Episode 327 - 1969 Bally Safari

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·13m 36s·analyzed·Feb 1, 2016

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

Deep dive into 1969 Bally Safari's Mystic Lines bingo mechanics and animal feature tower game.

Summary

Nick Baldridge provides a detailed chronological overview of Bally bingo pinball machines, focusing on the 1969 Safari game. He explains Safari's 20-hole bingo mechanics, Mystic Lines section scoring system with star zones, multi-coin pick-a-play features, twin number spotting, red letter game, and the hybrid electromechanical/solid-state animal feature tower game. He notes a critical switch sensitivity bug in the animal feature that allows exploitation.

Key Claims

Apollo Ball was a six-card bingo game from 1969 with no production confirmation or detailed information available on IPDB or bingo.cdyn.com
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast, Episode 327
Safari is a 20-hole bingo pinball machine from 1969 with section scoring (not in-line) and Mystic Lines feature allowing backglass number repositioning
high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing Safari's core mechanics
The animal feature in Safari has a critical switch sensitivity bug where slight table bumps cause the tower piece to move up continuously to maximum giraffe position
medium confidence · Nick Baldridge citing conversations with people who owned and worked on these games
Bally began experimenting with hybrid electromechanical/solid-state boards in mid-to-late 1960s because they ran out of cabinet space for purely EM special game features
high confidence · Nick Baldridge explaining design rationale for Safari's animal feature electronics
The animal feature is considered one of the best tower games but suffers from a design trade-off where shooting for animal feature numbers reduces scoring in the main Mystic Lines game
medium confidence · Nick Baldridge citing conversations with Safari owners and technicians

Notable Quotes

“Apollo Ball was a six card bingo but unfortunately there are no pictures or information about this game on either IPDB or bingo.cdyn.com. Not sure if it ever went into production or if it was just a test game and they decided not to make it.”
Nick Baldridge @ opening segment — Establishes uncertainty about Apollo Ball's production status and archival gaps in EM bingo documentation
“The reason is, when Bally moved over to the Mystic Lines games, they did away with in-line scoring. Instead, they replace it with section scoring.”
Nick Baldridge @ main Safari segment — Key design evolution explanation: transition from traditional bingo line format to flexible section-based scoring
“This number is called the star zone, and it counts for absolutely nothing unless it's the 5th ball that you make in that particular section.”
Nick Baldridge @ section scoring explanation — Identifies the star zone mechanic as a risk/reward element in Mystic Lines design
“So you have to be very careful and plan out exactly what you're going to do before shooting each ball, because it's very easy to wind up in a situation that you don't want to be before the game locks you out of moving those numbers.”
Nick Baldridge @ Mystic Lines feature section — Highlights strategic depth and potential for unintended consequences in Safari's number repositioning mechanic
“If you bump the table just right, it will start moving up, and it won't stop. With each bump, it'll continue to move up, eventually maxing out at the giraffe.”
Nick Baldridge @ animal feature bugs section — Describes the critical hardware exploit in the animal feature tower game that allows infinite replay earning
“This game also has a special game as many of the Mystic Lines games do. These special games were typically solid and they used solid electronics in the mid-to-late 1960s, in order to allow you to play these games with entirely separate feature sets from the main game.”
Nick Baldridge @ animal feature introduction — Explains the early hybrid EM/solid-state technology adoption rationale in 1960s Bally games

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonBallycompany Safarigame Apollo BallgameMystic LinesproductFor Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball PodcastorganizationIPDBproductbingo.cdyn.comproductLondon

Signals

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historical_signal: Documented transition from in-line bingo scoring to Mystic Lines section-based scoring in late-1960s Bally games, representing significant design iteration in bingo pinball mechanics
high · Nick Baldridge's detailed explanation of how Mystic Lines replaced in-line scoring and the strategic implications of section scoring with star zones
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design_innovation: Early adoption of hybrid electromechanical/solid-state electronics in mid-to-late 1960s Bally games to overcome cabinet space constraints for special game features
high · Safari's animal feature uses solid-state electronics board while main game is EM; Nick Baldridge explains space constraints drove this innovation
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product_concern: Critical switch sensitivity bug in Safari's animal feature tower game allows table bumping to trigger continuous upward movement, exploitable for infinite replays
medium · Nick Baldridge cites conversations with Safari owners/technicians about the bug; notes one factory switch is overly sensitive and may have had a mitigation fix
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gameplay_signal: Safari's animal feature creates strategic conflict: shooting for animal feature numbers reduces scoring potential in main Mystic Lines game, forcing player choice between features
medium · Nick Baldridge cites conversations with Safari owners noting players must choose between competing feature sets
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historical_signal: Apollo Ball (1969 Bally six-card bingo) lacks documentation on IPDB and bingo.cdyn.com; production status uncertain, possibly test/cancelled game

