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Episode 423 - Big Time in school, Pinside bingo activity, RMPS bingos, 1932 Amusement Corp of America Ski-Doo 23

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·15m 18s·held·Jun 7, 2018
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

School bingo restoration, Pinside community highlights, show announcements, and 1932 Ski-Doo 23 deep dive.

Summary

Nicholas Baldridge discusses a British Columbia school's restoration of three Bally Big Time bingo machines as an educational project, highlights recent Pinside bingo community activity including Magic Screen troubleshooting and custom side rail modifications, reports on upcoming shows (Southern Fried Game Room Expo, Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show, Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown), and concludes with a detailed technical breakdown of the 1932 Amusement Corporation of America Ski-Doo 23 game.

Key Claims

  • Graham Termarsh donated three Bally Big Time machines to a British Columbia school where students have been restoring them since January or February with a successful public reveal.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge citing Graham Termarsh's forum post with linked news reports

  • Magic Screen games have buttons underneath the lock bar that frequently become maladjusted or filled with debris (beer residue) causing the feature to malfunction.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge speaking from personal experience and troubleshooting a Pinside community question

  • Big Time has five magic lines (vertical columns of numbers that move up and down), extra ball feature with three extra balls, two super cards, and rollovers.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge describing Big Time mechanics in detail

  • Carnival Queen was the first Magic Screen game and has quirks including locking down before the 5th magic line.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge citing Phil Bogoma who is bringing the machine to Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown

  • Parade is the only Magic Squares game with extra lines that can be purchased, which are unveiled all at once.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge describing Phil Bogoma's restoration being brought to Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown

  • Ski-Doo 23 from 1932 features a two-level playfield with paisley-shaped paths where ball trajectory depends on plunger strength.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge providing detailed technical description of the game

  • Ski-Doo 23 has a free play pocket at the bottom of the playfield that returns the ball if the ball has enough velocity to complete a circular path without hitting scoring pockets.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge describing playfield mechanics

  • Nicholas Baldridge is 'almost to the point where I can resume some hobby life' and has made a deal for a new game to be picked up within the next couple weeks.

    high confidence · Nicholas Baldridge personal update in the episode

Notable Quotes

  • “The students have been working on them since January or February, and today we had our big reveal to parents, teachers, and the local media.”

    Nicholas Baldridge @ ~2:00 — Establishes timeline and scale of the school restoration project as a formal community event

  • “it's incredible how quickly they pick it up... kids are really interested in the mechanics of the games, and they're really interested in learning how they work and how they can fix them.”

    Nicholas Baldridge @ ~3:00 — Reflects on educational value and learning potential of EM/bingo pinball restoration for students

  • “There are five magic lines. Those are the vertical columns of numbers behind the main bingo card that move up and down one position based on player input.”

    Nicholas Baldridge @ ~4:30 — Technical explanation of Big Time's core mechanic, relevant to understanding why it was a good educational choice

  • “The buttons which are underneath the lock bar, the actual switches, can become maladjusted or just filled with filth, and they need to be cleaned. You know, people spill beer and all kinds of stuff in the lock bar, and unfortunately it can pool and crud on those switches and create resistance.”

    Nicholas Baldridge @ ~7:00 — Practical maintenance troubleshooting for Magic Screen games, addressing a common community problem

  • “So he decided to mill his own side rails and mount them to the game... what he ended up doing was making them basically friction fit or push tight, and so they don't come off when you play, and the weight of the machine actually holds them in place.”

    Nicholas Baldridge @ ~11:30 — Documents a clever DIY modification approach for customizing bingo machines without permanent alteration

  • “Looking at the play field, it is a really interesting two-level play field for 1932. There are a variety of interesting paisley shapes where the ball actually travels in a circle.”

