1979 · Williams
Tri Zone
Known for ZONE targets, Top eject hole and TRI lanes. Glowing red field scattered with yellow ringed planets, stars and light orbs, olive-green and grey space-station superstructures with fins, antennae and multicoloured grid windows, curved metallic chutes and conveyor-like ramps crossing the middle and lower right, grey mechanical platform with keyboard consoles of red and yellow buttons and dark outer cabinet border framing the artwork on all four sides.
- Year
- 1979
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Drop target
ZONE targets
- saucer
Top eject hole
- Lane
TRI lanes
On the playfield
- magenta red
- bright yellow
- cream
- green
- teal
- 2 flippers
- 3 pop bumpers
- 1 spinner
Hole 1
- Top eject hole saucer
Drop target 1
- ZONE targets
Lanes 3
- A-B lanes
- TRI lanes
- Candy-cane lane
Lights 1
- Roving lamp indicator
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Tall standing figure at left rear in a blue and grey space suit with a rounded helmet, dark goggles/visor, chest harness and belt; face mostly hidden, rendered in flat comic shading
- woman Blonde woman in front of him, magenta/pink one-piece catsuit with a yellow oval chest emblem, yellow belt and tall yellow boots, black eye mask, long wavy hair; holds a long golden staff or spear upright and faces right
- woman Blue-haired woman at centre in matching magenta catsuit with yellow oval chest emblem, blue gloves and dark eye mask; left hand on hip, right arm raised and pointing upward, looking left
- man Small seated figure lower centre-left with a blue helmet, blonde hair and blue/teal clothing, hunched forward and reaching toward a console of red and yellow buttons
- other Tiny pink-clad figure lying flat and spread-eagled on a narrow grey chute at right, arms and legs outstretched as if falling or floating
- other Two miniature pink-suited figures standing together on the magenta platform at lower right beside the '1 to 4 can play' text
Setting
- Glowing red field scattered with yellow ringed planets, stars and light orbs
- Olive-green and grey space-station superstructures with fins, antennae and multicoloured grid windows
- Curved metallic chutes and conveyor-like ramps crossing the middle and lower right
- Grey mechanical platform with keyboard consoles of red and yellow buttons
- Dark outer cabinet border framing the artwork on all four sides
Text on it
- Williams
- TRI ZONE
- HIGHEST SCORE
- 1UP
- 2UP
- 3UP
- 4UP
- GAME OVER
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- 9460
- 000000
- 00
- SALES CODE
- REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.
- MADE UNDER LICENSE
- TRI-ZONE
Made by
- Design
- Tony Kraemer
- Art
- Christian Marche
Reference
Linked terms
- ZONE targets also called ZONE drops
- Top eject hole also called Top saucer
- A-B lanes also called A-B lane pairs
- TRI lanes also called TRI rollover buttons
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- magenta red
- bright yellow
- cream
- green
- teal
Fingerprint: Rainbow of saturated colours—red, yellow, green, teal, lavender lanes—jumble-carnival look, three white ribbed pop-bumper caps unlit in triangle, grey shark-like creature with blue eye beside bumpers, large green-clad female on upper-left return lane, yellow arrow signs reading 10,000 W/L, TRI-ZONE ladder on right apron
The playfield is unusually saturated with a rainbow of lane colours — red, yellow, green, teal and lavender — rather than a single dominant scheme, giving a jumble-carnival look. Three white ribbed pop bumper caps clustered in a triangle at the upper centre are the most prominent hardware, unlit and standing proud of a flame-motif insert. A grey shark-like creature graphic with a lit blue eye sits just right of the bumpers, and a large green-clad female figure is painted on the upper left apron-side return lane. Two yellow arrow signs reading 10,000 W/L point away from the centre towards the outlanes, and a mirrored pair flank the upper left spinner area. The lower deck is unusually information-dense, carrying a full printed INSTRUCTIONS card on the left and a handwritten TRI-ZONE ladder of three score thresholds on the right.
Setting
- No representational background scene; the playfield is a full-bleed abstract graphic field of concentric curved bands, radiating rays, chevrons and confetti-like dots, with a small painted figure vignette at the upper left and a creature vignette at mid right. the cabinet is a warm brown wood with a brushed stainless front rail and a chrome coin door visible at the foot of the shot.
