Introduction

I began my Pinball collecting experience with Electro-Mechanical (EM) games. It started in the early 90s when a neighbor had a Chicago Coin Sound Stage game that wouldn't turn on. He said he'd sell me the game for $150 and that's what started everything you see today. I have a background as an electronics technician and also an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Colorado so I thought fixing the game should be no-problemo. I was right, but it was as simple as replacing a fuse in the game that wouldn't let it turn on. That was it! Just a fuse that started this entire adventure. Had the guy replaced the fuse he probably would've never let the game set that long unplayed and would have never sold it to me.

After buying the game, setting it up in my basement, and replacing the fuse, I was off in the world of Pinball. Not long afterwards I was buying some new rings at a place named Mountain Coin north of Denver and spoke with a guy in the parts department that said he knew a guy that sold Pinball games as-is. The guy's name was Gilbert Sanchez and shortly afterwards I found out that Gilbert had container loads of old EM games that were for sale. I didn't just buy one game of course, I think I bought around 20 games from him. Most were games that hadn't been plugged in since sold, so I had no idea if they worked or not. None did actually, but I was only paying in the $100 range for each game so it wasn't that big a deal. I did a few more deals with Gilbert buying even more games and out of those original games, I probably only have maybe 6 of them left. Joker Poker and Grand Lizard were only two of the games that were not an EM game, so mostly EM games were purchased.

Later around 2004 or so, I started trading DMD games for others that included EM games. During 2008 and 2009 I have bought or traded for even more EM games from my friends Kim (Mr. 68), Kevin Carroll at Lyons Classic Pinball, and Abrie. I find myself divided between the EM and SS games with a leaning towards EMs again. I like antiques (own and collect many antiques) and EMs remind me more of an antique. They are old, somewhat simple compared to modern games, but they have an old school charm that keeps me buying, restoring, and playing them. The games below are my current lineup for EM games.

Steve's Electronic Games

• Abra-Ca-Dabra - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1975. It's a popular game and requires some restoration work since it didn't work when I bought it as part of a package deal with a Buccaneer from Rod Wideman who is the most meticulous restoration person I have ever met. One bit of wisdom Rod told me was to focus on single player games since there is far less scorewheels that need attention and the game is lighter without all those scorewheels. The game looks nice and everything is there, just a matter of restoration since it's in the same shape as when Rod bought it. There is an add-a-ball version of this game made in 1977 named "Team One" which was also has an Itialian market version known as "Kicker" also made in 1977.
  

• Buccaneer - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1976. I bought this game from Rod Wideman as part of a package deal along with Abra-Ca-Dabra. The great thing this game has going for it (other than it's a fun game to play) is that this is a Rod Wideman shopped game. That means that everything is meticulously restored and looks like a game you could eat off of it's so clean. Probalby the finest example of a restored game that I own thanks to Rod's work. There's an add-a-ball version of the game made in 1976 known as "Ship Ahoy."

• Captain Kid Rifle Game - Although not a Pinball game, it is an EM rifle game featuring a spinning ship's wheel with targets, a captain's face that rotates from side to side periodically throughout the game, and a couple of pirate flags that raise up and down during play. Very fun game. I got this game along with the Magic City EM from Jim Swenson for $250 in April of 2010. Took some minor switch adjusting that Jim did to get the game basically working, and only needed to be cleaned and a power cord replaced.

• Central Park - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1966. Central Park is a very fun game to play and unlike many other games from the 60s, the playfield is usually found in a very nice condition for some reason. The playfield looks new with no wear on it and plenty of targets. The game works and I had it set up for awhile, but due to space constraints (ugh), I had to take it down and store it on end. I'll set it up one of these days since it's a very fun game to play. I bought this game for $900 from John Detweiller (Sir Tiltsalot) who sent me email not too long afterwards wanting to know if I would be interested in selling it back to him since it was so popular in his house. Uhhh, no, not for sale John. Thanks buddy.

• Expo - This is a Williams 2 player EM game made in 1969. It features some backglass animation with a spinner and a pop up center post along with a left outlane mini-popup post too. It's a decent game to play and is one of the original EM games I bought from Gilbert Sanchez in the early 90's.

• Full House - This is a Williams 1 player EM game made in 1966. It has a rather odd game box and came to me for a really cheap price ($25). My buddy Frank Gracen told me he saw the game in a customer's house and that it didn't work and thought she would sell it pretty cheap since it had also been stored outside in a "shed" where it was exposed to the weather. Turned out the worst part of the game was the backglass which I replace in early 2009 with a backglass that looks like it's brand new. The game was shopped by my friend Jim Swenson who also does meticulous work. Jim was looking for a game to shop and knew that I had games that needed restoration work and I thought what the heck, give it to Jim and let him work on it. He did and after having the game for almost 2 years, called me one day to say that it was completed and working and I could come and get it. He only wanted $50 for shopping the game but I gave him $150 since he did such a nice job. Jim enjoys the restoration process like me, so it isn't the money so much as it is the fun to bring an old game back to life. Thanks Jim.
  
  
• Hearts and Spades - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1969. The replay version is Gottlieb's 1969 "Spin-A-Card." This game has been shopped but reassembly hasn't occurred for nearly 4 years now. It's set up away from the main line-up of games I have, and all it needs is the plastics to be put on, but for some reason I keep pushing reassembly out and the game just sits there. I've played another Hearts and Spades game it's actually quite fun, but for some reason it keeps getting bumped due to restoring another game. This is one of the original EM games I bought from Gilbert Sanchez in the early 90s.
  