Topics

Electromechanical Bingo Pinball Game DesignprimaryBally Safari 1969 Game Mechanics and FeaturesprimaryMystic Lines Section Scoring SystemprimaryHybrid EM/Solid-State Technology IntegrationsecondaryTower Game Mechanics and Design Trade-offssecondaryHardware Exploits and Switch Sensitivity IssuessecondaryBingo Pinball Game Artwork and Cabinet DesignmentionedArchival Documentation Gaps in EM Pinball Historymentioned

Sentiment

neutral(0.5)— Nick Baldridge presents technical information and game mechanics in an educational, enthusiastic manner. His tone is appreciative of the design sophistication but candid about mechanical flaws (animal feature bug). No strong positive or negative sentiment overall—focused on factual explanation.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.041

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 next in our overview of the bally bingos in chronological order we have apollo ball apollo ball was a six card bingo but unfortunately there are no pictures or information about this game on either IPDB or bingo.cdyn.com. Not sure if it ever went into production or if it was just a test game and they decided not to make it. There's no information about it whatsoever other than the name and that it was a six card. It was also produced in 1969, but that's it. So, with that out of the way, let's move on to Safari. Safari was also made in 1969, and it is a 20-hole bingo pinball machine. And as such, it's a multi-coin pinball machine. You drop in your first coin, and the game will reset. It'll load a ball into the shooter lane, and it'll light your default odds. At this point, you have a decision. Do you want to drop in more coins to try and advance your odds and features, or do you want to play a vanilla game? If you decide to put in more coins, you use the pick-a-play buttons. The red button gives you a chance at advancing odds and features. The green button is features only, and the blue button is odds only. And speaking of odds, they go from 4 for 3 in a section, 16 for 4 in a section, and 75 for all 5 in one section, all the way up to 192 for 3 in a section, 480 for 4 in a section, and 600 for 5 in a section. Now I'm saying section instead of in a line, and the reason is, when Bally moved over to the Mystic Lines games, they did away with in-line scoring. Instead, they replace it with section scoring. Now, the advantage of section scoring on a Magic Screen game is that you can get 3, 4, or 5 in the section without the balls being adjacent and still win. Well, the section scoring on a Mystic Line game works exactly the same way, except that there is one number that's marked with a star. This number is called the star zone, and it counts for absolutely nothing unless it's the 5th ball that you make in that particular section. Now, Bally tried to help the player mitigate this problem by allowing you to move all the numbers on the back glass. This is the Mystic Lines feature, and it will light first your A column, and when you press the A button on the foot rail, it will move the center column up or down. Next it lights B, and that will allow you to move that center column, but it will also allow you to swap the leftmost two columns. And then it lights C. And you can do both A and B, and also C, which allows you to swap the rightmost two columns In this way you can move every number on the back glass And if you get one of those undesirable star zones you can move it into another area But the problem with this is that you can move it into a color that you don want to play for So, for example, if you have the number 15 and 16 lit in the blue, and you push the B button, it will put 15 into the yellow. And so you lose one in the blue, but then you get one in the blue in 16, which moves over into just the regular blue area. And so, really, you gain nothing by doing that in that particular example. So you have to be very careful and plan out exactly what you're going to do before shooting each ball, because it's very easy to wind up in a situation that you don't want to be before the game locks you out of moving those numbers. And speaking of, it will do that before shooting your fourth ball by default. However, by playing your features button or your red button, the game will give you a chance at earning before fifth or even after fifth. You can also do this by hitting the rollover buttons. The rollover buttons are located about two-thirds of the way down the playfield. And on the left-hand side, there's a yellow rollover, and if you hit it while it's lit, it will automatically advance your time tree to before fifth. And its twin on the right is red, and if you hit that while it's lit, it'll advance to after fifth. Now those star zones I mentioned earlier are good for something. There's a feature that when lit, and you get all four of the star zones in one game, it will award you either 300 or 600 replays, which is pretty good. You can also use the star zones for starting your red letter game. Safari has six letters, and every tick of the odds above 96 will advance a letter in the word Safari. In order to score your red letter game, you have to get three in the star zones, or just two in the star zones. When you do this, you hold down the R button, and at that point all the balls