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#90.6 STARGAZER revisited - The Classic Pinball Podcast

The Classic Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·30m 5s·analyzed·Aug 30, 2022
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Deep dive into Stargazer, a rare classic Stern with unique mechanics and custom difficulty mods.

Summary

The Classic Pinball Podcast revisits the Stargazer, a rare classic Stern game (863 units produced), examining its flow-based gameplay, unique ladder spinner and drop target mechanics, and custom software modifications that increase difficulty. Hosts George and Dave discuss the game's design philosophy, playfield features including Zodiac targets and multipliers, and demonstrate gameplay while reflecting on why it ranks among the best classic Stern games alongside Flight 2000 and Quicksilver.

Key Claims

  • Stargazer had only 863 units produced

    high confidence · Host George states this early in the episode, referencing it was mentioned in episode 6

  • Stargazer episode was the second most popular episode of the podcast

    high confidence · George explicitly states this at the beginning of the episode

  • Stargazer has three spinners, which is uncommon among classic Stern games

    medium confidence · George asks 'Is this one of the few sterns that has three spinners on it?' and Dave confirms 'Yes, one of the few' but cannot immediately name another

  • Custom software on this Stargazer increases difficulty and removes the Spot Zodiac Target feature from the left spinner to force target shooting

    high confidence · Dave explains the modifications made to the game, noting it was set on medium difficulty

  • Maximum bonus multiplier on Stargazer is 10x (1+2+3+4=10)

    high confidence · George and Dave calculate this during gameplay discussion

  • The Zodiac Wheel consists of 12 targets/symbols

    high confidence · Dave explains 'They're not standing here looking at the game like I am' and clarifies there are 12 zodiac symbols to hit

  • Dave recently set up a Stern lineup after wanting to do so for three years

    high confidence · George opens by saying Dave 'just set this up recently as part of a whole Stern lineup that I wanted to get done for the past three years'

  • A good Stargazer score is around three million points

    medium confidence · George asks 'What's a really good score? A couple million?' and Dave responds 'Yeah, three million'

Notable Quotes

  • “Stargazer is the pinnacle of classic Stargazer. This is the best they did.”

    George@ 1:54 — Establishes George's ranking of Stargazer as the top classic Stern game, with Flight 2000, Quicksilver, and Nineball as the next tier

  • “This game has tons of flow. Ball comes around the little scoops here near the flippers.”

    Dave@ 4:23 — Dave identifies flow as the primary design appeal of Stargazer, emphasizing playfield design over novelty

  • “The software makes this game harder. Otherwise, this game is too much of a pushover.”

    Dave@ 5:31 — Explains why custom code was necessary despite Stargazer being a well-designed original game

  • “We're like on season two or three of a great TV series. The first season was good, but they got to really get it going.”

    George@ 3:31 — Reflects on the podcast's evolution and why revisiting games makes sense as production quality improves

  • “Look for the lightest color on a play field, and that'll tell you everything you need to know.”

    George@ 9:42 — Practical assessment tool for evaluating playfield condition and wear patterns

  • “I turned that off. It's too easy. No stacking.”

    Dave@ 10:32 — Dave disabled extra ball stacking to maintain difficulty balance

Entities

StargazergameGeorgepersonDavepersonThe Classic Pinball PodcastorganizationStern PinballcompanyFlight 2000gameQuicksilvergameNineballgame

Signals

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Dave emphasizes Stargazer's exceptional flow as its primary design virtue, describing the fountain scoops near flippers that allow the ball to naturally return to the flippers in smooth loops. This represents a design philosophy prioritizing playability over complexity.

    high · Dave: 'This game has tons of flow. Ball comes around the little scoops here near the flippers... It's almost like catching a high lie... like a fonton.'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Dave implemented custom software to increase base game difficulty by removing automatic Zodiac spotting from flipper rollovers, forcing deliberate target shooting. This reflects a philosophy of protecting the game from becoming too easy for experienced players.

    high · Dave: 'I took out Spot Zodiac Target... I turned that off. It's too easy. No stacking... The software makes this game harder. Otherwise, this game is too much of a pushover.'

