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Episode 59- Double-Up

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·28m 10s·analyzed·May 9, 2015
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

Deep dive into Bally Double Up bingo: mechanics, theme, gameplay experience, and availability.

Summary

Nick Baldridge discusses the Bally bingo machine Double Up, a 20-hole Mystic Line game with chess theme artwork. He describes its gameplay mechanics including the star hole system, four-color odds (red, yellow, blue, green), red letter feature, and double/quadruple odds selection. Nick shares his renewed appreciation for the game after playing it extensively and relates a positive first-time bingo experience his friend had on it.

Key Claims

  • Double Up is a 20-hole Bally bingo with Mystic Line feature that allows repositioning card numbers via A/B/C button commands

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, detailed technical explanation of game mechanics

  • Double Up features four odds colors (red, yellow, blue, green) instead of the typical three found in Magic Screen games

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, describing odds structure

  • Double Up was popular on location but Nick hasn't personally met location operators who played it in the U.S.

    medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, personal experience and knowledge

  • 20-hole bingo games were less popular among bingo players than 25-hole Magic Screen games

    medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, discussing community reception of game format

  • Double Up allows winning up to 2,400 replays by landing five in one colored section with quadrupled odds at max

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, detailed payout explanation

  • Double Up has a secondary coin door allowing bartenders to access coins for payouts without operator involvement

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, describing operational features

  • Nick's friend won 96 nickels on Bounty (approximately $4.80) in her first bingo experience

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, describing guest experience at beginning of episode

  • Nick reported his biggest recent win on Double Up was 24 replays, with his best all-time being 600 for four in the star zones

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, personal gameplay results

Notable Quotes

  • “she said that honestly Double Up was her favorite and I have a feeling that that has to do with the Artwork On the game”

    Nick Baldridge@ 2:03 — Establishes the chess theme artwork as a key appeal factor for new players

  • “Double Up has a chess theme. And there are knights from a chess board littered across the back glass and on the cabinet stencil. It's a very attractive game.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 2:13 — Detailed description of the game's aesthetic design

  • “tonight I played Double Up quite a bit, and I've got to say that I'm back in love... now I'm really enamored”

    Nick Baldridge@ 16:56 — Sentiment shift showing renewed enthusiasm for the machine

  • “2,400 nickels is not anything to sneeze at. 2,400 quarters, on the other hand, is really nothing to sneeze at.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 18:56 — Illustrates the significant financial stakes of high payout potential in location play

  • “I don't really play my odds very high. I don't treat the machine as if it's on free play, even though I have my set of coins that I run through the machines. This keeps me on my toes.”

    Nick Baldridge@ 17:39 — Reveals personal playing philosophy and approach to bingo machines

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonDouble UpgameBallycompanyTicker TapegameBountygameRoller DerbygameShowtimegameFor Amusement OnlyorganizationJames Willingperson

Signals

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Double Up features complex Mystic Line repositioning system (A/B/C buttons), four-color odds structure, double/quadruple odds selection, red letter feature, and star zone bonuses. The combination creates multiple strategic layers for experienced players.

    high · Detailed technical breakdown of all gameplay systems provided by Nick

  • ?

    design_innovation: Double Up includes dual coin doors with secondary coin box for bartender payouts, and comeback key for adding credits. Operational design meant to improve location venue management.

    high · Nick describes secondary coin door and comeback key functionality as intentional operator conveniences

  • $

    market_signal: Double Up machines remain in reasonable circulation in Richmond/Virginia area. One listed on Craigslist in Fredericksburg at $350 with extra backglass. Nick seeking improved backglass parts from other machines.

    high · Nick mentions multiple Double Ups still in Richmond area and specific Craigslist listing

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Nick reports renewed affection for Double Up after period of disenchantment. Had been frustrated by difficulty winning star zone bonuses, but recent extended play session rekindled enthusiasm.

    high · Nick states: 'I'm back in love... now I'm really enamored' after playing extensively

  • ?

    community_signal: Nick's non-enthusiast friend had positive first bingo experience, choosing Double Up as favorite among three machines tested, primarily due to chess theme artwork aesthetic appeal over gameplay mechanics.

