1988 · Williams
Taxi
Known for Spinout, Right Lock eject, Left Airport ramp and Drac hole. Purple brick wall, city pavement, inside a yellow taxi cab and illuminated overhead marquee.
- Year
- 1988
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- cup
Spinout
- Hole
Right Lock eject
- Ramp
Left Airport ramp
- Hole
Drac hole
- Hole
Joyride
- Target
Carry Passengers target
- Hurry-up
Express Lane
- Goal
Passengers
On the playfield
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Driver in left foreground, profile, flushed face, stubble, red peaked cap with two round badges, hands on wheel and splayed pointing
- woman Slim, black hair, sleeveless red dress with high slit, mouth open in shock, standing on pavement
- man Bald, bright blue suit, white shirt, red patterned tie, pocket square, arm raised waving, smiling
- man White-faced, red-haired, fanged grin, long black cloak, one arm raised beside a jukebox
- man Plump, white beard, all-red suit with black belt, grinning, both arms outstretched
- other Overhead marquee showing cropped eyes and forehead
Setting
- Purple brick wall
- City pavement
- Inside a yellow taxi cab
- Illuminated overhead marquee
Text on it
- JACKPOT
- METER
- METER BONUS
- PLAYNOW
- SPEED BALL
- FREE BALL
- BIG SCORES
- Williams
- COPYRIGHT ... WILLIAMS ELECTRONICS GAMES INC.
- NO
How it plays
-
Modes 2
- Raise Jackpot
Hurry-ups
- Express Lane
-
Goals 2
- Passengers
- Airport Advance
-
Awards 1
- Spot Passenger
Made by
- Design
- Mark Ritchie
- Art
- Python Anghelo
- Mechanics
- Craig Fitpold
- Mechanics
- Tony Kraemer
- Mechanics
- Mark Kim
- Software
- Ed Boon
- Sound & Music
- Chris Granner
The cast
- Drac
- Santa
- Lola
- Gorbie
- Pinbot
Reference
Linked terms
- Right Lock eject also called Right saucer also called Express Lane 1
- Left Airport ramp also called Left ramp
- Right Airport ramp also called Right ramp
- Drac hole also called Left saucer also called Express Lane 2
- Joyride also called Upper left saucer also called Gorbie/Jackpot entrance
- Lola/Marilyn drop targets also called Center drop targets
- Pinbot drop targets also called Pin-Bot also called Pin•Bot also called Right drop targets
- CAB lanes also called Top CAB lanes
- Airport Advance also called Airport Rides
- Lola also called Marilyn
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- red
- yellow
- black
- cream
Fingerprint: taxi: Huge clear spiral ramp wraps clockwise top glowing red, two green curved arrow panels EXPRESS LANE 1 and 2 mirror-image, red-yellow round W emblem apron centre, cream airport ground map taxi cabs terminal blocks, vertical red ladder values 100/75/50/25/10/5, late-1980s airbrushed illustration
The whole upper third is buried under a huge clear spiral ramp that wraps clockwise over the top of the playfield, glowing deep red from the lamps beneath. Two green curved arrow panels reading EXPRESS LANE 1 and EXPRESS LANE 2 sit mirror-image left and right of centre, and the very centre carries a red-and-yellow round W emblem on the apron. The playfield is printed as a cream-coloured airport ground map with taxi cabs, terminal blocks and passenger icons rather than as a scene, and a vertical red ladder of values 100/75/50/25/10/5 runs up the right side. Two white instruction cards with dense small print flank the central apron.
Setting
- Airport ground map seen from above
- Terminal and runway blocks
- City street grid
- Taxi rank
Symbols
- Playing-card-style letters c-a-b and 4b
- Green directional arrows
- Red circular lamps
- Yellow arrowheads
- Spinning star emblem
Notable shapes
- Full-length clear spiral ramp enclosing the upper playfield
- Circular w medallion on the apron
- Long rectangular score-value ladder on the right
- Keyhole-shaped clear plastic covers over the upper left and right
Art motifs
- Overhead map
- Chevron and arrow banding
- Concentric red arcs
- Black keylined illustration
Themes
- Taxi
- Airport
- City
- Transport
- Passengers
Title on it
- Taxi
Text on it
- SPINOUT
- C-A-B LANES ADVANCE BONUS
- 4B
- TAXI
- SUPER TAXI
- ARRIVALS
- DEPARTURES
- EXPRESS LANE 1
- EXPRESS LANE 2
- AIRPORT RIDES ADVANCE LITE HAUL
- PASSENGERS
- PICK-UP PASSENGER TO LITE HAUL
- TAXI FARE METER
- 100
- 75
- 50
- 25
- 10
- 5
- LANE CHANGE
- HOLD FLIPPER BUTTON FOR STATUS REPORT
- MATCH LAST TWO DIGITS
- MORE CHANCE TO COLLECT PASSENGER
- CAB LANES:
- SHOOTER SKILL SHOT
- Game: Taxi
- Package: Mark Ritchie
- Patent: 7,301
- Manufactured Date: 1988
- Total Production: 7,303
- Williams Electronic Games, Inc.