  • ?

    collector_signal: Stargazer's extreme rarity (863 units) is highlighted as a key reason for revisiting it. The episode's popularity (second-most popular episode) and the fact that George and Dave are dedicating a full episode to revisit demonstrates how rarity drives community interest and FOMO among collectors.

    high · George: 'it's worth a second look because I only made 863... it's our second most popular episode.'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Stargazer's game design centers on hitting 12 stand-up Zodiac targets distributed across the playfield, with drop targets providing multipliers (1x, 2x, 3x, 4x = 10x max). The emphasis is on deliberate target selection rather than mode stacking, reflecting classic Stern design principles.

    high · Dave and George extensively discuss the 12 Zodiac targets, their distribution across playfield sections, and the drop target multiplier bank system.

Topics

Classic Stern game design and rankingprimaryCustom software modifications and difficulty balancingprimaryPlayfield flow and mechanical design philosophyprimaryGameplay mechanics: spinners, drop targets, multipliers, bonus systemsprimaryRarity and production numbers of vintage Stern gamessecondaryPodcast format evolution and content strategysecondaryMachine condition assessment and restorationsecondaryPersonal game collection and venue setup plansmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— George and Dave express genuine enthusiasm and appreciation for Stargazer's design. The tone is celebratory and reverent toward the game's mechanics. The banter is playful with no critical negativity directed at the game itself. There's a brief moment of frustration during gameplay (early drains), but this is resolved positively as Dave 'warms up' later. The episode ends on a light, humorous note.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.090

0:00
Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball from Soho down to Brighton. I must have played them all, but I ain't seen nothing like him in any amusement hall. That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a neat pinball.
0:30
so here we are stargazer revisited this game the stargazer is just uh it's worth a second look because I only made 863 as I told before in episode 6. You can go back and listen to that.
1:00
We talked all about Stargazer. And it's our second most popular episode. So this is worth a second look with, you know, I just set this up recently as part of a whole Stern lineup that I wanted to get done for the past three years. I think they might have figured that out. Yeah. So it was going to be Chime Central down here like last time, about five years ago. I had some, you know, Top Score, Bow and Arrow, and some other EMs down here that I had as well.
1:32
And I was going to do the same thing, but this time, you know what? Stern has been represented in a while. The only Stern representation I got is the Rush Upstairs. Oh, we haven't talked about that in a couple of episodes. All right, George, let's talk about it. No, I don't want to. Okay, me neither. I want Classic Stern. Classic Stern, I think, is where Stern's at for me. You know, the other stuff's good, but I like the Classic Stern stuff. and Stargazer is the pinnacle of classic Stargazer. This is the best they did. This guy here, as well as second best with a Flight 2000,
2:04
Quicksilver, Nineball, they're right below it, right around the same ballpark. But those are the games. Sea Witch is kind of lost. It's good, but it's kind of falling a little bit away. Big Game is good, too. No slouch there either. But this game is something special. We just played this in a tournament recently. It was amazing. You don't want to see this in the wild. I didn't do too well on it. When you're in a tournament, it's the adrenaline kick. I don't have any fun with it, so I'm not going to commit that sin of looking it up while everybody waits.
Sea Witch
game
Big Gamegame
Eric Stoneperson
Grantperson
Cheetahgame
Lightninggame
Free Fallgame
Crisscrossgame
Gottliebcompany
Ray Parker Jr.person
Hocus Pocusgame
Bow and Arrowgame
Valley Blackjackgame
Bally Boulevardvenue_concept
  • ?

    product_strategy: Dave's Stargazer has been heavily customized with special software for difficulty tuning, anti-reflective glass, and other modifications. This reflects a broader collector strategy of personalizing machines to personal preferences and making them more challenging for experienced players.

    high · Dave: 'I have all the anti-reflective glass in all of them because they deserve it... I did special software in this game... I have mine on medium' difficulty.

  • ?

    content_signal: This episode experiments with a 'mini-sode' format (quick content release before Labor Day weekend) and represents the hosts' stated evolution from early podcast episodes. George explicitly discusses being in 'season two or three of a great TV series' with improved production quality.

    high · George: 'I want to put something out before Labor Day weekend... Maybe we can use this as our shorty... Yeah, it's quickie... I think we're a little bit more fluid... We're like on season two or three of a great TV series.'

