claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031
Deep dive into Centaur (1981 Bally) design, features, and collector insights.
Centaur was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Paul Faris
high confidence · George and Dave clarify early in the episode; they correct themselves about the designer and confirm Paul Faris as the artist
Paul Faris appeared on the backglass of Centaur as a motorcycle, along with his wife
high confidence · Dave states: 'That's him and his wife on the back glass. That's him as a motorcycle on the way there.'
Centaur featured five-ball multiball, which was innovative for its time
high confidence · George: 'Five ball. That was unheard of back in the day.' Dave mentions Ball's a Puppet (25 years earlier) as the first multiball but with manual launching
Bally was the only manufacturer in the early 1980s to use a dual-CPU architecture with a high-end Squawk and Talk soundboard alongside the main MPU
high confidence · Dave explains: 'They used a Squawk and Talk board on those '81 Ballys, and the Squawk and Talk board was almost as powerful as the MPU board in capabilities and memory... Bally was the only one that used that high-end CPU soundboard.'
Centaur's soundboard had over 30 unused spoken phrases that weren't utilized in the game
medium confidence · George: 'This was one of the games that everybody focuses on. They had over 30 words that were spoken in this game that they didn't use'
The auto-attract mode (all five balls on playfield when idle for 15 minutes) caused excessive playfield wear, leading many owners to disable it
high confidence · George explains the feature, then states: 'The problem with that is that they found out later on that caused a lot of extra playfield wear. So people would turn that off because the playfield would wear out. That's why a lot of Centaur playfields are worn to crap.'
Centaur has color-coded inserts: red for bonus, amber for orb feature, green for sequence targets, blue for guardian feature
high confidence · George details the color-coding system and explains its intuitive design purpose
“Half man, half motorcycle. They're pitching motorcycle insurance.”
George @ ~13:00 — Humorous commentary on the centaur artwork not resembling a traditional centaur, leading to a joke about recreating the game as 'Motorman'
“You snooze you lose, man. You just lost one great game.”
George @ ~42:30 — Anecdote about beating a friend (Jim) to purchasing the Centaur
“This is the only game I've bought out of the 13 or 14 games that actually worked after we got it home.”
George @ ~41:00 — Reflects on the rarity of acquiring a pinball machine in working condition
“They actually pushed the envelope. It just seems like, and we'll conclude with this, that this was a great game for its time, overlooked for a time.”
George @ ~73:00 — Summarizes Centaur as an underappreciated classic from Bally's architectural pinnacle
“Bally was the only one that used that high-end CPU soundboard. They had two MPUs in the game.”
Dave @ ~62:00 — Explains Bally's unique dual-CPU advantage over Williams, Stern, and Gottlieb
“They were like, it's kind of like the Williams D&D of the '90s, their pinnacle in the '90s.”
George @ ~76:00 — Compares Bally's 1981 class (including Centaur) to Williams' peak era in the 1990s
“It's the poor man's Eight Ball Deluxe.”
George @ ~80:00 — Dismissive commentary on Rapid Fire as a cheaper alternative to the classic Eight Ball Deluxe
“I have a Centaur 2 and I got a Centaur original which one am I going to keep... I have to go with the uniform big back glass of course you do”
George @ ~82:00 — George's tough decision between owning original vs. sequel version, choosing for aesthetic reasons
design_philosophy: Bally was unique in 1981 for using dual-CPU architecture with Squawk and Talk soundboard alongside main MPU, giving significantly more sound memory and phrases than competitors
high · Dave explains Bally's architectural advantage: 'They used a Squawk and Talk board on those '81 Ballys, and the Squawk and Talk board was almost as powerful as the MPU board in capabilities and memory... Bally was the only one that used that high-end CPU soundboard.'
design_innovation: Centaur featured five-ball multiball, a significant innovation for its time; Ball's a Puppet had multiball 25 years earlier but required manual launching
high · George: 'Five ball. That was unheard of back in the day.' Discussion of Ball's a Puppet as prior multiball precedent.
restoration_signal: Centaur auto-attract mode caused excessive playfield wear; many owners disabled the feature; George sent playfield to CPR for professional restoration with new artwork and clear coat
high · George: 'The problem with that is that they found out later on that caused a lot of extra playfield wear... That's why a lot of Centaur playfields are worn to crap.' Also describes CPR restoration and Bill Davis clear coat process.
design_innovation: Centaur used intuitive color-coded insert system: red for bonus, amber for orb, green for sequence, blue for guardian; serves both aesthetic and player education purposes
high · George details: 'the game, it makes the game very intuitive. If you're trying to explain the game to somebody, it's simple.'
collector_signal: Centaur experienced a collector hype cycle: high cachet 5-10 years ago with community seeking machines, but now less discussed at shows; appears overlooked relative to its innovations
groq_whisper · $0.178
George purchased his Centaur for $900 when a friend (Jack) bought it from a divorcing woman who needed cash
high confidence · George recounts the acquisition story: 'He handed her $900, and I loaded the game into the back of my pickup truck as fast as I could and drove away.'
medium · George: 'this game appeared to have a lot of cachet five, ten years ago. Not as much chatter now. I don't remember ever seeing one at a show.'
market_signal: Centaur machines in collector market circa 2010s ranged from $900-$2000+ depending on condition; George acquired his working example for $900
medium · George mentions $900 purchase price and earlier reference to buying for 'a grand or two or even less' in early '90s
historical_signal: Bally pushed its '81 architecture beyond design limits; used solenoid expander boards to exceed available driver transistors on main solenoid board, enabling more features
high · Dave: 'They ran out of solenoid driver transistors. So they actually would use a couple extra lamp driver transistors to drive the solenoids on a special board... they actually pushed the envelope.'
restoration_signal: Flipper rebuild best practice: replace linear bearings with fiber links for better performance; creates faster ball movement but increases glass hits
medium · George mentions advocating for fiber links replacement; notes increased glass hits as indication of flipper strength
product_concern: Auto-attract mode with all five balls on playfield for 15 minutes causes significant playfield wear through constant kicker activity and ball movement
high · George: 'The problem with that is that they found out later on that caused a lot of extra playfield wear. So people would turn that off because the playfield would wear out. That's why a lot of Centaur playfields are worn to crap.'
sentiment_shift: Centaur was initially dismissed or overlooked but has gained retrospective appreciation as collectors recognize its feature density and architectural innovations as pinnacle Bally work
medium · George: 'this was a great game for its time, overlooked for a time. There was a renaissance at one point where everybody was trying to grab one of these games. And then, you know, people moved on.'
design_philosophy: Centaur soundboard was programmed with 30+ unused spoken phrases; designers underutilized the Squawk and Talk board's capabilities; modern enthusiasts can create custom ROMs to leverage unused phrases
medium · George: 'they had over 30 words that were spoken in this game that they didn't use'; Dave: 'The soundboard, which had its own CPU, was overbuilt for what it needed to do... They underutilized what this soundboard could do.'