claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.039
BlahCade hosts rank their five most-wanted Williams/Bally pinball ports from arcade to FX.
There are 34 Williams/Bally tables in Pinball Arcade that have not yet been ported to Pinball FX
high confidence · Chris Friebus states: 'I want to say 33, I think is the magic number, tables that... I actually have my list here... and I can see 34. 34 Williams tables.'
Early solid-state tables from before 1981 (Spanish Eyes, Wild Card, Fireball, Paragon, Gorgar) will likely never be ported to Pinball FX
high confidence · Chris Friebus explains: 'Tables that are never going to come to Pinball FX. Spanish Eyes. Wild Card. Fireball... I'm going to put in Paragon and Gorgar. I don't think they'll ever see the light of day in Pinball FX.' He reasons they lack alpha-numeric displays and are scripting-heavy.
EM tables and early solid-state machines without proper alpha-numeric displays require full scripting rather than emulation in Pinball FX
high confidence · Jared Morgan: 'There is no emulation. You have to script it. Script the entire thing.' Chris adds context about Zen Studios not prioritizing this effort.
Fireball (an EM-era table with zipper flippers) has the best chance among unlikely candidates if any were to be ported
medium confidence · Chris Friebus: 'Of those, if any were to actually happen, I think Fireball would have the best chance. But, again... At least it's got stuff going on.'
Banzai Run dual playfield design would require either screen-switching or a custom cabinet format with both playfields visible simultaneously
high confidence · Chris Friebus: 'I don't want to have to switch screens. I want it to be in cab format with both playfields visible at the same time.' He explains wanting vertical-to-horizontal screen visibility.
Medieval Madness' gameplay depth elevates it beyond cosmetic appeal (innuendo/callouts), unlike Scared Stiff
medium confidence · Jared Morgan: 'medieval madness... gameplay is phenomenal. that's right and that's what elevates it doesn't rely on alvarez sass to actually sell the table right.'
Firepower's motorized drop-target bank system slowed gameplay and was abandoned by Williams in favor of standard solenoid-driven drops
“I think you can pretty much count on the software system that runs... I think it's pretty much the... I think you can pretty much count on the software system that runs first generation Pinbot and Space Shuttle and that era of Pinball Controller. That's probably where they're going to cut off the conversions.”
Chris Friebus @ ~32:00 — Establishes the technical/business threshold for what games Zen Studios will likely port—System 9/11 and forward only.
“There is no emulation. You have to script it. Script the entire thing.”
Jared Morgan @ ~29:00 — Explains why early EM and solid-state tables are technically difficult and costly to port—fundamental engineering difference.
“I want it to be in cab format with both playfields visible at the same time... you want to essentially see that ball go from lower playfield up to the top and see it go from your vertical screen up the horizontal screen.”
Chris Friebus @ ~45:00 — Articulates the specific hardware/UX challenge that would be needed to properly port Banzai Run and respect its mechanical novelty.
“medieval madness is gameplay is phenomenal that's right and that's what elevates it doesn't rely on alvarez sass to actually sell the table right”
Jared Morgan @ ~58:00 — Distinguishes between cosmetic appeal and deep rule design—Medieval Madness works because gameplay matches theme/callouts, unlike Scared Stiff.
“Of the three Pinbot tables, I personally like Bride of Pinbot. I know it's a one-trick pony. I just happen to like the trick and it makes me sweat going for that billion shot.”
Chris Friebus @ ~54:00 — Shows personal attachment to specific shot/mechanical challenge despite acknowledging design limitations—reflects collector vs. competitive priorities.
“Jackbot's very playable. So that's why it's there. It's just not compelling enough to be a top five.”
Chris Friebus @ ~56:00 — Establishes hierarchy: 'playable but shallow' is honorable-mention tier, not top-five tier.
“it's one of those i think it's a table that i like in theory um but i never actually really sat down with and played a lot so that's why i put it as fifth because it just kept on jumping out to me as a title”
product_strategy: Zen Studios is selectively porting Williams/Bally tables to Pinball FX from Pinball Arcade. 34 titles remain unconverted; hosts speculate that older EM and early solid-state tables (pre-1981) will never be ported due to scripting complexity and lack of alpha-numeric displays. Technical threshold appears to be System 9/11-era machines with proper DMD/segment displays.
high · Chris Rebus identifies 34 unconverted tables and establishes that Zen likely won't port tables without alpha-numeric displays because they require full scripting vs. emulation. 'There is no emulation. You have to script it. Script the entire thing.'
market_signal: Community interest in seeing specific classic Williams/Bally tables ported to Pinball FX is high enough to warrant a dedicated podcast discussion and wish-list format. The fact that 34 tables remain unconverted indicates either licensing complexity, technical barriers, or prioritization decisions by Zen Studios.
medium · 'I've seen some people kind of, you know, hey, when are we going to get this? When are we going to get this? I love that it's in, you know, Pinball Arcade, but we don't have it here.'