  • ?

    community_signal: The hosts reference audience feedback and criticism, mention email outreach to listeners asking about pinball topics (precision flippers), and acknowledge listener familiarity with running jokes and prior episodes. This shows active community engagement but also some listener skepticism/criticism.

    medium · George: 'We asked you questions. I asked you about those precision flippers. You freaking people ignored me... Would they do that, George? Yes, they would. So I'm going to sound like I'm in another county, but I'll talk loud.'

  • ?

    restoration_signal: George discusses evaluating playfield condition by examining the lightest colors (flesh tones in the artwork), looking for ball swirl marks and wear patterns. He emphasizes this as a key assessment tool for game condition.

    medium · George: 'Look for the lightest color on a play field, and that'll tell you everything you need to know... if you look at the flesh tones of the woman's face that's on the play field, it actually looks perfect. It's not hairy.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Dave has been assembling a classic Stern lineup over three years and has additional machines stored in a warehouse. He's selectively adding rare machines like a 1958 Gottlieb Crisscross and planning future acquisitions (Valley Blackjack, Hocus Pocus). This reflects strategic, long-term collection building.

    high · George: 'you just set this up recently as part of a whole Stern lineup that I wanted to get done for the past three years... I picked it up for the right price... I got it for you... I have a warehouse... I picked it up for the real right price.'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Stargazer's scoring structure includes spinner hits (200-5000 points depending on multiplier), drop target completions that light the Zodiac wheel (with 12x bonus potential), and extra ball shots. The maximum 10x bonus multiplier creates significant scoring variance.

    high · Dave and George calculate maximum bonus multiplier as 1+2+3+4=10x, with Zodiac wheel worth 12,000 points base, potentially reaching 48x when multiplied by 10x bonus.

  • ?

    community_signal: This episode represents the podcast's first revisit of a previously covered game (Stargazer from episode 6), suggesting the hosts believe their improved production quality and deeper expertise warrant returning to important topics. This reflects podcast maturation and audience expectation management.

    high · George: 'We've never done this before. We've never gone back and revisited a game... we're a little bit more fluid... We're like on season two or three of a great TV series.'

