1980 · Williams
Algar
Known for Captive balls, River Styx, Top saucer and Reset ball chamber. Dark cavern or ruined temple interior and jagged angular mirrored slabs radiating outward.
- Year
- 1980
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Target
Captive balls
- Lane
River Styx
- saucer
Top saucer
- Hole
Reset ball chamber
- Lane
Kora lanes
On the playfield
- gold
- black
- red
- yellow
- 2 flippers
- 3 pop bumpers
- 1 spinner
- 2 slingshots
Holes 2
- Top saucer saucer
- Reset ball chamber
Targets 2
- Captive balls
- Drop target banks
Lanes 2
- River Styx
- Kora lanes
Lights 1
- Blue arrow
On the backglass
Who and what
- alien One crouching humanoid creature, centred. adult male-coded build, long shaggy dark brown hair, flat ape-like snout, wide mouth full of pointed teeth, furrowed brow. bare ochre-tan muscular chest and arms crossed by a dark navy-blue harness. a teal-green scaled oval panel covers the belly, with a large pale turquoise egg-shaped gem at the waist. huge rounded gold shoulder plates. arms in ribbed yellow sleeves ending in bright red hands with long curved white talons, hanging low at the hips. thick yellow thighs and dark shaggy fur-covered lower legs. sits in a wide, low, symmetrical crouch facing the viewer.
Setting
- Dark cavern or ruined temple interior
- Jagged angular mirrored slabs radiating outward
Text on it
- ALGAR
- Williams
- 1st UP
- 2nd UP
- 3rd UP
- FIRE
- SPECIAL
- TIRE
- ball in play
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
How it plays
-
Goals 2
- Captive-ball ladder
Other
- Eject-hole skill shot
Made by
- Design
- Tony Kraemer
- Art
- Constantino Mitchell
- Art
- Jeanine Mitchell
- Software
- Paul Dussault
- Sound
- Kristina Donofrio
The cast
- Gorgar
Reference
Linked terms
- River Styx also called River Styx loop shot
- Top saucer also called Eject hole also called Top-center eject hole
- Reset ball chamber also called Upper-left chamber
- Kora lanes also called KORA also called top lanes
- Drop target banks also called Drop targets
- Eject-hole skill shot also called Skill Shot
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- gold
- black
- red
- yellow
Fingerprint: Algar kora, huge bare-chested bearded warrior with horned helmet punching out of green-gold vortex, encircled by 1x to 5x multiplier inserts, three oversized glossy red mushroom pop bumpers each capped with yellow starburst in row across upper field, enormous angular chrome-red sculpture below bumpers resembling stylised gauntlet, dark navy apron with ALGAR, flaming red rose, KORA in gold block capitals
The centrepiece is a huge bare-chested bearded warrior with a horned helmet punching out of a green-and-gold vortex, encircled by a ring of 1x to 5x multiplier inserts. Second most memorable: three oversized glossy red mushroom pop bumpers, each capped with a yellow starburst, lined up shoulder to shoulder across the upper playfield. The huge angular chrome-and-red playfield sculpture below the bumpers, which looks like a stylised gauntlet or rocket nose, is also striking. Finally, the cream instruction cards bolted to a dark navy apron that reads ALGAR, a flaming red rose, then KORA in gold block capitals.
Setting
- Swirling green-and-gold cosmic vortex
- Gold ray bursts radiating from centre
- Painted stone and cloud textures around the lower playfield
- Dark navy apron panel with cream instruction cards
Symbols
- Card suits
- Red rose in flames
- Crown
- Arrows
- Multiplier medallions 1x-5x
- Fireball circle
- Starburst decals on bumper caps
Notable shapes
- Concentric arc of five multiplier medallions around the central warrior
- Triangular habitrail lane guides on both upper sides
- Triangular wire-form ramp at top right
- Large rectangular chrome-and-red sculpture at upper centre
- Circular fire again fireball insert at lower centre
Art motifs
- Concentric ray bursts
- Painted marble and stone
- Flame and smoke
- Banner lettering
Themes
- Fantasy combat
- Viking warrior
- Fireball
- Arena combat
Title on it
- Algar kora
Text on it
- KORA
- EXTRA BALL
- ALGAR
- FIRE
- AGAIN
- 1x
- 2x
- 3x
- 4x
- 5x
- SPECIAL
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- TOP SECT
- SPECIAL GATE
- LANE CHANGE
- RIGHT FLIPPER
- Advances KORA
- INSTRUCTIONS
- FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY
- IT'S A PLAYER!
- 3 BALLS
- PER GAME
- 1 PLAY
- 5 PLAYS
- Williams
- ELECTRONICS, INC.
- MADE IN U.S.A.
