and stepper rebuilding - **[design_philosophy]** Nick's choice to keep reflex unit connected reflects preference for factory-standard operation and desire for dynamic difficulty that increases as player performance improves (confidence: high) — Nick explicitly states he prefers machines running at factory standard and wants increased difficulty when on winning streaks - **[operational_signal]** Commercial operators installed payout hoppers on bingo machines for automatic nickel dispensing, though they created handling and transportation challenges (confidence: high) — Nick describes hopper design, weight distribution, and practical drawbacks for moving machines with hoppers installed - **[community_signal]** Nick Baldridge crediting Steve Smith and Phil Hooper for sharing knowledge and documentation about bingo mechanics, fostering community learning (confidence: high) — Multiple references to Steve Smith's restoration work and Phil Hooper's technical documentation as resources --- ## 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 first a note of housekeeping i spoke with my buddy who i've made veiled references to in the past couple episodes and he gave me clearance to name him and shame him as they say so uh this his name is uh steve smith and he's here in richmond uh he's done beautiful restores on two different machines, a Bikini and a Golden Gate, and about the only help I've provided to him was burning up his search index coil in Golden Gate, but I'll get to that another time. As far as Bikini goes and Golden Gate, they're both very interesting Magic Screen games in that they have extra features which are only present on one or two other games. So Bikini, for example, has a feature called Futurity. And as I mentioned in the last podcast, the OK game was a popular feature because it allowed you to score a guaranteed game with certain odds and features. Futurity allows you to bank that OK game until such a time as you've got the guaranteed odds and features that you really want. So rather than being at the mercy of the machine to advance your green score far enough to light the red letter that you want, you just bank your Futurity game and only push the button on the foot rail when you're ready to collect it, to take it. So Bikini, being my first entry into bingos, as I say, it was overwhelming. I've heard the comparison before that flipper games are like checkers and bingos are like chess, and I find that very apt and repeat that often. I think Steve told me that, but he might have heard that from somebody else. I'm not sure. So Steve is a super nice guy and does great work and I hope to have him on here to discuss bingos soon because he knows a heck of a lot more than I do. Now that said, occasionally I'll go over there and help him with a small problem because I, as I say, I love to read schematics. I love to troubleshoot. I love to find problems and fix them. It doesn't matter how small or how big. You got to start somewhere and work your way back. So he's more than capable of doing it on his own, and I think he likes to humor me quite a bit. Now, moving on, we've talked about Magic Screen Games, but I glossed over something that's very important. At about the time that Magic Screen Games came out they switched from single advancing odds to multiple colors and they may have done this on a select game previously some line game where a certain line would score additional replays However, on the Magic Screen games, you have three different colors, red, green, and yellow. And those odds steppers can move independently. So it's quite possible for you to have your red odds advanced all the way up, and your green is stuck back at 16. Your yellow can be somewhere in the middle, or it can be up there with red. Really, they do move independently. Now, there are some caveats to that. On your first coin, when the machine resets, it's going to start you off at the minimum odds for each color. If you push the red button, you'll get a single jump guaranteed, as well as the possibility of getting a feature like the magic screen lit. If you were to use your first button press to press the blue button, you would get a guaranteed double jump in your odds, which is typically a much better way to pay your nickel. So the machine will rotate cams in such a way that sometimes you'll get advances in your odds, sometimes you'll get advances in your features, and it depends on which button you press and just the timing involved in all that. There is one additional unit, which is not really named in any manual or described in any great detail. Thankfully, Phil Hooper, who runs that bingo technical site that I mentioned as such a help, has documented the reflex unit. So the reflex unit was a special device that was used to allow the machine to automatically tighten up or loosen depending on how many wins had been registered. So think of that as auto replay percentages or auto replay adjustment in a modern game where the replay score will automatically go up if you have a good player and it will automatically go down again if you have a terrible player like myself. The reflex unit is a sealed unit almost. If you look in there you can see a few gears. You can't really see what it's doing. The reflex unit will advance as you win replays. so it'll move forward from its home position. Now, if