The Addams Family (pinball)

The Addams Family

Manufacturer	Midway
Release date	March 1992
System	Midway WPC (Fliptronics I)
Design	Pat Lawlor, Larry DeMar
Programming	Larry DeMar, Mike Boon
Artwork	John Youssi
Mechanics	John Krutsch
Music	Chris Granner
Sound	Chris Granner
Voices	Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston
Production run	20,270

The Addams Family, released in March 1992, is the best selling pinball machine of all time. Designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar and manufactured by Midway (under the Bally name), it is a solid state electronic pinball arcade game. It was based on the 1991 film of the same name, and features custom speech (mostly derived from the motion picture) by the stars of the film, Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston. More than 20,000 units have been sold thus far.

Overview

The machine's game card describes the game objective as being to "Explore the strange world of the Addams Family." With that in mind there is no single player goal, though there are two central objectives:

• The Mansion: The Addams Family mansion is located in the center of the playfield and has 12 "windows". Each window corresponds to a different room that the player can enter and receive an award for.
• Vault Multiball: In the top-right section of the playfield is a blue bookcase, representing the bookcase that Gomez shows Uncle Fester in the movie. Hits to it award letters in the word "Greed". Once the word is completed, like in the movie, the bookcase turns, revealing a shot to the vault behind the bookcase (it is possible but rare for a ball to go into the vault when the bookcase is in the blocking position). A shot to the vault locks the ball for future multiball use, or starts the multiball when two balls have been previously locked. The bookcase also opens access to the vault at certain other times during the mini games, with varying scores and effects.

Other lesser objectives include:

• Bear Kicks: a ramp in the top center of the playfield awards 1 or 2 "bear kicks" (referencing the scene in the movie with the bear carpet that comes to life), awarding points, mansion rooms, and extra balls. A successful "bear kick" shot enables Uncle Fester's light bulb (when not in multiball mode), which indicates that a shot into his electric chair gains a mansion room and activates a mini game (after such a shot, the light bulb goes out).
• Staircase Ramp: a left-side ramp that awards an increasing number of millions, usually 1M-10M, and letters in the word "THING" (see THING below).
• Graveyard: a set of 5 bumpers (a rare amount on modern machines) that increases the "Graveyard value", which is collected from a right-side shot.
• Train Wreck: a dead-end shot in the top-left section that awards points, assists graveyard scoring, and lights extra balls.
• GRAVE: 5 targets strewn around the field that award letters in the word "Grave", which when completed award an increasing amount of millions.
• THING: Once the word THING is completed (see Staircase Ramp above), a scoop in the top right corner awards an increasing multiple of 5 million points.
• Skill Shot: When initially launching the ball, dropping it into Thing's scoop just past the launch ramp gives 2 million points the first time, increasing by a million each time up to a maximum of 5 million points each time. Hitting a skill shot may also gain other benefits if they are active on Thing's scoop (e.g. extra ball, Quick Multiball, Thing points, locking a ball for multiball).

Rules summary

Mansion

Mansion rooms are awarded from the lit electric chair shot in the center of the playing field. Once a mansion room is awarded, the electric chair light goes out until it is relit by a Bear Kick (some other switches will relight it temporarily). A player can have more than one mansion room scoring mode activated simultaneously, something which is often considered good strategy. The rooms/modes are:

• 3 Million, 6 Million, 9 Million: Separate rooms that award that many points. When hitting either the 3 million or 6 million room, both rooms will be lit and considered "done".
• Graveyard At Max: Advances all five jet bumpers to their maximum value (30,000 added to the Graveyard Value per hit).
• The Mamushka: Adds 250,000 for every switch the player hits to his end-of-ball-bonus.
• Hit Cousin Itt: Adds 200,000 for every switch the player hits to his end-of-ball bonus at start. The more the player hits the Cousin Itt target, the higher the per-switch award goes.
• Quick Multiball: Lights "Quick Multiball," allowing the player to start a two-ball multiball in which the vault opens, and shots into it score an increasing award.
• Fester's Tunnel Hunt: Awards the player 5, 10, and 15 million points for hitting the swamp, electric chair and vault.
• Seance: Awards the player 5, 10, and 15 million points for each bear kick or staircase shot. "The Power" magnets are activated during this mode.
• Thing Multiball: A "hurry-up" mode with a point value decreasing from 15 million to 3 million. If achieved before timing out, the player is awarded a two-ball multiball where shots to the vault award the "hurry up" score again.
• Raise the Dead: For 30 seconds each set of 4 hits to a bumper in the graveyard adds 3 million points to the player's end-of-ball bonus. The round ends early if all five bumpers are hit 4 times each.
• Lite Extra Ball: The extra ball becomes available at Thing's saucer.

If the player starts all of the above scoring modes (regardless of whether or not they complete them), the attic room marked with a "?" awards the game's "wizard mode":

• Tour the Mansion: Awards the player 50 million points, lights the extra ball, lights the "special" (free game) on the outlanes, maximizes the five jet bumpers, and starts each of the six timed modes automatically, one after the other. After the last mode, the player will not be able to collect any more Mansion Rooms until the start of the next ball; losing the current ball during Tour the Mansion immediately ends it.

Vault Multiball

The player can add letters to the word "GREED" by hitting the bookcase in front of the vault. Spelling "GREED" opens the bookcase, revealing a shot into the vault that can be used to "lock" (hold) balls for multiball; for the first multiball, the swamp can also be used to lock balls. The Power turns on for the player's attempt to lock the third and final ball. Multiball can be started from the vault or, for the first multiball, the electric chair.

