1989–1991 · Gottlieb
Bone Busters Inc.
Known for Center jump ramp, Moon Street, Headquarters and Maxwell Street. Solid black sky, white-blue lightning bolts, glowing white electrical burst at centre-right and dark blue-black border frame.
- Years
- 1989–1991
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Ramp
Center jump ramp
- Hole
Moon Street
- Hole
Headquarters
- Hole
Maxwell Street
- extra flipper
Train Switch
- Captive ball
Captive ball
- Goal
Bony Bonus
2 games under this title
On the playfield
Ramp 1
- Center jump ramp
Holes 3
- Moon Street
- Headquarters
- Maxwell Street
Captive ball 1
- Captive ball
Spinner 1
- Top spinners
Bumper 1
- Blue pop bumper
Targets 2
- Next Car Served
- Wall switch
Lane 1
- Loop shot
Flipper 1
- Train Switch extra flipper
Post or gate 1
- Free ball gate gate
On the backglass
Who and what
- skeleton Large pale blue-white skeleton at centre with dark eye sockets, outstretched arm, tattered red-orange flesh remnants
- skeleton Yellow-white skeleton standing left of centre, arms raised, wearing torn orange/red ribbons
- skeleton Red-lit skeleton lower centre, skull facing forward, one arm reaching up
- skeleton Small skeleton perched inside the title lettering at top left
- skeleton Skeleton in yellow shirt and purple trousers, right of centre, arms flung outward
- skeleton Orange-haired figure with skull head thrown back, upper right of centre
Setting
- Solid black sky
- White-blue lightning bolts
- Glowing white electrical burst at centre-right
- Dark blue-black border frame
Text on it
- BoneBusters Inc.
- Ball - Play - Match
- Gottlieb
- The Premier Name in Pinball!
- 1ST
- 2ND
- 3RD
- 4TH
How it plays
-
Modes 1
- Bonus Time
-
Goals 2
- Light Random Lock
- Bony Bonus
Made by
- Design
- Ray Tanzer
- Art
- Constantino Mitchell
- Art
- Brian R. Johnson
- Art
- Jeanine Mitchell
- Software
- Allen Edwall
- Music
- Dave Zabriskie
- Music
- Craig Beierwaltes
Reference
Linked terms
- Center jump ramp also called Multiball start ramp
- Moon Street also called right saucer also called lower right saucer
- Headquarters also called left outlane also called left out lane saucer
- Maxwell Street also called beneath the left ramp
- Train Switch also called gate flipper also called mini-flipper
- Top spinners also called Jogging Path spinners
- Blue pop bumper also called Water Tower
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield Standard
- red
- yellow
- blue
- green
Fingerprint: Enormous yellow-green skull with bared teeth looming over blue city skyline, three-dimensional red-orange title letters arching mid-field, comic speech bubbles scattered throughout, bespectacled scientist and soldier figures flanking, cartoon-style explosive bursts, 1960s comic art
The single most memorable element is the enormous grinning acid-yellow skull painted across the centre of the lower playfield, teeth bared, looming over a blue city skyline. Second is the fat red-and-orange three-dimensional lettering arcing across the upper middle of the field. A white instruction card packed with black all-caps rule text sits on the lower left, and a teal panel with a cartoon scientist and 'TOP'/'LOWER' score notes sits on the lower right. The whole field is dotted with comic speech balloons and star-shaped burst graphics in the style of a 1960s cartoon strip.
Setting
- Blue night-time city skyline with tall buildings and lit windows
- Dark green industrial bomb-disposal machinery and bomb shapes
- Pink and magenta cabinet side rails
- Black upper-playfield recess with ramps and wiring
Symbols
- Large cartoon bombs with lit fuses
- Comic speech balloons
- Jagged starburst explosion shapes
- Spiral springs or coiled fuse shapes
- Stars
- Arrows
- Building silhouettes
- Sling-lane arrows
Notable shapes
- Giant central skull
- Large circular black cut-out hole at bottom centre
- Arched wire guides flanking the lower field
- Diagonal pink-and-blue stripe bands crossing the lower playfield
Art motifs
- Comic-strip speech bubbles
- Sweeping diagonal colour bands on the lower playfield
- Orange, teal and magenta colour blocks
- Scattered starburst bursts
- Hand-lettered comic captions
Themes
- Bomb disposal
- Cartoon demolition squad
- Comic-strip art
- Military
- Timed-play scoring
Text on it
- Gottlieb
- Premier Technology
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Game: Bone Busters Inc.
