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Episode 60 - Big Wheel and Magic Ring

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·13m 52s·analyzed·May 10, 2015
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

Deep dive into Bally's Big Wheel and Magic Ring wheel games from early 1970s with mechanical and technical analysis.

Summary

Nick Baldridge discusses two early-1970s Bally wheel games, Big Wheel and Magic Ring, exploring their mechanics, artwork, solid-state technology integration, and gameplay features. Both are 20-hole bingo games with rotating wheel sections (A-B-C-D-E) and double-or-nothing replay features, incorporating early solid-state boards to manage complex logic that would have been difficult in purely electromechanical systems.

Key Claims

  • Big Wheel and Magic Ring were made after Double Up and incorporate some solid state technology

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, episode introduction and gameplay mechanics discussion

  • Both games are 20-hole games with 5 different sections labeled A-B-C-D-E that rotate, and winning requires putting three balls beside each other on the wheel

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, detailed game mechanics section

  • Solid-state technology was used to keep track of double-game logic and to drive certain lamps on the back glass

    medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, speculative analysis of solid-state board functions

  • These games use a three-digit replay counter with a hard limit around 800-899, preventing breaking 1,000 replays

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, scoring potential analysis

  • Big Wheel has more interesting artwork and intricate design compared to Magic Ring, which features just a picture of a ring on the back glass

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, artwork comparison

  • Nick Baldridge has never played one of these games or seen one in person

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, personal admission during gameplay description

  • The games feature four different pick-and-play buttons with specific functions: red for features/scores, blue (assumed double jump), green for features only, and white for double-or-nothing

    medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, pick-and-play button analysis with explicit acknowledgment of assumptions

Notable Quotes

  • “Both of these were made after Double Up and therefore incorporate some solid state technology they are incredibly interesting looking and I highly urge everybody to go check it out just google for Bally Big Wheel or Bally Magic Ring”

    Nick Baldridge@ 0:50 — Sets up the episode focus and encourages community engagement with visual research

  • “I have never played one of these or seen one of them in person but boy they look interesting and it looks like something that would be pretty fun to play, at least as a novelty, if not frequently.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 2:22 — Establishes transparency about knowledge limitations while expressing enthusiasm based on visual documentation

  • “So if that board is keeping track of if you're playing a double game in order to award the appropriate amount of replays, or a quadruple game, then it would make sense that it would drive the lamps on the back glass for the double or quadruple game.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 9:03 — Demonstrates technical reasoning about solid-state integration with electromechanical systems

  • “I have to assume that like most early solid state boards, or later score reels that had the more solid state-ish boards. I'm thinking specifically of Chicago coin. The traces were hand-done and pretty odd-looking.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 9:32 — References Chicago Coin manufacturing practices as comparison point for early solid-state board design

  • “These games look awfully fun, and I really like the artwork on Big Wheel. I think it's beautiful. Magic Ring, a little less so, but I still like that artwork. It's just not as interesting to me.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 13:10 — Final subjective assessment comparing the two games' aesthetic appeal

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonBallycompanyBig WheelgameMagic RinggameDouble UpgameChicago CoincompanyBountygame

Signals

  • ?

    historical_signal: Detailed technical documentation of two Bally wheel games from early 1970s, including solid-state technology integration, replay mechanics, and gameplay rules

    high · Comprehensive mechanics breakdown including ABCDE wheel sections, scoring limits, double-or-nothing features, and button functions

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Early solid-state technology used to solve complex logic problems (double-game tracking, lamp driving) that would have been difficult in purely electromechanical systems

    medium · Nick notes that solid-state allowed resetting trip banks and carrying logic across games; speculates this saved development time compared to pure EM alternatives

  • ?

    design_innovation: Novel rotating wheel/ring playfield sections (A-B-C-D-E) with variable-sized segments and time-based activation buttons create novel gameplay interaction

    high · Detailed description of rotating sections with different number counts per section and activation mechanism via buttons

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Three-digit replay counter creates hard ceiling around 800-899 replays, preventing progression beyond 1,000; maximum win is 600 replays

    high · Nick identifies specific replay values per section and confirms technical three-digit limitation

  • ?

    community_signal: Host explicitly solicits first-hand player experience from community members who own Big Wheel or Magic Ring machines to fill gaps in his knowledge

    high · Multiple statements: 'I would love to hear from you' and invitations for confirmation on specific mechanics Nick is uncertain about

