1979 · Williams
Stellar Wars
Known for 1-2-3-4 top lanes, Upper-right three-bank, Captive ball and Left saucer. Deep navy starfield speckled with white stars, dark red-brown cratered planet surface across the lower third, ochre and olive planetary rock formations, yellow-green light beams fanning up from the bottom and black outer border with a thin yellow keyline.
- Year
- 1979
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Lane
1-2-3-4 top lanes
- Target
Upper-right three-bank
- Captive ball
Captive ball
- saucer
Left saucer
- Lane
WARS return lanes
- Goal
STELLAR
On the playfield
Hole 1
- Left saucer saucer
Captive ball 1
- Captive ball
Bumpers 2
- Top bumpers
- Lower bumpers
Targets 4
- Upper-right three-bank
- Left three-bank
- Center drop bank
- Lower right standup
Lanes 2
- 1-2-3-4 top lanes
- WARS return lanes
On the backglass
Who and what
- vehicle Huge wheel-shaped space station upper left, grey-green with a large spoked hub, turret barrels and a row of small round side blisters, angled down towards the centre
- vehicle Matching wheel-shaped space station on the right edge, grey-green, partly cut off by the frame, with a turret firing a red laser beam leftwards
- vehicle Cream and pale-blue delta-wing fighter crossing the top centre, seen from below, with a striped tail fin
- vehicle Swept-wing fighter just right of centre, cream body with pale blue panels and orange cockpit
- vehicle Several pale blue and cream winged craft scattered mid-right and lower-centre, banking at different angles
- creature Multiple yellow-and-orange explosion starbursts with radiating white shards, at top left, top right, left centre and lower centre
Setting
- Deep navy starfield speckled with white stars
- Dark red-brown cratered planet surface across the lower third
- Ochre and olive planetary rock formations
- Yellow-green light beams fanning up from the bottom
- Black outer border with a thin yellow keyline
Text on it
- W
- Williams
- STELLAR
- WARS
- 1st Player
- 2nd Player
- 3rd Player
- 4th Player
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- © WILLIAMS MFG. CO. 1978
- INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
- WILLIAMS ELECTRONICS
How it plays
-
Goals 2
- STELLAR
- WARS
Made by
- Design
- Steve Ritchie
- Art
- Constantino Mitchell
Reference
Linked terms
- 1-2-3-4 top lanes also called top lanes
- Upper-right three-bank also called upper right drop targets
- Left three-bank also called Left drop targets
- Center drop bank also called Center drop targets
- Left saucer also called eject hole
- Top bumpers also called upper jet bumpers
- WARS return lanes also called in lanes
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- navy blue
- red
- gold
- white
Fingerprint: Fire Power roulette theme with cream-rimmed numbered disc under red-orange FIRE POWER plaque, arc of small numbered inserts 1-9-0, lit fan of playing-card backs with green lamps, two white starburst pop bumpers with blue star emblems, curved ramp on right side, navy-blue background
The centrepiece is a cream-rimmed roulette-wheel-style numbered disc with a black circular window, sitting directly under the red-orange FIRE POWER title plaque. Around it runs an arc of small round numbered inserts reading 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0. The upper playfield is dominated by a lit fan of playing-card backs with green round lamps above each card and two large white starburst pop-bumper caps carrying blue star emblems. The clear curved ramp on the right arcs from the top edge down towards the middle right, and the whole surface is dominated by a deep navy-blue background with red-and-gold starburst and explosion motifs. The cabinet side panel below carries a distinctive white-and-red starburst splash pattern with a white-clad woman.
Setting
- Deep navy-blue playfield with printed red and gold starburst and explosion patterns
- Printed casino and street-scene imagery around the upper left and right
- Printed roulette and number-wheel motif at centre
- Printed playing-card fan across the upper playfield
- Black cabinet side panel with painted starburst splashes
Symbols
- Playing-card fans
- Blue five-pointed star emblems on the white bumper caps
- Red and gold starbursts
- Skull and crossbones
- Pips and coloured spheres
- Numbered round inserts
- Red starburst splashes on the cabinet
- Qr code stickers
Notable shapes
- Large cream-ringed roulette-style numbered disc with a dark circular window at centre
- Clear plastic ramp arc on the right
- Two large white starburst pop-bumper caps
- Fanned playing-card back panel at the top
- Black-and-white checkered lane markings on the upper playfield
Art motifs
- Radiating explosion lines
- Gold lightning streaks
- Black keyline outlines
- Star and sparkle highlights
- Roulette wheel numbering
Themes
- Fire
- Power
- Roulette
- Playing cards
- Explosions
- Star bursts
Title on it
- Fire power
Text on it
- FIRE
- POWER
- SCORE
- Williams
- INSTRUCTIONS
- Stellar Waves
- 3 BALLS
- PER GAME
- 1 PLAY - 1 QUARTER
- 4 PLAYS - 1 DOLLAR
- DOLLARS
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | A woman in a white outfit printed on the black cabinet side panel at lower left, partially visible, standing among red and white starburst splashes |
| Other | A printed human arm and hand in a red sleeve reaching in from the upper-left playfield area, holding a light-coloured cylindrical object |
| Other | A printed skull-and-crossbones motif near the upper-middle left of the playfield |
| Vehicle | Printed playing-card fans and coloured spheres/pips printed around the pop bumpers |
