Episode 69 - Die on this Hill: High Roller Casino
Support the show: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast This episode our special guest Glenn Waechter (of the Saw Homebrew machine) joins us on the show, to Die on the Hill for Stern's 2001 game, High Roller Casino. This early stern, rare non licensed title wasn't well received upon its release, as evidenced by all the bad reviews we found, and it's low overall rating on pinside. But it was loaded with cool mechs and toys, and actually features a very deep ruleset, complete with 3 wizard modes....
Kineticist’s take
High Roller Casino defense: underrated Stern game with deep rules, multiple wizard modes, and essential company survival role.
Synopsis
Wedgehead A Pinball Podcast hosts Alan and Alex defend High Roller Casino (Stern, 2001) against widespread criticism in their 'Die on this Hill' series. Guest Glenn, a homebrew audio designer and pinball enthusiast, argues the game saved Stern's early survival with its robust toy collection, complex rule set featuring multiple wizard modes, and casino-themed gameplay. The hosts counter negative Pinside reviews claiming the game is shallow, poorly programmed, and suffers from defects.
Highlights
- High Roller Casino (2001) was Stern's fourth game and one of only two unlicensed games they ever made
- John Norris left Stern because the company allowed smoking in offices and wouldn't change the policy
- High Roller Casino's release was essential to Stern's survival and enabled future hits like Simpsons Pinball Party and Lord of the Rings
- Only about 1,000 High Roller Casino machines were made, making them rarely available on the used market
- High Roller Casino features three distinct wizard modes: Casino Frenzy Multiball, Break the Bank (at 100 chips), and a third difficult-to-reach mode
- Keith Johnson's code work on High Roller Casino is being unfairly criticized despite Johnson being 'revered' for his later work on Lord of the Rings and Simpsons
- The game features an 'almost unattainable' Super Duper Mega Extreme Jackpot worth 50x in slot machine multiball
- High Roller Casino is currently ranked #262 out of 306 on the Pinside Top 100 list
Entities
- Gottlieb· company
- Stern Pinball· company
- High Roller Casino· game
- Lord of the Rings· game
- Safecracker· game
- Saw· game
- Simpsons Pinball Party· game
- Next Level· location
- Pinball Hall of Fame· location
- Alan· person
- Alex the Waterboy· person
- Glenn· person
- John Norris· person
- Keith Elwin· person
- Keith Johnson· person