1971 · Bally
Firecracker
Known for Firecracker holes, Feature unit and Center post. Spanish village of stucco houses with terracotta tile roofs, deep red-orange night sky and small window with green and blue curtains.
- Year
- 1971
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Hole
Firecracker holes
- Toy
Feature unit
- post
Center post
On the playfield
- magenta
- orange
- gold
- white
- 2 flippers
- 4 pop bumpers
- 2 slingshots
Toys 2
- Feature unit
- Ten-point stepper stepper
Hole 1
- Firecracker holes
Bumper 1
- Red and blue bumpers
Targets 3
- Center standup targets
- Extra Ball target
- Upper right standup target
Kickback 1
- Left outlane kickback
Post or gate 1
- Center post post
Controls 2
- Down Post buttons button
- Top rollover button button
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Cartoon man in a huge yellow sombrero with red and white polka dots, black moustache, open laughing mouth, yellow shirt with rolled sleeves, teal arm bands, blue-green sash, yellow trousers; leaping with both arms flung wide, right hand holding a small blue firecracker
- woman Left dancer, long black hair, red top, swirling skirt of pink, green, blue and white segments, arms outstretched
- woman Right dancer, short blue-black hair, yellow top, green skirt with red and white patterned bands, white cuffs, tipping a black hat with both hands
- animal Small yellow long-necked bird with a red crest and long beak at bottom left beside the yellow cloud
Setting
- Spanish village of stucco houses with terracotta tile roofs
- Deep red-orange night sky
- Small window with green and blue curtains
Text on it
- FIRECRACKER
- Ball
- BALLPLAY
- 1 UP
- 2 UP
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 to 4 can play
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
How it plays
-
Awards 1
- Firecracker awards
Made by
- Design
- Harry Williams
- Art
- Christian Marche
Reference
Linked terms
- Firecracker holes also called Firecracker value also called Top and left Firecracker spin-score holes
- Feature unit also called Rotating feature unit also called Firecracker
- Center standup targets also called center target also called Center post-raising target
- Down Post buttons also called Down Post also called down rollovers
- Extra Ball target also called Randomly lit Extra Ball target
- Upper right standup target also called top-right target
- Top rollover button also called rollover button
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- magenta
- orange
- gold
- white
Fingerprint: Giant gold starburst center with grinning clown in ruffled collar and pointed cap above, holding playing cards, four white 100 POINTS EACH pop-bumper caps with red sunburst skirts, large yellow UP POST disc surrounded by 1000 inserts, hexagonal circus performer window, rabbit figures on posts, clown head in ball-return housing, bright magenta-pink field, 1950s-60s circus airbrush style
The most memorable feature is the giant gold starburst in the centre of the playfield, with a grinning painted clown holding playing cards perched above it. Second is the cluster of white 100 POINTS EACH pop-bumper caps with red sunburst skirts — four of them across the upper half. Third is the large yellow circular UP POST disc in the lower playfield, ringed by a wreath of 1000 inserts and repeated 1000 and 8000 numerals. Fourth is the circus theme carried by two white rabbits on posts and a clown head set into the yellow ball-return housing on the left.
Setting
- Flat magenta-pink playfield ground
- Painted gold starburst medallion at centre
- Circus tent and painted clown scenery at the top
- Yellow-gold lower apron with black copyright panel
- Wooden cabinet side rails in pale yellow
Symbols
- Five-pointed gold star
- Sunburst rosettes
- Playing cards
- Yellow flags reading bonus score and extra ball
- Triangular banners
- Rabbits
- Lettering balloons
Notable shapes
- Large central gold five-pointed star
- Arched upper playfield with clear rails
- Large yellow circular up post disc ringed with inserts
- Triangular painted side art panels
- Yellow ball-return housing on the left
Art motifs
- Painted circus performers in triangular side panels
- Starburst bonus emblems
- Chevron racing stripes on apron
- Lettering balloons spelling bonus values
Themes
- Circus
- Clown
- Carnival
- Electro-mechanical
Text on it
- BONUS
- ADVANCE BONUS
- 1000
- 100 POINTS EACH
- INCREASE BALLS
- RED ADVANCE BONUS
- GREEN
- 10,000 POINTS
- BONUS SCORE
- EXTRA BALL
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- SHOOT AGAIN SCORE 1000 WHEN LIT
- 3000 ADVANCE BONUS
- 4000 ADVANCE BONUS
- 2000 ADVANCE BONUS
- UP POST
- 8000
- ON KICK
- FREE BALL SCORE 3000 WHEN LIT
- DOWN POST
- SAME PLAYER SHOOTS AGAIN
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- SHOOTER BUTTON
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- TILT ENDS GAME
- 5 BALLS PER PLAYER
- 2 PLAYS 25c
- Bally
- COPYRIGHT 1960 BALLY MFG. CO.