Once multiball begins the Train Wreck shot lights up for a Jackpot, and the Staircase Ramp for a Double Jackpot or, from the 2nd multiball onward, Triple Jackpot. The Jackpot starts out at 10 million, and increases by one million for every Bear Kicks shot or shot to a closed vault during the multiball. Upon receiving either, the vault re-opens, and a successful shot to it re-lights only the Staircase Ramp. The player may continue to do this as long as there are two balls on the playing field.

If a player does not get any jackpot, a last-chance "Thing Multiball" lights up for 20 seconds. If the player shoots it in time, he gets to launch a second ball and continue the multiball per the rules above, except with no more last chances given.

Scoring

Scores on The Addams Family tend to have an average in the low 8-digit range. Among machines found in public locations, the score necessary to obtain a replay is usually between 35 million and 80 million, with high scores dispersed mostly among the full 9-digit spectrum. The world's best players will occasionally score in the billions.

Without tilting, the lowest possible score is theoretically 300,000, by shooting each ball through the graveyard without hitting anything and letting it drain (the ball will roll over a trigger that gives no points but disables the replay that is normally given when a ball hits no trigger). Then each ball is given a bonus of 100,000 for the starting one bear kick. However, getting that score may be difficult to do, as it is difficult to shoot the ball through the graveyard without hitting any of the graveyard bumpers. A score of 750,000 is easily attainable by launching each ball weakly so that it drops directly into the swamp and then drops down the center drain, gaining 150,000 points plus 100,000 bonus points each.

Special Collectors Edition

In October 1994, Bally produced a so called "Special Collectors Edition", often referred to as The Addams Family Gold. Towards the end of the original production run of The Addams Family some machines had been produced with golden features to celebrate the machine's sales record. The "Special Collectors Edition" similarly featured specially designed accents such as golden side rails, a golden lock bar, golden legs and an enhanced software program.

The game also included some gameplay enhancements. New scoring rules were added, most notably to the Mansion. Some rooms randomly awarded players items from Cousin Itt, such as a hair dryer or brush, with an accompanying number of points. Wednesday and Pugsley also made their first in-game appearance in the form of a "trap door", that would sometimes let a player move from one room to another, awarding them both. Numerous new quotes and dot-matrix effects were also added.

Only one thousand machines of the Special Collectors Edition were ever produced, each carrying the number (0001-1000) on a plaque below the coin door. A certificate with the corresponding number and the signatures of production and development team members was also unique for this edition.

Hidden game codes

The Addams Family pinball contains two known Easter eggs—plus a third egg in the Special Collector's Edition—each of which can be accessed using a flipper and Start button code sequence specific to each egg. The results produced are cosmetic in nature only; they do not modify actual game play in any way.

The codes work only under the following conditions: The machine must be in its Attract or "game over" mode (no game currently in progress). There must also be no credits on the machine. (The Start button cannot be flashing to begin a new game; consequently, the codes will never work if the machine is set for free play.)

The codes may also temporarily stop working if they are done too many times in a row. Allowing the Attract mode display screens to cycle all the way through (at least 1 or 2 minutes) before trying a code again should rectify this.

The available Easter eggs and how to activate them:

• "When Cows Fight": This is a humorous dot-matrix still that appears on the display for about three seconds. To see it, press the left flipper button 7 times, followed by the Start button once, then the right flipper button 14 times, Start button once, left button 20 times and finally the Start button once.
• "When Cows Dig for Gold" (collector's edition only): Another humorous still. Press the left button 12 times, then the Start button once, right button 5 times, Start once, left 4 times and Start once.
• Design credits: A flashy (and very noisy!) nod to the game's designers at Bally. Left button 13 times, Start button once, right once, Start once, left 2 times and Start once.

Aftermarket modifications

Some aftermarket modifications may be found in some machines:

• A ColorDMD full color display that replaces the original orange DMD.
• An Uncle Fester model sitting in the electric chair. He has a light bulb in his mouth replacing the light on the left side of the chair.
• A white bear above the base of the central staircase ramp where one shoots for bear kicks.
• A bronze colored vault on top of the vault shot hole.
• A Cousin Itt model above the Cousin Itt targets. This modification may trap balls.
• A bronze colored train near the train shot.
• A bronze colored phone near Thing's box.
• A bronze colored suit of armor in the back center.
• A miniature Tiffany-style lamp near Thing's box.

Digital versions

A version of this table was in development for the PC and was also going to be released on the Nintendo 64 and would be developed by Digital Eclipse and published by GT Interactive, but was cancelled. The game is also supported by Visual Pinball, which can also be made by some people to play through a home made pinball cabinet, like the original but digitally emulated.

On July 11, 2014 FarSight Studios released The Pinball Arcade Newsletter 29 indicating they "agreed upon terms with all of the major licenses and clearances" needed to digitally recreate this table. A Kickstarter to raise the $97,640 needed for licensing was initiated on September 12, 2014 and successfully funded $115,276 on its closing date of October 12, 2014.

On February 21, 2015 Farsight Studios released their digitized version of the table as part of the Season Four package of The Pinball Arcade on iOS, Android, Amazon, Steam (PC & Mac) and OUYA. The image of Christopher Lloyd was removed in this version due to licensing issues. The "Special Collectors Gold Edition" was one of the rewards for those who pledged over $100 during the Kickstarter campaign.

External links

• Internet Pinball Database: The Addams Family
• Internet Pinball Database: The Addams Family Special Collectors Edition
• Pinpedia Database Entry: The Addams Family
• Arcade History: The Addams Family
• "The Addams Family Pinball: A Legend in its Own Time". PlayMeter Magazine. March 2002. Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Pinball Archive rule sheet for The Addams Family
• The Addams Family promo video
• The Addams Family Owners Community