1974 Williams LUCKY ACE pinball machine

Here we have a 1974 Williams Lucky Ace pinball machine. It's a single-player game that can be set for add-a-ball or replay. It was designed by Norm Clarke with artwork by Christian Marche.

This game looks really nice. The backglass artwork is great, I think, and has some very nice colour. I like the bright colours against the black background. It's different from the norm and seems to work well for this machine.

Game play is interesting with two main objectives. First, the player must shoot for the 10 through Ace targets on the left side, which is difficult because the targets are angled slightly away from the lower flippers. Hitting these targets is easier with the upper right flipper and it is positioned in a way that makes opportunities to hit the ball with it fairly regular. Hitting these targets once lights the extra ball lane. Hitting them a 2nd time lights the special lane.

The second object is to complete the 1 through 9 rollover switches in the middle of the playfield. Doing so lights the centre special which is scored upon 2nd completion of the rollover sequence.

One of the strangest things about this game is that the 10 through Ace targets do not reset at the beginning of a game. Completed targets from the previous game remain completed until the player finishes the entire sequence, then they reset. Also, the 1 through 9 rollovers can be set to do the same thing (carry over from game to game or not) via an option connector on the relay panel. Very strange.

How's the game? It's okay. Nothing great, that's for sure. It's very wide open and, honestly, the shots are pretty unsatisfying. It's not a bad game, but it isn't really a good one either. Nothing to write home about here, but it's cute and fun enough for a little while anyway.

For more on this game, check out http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1483