Search the Community

New for 1972, Gremlin's Play Ball!!! 😀 Playball was a wall game from the 70's. My dad and I operated several of these back in the day. The game hangs on a wall, you walk up to the game, put your quarter in on the coinbox mounted to the wall, and take the transmitter back to your table. A low battery, and/or a passing semi with a strong CB radio would affect communication beween the box and the game. Surprisingly, we didn't have any problems with transmitters disappearing. Maybe it's because the transmitter was like a huge brick! (10 inches long by 6 inches wide, and 6 inches tall). This game is played on the backglass as it was a wall hanging game. I'm only using the playfield to make the backglass work. I have a 2 screen setup, if you want to make it work on desktop, or 3 screens, feel free to modify it. The real game had adjustable pitching timing, though I never used it when I operated them back then. I don't know who did the original artwork for the game. I know Lonnie Pogue did the original artwork on Trapshoot, but he told me he never saved the Trapshoot artwork. Both being Gremlin games, he may have done Playball as well. This game is free to update, but there's really no need because the real game was 480p at best. It was a projector game that had small number 44 bulbs behind the screen light and unlight as you played. It would probably look weird at 4k resolution, but go for it if you're so inclined. Replay magazine did a story on my dad in November of 2012. He sold the business to his partner, and is now retired, and in poor health. He has aphasia, dementia, and ALS (he's 86 now).I'll always be grateful for what I have learned from him. I grew up running the family business, but later I finally realized how great it was to be involved in the industry back in it's heyday. Thanks to JP for his help with my coding issues, and Digitalarts for testing and input. Gameplay: * Put a quarter in and start the game. * Press the right magna save (right control) button to reset the game - you will see the type of pitch change on the screen (fastball, change up, slider, etc). * Press the right flipper again to pitch the ball, and the left flipper to swing the bat. *After your hit, foul, or strike, you will have to reset the game via the right magna save (right control). This will start the pitch menu rolling again. Press the right flipper again to pitch and left flipper to swing. Single: 1 point Double: 2 points Triple: 3 points Home Run: 4 points Strike: 1 point to the other player Foul: no points Game settings (as per the original game): Home runs for a free game: 6 (settable from 4-10 as per the real game) Game ends at 30 points (setable from 20-60 as per the real game) The real game doesn't have a Game Over, so I added a textbox to the playfield. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqpblptllY8 https://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-ultimate-so-far-history-of-gremlin.html

Play Ball (Gottlieb 1971) for making DB2S