Topics

Double Up game mechanics and rulesetprimaryBingo machine design and featuresprimaryGame artwork and theme aesthetic appealprimaryLocation operator features and coin handlingsecondaryBingo machine availability and collectingsecondaryFirst-time bingo player experiencesecondaryMaintenance and parts sourcing for EM machinesmentionedFree play mode setup (previewed for future episode)mentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Nick expresses strong appreciation for Double Up's theme, artwork, and gameplay mechanics. He describes renewed enthusiasm and affection for the machine. Positive framing of guest experience. Constructive observations about mechanical features and operator functionality. Minor critiques (like the extra door not serving practical purpose) are presented in good humor.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.084

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 so i had a friend over tonight who had never been over and never seen or played a bingo and I had her try each of the bingos in turn and figure out if she enjoyed them or not.
0:33
So what happened? I started her off on ticker tape and she did not win on there. Then she moved over to Double Up and she won, I believe, eight replays on Double Up. which is three in a row. And then she moved over to Bounty. And on Bounty, I had her shoot for extra balls.
1:04
So she put in about a dollar's worth of nickels overall, and she ended up winning 96 nickels. So to put that in perspective, 20 nickels is a dollar. So she won over $4 worth of replays on a single game. She got four in a row in the red, and the four in a row odds were up to 96.
1:41
That's pretty cool. I was really excited for her. And this was, again, her first experience with the bingos. She tried each of the games in turn And I asked her at the end of the night Which one her favorite was That's what I like to do With people who have just come here For the first time And she said That honestly Double Up was Her favorite And I have a feeling that that has to do with the Artwork On the game
2:13
So Double Up has a chess theme. And there are knights from a chess board littered across the back glass and on the cabinet stencil. It's a very attractive game. It looks like it's made with wood grain, So the back glass has kind of a wood grain appearance behind the chess pieces, the mirrored pieces, and the odds and feature sections which are displayed on the back glass.
Gottlieb
company
Richmondevent
Magic Screengame
Mystic Linegame

high · Guest won 8 replays on Double Up and stated it was her favorite due to artwork

  • ?

    historical_signal: 20-hole bingo games were less popular among core bingo players compared to 25-hole Magic Screen format, despite Double Up being popular on location. Format preference indicates design trend in the era.

    medium · Nick notes: '20 hole games were not liked by most bingo players, so it's nowhere near as popular as the Magic Screen games'

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Nick sourced parts from multiple Double Up machines at Richmond auction to create one complete machine. Specifically obtained secondary playfield and secondary cash box by trading/acquiring from other machines.

    high · Nick describes getting 'the nicest one cabinet wise' and acquiring 'a whole second playfield' and secondary cash box from parts machines

  • ?

    operational_signal: Double Up's dual coin door system enabled location bartenders to handle coin payouts and customer wins without involving the machine operator. Coin lockout coil design allowed operators to disable return functionality on heavily-played machines.

    high · Nick explains secondary coin box for bartender use and discusses coin lockout coil being cut on heavily-operated machines