    • 2:34
    Okay. But I don't think I did well. I did okay. Go back and listen to whatever episode that was. I don't know, five or six ago. And this game, of course, is cool with that ladder spinner and drop target feature that no other game I know has. If you stop the clock with the drop target down low, you're going to get 100,000 points for the whole bank and 500 points for a spinner. That is a really cool feature of this game. Stop it up high. You're getting 4,000 to spin, but only 5,000 for a complete bank of drop targets. Or a bank of bop targets.
    3:05
    What are you going to talk about? A bank of bop targets? A bank of bop targets. Have you seen that? Target has them on sale. We were instructed by a certain someone that we shouldn't really go back and listen to our old episodes. And this is a trial. We've never done this before. We've never gone back and revisited a game. But I think we're a little bit more fluid, and I want to say cohesive. That's not the right word. We're like on season two or three of a great TV series. The first season was good, but they got to really get it going.
    3:37
    And then second and third season, they're really hitting all eight cylinders. So tell us why you wanted to revisit this game. What's your favorite part about this game? Her knockers. No, that's not the answer. Where's my bell? Hold on. There's a bell. There. There's a bell. What? George wasn't ready for that one. Why? Because I can, George. Yeah, I...
    4:08
    Yeah, captive. Go ahead. So, tell the pugs why you like this game. Forget about the artwork and the rarity and all those things. What makes this game so much fun? Flow. This game has tons of flow. Ball comes around the little scoops here near the flippers. Well, you have to describe those. Yeah, so there's no in lanes to the flippers. It's just like little... Two out lanes. Two out lanes and two harsh out lanes in these scoops that are right near flippers.
    4:38
    So when the ball goes in, it kind of spins around. It comes back to your flipper like a circle on each side. So you can kind of... It's almost like catching a high lie. Kind of catching a ball in high lie. It's like a fonton. Yeah, like a fonton or a fonzie. Isn't that what you call that thing? No, maybe that's what you play in. Ballynack in 78. I think that's what you play in. A fontan? Yeah, that's the stadium, I think they call it. That thing's got a name. It doesn't matter. A photon. I don't care. A photon. No, the Star Trust again. So what's with the lights? Oh, yeah, so when you get these little, when you scoop it in there, you know, the little fontan. And there's a rollover, too. Nice word, George. Make sure that you...
    5:10
    Yeah, the rollover, your star rollover. So when you hit the little fontan, there's a star rollover there. So it's always moving around, but you can either spot a Zodiac target, you can light your left spinner, you can spot a Zodiac target, or you can light your left spinner. That's what you're going for there. So this is one of the reasons you like this game. Oh yeah, definitely. So the uniqueness. Uniqueness. And what I did in this game, I did special software in this game, like almost all my games. The software makes this game harder. Otherwise, this game is too much of a pushover. So what I took out, I took out Spot Zodiac Target. Oh, listen outside.
    5:41
    Oh yeah, it's starting to thunder. We haven't had rain in so long. Play some Bob Seger. It's down to thunder. Night moves, that's what it's called, yes. Bob Seger. What? Name that. Bob Seger. It's, uh, I went and heard the sound of thunder. I sought far off and thought and wondered. Did I take a plane to go down under? Reference to our friend Grant. Ah, Grant. Yes, sorry. Yeah, we can't miss him. No. Hello, Grant. He's the Australian intelligence. We're playing this Stargazer game for you, Grant.
    6:12
    I just got him incriminated. Not you, Grant. You, Grant. Yes. What's that? I called him Australian intelligence. Well, now. That explains a lot. Oh, we're just fun. We kid here. Anyway, so, yeah, spinners lighting up. Nail and nose. I like juicing those puppies as usual. They spin forever. And getting these right side drops and left side drops, that gives you a multiplier, and it stops a Zodiac target and get a whole Zodiac wheel and the extra ball lights in the middle target.
    6:45
    I just had an idea. Sure. I interrupted. Play the freaking game. Say it again. No, no. No, I got a good idea. What's your idea? Maybe we can use this as our shorty. You mean a shorty? Yeah, like a mini-sode. Oh, that's right. A mini-sode. Remember I was saying I want to put something out before Labor Day weekend? Yeah. So maybe we can do this. All right, mini-sode. Yeah, it's quickie. Right, okay.
    7:16
    Continue. Continue since I interrupted. This would be a good seller. Yeah, no, no. Yeah, Stargazer. Good name. Right, right. So how long have we got? It's got a great pedigree. How long have we got? We six minutes in Oh I got to fill Okay Yeah so we will So tell us about the game Tell us all the features of the game Alright so you want to spot get all the Zodiac targets down light the Zodiac Wheel fully, and that will light you an extra ball, and then... Whoa, whoa, whoa, too fast. The Zodiac Wheel gives you points, it's bonus. It gives you points and bonus.
