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Episode 405 - Come Play the Multi-Bingo, Bingo Row Giveaways, and 1934 Bally Skyscraper

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·23m 30s·analyzed·Sep 21, 2017
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Multi-Bingo playtesting complete; York Show bingo row event announced with custom prizes.

Summary

Nick Baldridge discusses extensive playtesting and bug fixes for the Multi-Bingo homebrew machine ahead of the York Show, detailing dozens of small code and gameplay tweaks across 100+ games tested so far. He promotes the upcoming York Show event featuring the Multi-Bingo, bingo row games, and Total Nuclear Annihilation, with custom key fob prizes designed by Ryan Claytor for players who achieve four or five in a row wins. The episode concludes with a detailed historical retrospective on the 1934 Bally Skyscraper, highlighting its early illuminated playfield design and beautiful skyscraper-themed artwork.

Key Claims

  • Nick Baldridge has tested approximately 100 games out of 138 total games in the Multi-Bingo

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, directly stated in episode: 'after testing about 100 games so far out of 138'

  • The Multi-Bingo has six 16-port switchboards with room for expansion to add additional drawer buttons

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, technical implementation detail: 'I ended up wiring an additional switchboard. So that makes six 16-port switchboards within the multi'

  • The Multi-Bingo lifter code has been reworked to eliminate false extra ball awards

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing recent fixes: 'reworking the lifter code...making sure that you don't get an extra ball accidentally'

  • Phil Bogoma, a Parade pinball owner, confirmed that Parade has a spotted number feature similar to Nightclub and Broadway

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge: 'I confirmed with a parade owner, Phil Bogoma, that it does in fact do that'

  • Scott Denise's Total Nuclear Annihilation will be present at the York Show but Scott Denise himself will not attend

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge: 'Total Nuclear Annihilation by Scott Denise is going to be there Scott himself won't be there but his game will be'

  • The bingo row prize artwork was designed by Ryan Claytor and features the Multi-Bingo name and various bingo card renditions

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge: 'The artwork on these was designed by Ryan Claytor...the artwork features the name Multibingo as well as several beautiful renditions of various types of bingo cards'

  • The 1934 Bally Skyscraper was one of the first games to feature an illuminated playfield with insert lights

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge: 'The big deal with this game is it's one of the first games to feature an illuminated playfield'

  • Bally's hold feature (used on games like Palm Springs, Ice Frolics, and Surf Club) allowed players to retain specific balls through button selection

Notable Quotes

  • “I'm not going to say that the games are perfect because that would be foolharish and something will break horribly, I'm sure, if I were to say that. But I will say that these are kind of battle-tested within the cabinet, each of the games.”

    Nick Baldridge @ ~06:30 — Reflects pragmatic approach to bug testing and quality assurance for Multi-Bingo ahead of public debut

  • “I've been staring at this stuff for almost two years now, and my excitement hasn't diminished, which is probably a good sign.”

    Nick Baldridge @ ~09:00 — Demonstrates sustained passion for Multi-Bingo project despite extended development timeline

  • “Come and play the multi-bingo and any of the games in the bingo row. Show me your four or five in a row win and win a prize.”

    Nick Baldridge @ ~12:00 — Primary call-to-action for York Show attendance with contest mechanics

  • “The skyscraper itself is a piece of cast metal, and it is beautiful. Each of the windows has the point value within it, and it illuminates in a different color. So the effect of the entire playfield illuminated is gorgeous.”

    Nick Baldridge @ ~28:30 — Detailed appreciation for 1934 Bally Skyscraper's artistic design and mechanical innovation

  • “That is super powerful and a really great feature. I was really impressed with how wonderful that was. I've never gotten it in the physical cabinet, even in all my testing.”

