Beat the Clock

Beat the Clock, designed by Steve Kordek with art by George Molentin and released by Williams in December 1963, holds a real place in pinball history: it was the first Williams game with the now-familiar style of multiball in which balls are "locked" on the playfield until released by another ball for simultaneous play. A ball landing in the center kick-out Star Hole stays there until a subsequent ball goes through the top rollover or lands in either the left or right kick-out hole, kicking off 2-ball multiball. Interestingly, the flyer never even gave the feature a name.

The racing-themed game is built around a mechanical backbox animation: a clock hand that advances during play, stepping once each time a ball passes the top rollover, five steps when the last ball lands in the Star Hole, and continuously during multiball until one ball leaves the playfield. If the hand reaches 12 during the game, both side kick-out holes light for Special and the 6 on the clockface lights, with the hand reaching a lit 6 scoring a Special as well. The playfield is loaded for its era, with four flippers, five pop bumpers, two passive bumpers, three kick-out holes, two standup targets, and two rollover buttons, playable on 3- or 5-ball settings, with a maximum displayed score of 1,999 points.

Williams built 2,100 units, with roughly half exported, and the game shipped in a distinctive reverse-wedge head cabinet. As the origin point of Williams' locked-ball multiball, Beat the Clock is a landmark machine that rewards a close look from collectors and historians alike.