1968 · Bally
RockMakers
Known for Blue mushroom bumper, Rock Crusher right lane, RockMakers letters and Free ball gate. Cave interior with dark rock walls, erupting volcano, river gorge, wooden crates and stone platforms and painted metal frame with magenta cabinet trim.
- Year
- 1968
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Bumper
Blue mushroom bumper
- Lane
Rock Crusher right lane
- rollover buttons
RockMakers letters
- gate
Free ball gate
On the playfield
Bumpers 2
- Blue mushroom bumper
- Yellow mushroom bumpers
Lanes 4
- Rock Crusher right lane
- RockMakers letters rollover buttons
- Unlabeled button rollover button
- Drop lane
Flippers 2
- Upper left flipper extra flipper
- Mini-flippers extra flipper
Post or gate 1
- Free ball gate gate
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Caveman with dark hair and beard, large nose, mouth wide open singing into a grey stone microphone; huge head at bottom left-centre
- man Second large caveman head, black curly hair and beard, orange-tan skin, red lips, pressed against the same microphone cluster
- man Third large head at bottom right, short blond hair, eyes shut, open shouting mouth beside game over lettering
- woman Blonde in a red two-piece swimsuit and heels at centre, both arms raised gripping a rope
- woman Blonde in a black bikini at the left edge, standing beside the numbered red circles
- woman Small blonde figure in dark swimwear at upper left, arm outstretched toward the title
Setting
- Cave interior with dark rock walls
- Erupting volcano
- River gorge
- Wooden crates and stone platforms
- Painted metal frame with magenta cabinet trim
Text on it
- ROCKMAKERS
- 1UP
- 2UP
- 3UP
- 4UP
- 1164
- 0000
- ROCK-A-ROCK
- PLAYERS
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- BALL IN PLAY
- GAME OVER
- 9
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
How it plays
-
Goals 3
- Spelling Rock
- Spelling Makers
- Spelling RockMakers
Made by
- Design
- Ted Zale
- Art
- Jerry Kelley
Reference
Linked terms
- Blue mushroom bumper also called Mushroom bumpers
- Rock Crusher right lane also called Rock Crusher
- Free ball gate also called Right out lane gate
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- pale green
- light blue
- yellow-green
- pink
Fingerprint: Rocket, pair of large triangular marbled pink-black-yellow ramps flanking lower playfield directly inboard of flippers each with white roundel insert, huge pale-green rocket on right with long swooping smoke trail and ringed planets, three orange-and-white sunburst bumpers at top
The single most memorable feature is the pair of large triangular, marbled pink-black-yellow ramps that flank the lower playfield and sit directly inboard of the two flippers, each carrying a white roundel with a coloured insert. Close behind that, the huge pale-green rocket on the right side with its long swooping smoke trail and ringed planets beside it, and the three orange-and-white sunburst pop-bumper caps clustered at the top left. Also striking: the black lower apron with its two big acid yellow-green zigzag arrow motifs and a red-bordered TILT ENDS BALL box on the right.
Setting
- Outer space with ringed planets and a starburst
- Jagged pink and black crystal or mountain shards
- Pale blue-grey lower playfield with lightning bolts
Symbols
- Playing-card-suit style roundels in white circles
- Star shapes
- Lightning bolts
- Zigzag arrows
- Ringed planets
- Smoke trails
- Disc bumpers painted as sunbursts
Notable shapes
- Two large triangular marbled ramps framing the lower playfield
- Outlined flying saucer in the lower centre
- Three sunburst-patterned circular bumper caps
- Triple arched chrome ball guides at the top of the playfield
- Zigzag lightning-bolt motifs
Art motifs
- Triangular ramps with marbled swirls
- Circled letter discs spelling words
- Sunburst target discs
- Outlined planets
- Geometric crystal shards
Themes
- Space
- Rockets
- Planets
- Score attack
Title on it
- Rocket
Text on it
- ROCKET
- FOR THE HIGH SCORE
- GAME OVER
- 100 WHEN LIT
- ADVANCE ROCK-A-ROCK
- LITE MAKER
- SAME PLAYER SHOOTS AGAIN
- WHEN LIT
- OPENS GATE WHEN LIT
- 50
- 100
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- FLIPPER
- TILT
- ENDS BALL
- 1, 2, 3 OR 4 CAN PLAY
- ROCK-A-ROCK Score 7: 1 Replay
- ROCK-A-ROCK Score 9: 1 Replay
- 1 Replay for each score of 3000 Points
- 1 Replay for each score of 4200 Points
- 1 Replay for each score of 4800 Points
- 1 Replay for each score of 5400 Points
- Tilt Cancels Bonus and Scoring
- SAME PLAYER
- MANUFACTURING COMPANY
- CHICAGO, 60618 ILLINOIS
- 5 BALLS PER PLAYER
- 2 PLAYS 25c
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | A large pale green and yellow rocket with red fins on the right side of the upper playfield, angled steeply, trailing a long curling white-and-grey smoke plume that sweeps left across the middle |
| Other | A small cone-nosed rocket painted on the left of the middle playfield, pointing right, with a yellow and black striped body |
| Vehicle | A grey and white saucer outlined near the centre of the lower playfield |
| Other | A black silhouetted bird-like or rocket-shaped emblem at the far upper right corner of the playfield glass area |