    Nick Baldridge @ ~07:30 — Recognition of United's ball return feature as superior design compared to Bally's hold feature, despite low probability

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonMulti-BingoproductYork ShoweventPhil BogomapersonRyan ClaytorpersonScott DenisepersonTotal Nuclear AnnihilationproductBally SkyscraperproductFor Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcastorganization

Signals

  • ?

    product_concern: Nick Baldridge has identified and resolved a dozen or so bugs and minor issues in Multi-Bingo during recent playtesting, including lifter code fixes, graphical panel lighting issues, spotted number implementation on Parade, and Light-a-Name ball return sensing problems

    high · Direct statement: 'I have found and documented and resolved a dozen or so small inconveniences and bugs since the last episode...most of the bugs are really minor stuff like uh the white button doesn't light the appropriate panel'

  • ?

    product_launch: Multi-Bingo will have its public debut at York Show with playable exhibition; Phil Bogoma and other collectors will provide feedback after extensive development period

    high · Nick Baldridge: 'Come out to the York Show if you can...the biggest thing is the bingo row...Come and play the multi-bingo' and 'Phil Bogoma is coming, and he hasn't seen the game since before'

  • ?

    event_signal: York Show expanded to larger venue at Fairgrounds with indoor flea market, featuring Multi-Bingo, Total Nuclear Annihilation, and bingo row from multiple collectors

    high · Nick Baldridge: 'They rented a much larger building this year than they have previously there's going to be an indoor flea market...Total Nuclear Annihilation by Scott Denise is going to be there'

  • ?

    collector_signal: York Show bingo row contest offering custom Multi-Bingo key fob prizes (designed by Ryan Claytor) for players achieving four or five in a row wins; targeted at attracting bingo collectors traveling significant distances

    high · Nick Baldridge: 'Show me your four or five in a row win and win a prize...These are custom Multibingo key fobs...designed by Ryan Claytor'

  • ?

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.070

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 things are uh pretty crazy over here getting ready for the york show um i've been out of town for work uh got back and I've been playtesting every single game in the multi-bingo just making sure, ironing out any last minute bugs or issues with features or scoring or anything that may occur inside that physical cabinet and I have found and documented and resolved a dozen or so small inconveniences and bugs since the last episode I'm not sure if in the last episode I had talked about reworking the lifter code but that's been done on every game and so that's one of the things that I'm testing very carefully making sure that you don't get an extra ball accidentally I think I did talk about that so that's been resolved and after testing about 100 games so far out of 138 I will say that that's probably fixed um most of the bugs are really minor stuff like uh the white button doesn't light the appropriate panel on the back glass when you press it on games with a special game like orient or super seven bonus seven uh safari uh those kind of 20 hole games so uh just small graphical tweaks like that. I had an issue with Parade not lighting the spotted number appropriately. It has a spotted number feature just like Nightclub or Broadway, where between the letters A, B, C, and D, there's an extra step on the Magic Squares feature unit, and when it hits that, it lights either the number two or the number 18. This isn't represented anywhere on the back glass, but I confirmed with a parade owner, Phil Bogoma, that it does in fact do that. So I went in and made sure that was implemented, but it wasn't lighting appropriately, so I went in and tweaked that. Another little tweak, light a name. Here's something I couldn't test outside of the game very easily. The way that Light a Name works on the early United games that included that feature, there are essentially three drop holes. There's two on either side, and then there's the center ball return. And depending on which one it goes down, it will light one third of the name. Each of the names from those early games have six letters, games like Havana or Mexico. The first light a name game is Rio,
3:15
which only has three letters, which I think makes sense, but I guess it was harder to find three-letter names that would work, especially within that travel series that they were making at the time. So, of course, the playfield that I'm using is a standard ballet 25-hole playfield with rollovers, so I'm substituting rollovers for the drop holes that are used on those early light of name games. This of course changes the gameplay somewhat, but since I'm using the larger diameter balls, one and an eighth, the gameplay has already changed and compromised. If I ever find one of those United play fields spare rotting away somewhere, I will certainly clean it up and put it to use in the game, but until that time, I think my implementation is pretty good. You get a good feel for it. Anyway, the problem occurred with the ball return. So the way that I sense that is with the farthest trough switch, what's known as trough eight. And the problem is when you start a new game, what happens? All the balls fall down from the playfield onto the ball return board and roll into the trough, smacking that trough eighth switch all the way across. So I wasn't adding a guard to make sure that, you know, the game was in the startup phase. I went through and added that to all those early Light and Aim games. The later Light and Aim games work through the rollovers specifically, or exclusively, I should say. So there's really no conflict there. It's only those early ones, Havana, Mexico, and Rio. And I think there's a couple other, maybe Nevada. Speaking of Nevada, this wasn't a bug, but it was very cool. I've never gotten the ball return feature on any of the United games that included that feature.

