My Sleeper: Rollergames (1990, Williams)
I thought this was my sleeper pin because I was one of the ten people that actually watched the show when it was first broadcast. A classic case of theme-blindness. But there has been a recent rash of Ritchie boosters and value seekers here and abroad that have been touting the attributes of Rollergames. Picked up the game a year and a half ago from websherpa. From what I can tell he misses it dearly.
- Has to win the award for best pinball music not composed by Chris Granner. The main theme was the theme from the TV show and translates well to the clicks and beeps of a System 11 composition. Different music for hurry-up, jackpot, post-jackpot and two-ball lock pre-multiball.
- Custom speech, probably from the original “actors” (or “athletes”) or reasonable facsimiles. Manager Skull, who acts as the heel (he’s the bald bearded fellow on the PF), and an unknown female who is the face (probably Dar the Star, who they attempted to catapult to stardom with a recording career).
- The ball lock is awesome. Light the lock via the three drop targets. Hit the VUK which sends the ball to the upper flipper. |If the magnet is activated, its tees your shot up for an easy flip up ramp and into the lock (you get a little audio help too...”DON’T FLIP....FLIP!”). If the magnet is not activated, it takes some pretty good timing to get it up the lock ramp. A cool feature is that during gameplay with one or two balls locked, the locked balls are randomly fired through their own orbit and then back into the lock, which makes for an interesting distraction. Locked ball stealing with multiple players. Balls stay locked when game is over. All the hard work of locking two balls can be stolen by the next player (it’s a real drag) or continued in your next game.
- Three ball multiball with great musical accompaniment. Hit the ramp for jackpot...that’s about it. The “Kick Butt” jackpot music starts complete with record scratching...which is the best tune in the entire game.
- “Sudden Death” mode starts at random, unpredictable intervals. Sometimes it’ll start three times per game, sometimes none. Can be controlled in the menus. The magnet is activated for all shots to the VUK during SD. Ramp shots, again, are jackpot.
- Left outlane kickback. Love a kickback! Solenoid kicks the ball back to another solenoid which sends the ball screaming around the orbit.
- Art package is fantastic. Really captures the spirit of the show. Industrial red grating gives it that arena feel. Neon and confetti. Coloured wireforms. Awesome light show. Advertising tie-ins. The Van Gelder twins on the backglass. Captures the feel of the whole decade.
- To use Steve Richie’s word, the licence of Rollergames “vaporized” before the pin hit the streets. Sixteen episodes of the show were produced before bankruptcy hit. But that doesn’t hurt this game at all. The aging hipsters have brought back the roller derby recently (albeit with all-female squads on a flat track, not the mixed-gender figure eight of RG). Thus, the machine is so far divorced from the licence, that it can be enjoyed, simply, as a roller derby themed game.
- Visitors to my basement like the other games I have, but this one is the CLEAR fan favourite amongst non-pinball players. Pretty simple what needs to be done and the kinetics of the ball keep everyone happy. Minimal stop-n-go action with a non-claustrophobic playfield. It probably helps that all of the people are my age, and its brings them back to a time of snap bracelets, Hypercolour t-shirts, Hulk Hogan and the Fine Young Cannibals.
Classic Gameroom’s review...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXYTJ96hgVs[/youtube]
A full episode of Rollergames...Rockers vs. Violators
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP6xT_ThxdI[/youtube]
The “PIT”...which is filled with alligators...for “Sudden Death” overtime. Yep, the alligator has his own theme song. Sadly, no alligator imagery appears in/on the pinball machine.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f7g-e9Fjwg[/youtube]
Still comes up for a fair price now and again.