Episode 360 - The Turret Shooter

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·5m 53s·analyzed·Mar 5, 2016

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

Nick Baldridge explores the turret shooter launcher mechanism in classic EM pinball games.

Summary

Nick Baldridge discusses the turret shooter mechanism, a ball-launching assembly used primarily in Gottlieb electromechanical pinball games from the 1950s. The episode covers the technical operation of turret shooters, notable games that featured them (Bank-A-Ball, Buffalo Bill, Ricochet, Select-A-Card, Lucky Inning, Williams Winner, Hay Burners II), and the design advantages they provided. Baldridge also examines games by Chicago Coin and notes curiosities about specific machines like Pinball High Score Pool.

Key Claims

Bank-A-Ball and Buffalo Bill were both made by Gottlieb in 1950 and featured turret shooters
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, episode host, citing specific game releases
Ricochet (Gottlieb, 1954) was only a sample game and never made it into full production
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, citing Wayne Neyens as source
Hay Burners II is the only game Williams made with zipper flippers
medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, stated as belief ('I believe')
Turret shooters provided an additional inch or inch and a half of playfield space for designers
medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, design observation
Williams made Lucky Inning in 1950 with a turret shooter, likely in response to Gottlieb's success
medium confidence · Nick Baldridge, speculating on manufacturer reasoning

Notable Quotes

“This is simply a way to launch the ball onto the playfield without the need for a dedicated shooter lane or plunger.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~0:30 — Defines the core function of turret shooter technology
“when the game starts, an arrow will start oscillating from left to right and right to left, back and forth... when you hit the flipper button, it will launch the ball.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~1:00 — Explains operational mechanics of turret shooter mechanism
“Every time that the ball drains it goes to the out where the turret shooter is and the process begins again”
Nick Baldridge @ ~1:30 — Clarifies ball return and launch cycle
“the artwork on most of these games is incredible by the way”
Nick Baldridge @ ~3:00 — Notes aesthetic value of turret shooter era games
“I'm guessing the big problem is that you just can't tell the angle at which the ball is coming back towards your flippers”
Nick Baldridge @ ~5:15 — Identifies potential gameplay flaw in Pinball High Score Pool design

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonGottliebcompany Williamscompany Chicago Coincompany Midwaycompany Wayne Neyensperson Bank-A-Ballgame Buffalo Bill

Signals

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historical_signal: Detailed technical and historical overview of turret shooter launcher mechanism as introduced by Gottlieb in 1950 and adopted by Williams, Chicago Coin, and Midway
high · Specific game titles, release years, manufacturer attributions, and mechanical descriptions
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design_innovation: Turret shooter identified as space-efficient launcher alternative that freed up 1-1.5 inches of playfield for additional features and targets
high · Nick Baldridge's explanation of design advantages and playfield space liberation
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restoration_signal: Educational content about turret shooter assembly and operation for collectors and restorers of EM-era machines
high · Detailed technical breakdown of oscillating arrow, reticle system, kicker power, and ball return cycle
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content_signal: Episode 360 of For Amusement Only released covering previously un-addressed assembly type in EM pinball history
high · Nick Baldridge states this is the first time he's discussed turret shooter in podcast history
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gameplay_signal: Nick Baldridge identifies potential playability issues with Chicago Coin's Pinball High Score Pool, specifically difficulty judging ball return angles due to upper playfield obscuring lower playfield
medium · Speculation about difficulty/ease balance and inability to see ball approach angles to flippers

Topics

Turret Shooter MechanismprimaryGottlieb Electromechanical GamesprimaryWilliams Pinball Designprimary1950s Pinball Hardware DesignprimaryChicago Coin GamessecondaryPlayfield Mechanics and Space OptimizationsecondaryVintage Pinball Artworksecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Baldridge expresses appreciation for turret shooter design innovation, artwork quality, and mechanical cleverness. Some minor critical observations about Pinball High Score Pool's playability, but generally celebratory tone about historical technology and game design. No negativity toward manufacturers or community.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.018

What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only. This is Nick Baldrige. Tonight I wanted to talk about an assembly that I haven't talked about previously, and that's the turret shooter. This is simply a way to launch the ball onto the playfield without the need for a dedicated shooter lane or plunger. There were several games that were made, mostly by Gottlieb, but some made by Williams and Midway, and a couple by Chicago Coin that used this type of launcher. And the basic premise is that when the game starts, an arrow will start oscillating from left to right and right to left, back and forth. There's a plastic above it, which gives you kind of a reticle for where the ball is going to go. And when you hit the flipper button, it will launch the ball. Well, the kicker that's installed under this is very powerful and can launch it all the way to the other side of the playfield. It doesn't just lob it up onto a flipper. Every time that the ball drains it goes to the out where the turret shooter is and the process begins again There were many popular wood rail games that Gottlieb made that used this feature starting with Bank-A-Ball in 1950, Buffalo Bill, also in 1950, Just 21, Ricochet, and Select-A-Card. all of these were in 1950 except for Ricochet which was made in 1954 now the other manufacturers obviously took note of this in 1950 Williams made their lucky inning probably thinking this was the next big thing which also used a turret shooter with a slightly different design it's the same basic principle you've got a motor which turns and that determines the direction of the kick out oh the artwork on most of these games is incredible by the way so aside from the novelty factor of having a unique ball launcher there's also the beautiful artwork that you can see while you play on the Chicago Coins side they made a game called Criss Cross Pop which is essentially a simplified bingo where the maximum you can get is three in a row and you win on points Each combination of three in a row is worth a different point value and you get a certain number of shots. It's basically just an arcade game. And then they have the pinball high score pool, which is much maligned, because there is an upper play field which obscures three quarters of the pinball machine. I've never played one. I think it's pretty neat the way that they spelled out the shot patterns on that game. You have two-inch flippers and the turret shooter, but I'm guessing the big problem is that you just can't tell the angle at which the ball is coming back towards your flippers, and therefore it would be very difficult to judge. if you can save. I'm also curious if it's perhaps a little too easy. It's either too difficult or too easy, and I'm not sure which it is, just by looking at pictures. Hopefully I'll play one of those one day and form an opinion on it. Ricochet, it's worth noting, the Gottlieb, the one which is listed in 1954, was only a sample game. It never made it into full production, according to Wayne Neyens. On the Williams side Williams Winner and Hay Burners II both use a turret shooter And both of them have the horse racing mechanism that I talked about on the Nags episode. It's also worth noting that Hay Burners 2 is, I believe, the only game that Williams made with zipper flippers. so the turret shooter is a pretty simple mechanism but for the designer of any of these games it made an additional inch or inch and a half of space that they could use to develop new features extra targets and so forth more stuff to shoot at is always good right well that's all for tonight thank you very much for joining me my name again is Nicholas Baldridge you can reach me at for amusement only podcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's 724 bingos 1 724-246-4671 you can listen to us on itunes stitcher pocket casts vrss 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 foramusementonly.libsyn.com Thank you very much for listening, and I'll talk to you next time.