Topics

Bally wheel games (Big Wheel, Magic Ring) mechanics and gameplayprimaryEarly solid-state technology integration in electromechanical bingo gamesprimaryDouble-or-nothing and replay multiplier features in 1970s bingo gamesprimaryArtwork and visual design comparison between bingo gamessecondaryThree-digit replay counter limitations and scoring capssecondaryPick-and-play button systems and game selection mechanicssecondaryCommunity crowdsourcing for first-hand game knowledgementionedEarly solid-state board design and hand-traced circuitrymentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.8)— Host is enthusiastic about the games' design and mechanics, urges community to research them, and expresses genuine fascination with the technical implementation of solid-state features. Acknowledges limitations in his own knowledge gracefully and invites corrections from those with hands-on experience. Minor criticism of Magic Ring's artwork compared to Big Wheel.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.042

0:00
what's that sound it's for amusement only the em and bingo pinball podcast welcome back to for amusement only this is nick baldridge just came back from uh doing the av setup for an outdoor star wars viewing party unfortunately it was a really super hot day out here in Richmond, especially for May.
0:30
And I've been outside all day, so I'm pretty tired. But I'm excited about tonight's podcast because I'm going to talk about the two wheel games that Bally made in the early 70s. And those are Big Wheel and Magic Ring. Both of these were made after Double Up and therefore incorporate some solid state technology they are incredibly interesting looking
1:01
and I highly urge everybody to go check it out just google for Bally Big Wheel or Bally Magic Ring and take a look at the pictures Big Wheel I think has much more interesting artwork and intricate compared to Magic Ring which is a little bland by comparison it's just a picture of a ring on the back glass they're both 20 hole games but as I talked about
1:32
in my double up episode my mystic lines episode the typical 20 hole layout is 4 different colors made up of 5 numbers in each in the big wheel and magic ring there are 5 different sections labeled A B C D E which rotate around the sections are different sizes
2:02
and in order to win you have to put three balls right beside each other on the wheel I have never played one of these or seen one of them in person but boy they look interesting and it looks like something that would be pretty fun to play, at least as a novelty, if not frequently.
For Amusement Only
organization
Richmondevent
  • ?

    restoration_signal: Early solid-state boards in bingo games likely feature hand-drawn traces similar to Chicago Coin boards; presenter speculates these are relatively easy to work on

    medium · Nick references seeing one picture of a partially solid-state bingo board and draws comparison to Chicago Coin manufacturing practices

  • ?

    content_signal: Episode 60 provides detailed technical and mechanical analysis of two obscure early-1970s Bally games with nuanced speculation about uncertain mechanics

    high · Entire episode structure; explicit methodology of stating assumptions and inviting community verification

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Big Wheel and Magic Ring notably lack extra ball features, unlike some contemporaneous bingo games, but include red button for features/scores

    high · Nick explicitly states 'There's no extra ball for either of these games' but confirms 'there is a red button for features and scores'

