1968 · Bally
Safari
Known for Mushroom bumpers, Passive bumper, Mini flippers and Upper right side lane. Sandy beige desert plain, green palm fronds, green leafy foliage in both bottom corners and pale blue-white sky wash at the top.
- Year
- 1968
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 2
Known for
- Bumper
Mushroom bumpers
- Bumper
Passive bumper
- extra flipper
Mini flippers
- Lane
Upper right side lane
- backglass toy
Super Score reel
On the playfield
Bumpers 2
- Mushroom bumpers
- Passive bumper
Lanes 3
- Upper right side lane
- Center top lane
- Center out lanes
Flipper 1
- Mini flippers extra flipper
Backbox 1
- Super Score reel backglass toy
On the backglass
Who and what
- animal Large seated tiger at dead centre, orange fur with black stripes, white chest, white muzzle and paws, yellow eyes, wide toothy grin, holding a yellow book against its chest
- animal Tawny lion at the very top left corner, in profile, mouth open, partly cut by the frame edge
- animal Pale lion or lioness at the top right corner, in profile, facing left
- animal White horse on the right side, in profile facing right, with a rider in a white coat and hat holding the reins
- woman Left side, black-haired woman in a red top and short yellow skirt, dancing with arms out
- woman Left lower area, blonde woman in a yellow top and red shorts/skirt
Setting
- Sandy beige desert plain
- Green palm fronds
- Green leafy foliage in both bottom corners
- Pale blue-white sky wash at the top
Text on it
- Bally
- 2 PLAYER
- SAFARI
- 1
- 2
- 1ST PLAYER
- 2ND PLAYER
- 0 3 9 1
- 0 5 1 1
- SUPER SCORE 1
- SUPER SCORE 2
- THE ME In your TANK
- PLAY SKILL GAMES FOR FUN AND RECREATION
- BALL IN PLAY
How it plays
-
Modes 1
- Add-a-ball mode
-
Goals 2
- Tiger
- Trail
Made by
- Design
- Ted Zale
Reference
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- red
- beige
- orange
- blue
Fingerprint: Enormous grinning orange-black striped tiger sitting upright centre holding yellow book, glossy red "SAFARI" arching top with 3D shading, comic-strip safari scene packed with white horse and rider, jeep, truck, hunters with rifles, dancing women in yellow skirts, mechanical score windows showing four-digit reels, blue instruction plaques bottom edge, flat 1960s comic-book aesthetic, wilderness adventure theme
The single most memorable element is a huge grinning orange-and-black tiger sitting upright in the exact centre of the artwork, holding a yellow book against its chest that says THE ME In your TANK. Framing it, the enormous glossy red SAFARI wordmark arches across the top with white-and-blue 3D shading, and the whole scene is packed with comic-strip safari caricatures — a white horse and rider, a jeep, a truck, rifle-holding hunters and dancing women in yellow skirts. Two bright blue instruction plaques with red lettering sit along the bottom edge, unusual for backglasses of the period.
Setting
- Sandy beige desert plain
- Green palm fronds
- Green leafy foliage in both bottom corners
- Pale blue-white sky wash at the top
Symbols
- Seated tiger
- Lions
- White horse
- Jeep
- Safari truck
- Rifle
- Palm fronds
- Red numbered player circles
- Mechanical score windows with digit wheels
- Starburst behind the title
Lettering
- Huge fat red three-dimensional block capitals with white and blue drop shadow for the title, mixed with red cursive script and smaller red sans-serif capitals on cream banners and blue plaques
Themes
- Safari
- Hunting
- Big game hunt
- Adventure
- Africa
- Tiger
Title on it
- Safari
Text on it
- Bally
- 2 PLAYER
- SAFARI
- 1
- 2
- 1ST PLAYER
- 2ND PLAYER
- 0 3 9 1
- 0 5 1 1
- SUPER SCORE 1
- SUPER SCORE 2
- THE ME In your TANK
- PLAY SKILL GAMES FOR FUN AND RECREATION
- BALL IN PLAY
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Animal | Large seated tiger at dead centre, orange fur with black stripes, white chest, white muzzle and paws, yellow eyes, wide toothy grin, holding a yellow book against its chest |
| Animal | Tawny lion at the very top left corner, in profile, mouth open, partly cut by the frame edge |
| Animal | Pale lion or lioness at the top right corner, in profile, facing left |
| Animal | White horse on the right side, in profile facing right, with a rider in a white coat and hat holding the reins |
| Woman | Left side, black-haired woman in a red top and short yellow skirt, dancing with arms out |
| Woman | Left lower area, blonde woman in a yellow top and red shorts/skirt |
| Man | Left of centre, man in a white shirt and purple trousers with a red sash, arms raised |
| Man | Left of centre, man in a red-and-white horizontally striped shirt and white hat, standing |
| Man | Right side, man in a light blue safari shirt, khaki shorts, pith helmet and blue socks, holding a long rifle across his body |
| Man | Right of centre, man in a white coat and white hat, standing beside the white horse |
| Man | Upper right, man in a white shirt and hat holding a raised object, near the second truck |
| Vehicle | Green open-top jeep with black wheels left of the tiger |
| Vehicle | Blue-grey safari truck or lorry with a roof rack left of the tiger, behind the jeep |
A wide, landscape-format cartoon backglass set in an African safari scene, painted in flat 1960s comic-book style with heavy black outlines. The centre is dominated by a large seated orange-and-black striped tiger, front paws together, white chest and muzzle, yellow eyes, holding a yellow book or sign in its paws on which red script reads THE ME In your TANK. Behind it is a pale sandy-beige desert plain with green palm fronds and foliage filling the bottom corners. Across the top, huge fat three-dimensional red block letters with white and blue drop shadow spell SAFARI, flanked above by red script Bally and red capitals 2 PLAYER. The upper left and right corners hold red circles with white 1 and 2, and beneath them cream banners read 1ST PLAYER and 2ND PLAYER above mechanical score windows showing 0 3 9 1 on the left and 0 5 1 1 on the right. Left of centre, red panels read SUPER SCORE 1 and SUPER SCORE 2, each with a 0 below. Scattered around the tiger are safari figures: women in bright tops and yellow skirts, men in white shirts and purple or khaki shorts, one man at right holding a long rifle, a white horse with a rider in a white coat, a green open-top jeep and a blue-grey safari truck. A blue plaque at the bottom reads PLAY SKILL GAMES FOR FUN AND RECREATION, and a small blue plate at lower right reads BALL IN PLAY.