high confidence · Nick Baldridge historical explanation: 'The hold feature was used by Bally on games like Palm Springs, Ice Frolics, and Surf Club, and the way that it worked, the player had an array of three different buttons'

Dennis Todellperson
Ballycompany
Unitedcompany
Paradeproduct
Nightclubproduct
Broadwayproduct
Light-a-Nameproduct
Ballerinaproduct
Mystic Gateproduct
Hawaiiproduct
Double Upproduct
Palm Springsproduct
Ice Frolicsproduct
Surf Clubproduct
Magic Screen Gamesproduct

design_innovation: Multi-Bingo implements creative mechanical adaptations for games with unique playfield features, substituting rollover targets for drop holes on Light-a-Name games to accommodate standard 25-hole playfield within larger ball diameter constraint

high · Nick Baldridge detailed explanation: 'I'm substituting rollovers for the drop holes that are used on those early light of name games...since I'm using the larger diameter balls, one and an eighth, the gameplay has already changed and compromised'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Nick Baldridge demonstrates deep appreciation for United's ball return feature as superior design to Bally's hold feature, noting mechanical elegance and gameplay power despite low probability of achieving it

    high · Nick Baldridge: 'United had their own version of this feature...I actually like it a lot...That is super powerful and a really great feature. I was really impressed'

  • ?

    historical_signal: 1934 Bally Skyscraper identified as one of the first pinball games to feature illuminated playfield inserts with cast metal skyscraper centerpiece and color-coded window lighting, pioneering aesthetic innovation in game design

    high · Nick Baldridge: 'The big deal with this game is it's one of the first games to feature an illuminated playfield...Each of the windows has the point value within it, and it illuminates in a different color'

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: Multi-Bingo now features six 16-port switchboards with remaining expansion capacity for additional custom button implementations currently planned

    high · Nick Baldridge technical update: 'I ended up wiring an additional switchboard. So that makes six 16-port switchboards within the multi. I have a little room for expansion'

  • ?

    content_signal: Nick Baldridge plans to conduct and record first interviews since January at York Show for podcast content, contingent on equipment availability and energy levels after intensive pre-show work

    medium · Nick Baldridge: 'I'm hoping to record some of my first interviews since January...I'll try to have my equipment with me...that's if I'm not absolutely exhausted'

  • ?

    community_signal: York Show bingo row features games from multiple collectors with long-distance travel attendance; community expected to provide direct feedback on Multi-Bingo implementation and gameplay mechanics

    high · Nick Baldridge: 'there's going to be a lot of bingo collectors there, some of which are traveling a very long distance to be there. So I'm really excited to see those folks and get their feedback'