    7:47
    So you've got all these symbols, it looks like... Zodiacs. And it's 12 of them. Okay, well you didn't say that. They're not standing here looking at the game like I am. So before the power goes out. I got a generator, George, just for this occasion. Generate some listens. All right, some listens. Okay. All right, so you want to get the 12 stand-ups down, and that gets your wheel, and then it lights up the center drop target on the left for an extra ball that goes off and on every time it hits a kicker.
    8:19
    And that's an extra ball shot. And what does that do? Gives you an extra ball. Okay. What about those other two sets of drop targets? This one here? Yes, one on the upper right. Yeah, that gives you a multiplier, and it gives you a Zodiac target. And how many multipliers can you get on this game? You can get 1 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4, which would be 3. 4, 2, 7. 10. Am I missing one? No. 1 and 2. 1 is 3. 3 and 3 is 6. Oh, there's a 3? 6 and 4 is 10. 10 times bonus. Wow. Oh, okay. So I'm... Kind of like that game. This is what I like.
    8:51
    That's... That's what you like about... You're pulling the curtain back again. I'm sorry. That's the only thing about Stern games. Sorry. I keep pulling that curtain back. The Flight 2000? Where did that come from? I didn't say Flight. I said that thing over there. I didn't call it by name. Well, I said it, okay? Okay. They figured us out, okay? I think so. And if they haven't, man, you need to buy it. The jig is up. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Go ahead. Oh, yeah. So I keep interrupting, but... And all these Sterns down here, I have all the anti-reflective glass in all of them because they deserve it. Darn it. Yeah, they really do. It's a beautiful looking game. But I say that every time I step in front of a game.
    9:23
    But, folks, believe me, if you look at the flesh tones of the woman's face that's on the play field, it actually looks perfect. It's not hairy. No, it doesn't have ball swirls all through it. Exactly. So she looks like she's 90 years old. I mean, that's the way I look at games. Look for the lightest color on a play field, and that'll tell you everything you need to know. Right, exactly. It's true. It's Dave Oh wow look it out there
    9:53
    I should take the microphone outside No you're going to get electrocuted Don't do that We're standing next to a pinball machine Do you have Oh here we go I have a little arresters inside the game Oh you do They all have by default What do you call that Protect a surge Yeah that's a sacrificial surge Sacrificial for electrocution Is the game on fire? No, it basically blows it apart inside there. Oh, beautiful. Yeah. Shrapnel.
    10:23
    Yeah, exactly. Okay, so continue. Am I asking the wrong questions? No, you're okay. So the... You can't stack extra balls. You can, but I turned that off. Okay. It's too easy. No stacking. What... He doesn't want us talking about him personally, but what else has been put into this game that wasn't here before? What was corrected or what was added? So we probably didn't... Now, let's talk about that for a second. When we originally did this game, that's three years ago. Did you have the software in this game? Yes.
    10:54
    I've had it in for a long time. Oh, okay. That's not an angle. Okay. You have no angle there. So what else? Oh, the sound on the game. So every time you complete a Zodiac Wheel, instead of all the standards being worth 1,000 points hit... It sounds like it was a pretty good game and it didn't really need a lot of enhancements. It didn't. Okay. No, very few enhancements. Basically, it enhances to make it a little tougher, to toughen it up slightly. And you can choose how tough you want it, different degrees of medium or hard or extra hard.
    11:24
    So I have mine on medium. The other way is easy. Okay. So once you do that, instead of being 1,000 points of stand-up, it goes to 2,000 points of stand-up. And when it does that, the sound of the hit is different. It's more frantic. It might go a low sound, loo, loo, loo, when it hits. And then it'll go la, la, la, when it hits. you know, the higher you go up, the higher the voice is for each target, you know. So it kind of builds that adrenaline rush to the game, too, which makes it kind of more get your heart beating for the game. I have a question.
    11:54
    Go ahead. Is this one of the few sterns that has three spinners on it? Yes, one of the few. Is there another? Hmm. Thinking is too long. Gotcha. You did get me. What else is there? Another game has two. Cheetah's got a bunch. I'm just reminding myself. Go ahead. I haven't given out our email address ever. Yeah, you did. Oh, for this one. You haven't, no. Oh, sorry, not today. It was yesterday. You mean last week. Last week.
    12:24
