True Myst Multi-Ball

A number of years back I watched pretty much every promotional video ever made for every pinball machine. I was not only looking for interesting machines for my collection but I was also looking for interesting features that could be used my own new machine. On feature that seemed interesting was the Myst Multiball feature from Willaims 1993 machine called Dracula.

Williams thought so much of their feature they even filed and received a patent on the design. It's a fairly rudimentary underplayfield ball screw actuator with an electromagnet on the top. It's pretty weak though, after all where is the MYST in this Myst Multiball feature? A little bit of art work on the playfield? Pshaw.

So check my interpretation of true myst multiball!

Solid State Pop Bumper

The Pop (or Jet) bumper is one of the primary sources of action in a traditional pinball machine. A few years back I got to thinking that since it's so mechanical its prone to failure. Why not design a solid state pop bumper with some modern technology? It has no moving parts. That's a big plus for pinball machines that might otherwise need replacement parts on location. I CNC machined an aluminum shape that looked like a pop bumper and accepted a standard rubber ring and pop bumper cap. Inside is an accelerometer. Underneath is an electro magnet. It's very cool to watch work. No moving parts. The ball action is great, very similar to a standard pinball pop bumper which is more Rube Goldberg that anything else ;) That said, it does have a couple of down sides. First, it takes an awful lot of real estate under the playfield. This is especially the case if you're looking at filling a 360 degree area around the bumper with electromagnets. Secondly, and probably most importantly it lacks the human factor pinball feel. It doesn't quite feel as fun as a real pinball pop bumper when you're holding the machine at the flipper buttons. Maybe if it had a thumper motor installed in the cabinet :)

Here are a couple videos of my prototype in action from a number of years back.