1987 · Zaccaria
Star's Phoenix
Known for Bowling targets, Skill Shot lane, Capture Ball and GAME lanes. Stylised casino / gaming-machine hall interior at night: a starry night sky with fireworks bursts top left, a large multi-ray sunburst filling the frame, fruit machine and gaming cabinets at both edges, five score windows mounted low.
- Year
- 1987
- Maker
- Zaccaria
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Target
Bowling targets
- Lane
Skill Shot lane
- lamp
Capture Ball
- Lane
GAME lanes
- Hole
Amusement hole
- Multiball
Two-ball Multiball
2 games under this title
- New Star's Phoenix 1987
-
Standard 1987
On the playfield
Holes 2
- Upper hole
- Amusement hole
Targets 3
- Bowling targets
- Spot targets
- Center targets
Lanes 3
- Skill Shot lane
- GAME lanes
- ABCD rollovers rollovers
Post or gate 1
- Upper gate gate
Lights 1
- Capture Ball lamp
On the backglass
Who and what
- other Five human figures. (1) central blonde woman: huge teased curly yellow hair, blue eye shadow, red lips, plunging purple-blue off-shoulder gown with black lace front panel, white lace cuffs, one bare leg raised forward, arms outstretched. (2) bottom left dark-haired man in a blue shirt grinning at a machine. (3) bottom left blonde woman in a magenta/pink top leaning toward him. (4) behind them a short-haired man in a dark top in profile. (5) right side two women: one blonde with voluminous curly hair in a turquoise-blue dress, one brunette in a pink-red dress. plus three white bowling pins with green neck stripes and one dark-blue bowling ball.
Setting
- Stylised casino / gaming-machine hall interior at night: a starry night sky with fireworks bursts top left, a large multi-ray sunburst filling the frame, fruit machine and gaming cabinets at both edges, five score windows mounted low
Text on it
- STARS
- PHOENIX
- 12b 2300000
- GAME TIME BONUS
- LUCKY $
- JACK
- PAL
- CREDIT
- BALL IN PLAY
- DESIGN REGISTERED
- COPYRIGHT 1987
- 2 TO 4 PLAYERS
- SHOOTER'S AGAIN
How it plays
-
Multiballs 1
- Two-ball Multiball 2-ball
-
Awards 2
- Orange Special
- Red Special
Reference
Linked terms
- Bowling targets also called Bowling
- Capture Ball also called Capture Ball lamp
- Upper gate also called upper-hole gate
- Amusement hole also called Amusement
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield Standard
- orange
- red
- blue
- green
Fingerprint: Blue bubble-letter BOWLING wordmark with embedded star dots diagonal on rainbow sunburst, enormous painted hand gripping white casino chips, two oversized red dice, fair-haired boy and dark-haired woman portrait pasting midfield, grinning bowler figure with yellow shirt and red cap
The most memorable element is the diagonal deep-blue bubble-letter BOWLING logo with white star dots in every letter, slanted across a rainbow sunburst, with a banner reading ENDS beneath it. Second is the enormous painted hand pinching a handful of white casino chips next to two giant red dice with white pips. Third, the grinning fair-haired boy in collar and neckerchief with a dark-haired woman's arm thrown around his shoulders, a 1960s-style couple portrait pasted into the middle of a fairground scene. Fourth, the mix of gambling motifs - roulette wheel, coins, dice, playing-card pips - crowded around the two flippers, with a carnival prize-wheel and a bowler in yellow and blue on the left.
Setting
- Rainbow sunburst of radiating rays
- Fairground and carnival midway
- Bowling alley lane with pins
- Gambling den with dice, chips, coins and roulette wheel
- 1950s american road car and jukebox imagery
Symbols
- Red dice with white pips
- White casino chips with red centres
- Gold coins
- Roulette wheel
- Playing-card pips
- Bowling pins
- Numbered targets 1 to 10
- Star
- Red balloons
- Horseshoe
- Carnival prize wheel
- Jockey cap
Notable shapes
- A long wireform ramp hugging the left edge
- A large circular hole at lower left
- A looping metal ball guide crossing above the flippers
- The two flippers set wide apart with a drain between them
Art motifs
- Radiating rainbow sunburst rays
- Starbursts
- Bubble-letter logo with dotted highlights
- Banner ribbons
- Scattered gold coin motifs
Themes
- Bowling
- Carnival midway
- Gambling
- Pinball
- Pin-up
- Retro americana
Title on it
- Bowling ends
Text on it
- BOWLING
- ENDS
- BONUS
- SHOOT AGAIN
- CONCESSIONS
- SKILL LANE HIGH SCORE TO DATE
- 1,500 POINTS
- PARKING
- STRIKE
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Dark-haired young woman, sleeveless patterned top, broad smile, arm around the boy beside her |
| Child | Fair-haired grinning boy in white shirt, black tie and red neckerchief |
| Child | Dark-haired smiling boy at the right edge in a white shirt |
| Man | Fair-haired youth in green-and-white striped shirt, right of centre |
| Man | Bowler in yellow shirt, blue trousers and red cap, holding a black ball, left side |
| Child | Two grinning fairground children in blue and yellow shirts beside the prize wheel on the left |
| Vehicle | Red and black 1950s american car along the top, with a parking sign |
| Creature | Large painted hand holding casino chips; a full rack of white bowling pins at the top right |