    Where are we? Did we even go into Time Portal, George? What happened? We're back to the future. No, we could go back to the original email, but you don't hit any of them. So I ask you guys questions. I did allude to it in one of the other shows. But, look, the Classic Pinball Podcast or the Classic Pinball Podcast numeral one at Gmail. Two opportunities to talk to us about anything. I asked you about those precision flippers.
    12:56
    You freaking people ignored me. George, you know what? Maybe they're struggling with technology, too, on their end. You know, it's tough for us old people. Where is the QR code on these old Stern games? They need to retrofit a QR code so I can share with my friends across the seas. Do you want to play? Take us. I'm going to let you play. It's pouring out there. That's why I'm not getting in the car to go home yet. Right. I like a good windstorm. So take us through the game. I'm going to do some commentary.
    13:26
    It'll be faint in the background for those of you who are criticizing our podcast yet again. Would they do that, George? Yes, they would. So I'm going to sound like I'm in another county, but I'll talk loud. Dave will be deaf, but I'll talk loud. deaf, blind, dumb kid plays pinball. Some kind of song like that. I don't know. Welcome to my... Here we go. Show us what you got, Stargazer. We're doing a twosie, right?
    13:57
    No. We're doing a onesie. I want you to tell me and step us through because if I play, I get distracted. Sure. So Dave plunges. there's four stand-up up top which are part of the Zodiac. I think he... I don't even know if he got one yet. And that's a drain down the middle for a total of 8,000 points. How could you start a game? That's not good. So he got one of the Zodiac signs up top.
    14:28
    Okay. Wow. Down the left side. Wow. We're going to probably cut all this out. Oh yeah, this sucks. Actually, I'm going to reboot. I don't like that at all. I'm going to cancel that one. knows that they that game is going nowhere i need to be new pinball started maybe i should stop okay so and then we get a little bit all right six-year-old by part i couldn see them from where right outlawing point filing this wasn really something that stop talking No no you good You fine The game is just she being nasty When I first set her up about a week or two ago
    15:09
    I played game number one. I rocked this game. I think I got the highest score on it. And now, look what she's doing. 76,000 points on ball one, going into ball two. Just with some brutal, brutal drains on the sides. One target remains on the upper one and on the right side one. Okay. All right. So when it goes over that rollover, you collect what light it's on. Exactly. Right there, I've got a spinner shot. See the spinner lit up? It goes quick. It does. Okay, he's knocked down the drop targets both top and right once.
    15:44
    Okay, and now you're... Oh, that's a good spin. That's rocking. That's 2,000 points of spin right there. Yeah, look at that. That's still going. Oh, yeah. But no counter on this game. No counter on this game. I need my friend to work on that. Oh, sorry, did we play a game that had a counter? Oh, I don't know. It sounds familiar. I can confirm or deny. If you're a first-time listener, you've got to listen to a couple of episodes. You'll understand what we're talking about. Okay, so you've got...
    16:15
    It looks like you've got every one lit up top. You only need a couple of targets. Right, which I need a couple of drop targets. Okay, so you've got the one on the right-hand side before the... before the spinner, and it's up top again, and, okay, knocks that drop target down again. All right, rocket down. Oh, down the middle. That is so close. Oh, 400, almost 500. What's the threshold? 620. Not enough. Not bad, though. All right, I need one more time. One more shot of her. So what, so, okay.
    16:47
    So, so we're going to hit drop targets. That's the plan. Drop targets and lots of them. Oh, and now I'm noticing. I was stupid. And I'm dumb, too. No, no, no. I didn't realize that how many drop targets are up on the upper left by that bumper and that other spinner? I'm standing in the wrong spot. Oh, there's four. There's four stand-ups up there. So there's four there. There's six over there. That's ten. And just those two. Yeah, twelve. Twelve Zodiacs. Okay. I get the twelve. I didn't see. Not sure. I'm not trying to walk you through it. I'm not trying to push you out of the way. You're playing the game.
    17:17
    I hear you. It's okay, George. The men in the white coats are coming by. well they better bring the light it's really sorry folks that we're wigging out on the storms but we haven't had a lot of rain here unlike other parts of the country that are falling apart unfortunately I'm glad I'm not driving yeah you don't want to be driving no not with that weather certainly ok so the upper part of this play field
    17:50
    is extremely important to get it up pop bumpers to get all those different targets. Exactly. Like that. And like that. Okay. I can understand why you wanted to revisit this. Nice save. Double flipper action down below. Save the ball. Okay, up top again. Down that middle is deadly. That's where they should put an extra post right there. They have them on a lot of their other games.
