Episode 353 - 1960 Williams Nags

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·12m 32s·analyzed·Feb 27, 2016

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

Deep dive into 1960 Williams Nags horse-racing pinball mechanics and artistry.

Summary

Nick Baldridge provides a detailed technical and artistic analysis of the 1960 Williams pinball machine Nags, a horse-racing themed game featuring a clutch-driven rotating pop bumper mechanism in the playfield and a horse race unit in the backbox. The episode covers gameplay mechanics, the distinctive cartoonish artwork by George Melentin, cabinet design, and innovative features like an early attract mode and replay awards based on performance.

Key Claims

Williams made a horse race game called Nags in 1951 with a special horse race mechanism allowing multiple horses to race across the backglass
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, episode opener discussing 1951 Nags predecessor
The 1960 Nags features a rotating platter of six pop bumpers arranged in a circle that rotate counterclockwise, with each bumper advancing one of six horses
high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing mid-playfield mechanism
The running horse unit in Nags is clutch-driven, similar to Ballybingo, with clutches that engage/disengage via relay activity to rotate a shaft and move the horse
high confidence · Nick Baldridge explaining backbox horse race mechanism
Artwork on Nags was created by George Melentin using a more cartoonish style reminiscent of Roy Parker's work with a Melentin twist
high confidence · Nick Baldridge analyzing game artwork
The game featured an adjustable Jones plug that allowed the rotating mechanism to continue operating after gameplay ended as an early attract mode
high confidence · Nick Baldridge discussing attract mode innovation

Notable Quotes

“It's quite possible for you to advance another horse all the way to the end while yours is still at the gate. But, the interesting thing about this game is that it's pretty equal opportunity, right? Because of the rotating turntable, each of the bumpers advances one of the six horses.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~3:30 — Explains the game design philosophy balancing player agency with chance
“If you have a winning horse that gets to the end in one ball, the operator could choose to award five replays or ten replays. If you get there in two balls, it's five replays. Three balls, two replays.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~5:00 — Details the replay award structure tied to performance
“The style that he used is actually more of a cartoonish style than you would typically find on Williams games, and it reminds me a lot more of Roy Parker artwork, but with a Melentin twist.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~9:45 — Distinguishes Melentin's artistic approach on this game from his typical work
“If they were all, say brown or all white or all black it would be very difficult to know which horse was actually leading at a glance... each of the horses match the color indicated for that selection which is a bit of a stroke of genius.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~11:00 — Highlights thoughtful UX design in game visualization
“If this motor's just running constantly, it's also attracting you. You see movement. You want to see what's happening. I think that also is a stroke of genius.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~16:30 — Recognizes innovative early attract mode design strategy

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonWilliamscompanyGeorge MelentinpersonRoy ParkerpersonNags (1960)gameNags (1951)gameBallybingogameFor Amusement Onlyorganization

Signals

?
historical_signal: Analysis of how Williams implemented horse-racing mechanisms across two decades (1951 and 1960 versions), showing design iteration and mechanical innovation in EM era
high · Detailed comparison of 1951 vs 1960 Nags mechanisms, clutch-driven horse unit design, and rotating pop bumper mechanism
?
design_innovation: Rotating clutch-driven pop bumper platter with six bumpers arranged in circle, each advancing different horse, representing sophisticated mechanical design for 1960
high · Technical explanation of counterclockwise rotating platter, clutch engagement via relay activity, and individual bumper-to-horse mapping
?
design_innovation: Adjustable Jones plug allowing rotating mechanism to run after gameplay ends to attract players, identified as early precursor to modern attract mode features
high · Nick Baldridge's analysis of motor running continuously to draw player attention as innovation ahead of its time
?
design_philosophy: Intentional use of colored horses, backbox diorama with grandstand, and playfield artwork to help players visualize game state and understand which horse is winning
high · Discussion of color-coding horses, cardboard diorama grandstand, head shots of horses on rotating platter bumpers, jockey/horse imagery
?
product_strategy: Game designed with adjustable replay thresholds and performance-based reward scaling to allow operators to tune payouts (5-10 replays for 1-ball wins, declining with additional balls)
high · Detailed replay award structure with factory default options and write-your-own-entry cards for operator customization

Topics

Game mechanics and playfield designprimaryArtwork and cabinet aestheticsprimaryHorse-racing theme implementationprimaryEM machine innovation and featuresprimaryOperator settings and adjustabilitysecondaryAttract mode designsecondaryHistorical comparison to earlier Williams gamessecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.038

