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The Classic Pinball Podcast
The Classic Pinball Podcast
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#72 Fireball Classic - The Classic Pinball Podcast

PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago28 min listenBy George
From the creator

In this episode Dave and George are back in the basement for a review of the Bally Midway game: Fireball Classic.

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Highlights

  • Fireball Arcade Classic (1985) was designed by Barnyard George and George Christian with artwork by Barnyard Doug and produced in 2000 units
  • Fireball Arcade Classic is mechanically similar to the 1971 Fireball Arcade but with three-inch flippers instead of two-inch ones and no zipper flippers
  • The game features mushroom targets, which is rare in pinball design
  • Fireball Arcade Classic has no traditional outlanes feeding back to flippers; instead it has very wide outlane areas that result in immediate ball loss
  • The 1985 Bally cabinet uses particleboard construction with vinyl trim in arcade style, which differs from earlier wood cabinets
  • George's son achieved a high score of 4.4 million on his Fireball Arcade Classic, which has never been beaten including by skilled player Jeff from Maine
  • The skill shot mechanic registers both the 50,000-point and 20,000-point values when hit correctly due to multiple switch activations
  • George is in the process of restoring a CPR (custom) playfield that he is painting, stenciling, and retrofitting with LED and incandescent lighting

Notable quotes

“This was the first game I ever bought... And now we're up to 12 or 13, so like everybody else, it becomes a disease.”
George
“The Fireball Arcade devil guy, he's not really a nice guy. He's kind of a big meanie, so that's what happens.”
George
“You're getting both skill shots for that... You're getting the 50 and the 20. That's why you're getting both.”
Dave
“Ball control in this game is everything. Drop catching on this game, so you want to basically stop the ball right on your flipper and take your shot.”
George
“It's a cheap squeak, reason being it cheaply squeaks and does not talk... versus Fireball Arcade 2 would have.”
Dave

Entities

  • Bally· company
  • Midway· company
  • 8-Ball Deluxe· game
  • Bad Cats· game
  • Fireball Arcade· game
  • Fireball Arcade 2· game
  • Fireball Arcade Classic· game
  • Firepower· game
  • Gilligan's Island· game
  • Medusa· game
  • CPR· organization
  • The Classic Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Barnyard Doug· person
  • Barnyard George· person
  • Doug Watson· person
  • Dr. Dave· person
  • George· person
  • George Christian· person
  • Jeff· person
  • Tommy Skinner· person

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