Balcer’s Houdini

The story behind the game begins as I was searching for a new Pinball machine to add to my growing collection and really liked the look of the newly remade (Chicago Gaming) “Attack From Mars” – especially the LE version and it’s magnificent topper. So, I shared that sentiment with my better half and she quickly shot it down and said it was “ugly” and “nasty” looking. I took another shot by sharing the images of Houdini where she responded “that one looks nice”. I gave her the lowdown on the new company that was building it and explained that we would get to meet all of them AND play the game while at TPF in March. I emailed Larry at Flippin’ Out Pinball and sent in my deposit to hold a spot for a machine. For Christmas, I received a fantastic Houdini autobiography that I read from cover to cover in just a few days. He was a driven and fascinating individual. Here are a few tidbits about his life that you may not have known.

Harry Houdini:

• Was born Erik Weisz
• Debunked many séance practitioners as charlatans
• Was a movie star in silent films
• Was the first person EVER to make a powered airplane flight in Australia (when flying was a deadly sport)
• Was first close friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes fame) – only to have a falling out due to differing beliefs in the supernatural

Fast forward to TPF and you can see that we fell in love with the machine. Met and hung around with Joe Balcer the designer, Barry on service and even the ownership of the company. I walked right over to Larry’s booth and wrote the check for the remainder due. I was struck by how down to earth the entire American Pinball team is and how focused they are on the customer. Tami and I shared some of our “Houdini excitement” with Joe by gifting him a 50^th anniversary collectable stamp from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. It’s the stamp that celebrates Houdini and I had it framed in a tiny black frame and inscribed to Joe on the back – he loved it.

Got home and it was not too long afterward that I got the call from Larry that my machine would be shipping soon. I didn’t wait for home delivery. I drove straight to the trucking terminal when it arrived to pick it up. My Dad was staying with us for a few days and they live 13 hours away so it was a special treat to have him come with me to pick it up. We got it home safely and unloaded it on a beautiful spring day.

I quickly began the ceremony we call “unboxing” (cut, strip cardboard, take a picture, rinse and repeat). Got it all set up, move to it’s space and asked Dad to play the first game. It was nice to see him smile and enjoy Houdini. He has a relatively rare blood disease (MDS) and was struggling with having enough energy to stand for any period of time. This disease is a type of blood cancer and it attacks your bone marrow and inhibits the body’s ability to create hemoglobin – tough to move oxygen around without it.

So what’s it been like “living with Houdini”? Seriously one of the most unique machines, gameplay and Pinball experiences I’ve had. I love it too much. Let me explain … Let’s start with game play. It’s a very challenging game. Not for casual players unless you want short ball times. It’s built for “playing with a plan”. Trapping, aiming your shots and, of course, making them is critical to success. You accomplish very little “by accident”. This is a player’s machine. You don’t need to be an expert player but being good or better helps.

It’s not perfect either. The Milk Can shot rejects often (fix with a 5 cent felt dot). The Lower catapult orbit shot is wickedly tight (enlarge the switch hole by 2mm and move the “C” switch/target left to open the catapult access lane). The catapult can get into stretches where it misses the trunk (get the upgraded power supply from API and make certain your armature is straight in the slot). The factory installed side blades are fragile (use side blade protectors when lifting the play field). The Séance scoop area can chip the clear coat over time (order Cliffy’s for that area or affix a small piece of mylar)

All of these issues are small potatoes EXCEPT the catapult shot. This is a one of those things where “loving it too much” causes mental anguish! If the catapult is missing the chest, the game just isn’t the same. Gameplay suffers. The excitement of watching a ball fly over 20” through the air is lost. The brief break you get as the music and lights spin up before the launch becomes an exercise in anxiety as you wait for the ball to “launch and miss”. All is not lost because if the ball misses the trunk, the logic in the game still “credits” you …. but the ball is now (usually) loose on the playfield and headed to a spot it was not intended to be. Take the time to get your catapult right

I’ll close out this post with some tips for game play. I’ve spent a lot of time play testing this machine instead of “playing for score” – huge difference and I’ll write about that in the future. Here are a few of the things I learned:

Hit the catapult lane: Let the ball roll down the RIGHT flipper inlane, then OVER to the right flipper. Allow it to settle down near the last ¼” or so of the LEFT flipper and you’ll be in the right area to make that shot

Post passing: Super easy to do on this game. Just cradle both flippers, then lightly activate the flipper button on the ball side. The ball will hit the post above it and smoothly make its way across the center drain to the other flipper.

Right orbit control: Hit the right orbit and (if your lane guide on the left is set up right) the ball will “shatz” up the RIGHT flipper inlane when you quickly flip with the left flipper. From there you can take a shot with the right flipper or roll pass it to the left flipper for a shot from there.

I love Houdini too much. There’s a lot to love about this game:

• Beautiful backglass and PF art
• Challenging (“one-more-game”) game play
• Unique playfield toy (catapult)
• Very unique shots (milk can, stage)
• Stunning overall appearance

Bottom line is that the shots are tighter than other machines BUT in return MUCH more satisfying. The downside is that sometimes – I miss the shot. But I love the machine. But it kicks my ass. But I love the challenge – so I hit start again