Before video games conquered the world, pinball ruled. Whether it was the old Harlem Globetrotters machine at the pizzeria or the “Twilight Zone” pin at the local dive bar, everyone had their go-to game. And for pinball wizards who came of age playing the silver ball, the nostalgic desire to have an old favorite in their home drives a healthy collectors’ market for vintage machines.
Unlike most other collectible genres, older artifacts aren’t necessarily the priciest. In fact, many pinball fanatics (aka “pinheads”) show little interest in tables from the 1950s and ’60s. Far more popular are pins dating to the ’70s and ’80s, and particularly the ’90s — widely considered modern pinball’s “golden age.” To compete with video games, the era saw pinball machines become more imaginative and complex while offering all sorts of gimmicky, sensory stimuli.
Going back to the birth of coin-op pinball in the 1930s, we careened down arcade memory lane and flipped the flippers on 15 machines — from classics to curios — for a round-up of collectible tables you’ll need more than a pocketful of quarters to afford. (We’re talking thousands of dollars.)
Bottom Line: ‘Orbitor 1’
Not well known outside the hardcore pinball community, one of the weirdest novelty machines ever made was Stern Electronics’ attempt to compete with the early-1980s arcade video game craze.
Designed by a pair of former NASA engineers, the frenetic, lunar-themed Orbitor 1 launches your ball across a curvy Plexiglass surface (the only non-flat playfield in pinball history), where it’s often caught in orbits around spinning bumpers that fling the ball every crazy which way — even behind the flippers. Far out!
The gimmick flopped and Stern Electronics went belly-up two years later. But Orbitor 1, the company’s last-ever machine, remains a target of niche collectors who’ll cough up between $2,000 and $3,000 for a cabinet in fine condition.
Bottom Line: ‘The Pinball Circus’
Here it is: the myth, the legend, the holy grail. This unique vertical pinball machine was the brainchild of innovative pin designer Python Anghelo and is played on four ascending levels that your balls climb via ramps and rails. At the top level, you flip a “jackpot” shot into the open mouth of a sinister circus clown. Creepy fun!
Extremely expensive to design and produce (the project’s budget was $1.5 million), only two prototype machines were built and tested in arcades, where they flopped. The project was scrapped, and one of the prototypes eventually fell into the hands of a private collector. The other was acquired by the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, where it’s available to play.
We’ve personally given The Pinball Circus a whirl and can assure you it’s one of the weirdest, wildest pins ever. What’s the machine worth? Since neither has ever been sold, it’s considered priceless for now.