    • 5:24
    This was United's answer to Bally's hold feature. The hold feature was used by Bally on games like Palm Springs, Ice Frolics, and Surf Club, and the way that it worked, the player had an array of three different buttons. You could either keep or hold, retain, all of the balls that you've already played, or you could return only the odd balls back into play or only the even balls That is crazy I mean it is so incredible And the way that they did it is just, it's amazing. Anyway, United had their own version of this feature, and it is quite different, and I actually like it a lot. The way that it works is that when you have the feature lit, if you don't score at all, so you don't win any replays, three, four, five in a line at all, no supercard wins, no corners wins, nothing, then you can press a button. In the case of the multi, you just push the R button, and it'll open the shutter and drop all the balls and return them back into play with no penalty. So you retain all the features that you've already built up, the odds, everything, and you can just play the entire game again. That is super powerful and a really great feature. I was really impressed with how wonderful that was. I've never gotten it in the physical cabinet, even in all my testing. That's one of those features which is heavily, heavily portioned. It doesn't carry over from game to game, so you have to keep pumping money in in order to light it. But you can end up pumping in like a hundred bucks and not quite that much. But I've certainly pumped in over $10 before and it hasn't lit.
    7:23
    So it's one of those things where the portioning gets tighter as it goes up towards the feature. your only hope is really for the game to land on the specific rivets combination that will allow it to shoot to the top and that's exactly what happened on my game of Nevada loved it, it was wonderful of course when I replayed the balls I didn't get a winner either I managed to get four in the column with the center number missing as is always the case and off to the side so I got nothing after that as well.
    8:03
    But it's been really gratifying to go through each of these games, make the tiny adjustments. I'm not going to say that the games are perfect because that would be foolhardy and something will break horribly, I'm sure, if I were to say that. But I will say that these are kind of battle-tested within the cabinet, each of the games. And that includes games which I may or may not have a playfield for at York. I'm not certain if I'm going to bring alternate playfields yet. I'm going to be very tight on space as well as time and lifting abilities. So I want to make sure that I get, of course, the game there. That's the primary concern. And then if I can bring any extras, I'll try to do that. so I have a list here of about 30 games left I'm in the S's, I've just been going alphabetically all the lifter code has been working perfectly the changes that I made to the lifter code made it so that I don't have to have a constantly monitored repeating method, instead it lifts exactly like the EM's do minus the run out switch on the lifter motor itself, I ended up wiring an additional switchboard. So that makes six 16-port switchboards within the multi. I have a little room for expansion, and with that expansion, I'm going to add additional drawer buttons. There's a couple other unique weirdo buttons that only a couple games use, so I'll go ahead and get those built in. Um, I'm thinking of adding the one to seven, seven to one buttons from ballerina. Uh, one of the buttons will be the gate button, which is only used on mystic gate. And, uh, one of the other buttons is the selector button, which is used only in, uh, Hawaii and double up. Uh, it's been great, you know, just kind of like say going through alphabetically and just seeing the evolution, seeing all the different gameplay changes in a row there. Of course, I've been staring at this stuff for almost two years now, and my excitement hasn't diminished, which is probably a good sign. So, all that to say, this is a huge advertisement, and I want you all that are listening to come out to the York Show if you can. it's in York, Pennsylvania at the Fairgrounds they rented a much larger building this year than they have previously there's going to be an indoor flea market Total Nuclear Annihilation by Scott Denise is going to be there Scott himself won't be there but his game will be I'm excited to give that a shot of course I've been following that for a very long time as well and that story is incredibly impressive and congrats to Scott.
    11:14
    But, of course, the biggest thing is the bingo row. The bingo row this year is going to be primarily games from other collectors and the multi-bingo. Come and play the multi-bingo and any of the games in the bingo row. Show me your four or five in a row win and win a prize. and the time has come to reveal that prize These are custom Multibingo key fobs The artwork on these was designed by Ryan Claytor. You'll notice the same artwork is repeated on the score and instruction card screens, as well as the background for the Multibingo when it first starts. and the artwork features the name Multibingo as well as several beautiful renditions of various types of bingo cards Mystic Lions and more if you can identify them all let me know and I'll give you a hearty handshake but seriously come out, try the game, chat with me for a minute say hello I look forward to seeing everybody there there's a few folks who've been coming for the past couple years and saying hi, thank you very much for taking the time to do that I really appreciate everybody who comes down and helps make the bingo row a success I'm really looking forward to hearing anybody's feedback on the multi-bingo if you have it if you think it sucks you can let me know but I hope that you don't think that so if you have any questions on the implementation i know that the past year and a half plus of podcasts have been probably insufferable because of all of the computer and implementation talk but i will say it's going to be interesting for me at least to go back and listen to these in sequence and kind of hear the evolution, uh, some of the struggles, uh, that I was able to overcome in order to get the game to this point. Uh, it is something that I'm very proud of. Um, so as such, if you're going to tell me that it sucks, just be nice about it if you could. but at any rate come and see me at the Orc Show come say hello come play some bingos there's always plenty of wonderful playing wood rails and EMs give those a shot go play Total Nuclear Annihilation and have a great time it's a wonderful show super laid back and always a lot of fun. I look forward to it all year long and I know you'll have fun if you make it down. I'm hoping to record some of my first interviews since January, I guess, and have those posted at some point after the show. We'll see how things go.
