Tri Zone

The Tri Zone, designed by Tony Kraemer and manufactured by Williams Electronics in 1979, is a solid-state electronic pinball machine with an outer-space fantasy theme. Running on the Williams System 6 platform, it was a commercially successful title for Williams, with 7,250 units produced.

Gameplay on Tri Zone centers on three pop bumpers, two slingshots, four drop targets, a kick-out hole, and a spinning target, offering a fast-paced mix of scoring opportunities typical of late-1970s solid-state Williams machines. A distinctive design touch is the open-elbow inlane, which allows the ball to pass between the inlane and outlane and vice versa - notably, the game has no left outlane at all.

Visually, Tri Zone features space-themed artwork by Christian Marche, with sound and software by Paul Dussault. The sample/test version of the game had different playfield art, pop bumper caps, and cabinet colors compared to the eventual production run. At roughly 235 pounds including legs, Tri Zone is a fairly typical weight for a machine of its era.