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Yours the Winner When You're Number One!
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | Yellow taxi cab printed at the centre badge, viewed from above, with a roof sign |
| Vehicle | Several black-and-yellow taxi cab illustrations in the left inlane area and around the map |
| Other | Red-and-yellow circular w emblem on the lower apron, the letterform inside a stylised crown of overlapping arcs |
| Creature | Row of small round passenger portrait medallions stacked above the passengers text at centre |
Full colour playfield of an airport taxi-themed game, photographed lit with red lamps glowing. Layout is strongly symmetrical: a large clear plastic ramp arcs from the lower centre up the right side, over the top and back down the left, enclosing a bright red plastic-covered upper playfield with three red pop bumper domes, a spinner and a grid of drop targets. Across the top a curved yellow banner reads C-A-B LANES ADVANCE BONUS, flanked by round arrow lamps. Upper left carries two black-and-yellow TAXI lane panels, upper right a red score-value column reading 100, 75, 50, 25, 10, 5. The middle of the playfield is a printed airport ground map in cream, tan, blue and grey with a yellow taxi graphic at the centre badge, PASSENGERS lettering beneath, and green EXPRESS LANE 1 and EXPRESS LANE 2 arrow panels either side. Lower down are two long blue-and-orange ramps forming a wide V, yellow curved flippers, and a central coin-door apron carrying two white instruction cards packed with small black print and a large red-and-yellow circular W emblem. Dominant colours are red, yellow, black, cream, with blue and orange accents; the art style is flat late-1980s airbrushed-and-illustrated playfield printing with heavy black keylines.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- yellow
- red
- blue
- black
Fingerprint: First-person taxi interior view, driver's head in profile red peaked cap pointing at taxi meter labeled JACKPOT, grinning white-faced black-cloaked red-haired sinister figure beside jukebox, overhead marquee showing only eyes and sweating forehead, plump red-suited bearded figure waving at traffic light
The cab driver's huge profile in a red peaked cap, seen from inside his own yellow cab, with his hand splayed across the bonnet pointing at a taxi meter labelled JACKPOT. A grinning white-faced black-cloaked figure with red hair, resembling a sinister twin, stands beside a jukebox. A wide overhead marquee showing only a pair of cropped eyes and a sweating forehead. A plump bearded figure dressed all in red grinning and waving beside a traffic light.
Setting
- Purple brick wall
- City pavement
- Inside a yellow taxi cab
- Illuminated overhead marquee
Symbols
- Traffic light
- Jukebox
- Taxi meter
- Steering wheel
- Speedometer
- Round dashboard dials
- Overhead marquee with eyes
- Round cap badges
- Yellow taxi bonnet
Lettering
- Block capitals on yellow sign plates for machine text; small yellow script-ish corporate mark on a white sign; tiny yellow capitals on a black bottom border
Themes
- Taxi
- Cartoon
- Horror-comedy
- City street
- First-person
Text on it
- JACKPOT
- METER
- METER BONUS
- PLAYNOW
- SPEED BALL
- FREE BALL
- BIG SCORES
- Williams
- COPYRIGHT ... WILLIAMS ELECTRONICS GAMES INC.
- NO
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Driver in left foreground, profile, flushed face, stubble, red peaked cap with two round badges, hands on wheel and splayed pointing |
| Woman | Slim, black hair, sleeveless red dress with high slit, mouth open in shock, standing on pavement |
| Man | Bald, bright blue suit, white shirt, red patterned tie, pocket square, arm raised waving, smiling |
| Man | White-faced, red-haired, fanged grin, long black cloak, one arm raised beside a jukebox |
| Man | Plump, white beard, all-red suit with black belt, grinning, both arms outstretched |
| Other | Overhead marquee showing cropped eyes and forehead |
First-person view from inside a yellow taxi cab: the driver's head and shoulders fill the left foreground, seen in profile with a flushed nose, chin stubble and a peaked red cap carrying two round white badges reading NO and another partly legible word. His left hand grips a black steering wheel; his other outstretched hand, fingers splayed, points towards a white roof-mounted taxi meter on the right reading JACKPOT on a yellow plate, METER down its left edge and METER BONUS on a yellow strip beneath. Outside the windscreen, on a purple-brick pavement, four figures advance: a woman in a sleeveless red dress with a high slit and black hair, mouth open; a bald man in a bright blue suit, white shirt, red patterned tie and pocket square, right arm raised waving; a grinning man in a long black cloak with a white face and red hair beside a jukebox; and a plump grinning red-suited figure with a white beard and outstretched arm beside a traffic light. Above them a wide illuminated marquee shows a cropped pair of eyes and a sweating forehead. A round speedometer and dial sit on the dash. Colours: yellow, red, blue-purple, black.