1980 · Williams
Scorpion
Known for Upper playfield, 1-2-3, Upper three-banks and Center five-bank. Star-speckled purple night sky, yellow-green jagged rock crags on left and right edges, choppy blue-and-yellow water across the lower third and airbrushed mountain silhouettes.
- Year
- 1980
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- upper playfield
Upper playfield
- Target
1-2-3
- Drop target
Upper three-banks
- Drop target
Center five-bank
- saucer
Left saucer
- saucer
Right saucer
On the playfield
Extra levels 2
- Upper playfield upper playfield
- Lower playfield lower playfield
Holes 2
- Left saucer saucer
- Right saucer saucer
Drop targets 2
- Upper three-banks
- Center five-bank
Target 1
- 1-2-3
Lane 1
- 4-5-6
Backbox 1
- Ball in play window backglass toy
On the backglass
Who and what
- creature Left dragon: huge lime-green scaly body, pale green finned spines along the back, glowing red-rimmed eye, jaws open showing white fangs and a long red forked tongue, one clawed foreleg raised, reared up on the left rock
- creature Right dragon: larger green scaly dragon facing left, finned spine ridges, red-rimmed eye, open jaw with white teeth and red tongue, red-tipped claws, coiled tail curving to the right edge
- vehicle White/cream speedboat in profile across the lower centre, twin exhausts at the stern throwing spray, black 'scorpion 3' lettering on the hull side, planing through blue and yellow water
Setting
- Star-speckled purple night sky
- Yellow-green jagged rock crags on left and right edges
- Choppy blue-and-yellow water across the lower third
- Airbrushed mountain silhouettes
Text on it
- SCORPION
- MULTI-BALL
- HIGHEST SCORE
- Williams
- 1ST
- 2ND
- 3RD
- 4TH
- TIMER ON
- ELECTRONICS INC
- COPYRIGHT 1980
- Scorpion 3
- GAME OVER
- MATCH
- GAME
- PLAYER
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Ball
- 1
- in play
How it plays
-
Goals 1
- Saucer Value
-
Awards 1
- Double Timer Bonus
Made by
- Design
- Barry Oursler
- Art
- Constantino Mitchell
- Art
- Tony Ramunni
- Software & Sound
- Larry DeMar
Reference
Linked terms
- Lower playfield also called main playfield
- 1-2-3 also called 1-2-3 targets and lanes
- Upper three-banks also called Upper playfield drop targets
- Center five-bank also called Lower drop targets also called center bank
- Left saucer also called Left lock saucer
- Right saucer also called Right lock saucer
- Ball in play window also called Multiball timer
- Saucer Value also called Build Saucer Value
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- red
- blue
- teal
- yellow
- orange
Fingerprint: Fire rescue, yellow-and-red ladder truck painted down center with extending aerial ladder, two triangular wireform ramps rising symmetrically, firefighter figure alongside truck, lime-green dragon silhouettes flanking coin door, rainbow-striped ramp rails, orange-yellow flame licks in upper corners
The playfield is unusually saturated with flame and rainbow motifs — long orange-and-yellow tongues of fire lick up both upper corners while a bright rainbow arc sweeps across the upper left lane, a combination that gives the whole board a burning-sky look. A yellow-and-red ladder truck with an extending aerial ladder is painted straight down the centre of the playfield with a firefighter figure alongside it. Two large triangular wireform ramps with rainbow-painted side rails rise symmetrically from the lower left and lower right toward the top corners. The cabinet front below is painted deep red and carries two big lime-green dragon silhouettes flanking a rectangular coin-door panel. The apron carries two cream paper cards — INSTRUCTIONS on the left and a score card on the right — plus white printed lane-change text.
Setting
- Burning-sky backdrop with orange and yellow flame tongues licking up both upper corners
- A blue night-sky or cloud bank across the upper right behind the top lanes
- Green foliage or ground texture through the centre-left around the ladder truck
- Dark maroon and black apron panels below the lower playfield
- Deep red painted cabinet front with a rectangular coin-door plate
Symbols
- Hoseline and coiled hose reel symbols
- Hydrant shapes
- Extending ladder rungs
- Round star-burst insert surrounds
- Small triangular ramp-plunger arrows
- Scrolling rectangular led or plastic inserts on the cabinet front
Notable shapes
- Tall pointed flame tongues in both upper corners; a triangular wireform ramp mouth on each side; two bright green flipper bats with white rubber at centre bottom; a large yellow triangular pop bumper surround near centre; the rectangular coin-door plate on the cabinet front with two red/amber scrolling inserts
Art motifs
- Tongues of orange and yellow fire
- Rainbow band
- Speed lines and radiating action strokes
- Checkered and hazard-striped edging
- Heavy black ink outlines
- Halftone dot shading
Themes
- Firefighting
- Fire and rescue
- Emergency vehicles
- Cartoon animals or dragons on cabinet
- Flames
- Rainbow
Text on it
- Williams
- INSTRUCTIONS
- LANE CHANGE
- RIGHT FLIPPER
- ADVANCES LANES
- SCORE
- 1 PLAY - 1 QUARTER
- 4 PLAYS - 1 DOLLAR
- 3 BALLS PER GAME
- COCKPIT
- CREDITS
- FIRE RESCUE
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Drawn figure in a pale helmet and dark turnout coat with reflective banding, positioned mid-right of centre beside the ladder truck, leaning forward with arms out |
| Other | Second smaller drawn firefighter at lower left of centre, in a yellow helmet, holding a hose line, next to the left slingshot area |
| Other | Large yellow-and-red ladder truck painted across the centre of the playfield with an aerial ladder raised diagonally, dark wheels and a cab with windows |
