1976 · Williams
Blue Chip
Known for Numbered targets, Upper-right saucer and Double Bonus lanes. Patchwork grid of coloured rectangular panels resembling stained glass or a quilt of blocks, laboratory interior with green walls, shelves and chemical glassware, night oil-field horizon with derrick towers and a beacon tower, explosion scene with red-orange sky and green farmland with a red barn, silo and a country road.
- Year
- 1976
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 1
Known for
- Target
Numbered targets
- saucer
Upper-right saucer
- Lane
Double Bonus lanes
On the playfield
Toy 1
- House-shaped structure
Holes 2
- Upper-right saucer saucer
- Top saucer saucer
Targets 3
- Numbered targets
- Targets 4-5-6
- Targets 7 and 8
Lane 1
- Double Bonus lanes
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Adult male laboratory worker, receding dark hair, full dark beard and moustache, white lab coat over blue shirt and tie, right hand raising a long test tube, left hand holding a small vial, standing in front of a green wall
- man Adult male in pale blue hard hat, blue overalls and white shirt, striding right with arm extended toward the beacon tower
- man Second adult male in pale blue hard hat and blue overalls, leaning back with both arms raised gripping the same red tower, one leg lifted
- man Adult male in dark brown jacket and trousers, crouching, holding a thin rod or lever, beside a wrecked car and a bright orange explosion
- man Adult male in blue short-sleeve shirt, wide-brimmed brown hat and tan trousers, smiling, one hand raised open, the other adjusting a brass theodolite on a wooden tripod
Setting
- Patchwork grid of coloured rectangular panels resembling stained glass or a quilt of blocks
- Laboratory interior with green walls, shelves and chemical glassware
- Night oil-field horizon with derrick towers and a beacon tower
- Explosion scene with red-orange sky
- Green farmland with a red barn, silo and a country road
Text on it
- PLAY FLIPPER SKILL GAMES
- FOR FUN and RECREATION
- 144760
- 13
- Williams
- Blue Chip
- BALLS TO PLAY
- TILT
- GAME OVER
How it plays
-
Goals 1
- 1-2-3
Made by
- Design
- Gordon Horlick
- Art
- Lloyd Rognan
Reference
Linked terms
- Numbered targets also called Targets 1-8
- Targets 4-5-6 also called Center targets
- Double Bonus lanes also called Upper side lanes
- 1-2-3 also called Complete 1-2-3
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- red
- cream
- sky-blue
- yellow
Fingerprint: Enormous inverted V-shaped wedge red and blue dominating center to flippers, two giant pink mushroom pop bumpers side by side above blonde showgirl, stage platform with outstretched arms, purple card featuring yellow suspension bridge PINBURGH 2025, bare wood lower apron
The single most memorable feature is the enormous inverted V-shaped red-and-blue wedge that dominates the whole centre of the playfield, with a green DOUBLE BONUS WHEN LIT triangle nested inside its point. Two enormous pink mushroom-cap pop bumpers sit side by side above a painted blonde showgirl in a red costume with outstretched arms on a red stage. The bottom-right carries a purple card with a yellow suspension bridge and the title PINBURGH 2025. Four blue-and-white chevron arrows point inward at the lower corners, and the whole lower third is bare varnished wood with just two white flippers.
Setting
- Painted harbour and steel bridge girders at the top
- City skyline in red brick at the right edge
- Vignette of wooden arch cabinet sides
- Plain varnished wood across the lower third
Symbols
- Red five-pointed stars
- Blue-and-white chevron arrows
- Numbered circles 1, 4, 5, 6, 8
- Round white insert lamps
- A yellow suspension bridge drawing
- A crowned w monogram inside a red square
Notable shapes
- The full-length inverted v wedge from mid-playfield to the flipper gap
- Two large inverted triangles acting as value plastics
- A green triangle nested at the v point
- Arched top playfield with a yellow header arch
- Chevron arrows in both lower corners
Art motifs
- Radiating sunburst of pale blue rays from centre
- Long inverted v chevron bands in red and blue
- Ribbon banners with folded tails
- Value ladders on triangular plastics
Themes
- Harbour city
- Suspension bridge
- Advancing bonus values
- Double bonus
- Showgirl
Title on it
- Pinburgh 2025
Text on it
- 10.000 ADVANCE BONUS
- 1000 WHEN LIT
- 10.000 ADVANCE BONUS WHEN LIT
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- 5 LITES DOUBLE BONUS WHEN LIT
- 3 LITES DOUBLE BONUS WHEN LIT
- SPECIAL
- 1000
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 5000
- 10.000
- 50.000
- 15.000
- 45.000
- 20.000
- 40.000
- 25.000
- 30.000
- DOUBLE BONUS WHEN LIT
- 1
- 8
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- INSTRUCTIONS
- FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY
- BLUE CHIP
- WILLIAMS ELECTRONICS, INC.
- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60618
- PINBURGH
- 2025
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Painted blonde showgirl in a red halter outfit, bare midriff, arms outstretched left and right, standing on a red trapezoidal stage platform at centre-top of the playfield |
| Vehicle | Small red-and-white painted car/limousine at the upper right beside the tram-like structure |
| Vehicle | Painted red tram or trolley with lit windows running horizontally across the upper centre behind the pop bumpers |
| Other | Painted pavilion with a red roof and yellow supports at the upper left, plus tiny painted figures in blue and red standing on the harbour wall |
A 1960s-style electro-mechanical pinball playfield in red, cream, sky-blue and yellow, dominated by a huge inverted red-and-blue V (a wedge) that runs from mid-playfield down to the flippers. At the top a painted blonde woman in a red swimsuit-like costume stands on a red stage platform with both arms outstretched, flanked by two large pink mushroom-shaped pop bumper caps. Above her sits a red ball-serve trough labelled 1000 WHEN LIT, and at the very top a yellow arch with 10.000 ADVANCE BONUS. The upper-left and upper-right corners show painted harbour/bridge scenery with steel-grey girders, tiny buildings and a red-roofed pavilion. Two large inverted triangular plastics in the mid-lower playfield carry value ladders (5000/10.000/15.000/20.000/25.000 and 50.000/45.000/35.000/30.000) either side of a green triangle reading DOUBLE BONUS WHEN LIT. A domed clear plastic at centre covers a saucer-like hole. Red ribbon banners read SPECIAL WHEN LIT on both side rails. Bottom: two white flippers with red rubber, wooden-look lower apron, blue-and-white chevron arrows in both corners, an INSTRUCTIONS card, and a purple title panel reading PINBURGH 2025 above a yellow suspension bridge.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- blue
- yellow
- red
- green
Fingerprint: Silver-grey ribbon S-curve across stained-glass grid patchwork, laboratory worker with test tubes, oil derrick workers, surveyor with theodolite, "Blue Chip" gold blackletter title.
A fat silver-grey metal ribbon or cable snakes in a huge S-curve from the top centre down across the laboratory scene, the derricks and the surveyor, tying the whole multi-vignette panel together. Six framed number windows in a cream strip read 144760 like a mechanical score reel. The title Blue Chip appears in gold blackletter with heavy black outlines on a dark blue horizontally striped bar, tucked into the lower right quadrant rather than centred. A man in a brown brimmed hat is bent over a brass surveyor's theodolite on a tripod, with a TILT window across his chest. A red barn on a green field with BALLS TO PLAY printed below it anchors the bottom left.
Setting
- Patchwork grid of coloured rectangular panels resembling stained glass or a quilt of blocks
- Laboratory interior with green walls, shelves and chemical glassware
- Night oil-field horizon with derrick towers and a beacon tower
- Explosion scene with red-orange sky
- Green farmland with a red barn, silo and a country road
Symbols
- Chemical retort stand and funnel
- Round-bottom and conical flasks
- Thermometer and pipette panel
- Blue neon-lit tower facade
- Oil derrick towers
- Red and yellow beacon tower on a pole
- Brass surveyor's theodolite
- Wooden tripod
- Red barn with silo and poplar trees
- Orange station wagon car
- Wrecked car in an explosion burst
- Grey metal ribbon or cable
- Small red flag pointer beside the number 13
Lettering
- Bold condensed black sans-serif capitals in the top banner and for balls to play; gold blackletter with heavy black outline and white keyline for the main title; red cursive script logo above the title; white capitals on a dark green window for game over; white capitals on a grey ribbon for tilt
Themes
- Oil industry
- Oil drilling derricks
- Chemistry laboratory
- Surveying and land measurement
- Farming
- Automobiles
- Explosion and wreck
- Stained glass panel grid
Title on it
- Blue chip
Text on it
- PLAY FLIPPER SKILL GAMES
- FOR FUN and RECREATION
- 144760
- 13
- Williams
- Blue Chip
- BALLS TO PLAY
- TILT
- GAME OVER
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Adult male laboratory worker, receding dark hair, full dark beard and moustache, white lab coat over blue shirt and tie, right hand raising a long test tube, left hand holding a small vial, standing in front of a green wall |
| Man | Adult male in pale blue hard hat, blue overalls and white shirt, striding right with arm extended toward the beacon tower |
| Man | Second adult male in pale blue hard hat and blue overalls, leaning back with both arms raised gripping the same red tower, one leg lifted |
| Man | Adult male in dark brown jacket and trousers, crouching, holding a thin rod or lever, beside a wrecked car and a bright orange explosion |
| Man | Adult male in blue short-sleeve shirt, wide-brimmed brown hat and tan trousers, smiling, one hand raised open, the other adjusting a brass theodolite on a wooden tripod |
Wooden backbox frame holding a glass panel painted as a patchwork grid of stained-glass-like rectangles in blue, red, orange, yellow and green, with a wide silver-grey ribbon looping in a big S-curve across the whole panel. Top banner reads PLAY FLIPPER SKILL GAMES on blue and FOR FUN and RECREATION on yellow. Below sits an orange 1970s station wagon car and a cream strip of six number windows reading 144760. Four separate scenes: a bearded laboratory worker in a white coat holding test tubes among green walls and flasks; two men in blue overalls and pale hard hats striding towards a red-and-yellow beacon tower with derricks on a dark horizon; a man in a dark brown jacket crouching with a rod beside a car wreck and a bright orange explosion burst; and a man in a blue shirt, brown hat and tan trousers operating a brass theodolite on a wooden tripod. Centre-right is the title Blue Chip in gold gothic letters with black outlines on a blue striped bar, under a red cursive Williams logo. A green field with a red barn carries BALLS TO PLAY in black capitals; TILT and GAME OVER windows sit over the surveyor.