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Giant bare-chested bearded male warrior, black beard, horned viking-style helmet, right fist raised, emerging from a green vortex at centre of playfield |
| Other | Small crown emblem above the extra ball text at top centre |
| Other | Flaming red rose painted between algar and kora on the apron |
A lit electro-mechanical playfield seen from above under glass, wood-framed with a metal ball-guide apron at the bottom. The dominant palette is gold, yellow, red and black. At the top of the playfield a banner reads KORA in spaced gold capitals, with the word EXTRA BALL below a small crown emblem. Three large red mushroom pop bumpers with yellow starburst decals sit in a row across the upper third, flanked by vertical banks of red cylindrical inserts. Below them, dead centre, a hulking bare-chested male figure with a black beard, a horned Viking-like helmet and a raised fist rises out of a swirling green-and-gold vortex. Round multiplier inserts marked 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x and 5x arc around him, with a dark circle reading FIRE / AGAIN beneath. Two pale yellow slingshots with red rubber ring the lower centre either side of that fireball circle. Insert panels on the left carry lane numbers 10, 20, 30, 40 and a pink SPECIAL arrow; on the right, a green plate reads TOP SECT SPECIAL GATE beside a slingshot and a striped ramp. The lower apron carries the large gold title ALGAR left of a red flaming rose, KORA to its right, cream instruction cards at both corners, and right-hand printed text LANE CHANGE RIGHT FLIPPER Advances KORA. Cabinet side art is visible below the playfield in red and black.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- gold
- black
- emerald green
- blue
Fingerprint: ALGAR title in hammered gold-orange letters, ape-faced fanged alien in gold shoulder pauldrons holding red taloned hands, teal-green egg-shaped gem at belly, six red LED displays at odd angles, shattered mirror-shard cave background in emerald
The single most memorable feature is the enormous gold ALGAR logo arched across the top, its letters rendered like hammered, pitted molten metal. Second is the ape-faced, fanged alien crouched beneath it, wearing huge rounded gold shoulder pauldrons and holding bright red taloned hands low at its sides. Third, the pale turquoise egg-shaped gem set into its belly, which glows out against the surrounding dark blue harness. Fourth, the six red LED score windows floating at odd opposing angles around the figure, three rotated clockwise on the right and three counter-clockwise on the left. Fifth, the shattered mirror-like angular slab background in emerald and blue radiating outward like a cave built from broken glass.
Setting
- Dark cavern or ruined temple interior
- Jagged angular mirrored slabs radiating outward
Symbols
- Six red led digit windows
- Small red and yellow up-arrow lamps
- Circular teal emblem with a stylised letterform beside the script signature
- Large turquoise gem set in the belt
- Jagged shard patterns
- Angular card-suit-like panels in the background
Lettering
- Huge gold-to-orange gradient serif block capitals with a dark outline for the title; a light teal cursive script signature with a small round emblem at its left; small condensed white and red sans-serif capitals for the instruction words; tiny black sans-serif copyright line along the bottom edge
Themes
- Alien creature
- Monster
- Cave
- Fantasy action
- Tribal warrior
Title on it
- Algar
Text on it
- ALGAR
- Williams
- 1st UP
- 2nd UP
- 3rd UP
- FIRE
- SPECIAL
- TIRE
- ball in play
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Alien | One crouching humanoid creature, centred. adult male-coded build, long shaggy dark brown hair, flat ape-like snout, wide mouth full of pointed teeth, furrowed brow. bare ochre-tan muscular chest and arms crossed by a dark navy-blue harness. a teal-green scaled oval panel covers the belly, with a large pale turquoise egg-shaped gem at the waist. huge rounded gold shoulder plates. arms in ribbed yellow sleeves ending in bright red hands with long curved white talons, hanging low at the hips. thick yellow thighs and dark shaggy fur-covered lower legs. sits in a wide, low, symmetrical crouch facing the viewer. |
A backlit backglass inside a reddish-brown wooden cabinet frame, the glass glossy and highly reflective. Across the top runs the single word ALGAR in huge rough-textured gold-to-orange gradient block capitals with a dark outline. Below it, one crouched humanoid alien creature sits centred and dominates the whole picture: long shaggy dark brown hair, a flat ape-like snout with a wide fanged mouth, a bare muscular ochre-tan torso crossed by a dark navy-blue harness, a teal-green scaled oval belly panel, huge rounded gold shoulder plates, arms in ribbed yellow sleeves ending in bright red hands with long white talons, a large pale turquoise oval gem set at the waist, and thick yellow thighs fading into dark shaggy fur at the legs. The background is a dark cavern or ruin made of jagged angular slabs in emerald, olive, blue and black, mirrored shards fanning outwards behind the figure. Six red-on-black alphanumeric LED windows float at odd angles around the creature, three tilted each way, and small illuminated arrow lamps read 1st UP, 2nd UP and 3rd UP down the left and right edges. Bottom centre carries the red word FIRE.