- Lead Designer: Ray Tanzer
- Artist: Konstantin Mickel, Jeanne Mitchell
- Manufactured Date: 1968
- Total Production: 2,000
- Note: The transits for this game were collectively hand-drawn by the artists.
- TOP
- Train Rebellion
- Score
- LOWER
- A Bunch Of Kisses!!
- TAN TRAP
- GIANT BOMB
- TO LOCK IN VALUE
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Monster | A giant yellow-green skull with a heavy furrowed brow, black hollow eye sockets, a nasal cavity and a wide toothy grin, painted as the centrepiece over the blue skyline |
| Man | A cartoon scientist/technician in a white coat with dark round glasses and black hair, standing near the centre-left among the machinery |
| Man | A cartoon soldier figure in green uniform and helmet, standing near the upper middle of the field |
| Man | A black-and-white line-drawn technician in overalls and a cap, drawn on the lower right teal panel next to the 'top' and 'lower' labels |
| Other | Several tiny helmeted cartoon demolition workers in green and yellow scattered around the mid and lower playfield, plus a row of small figures printed on the large title banner |
A brightly coloured bomb-disposal themed electro-mechanical playfield shot from above at a slight angle, with the cabinet's red side rails and a red instruction arch at the top. The centre of the lower half is dominated by a huge grinning yellow-green skull with a bulging brow, deep black eye sockets and a full set of bared white teeth, painted over a blue night-city skyline with buildings and searchlights. Across the upper-middle runs a large chunky three-dimensional title in red and orange block letters with a yellow outline, flanked by cartoon figures: a bespectacled scientist in a white lab coat and a soldier type in green. Numerous white speech balloons and starburst bursts are scattered around. The left side holds a white instruction card printed with black text; the right side carries a teal panel with a cartoon scientist and separate 'TOP' and 'LOWER' score legends, plus a big pink wordmark logo with a small cartoon figure. Two large teardrop-shaped pop-bumper caps sit in a row across the mid-field above a set of rectangular rollover lanes.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass Standard
- black
- red
- yellow
- white
Fingerprint: bonebusters inc. title in thick red-yellow gradient capitals with white outline; small skeleton perched inside the arched title lettering; mass of numerous skeletons exploding outward from blinding white electric burst at centre-right; large pale-blue skeleton lunging across middle with outstretched arm; white-blue lightning bolts and central electric burst; black background with red, yellow and white palette
A mass of dozens of skeletons exploding outwards from a single blinding white electric burst at centre-right, with a big pale-blue skeleton lunging across the middle. A small skeleton is drawn sitting inside the arched red-and-yellow 'BoneBusters Inc.' title lettering at the top. Four blue alphanumeric score readouts sit in a black panel below, framed by '1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH' markers. The 'Gottlieb' logo and 'The Premier Name in Pinball!' slogan run along the bottom edge.
Setting
- Solid black sky
- White-blue lightning bolts
- Glowing white electrical burst at centre-right
- Dark blue-black border frame
Symbols
- Skeletons
- Skull heads
- Lightning bolts
- Electric energy burst
- Tattered strips of cloth
Lettering
- Arched, thick sans-serif capitals with red-to-yellow vertical gradient, white outline and drop shadow; lower credits in white script and sans-serif
Themes
- Horror
- Ghosts
- Skeletons
- Bones
- Electricity
- Monster movie
- Black background
Title on it
- Bonebusters inc.
Text on it
- BoneBusters Inc.
- Ball - Play - Match
- Gottlieb
- The Premier Name in Pinball!