    • 2:34
    But it looks good to me. And here's how it works. So you have these rotating buttons, and depending on when you push them, it allows you to actually rotate the wheel or the ring. This is because it's got a time tree, just like any other moving numbers game.
    3:05
    But lighting it up to E, it looks like, and I hope someone can confirm this, but it looks like it allows you to rotate the entire wheel. and I not sure if it rotates just the inner ring which is labeled ABCDE or the outer ring which includes numbers tied to particular colored sections I not sure which moves Looking at it it appears that the inner ring labeled ABCDE turns
    3:41
    Now, the red, yellow, and green odds, there are no blue even though this is a 20 hole game the red yellow and green odds are laid out in a really weird manner so you have three sets of odds in your green you have two sets of odds in your yellow and only one set of odds in your red
    4:14
    and the reason that they're so weird is because the red section is only comprised of three different numbers. The yellow section is comprised of four, so it gives you odds for three or four in that section. And the green section has five numbers in it, so you can do three, four, or five to get a winner. Now, there's also a special feature if you land. There are no star zones, but there are highlighted numbers. Four, 17, 18, and 14.
    4:46
    And if you land a ball in each of those, you win either 300 replays or 600 replays, depending on what's lit. And again, this is a randomly awarded feature, so it's not just going to give it to you. The other interesting thing about this is you can collect your winnings or play a double or nothing game. now a double or nothing game works similarly to a red letter game uh in a typical bingo with that
    5:21
    feature in that it drops all your balls and starts an entirely new game uh maybe it's more similar to the golden game yeah then it is then than a red letter game but it does give you guaranteed features. In this case, it steps the rotation device all the way up to E, and you will win double the credits that you won previously if you manage to win again with the double game, and that highlights on the back glass. Now, you win your double game,
    5:58
    you can either collect or, if you're crazy or foolhardy or brave or some combination of three, you can bet it all again for double-double or quadruple odds, quadruple your initial winnings. innings. Now if you do the double double, then you will win quadruple your initial replay
    6:32
    count. But you can't double that again. Now this is what it uses that bit of solid state technology for is to keep track of this double game. Now, I am certain that they could have done this with steppers and relays It be fairly simple but since they using solid state what they can do is actually reset the entire trip bank every time that you play a double game What this allows it to do
    7:08
    is to close out any features that you had in the prior game. So the way I'm envisioning that this would work if it was a purely EM system would be to trip a relay for the double game. But it has to have some way of carrying that logic over after you press the button. And this is where the solid state technology helped them. So it was able to store that value and then pulse something to
    7:45
    make that work. And it may have been as simple as sending a double pulse to the replay step-up. Double-up has a similar feature, especially when you're collecting either half the normal amount of replays or double or quadruple. There are separate mini-steppers which handle that logic. And they are pretty fascinating to watch.
    8:15
    especially if you got a big win. So, again, they could have done this in an EM fashion, but it would have been pretty tricky. Keeping track of an extra game like that gets kind of difficult. Now, obviously, they've done something like that with Red Letter Game and Golden Game in other previous bingos, but this probably saved them quite a bit of time in development.
    8:48
    So another thing I'm hopeful that someone can confirm that has one of these newer bingos that were made in the 70s is that there was some solid-state technology used to drive certain lamps, and that would again make sense. So if that board is keeping track of if you're playing a double game in order to award the appropriate amount of replays, or a quadruple game, then it would make sense that it would drive the lamps on the back glass for the double or quadruple game.
    9:22
    Now, I have seen one picture of one of the boards in a partially solid state bingo, and I have to assume that like most early solid state boards, or later score reels that had the more solid state-ish boards. I'm thinking specifically of Chicago coin. The traces were hand-done and pretty odd-looking.
    10:01
    They looked like they were hand-done. So, I'm not sure what the board or boards inside of Magic Ring and Big Wheel look like, but again, I have to assume that they were done in the same style, and they're pretty easy to work on, one would think. So how do you play when you insert money on Big Wheel and Magic Ring Well there are four different pick and play buttons There's no extra ball for either of these games, but there is a red button for features and scores,
    10:38
    so when you first put in money to start a game, it's going to automatically play the red. from that point you can push the blue and here's another assumption it'll give you a double jump if that's your first blue button press on your odds but that's just a guess too I don't know if it has the same cam that allows for the double jump or not I have to assume that they wouldn't
    11:10
    have gotten rid of that, but again, that's an assumption. So, uh, someone, if anyone has one of these games, I would love to hear from you. Um, I would love to talk your ear off about it, in fact. So, um, cause they look fascinating to me. So moving on, uh, there's also a green button that plays only for features and your features are limited on this one. There's no red letter game. there is the ABCDE wheel movements,
    11:42
    and then there's the all four numbers score either 300 or 600, and that's all the features. So I have to assume that they will be granted fairly frequently. Now, the last button in the pick-and-play lineup on both of these games is a white button. So Bounty has a white button, as I've mentioned before, for a skill shot feature, and I'll talk about that later on if I haven't already. But in this game, the white button is what you press when you want to play double or nothing.
    12:18
    So after you've already won, you push that button, and it'll dump the balls and start up a new game. These games both used a three-digit replay counter, which means that the scoring potential was limited to the hundreds. Normally there's a hard limit somewhere in the 800. It may be 899, actually. But in these games, you couldn't break 1,000. So the highest replay amount is 5 in the green.
    12:51
    That gives you 200 replays. 4 in the yellow gives you 200, and 3 in the red gives you 200. So you can win 600. if you were able to sync all four in the specially numbered section. But that's it. These games look awfully fun, and I really like the artwork on Big Wheel. I think it's beautiful. Magic Ring, a little less so, but I still like that artwork.
    13:22
    It's just not as interesting to me. Well, thank you again for joining me. my name again is Nick Baldridge you can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com and you can find us online at 4amusementonly.libsyn.com you can listen to us on iTunes Stitcher, Pocket Casts via RSS on our website or via Facebook thanks again for listening and I'll talk to you next time