Nine Ball

A 1970s electro-mechanical playfield with a black, star-flecked background dominated by one huge painted comet streaking diagonally from the top right to the lower left, its yellow-orange flame tail curling behind a red-and-yellow striped conical wizard hat worn by a grinning fanged wizard figure at bottom centre. Upper left sits a painted star-burst explosion and a silver rocket; upper right a red ball-return cup ringed by a painted comet trail. The centre is dominated by a large blue circular bumper with concentric white rings and a star field. A tall left-side drop-target bank carries a large vertical numeral column 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 beside rows of round red, yellow, green and white inserts. On the right, a diagonal raised ramp rises past a curved word reading THOUSAND, and a five-light arc marked 4X PLUS, 2X PLUS, 1X. Two red-and-white plastic flippers sit at the bottom below BONUS X 1000 and SHOOT AGAIN lettering. Metal instruction cards line the bottom apron.

Translucent black-background backglass in an airbrushed late-1970s/1980s fantasy-sports style. Across the top a huge arched title, NINE BALL, in blocky red-and-orange letters with a thick white and yellow outline and a black drop shadow, spanning nearly the full width. Below the title sits a grotesque winged demon or gargoyle head in red, gold and bone tones: a horned grey-white skull face with a gaping mouth, yellow eyes, and two large crimson feathered wings raised on either side, its clawed hands gripping flaming gold chains that cross in an X. Numbered pool balls scatter across the lower two-thirds: a striped 9-ball at centre, solid 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and a small green 6, each with a starburst glint. The left column carries four stacked rectangular score windows with bevelled red-and-gold surrounds, each preceded by a large bevelled player numeral 1, 2, 3, 4. Curved grey smoke-like ribbons with dotted halftone edges weave across the whole background over a deep blue and black starfield scattered with white four-pointed stars. Lower centre is a credit and ball-in-play readout; lower right has curved italic lettering.

A rectangular backglass with a black star-speckled outer field and a deep blue nebula-like centre panel filled with white four-pointed starbursts and pale blue swirling smoke trails. Across the top, huge arched letters spell NINE BALL in red with yellow-gold shading and a thick white outline, with BALL continuing to the upper right and a smaller red BY STERN set diagonally beside it. Small red italic lettering sits just left of the N over a pale blue banner. Down the left edge, four white-outlined numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4 mark four player positions, each above a black rectangular inset containing red seven-segment digits. In the centre is a red-robed, winged, horned devil figure with a pale grinning face, raising both arms to hold two crossed flaming nine-pin bowling pins, with a large red-and-white bowling ball below him. Glossy coloured bowling balls are scattered across the field, each carrying a black or white numeral. A small black inset low in the centre holds two red digital readouts. A wooden cabinet edge frames the piece, and reflections from room lighting streak across the glossy surface.