will drop, and the game will start ticking up a new game that was free with guaranteed odds and features. Now, if that's not enough, the game can double or triple any one color. So that gives you something to really shoot for. beyond that, the game brings back the twin numbers from London. If you have the feature lit and you get the number 17, it will automatically spot you the number 18. If you have the feature lit and you get number 11, it'll automatically spot 19. And if you advance that to its maximum, you can do both. And vice versa. So if you get 18, it'll spot 17, and 19 will spot 11. This game also has a special game as many of the Mystic Lines games do These special games were typically solid and they used solid electronics in the mid-to-late 1960s, mind you, in order to allow you to play these games with entirely separate feature sets from the main game. This could have been done in EM, however, they ran out of space. There was just no space in the cab to do it anymore. And so they started experimenting with this and putting boards in the cabinet. It's a pretty cool idea. So you've got this hybrid game where most of it's electromechanical and then there's a single board that controls this special game. And the way it works in this game it's called the animal feature. And you coin it up with the white button. So as you put in coins, it's going to advance your odds from 2 for the lion all the way up to 72. The rhino gives you from 6 replays to 216, and the giraffe gives you anywhere from 12 to 432. Now the way the game works is this. The game will start you in the center. And your goal is to hit numbers on the playfield, which will advance you any number of steps, as indicated on the playfield, either up or down. Your goal is to get either all the way up or all the way down. At the bottom you have giraffes, and at the top you have giraffes. In between, you have rhinos, and then towards the bottom you have lions on either side. So in this way, you're shooting for specific numbers in order to make you move up or down. And it's a little more difficult and nuanced than it was with, say, London or Venice or Orient before it that had these tower games. On top of that, it's a fun animal theme, and who doesn't like animals? Except maybe if you're going out to shoot them, since this is a safari after all. But if you manage to get all the way to the top or bottom, then you win the odds as indicated for the giraffe. You have to be in the circles exactly. So, let's take the lions for example. You have to move up three steps in order to get to your first lion, and then another three steps to get to your second. Another three steps gets you to your rhino, and then two more steps gets you to a giraffe. If you're going down, it takes you six steps to get to the lion. The seventh step gets you to another lion. Your tenth step gets you to a rhino. And then your twelfth step gets you to a giraffe. So again you have to pay careful attention and the game will actually automatically collect your winner after you shoot your fifth ball and land If you don get it you don get it and your bet is wasted And I've talked with people who have owned and worked on these games, and they said the big weakness of that animal feature is that you pretty much don't score in the Mystic Lines game if you're shooting for the animal feature because it tasks you with shooting numbers which are not helpful in the mystic lines. So in that way, you kind of have to pick what you're going to coin up. I've also heard that that animal feature is incredibly fun. They say it's one of the best tower games, but I've heard there's a critical weakness. If you bump the table just right, it will start moving up, and it won't stop. With each bump, it'll continue to move up, eventually maxing out at the giraffe. Apparently, one of the switches from the factory is too sensitive, and just the merest hint that it might be closing causes that animal feature to move up. So in this way, a clever player could exploit the game and earn way too many replays. So that's pretty interesting, and I wonder if Bally ever discovered that and came out with a fix. I believe that the person I was talking to said that there was a way to mitigate it, but I don't remember what he told me, unfortunately. I'll have to see if I can get in contact with him and figure it out. So let's talk about the artwork on this game. The back glass is basically a leopard print. And the mystic lines are outlined with this red square that contains a rhino, a panther, a lion, and an elephant. The cabinet contains more leopard print or cheetah print, not sure which. And then the playfield is very colorful. You have a chimpanzee, a lion, some parrots, and two giraffes up at the ball arch. and in between all the numbers moving down the playfield have a background of that leopard or cheetah skin very attractive and colorful and very busy and detailed well that's all for tonight thank you very much for joining me my name again is Nick Baldrige you can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast.gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's 724-BINGOS1 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 4amusementonly.libsyn.com Thank you very much for listening, and I'll talk to you next time.