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| Manufacturer | Williams |
|---|---|
| Release date | November 1989 |
| System | Williams System 11B |
| Design | Barry Oursler |
| Programming | Ed Suchocki |
| Artwork | Python Anghelo |
| Music | Dan Forden |
| Sound | Dan Forden |
| Production run | 2,500 (approx.) |
Bad Cats is a pinball machine released in November 1989 by Williams. It was designed by Barry Oursler and Python Anghelo.
The game is themed around the life of a cat and the things they tend to do that annoy people. The object of the game is to spell out "BAD CATS" and accumulate the progressive jackpot that begins at 1 million points, among other things.
Unusual for its era, the table Bad Cats doesn't have a multi-ball.
The ball is shot into the upper rollovers. One is selected at random, and will be flashing. If the ball goes through the flashing lane, the game will award the player BONUS 2X + 120,000 points + lighting the barbecue light. The lane-change feature doesn't change the roll-over that is flashing.
The barbecue, when lit, causes the point value of the jet bumpers to go up from 500 points each to 5,000 points each, accompanied by cat meows and the occasional dog bark for each hit. If the player does not light the barbecue via the Skill Shot, they can light it by completing a drop-target bank.
The left inlane, when lit, lights the Doghouse scoop. The right inlane, when lit, lights the 10X Fish Bone-Us. One lane is always lit; when collected, the light moves to the other lane. The lit lane can also be moved by the slingshots, the left/right rubber-switches, and sometimes the jet bumpers.
The S-E-A-F-O-O-D feature is collected from a lit Doghouse. The Doghouse is lit by passing through a lit left inlane, or by shooting the unlit Doghouse. It is lit for 20 seconds. Shooting a lit Doghouse spins the S-E-A-F-O-O-D wheel, which will award one of the following prizes, numbered 1-8:
The wheel is also spun if the player manages to collect "Curiosity Spin;" this is done when the ball drains over an outlane when it is lit.
The "Curiosity Spin" lamps are lit at both outlanes (simultaneously) on the last ball. If the ball drains via one of the outlanes, the player gets a Curiosity Spin, which spins the S-E-A-F-O-O-D wheel. If the player wins an extra ball on the Curiosity Spin, however, the lamps are not lit on the extra ball.
The trash can is linked to the linear "fish" target. If the fish target is not hit, the trash can is deemed "empty," and awards 10,000 points when it is hit. Hitting the Fish target will light the fish for 25K, 50K, 75K, 100K or 500K. These are timed, and will slowly turn off, one at a time, until only the 25K lamp remains.
The Tiger Ramp is the large ramp on the far left side of the table. Shooting the ball up the ramp awards 50K, 100K, 200K, and then 1 million points for every ramp shot. Consecutive shots have to be made to score these values (although the ramp is not timed, for unknown reasons); hitting a birdie target or other target resets the values.
On the last ball only, making enough consecutive shots without missing also awards 20 million points (which can only be won once; afterwards, it resets to 1 million points for every ramp shot).
The fishbowl ramp is the middle ramp. When lit, it awards 30K, 50K, 100K, and an extra ball; shots must be made consecutively to score all values, including the extra ball. The extra ball can only be collected once from the fishbowl ramp, and completing drop targets can light the extra ball.
On the last ball only, making a fifth consecutive shot after scoring 1 million points awards a special bonus of 20 million points. This bonus can only be collected once, however; once done, the game reverts to unlimited 1 million awards for consecutive ramp shots.
The jackpot is a progressive jackpot that begins at 1 million points and increases until it is won. Although the backglass displays the progressive jackpot at up to 8 million points, the game's maximum jackpot is usually 20 million depending on factory settings.
To activate the jackpot, shoot the drop target to spell out B-A-D-C-A-T-S, or BAD CATS. Once the whole title has been lit, shoot the middle ramp to claim the jackpot.
Complete the rollovers at the top of the table to spell "TOY" and advance the bonus multiplier up to 7X. The bonus itself, however, never goes above 999,000 points.
Anghelo said that he hated working on this game. "Bad Cats was a joke. Bad Cats, and Bugs Bunny Birthday Ball , are one of my 'yes boy, kiss-ass'... and they're one of my worst experiences." [1]
A glossary of terms, commonly used in discussing pinball machines.
