Suspense
About This Machine
The 1969 Williams pinball machine, Suspense, is a notable example of late electro-mechanical (EM) engineering. Designed by Norm Clark with artwork by Christian Marche, it features an unusual two-stage flipper system: pressing a flipper button halfway activates only the nearby 2-inch flipper, while pressing it fully also fires the two center 3-inch flippers, so up to three flippers can fire from a single button. This staged flipping let players separately work the left and right halves of each flipper pair, adding real strategic nuance to a four-flipper layout.
Gameplay also centers on five pop bumpers, two slingshots, six standup targets, two kick-out holes, and a captive ball spinner. The center playfield bonus ladder is only advanced by hitting the Advance Bonus standup targets and can only be collected via the captive ball spinner landing on BONUS -- not at the outhole -- and it carries over between balls and players (and, if set to Liberal, even between games). Suspense supports 3- or 5-ball play and an operator-adjustable add-a-ball option, with a maximum displayed score of 9,999 points per player.
Suspense also holds a small footnote in IPDB history: it was the last Williams game to place its captive ball spinner above the playfield, with every subsequent game moving the device below. Its combination of staged flippers and an unusually strict, carry-over bonus ladder make it a distinctive entry in Williams' late-1960s EM lineup.
Images (10)
Technical Details
- Model Number:
- 361
- Notable Features:
- Flippers (4), Pop bumpers (5), Slingshots (2), Standup targets (6), Kick-out holes (2), Captive ball spinner. The flipper buttons each perform in two stages. Pressing a flipper button only halfway activates only the 2-inch flipper closest to it while fully pressing the button also simultaneously activates the two center 3-inch flippers, making three flippers be activated at the same time. Using staged flipping, the player can separately operate the left and right halves of each pair of flippers. 3 or 5 ball play. The center playfield bonus ladder is incremented only by the ball in play hitting either of two Advance Bonus standup targets. It can only be collected by the captive ball spinner landing on BONUS. It cannot be collected at the outhole. Once collected, it starts over at 100 points. This is an automatic carry-over feature from ball to ball and from player to player, allowing either player to collect this bonus regardless of which player increased its value. This bonus ladder also is operator-adjustable to allow carry-over from game to game. If set for Liberal, the bonus ladder does not reset to 100 points at start of a new game and stays at its higher value until collected. If set to Conservative, the bonus ladder does reset to 100 points at start of a new game. Maximum displayed point score is 9,999 points per player.
Credits
- Designer:
- Norm Clark
- Artist:
- Christian Marche