- 1ST
- 2ND
- 3RD
- 4TH
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Skeleton | Large pale blue-white skeleton at centre with dark eye sockets, outstretched arm, tattered red-orange flesh remnants |
| Skeleton | Yellow-white skeleton standing left of centre, arms raised, wearing torn orange/red ribbons |
| Skeleton | Red-lit skeleton lower centre, skull facing forward, one arm reaching up |
| Skeleton | Small skeleton perched inside the title lettering at top left |
| Skeleton | Skeleton in yellow shirt and purple trousers, right of centre, arms flung outward |
| Skeleton | Orange-haired figure with skull head thrown back, upper right of centre |
| Skeleton | Brown-hued skeleton with white shirt standing right of centre |
| Skeleton | Partial skull at far left edge, red-lit |
| Skeleton | Partial skull at lower left edge, pale with dark eyes |
| Skeleton | Several smaller background skeletons and bone fragments scattered around the burst |
A horror-themed painted backglass on a black background, framed by a dark blue-black border. Across the top, arched lettering reads 'BoneBusters Inc.' in thick red and yellow gradient capitals with a white outline and a small skeleton perched inside one of the letters. Below it is a dense tangle of at least eight human skeletons and bone-white figures, many in tattered red-orange rags, lit from behind by white-blue lightning bolts and a large white electric burst at centre-right. A large pale-blue skeleton with a dark eye socket dominates the centre, one arm outstretched, and the bones of many others radiate outward from the central flash. In the lower centre a rectangular black score panel holds two rows of blue alphanumeric digit displays, labelled '1ST', '2ND', '3RD' and '4TH', with red script 'Ball - Play - Match' between them. Along the bottom edge are the white 'Gottlieb' script logo and the slogan 'The Premier Name in Pinball!' in white. Dominant colours are black, red, yellow and white.
Backglass Amazon Hunt III
- black
- red
- yellow
- green
Fingerprint: amazon hunt title arching across whole upper half; fierce dark-haired jungle woman thrusting beaded arm straight outward at viewer with commanding extended index finger, face lit hard from left against green arched window; colossal stacked red-gold lettering sweeping over and behind her head; hemmed at waist by dense overlapping pointed green and teal jungle leaves with red-brown branch crossing behind; two rows glowing green numeric score windows
A single fierce, dark-haired jungle woman thrusts a beaded arm straight out at the viewer, index finger extended in a commanding gesture, her face lit hard from the left against a green arched window. The colossal stacked red-and-gold title lettering sweeps over and behind her head, with HUNT stacked down the right edge. She is hemmed in at the waist by dense overlapping pointed green and teal jungle leaves, with a red-brown branch crossing behind her. Two rows of glowing green numeric score windows sit directly in the foliage at the bottom.
Setting
- Dark maroon-purple void
- Green-and-gold arched window
- Dense jungle foliage
Symbols
- Pointed tropical leaves
- Palm fronds
- Green-and-gold arched window
- Red-brown tree branch
- Numerical score windows
Lettering
- Huge arched stacked block capitals, red-orange gradient with gold highlight and cream drop shadow
Themes
- Jungle
- Adventure
- Amazon
- Expedition
- Jungle princess
Title on it
- Amazon hunt
Text on it
- AMAZON HUNT
- 2nd
- 3rd
- 4th
- Premier
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Adult, tanned skin, dark slicked-back hair, gold beaded necklace and girdle, beaded armbands, bare midriff, stern wide-eyed expression, right arm thrust forward with index finger pointing toward the viewer |
A painted backglass on an almost black, deep maroon-purple background. The title arches across the whole upper half in enormous block capitals reading AMAZON HUNT, the letters stacked so AMAZON curves over the left and centre and HUNT drops down the right; each letter has a red-to-orange gradient face, a thick gold-yellow inner highlight and a heavy cream drop shadow, outlined in dark red. Centre stage is a single painted woman: tanned skin, dark slicked-back hair, a beaded gold necklace, a feathered headdress, and bright beaded armbands and a beaded girdle over a bare midriff. She faces the viewer with a stern, wide-eyed expression and thrusts her right arm straight out towards the left, index finger pointing, as if commanding. Behind her is a green-and-gold segmented arched window or gate. The lower third is dense jungle foliage: overlapping pointed green and teal leaves, palm fronds and a red-brown branch, framing two rows of green-lit numerical score windows. Four player positions are indicated. Bottom right carries a small gold wordmark; bottom left has tiny red print. The art style is airbrushed, saturated and dramatic, with strong rim lighting on the woman's face and arms.