The Addams Family is a pinball machine released in March 1992. It was designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar and released by Midway. It was based on the 1991 film of the same name, and features custom speech by the stars of the film, Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia. It is the best-selling solid state pinball machine of all time with 20,270 units sold.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is a widebody pinball game, designed by Steve Ritchie and released in November 1993 by Williams Electronics. It was part of WMS' SuperPin series, and was based on the TV series. It is the only pinball machine that features three separate highscore-lists. Apart from the regular highscore-list and the buy-in-list, it also features a reminiscence to The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot billionaires club. It is also the third pinball game overall based on the Star Trek franchise, following the 1979 pinball game by Bally, and the 1991 game by Data East, and preceding the 2013 pinball game by Stern.
Twilight Zone is a widebody pinball machine, designed by Pat Lawlor and based on the TV series of the same name. It was first released in 1993 by Midway. This game is part of WMS' SuperPin line of widebody games alongside Star Trek: The Next Generation and Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure.
High Speed is a pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics in 1986. It is based on Ritchie's real-life police chase inside a 1979 Porsche 928. He was finally caught in Lodi, California on Interstate 5 and accused of speeding at 146 miles per hour (235 km/h).
The Getaway: High Speed II is a 1992 pinball game by Steve Ritchie. It is a sequel to 1986's High Speed.
Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure is a 1993 widebody pinball game designed by Mark Ritchie and released by Williams. It was based on the Indiana Jones movies. It was also part of WMS' SuperPin series of widebody games.
Demolition Man is a Williams pinball machine released in February 1994. It is based on the motion picture of the same name. It is part of WMS' SuperPin line of widebody games.
Fish Tales is a fishing-themed pinball game released by Williams in 1992. It is one of the top 20 most produced pinball machines of all time, selling more than 13,000 units.
Doctor Who is a pinball machine designed by Bill Pfutzenreuter (Pfutz) and Barry Oursler, and released by Midway in September 1992. It is based on the television series Doctor Who. As stated in the Gameplay section, the rulesheet is rather different from other pinball machines released at the time, which didn't help popularity as casual players did not understand the complex rule changes that occur during the game.
No Fear: Dangerous Sports is a 1995 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams. It is based on the clothing line. This game has an extreme sports theme and features skydiving, free climbing, water skiing, extreme skiing, supercross and car racing. This was the last game Steve Ritchie designed for Williams.
Star Wars Trilogy is a 1997 pinball machine released by Sega Pinball. It is based in the Star Wars original trilogy. It was released in the year of the release of the special editions of the films. The backbox features an optional lenticular lens 3D image, a pinball industry first.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a 1995 pinball machine released by Sega Pinball. It is based in the film of the same name.
Jack-Bot is a 1995 pinball game which was designed by Barry Oursler and Larry DeMar, and released by Williams. It is the third game in the Pin-Bot series, following Pin-Bot (1986) and The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot (1991).
Who Dunnit is a Midway pinball machine with a 1940s style and a murder mystery theme. The playfield features up to five different murder mysteries in which the player must find clues and evidence by making indicated shots. The machine accepts up to four players, and features four-ball play.
Space Shuttle is a Space Shuttle themed pinball machine designed by Barry Oursler and Joe Kaminkow and produced in 1984 by Williams Electronics. The machine's marketing slogan is "The fastest way to make your earnings really take off!". It is notable for its central ramp shot up a feature themed after the Space Shuttle. A sequel, Space Station: Pinball Rendezvous, was released in 1987.
Police Force is a 1989 Williams pinball machine. The pinball machine was initially supposed to be released as Batman pinball, the police car was to be the Batmobile and the Jail was to be the Bat Cave. The machine features anthropomorphic jungle animals in the roles of police and robbers.
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Hurricane is a pinball machine released by Williams Electronics in August 1991. It was designed by Barry Oursler as the third game in Oursler's amusement park themed pinball trilogy. The first being Comet, released in 1985, and the second being Cyclone, released in 1988.
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball is a 1990 pinball game designed by John Trudeau and Python Anghelo and released by Midway. It is based on Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. This is the first of only two licensed pinball tables ever to feature the Looney Tunes characters.
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