design_philosophy: Hosts prioritize rule-set depth, shot selection variety, and mechanical innovation over cosmetic appeal (theme callouts, artwork). Tables like Medieval Madness elevate above similar-era competitors because gameplay matches theme. Scared Stiff and F-14 Tomcat are 'one-trick ponies' despite being fun, placing them in honorable-mention tier.
high · Jared Morgan on Scared Stiff: 'it's a fun table i like the call outs but it's kind of easy and it's a grinder.' Chris on Medieval Madness: 'medieval madness is gameplay is phenomenal... doesn't rely on alvarez sass to actually sell the table.'
product_concern: Motorized drop-target systems (like those in Firepower) are now understood to have been mechanical dead-ends—they slowed gameplay and were abandoned by Williams. Digital ports offer opportunity to correct this through prototype modifications (e.g., offering stand-up targets option), but Zen Studios may not prioritize such engineering work.
groq_whisper · $0.258
medium confidence · Discussion of Firepower's mechanical quirks: 'these were on a motorized bank that would raise them back up... that's why they specifically pulled it from Firepower though, was that it slowed the game down and was overly mechanical.'
Pinbot-series tables (Pinbot, Bride of Pinbot, Jackbot) have limited shot selection and gameplay depth compared to other candidates
medium confidence · Chris Friebus: 'I really don't find the shot selection on Pinbot all that interesting... it's not like it's compelling enough to be a top five.'
Jared Morgan @ ~62:00 — Honest acknowledgment that nostalgic/theoretical interest doesn't substitute for actual gameplay familiarity—leads to Judge Dredd honorable mention uncertainty.
high · Chris Rebus: 'that's why they specifically pulled it from Firepower though, was that it slowed the game down and was overly mechanical. Just like, not necessary.' Discussion of motorized vs. solenoid-driven reset mechanisms.
design_innovation: Banzai Run's dual-playfield design presents a novel technical challenge for digital porting: hosts debate whether screen-switching (poor UX) or custom cabinet format (expensive) is acceptable. This illustrates tension between mechanical novelty and practical digital implementation constraints.
high · Chris Rebus: 'I don't want to have to switch screens. I want it to be in cab format with both playfields visible at the same time... you want to essentially see that ball go from lower playfield up to the top and see it go from your vertical screen up the horizontal screen.'
community_signal: Jared Morgan acknowledges that personal nostalgia (Banzai Run's arcade memory) and theoretical interest (Judge Dredd) can cloud objective ranking decisions. This suggests community discourse often conflates sentimental value with actual gameplay quality.
medium · Jared Morgan: 'Banzai Run definitely has a soft spot in my heart because it's one of the first pinball machines i know for a fact that i played... it's etched in my memory.' Later: 'Judge Dredd... it's one of those i think it's a table that i like in theory um but i never actually really sat down with and played a lot.'
industry_signal: The transition of tables from Pinball Arcade (Farsight) to Pinball FX (Zen Studios) represents ongoing consolidation in digital pinball. Farsight's design decisions (e.g., including Earthshaker prototype earthquake center) set precedent for what digital platforms can deliver, creating expectations for successor platforms.
medium · Chris Rebus: 'The only reason we got pulled was because they were worried about maintenance issues... if you're digital, why not have it in there? Yeah, absolutely. And for sure, if Zen did it, they'd be silly if they didn't do that.'
technology_signal: Full scripting requirement (rather than emulation) for EM-era tables makes them economically unviable for digital porting. No automated emulation path exists; each game requires custom engineering. This creates a hard technical barrier at solid-state cutoff (~System 9).
high · Jared Morgan and Chris Rebus discussion on scripting vs. emulation; identification of Gorgar, Spanish Eyes, Wild Card, Paragon, Fireball as unlikely to ever be ported due to scripting cost.
content_signal: BlahCade's 'top five with honorable mentions' format allows for nuanced community discussion of game design merit. The honorable-mention tier (8 games listed) indicates significant competitive depth across the 34-game unconverted pool, suggesting strong audience interest in ~10-15 of these titles.
medium · Chris and Jared list 5 honorable mentions each, plus 2 more guest picks, totaling 8 honorable mentions from ~29 viable candidates, leaving ~21 lower-tier options.
competitive_signal: Hosts emphasize variety in shot selection as key differentiator between top-tier and honorable-mention games. Bride of Pinbot, F-14 Tomcat, and Scared Stiff are penalized for 'one-trick pony' design, while Medieval Madness is elevated for balanced shot layout. This reflects competitive player preferences for rules depth.
medium · Chris on F-14 Tomcat: 'I love it for the speed... but it's a fairly one-trick pony. It's literally just a twitch reaction table.' Chris on Medieval Madness: 'gameplay is phenomenal... doesn't rely on alvarez sass.'
manufacturing_signal: F-14 Tomcat is credited with introducing proper end-of-stroke (EOS) switches, which became industry standard. Early switch designs were unreliable; this mechanical innovation had lasting impact on flipper reliability across the industry.
medium · Chris Rebus: 'The only real benefit that that table did is actually introduce proper end of stroke switches on pinball. It made them very relevant because that kickback destroyed flippers.'