Also known as RBION
2004 · Stern
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Known for Shrunken head, Vari-target, Temple and Regular Multiball. Dim stone-walled interior of a temple or museum hall, gold fluted columns wrapped in thick twisted rope at both edges, dark green tropical leaves and vines across the top, cobbled stone floor and posted paper notices on the rear wall.
- Year
- 2004
- Maker
- Stern
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Dot matrix
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Toy
Shrunken head
- Target
Vari-target
- feature
Temple
- Multiball
Regular Multiball
- Multiball
RIPOFF Multiball
- Goal
Continents
On the playfield
- yellow
- orange
- red
- black
- 2 flippers
- 3 pop bumpers
- 1 target bank
Toy 1
- Shrunken head
Orbits 2
- Upper inner loop loop
- Lower loop loop
Hole 1
- VUK
Target 1
- Vari-target
On the backglass
Who and what
- woman Giant blue-grey sculpted head, serene closed eyes, tall pointed crest of black hair over a heavy black bob, mounted as a bust on a square stone plinth at centre
- man Grinning man in a pith helmet, bright green open-neck shirt, tan trousers, brown shoulder satchel strap and small dark beard, left hand raised, standing left of the plinth
- woman Blonde woman in pink, wide startled eyes, standing behind the man with both hands outstretched
- man Greenish bald grinning male face floating inside the gold picture frame, wearing a dark collar
- man Orange-skinned bald grinning male face with a black collar, lower in the same gold frame
- creature Small black-and-white bird with a long tail standing on the floor to the right of the plinth
Setting
- Dim stone-walled interior of a temple or museum hall
- Gold fluted columns wrapped in thick twisted rope at both edges
- Dark green tropical leaves and vines across the top
- Cobbled stone floor
- Posted paper notices on the rear wall
Text on it
- Ripley’s
- Believe It or Not!
- STERN
- PINBALL, INC
- © Ripley’s Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
How it plays
-
Modes 4
- Africa
- North America
- Antarctica
- South America
-
Multiballs 2
- Regular Multiball
- RIPOFF Multiball
-
Goals 2
- Continents
Other
- Temple
-
Wizard modes 2
- Atlantis
- Frog Frenzy
Made by
- Design
- Pat Lawlor
- Design & Software
- Louis Koziarz
- Art
- John Youssi
- Mechanics
- John Krutsch
- Software
- Greg Dunlap
- Sound & Music
- Chris Granner
- Display animation
- Adam Rhine
Reference
Linked terms
- Shrunken head also called head
- Upper inner loop also called upper loop
- Continents also called RIPLEYS
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- yellow
- orange
- red
- black
Fingerprint: Red script Ripley's logo over black Believe It or Not! banner, green palm fronds circling. Two bald dark-skinned grinning caricature heads emerging from yellow ticket-booth windows lower left and right. Yellow RIPPLE ramps feeding red plungers symmetric both lower sides. Aged yellowed newsprint scheme, orange and red borders.
The centre of the playfield is dominated by a red script 'Ripley's' logo slung over a black 'Believe It or Not!' banner, ringed by a fan of bright green palm fronds and a circle of glowing round letter lamps. Two identical bald, dark-skinned grinning caricature heads with huge toothy smiles stare out from yellow ticket-booth windows on the lower left and lower right, each flanked by a green 'SPECIAL' plaque. A pair of yellow rubber-lined ramps lettered 'RIPPLE' sweep symmetrically from the outer edges into two red plungers either side of a central flaming 'SHOOT AGAIN' triangle. The whole surface is printed on aged yellow newsprint with orange-bordered white instruction boxes stamped 'PRESS AND HOLD FLIPPER BUTTON FOR INFO.'
Setting
- Aged yellow newsprint texture with collage panels
- Tropical palm fronds
- Grey stone or steel wall behind a grinning figure
- Yellow ticket-booth windows
Symbols
- Green palm fronds
- Blue and yellow square tile pyramid
- Green right-pointing arrow targets
- Round letter lamps in red, yellow and blue
- Starburst lamp
- Flame motif
- Painted yellow ticket booths
- Ticket spikes
- Qr code
- Five-ball dot symbols
Notable shapes
- Diamond-shaped tile pyramid in the centre
- Circular ring of letter lamps around the central logo
- Green arrow chase targets
- Circular chrome ball-guide funnel at upper right
- Arched wire ramp spanning the upper playfield
- Two opposing ticket booths with cartoon heads
- Triangular flaming shoot again panel between the flippers
Art motifs
- Yellowed newsprint collage
- Comic-strip panel borders
- Orange-bordered white instruction placards
- Hand-lettered comic numerals
- Arrow chase sequences
Themes
- Oddities museum
- Television trivia licence
- Amusement arcade
- Tropical
Title on it
- Ripley's believe it or not!
Text on it
- AUTOMATIC SCORE
- A B C
- Believe It or Not!
- A - Scramble Triangle Code
- B - Wake Up Idol
- C - Amazing Event
- Get the Facts...
- Ripley's
- RIPPLE
- JUMPO
- YOUR STORE
- SKILL
- LITE
- SURPRISE
- MEGA
- LITTLE BUMP
- SPECIAL
- JACKPOT WHEN LIT IS EARNED
- 4 JACKPOT LETTERS
- 2 MILLION
- 3 MILLION
- 5 MILLION
- 1 MILLION LETTER
- SEVEN JACKPOT LETTERS
- SHOOT AGAIN
- PRESS AND HOLD FLIPPER BUTTON FOR INFO.