    • 2:59
    the playfield has what looks like a wood paneling appearance with a couple of chess pieces drawn on and some nice circles for the trap holes it's an attractive game and I got it, it's one of the few ballet bingos that doesn't have a lot of babes on it and therefore it was appealing for my wife.
    3:30
    You know, I wanted to make sure that she would appreciate the bingo artwork. So this was her introduction, and being a new family man when I got it, I, you know, wanted to keep it family friendly, and Double Up certainly is from the art package perspective. The gameplay is something totally different, though.
    4:03
    Double Up is a 20-hole bingo, so yesterday I talked about Roller Derby, which is a standard 25-hole bingo, and that one's a Magic Screen game. Double Up's a Mystic Line game, So if you'll recall back to episode 2 or 3 or early on, I talked about what a Mystic Lion game is. And that is a feature that's randomly awarded, which will light either A to B to C.
    4:39
    So either it'll do a run to the top, giving you A, B, and C. just give you A or give you A and B. And what A, B, and C allow you to do, B allows you to swap the leftmost two columns out of five. C allows you to swap the rightmost two columns. And A allows you to move the center column up and down three positions. Now what this allows you to do is similar to the magic screen.
    5:12
    It allows you to reposition the numbers on your bingo card so that you obtain the most in a particular colored section. Now, instead of being in a line like the 25-hole bingos, which are 5x5 cards, it's a 20-hole bingo, which is a 4x5 card. now the thing about it is
    5:43
    instead of the sections being laid out in a standard way and allowing you to win any set of numbers in that particular section it does let you do that except for one of the numbers is what's called the star hole and the star hole will not count for anything unless you land in it and then land the other four balls in that same colored section. So if I land in 16, which happens to be the blue star hole, I have to land all the other balls in the same colored section
    6:15
    in order to score 5 in one section. The other interesting thing about Double Up is that it has four different sets of odds. You've got red, yellow, blue, and green. So instead of the typical red, yellow, green of a Magic Screen game, it has the extra odds of blue. Now blue steps in sequence with the green. So if your blue is stepping up, your green is as well.
    6:47
    Yellow and red move independently. Now double up is late enough that they had made a red letter unit. And in this case that moves in portion with the red odds So once it reaches the first big jump in the five odds it will increase from D to O to U to B to L to E, finally, at 600 for your red score.
    7:22
    now each of those red letters corresponds with a particular set of odds and features which are laid out on the score and instruction cards down in the apron so it'll say for any game that has a red letter feature the title of that machine that lights up in red so in Double Up's case, double lights in red so D-O-U-B-L-E that red letter feature
    7:56
    is kind of unique, it's not really unique but it's different on a 20 hole game than it is on a 25 so in order to achieve red letter you have to sink 2 or 3 depending on which is lit balls into the star zones so in each colored section red, yellow, blue, and green there's one number which has a star highlighted. As I mentioned, this number doesn't count for anything
    8:27
    unless it's for the red letter or it's for the four in one section scoring as a particular number which I'll go into in a second or it's the fifth number in that section completing the entire section which allows you to score five in a row. so moving on another feature that double up has is the ability to double or quadruple your odds in one section now there's an extra button on the foot rail there's buttons for a b
    9:03
    and c which allow you to move the numbers there's also a button marked selector and as you play your odds button on your pick and play, like I talked about in the Roller Derby episode. Pick and play was first introduced with Roller Derby, and it was carried through most of the rest of the games that Bally made, the exception being six card games. so if you play your blue button
    9:35
    it will increase your chance of increasing your odds but also it will randomly award double in one particular color or increase your chance of receiving select before second ball or select before third ball for your score doubling feature. So the way that this works is after you shoot your first ball,
    10:07
    you land in a particular colored section, and then you push the selector button, and it'll cycle through red, yellow, green, and blue to double your odds in that particular section. As I've mentioned before, it will have your odds in another section. Now, if you already have double lit in one of those sections, it will light double double, which is quadruple the odds displayed.
    10:40
    For example, if you get three in one colored section, the default odds would be four replays. If you have double lit, you would win eight replays. If you have double-double lit, you would win 16 replays. So it's well worth your while to try to shoot for one particular color if you have double-double lit. Now, increasing your odds can be a frustrating game, at least on double up.
    11:14
