“Mark it Zero!”

The story behind the game begins in the middle of the sickness many of us have. I wanted another game. Not because I needed one but more because I was building a new Pinball game room and would now have space for many more games. I happened to see a game called “Strikes ‘N Spares” for sale on Ebay as I was looking for other, non-related Pinball parts. I had never seen the game before and quickly switched to Pinside to research it. My wife was involved in bowling in her younger years and I figured she might even enjoy this as much as Pinball. Hey, anything that interests her around the subject is worth pursuing!

After a few forum searches on Pinside I discovered a few things about the game I didn’t know. First, the price of sold games from Pinside was about half what Ebay was (no surprise) and second that the game seemed a little “rarer” even than the number manufactured would suggest. I dug a little deeper.

Oh, THAT Strikes ‘N Spares

Strikes‘N Spares is a game made in 1995 by Premier Technology under the trade name Gottlieb. They made just 750 of them. It’s a game that is listed on IPDB, Pinside and other Pinball related sites even though it’s not a Pinball game. It doesn’t play like a Pinball game. It doesn’t score like a Pinball game and you probably will not play it “alone” much like you do your other Pinball games. Later in this post, I’ll explain why despite all that … I have no plans to ever sell it. It’s a very cool looking game that emulates the feeling and look of a real bowling alley. The lighting is subdued but it’s also very dramatic. Hard to believe how they achieved that dramatic “look” with just a handful of incandescent lamps. The bowling alley is complete with dual ball return lanes – one on each side. The player can bowl “left” or “right” handed depending on which flipper they choose.

The artwork is super simple but as with the lighting somehow very dramatic. The alleyway has the exact (though miniaturized) appearance of a freshly oiled hardwood bowling alley lane. The sounds in the game do a VERY convincing job of making you feel like you are really at a bowling alley. When you flip (bowl) you hear the ball hit the lane with a solid “thump”, then hear it rolling down the lane. When you “hit” the pins, you hear them rattle and crack against each other just like at a bowling alley. As the ball makes it’s way back to you in one of the 2 return lanes, you hear it approaching as well. Just like the real thing. The game uses 14 (yes you read that right) pinballs. 6 of the total (3 per side) will just sit at the side of the ball return and never be used at all – they are just decoration. When you “bowl” the balls never make contact with the pins above them. The pinball rolls underneath them, pushing on plastic rollovers that then make contact with a switch below the playfield, telling the logic board to “flip up” the pins above the ball. It happens so quickly and elegantly that it really looks like the pinball has hit them and knocked them over. So well done!

Let’s Make a Deal!

I searched the Pinside market looking for one for sale. I private messaged a few folks that had one for sale and showed it as “not sold” on Pinside. No luck there as one was sold to a local friend and the other was long ago sold to another collector. So back to Ebay I went. There were 2 machines on Ebay at the time and there was another in one of the Facebook Pinball Marketplaces. Interestingly, one of the Ebay machines was located just down the road from me in Chattanooga. I emailed the gentleman and pitched a price to him for a sale “outside of Ebay”. Many Pinheads advertise their machines both locally and on Ebay at the same time so I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a shot. This machine was the best of all 3 that were for sale at the time. From the pictures, It looked like it was in absolutely perfect condition. I shot an offer to the seller through Ebay. It was significantly less than the selling price but … no shipping for the seller and no Ebay fees. Sadly, the offer was promptly rejected.

I then messaged the seller hoping we could make a deal outside of the Ebay network. After all, I was so close to him. I heard back from the seller that he would prefer to just let the listing ride until over. I also quickly heard back from Ebay that I had better not be making offers to purchase outside of Ebay. They are no fun anymore. I’ve been listing with them since the late 90’s but boy have the rules changed since then. So I waited. While I waited I cooked up several hair brained ways that I might get my hands on one of the other 2 Strikes ‘N spares available. Each of them were almost 8 hours away by car and neither sellers would ship. Driving that distance (and back!) didn’t seem to make sense when there WAS one just 60 minutes from my house. So I waited some more. Finally the auction ended. The game was not sold. I emailed the seller again and we began to negotiate price. I ended up paying much more than the average sale price of Pinside and a bit less than his advertised price on Ebay. I was happy with the proposed deal and we set a day to shake on it and for me to take possession of the game.