| Other | Red engine or pump truck at top centre with a visible hose reel coil and ladder rungs, partly covered by pop bumper caps |
| Other | Large lime-green dragon silhouette painted on the left cabinet front panel, head raised, wing and tail spread against the red ground |
| Other | Matching lime-green dragon silhouette on the right cabinet front panel, facing inwards toward the coin door |
Photograph of a fire-and-rescue themed pinball playfield seen from above and slightly in front, so the whole glass-covered playfield plus the wooden side rails, the front apron and the cabinet front with coin door are in frame. The playfield art is a dense, brightly coloured cartoon of firefighting: a yellow-and-red ladder truck across the middle, a red appliance with a hose reel top centre, drawn firefighters in helmets and turnout gear, ladders, coiled hoses, hydrants, orange-and-yellow flame licks and a rainbow arc running along the upper left. Metal hardware is scattered over the art: white-and-green rubber-tipped flippers at centre bottom, two triangular wireform ramps rising left and right, a cluster of round pop bumpers up top centre, rows of small circular inserts down both side lanes and a bank of five rectangular drop targets right of centre. The dark maroon apron below carries a white script manufacturer mark, two cream paper cards (instructions left, score card right) and printed white service text reading LANE CHANGE / RIGHT FLIPPER / ADVANCES LANES.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- magenta-purple
- green
- red-orange
- cream-white
Fingerprint: SCORPION in huge italic orange-red letters with black and white outline on star-speckled purple sky, two enormous lime-green scaly dragons with finned spines glowing red-rimmed eyes and long red forked tongues facing each other with jaws open, white speedboat slicing through blue-and-yellow choppy water with twin exhausts and black Scorpion 3 lettering, four red-outlined score windows stacked right
Two enormous lime-green dragons with finned spines and red-rimmed eyes snarling at each other, one on the left rearing up over a rocky outcrop and one on the right lunging left, with a white speedboat ploughing through water directly between them. The huge italic orange-red SCORPION logo with black and white outline slanting across a star-speckled purple sky. A four-player score column of red-outlined windows labelled 1ST to 4TH down the right edge, each with a red LED digit strip. Small 'Scorpion 3' script stencilled on the side of the white speedboat.
Setting
- Star-speckled purple night sky
- Yellow-green jagged rock crags on left and right edges
- Choppy blue-and-yellow water across the lower third
- Airbrushed mountain silhouettes
Symbols
- Four red-outlined score windows with red led digit strips
- Gold arrow badge
- White star specks
- Rock crags
- Water spray and wake
Lettering
- Very large italicised angular block capitals, orange-red fill with black keyline and white drop shadow, slanted right; secondary text in gold-outlined black caps and a red cursive script logo; instruction text in white and red caps on a red bar
Themes
- Dragons
- Fantasy
- Speedboat
- Water
- Fire
- Flying machines
- Multi-player scoring
Title on it
- Scorpion
Text on it
- SCORPION
- MULTI-BALL
- HIGHEST SCORE
- Williams
- 1ST
- 2ND
- 3RD
- 4TH
- TIMER ON
- ELECTRONICS INC
- COPYRIGHT 1980
- Scorpion 3
- GAME OVER
- MATCH
- GAME
- PLAYER
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Ball
- 1
- in play
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Creature | Left dragon: huge lime-green scaly body, pale green finned spines along the back, glowing red-rimmed eye, jaws open showing white fangs and a long red forked tongue, one clawed foreleg raised, reared up on the left rock |
| Creature | Right dragon: larger green scaly dragon facing left, finned spine ridges, red-rimmed eye, open jaw with white teeth and red tongue, red-tipped claws, coiled tail curving to the right edge |
| Vehicle | White/cream speedboat in profile across the lower centre, twin exhausts at the stern throwing spray, black 'scorpion 3' lettering on the hull side, planing through blue and yellow water |
A square backglass with a red-painted wooden frame and a printed playfield image under glass. Dominant colours are magenta-purple sky, bright green dragons, cream-white and red, and gold-yellow. Across the top a large italic block logo reads SCORPION in orange-red letters with black and white outline, slanted right, on the star-speckled purple sky; to its right a gold arrow badge reads MULTI-BALL over HIGHEST SCORE, and to its left a cursive script logo in red-and-yellow reads Williams inside a yellow oval. The centre is dominated by two enormous green scaly dragons with finned spines, red-rimmed eyes and long red tongues, facing each other, jaws open, framed by yellow-green rocky crags on both edges. Between and below them a white speedboat, seen in profile with twin exhausts, slices through blue-and-yellow choppy water; the hull carries black script text 'Scorpion 3'. White text 'TIMER ON' with a small arrow sits above the boat, and a small red plaque reads SCORPION / ELECTRONICS INC / COPYRIGHT 1980. Four red-outlined score windows stack down the right, each headed 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, 4TH in red, with red LED digit strips below, and a fifth readout at lower centre shows 01 51. A gold 'Ball 1 in play' in a green-bordered box is at lower right, and a red instruction bar along the bottom reads GAME OVER, MATCH, GAME 1 PLAYER 2 3 4. Style is airbrushed fantasy illustration with heavy black linework.