Wanted Looking for an EM table/project.

[neil1637]

Hi everyone,

Apologies for not posting much on here, but as yet I don't own any pin tables... (sharp intake of breath heard). But... I am looking to remedy this obvious oversight.

I've owned a number of arcade cabs over the years (and still have a few), but have a real soft spot for the old EM pin tables, and at all the events it is always to these that I tend to gravitate.
(I will admit that there are some more modern pins that I would simply love to own, but they are waaaaay out of my price range).

So, I'm on the lookout, ideally I would like a project to get me stuck into the guts of it all, but nothing too severe whilst I learn my way around these beasts. I do love a good restoration project though.

I missed this post last week, which would have been utterly perfect, so I decided to put my interest out for all to see, in case someone else has a table tucked away, that they probably won't get round to and would like it to go to a good home.

Thank you in advance.

Neil (Mr20to5 over on UKVAC)

 

[AlanJ]

plenty of ems about. facebook marketplace has a few. they’ve been up for sale for ages, so make cheeky offers.

 

[neil1637]

plenty of ems about. facebook marketplace has a few. they’ve been up for sale for ages, so make cheeky offers.

Yeah, I have about 15 on my watch list on Ebay. Some daft pricing as always on some. I'm not on the socials, other than having some dormant accounts when needed. Cannot stand them to be honest.

Will continue to keep and eye out though Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[JAG555]

I got one off eBay for £450 last year, with an amazing condition playfield, so you can get them cheap.

Good luck!

 

[Taxiturn]

Hi Neil, I have a Gottlieb Royal Guard (1968) which I’m looking to let go.

It might not be exactly what you are looking for because it is in working order beyond a couple of unimportant niggles which I can tell you about. However, the cabinet needs repainting (a previous owner has painted it beige) and the playfield has some cosmetic planking, so if you’re looking to try a playfield paint restoration then it would be a good candidate for that.

Looking for £600, located in Bristol and have used Martin before. Feel free to message me if you want any further info.

Simon

 

[Trinity20]

When I get organised to take some photos I wll be putting my Paragon up for sale if that's the kind of thing that would interest you. Hopefully later this week.

 

[neil1637]

When I get organised to take some photos I wll be putting my Paragon up for sale if that's the kind of thing that would interest you. Hopefully later this week.

Thanks for thinking of me, but I'm after an earlier table from the EM period.

Unless there is another one and I'm getting mixed up (which is highly likely )?

Will keep an eye out for the photos/sales thread all the same.

 

[BigIan]

I have a Bally kick off and a zaccaria ski jump

Both need work, the kick off is basically working, the ski jump needs the stepper board repaired or replaced (it’s cracked)

Be looking between £300-400 for either.

based in Northern Ireland but can put on a pallet and ship over for less than £150 door to door.

 

[neil1637]

I have a Bally kick off and a zaccaria ski jump

Both need work, the kick off is basically working, the ski jump needs the stepper board repaired or replaced (it’s cracked)

Be looking between £300-400 for either.

based in Northern Ireland but can put on a pallet and ship over for less than £150 door to door.

Hi. The Zacc SJ has certainly piqued my interest.

Off to work but will message you later.

Thank you.

 

[Trinity20]

Thanks for thinking of me, but I'm after an earlier table from the EM period.

Unless there is another one and I'm getting mixed up (which is highly likely )?

Will keep an eye out for the photos/sales thread all the same.

D'oh I can never remember the correct terminology. In my trade (telecoms) EM usually means anything with relays, coils, solenoids etc. I guess here it means pre-microprocessor control, Ignore me

 

[neil1637]

D'oh I can never remember the correct terminology. In my trade (telecoms) EM usually means anything with relays, coils, solenoids etc. I guess here it means pre-microprocessor control, Ignore me

Ha ha. No worries at all. But yes, pre circuit boards.

 

[Jay Walker]

I guess here it means pre-microprocessor control, Ignore me

It does, though there is some overlap during the late 70's. Bally built a few games in both electro-mechanical and solid-state format, finishing in 1977 with their first s/s-only game, Eight Ball. Gottlieb went on for a while longer, only stopping e/m production in 1979, and made games in both formats and e/m only right to the end. And Italian company Zaccaria used crude electronic sound on their final electro-mechanical games.

As with electronic games, though, there are developmental changes to be found in electro-mechanicals. The 50's 'wood-rail' games tend to lack score reels, indicating the score in lit-up panels on the backglass. And the player usually has to crank up each ball in front of the plunger before launching it, a feature which only died out in the mid-60's. Until then a machine usually had three (or five) balls in it, rather than one being repeatedly served out.

An exception to this was 'Add-A-Ball', Gottlieb's idea to get around prize restrictions; instead of a replay, the player could earn what would now be an Extra Ball. Games like this keep track of the number of balls on the backglass (on a replay machine the player can simply look through a slot in the lower arch to see how many have drained). Such games have greater scoring potential, so often have an extra reel, e.g. for Thousands, rather than just a lamp for 1,000, as with Buckaroo (replay) and its Add-A-Ball, Cowpoke.

The late 60's saw the arrival of larger 3" flippers, and the easiest progression of scoring capacity - to go from 4 digits to 5, the minimum score became 10 points, with a static '0' at the r/h end of the reels.

Multi-player games tend to be less favoured; as well as being costlier when new, they don't have the ability to retain achievements from ball to ball like a single player game, even when played alone. Some games which were highly regarded as a single player were more awkward as two or four player variants, when the objectives had to be completed on one ball rather than over the course of the whole game. Like El Dorado; the original single player is thought of as best, rather than the two and four player versions, or the solid-state remake.

 

[neil1637]

It does, though there is some overlap during the late 70's. Bally built a few games in both electro-mechanical and solid-state format, finishing in 1977 with their first s/s-only game, Eight Ball. Gottlieb went on for a while longer, only stopping e/m production in 1979, and made games in both formats and e/m only right to the end.

As with electronic games, though, there are developmental changes to be found in electro-mechanicals. The 50's 'wood-rail' games tend to lack score reels, indicating the score in lit-up panels on the backglass. And the player usually has to crank up each ball in front of the plunger before launching it, a feature which only died out in the mid-60's. Until then a machine usually had three (or five) balls in it, rather than one being repeatedly served out.

An exception to this was 'Add-A-Ball', Gottlieb's idea to get around prize restrictions; instead of a replay, the player could earn what would now be an Extra Ball. Games like this keep track of the number of balls on the backglass (on a replay machine the player can simply look through a slot in the lower arch to see how many have drained). Such games have greater scoring potential, so often have an extra reel, e.g. for Thousands, rather than just a lamp for 1,000, as with Buckaroo (replay) and its Add-A-Ball, Cowpoke.

The late 60's saw the arrival of larger 3" flippers, and the easiest progression of scoring capacity - to go from 4 digits to 5, the minimum score became 10 points, with a static '0' at the r/h end of the reels.

Multi-player games tend to be less favoured; as well as being costlier when new, they don't have the ability to retain achievements from ball to play like a single player game, even when played alone. Some games which were highly regarded as a single player were more awkward as two or four player variants, when the objectives had to be completed on one ball rather than over the course of the whole game. Like El Dorado; the original single player is thought of as best, rather than the two and four player versions, or even the solid-state remake.

The last paragraph is really important I think, with no physical memory, having to reset for the next player, loses that gameplay continuity.

That said, I have played some lovely EM tables that were multi player.