What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight I wanted to talk about one of several horse race themed games that Williams made. This is 1960s Nags. Now in 1951 Williams made another game called Nags and it used one of the unique mechanisms in this game Williams had a special horse race mechanism that allowed for multiple horses to actually race across the back lass at intervals defined by gameplay elements until one of the horses won the race now in nags there are six different horses when your first ball is loaded to the shooter lane the game will randomly select one of the horses to be yours there's a single rollover at the top center that when hit will choose a different horse and as you sink down through the upper play field you'll reach the mid play field. And here is the second unique mechanism for this game. It's a rotating platter of pop bumpers. There are six different pop bumpers that rotate counterclockwise. The bumpers are arranged in a circle and as the platter rotates different numbers will come to the top naturally. And so your plunge, your skill shot is critical because you need to know when your number comes up so that you advance the correct horse. Now it's quite possible for you to advance another horse all the way to the end while yours is still at the gate. But, the interesting thing about this game is that it's pretty equal opportunity, right? Because of the rotating turntable, each of the bumpers advances one of the six horses. And so, if you advance, say, number six three times, perhaps you advance number two five times. and it's all in how the ball bounces in that platter area as it's turning and then falls out so once it falls out of this area the only way to advance horses is through one of the gates that are located on the outside of the flippers at the bottom that right this game has flippers with which you can shoot back up into the pop bumper platter But if you don there are three different outlanes beside each of the flippers one of which will advance each horse. Now this game is set up in such a way that you can earn multiple replays, and how many replays you earn is actually dependent upon how many balls it takes you to get your horse to the end. So if you have a winning horse that gets to the end in one ball, the operator could choose to award five replays or ten replays. If you get there in two balls, it's five replays. Three balls, two replays. Four or five balls, one replay. There are also score thresholds, which can award replays. By default, 6, 7, or 800 points. But another factory default would be 3, 4, or 500 points. There were two different instruction cards for this. And then there was the ever-popular write-your-own-entry-in card. card. Now it's worth noting that the score counter the score reels for this game, there are only three. There's no thousands score. And your typical point value of any given switch on the playfield is ten points. So, again the main way that you're going to win is by advancing your horse all the way to the end. And this particular unit that they used, the running horse unit, for lack of a better term, is clutch-driven, much like our friend the Ballybingo. Based on the activity of relays, these clutches will engage or disengage, allowing a shaft to rotate and the horse to move. very clever mechanism and the fact that in nags in 1960 it was placed in the backbox is very good Williams also used this same mechanism on the play field on a couple of games but mainly they used this in the backbox in the same spot that they used it in this 1960 nags so let's meet some of the horses because one of the fun things about this game is the artwork. Number one is called Real George. Number two is Dreamboat. Number three is Stinky. Number four is Bashful. Number five is Flippy. And number six is Glamour Puss Each of the horses looks about like what you would expect from their names The art on this game was by George Melentin and the style that he used is actually more of a cartoonish style than you would typically find on Williams games, and it reminds me a lot more of Roy Parker artwork, but with a Melentin twist. So you've got Melentin figures on the left and right hand side. These men who are betting on the horses. They're trying to figure out which one to choose. Up at the top above the actual horse race you've got a jockey and a horse in the winning horseshoe with whips crossed across the score reels. On the left-hand side, you've got a hat, a jockey cap, which lifts the ball in play. On the right-hand side, you have game over, and in the hat, you have a credit window. Now the horse race itself is actually a little cardboard diorama, and it's a grandstand with a tarp over top. and from that you can see the horse race with its start and finish line and each of the horses match the color indicated for that selection which is a bit of a stroke of genius because if they were all, say brown or all white or all black it would be very difficult to know which horse was actually leading at a glance the playfield artwork is also very fun you've got people shouting and cheering as the horses run past with jockeys on their backs and each of the horses also represented by their color the rotating platter each of the bumpers has the number and it says advances number hoss. But in the center, you have each of the horse's kind of head shots up there, which gives you another indication of which horse will actually move with a bumper hit. I think the whole layout is very clever and really helps the player to visualize what they going to do when they hit specific targets or specific bumpers It also helps the player to understand that say they have the pink horse and it going to win or not The cabinet has a base coat of yellow, with pink stenciled horses and jockeys, green posts, pink fencing, and on the backbox you have flags. very attractive art package, and again, very different from the artist's normal work in pinball. I've never had the pleasure of playing in ags, but it sure looks like fun to me, and with that rotating mechanism and the horse racing mechanism in the backbox, it looks like a ton of fun, and it would be a great game to play with multiple people. one other interesting note about the rotating mechanism with the pop pumpers there was an adjustment inside, a Jones plug adjustment that would allow that turntable to rotate after the game had finished as well, to attract player attention this is a very early attract mode for a game, which of course is a very commonplace thing now modern games will talk to you after the game is finished They'll ask you for money. They will flash lights. They will play extra music. They'll do all kinds of things to try and get you over there to put in money. Well, if this motor's just running constantly, it's also attracting you. You see movement. You want to see what's happening. I think that also is a stroke of genius. now the fact they made it adjustable was also wise because some operators are going to want to conserve the motor they're going to want to save it but the hardest thing on any motor is simply turning it on and off turning it on is actually the hardest thing that it has to do so being able to allow it to run constantly is actually probably not a bad thing at all assuming that you're making some money on the game well one of the interesting things about this game is the lack of sound there are actually no bells or chimes there's a knocker that sounds when you win but that's it that's all for tonight thank you very much for joining me my name again is Nick Baldrige you can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's 724-BINGOS4 1-724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter at Bingo Podcast. You can follow me on Instagram, also at Bingo Podcast, or you can listen to us on our website, which is forumusementonly.libsyn.com. Thank you very much for listening, and I'll talk to you next time.