A wedge-shaped electro-mechanical playfield seen at a steep angle under glass, chrome rails and cabinet below. Pale sea-green and sky-blue paint with a bright yellow-green border down both edges, pink accents and white plastic hardware. At the top, three round pop-bumper caps painted like circus targets: orange-and-white sunbursts and blue-and-white stripes, beside three amber-glowing rectangular light lenses on stalks, white posts, wire ramps and a blue plunger tip at far left. Artwork shows a pale green and yellow rocket with a long curving exhaust trail up the right side, ringed cream and green planets, jagged pink-and-black crystal shards and small cone rockets. Across the middle the word ROCKET appears in large red outlined block capitals, with a smaller matching rocket drawing at left. Curved rows of circled yellow-black letter discs with white star roundels sit below it. The lower half is pale blue with lightning bolts, an outlined saucer, and two large triangular marbled pink and yellow ramps flanking the flippers. The black apron carries a yellow-green zigzag arrow down each side, two instruction cards, and white bats labelled FLIPPER.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- purple
- pink
- green
- cream
Fingerprint: 'ROCKMAKERS' in hot pink bubble letters, erupting smoking volcano upper right with red fireball and white lava streaks, three enormous caveman heads at bottom singing into stone microphones, blonde woman in red swimsuit hauling rope, stacked player reels 1-4 UP, airbrushed cave setting.
The most memorable feature is the great smoking volcano at upper right, spitting a red fireball with long white lava streaks over a purple-black cave, directly above the hot pink bubble-letter ROCKMAKERS logo. Second is the chorus of three enormous singing caveman heads along the bottom edge, mouths wide open at stone microphones. Third, a blonde woman in a red swimsuit hauling a rope mid-picture, with rope lines radiating up to the title. Fourth, the stacked cream reels labelled 1 UP / 2 UP / 3 UP / 4 UP, the 1 UP reel reading 1164 while the rest are blank.
Setting
- Cave interior with dark rock walls
- Erupting volcano
- River gorge
- Wooden crates and stone platforms
- Painted metal frame with magenta cabinet trim
Symbols
- Erupting volcano with lava
- Stone microphones
- Spear
- Rope and pulley lines
- Wooden crates
- Four red numbered circles 1-4
- Yellow numbered reel windows 1 2 3 4
- Stars
- Smoke wisps
Lettering
- Fat comic bubble capitals for the title in hot pink-red with black outline and crimson drop shadow; rounded white-outlined block sans for the up labels; a small cream cursive script wordmark at the title's left shoulder; white condensed capitals on the rock-a-rock banner; red-and-white players and 1 to 4 can play at bottom left.
Themes
- Cavemen
- Prehistoric
- Volcano
- Rock music
- Singing
- Adventure
- Cave
Title on it
- Rockmakers
Text on it
- ROCKMAKERS
- 1UP
- 2UP
- 3UP
- 4UP
- 1164
- 0000
- ROCK-A-ROCK
- PLAYERS
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- BALL IN PLAY
- GAME OVER
- 9
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Caveman with dark hair and beard, large nose, mouth wide open singing into a grey stone microphone; huge head at bottom left-centre |
| Man | Second large caveman head, black curly hair and beard, orange-tan skin, red lips, pressed against the same microphone cluster |
| Man | Third large head at bottom right, short blond hair, eyes shut, open shouting mouth beside game over lettering |
| Woman | Blonde in a red two-piece swimsuit and heels at centre, both arms raised gripping a rope |
| Woman | Blonde in a black bikini at the left edge, standing beside the numbered red circles |
| Woman | Small blonde figure in dark swimwear at upper left, arm outstretched toward the title |
| Woman | Dark-haired woman in an orange top sitting on a raft-like platform at right |
| Man | Caveman in an orange tunic crouched on a crate at centre-right, one arm raised |
| Animal | Brown ape-like creature crouched at left |
| Animal | Two small yellow shaggy animals near the river at centre |
| Creature | Black rock formations shaped like hooded figures with pink and blue striped dripping forms |
Illuminated backglass in a heavy grey metal frame, magenta-painted cabinet edge below. Comic-book airbrushed line art in a cave setting: dark purple-black rock walls, a blue-grey river gorge, and a smoking volcano erupting at upper right with an orange fireball and white arcing lava streaks. Across the upper centre hangs the title ROCKMAKERS in fat bubble capitals, hot pink-red with a crimson shadow and black outline; a small cream cursive script wordmark sits at its left shoulder and a small white 9 is printed near the top centre. Four player stations stack round the edges as cream reels reading 1 UP, 2 UP, 3 UP and 4 UP, each above four numeral windows; 1 UP shows 1164, the others read 0000. The left edge carries a vertical stack of four red circles numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 beside a blonde figure in swimwear. More than a dozen figures: cavemen with spears, a blonde woman in a red swimsuit hauling a rope, a caveman crouched on a crate, a woman in an orange top on a raft, and three enormous heads along the bottom singing into stone microphones. Dominant colours are purple-black, hot pink-red, green and cream.
