Banzai Run

Banzai Run, based on a concept by Pat Lawlor and designed by Lawlor with Larry DeMar for Williams Electronics Games in 1988, is one of the most mechanically ambitious pinball machines of its era. Its motocross racing theme is matched by a genuinely novel layout: in addition to the conventional horizontal playfield, the entire backbox is a second, vertical playfield used for scoring - a concept previously seen in Genco's 1951 'Double Action'. The game was inspired by a 1987 independently made prototype called Wreck'n Ball.

The machine's signature trick is the transition between the two playfields: a magnet on a moving vertical track lifts the ball in play up to the vertical playfield in the backbox, where three vertical flippers, two vertical captive balls, and an up-post keep the action going. When the ball drains between the bottom flippers of the vertical playfield, it returns to the lower horizontal playfield. Down below, players work with three horizontal flippers, three pop bumpers, a ramp, a kick-out hole, two spinning targets, a left outlane kickback, and a two-ball multiball. Banzai Run also pioneered a subtle innovation: it was the first pinball machine to implement lane-change switches as low-voltage switches at the flipper buttons rather than at the flipper end-of-stroke, allowing the game to play sounds when the buttons are pressed in attract mode.

Built on the Williams System 11B platform with artwork by Mark Sprenger, mechanics by John Krutsch, music and sound by Brian Schmidt, and software by Larry DeMar and Ed Boon, Banzai Run had a confirmed production run of 1,751 units. Its vibrant motocross artwork and one-of-a-kind vertical playfield make it a memorable and distinctive entry in Williams' late-1980s lineup.