Symbols
- A red crown inside a white circle on a square decal, centred on the lower deck
- Five circled bonus multiplier discs reading 2x, 3x, 4x and 5x in red on cream, in a vertical arc above the flippers
- Numbered round rollover inserts 1 through 10 in black on cream, arranged in a wide arc and vertical ladder around the centre
- Black five-pointed star sparkles printed on the upper right plastics
- Yellow arrow signs with black keylines and red numerals pointing outwards at four positions
- A black sunburst or gear-shaped medallion on the lower centre apron between the flippers
- A small printed target/reticle spiral at the left of the pop bumper triangle
Notable shapes
- The overall geometry is a symmetric v or chevron: two straight inward-sloping apron walls meeting a horizontal drain, with the field narrowing toward the bottom. concentric curved bands crown the top like an arch. the two large triangular slingshots mirror each other across the centre line, and the arc of numbered rollover inserts forms a shallow rainbow across the middle of the field.
Art motifs
- Radiating sunburst rays fanning from the upper centre
- Concentric curved rainbow bands along the top arch and outer field edges
- Diagonal lightning and chevron stripes in teal, white and black
- Hand-lettered script and condensed sans display lettering with black drop shadows
- Scattered confetti dots and small star sparkles over a red field
- Vintage film-reel and gear-tooth motifs around the pop bumper caps
Themes
- Carnival
- Comic book
- Circus
- Scoring ladder
- Bonus multiplier
- Multi-ball
Text on it
- ZAP!
- 10,000 W/L 2X
- 10,000 W/L 3X
- 10,000 W/L 4X
- THOUSAND
- SPECIAL
- EXTRA BALL
- 10 THOUSAND
- 5 THOUSAND
- 3 THOUSAND BONUS SCORES
- TRI SCORES
- 2X
- 3X
- 4X
- 5X
- NO
- MULTI-BALL READY
- FLIPPER BUTTON
- INSTRUCTIONS
- FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY
- TRI-ZONE
- For Amusement Only
- One-To-Four Play
- 180,000 SCORES
- 260,000 SCORES
- 340,000 SCORES
- 3 BALLS PER GAME
- 1 PLAY
- 5 PLAYS
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Upper left, on the return-lane panel beside the wire ball guide: a woman or girl in a bright green outfit with a lighter green bodice, dark green outlines, arms raised above the head and elbows bent, long dark hair, small head, painted in flat comic-book cel style. she is the largest single character on the playfield. |
| Other | Mid-right, immediately right of the pop bumper cluster: a grey-blue shark- or fish-like creature in profile, mouth open with visible white teeth, a round pale eye picked out by a bright blue led glow behind it, drawn with grey washes and black outlines. |
| Other | Centre of the playfield, inside a dark circular emblem beneath the arced lettering: a small painted figure in a wide-brimmed hat and light shirt, seen from the chest up, rendered in muted cream and olive tones against a black and maroon disc. |
| Other | Upper centre, on a translucent teal insert capped by a green starburst: a tiny pale figure with raised arms, arms and legs splayed, sitting on top of the insert between the bumpers and the centre emblem. |
| Other | Left of centre: a jagged white starburst outlined in black containing the word zap! in bold black capitals, adjacent to a column of five round red lamps. |
Full-view photograph of a whole pinball playfield under glass in a wooden cabinet with a stainless front rail, lit by coloured LEDs. The field is a dense, brightly coloured circus- or carnival-themed layout: a red and pink central field ringed by yellow, green, teal and cream lanes, with a silver wire ball guide looping across the top left and a translucent green ramp and metal habitrail hugging the top right. Three pop bumper caps sit in a triangle at the upper centre, flanked by printed inserts. The centre carries an arc of lettering over a dark circular emblem, with yellow arrow signs pointing outwards to 10,000 value lanes. Two red triangle plastics with green starburst inserts form the lower left and lower right slingshots, above large white and teal chevron aprons. A cream instruction card and a handwritten TRI-ZONE score card fill the lower deck, flanking a red crown medallion. Everything is in used but legible condition with minor clouding on the plastics.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- red
- yellow
- magenta
- black
Fingerprint: TRI ZONE in blocky yellow-green sans-serif with red inner shading, white circular W badge, four curved player score windows cascading diagonally with 1UP-4UP badges, magenta-suited mask-wearing women with yellow boots and chest emblems, small seated operator at keyboard, tiny pink-clad figure on grey chute, Williams
The most memorable element is the enormous yellow-and-red block-letter TRI ZONE title arching across the top third, sitting on a white cursive company script and a round 'W' badge. Second is the four-player diagonal cascade of curved red seven-segment score windows, each with a round numbered 1UP-4UP badge, running from upper left down to lower right. Third is a pair of magenta-suited, mask-wearing women with blonde and blue hair flanking a crouching seated operator at a colourful button console. Fourth, a tiny figure in pink lies spread-eagled on a flat grey chute at right, dwarfed by the giant machine structures. Fifth, the whole scene sits on a glowing red field of yellow planet rings and stars.
