''Pin-Bot'' (styled ''PIN•BOT'') is a

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

machine released by Williams in October 1986. It was designed by

Python Anghelo Python Vladimir Anghelo (January 1, 1954 – April 9, 2014) was a graphic artist best known for his work on video games and pinball machines. Anghelo was born in Transylvania, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of ...

and Barry Oursler.

Rules

The main objective of ''Pin-Bot'' is to advance through the planets of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

, starting at Pluto and reaching the Sun. The player advances from planet to planet by hitting specially marked targets, earning special bonuses throughout the game. ''Pin-Bot's'' main feature is a grid of lights in the center of the playfield, just below the Pin•Bot. The player can fill this grid by hitting the targets above and to the right of it. Once completed, the visor opens, enabling the player to lock two balls in the robot's eye sockets, starting a two-ball multiball mode. The player can then re-lock one of the balls and use the other to score a Solar Value (jackpot) up the left ramp, at which point both balls go back into play. Each shot up the left ramp increases the Solar Value until it is collected, and this jackpot is carried over between games. The game's playfield also features a spiral ramp, which serves as a skill shot from the plunger, and a bagatelle-style mini-playfield at the Solar Ramp exit, which can feed the ball to the right inlane, the plunger, the pop bumpers, or directly back onto the playfield.

Sequels

''Pin-Bot'' was followed by two sequels: '' The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot'' (released in 1991) and '' Jack-Bot'' (released in 1995).

In popular culture

*The Pin-Bot character appears in the 1988 ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' pinball machine (created by

and Mark Ritchie). *A ''Pin-Bot'' machine appears in the 1988 film, ''

Crocodile Dundee II ''Crocodile Dundee II'' is a 1988 action comedy film and the second installment of the ''Crocodile Dundee'' film series. It is a sequel to '' Crocodile Dundee'' (1986) and was followed by ''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles'' (2001). Actors Pau ...

''. *A ''Pin-Bot'' machine appears in the 1988 film, ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

''. *A ''Pin-Bot'' machine appears in the 2002 film, ''

Big Fat Liar ''Big Fat Liar'' is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and written by Dan Schneider from a story by Schneider and Brian Robbins. It stars Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti and Amanda Bynes, with a supporting cast featuring Am ...

''. *Several ''Pin-Bot'' machines (labeled as Rik*Dat) appear as throwable weapons in the third stage of the arcade version of ''

The Combatribes is a 1990 beat 'em-up game released for the arcades by Technos Japan Corp (the developers of '' Renegade'' and ''Double Dragon''). A home version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was also released in 1992. The game centers on three ...

''. *A ''Pin-Bot'' machine is the central machine used in ''

Terra Lightfoot Terra Lightfoot (born August 1986) is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario who has released four albums with the independent music label Sonic Unyon Recording Company

s "Pinball King" music video released on her "New Mistakes" album in 2017.

Digital versions

An enhanced simulation was released for the original

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

in 1990 with very reduced graphics and sound effects due to the processing and gaming power of the system. ''Pin Bot'' was also included with more enhanced graphics in the arcade game

UltraPin UltraPin is a Multi-Game pinball arcade game that holds 12 digital recreations of Williams Electronics real pinball games in a single pinball cabinet. UltraPin is built in a traditional style pinball cabinet to look and feel like a real pinball mac ...

. ''Pin-Bot'' was available with more realistic graphics as a licensed table of ''

The Pinball Arcade ''The Pinball Arcade'' is a pinball video game developed by FarSight Studios. The game is a simulated collection of 100 real pinball tables licensed by Gottlieb, Alvin G. and Company, and Stern Pinball, a company which also owns the rights of mac ...

'' for several platforms along with '' The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot'' and '' Jack-Bot'' (the successors). None of these three tables are available due to WMS license expiration on June 30, 2018. ''Pin*Bot'' is included in the '' Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection''.

References

External links

IPDB listing for ''Pin-Bot''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pin-Bot 1986 pinball machines Williams pinball machines