A Pleasant Surprise Pick-Up

It happened to be a weekday evening that worked out for both of us. I got home at my normal time, changed into my Pinball pick-up clothes and hit the road for the one hour trip to Chattanooga. The weather was threatening. I brought tarps and straps just in case. I arrived on time and was greeted by a super friendly, very Pinball enthusiastic guy. We shook hands and I entered his well-kept, super clean house. Turns out he has 3 or 4 machines. Several are never going anywhere. Tommy and an older EM are those titles. He also has one machine that he will trade out from time to time to keep his collection fresh. His “never-going-to-trade” machines are all upstairs and the trade when I’m bored with it game sits downstairs near the living room. The Strikes ‘N Spares was that machine.

The pictures did not lie. The machine looked brand new. Like right out of the factory new. The counter showed 435 games in total. Before we even turned it on we started talking about Pinball, the hobby, collecting. Repair, etc. He invited me to see his other games. The Tommy was super nice and I could see why he wanted to keep it. We talked for a bit and then it was back down stairs to inspect the Strikes ‘N Spares more closely. I turned it on, played a few balls.It worked perfectly. It sounded perfect. I looked perfect. I said that I would take it and handed him the agreed upon amount. He left the room for a moment and returned with the manual, all the original factory paperwork, bulletins and spare parts that came with the machine. I swear, it was like going to the Gottlieb factory and buying a new machine.

Rain Chases My Games

The next steps were to begin to disassemble the machine for transport  pickup. I’ve bought so many machines that I go everywhere prepared for this part of the process. You would be surprised how many households not only don’t have a 5/8th box end wrench, but may not even know the legs come off. I had all my usual stuff: Shrink wrap, wrenches, socket set, 4×4 post, spare head lock, pliers, small drill, zip ties, cardboard, wire cutters, blue tape, etc. My seller was impressed. I call it prepared. As prepared as I was, I’m not sure I could have figured out exactly HOW to fold the head down on this machine. Thankfully the seller in this case had a thing or two to show me. He knew that it was a compound hinged head and exactly how to unlock and safely fold it flat. I’m thankful he had that part down.

With the game folded up and wheeled out to my truck it was a quick load and I was on my way. I pulled over in a school parking lot not far from his home to double check my tie downs and to quickly check my Doppler radar. It didn’t look good. I was having flashbacks to my trip to Nashville to pick up my Williams Fire Pinball machine. There was definitely a thunderstorm ahead of me. I was just west of downtown Chattanooga and the storm was just crossing the spot where I75 and I24 intersect and I would be coming to that spot just behind the storm. Oh well, had to get home somehow so with the load secured I pulled out of the lot and headed north. The radar map was spot on.Thankfully, I had just missed the storm and much of the water had already drained from the roadway so there was no spray getting to the game. As I drove north on I75, I could see another thunderstorm brewing and tracking alongside the highway – I just got ahead of that one. I could see the lightning and very dark clouds in my rear view mirror. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I arrived home and it was dark. I unloaded the game (alone), wheeled the game into the house (alone) and then set it up (alone). I don’t mind working alone. I like myself. I don’t get lonely easily … but DANG there are some parts of the pinball hobby that demand an extra pair of hands!

23 Years Old/New

Now that the game was setup and operational, I could take a few minutes to do a close inspection. It was even cleaner than I remembered at the sellers home. The inside was immaculate. The switch and coil location cards and the card holder were still stapled inside. The playfield was nearly perfect (more on that later). The cabinet art was as good as I’ve seen on any game that was 23 years old. The reds were vibrant, the blacks scratch free and deep black.

The only issue I saw that I wanted to address was just ahead of the flippers where the playfield did not have any mylar. There was some minor scuffing in that area. I knew to look for that because if a Strikes ‘N Spares has any play field wear – that’s where it will be. The ball doesn’t come in contact with ANYTHING on the playfield except the flippers (OK, so it does roll over some plastic pieces under the fake pins to activate switches). So if wear is to happen – that’s the spot, right in front of the flippers. The other contributing factor is that the spot where players will “flip” is almost the exact same spot each time – very unlike a Pinball game. The reason is simple. This is not Pinball, it’s bowling and you aim for the same spot every time. No matter. There wasn’t any real damage, only the light scuffing.

The Mod Jobs

So a quick wax job was completed and most of the scuffs in front of the flippers were now gone. It was time to create a custom cut piece of mylar to place in the front part of the playfield to protect the only section that was left exposed at the factory. My process for that is simple. Use printer paper to create a template, then use that template to trace and cut the mylar. This took a bit longer than usual because the factory mylar has a very graceful curve to it right in front of the flipper gap. The new piece of custom mylar must be cut to tightly mate with that curve without overlapping. Too loose and that gap would eventually be dug into by the ball and remove paint/artwork. Overlap at all and you’ll create ball hop.