    18:23
    Yeah, I don't know. Play better. Okay, up the right. Dave's flippers, or flippers. Dave's spinners are super juiced. There we go. How his spinner should be. You rocked around there, but you didn't get any. You got one target to go. I'm going to try to sweep those three targets right there. See if we can sweep them. One. Okay, you still got targets on both sides that need to be hit. And the ones down below. You've got a lot of targets.
    18:57
    Not exactly easy. No, it's not. No, this is a tough game. Oh, there we go. That's a little better. I didn't look at the grand score on this. But what's a really good score? A couple million? Yeah, three million. What's our friend? Oh, yes. Nice, Lazarus. Wow. What does our friend Eric Stone have to say about this game? Oh, he likes it. But he, uh... Yeah, it's a fun game.
    19:28
    He likes it, too. He knows. I tune in every Tuesday to see what he's up to. Sometimes I stick. He finally figured it out. He's like, okay, here's George. He's going to say something smarmy to me. It's a bat cave. Oh, the Batcave, yes. We've had a lot of games. Okay, Dave.
    20:02
    Oh, yes. Nice bounce out of the right eye. Thank you. That wanted to be gone. That was almost gone. We saved it. There we go. Extra ball. Nice. Take that. There we go. Take that. There we go. Better sounds now. Oh, nice save, and he's got the extra ball. Look at this. He's got it going, guys. Okay, he finally warmed up. Now he's got it going. Okay. So how do you get the ten-time spinner on the right-hand side?
    20:35
    You light it by these things. Oh, did you do that? Oh, I did. That's not a stargazer. We should be playing lightning right now. Yeah, lightning. Actually, we have a stirring game, lightning. Had one a while back. Fun game. Not familiar with that game. Didn't you play here before when I had it up? I had two of them at one point. So I had two free falls. If I did, not memorable. Not like this. There we go. That's a nice down. Free game. We'll take that. Good job. So Dave rocking it. See, I thought this was a better idea.
    21:10
    Nice job. Oh, easy girl. Oh, things were happening down there. Oh, that corner. That was a fun ball. I got the blood pumping. Oh, so it's got the... The wind-up? The wind-up. All the way up. What's that worth? That's worth $25,000 or $2,000 a spin.
    21:41
    Yeah, we haven't really talked about that. $2,000 a spin. Oh, $2,000 a spin. Yes, I got it. Of course, then it cancels it out. Thanks a lot. What's the highest you can get on that? 5,000 spin. Wow, that's lucrative. So, once you knock it down, it locks it in? Yes, once you knock one of them down, it locks it in. And it starts it up when you knock them all down? Yes, it starts it up again. Oh. Okay, so if you get a good number on there, you don't want to right-hand side again.
    22:13
    Oh, boy, oh, boy. You're at a million. You got one more ball. take that no that's really good when you're really singing what other games does that Oh Quicksilver another great game do it sound familiar I don even have that in the sound file Oh I need to get that for you That a good one Yeah I do need some new sounds Oh, we'll get you some. That's a good sound to it there.
    22:46
    Okay. Yeah, you know what? That ball had trolling all over it. It just did not get any gel going. So I've got to look. Okay. Oh. So how many times can you, how large can the bonus be on the Zodiac Wheel? It says 12,000. 12 plus 24 plus another one, so. 36? 12, 12, and 12? Yeah, 36 plus 12, so 42. That's 48. 48, you get 48. Times 10, if you get 10 times bonus, so.
    23:19
    That's huge. It's huge. Okay. But you've got to really rack it up. I made it harder to do so. You got 1.1 million, almost 1.2 million. But notice how I wasn't getting the wheel down all the time. I still was struggling. If these things were turned on, I'd turn them off with the special software. This would keep giving me... Oh, so on the flippers where you have the rollovers, you removed taking off a Zodiac symbol to make it more difficult. Exactly. So that you actually have to target shoot. You have to target shoot.
    23:49
    You don't get a random... Yeah, no free random. Okay, well, that's a... It makes it tougher. No, that's a cool thing. Can you do that with all four of the features or just that one? Just the Zodiac one. Okay. I think so. I don't know what the other one, you said them. They light spinners. Okay. I kept those in it because those are. No, no, I understand, but I'm saying. Yeah. I want to make it less ways to get the Zodiac. So you get a. Makes sense. Yeah. So it makes a little. And there's no wild card anywhere where you can spot one. Well, you spot them, drop the left bank, spots one.
    24:19
    Drop the right bank, spots one. Okay. Yeah. So you still get it plenty of ways. that you don't have to get the target exactly. No, no. Some games you do, though. In fact, on this game, I just keep shooting these targets, and it's really tough to get... We just played a game where you have to do that. Sorry. This one, too. Oh, yeah. Actually, all of them. All our little sterns. Like, all my children. You know, it's the old soap opera. You'll figure it out, folks. You'll figure it out. Because I think I'm going to... How far have we gone on this? 24? Yeah. What else we got? With Stargazer or other...