  
• Kismet - This is a Williams 1 player EM game made in 1961. I bought this game for $150 from Kevin Carroll and it needs to be seriously restored, but Kevin knew how much I loved to play his Kismet game at his arcade, so thought I'd be interested in it. He was right of course and I look forward to fixing this old guy and bringing it back to life. It's one of my favorite games and I've held the all-time high score on it at Kevin's arcade for a few years now. Fun game.

• Magic City - This is a Williams 1 player EM game made in January of 1967 with a production run of 2,675 games. It was designed by Norm Clark with artwork from one of my favorite artists - George Molentin. It has the usual two flippers and two slingshots, five standup targets, and count 'em - four pop bumpers. Four pop bumpers wouldn't be all that odd except one of them is right in front of the outhole. I got this game from Jim Swenson in April of 2010 for $200. The backglass had some flaking, but not too bad for such an old game, and the only parts that appeared to be missing were the flipper mounting hardware, coil stops, and coils. I have a spare playfield from a Fun House that uses the same flipper hardware so I'll use that to restore the game when the time comes (no telling when that will be).
  
  
• Night Rider - This is a Bally 4 player EM game made in 1976. I first played this game at my buddy Bally Tim's house where he had a solid state version of the game. I picked this game up from Kevin Carroll for $500 and although it's an EM game, I believe the playfield is a solid state playfield. Everything else is electro-mechanical about the game.
  
  
• Out of Sight - This is a Gottlieb 2 player EM game made in 1974. The game has some of the nicest artwork you'll find on a game and there was relatively few of them made (1750 units). The backglass on this game is beautiful with tons of psychedelic artwork and a left outlane kickback along with a right outlane ball return gate. I got the game from Kim (Mr. 68) for $400 in early 2009. It will turn on but doesn't work. At least not yet, anyway.
  
  
• Reserve - This is a Wiliams 1 player EM game made in 1961. No idea if the game is fun to play or not since this is the first game I've seen. It has some bright colors on the playfield and the game works. Kim gave me a lead on the game since he was going to pass on it due to the lifting artwork on the backglass. I ended up getting the game for $100 which the owner thought was extremely low, but the backglass kind of turned me off too and that's all I would pay. I gave the owner tips for how he could clean up the game and hopefully get more money for it but he decided to just go ahead and sell it to me for $100. We'll see how this game turns out when its turn comes for restoration.
  
  
• Sky Jump - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1974. I love the pastel colors in the backglass on this game and it's a pretty fun game to play. I bought the game from Kevin Carroll for an undisclosed amount since I think I got a deal on it. I played the game before I bought it and it could use some restoration work to make it look even nicer but everything is there and it looks great.
  
  
• Sound Stage - This is a Chicago Coin 2 player EM game made in 1976. It has a spinning playfield disc that's under the playfield so it won't interfere with play and rotates when hitting a spin target. "Juke Box" is the 4 player version of this game. Chicago Coin didn't make it in business much longer and this is one of their better games towards the end of their existence. One key thing for this game is that this is the game that put me in the hobby of Pinball. Only a few years later I would find myself a "collector" rather than simply a Pinball game owner.
  
  
• Spirit of 76 - This is a Gottlieb 4 player EM game made in 1975. It's a popular game and has an interesting history. Back when the game was being designed some of designer Wayne Neyen's colleagues were trying to guess how many of the games would sell. They were guessing in the 2,500 to 3,000 unit range but Wayne thought it would sell closer to 10,000 units. The president of Gottlieb said that if the game sold 10,000 units he would personally deliver one to Wayne's front door. The game sold 10,300 games and a game was delivered to Wayne as promised. It is still the only Pinball game that Wayne owns to this day. I paid $400 for the game when I bought if from a seller that thought it had "sensor problems." Hmmm, a sensor? It had more probems than that but Steve Young at The Pinball Resource still sells new plastic sets as well as all the other parts and the game looks and plays great after its restoration by me in 2008.
  
  
• Spooks Rifle Game - This is a Williams 1969 EM gun game that I got from Kevin Carroll for free. I know that it's not a Pinball game, but it is an EM game none the less. It seemed to be complete although the background cardboard was torn up and there's some missing parts to it. We'll see how it works when I get around to restoring it. I loved playing gun games back in the early 60s so it should be fun if I can get it to work.
  
  
• Sure Shot - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1976. I got this game along with Top Card as part of a trade for my Eight Ball game with Abrie. The game works fine, but the same nutjob that painted the Top Card also painted this game with solid black gloss paint. It wasn't bad enough that he painted everything black on the game but he painted it black over the previous owner's solid green that had some goofy custom "artwork" and a replaced "coin door" that was made out of plywood and had the name Sure Shot hand painted on the coin door. Maybe the custom paint job by the former owner is what caused the guy to paint the game solid black. I stripped the black and green paint off and was able to make stencils from the original artwork but this game will take some time to repaint.
  
  
• Top Card - This is a Gottlieb 1 player EM game made in 1974. I got this game along with Sure Shot as part of a trade for my Eight Ball game with Abrie. Some nutjob decided to paint the coin door area along with one side of the game and all of the backbox in solid glossy black paint. No artwork was visible when I got the game other than on the side that had not been painted. The game works, but I'll be replacing the solid black paint with a repaint using original colors and artwork.