I finished the template, traced and cut the new mylar and VERY carefully installed it. The tight fit and the need for near perfect alignment made the installation both nerve racking and lengthy. I had to re-position the mylar 3 or 4 times but was finally satisfied that it was aligned and pressed it into position. It was perfect. It plays that way too. Like it’s not there.

Other than minor cleaning there really was not a lot that this machine needed. There WAS however, a few things I wanted to do to spice it up. Now if you want to mod your Metallica, there will be a thousand posts just on Pinside to guide you or give you some ideas. If you want to mod a machine that’s not really a Pinball and there were only 750 made … you’re more likely going to be on your own. Thank God for Todd Tuckey! He has had a few of these through the years and in one of his videos he had added green LEDs to the two troughs that hold the “bowling balls”. I liked the look so I proceeded to do the same. If you raise the playfield on a Strikes ‘N Spares, you’ll see that the area where I placed the LEDs looks as if the factory had originally considered adding lighting there as well but decided against it. I couldn’t use the factory drilled locations and had to drill new mounting holes. I used a 1/6th inch bit and drilled just about 3/16th inch into the playfield, one mounting screw and I had my LED bayonet mounts in place in no time. Next it was time to add some “lectricity” and I did that with some Comet quick connectors and alligator clips.

I scoured the internet for other mods that folks might have done to this machine, and came up mostly empty handed. So striking out on my own I started to run searches on Ebay for bowling related memorabilia. I got a hit. 300 rings. There were lots of them too. None too expensive and in a few minutes I found a few to purchase and I had a spot on the game located for them. Right at the ends of the ball returns. So I bought an ABC 300 ring (red stone) and an ABC 299 ring (blue stone), then installed them on top of my ball returns. Each of these are engraved with the names of the original owners from 1988 and 1995 respectively (1995 being the same year SnS was made). They are a nice conversation pieces and don’t block the view of the game in any way

Bowling ‘er Gameplay

The game plays like you would expect bowling to work. Because it’s electronic, there are advantages to the real thing. First, there are 3 games that can be played. Regulation bowling where the goal is to bowl a “perfect” game (300 score). There are 2 other unique games. One is called flash and works the same as regular bowling with the added challenge of scoring the most points by making your strike or spare when the under playfield flasher is at the highest point scoring position. A strike can score 400/600/800 depending on your timing. This game adds a significant challenge to the regulation version as you now must not only aim your shots (bowl) but you must time them as well. The third game is called “Strike 90” and simply changes the scoring of regulation to make spares worth 60 and strikes worth 90. If you make a strike, you keep shooting until you don’t! It exponentially increases the value of your ability to clear a spare or make a strike. All of the games are fun but the “Flash” version is certainly the most challenging.

Tournament Mode For Cash

This game also has a programming mode to be played as a tournament with cash payouts. When set in tournament mode, you put money in the machine and if you choose tournament mode, you will put in additional coins to pay for your entry. You will then play 3 consecutive games to get an average or “series” score. When completed, if your score exceeds others that have bought into the tournament, you will be asked to add your initials and your birth date for verification. Only the operators can see the birth date and will use it to make sure that you are indeed the winner. Winnings paid 3 positions deep are split 50/30/20%. Because players are always asked to “buy in” to the tournament, the operator and the establishment would always “get their share”. In other words the players were funding the pot. Seethe images for the actual tournament rules. I’m not sure that I’ve seen them reliably reproduced anywhere

Really Big Balls

It’s interesting that I now own the only Pinball machine (that I know of) that uses SMALLER than regulation pinballs (Big Betty’s Truck Stop) and another that uses LARGER than normal ones. Strikes ‘ N Spares balls are 1.25” in size. Even though that’s only 3/16^th larger than a normal pinball – it seems much larger. Because they are an “odd” size, they typically sell for about 5x the price of standard pinballs.

Kid sized

This is one (of several) Gottlieb machines that came with 2 sets of leg mounting holes. There is a lower and an upper set of holes. The lower set will raise the machine up to normal, adult player height. The upper mounting holes effectively drop the playfield down to a more kid friendly height. An interesting way to allow operators to cater the machine to each locations clientele

Playing alone?