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Painted grinning clown with orange hair, white ruffled collar and small pointed cap, above the central gold starburst, holding playing cards |
| Other | Second painted clown, red-haired with a ruff, inside the hexagonal window mid-playfield |
| Animal | White rabbit figure on a post at upper left of centre |
| Animal | White rabbit figure on a post at upper right of centre |
| Other | Clown head with ruffled collar set into the yellow ball-return housing on the left side |
| Man | Small painted ringmaster/acrobatic figure in the top-left background art |
| Man | Small painted clown figure in the top-right background art |
| Other | Painted clown figures in the lower-left and lower-right side triangles |
| Other | Painted seated clown at the far right edge near the yellow bonus flag |
An electro-mechanical playfield on a bright magenta-pink ground, framed by yellow-gold side rails. A huge gold five-pointed starburst with orange rays sits dead centre, with a painted grinning clown in a ruffled collar and pointed cap above it holding playing cards. Three large white pop-bumper caps with red sunburst skirts read 100 POINTS EACH, flanked by two smaller white 100 caps; blue banners read INCREASE BALLS, RED ADVANCE BONUS and GREEN 10,000 POINTS, with a yellow BONUS SCORE flag on the right and an EXTRA BALL flag on the left. Mid-field a hexagonal window shows a circus performer, flanked by white rabbit figures on posts and a clown head on a yellow ball-return housing at left. The lower half is dominated by a large yellow round UP POST / POST disc ringed with white 1000 inserts and the numerals 1000 and 8000 repeated around it, ringed by eight yellow sunburst bonus emblems reading 2000, 3000 and 4000 ADVANCE BONUS. Lower-left insert reads ON KICK, lower-right reads FREE BALL SCORE 3000 WHEN LIT. The yellow apron carries a black copyright block, 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY instruction card, TILT ENDS GAME, 5 BALLS PER PLAYER, 2 PLAYS 25c, and flipper and shooter buttons. Cartoon airbrushed 1950s-60s circus-clown art in magenta, orange, gold and white.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- red
- yellow
- pink
- orange
Fingerprint: Grinning man in enormous yellow polka-dot sombrero leaping through Spanish village centre, arms wide with firecracker, "FIRECRACKER" in pale blue block letters with red "Ball" script across it, two dancing women flanking in swirling striped skirts (pink-green-blue and yellow-green), four score windows with black chevron "UP" badges (1UP-4UP), stucco houses, yellow starbursts, flat comic style, fiesta celebration theme
A grinning cartoon man in an enormous yellow sombrero with red-and-white polka dots leaping through the centre of a Spanish-style village, arms thrown wide with a small firecracker in one hand. The title FIRECRACKER is set in tall pale blue block capitals with a red cursive Ball slanted diagonally across it. Two dancing women in swirling striped skirts flank the logo, one in pink, green and blue and one in yellow and green tipping a black hat. Four score-reel windows cut into the glass, each with a black chevron UP badge in yellow text.
Setting
- Spanish village of stucco houses with terracotta tile roofs
- Deep red-orange night sky
- Small window with green and blue curtains
Symbols
- Yellow starbursts
- Spiky yellow sun
- Firecracker in hand
- Black chevron player badges
- Numbered player circles 1-4
- Score reels showing 3 4 2 2 0 and 0 0 0 0 0
Lettering
- Tall condensed pale blue sans-serif capitals with heavy black outlines for the main title, a slanted red cursive script word overlaid, hand-lettered white-outlined bubble text in the corner cloud, and compact yellow block capitals on black chevrons
Themes
- Firecracker
- Fiesta
- Spanish village
- Dancing couples
- Score reels
Title on it
- Firecracker
Text on it
- FIRECRACKER
- Ball
- BALLPLAY
- 1 UP
- 2 UP
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- 1 to 4 can play
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Cartoon man in a huge yellow sombrero with red and white polka dots, black moustache, open laughing mouth, yellow shirt with rolled sleeves, teal arm bands, blue-green sash, yellow trousers; leaping with both arms flung wide, right hand holding a small blue firecracker |
| Woman | Left dancer, long black hair, red top, swirling skirt of pink, green, blue and white segments, arms outstretched |
| Woman | Right dancer, short blue-black hair, yellow top, green skirt with red and white patterned bands, white cuffs, tipping a black hat with both hands |
| Animal | Small yellow long-necked bird with a red crest and long beak at bottom left beside the yellow cloud |
A square backglass with a gold-speckled outer frame and a reflective panel showing pink, orange and white stucco houses with terracotta tile roofs under a red-orange sky. Four white score-reel windows with black numerals are inset across the glass, each paired with a black chevron badge in yellow text reading 1 UP, 2 UP, 3 UP, 4 UP. A cartoon man in a huge yellow sombrero dotted red and white leaps at the centre, arms flung wide, mouth open, a small blue firecracker in one hand. Below him two dancing women: one with long black hair, a red top and a swirling pink, green and blue skirt; one with short blue-black hair, a yellow top and a green skirt trimmed with red and white bands, tipping a black hat. Yellow starbursts and a spiky sun sit low centre. A yellow cloud bottom left reads 1 to 4 can play above four numbered circles. Tall pale blue block letters with black outlines spell FIRECRACKER across the lower centre, with Ball in red script laid diagonally over it. Small black capitals BALLPLAY sit lower right. Flat comic colouring, heavy black outlines.