    It doesn't like to give up the odds, on my machine at least. so it requires several quarters to be put in. The quarters give you five plays. You get five plays for one quarter. Each replay is a nickel which is different from ticker tape. You get one play per quarter. So this is adjustable inside of the cabinet. It allows you to set a single coin per replay
    11:47
    or five coins per replay. I have mine set on five coins per replay. I kind of like the nickel monetary value. It doesn't equate very well on ticker tape, so I may end up changing double up to using the quarter logic, you know, one quarter per play. But I haven't done so yet. so when you drop in a quarter
    12:17
    and there are no replays on the register it will tick up to 4 and also play whichever colored button that you had pressed last if you already have replays on the meter and you drop a quarter in it will just come out the eject hole when you play off all your replays that will engage the coin lockout coil,
    12:47
    which is located inside the coin door, waiting to accept your money. Or disengage. Disengage the coin lockout coil. Normally it's engaged. So when it's disengaged, it allows the machine to accept your money. And when it's engaged, it returns the money to you. Now, on most machines that were heavily operated, that coin lockout coil is cut.
    13:19
    And the reason for this is so that the machine will take your money regardless. So, you feel like dropping in an extra quarter? Go for it. It doesn't matter. The machine's not going to count it for you, but the machine will happily accept your money. My machine returns it as it should. Now, the only problem with this is that the coin lockout coil makes a lot of noise. So, that's another reason some people cut that coin lockout coil,
    13:53
    especially if they set their bingo on free play, which is an entirely separate episode. Setting a bingo on free play is not something to be undertaken by the faint of heart But back to Double Up So you get your odds up to wherever you like them You get your features set. So, do you want Red Letter Delight? Do you want it for 2 or for 3 in the star zones? And do you want A, B, and C lit so that you can move the mystic lines?
    14:29
    If you have Select Before Second or Select Before Third lit, then you shoot your first ball, you land where you land, and then you determine what to do next. So if you land in the blue, let's say you land in 15. 11, 15, 5, and 16 are blue numbers.
    14:59
    and 14 as well. So, you land in 15, I think I said. Then you push selector until you double your odds in the blue. Now, as you're pushing selector, in order to increase your blue odds, it decreases the odds for everything else. So, you only have a half of the displayed odds on the back glass for any other color. So your second ball, you land in 11, and your third ball, you land in 5.
    15:38
    Now by default, that's in the blue section. So you push your R button after shooting your next ball, and hopefully landing in a blue section hole, and it will count up double the normal amount of replays that's displayed on the back glass. So if you were up to 8 for 3 in a row, you would win 16. Pretty good deal.
    16:09
    Now let's say instead that you landed 3 balls in the yellow section. 3, 10, and 18. You push your R button and instead of four replays, you only win two replays. Not as good. Double Up has one other special feature, and that's lighting all four numbers in the star zones for either 300 or 600 replays.
    16:46
    As I've mentioned before, it's been a long time since I've been able to do that on my game, and I was getting a little sour on the game. Tonight I played Double Up quite a bit, and I've got to say that I'm back in love. I mentioned before that I was sweet on the game again, but now I'm really enamored. I can't seem to win anything so that's part of the
    17:16
    infatuation I'm able to get three in the star zones but not that fourth and so I don't win anything I'm able to consistently get a red letter game I'm able to consistently get three in a section but that doesn't count for a whole heck of a lot unless your odds are really high and as I mentioned in the last episode I don't really play my odds very high. I don't treat the machine as if it's on free play, even though I have my set of coins that I run through the machines.
    17:52
    This keeps me on my toes. It also prevents me from just pushing the buttons forever. But again, I'll get into free play in a later episode. So, the interesting thing about Double Up, aside from winning either 300 or 600 replays just from landing four balls in the star zones, is that if you quadruple your odds and they're at max, and you land five in one colored section, instead of winning 600 replays, which is typically the max for five in a row or five in a section,
    18:34
    you double those, so you get 1,200 replays, or you quadruple those and get 2,400 replays. That's an amazing deal. And depending on if the operator charged a quarter, or if they charged a nickel, or five plays for one quarter, this would determine the amount of money that you won. 2,400 nickels is not anything to sneeze at. 2,400 quarters, on the other hand,
    19:04
    is really nothing to sneeze at. So I know that Double Up was popular on location. I haven't talked to anybody who played one of them on location. I think I might have found someone on the bingos in Britain forums that enjoy Double Up, but nobody that I've run into in my bingo travels here in the U.S.
    19:34