    Nicholas Baldridge @ ~25:00 — Technical description of Ski-Doo 23's innovative playfield design for its era

Entities

Nicholas BaldridgepersonGraham TermarshpersonPhil BogomapersonFor Amusement OnlyorganizationPinsideorganizationBallycompanyAmusement Corporation of AmericacompanySouthern Fried Game Room ExpoeventNorthwest Pinball and Arcade Showevent

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: School-based restoration project of Bally Big Time machines demonstrating educational potential and youth interest in EM/bingo mechanics

    high · Graham Termarsh's donation of three Big Time machines to a British Columbia school with student restoration project and public reveal event covered by local media

  • ?

    community_signal: Active Pinside bingo community posting troubleshooting questions and sharing custom modification projects

    high · Nicholas Baldridge highlighting multiple recent Pinside posts: Magic Screen troubleshooting, Terry1's custom wood rail modification project

  • ?

    event_signal: Three major pinball shows occurring the same weekend with varying EM/bingo presence expectations

    high · Three show announcements: Southern Fried Game Room Expo (Atlanta), Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show (Washington), Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown (Denver) with Phil Bogoma attending the latter

  • ?

    product_concern: Magic Screen games frequently experience lock bar button failure due to accumulated debris and beer residue causing switch malfunction

    high · Nicholas Baldridge stating 'this exact problem has befallen me, and has probably befallen everybody who has worked on these games at one point or another' with detailed explanation of root causes

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Increased documentation and sharing of bingo restoration and modification projects on Pinside community forum

    high · Multiple restoration projects highlighted including school Big Time work, Magic Screen troubleshooting, custom Bikini side rail modification by Terry1

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.046

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 first thing i've got some interesting news uh a man named graham termarsh uh posted something across various forums about how he donated three Bally bingo machines to a British Columbia school, and in his own words here, I came into a handful of bingo pinball machines a few years ago as part of a bulk buy. They've sat in my basement for a few years now, but we recently donated a trio of Bally big time machines to my son's class so they could try to get one of them resurrected and working again. The students have been working on them since January or February, and today we had our big reveal to parents, teachers, and the local media. While I've worked on EMs before, this was my first bingo repair and restoration, and so we did run into a few hiccups along the way. However, the students did a spot-on job of reading through the schematics, doing some problem solving, and figuring out what all the various little quirks were. And he linked several news reports about this, and I think that is just awesome. There's a great picture of the kids crowded around the big time, and given it a world. I think that is just incredible. And as I learned when Ava worked on the Turf King a couple years ago, kids are really interested in the mechanics of the games, and they're really interested in learning how they work and how they can fix them. These machines are very daunting. You know, they seem quite scary, even to adults.
1:57
When they open up the back, you know, I can't tell you the number of times I've talked to people and they said, it's just so intimidating, all the stuff in the back box. But really, when you break it down and you teach the kids how to break it down as far as, you know, this does this thing, this does that thing, electricity flows from here to there and everywhere, and this is how the game actually functions. it's incredible how quickly they pick it up.
2:25
So I just think this is an excellent thing, and I hope to see much more of this. I also think it's fantastic that it was a ballybingo that happened to be the restoration project. Something which is unusual, very mechanically distinct, and requires a lot of thought to get going if you've never worked on one before. So, very neat project, and I'm very excited and happy to see that they've got it going. Hopefully the first of many, and hopefully we have some new bingo pinball enthusiasts on our hands.

“If you manage to land all the way in the center, meaning the ball has enough velocity to rocket up this curved area at the bottom and shoot back down, it will land in the small pocket labeled free play, and you get the ball back to shoot again.”

Nicholas Baldridge @ ~27:00 — Describes the free play pocket mechanic as a surprising and engaging feature unique to Ski-Doo 23

Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdownevent
Big Timegame
Magic Screengame
Carnival Queengame
Paradegame
Ski-Doo 23game
Bikinigame
  • ?

    design_innovation: Community member implementing friction-fit wood side rails as removable modification to metal-rail bingo machine for aesthetic and feel preferences

    high · Terry1 on Pinside milling custom wood rails for Bikini game with friction-fit mounting that relies on machine weight for stability

  • ?

    historical_signal: 1932 Amusement Corporation of America Ski-Doo 23 demonstrating innovative two-level playfield design and free play pocket mechanics from early pinball era

    high · Detailed technical description of Ski-Doo 23's paisley-shaped ball paths, skill pockets, and free play pocket with ball velocity mechanics