Full-length electro-mechanical pinball playfield with a dark navy-blue base covered in red, gold and cream printed artwork, seen through a heavily worn clear playfield laminate. Centre of the lower-middle is a curved title plaque reading FIRE above POWER in chunky red-orange block capitals with a white and cream stepped outline, set on a purple field. Immediately below the title sits a large cream-ringed circular disc printed like a roulette wheel or clock face, with a dark round window in its middle and red numerals 1 through 10 around the rim; small round numbered inserts 1-9 and 0 form an arc beneath it. The upper playfield holds a fan of playing-card backs lit by green and blue round lamps, flanked by two large white starburst pop-bumper caps with blue star emblems, and a curved clear plastic ramp sweeping down the right side on metal rails. A row of cream drop-target strips with red lettering sits across the upper third. Two red-tinted triangular plastics flank the title, red-and-white striped slingshots sit near the lower flippers, and cream flippers with red rubber point inward at the bottom. Below the playfield is a brushed-steel apron with the script word Williams in white on a maroon band, a cream FIRE SCORE instruction above the flippers, two cream instruction cards clipped to the apron, and a black cabinet side panel painted with white and red starburst splashes and a white-suited female figure.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- navy blue
- yellow
- red
- grey-green
Fingerprint: Pair of gigantic grey-green wheel-and-turret space stations filling left-right edges firing red laser beams crossing in X over center, "STELLAR" stacked above "WARS" in chunky yellow letters with thick red 3-D shadow on sparkly navy starfield, four separate player score panels scattered one per corner, bottom edge carries four yellow hexagonal buttons numbered 1-4 over rust-red cratered planet.
The most memorable feature is the pair of gigantic grey-green wheel-and-turret space stations that fill the left and right edges of the glass, firing red laser beams that cross in an X over the centre. Second, the title is stacked as two separate slanted lines, STELLAR above WARS, in chunky yellow letters with a thick red 3-D shadow, sitting on a sparkly navy starfield. Third, four separate player score panels are scattered one per corner rather than in a row, each with its own small Player label. Fourth, the bottom edge carries four yellow hexagonal buttons numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 over a rust-red cratered planet.
Setting
- Deep navy starfield speckled with white stars
- Dark red-brown cratered planet surface across the lower third
- Ochre and olive planetary rock formations
- Yellow-green light beams fanning up from the bottom
- Black outer border with a thin yellow keyline
Symbols
- Red circle enclosing a black w
- Seven-segment score digits
- Yellow hexagonal buttons numbered 1 to 4
- Red laser beams
- Explosion starbursts
- Red-orange radar dish with white spikes
- Yellow-green searchlight beams
- Trench-like rectangular recess above the player buttons
Lettering
- Stellar and wars in large chunky yellow sans-serif capitals with a heavy red extruded 3-d drop shadow, slightly slanted; williams in flowing red cursive script; small player labels in white condensed capitals on black tabs; copyright in tiny white sans-serif capitals
Themes
- Space battle
- Spaceships
- Laser combat
- Planetary surface
- Orbital stations
- Score attack
- Military sci-fi
Title on it
- Stellar wars
Text on it
- W
- Williams
- STELLAR
- WARS
- 1st Player
- 2nd Player
- 3rd Player
- 4th Player
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- © WILLIAMS MFG. CO. 1978
- INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
- WILLIAMS ELECTRONICS
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Huge wheel-shaped space station upper left, grey-green with a large spoked hub, turret barrels and a row of small round side blisters, angled down towards the centre |
| Vehicle | Matching wheel-shaped space station on the right edge, grey-green, partly cut off by the frame, with a turret firing a red laser beam leftwards |
| Vehicle | Cream and pale-blue delta-wing fighter crossing the top centre, seen from below, with a striped tail fin |
| Vehicle | Swept-wing fighter just right of centre, cream body with pale blue panels and orange cockpit |
| Vehicle | Several pale blue and cream winged craft scattered mid-right and lower-centre, banking at different angles |
| Creature | Multiple yellow-and-orange explosion starbursts with radiating white shards, at top left, top right, left centre and lower centre |
A rectangular space-battle backglass with a black outer border and a thin yellow inner keyline. The centre is a deep navy-blue starfield carrying a big two-line title in block capitals: STELLAR in yellow letters with a heavy red extruded 3-D drop shadow, and WARS below it, smaller, same treatment, the two words set on a slight upward slant. Above the title sits a red circle logo holding a black W, with the word Williams in red cursive script. Four player score windows are cut into the art, one per quadrant: upper left labelled 1st Player showing 74, upper right 2nd Player showing 000000, mid right 3rd Player showing 0000000, and lower right 4th Player showing 0000000, each in a white-on-black seven-segment style panel with a red flash behind it. Two enormous grey-green wheel-shaped space stations dominate the left and right edges, each with turret barrels and side blisters. Cream and pale-blue delta-shaped fighters and swept-wing craft crisscross the field, several exploding into yellow-and-orange starbursts with radiating shards. Red laser beams fire diagonally across the glass. The lower third is a rust-red and ochre cratered planet surface with yellow-green light shafts, four yellow hexagon-shaped player buttons numbered 1 to 4, and small white copyright print in the lower right.