- 50¢ = 1
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Caricature head, bald, dark brown skin, enormous white toothy grin, arched brows, positioned lower left inside a yellow booth window |
| Man | Same bald dark-skinned grinning caricature head mirrored at lower right inside a matching yellow booth window |
| Other | Grey unpainted sculpted figure on the upper right playfield, robed or fur-textured, standing on a chrome post beside the ball guide |
| Other | Dark stone-textured wall panel upper left with two round glowing lamps and a painted face above the ramp |
Full-length 1970s-style electro-mechanical playfield shot through glass under a wooden-framed backbox holding three purple-LED score reels and an instruction card. The art is a yellowed aged-paper scheme in yellow, orange, red, black and blue. A red script 'Ripley's' logo over a black banner reading 'Believe It or Not!' sits mid-playfield, encircled by a fan of green palm fronds and a ring of round letter lamps. Below it a pyramid of blue and yellow tile squares and green arrow targets labelled 'RIPPLE'. Two grinning caricature heads of a bald dark-skinned man with a wide toothy smile flank the playfield at mid-lower left and right, emerging from ticket-booth windows with green 'SPECIAL' plaques beside them. Yellow rubber-lined ramps marked 'RIPPLE' arc diagonally on both lower sides, funnelling into two red plungers either side of a central flaming 'SHOOT AGAIN' triangle. Orange-bordered white instruction panels at both lower corners read 'PRESS AND HOLD FLIPPER BUTTON FOR INFO.' Three metal pop-bumper caps, a grey sculpted figure and a chrome ball-guide funnel crowd the upper playfield behind wire ramps. Condition: yellowed worn varnish, dust and heavy red lamp bloom.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- green
- orange
- blue
- gold
Fingerprint: Ripley's in red script, Believe It or Not! in large orange-yellow letters with white outline, colossal blue-grey sculpted female head with closed eyes and pointed black hair crest on stone plinth, grinning explorer in pith helmet and green shirt beside startled blonde woman in pink, disembodied male grinning faces floating in gold picture frame, rope-bound stone columns and twisted ropes framing
The centrepiece is an enormous serene blue-grey sculpted female head with closed eyes and a tall pointed crest of black hair, mounted like a bust on a square stone plinth. Around it, a grinning explorer in a pith helmet and green shirt stands beside a wide-eyed blonde woman in pink. The top is dominated by the curved orange-and-yellow Believe It or Not! lettering under red script, with rope-bound stone columns and thick twisted ropes framing both sides. Two disembodied grinning male faces float inside a tilted gold picture frame on the right.
Setting
- Dim stone-walled interior of a temple or museum hall
- Gold fluted columns wrapped in thick twisted rope at both edges
- Dark green tropical leaves and vines across the top
- Cobbled stone floor
- Posted paper notices on the rear wall
Symbols
- Thick twisted ropes
- Gold fluted stone columns
- Tropical leaves and vines
- Striped ceramic vase
- Bird-of-paradise flower
- Gold picture frame
- Stone plinth
- Posted paper notices
- Small yellow crate
Lettering
- Curved title, red script for the name above large orange-to-yellow block letters with white outline and dark drop shadow
Themes
- Explorer
- Tropical
- Temple interior
- Oddities museum
- Bust
- Advertising sign
Title on it
- Ripley’s believe it or not!
Text on it
- Ripley’s
- Believe It or Not!
- STERN
- PINBALL, INC
- © Ripley’s Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Giant blue-grey sculpted head, serene closed eyes, tall pointed crest of black hair over a heavy black bob, mounted as a bust on a square stone plinth at centre |
| Man | Grinning man in a pith helmet, bright green open-neck shirt, tan trousers, brown shoulder satchel strap and small dark beard, left hand raised, standing left of the plinth |
| Woman | Blonde woman in pink, wide startled eyes, standing behind the man with both hands outstretched |
| Man | Greenish bald grinning male face floating inside the gold picture frame, wearing a dark collar |
| Man | Orange-skinned bald grinning male face with a black collar, lower in the same gold frame |
| Creature | Small black-and-white bird with a long tail standing on the floor to the right of the plinth |
| Creature | Toucan-like head with a large orange beak tucked behind the frame at right |
A painted, comic-book-illustrated backglass framed by thick twisted rope and rope-bound fluted stone columns at both edges, with dark green tropical leaves and vines crowding the top corners against a dim stone-walled interior. Across the top, curved lettering reads Ripley’s in red script, then Believe It or Not! in large orange-to-yellow block letters with a white outline. Centre of the glass is dominated by a large blue-grey sculpted head of a woman with a tall pointed crest of hair and heavy black bobbed hair, eyes closed in a serene expression, mounted on a square stone plinth. To the left stand two figures: a grinning man in a pith helmet, bright green open-neck shirt, tan trousers, brown shoulder satchel and a small dark beard, one hand raised, and behind him a blonde woman in pink with wide eyes and outstretched hands. To the right, a gold-framed picture shows two floating grinning male faces, one greenish and bald-headed in a collar, the other orange with a bald dome. Foliage, a bird statue, a bird-of-paradise flower, a striped vase, posted wall notices and a small yellow crate complete the scene. Saturated colours, comic realism, airbrushed detail.