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Phil Bogoma bringing multiple restored bingo machines to Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown, maintaining active presence in bingo community

    high · Phil Bogoma confirmed to attend RMPS with two restorations: Carnival Queen (first Magic Screen game) and Parade (rare Magic Squares variant)

  • ?

    operational_signal: Nicholas Baldridge announcing acquisition of new game within next two weeks with upcoming restoration project planned

    high · Baldridge stating 'I've just made a deal for a new game, and I should be picking that up in the next couple weeks, and we'll be able to get started on a new project'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Big Time praised for mechanical complexity and player interaction suitable for educational troubleshooting and skill development

    high · Baldridge noting 'a ton of mechanical action in that game... a ton of game interaction and mechanical interaction that would be really fascinating to troubleshoot'

    • 3:07
    And Big Time, I think, was an excellent choice, and I'll tell you why. There's a ton of mechanical action in that game. There are five magic lines. Those are the vertical columns of numbers behind the main bingo card that move up and down one position based on player input. The game has extra ball feature, which is fairly typical with three extra balls, two super cards, and rollovers. Just a ton of game interaction and mechanical interaction that would be really fascinating to troubleshoot for your first time. So yet again hats off to those kids and very impressive Next I wanted to highlight some of the activity that we have going on on the Bingo sub on Pinside
    3:54
    There are a few interesting questions that have come up and been answered, and a few interesting projects as well, and I just thought I'd highlight a few of them. First off, we have a situation where a Magic Screen owner, this is one of the Magic Screen games made by Bally in the early to mid-60s, is having trouble actually moving his screen once he has the feature awarded, and before the game locks him out. And he is confused as to why this happens. I can state that this exact problem has befallen me, and has probably befallen everybody who has worked on these games at one point or another.
    4:37
    The buttons which are underneath the lock bar, the actual switches, can become maladjusted or just filled with filth, and they need to be cleaned. You know, people spill beer and all kinds of stuff in the lock bar, and unfortunately it can pool and crud on those switches and create resistance. So eventually the switches cease to function. Well, that was all that was needed for this person. Sometimes it's more complicated than that. There's a series of relays as well as a big unit that is mounted underneath the magic screen itself, which can also be at play. But luckily for this person, it was simply the switches underneath the lock bar, cleaning and adjusting those, which is easiest to do with the play field lifted and with your head mounted upside down or with a mirror
    5:37
    so that you can easily see the entirety of the switch. It can be difficult unless you remove the switches from the game.
    5:45
    They're mounted to a metal plate, which you can remove, although sometimes that is rusted in place because of the beer again. Or you can remove the switches, and again, sometimes those can be a bit tricky to get off. But assuming that you are able to get the switches off or able to use a mirror to check the switch state and switch cleanliness, then you should be good to go. and thankfully that was all that this person needed. On to the next one.
    6:16
    The next one, user Terry1 has come up with an idea to replace his bikini side rails, which were metal from the factory, with wood rails. He wanted to see how the game felt. Only having room for a single bingo in his home, he preferred the feel of the wood rail games. but loves his bikini, which is a fantastic game. I certainly don't fault him for that. So he decided to mill his own side rails and mount them to the game. And it was a little confusing to me at first because I wasn't sure how he was going to mount them in such a way that they could be easily removed. However, what he ended up doing was making them basically friction fit or push tight, and so they don't come off when you play, and the weight of the machine actually holds them in place. I think that's fairly clever and certainly works well. Very cool.
    7:23
    It looks great, so I'll post links to those things in the show notes along with that great story about the kids learning how to fix a big time There are three shows coming up this weekend The first is the Southern Fried Game Room Expo and that is in Atlanta Georgia Hopefully there will be a good EM turnout this year I believe there has never been a bingo there, so that would be interesting if one showed up. The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show is also this weekend in Washington State, and that I have no knowledge of whatsoever. Um, hopefully, uh, there's a good EM turnout there as well. Uh, I'd love to hear about it. Uh, anybody who attends that show and happens to listen to this, um, let me know. Uh, how is it?
    8:17