Setting
- Glowing red field scattered with yellow ringed planets, stars and light orbs
- Olive-green and grey space-station superstructures with fins, antennae and multicoloured grid windows
- Curved metallic chutes and conveyor-like ramps crossing the middle and lower right
- Grey mechanical platform with keyboard consoles of red and yellow buttons
- Dark outer cabinet border framing the artwork on all four sides
Symbols
- Ringed planets
- Stars
- Glowing orbs
- Round 'w' letter badge
- Arrow banner
- Coloured grid windows
- Seven-segment digits
- Yellow circles containing player numbers
- Keyboard consoles with coloured buttons
Lettering
- Large blocky yellow sans-serif capitals with red inline shading and dark outline for the title; flowing white brush-script for the company name; small orange sans-serif capitals inside a chevron banner; round badge lettering in yellow outlined capitals
Themes
- Space
- Science fiction
- Futuristic city
- Arcade
- Comic book
- Planets
- Action
Title on it
- Tri zone
Text on it
- Williams
- TRI ZONE
- HIGHEST SCORE
- 1UP
- 2UP
- 3UP
- 4UP
- GAME OVER
- 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY
- 9460
- 000000
- 00
- SALES CODE
- REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.
- MADE UNDER LICENSE
- TRI-ZONE
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Tall standing figure at left rear in a blue and grey space suit with a rounded helmet, dark goggles/visor, chest harness and belt; face mostly hidden, rendered in flat comic shading |
| Woman | Blonde woman in front of him, magenta/pink one-piece catsuit with a yellow oval chest emblem, yellow belt and tall yellow boots, black eye mask, long wavy hair; holds a long golden staff or spear upright and faces right |
| Woman | Blue-haired woman at centre in matching magenta catsuit with yellow oval chest emblem, blue gloves and dark eye mask; left hand on hip, right arm raised and pointing upward, looking left |
| Man | Small seated figure lower centre-left with a blue helmet, blonde hair and blue/teal clothing, hunched forward and reaching toward a console of red and yellow buttons |
| Other | Tiny pink-clad figure lying flat and spread-eagled on a narrow grey chute at right, arms and legs outstretched as if falling or floating |
| Other | Two miniature pink-suited figures standing together on the magenta platform at lower right beside the '1 to 4 can play' text |
Illuminated, wedge-shaped backglass dominated by a hot red and black background scattered with yellow ringed-planet motifs, glowing orbs and swooping olive-green and grey space-station structures with fins, antennae and multicoloured grid windows. Four curved player score windows are stacked in a diagonal cascade from upper left to lower right, each paired with a round badge reading 1UP, 2UP, 3UP, 4UP, and two of them show red seven-segment digits lit. At top centre a white circular badge with a black 'W' sits above a white cursive company script, under which stretches an enormous blocky yellow-green sans-serif title TRI ZONE with red inner shading, flanked at upper left by an orange arrow banner reading HIGHEST SCORE. The artwork shows four human figures: a tall helmeted figure in blue and grey armour standing behind a blonde woman in a magenta catsuit with yellow boots, a second woman with blue hair in a magenta catsuit leaning over a console with one arm raised, and a small seated operator at a keyboard of coloured buttons. Bottom right a magenta-pink platform carries 1 TO 4 CAN PLAY above a red bar with a yellow circle per player number.