Varkon

The Williams Varkon, designed by Tony Kraemer and released in 1982, is a fascinating piece of pinball history that pushes the boundaries of what we consider a traditional pinball machine. This Solid State Electronic (SS) game is a pinball machine disguised as a video game, with its flippers controlled by joysticks on the control panel rather than traditional flipper buttons. Beneath its sleek, futuristic surface lies a complex and challenging gameplay experience.

Key to Varkon's uniqueness is its two-playfield design, each with its own ball (the ball does not pass between the two playfields). The main playfield has two 3-inch flippers, a pop bumper, and a kick-back lane; completing a target sequence there activates the lower playfield, which has its own two 2-inch flippers. Players can choose from 3 or 5 ball play. The game's mirrored display creates an illusion of a vertical playfield: both playfields are actually tilted away from the player and viewed through a partially silvered mirror, with flash lamps behind it overlaying lightning-bolt effects on the reflected image.

The Varkon's design is a masterclass in clever engineering and artistic presentation. Its combination of wood and screened plexiglass playfields is visually striking. As "Uncle Willy" notes, Varkon is indeed a two-level experience, but one unlike anything else on the market at the time.