The game is an absolute favorite at our house when you are talking about non-Pinball people. They actually like to play it. This is from people that have no desire to play regular Pinball. There seem to be a few reasons why. No matter how good the “other guy” is, your turn is coming up FAST. Games can be played in as fast as under 5 minutes if you wish. The competition has the same number of shots you have … 2 per frame. It’s so much different than when I play Pinball against a newbie. Sometimes on a Pinball game, I’ll play for 15 minutes and when the unskilled player finally gets a turn – they drain in seconds. Strikes ‘N Spares is refreshingly different. I think another reason is that the skill (at least on Regulation) is very straightforward. Aim the ball, and flip the flipper. The rules are easy if not already understood. Everybody has bowled at some point in their life. My youngest daughter will have some of her young friends over and they would never consider playing Pinball – yet … they have no problem playing this game.

When we play, in order to give both flippers an even “work out” we require players to alternate flipper sides as they bowl each frame. This also introduces some challenge if you have better aiming skills with one side or the other. The game has 2 complete DMD displays used in various ways during gameplay. Most importantly when you are playing a 4 player regulation game, you can see normal bowling style scoring for all 4 players at once. The game doesn’t have a huge variety in call-outs/sounds but one that stands out is the “Turkey” – both the image and the gobble sound when you get 3 strikes in a row. It’s a cool reward for bowling well and all who play the game look for it. The light show is simple but informative to the play. When you get a strike the red, yellow, then white flashers on both sides will light in sequence and then flash. A spare will light just one side depending on which side of the alley the spare was made. Again, these simple light cues are a real nice reward for clearing a spare of pulling off a strike. Feels like you accomplished something!

So back to playing alone. How is it? Not so good. You might do it once in a blue moon, but it’s not going to be the same as with a Pinball machine. It’s just not as fun as with a partner (or multiple partners). So my recommendation is to have this in a larger collection. It’s fun as heck with a group or even with just one friend. I’d say that most of us collect these things to have others come over and enjoy them WITH us. If that’s the case then this is one of the best bang for your buck machines you can buy. People really like to play it, even if they don’t “get” Pinball. It’s waaaay smaller than a full sized bowler, even smaller than a puck bowler and no need to put your bowling shoes on. About the most fun you can have without a real bowling ball. Well done Gottlieb!

Smart Switches & Game History

I usually post nearly 100% original content here but because information about the game is very hard to come by I am posting some info from another website. John Buras was the game designer. The below info is credited to the folks at the “PA Pinball” site and comes from an interview with John. This was John’s response to the question of how he came up with the design for the game. “I designed this game back at Gottlieb/Mylstar shortly before the company was closed.  I then brought the design along when I started at Premier, but it did not get made until the last days at Premier.  My original design did not have any of the flash, such as the animated bowling pins like the final version had.  Since I was involved with other duties at Premier, Ray Tanzer took my prototype design, and enhanced it.  I initially had the idea for this game, because the puck bowling machines were so popular at the time.  Many locations could not fit these bowling machines in their places, because of their size though.  I thought that this game could possibly fill a void, and turn people on to pinball as well.”

They then asked John about his involvement in the development of the Gottlieb “smart switches”. These switches are used on this game are very unique. John answered first by describing what they are “The Smart Switch is basically a device which translates mechanical energy into an electrical signal, that is similar to that of a mechanical switch made with contact points, but with better reliability.  The switch design was based on the properties of piezo film.” John went on to share why it was important to develop them. “One of the biggest complaints over the years after pinball went solid state was dirty switches.  This was mostly due to atmospheric contaminants due to the locations where pinballs were being operated.  If you could come up with a switch technology that would be immune to these contaminants, it would greatly reduce the maintenance on a machine.  This was very important, because pinball was always fighting the fact that the machines required more maintenance than a video game.  Anyway, I worked on the design with an outside company for over a year, and finally came up with a version of the switch, which could be used as a drop in replacement for the standard leaf type switches in many applications.  To my knowledge, the switch was received well.  I often wonder at times though how the switches are still performing in the field, since I left the industry after Premier closed its doors.” Thanks to the guys at PA Pinball for this interview material as so much of this stuff is being lost to time.

I’m keenly interested to learn even more about this rare and quirky game. If you know of someone involved in the design, reach out to me. If you have some insight into the game that I’ve missed, please share it. The game is unique in the Pinball world and crazy fun with a group as part of a larger collection.