    And then last but not least is the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown, which is in Denver, Colorado. And that will be attended by Phil Bogoma, who has been on this show a few times. And he is bringing two beautiful restorations, a Carnival Queen Magic Screen Game and a Parade, which is a very unusual Magic Squares game.
    8:43
    The Carnival Queen was actually the first Magic Screen Game, and as such it's got a couple of quirks compared to some later games.
    8:52
    For example, the Time Tree locks down before 5th. but same Magic Screen gameplay that you know and love from many of the other classics and Parade is interesting in that it's the only Magic Squares game with extra lines that you can buy into those extra lines are unveiled all at once and contain an additional repeated five digits either on the top or bottom to be shown at random to contribute to your main card. I think that's a really clever gimmick. Of course, I can't manage to win on that any more easily than I can on any other Magic Squares game, but I think it's very cool, and I'm really interested to hear how that goes.
    9:45
    Thanks to Phil very much for bringing those out, and I look forward to hearing the show reports from other attendees about how much they enjoyed the beautiful bingos that he brought.
    9:59
    In other news for me, I'm still just trucking through work. Things are going well. I'm almost to the point where I can resume some hobby life here.
    10:10
    And I've got some big news on that front as well. I've just made a deal for a new game, and I should be picking that up in the next couple weeks, and we'll be able to get started on a new project. So I'm very excited about that.
    10:29
    So today is actually the penultimate year of Flipperless. And for today's, I wanted to go back in time a bit to 1932.
    10:42
    The game is Amusement Corporation of America's Ski-Doo 23. named after the then common phrase which referred to having to leave something in a hurry. So when we talk about the play field, it'll make a bit of sense.
    11:01
    Looking at the play field, it is a really interesting two-level play field for 1932. There are a variety of interesting paisley shapes. where the ball actually travels in a circle.
    11:22
    And depending on the plunger strength it either land in the hole at the top for a thousand one directly underneath and to the left for a thousand underneath and to the right for fifteen hundred, or if it overshoots the one thousand, it can land in the five hundred pocket. Depending again on plunger strength and exactly how you nudge and shoot the ball, you can also fall down into the lower playfield, which has skill pockets, which are typical of the time period.
    11:57
    So these pockets are worth either 50 points in the center, 100 points fanning out from the edges to the upper right and upper left, 200 points to the far left and far right, 150 points bottom left and bottom right. If you go all the way down to the bottom of the playfield on the bottom left and bottom right without hitting any of those scoring pockets, you're out. You lose the ball.
    12:25
    But if you manage to land all the way in the center, meaning the ball has enough velocity to rocket up this curved area at the bottom and shoot back down, it will land in the small pocket labeled free play, and you get the ball back to shoot again.
    12:42
    That must be a really cool thing to see. and relatively unexpected. The balls for these games are obviously quite a bit smaller than the balls we're used to today and typically not made of metal, although it depends on the game.
    13:01
    Now, because of that, they are much lighter, and so gauging your plunge strength is pretty critical because there's really no way to get it right otherwise. I guess you'd say.
    13:17
    This game has a ball lift knob, and when you press it, it lifts the first marble or ball from the trough area and places it in the shooter lane. Once you plunge, the ball still has to make a fairly steep ascent in order to get up there, but less steep than some other games of the era. and where in any of these components can cause some really frustrating and interesting problems, especially with increased friction as you plunge, that will reduce your speed quite a bit. So making sure that everything is clean, there's no rot, everything is aligned properly, your spring in your plunger is good, all that stuff is critical. But I think the game is fairly attractive. It uses kind of a pastel color scheme, although I'm not certain if some of that is fading.
    14:15
    Looking at other photos, it appears that you have bright oranges, reds, purples, and a light blue. I think it's very attractive and an interesting game. The ball guides are really what makes the game very interesting, in my opinion, along with the free play pocket down at the bottom. I'm really curious to know how frequently that actually is used.
    14:45
    Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Balders. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com, or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS-1, 724-246-4671. you can listen to me 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 me on my website which is foramusementonly.libsyn.com thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time