Manufacturer | Williams |
---|---|
Release date | 1990 |
Design | Ward Pemberton |
Programming | Dwight Sullivan |
Artwork | Linda Deal (aka Doane), Pat McMahon |
Mechanics | Greg Tastad |
Music | Paul Heitsch, Dan Forden, Mark Ritchie |
Sound | Paul Heitsch |
Voices | Mark Ritchie |
Production run | 3,200 units (approximate) |
Riverboat Gambler is a gambling-themed pinball machine produced by Williams. Pinball machine designer Mark Ritchie reportedly sings the song that plays during the game, whose gravel-voiced, New Orleans-style male voice sounds similar to Louis Armstrong. [1]
In the center of the head of the machine, a vertical roulette wheel operates more like the Wheel of Fortune than an actual roulette wheel and does not have a ball. 7 of the 16 sections are black, and 7 are red, which alternate, with two green spaces that have stars on opposite sides. Located directly above the roulette wheel, a four-digit display keeps track of virtual chips. The player uses chips earned on the playfield to bet on the roulette wheel.
There is an easter egg in the game. With the game on and a ball at the plunger, press and hold the Red and Black buttons, then press PASS 3 times, Black 3 times, Red 3 times, and Green 3 times. The display will shimmer, then press Black and Red together. The display will display "HELLO WORLD". [2]
Games available in most casinos are commonly called casino games. In a casino game, the players gamble cash or casino chips on various possible random outcomes or combinations of outcomes. Casino games are also available in online casinos, where permitted by law. Casino games can also be played outside casino for entertainment purposes like in parties or in school competitions, some on machines that simulate gambling.
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning little wheel which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the color red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if the numbers are high (19–36) or low (1–18).
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. The game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with flippers before the ball is lost. Most pinball machines use one ball per turn, and the game ends when the ball(s) from the last turn are lost. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Electronics and Stern Pinball.
Zany Golf, also known as Will Harvey's Zany Golf, is a fantasy take on miniature golf developed by Sandcastle Productions and published by Electronic Arts 1988. The game was originally written for the Apple IIGS and subsequently ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS machines. In 1990 a port was released for the Sega Genesis. The game was developed by Will Harvey, Ian Gooding, Jim Nitchals, and Douglas Fulton. Harvey was pursuing his advanced degrees at Stanford University at the time.
WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
A glossary of terms, commonly used in discussing pinball machines.
Medieval Madness is a Williams pinball machine released in June 1997. Designed by Brian Eddy and programmed by Lyman Sheats, it had a production run of 4,016 units. As of April 3, 2022, the Pinside pinball community lists it as the #2 highest-ranked pinball machine ; many adherents consider it the greatest of all time.
Black Knight is a 1980 pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams Electronics. Ritchie designed two sequels: Black Knight 2000, released by Williams in 1989, and Black Knight: Sword of Rage, released by Stern Pinball in 2019.
Batman Forever is a pinball machine released in June 1995 by Sega Pinball. It is based on the motion picture of the same name.
The Flintstones is a pinball game released by Williams in 1994 and based on the movie of the same name which is based on 1960–1966 animated television series of the same name. This machine is not to be confused with another pinball machine, a redemption game, based on the TV series and also released in 1994, manufactured by Innovative Concepts in Entertainment (ICE).
Checkpoint is a 1991 pinball machine released by Data East. It featured the first dot matrix display (DMD) ever incorporated into a pinball game. For Checkpoint, Data East used a "half-height" DMD. By way of comparison, Williams later produced machines with standard DMDs that were twice the height. Checkpoint also features video mode minigames on its display.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a pinball machine designed by John Trudeau and released by Midway. It is loosely based on the movie of the same name. The game's theme is 1950s drive-in theater. The pinball game was licensed from Universal Studios by Bally so that all backglass and cabinet artwork and creature depictions would resemble those of the original movie.
There have been four pinball adaptations of the film Jurassic Park franchise: a physical table released by Data East the same year the film came out, Sega's 1997 The Lost World which is based on the second movie of the series, a virtual table developed by Zen Studios on the franchise's 25th anniversary and a new physical table released by Stern Pinball a year after. All four tables behave differently.
FunHouse is a pinball machine designed by Pat Lawlor and released in November 1990 by Williams Electronics. Starring a talking ventriloquist dummy named Rudy, the game is themed after the concept of an amusement park funhouse. FunHouse is one of the last Williams games to use an alphanumeric display; the company switched to dot matrix the following year.
The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot is a 1991 pinball game designed by Python Anghelo and John Trudeau, and released by Williams. It is the second game in the Pin-Bot series, and is the last game produced by Williams to use a segmented score display rather than a dot-matrix screen. It is also one of the few pinball games produced that uses a variable-brightness segmented display.
The Williams Pinball Controller (WPC) is an arcade system board platform used for several pinball games designed by Williams and Midway between 1990 and early 1999. It is the successor to their earlier System 11 hardware. It was succeeded by Williams/Midway's Pinball 2000 platform, before Williams left the pinball business in October 1999.
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 by revealing clues by sending the ball to an elevator, phone, or slot machine. The machine accepts up to four players, and features four-ball play.
Tee'd Off is a pinball machine designed by Ray Tanzer and Jon Norris and released by Gottlieb in May 1993.
Harley-Davidson is a Sega Pinball pinball machine released in September 1999 and was the last machine released by this company. It was designed by Jon Borg and Lonnie D. Ropp.
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.