Teacher's Pet
About This Machine
The Teacher pinball machine, designed by Steve Kordek and manufactured by Williams in December 1965, is a single-player electromechanical (EM) game with a lighthearted school theme, of which 1,600 units were confirmed produced.
Gameplay-wise, Teacher features two flippers, three pop bumpers, and two passive bumpers positioned on either side of the playfield. Players navigate the ball through two drop targets and two standup targets while avoiding sending it into one of four kick-out holes. A distinctive design quirk is a gap between the flipper and adjacent slingshot that prevents players from cradling the ball with an energized flipper, forcing them to adapt their shooting strategy.
The Teacher's theme centers on school and happiness, with cheerful artwork on its backglass marquee, and the cabinet features a drop-down design that adds visual interest. With a replay wheel maxing out at 27 and a top displayed score of 9,999 points, Teacher offers a modest but charming slice of mid-1960s Williams EM design.
Images (35)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Happiness - School
- Model Number:
- 318
- Notable Features:
- Flippers (2), Pop bumpers (3), Passive bumpers (2), Slingshots (2), Kick-out holes (4), Rollover buttons (4), Drop targets (2), Standup targets (2), Right outlane ball return gate, Backglass marquee. Drop-down cabinet. A gap exists between the flipper and adjacent slingshot disallowing cradling the ball with an energized flipper. 3 or 5 ball play. The top rollover button lights the two red pop pumpers for ten points. The green pop bumper is always lit for ten points. Completing 1-2-3 in any sequence opens right outlane ball return gate. The open gate is a carry-over feature from game to game until earned. Even though the four kick-out holes each have their own coil, a ball landing in any kick-out hole causes the center two kick-out holes to kick simultaneously (motor switch 3A), immediately followed by the top two holes kicking simultaneously (motor switch 4A). The letters in the name “Teacher’s Pet” are lit on playfield at start of game. Scoring a letter lights corresponding letter(s) in backglass. Scoring the T on the playfield lights both T's on backglass. Scoring the E on the playfield lights all three E's on backglass. Hitting either drop target scores from 50 points up to 500 points, or Special. These score values are based on what combinations of letters are lit on the backglass. For 5-ball play, drop target value is 50 at start of game. Lighting both T and E on backglass advances value to 100. Lighting T-E-A-C in any order advances value to 300. Lighting T-E-A-C-H in any order advances value to 400. Lighting T-E-A-C-H-E-R-S advances value to 500. Lighting T-E-A-C-H-E-R-S then the P advances value to Special as this completes all letters in the name on the backglass. Letters can be lit in any order on the backglass thus it’s possible to light them in a sequence that delays advancing from 50 points until the lit letters cumulatively qualify a higher earned level. For instance, lighting only E-A-C-H leaves the value at 50 points but once the T gets lit, the value advances from 50 points to 400 points, skipping the 100- and 300-point levels (unless an even higher value is qualified by other lit letters). Similarly, lighting T-E-A-C-H-E-R then the P followed by the S advances value to Special, skipping the 500-point level. For 3-ball play, drop target value is 50 at start of game. Hitting either T or C spots both and hitting either E or A spots both. Therefore, no 100-point value can be obtained because scoring T-E-A-C advances value to 300, same as 5-ball play. Advances continue from here same as in 5-ball play. Drop targets reset at start of game or when any of three “UP targets” rollover buttons are scored. Maximum displayed point score is 9,999 points. Replay wheel maximum: 27 Sound: 2 bells, knocker. Tilt penalty: game over.
Credits
- Designer:
- Steve Kordek