    24:51
    I don't... This is kind of unconventional. I'm going to just listen and see if it works. And if it works, I'll hack it up and make it a show. Well, how about this? I have a 1958 Gottlieb crisscross. I love the backless. It's a great... It's these 1950s women... It's females in shorts in the wintertime. Yeah. It's very striking. Is that a Harry Williams game? Oh, no. His name's Gottlieb. Never mind. No, this is... Actually, I'll tell you right now who this is. We can look it up live right here. We're going to do it live. Do it live.
    25:21
    Yeah, they don't like us doing that. I know. That's okay. Tough. Get over it. How do you really feel? Change the channel. Go somewhere else. God, I'm bitter. You know what? They could turn the crisscross into something called Christopher Cross and have sailing music in it. Stop it. No, that wouldn't work out. Stop it. Stop. That is a great backlash. All right, this game. That's a wood rail, isn't it? Is that all you have? Do you have the whole game? Roy Parker Jr.? Roy Parker. Is it Roy Parker? Yeah, Roy Parker Jr. Didn't he do a song?
    25:52
    No, that's... Yeah. Yeah, he did. That's Roy Clark. Roy Clark with the banjos. I bet you there's a Roy Parker Jr. Go ahead, look it up. And Wayne Nines. And you know the song. I just can't recall it. Oh, and Wayne. He just passed. And this game got an 8.6 out of 10 average for playing. Do you have the rest of the game? Yeah, I do. Not here. Across the way. Yeah, the whole game... Right, in the warehouse. I picked it up for the right price, George. for the real right price, George. I got it for you. Stop it.
    26:23
    Stop it. It just needs a little, in the perfect back glass. There's pinball removal service. May I help you? Exactly. May I help you to, may I help myself to your game? Well, I'm just trying to solve people's problems, George. Yes. They have a box. I'm a problem solver. They have a box that they want gone. I get it. That'll help me. Okay, so look up Roy Parker. You're being delinquent. Roy Parker Jr. Sorry, I'm being delinquent. I bet you he does. Does he do Ghostbusters? If he does Ghostbusters, I'm like...
    26:53
    Oh, I think it is Ghostbusters. That sounds right. I bet you it is. Ray Parker Jr. That's what I said. You said Roy Parker. Oh. Yeah. Oh, sorry. I ain't afraid of no ghost. Yeah, there you go. Okay, so... Don't get the first name wrong. I'm afraid of... That elusive O. Yes. Or, well, he had the... Never mind. Is he dead? Are we done? Is Roy Parker dead? Are we done? Oh, he's still alive. Present time. Are we done? I think we're done. Unless we get anything else to talk about. Stargazer.
    27:23
    I think that's it. How about Hocus Pocus, George? You mentioned that in the last show. What do you think of the game? Did you ever play it? Is that the one with the guy pulling the rabbit out of the hat? Yeah. Didn't I play it here? No. You played it at the New Hampshire club thing. The club. The cooperative. The club clutter. The club. The cooperative. of uh i don't remember but i probably would like it it's a fun game that's an em it's yeah oh here's the belly em's gonna one oh no well i can see it now well one stern street sure you've
    27:58
    never had that set up here nope nope never did one stern street is gone or i can add another street i want to add bally boulevard and em so it's going to be bow and arrow hocus pocus two player and a rare Valley Blackjack 2 player. You've been listening to the Classic Pinball Podcast. My name is George. His name is Dave. By the way, I'm Halliday. I'm Taraday. I'm Labor Day. And with us now, every day is Labor Day. Okay, then let's labor.
    28:29
    Hey George, it was a pleasure doing this lovely little shorty. Stargazer. Oh yeah. We got together just to do this episode. That's all we did. Just before Labor Day. Yep, that's how it worked out. It's really, you know. You couldn't tell that it was the only game we played today. Yeah. Yeah, it's hard to tell that, George. Anyway, well, this is Dave. I'm George. We said this already. We'll say it again. Later. Thanks for listening. Later.
    29:00
    Stay with us because coming up in a little bit, we're going to have our Money Wise segment. Oh, for people who are trying to save a few pennies these days, we're going to show you how to guilt your kids into dropping out of college. Right now, let's do this. There's a starman waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds. There's a starman waiting in the sky.
    29:31
    He's told us not to blow it, because he knows it's all worth while he's home. Let the children do that Let the children use that Let all the children do that Who do you call when you want your pinball machine restored? Dr. Dave! Who? Dave! D-A-V-E Yeah, Dave! Right But George, you don't know what you're saying You're under their control