    I enjoy it. I like the theme. The chess theme, I think, is appropriate for a bingo. I like the playfield artwork and the back glass artwork. I think they match pretty well, and they remind me of a chess set that I certainly played when I was a kid. And I like the cabinet artwork. It's not the best stencil that I've ever seen, but it is more than serviceable. I think it's very attractive.
    20:08
    The game also has a second compartment, including its own coin box for the location operator. So the operator who owned the game would come and empty the main coin box, and he would distribute a key to, say, the bartender, the bartender could open that second coin door, pull out the secondary coin box,
    20:39
    and recycle the coins at his location. It's pretty ingenious. The other thing he could do with that money was to pay off winners. and he doesn't have to do it with his own money that's a pretty good deal lastly this machine had something called a comeback key and as I mentioned in my comeback key episode and in the interview with James Willing the comeback key allows you to add credits to the replay register It doesn allow you
    21:17
    to subtract them. So there are two different states that the comeback key has. There's either off, which will not add anything to the replay register, but will allow the game to operate normally, or add credit mode. And when the key is engaged all the way to the right, or all the way towards the lock bar, it will start adding credits very slowly.
    21:47
    when I tested it out I found it faster just to bounce the key as quickly as I could that seemed to be the most efficient way to use that feature other than that as I mentioned several times in earlier episodes the cabinet itself is packed with relays and units unlike earlier bingos.
    22:23
    There is yet another door on the left-hand side of the machine which allows you access to some of those relays. I have yet to find a use for that extra door. I normally just lift the playfield. It's incredibly hard to see those switches normally. They're very short throw, similar to a Gottlieb relay. But on top of that, they're pretty far into the cabinet.
    22:56
    They're pretty much centered in the cabinet bottom. And so having that little door access doesn't give you much since you can't see anything. I'm not really sure why Bally included that extra door, but I mean, it's a neat idea. It's just weird, because it doesn't serve a whole lot of practical purpose that I can see. Especially if you had multiple bingos in a location. If one machine needed work, you'd have to pull it out from the wall anyway.
    23:31
    It doesn't, like I say, it doesn't make sense to me, but not everything does, so that's fine. my biggest win on Double Up was all four in the star zones for 600 I've never replicated that well I think I've done it twice but I've never replicated that maybe I've only done 300 it's been a while since I've had a big win like that
    24:02
    my biggest win of recent note was 24. You can squander that pretty quickly when playing for an extra ball. So that's nothing to write home about. My other friend's win, on the other hand, of 96 for getting four in a row in the red was pretty fantastic. Now I followed that up after my friend left with 120 off of the skill shot on bounty.
    24:34
    but again that's another podcast so I had never played Double Up before I bought it and I bought it from a guy here in Richmond who had purchased many machines at an auction he had a few different Double Ups varying cosmetic appearance and I got the nicest one cabinet wise and the nicest one, backlash-wise.
    25:06
    He was very gracious and allowed me to pull parts from other machines in order to make a really nice, complete game. So I have a whole second playfield, and I was able to get my secondary cash box and complete that unit via his good graces. So I'm very appreciative for that. I also took a look at his Showtime and played that quite a bit.
    25:38
    He had a couple different machines that were modified with payout hoppers. Double Up was not one of those. Those are really interesting, and I think I've mentioned that before, too. The payout hoppers work like slot machine payout hoppers, so they would just spit out massive quantities of nickels right into the trough at the very bottom. and you would bend over, pick them up, and put them in a cup or whatever, and keep going.
    26:09
    So, those are fun, but I'll get to Showtime in another episode. For Double Up, there's still several here in the Richmond area. I saw on Craigslist there's one complete game with an extra head in Fredericksburg, which is not that far away. It's between Richmond and D.C. Their asking price has been reduced down to $350.
    26:39
    I certainly hope someone goes to pick that up, and whoever gets the extra back glass, if they feel like making a dollar or two, reducing the amount that they paid in total, let me know, because I could use a really, really good back glass I'm going to be super picky because my back glass is pretty darn good but it's not perfect regardless, double ups do come up
    27:13
    with some frequency, they made quite a few of them it's a pretty popular game for a 20 hole bingo most of the bingo players though did not like 20 hole games, so it's nowhere near as popular as the Magic Screen games. But there are quite a few of them out there, and it is likely that you'll find one in good condition. Thank you again for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldrige.
    27:44
    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 Cast, via RSS on Facebook, on our website, and possibly somewhere else. Thank you again for joining me and I'll talk to you next time.