Backglass
- purple
- red
- white
- green
Fingerprint: Huge red brush-lettered "Rockmakers" title arching across purple night sky, four green leaf-shaped score panels arranged around edges labeled 1 UP 2 UP 3 UP 4 UP with cream mechanical reels, leaping shark or dolphin arcing through spray of water upper right with red explosion bursts, long white motor car with red roof beside yellow "Rock-A-Brock" roadside sign, large exaggerated heads montage at bottom—bald shouting man, dark-haired couple, blonde woman screaming.
The most memorable element is the huge red script title 'ROCKMAKERS' arched across a purple night sky, with four separate green leaf-shaped score panels labelled 1 UP, 2 UP, 3 UP and 4 UP carrying white mechanical reels. Second, a leaping shark or dolphin arcing through a spray of water at the top right over a red explosion burst. Third, a yellow roadside sign on posts reading ROCK-A-BROCK beside a long white car with a red roof. Fourth, a bottom collage of oversized heads: a bald shouting man, a dark-haired couple, and a screaming blonde woman.
Setting
- Purple night sky
- Green grass or leaf-shaped panels
- White and grey stadium terraces or grandstands
- Arcing spray of water
- Red explosion bursts
Symbols
- Mechanical score reels in cream windows
- Starburst explosion shapes
- Palm trees
- Floodlights
- Water spray arc
Lettering
- Large red brush-script title with dark shadow, arched; score labels in bold white outlined capitals on green panels; sign lettering in yellow with dark outline on a yellow board
Themes
- Rock music
- Surfing
- Water splash
- Racing
- Stadium
- Comic book
- Bikini
Title on it
- Rockmakers
Text on it
- ROCKMAKERS
- 1 UP
- 2 UP
- 3 UP
- 4 UP
- ROCK-A-BROCK
- PLAYERS
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- ALLEN
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Woman in a black one-piece swimsuit standing on the upper left green panel, arms out, dark hair |
| Woman | Woman in a bikini at the left edge, standing on or beside a board, light skin |
| Woman | Woman in a yellow bikini at the lower right corner, blonde hair, turned upward |
| Man | Bald older man at bottom left with mouth wide open shouting, exaggerated comic expression |
| Man | Dark-haired man at bottom centre facing right, mouth open |
| Woman | Dark-haired woman at bottom centre facing left, red lips, close to the dark-haired man |
| Creature | Large grey shark or dolphin leaping through an arc of water at the top right |
| Vehicle | Long white car with a red roof at centre-right, beside the yellow rock-a-brock sign |
| Vehicle | Small red, white and blue rocket or plane on the left terrace |
A painted pinball backglass in a comic-book style, dominated by a large two-word title in red brush lettering with a dark blue-black shadow, set on a purple night sky. Four score windows are arranged around the edges as green grass- or leaf-shaped panels with cream reels: 1 UP at top left, 2 UP at top right, 3 UP at middle left and 4 UP at middle right. The centre and right of the glass show a stylised white motor-launch or stadium scene with grey concrete terraces, floodlights, palm trees and a large angular shark or dolphin leaping through an arc of water at the upper right, with red bursts behind it. At centre-right a long white car with a red roof sits beside a yellow sign on posts reading ROCK-A-BROCK. A small red, white and blue rocket or plane figure stands on the left terrace. Small painted figures populate the scene: a woman in a black swimsuit on the upper left grass, a woman in a bikini at the left edge, and a blonde woman in a yellow bikini at the lower right. The bottom strip is a montage of three large heads: a bald older man shouting, a dark-haired man and woman facing each other, and a screaming blonde woman. Dominant colours are purple, red, white and green.