$75. The guy really wanted to make room for those new-fangled plasma-reel, multi-level, processor games that were coming in.
I had a choice of two games, the Card Whiz and something unremembered. I do remember thinking the asymmetric game would be more of a challenge and since my main strength was flipper oriented – ball trapping, passing, and determining the point down the paddle at which to flip – CW would be more fun.
They cost more than the two-player machines but I assume more money taken in for the space taken up made up for that. I can’t find a cite but single-player machines haven’t been made for a long, long while.
The last one from a major manufacturer that I’m aware of is an early solid state (1980) by Gottlieb called “Asteroid Annie and The Aliens“. I don’t remember anything about the game play, but the art package was really nice at a time when Williams and especially Bally and Stern were turning out some really gross looking back glasses and playfields.
I LOVE the EM machines with multi-ball. That’s when you go crazy trying to keep everything in play, with just the occasional targeted shot.
a6ka97, pretty sure you’re right and it is Magna Save. A quick internet search hasn’t turned up the right machine yet. I played it in 1990 in Phoenix Az if that helps.
Wow. It’s a hybrid card game/hippy trippy machine, the two great designs of @1970. Someone must have designed that years earlier, but it didn’t get the go-ahead until the movie Alien came out, or something. I’d love to know the whole story.
I remember El Dorado from my college days - late '70s. The machine was at a hoagie place just off campus. I loved that game. Just my opinion, but when pinball machines went electronic, they lost something. There’s nothing like number wheels and actual, mechanical bells or sound bars or whatever they were. If I had money to waste, there’d be a Gottlieb in my garage right now.
OK. The property money is in the bank, and now we have two accounts with quite significant amounts in them (one for bills through the end of 2020, one for an emergency, like one of us getting Covid-19, and being hospitalized), in addition to our son’s personal account, our retirement accounts, and our son’s “for the future” account. Plus a small annuity that pays our utilities. Credit cards are all at zero. Cars registrations are paid through 2021, we no longer have property taxes, and 2019 taxes are taken care of. Pets have had 2020 vet checks and shots. Even banked $4000 for a trip to see my brother in December, if it’s possible. Bought the boychik a few new, inexpensive clothes online, because he’s outgrowing everything. We don’t have car payments. We have scads of food in the house. All we need each week is a little fresh fruit, and some dairy once a month.
We are going to weather this just fine. DH has his regular job, and I am bringing in about $350/week between Uber Eats and Amazon.
I am jonesing for a new pinball.
I can get this for $1,700. It’s the first machine with playfield art by a woman. It’s a great game for guests, too. I’ve seen it. It needs a little work for aesthetics, but it is immediately playable.
No.
Gorgar was the first talking pinball machine, but no Magnasave.
The first machine with Magnasave was Black Knight.
There have been many machines with a rising bollard that prevents drains, although this was usually a feature on Gottlieb or Bally machines.
I’m definately thinking of being able to turn on the magnet feature to “save” a ball. I’m a little fuzzy but IIRC you activated it somehow, it was good for one save (maybe is was for the side) and you pressed a button to activate it.
It was different from the rising bollard.
This is driving me nuts but really appreciate the suggestions.
RivKahChaya, feels comforting to have the finances lined up, doesn’t it? Ever since I could afford it when working my first real job, I have always had minimum 2 years liquidity. I don’t have a family backstop, and I never knew if I was going to need to pack up and return to the US to start from scratch.
I had to rely on that mad money 2001 and 2002. But not since then.
Lots of people think I should put the capital to better use, but I sleep a lot easier at night knowing that I have at least 2 years expenses in cash should I need it.
We have a certain amount of capital that is easy to liquidate. We have some tied up in penalty-for-early-withdrawal type accounts, which are for our son, but we have about enough for a very lean year in a USAA mutual fund that has outperformed the S&P 500 for the last 11 years, that can be liquidated without penalty. It gains more slowly than some other kind of account-- but way, way faster than a savings account.
The money for the property would have been split into mutual funds and higher risk, higher return, plus just a little bit more for the boychik, probably in 10-year CDs, if it weren’t for the current situation. Instead, 20% went to the easy-to-liquidate fund, and the rest to savings.
Right now, we want to know that if someone is hospitalized, we can pay for anything. We have really good insurance, that doesn’t require pre-approval for most things, but still, if we ever did get something rejected, we’d be able to afford it, most likely. And we could afford a few “extras,” like a private room. Not the super-fancy room, with the private nurse, but the no-roommate room.
My brother is always telling me we should take more risks, but he doesn’t have a child.
Lockdown seems like a great time to buy new toys. I am SO happy I got myself a shiny new laptop in February. I’ve since bought some video games that play on it.
It sounds like you can afford it. I’m not going to talk you down. But you know your own financial position, and whether it’s unwise.
Awesome list. Thanks! I checked videos of all the magna save machines.
Confirmed that it was “magna save.” Here is a video of Solar Fire that shows the magna save at 3:28.
I tried searching on magna save and williams but not turning up other candidates. I’m pretty sure if it was “magna save” then it had to be a williams machine.
The machine I played was in 1990 at grad school in the student lounge. Solar Fire sure looks like a fun one, and it might have been what I’m thinking of but I don’t think so.
BTW, share a fun story. I had big group dinner 15 months ago at CES in Las Vegas. The host used to be the head of SHARP US (you know, the TV brand) and had become the head of WMS Industries. WMS makes tons of fancy slot machines and the lottery ticket machines. During the conversation he mentioned WMS as “Williams” and then later somehow “Bally” came up. Light bulb moment. So I barged in on the conversation and asked “Williams and Bally as in the pinball machine maker?” Yup, except WMS had exited that business decades ago.