Full-length photographed pinball playfield seen through a scratched plastic cover, with the silver coin door and apron of the cabinet filling the bottom quarter of the frame. The artwork is a comic-book style American road-fair montage under a rainbow sunburst of orange, red, yellow and green rays. A big blue bubble-letter logo reading BOWLING with a small four-pointed star, and the word ENDS on a banner beneath, sits diagonally across the upper-middle. Below it a large painted pinball hand grips a cluster of white-and-red casino chips beside a red die showing four pips. At centre a smiling dark-haired woman in a sleeveless patterned top has her arm round a grinning fair-haired boy in a white shirt, black tie and red neckerchief. To their right a fair-haired youth in a green-and-white striped shirt. On the left a grinning bowler in a yellow shirt, blue trousers and red cap holds up a black ball, and behind him two more youths beside a carnival prize wheel. Scattered across the field are gold coins, red and blue banked targets numbered 1 to 10, two oversized red dice, casino chips, a roulette wheel and playing-card pips. Small green instruction cards sit on the apron.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass Standard
- deep purple blue
- yellow gold
- white
Fingerprint: STARS PHOENIX logo in pink-orange gradient with star cutouts, giant dark-blue bowling ball with three white pins flying outward in red-white-blue starburst, colossal blonde woman in plunging purple gown with bare leg extended, five scattered orange LED score displays, disco nightclub gambling aesthetic, flaking paint worn edges
The single most striking feature is a giant dark-blue bowling ball at the right of centre with three white pins flying outward across a multicoloured red/white/blue starburst - an unusual image for a gambling-themed backglass. A colossal blonde woman in a plunging purple-blue off-shoulder gown stands centre stage with one bare leg raised forward, dwarfing the rest of the cast. The pink-and-orange gradient 'STARS PHOENIX' logo at upper right has small white stars cut into the S and R and sits above the small printed score '12b 2300000'. Five separate orange LED score displays with dark rectangular bezels are scattered across the lower half, three of them in a descending diagonal under the woman. Condition is rough: flaking white paint scuffs across the lower third, a scuffed red cabinet frame, and small-print 'DESIGN REGISTERED / COPYRIGHT 1987' in the lower right.
Setting
- Stylised casino / gaming-machine hall interior at night: a starry night sky with fireworks bursts top left, a large multi-ray sunburst filling the frame, fruit machine and gaming cabinets at both edges, five score windows mounted low
Symbols
- Large dark-blue bowling ball
- Three white bowling pins with green neck stripes, knocked over and flying
- Fireworks bursts in the night sky top left
- White star shapes inside the s and r of the logo
- Fruit/slot machine cabinets
- Pink starburst dots scattered on the red rays
- Swirling circular light effect behind the woman's hair
Lettering
- Large pink-to-orange gradient sans-serif block capitals with yellow outline and drop shadow for the title; small plain white condensed sans-serif capitals for 'game time bonus', 'design registered', '2 to 4 players' and 'shooter's again'; yellow condensed capitals for the orange insert panels
Themes
- Bowling
- Casino
- Pin-up glamour
- Nightclub
- Gaming machines
- 1970s-80s disco
Title on it
- Stars phoenix
Text on it
- STARS
- PHOENIX
- 12b 2300000
- GAME TIME BONUS
- LUCKY $
- JACK
- PAL
- CREDIT
- BALL IN PLAY
- DESIGN REGISTERED
- COPYRIGHT 1987
- 2 TO 4 PLAYERS
- SHOOTER'S AGAIN
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Five human figures. (1) central blonde woman: huge teased curly yellow hair, blue eye shadow, red lips, plunging purple-blue off-shoulder gown with black lace front panel, white lace cuffs, one bare leg raised forward, arms outstretched. (2) bottom left dark-haired man in a blue shirt grinning at a machine. (3) bottom left blonde woman in a magenta/pink top leaning toward him. (4) behind them a short-haired man in a dark top in profile. (5) right side two women: one blonde with voluminous curly hair in a turquoise-blue dress, one brunette in a pink-red dress. plus three white bowling pins with green neck stripes and one dark-blue bowling ball. |
Illuminated pinball backglass in a red painted metal cabinet frame with chipped paint along the top rail and bottom edge. The artwork is a 1980s airbrushed casino scene built around a huge red-and-gold sunburst of red, white and blue rays radiating from a big dark-blue bowling ball at lower right centre, with three white pins with green neck stripes tumbling around it. A glamorous blonde woman dominates centre: large teased curly yellow-blonde hair, blue eye shadow, arched brows, red lips, deep purple-blue off-shoulder dress with a plunging neckline and a black lace panel down the front, and one bare leg stepping forward. The logo 'STARS' above 'PHOENIX' sits upper right in pink-to-orange gradient block letters with yellow outline, star shapes inside the S and R. Five orange seven-segment score windows show 0s. At bottom left a man and a woman laugh at gaming machines; at right two more women stand beside a fruit machine.