Pinbot is a 1986 Williams solid-state pinball game designed by John Trudeau that became a flagship title for the company, producing over 8,000 units. The game is renowned for its innovative design philosophy treating the machine as a living creature, pioneering sound design by Chris Granner that matched the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme, and featuring the iconic teeth-bank mechanic and corkscrew developed in collaboration with Barry Oursler and Python. It has remained influential in pinball culture, with recent ROM 2.0 updates extending gameplay and the game continuing to appear in collections and restoration projects.
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Pinbot was the first pinball machine to include all people involved in its credits, not just designers, because Python insisted on it
Pinbot was the game that established the fundamental Williams principle of 'bringing a machine to life'
PinBot sold 12,000 units and is considered one of the great pinball machines of the System 11 generation.
Pinbot uses an algorithm to determine riff scores based on viewer votes
Classic pinball machine Todd grew up with during his childhood, one of his first machines purchased
Solid-state pinball machine from the 1980s that sparked Nicholas Baldridge's childhood interest in pinball at age four
NES pinball game purchased by Scott in complete-in-box condition
Williams pinball machine from the era that helped bring pinball back from decline
Mentioned as aspirational game; hosts note newcomers don't need to start with it, can build toward it
Williams pinball machine owned by Spencer; Mickey rolled it ~2.5 years ago for high score record; iconic high score music
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Pinbot is the host's favorite System 11 pinball game
1985 Williams game on which Python worked; he designed it as a robot extension of the player's body/will
Williams System 11 game by Python Angelo; helped revive pinball; character appears on Taxi playfield as a drop target bank with its own shot
System 11 game; owned by both hosts at different times; fondly remembered as phenomenal game; still missed after being sold
Later-generation solid-state game with constellation-style insert layout; cited as design inspiration for Stars playfield insert redesign
Williams pinball game by John Osler; has one of most iconic soundtracks; Dan recently got nice example of this title
Game designed by Oursler in collaboration with artist Python; robot theme with flipper fingers; sought-after by collectors; host's personal favorite Oursler design
Pinball game with 3D artistic elements in plastics; referenced as design inspiration for Drained's stacked plastic visual approach
Pinball title mentioned; three copies purchased by George from Pinburgh event
October 1986 System 11 game by Barry Ousler and Python Anghelo; sold 12,000 units; features robotic interactive mech and is considered one of the era's iconic games.
Vintage pinball machine serviced by George; had blown fuse and broken plastic shooter rod (plunger); driver board socket issue identified as root cause
Machine Operator Mike picked up and planned to drop off to Rachel
Referenced as a chat bot or personality that appeared during stream interactions
1985 Williams pinball; revolutionary game per Granner; Mark Ritchie design; established philosophy of bringing machines to life
Automated system that announces ticket availability
First game in Harry Williams' robot trilogy, 1986 Williams pinball machine
Chatbot/algorithm used to score and tally riff votes in the competition
Williams pinball machine restored and demonstrated at Golden State Pinball Festival with Scorebit integration
Machine in Rick's collection; one of his wife's favorites
Super popular and famous pinball machine loved by pinball enthusiasts
Williams pinball game featuring robotic women artwork by Doug Watson; example of Watson's 'non-human' approach to depicting women
1980s Williams pinball machine that won the Eclectic Gamers' 1980s Pinball Machine Mania tournament with 59.6% of the vote; ranked #83 on Pinside solid state list
Williams pinball game; five seed; defeated Taxi (three seed) 57.6% in Round 4 of 1980s Pinball Mania Tournament
Williams pinball machine (5-seed) that beat Banzai Run (4-seed) with 57.7% in Round 2
Data East solid-state machine purchased by Steve-O and Stacy at Texas Pinball Festival
Host's favorite System 11 game; features cool rotating head ball lock mechanism; host has never owned one despite desire
Williams pinball machine in Pinballz Lake Creek collection
1986 Williams pinball machine; featured on Volume 1 of Jackpot Plays Pinball
Pinball machine designed by Barry Oursler
Williams game (12,001 units); author notes unlikely for 2.0 due to existing sequels
Classic Williams pinball game; 12,001 units produced; already has sequels
1989 Williams game; same year as High Speed; featured visor and mechanical mech with physical ball locks; exemplified System 11 design philosophy
Pinball machine referenced as blocking access to translator tool during Cactus Jacks discussion
Pinball game created/designed by Python Angelo at Williams
Williams pinball game referenced as design inspiration for Doctor Who's first level and lock mechanism
Pinball machine previously owned by Bear Moose Brewery owner Drew; restored by Pop's Pinball operators
Vintage pinball game AJ acquired from a family friend; sourced from PRC (Rochester Pinball Collective); the specific machine AJ played at a childhood arcade down the street; resonates strongly with AJ due to robot theme.
Classic playfield by Barry Ousler; Greg cites as example of uninteresting rules that lack fun despite good playfield design
1986 game by Barry Ousler featuring integrated light bar topper; sold 12,000 units with interactive lit topper making game stand out
Oursler solid-state game; remade as Jackbot with different rules; spiral skill shot featuring Python Angelo's modeling clay oven incident
Classic Williams solid-state machine; receiving ROM 2.0 update (PEMBOT) that adds earned ball save and extends gameplay from 90 seconds to 2.5-3 minutes per ball
1985 Williams pinball game, newly announced for Zen digital tables, less feature-rich than Jackpot
Referenced as table with challenging upper playfield ramp shots and frequent ball rejection
Early restoration projects where Kerry first experimented with Mylar removal techniques.
Trudeau design at Williams (originally The Machine); produced over 8,000 units; concurrent development with Bugs Bunny
1986 Williams game; Granner considers it pinnacle of Yamaha/System 11 marriage
Robot-themed game; collaboration between Barry and Python; featured innovative teeth-bank mechanic and corkscrew
Vintage game in JC's collection; features custom apron cards and flipper toppers
Referenced as example of vintage game with engaging skill shot design
Referenced as most labor-intensive playfield swap due to lack of connectorization and extensive soldering requirements
Data East game mentioned in comparison with Jackpot; illustrates code impact on identical mechanical designs
1986 Williams machine featuring full crew credits; pivotal to both Robert's father and Robert's personal pinball journey; held extended residence at Zanzibar bar
Williams pinball game; revolutionary title featuring machine-as-living-creature design philosophy; Granner considers it exemplary of bringing machines to life
Williams game designed to sound like '2001: A Space Odyssey'; early Granner work demonstrating soundtrack design to match game theme
Original Stern game played by Kerry King in his teens