you are putting in nickels or pushing the buttons on the front, it will make the unit go backwards. It'll step down. Now, as it steps up, it will make the machine less likely to give you features or odds jumps. It still happen but it just going to be less frequent It will be the most permissive that it can be if you don make an additional modification to one of the units that controls when you get features and when you get odds jumps but we'll get to that another time. So for the reflex unit, some people like to clip a lead to the coil. That'll prevent it from moving up or down. Reset it to the most permissive. I tend to leave it in place. And here's my reasoning. I enjoy having things running at a factory standard. And one of the games is kind of playing against the machine. And what's enjoyable to me is if I get on a really good winning streak, if I can just do no wrong and always land in the hole that I call, then I want the machine to be more difficult. I want it to be less permissive when it's giving me features or odds. So I keep mine connected and for better or for worse, that's what I do, but not everybody agrees. In fact, I'm sure a lot of people don't agree, but that's just my personal preference. So delving back into a little more technical discussion and what you should do when you first pick up a bingo, I had mentioned fuses and checking all the steppers, rebuilding if necessary, if they're gummy, cleaning. I haven't touched on any of the motors. Now in a typical bingo, you're going to have three different motors. The first being the ball lift motor, and that is often fairly cruddy just because of beer and soda and stuff getting in there. Probably more beer than soda. There's also the control unit, and the control unit is essentially the computer. It tabulates your replays. It pulses those steppers that allow you to win. It also will open paths that will give you your features and your odds jumps. It helps calculate everything and keep tabs. And the third is called the mixer unit. Now the mixer is actually the thing that gives you the features. So there are a few different mixer discs that are connected to the motor and those spin when they're allowed to. And when they're in certain positions, the machine will grant you on a button press features or odds jumps. So talking about buttons, On the front of a Magic Screen game, they typically have something called Pick-a-Play. Pick-a-Play is essentially a red, a green, and a blue button. So the red button will give you a chance at receiving an odds jump or a feature. The green button is features only, and the blue button is scores or odds only. What I like to do is run up my odds at least three maybe four jumps and then I start playing for features I not usually looking for the big win but a lot of small wins I can put in less money and receive a bigger payout from the machine. So one last note for this episode, when talking about payout, I had mentioned before about how one might go about gambling with these machines back in the time when they were on location. But one thing I didn't mention is some operators would actually install a payout hopper, similar to a slot machine on the machine, and when you win, it would actually delve out nickels, one for each replay. So you would collect your winnings without the owner of the establishment having to be involved at all. Now the problem with those hoppers, it's another moving piece of course, it's filled with dirt and junk, but also it adds a lot of weight to the already incredibly heavy bingo. So normally the cabinet portion is fairly empty. You've got your lifter motor, you got your trough, you got some meters, and that's pretty much it, your coin box. But the rest of the cab is pretty much empty. Now the head is where all the action is. That's where all of the discs are and all of the control unit and the mixer unit are in there. That's what adds a lot of weight to it. All the steppers for features and for odds are tied up in the head. So the cabinet weighs very little. You can lift it very easily. But when you have one of those payout hoppers installed, it becomes very difficult to move. They are very heavy, and they change the geometry of the cabinet in such a way that it makes it very difficult to move even with the lift. You have to come in from the side because the front is entirely closed. So those payout hoppers are designed so that there's a trough that holds the nickels that are paid out way down at the bottom, at the floor level, basically. so you pay in your nickels at the top they feed into the hopper when the hopper is activated it will start shooting nickels out into the very bottom and then you gotta kneel down and scrape them up so i'm not a huge fan of those i've only run across a couple they're cool i think they're mechanically pretty neat but they just add too much weight to the equation for me to find them worthwhile well until next time i'm hoping to have a mystery guest on next episode who will discuss My Magic Screen Game with me and some of the pros and cons thereof. All right. Well, thanks very much, and I'll talk to you next time. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, and you can find us online at 4amusementonly.libson.com. _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: bdbab538-7435-496e-9de6-f42a989ddad8*