    14:35
    I'll try to have my equipment with me and make it so that I can get some quality recordings. that's if I'm not absolutely exhausted as you have probably gathered for some time I've been burning the candle at every end, which is possible so, I don't know starting to feel kind of tired but I am excited to talk with some folks there's going to be a lot of bingo collectors there, some of which are traveling a very long distance to be there. So I'm really excited to see those folks and get their feedback. In fact, Phil Bogoma is coming, and he hasn't seen the game since before.
    15:29
    Actually, since I had just gotten Magic Screen Games working relatively soon after the last York show. So a lot's happened in a year And we'll see what he has to say Hopefully only good things But really, if he knows a problem I'm not going to be offended I would prefer to know about it Than have to find it later on myself If you encounter one But I am doing my best to make sure that no problems occur We'll see how that goes so that brings us to the year of flipper list today's game is 1934's bally skyscraper this game is beautiful that's really the only word that can describe it uh i'll attempt to do justice to both the gameplay which is surprisingly complex for this era but also the artwork, which I think is amazing.
    16:39
    So the big deal with this game is it's one of the first games to feature an illuminated playfield. There are multiple insert lights which light up depending on where the balls land. being a game from the 1930s the typical array of pins and holes are located on the playfield but in this case the holes are not trap holes they're drop holes and each ball falls through and will light from one to three floors of the skyscraper your goal is to light the entire skyscraper or as much as possible including the beacon light which is on top of the skyscraper. Your score is doubled if you light the beacon light on the skyscraper And depending on the score that you achieve you can win multiple replays up to 15 free games
    17:48
    That can be doubled depending on the dial, which is located at the bottom center of the game. so there is a dial which is called the starting score and the idea is that you add that starting score to the score that you achieve within the game. The game is able to keep track and totalize that and it understands the score doubling and will award you replays accordingly. Uh, the other interesting thing is that there are two different colors of numbers, which are different from the standard black on that, uh, starting score. There's a red number, which will double, uh, your winnings, should you have any. And there's a green number, which will triple your winnings. Um, so let's talk about those lights that I mentioned. They are the windows of the skyscraper, and you're trying to light the entire skyscraper from floor to ceiling.
    19:01
    The skyscraper itself is a piece of cast metal, and it is beautiful. Each of the windows has the point value within it, and it illuminates in a different color. So the effect of the entire playfield illuminated is gorgeous. There are a few photos on the IPDB of this feat being completed, including ones from Dennis Todell.
    19:33
    That skyscraper is front and center, and the background playfield artwork is other buildings within the city. Of course, they take a second seat or a back seat to the skyscraper, which is right in the middle.
    19:49
    There's a night sky up above the buildings, so the illumination has the intended effect artistically. And the array of holes is smartly placed so that you can see them all. Each one is labeled with anywhere from one to three numbers. And as I mentioned, those will illuminate the appropriate windows should you land in those. But at the bottom of the skyscraper is some of the most interesting stuff. You have the game's title, Skyscraper, and below that is the dial with the starting score. up above the game's title, but below the bottom floor of the skyscraper, you have the balls that have been scored or played.
    20:37
    And then to the left and right of that, you have the score and instruction cards. Just beautiful. They are shaped like doors or small windows.
    20:52
    Very cool. It's reminiscent of perhaps an elevator. or an elevator dial in the center. Just a beautiful piece of art, and it looks like a lot of fun to play. I'm curious to know how easy it is to achieve lighting all the floors. I have to assume that it is not incredibly easy.
    21:19
    The IPDB mentions that you can do it in only four balls, although I have to wonder how frequently that occurs.
    21:28
    Down at the very bottom of the play field, you have the typical out hole for any ball that doesn't land in the scoring pocket before then. Those balls are essentially dead. But up and to the left and right of the out hole and to the left and right of the floor level of the skyscraper, you have a free play pocket. balls that land in those pockets will be returned to play and do not land in the bottom of the skyscraper the cabinet is wooden however it is painted and it's got this beautiful kind of hook and eye motif it looks like it is moving at speed that's probably the best I can describe that. The hook and the speed lines are white, and the eye part is red.
    22:33
    Just beautiful. I hope to be able to play one of these one day. They are hard to find. This was not the first illuminated game, but it was one of the first, and certainly ushered in more lighted games after that.
    22:52
    Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me and for joining me at York. 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-BINGOS1. 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Cast, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at Bingo Podcast. or you can follow me on Instagram also at bingopodcast and 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.