"Silverball Mania," produced by Bally in February 1980, was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Kevin O'Connor. The game features two flippers, three pop bumpers, and a distinctive horseshoe-shaped ball return. It showcases a vibrant and psychedelic theme typical of the era, with a notable mirrored backglass and intricate playfield design.
The same machine, made under a different name by a different manufacturer: licensed copies, conversion kits, and re-releases.
| Name | Manufacturer | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Picture Pin | Arkon | Jan 1982 |
| Sexy Girl (Delux) | Arkon | Oct 1983 |
Center horseshoe shot all day.
Balanced
Very High when center kicker unlit, Medium when kicker lit> Note the lit kicker does NOT always save you: balls falling between the flippers can hit the edge of the kicker scoop and bounce sideways to either outlane. Balls coming down the outlanes are not always deflected by the edge pins towards the kicker, either. Stay alert when the ball goes into an outlane; you don’t want it falling too far from the edge of the machine or it will miss the pin.
Very Important! Always make the center lane, even if it’s not lit for 5000. This lane lights the kickback at the bottom center. This is a potentially 3-way ball saver, since besides rescuing balls draining down the center, balls going out either side are sometimes deflected by small pins towards the center saucer, and then return to play if the saucer is lit. If you fail to get that center lane on the Skill Shot, your first priority is to light it. You do that either by making the horseshoe shot or going up top through the right spinner and trying to get the ball into that center lane. Since the kicker turns off when triggered, you want to shoot the horseshoe or go up top again right away to re-light it after you use it.
Each hit on the top bumpers cycles the top lane lights from center-lit to side-pair-lit and back. A perfect Skill Shot will hit the bumpers just enough times to make the center lane lit when the ball goes through it. Silverball Mania was the first game with a tight horseshoe shot for raising your bonus multiplier. Even on a factory game, it’s a tight shot; on some tournament machines, the rubber posts at the side of the horseshoe have been replaced with fatter rubbers, making the shot even narrower. Still, that’s where you win the game, since besides raising your multiplier, if lights the center bottom saucer to kick the ball back into play, plus you get one or two letters for each shot [two if the ball goes all the way around over both internal rollovers]. Since the only other way to get the “M” and final “A” in Mania is through the outlanes, you want that kicker lit. The largest chunk of points here come from bonus. Complete all letters in S-I-L-V-E-R-B-A-L-L M-A-N-I-A to build base bonus either by hitting them or by shooting the center horseshoe. Bonus is 1,000 per letter; if you’ve completed the letters, you get another 15,000 per set for up to 2 more sets. Base bonus is held from ball to ball, including completed sets. Shoot the horseshoe to multiply your bonus up to 5X; the multiplier resets each ball. Maximum bonus is 45,000 times 5 or 225,000. The other significant points come from the horseshoe, the kicker and the spinner when lit. The horseshoe scores 5,000 besides giving bonus and multipliers; over a game, that can add up. The kicker, when lit, also gives 5K. Completing Silverball Mania lights one of the two spinners (alternates) for 1,000 per spin. The spinner light resets at the end of the ball. If you just can’t hit the horseshoe, especially if the game has those fat rubbers guarding it, go UTAD and just hope to get the kickback lit if you can get the ball back up to the top center lane after a right spinner shot or via bumper action. Extra balls are earned by getting one more horseshoe after you’ve advanced it to 5X, then shooting the now-lit “N” target between the horseshoe entrances. Extra balls will probably be turned off, but can be set to be worth 25,000. Specials are earned by completing Silverball Mania twice to light the Kicker special and the Silverball Mania special. Get the ball to drop into the kicker for that special; complete the 15 letters again for the other special. These may be worth 50,000.
via Bob's Guide
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Podcasts, videos, and articles from the community that mention Silverball Mania.
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The guys discuss and play Bally Silverball Mania.
