Ben Hur

The Ben Hur, produced by Staal Society from 1977 to 1979 in Saint-Ouen, France, is a solid-state electronic (SS) pinball machine notable for closely copying Gottlieb parts and playfield plastics, even reusing Gottlieb coil numbers; some of its plastics reuse artwork previously seen on the backglasses of Gottlieb's 1977 'Vulcan' and 'Cleopatra'. It was distributed in England by the slot-machine manufacturer ACE.

The gameplay on this machine is built around three flippers and a single pop bumper. Nine standup targets provide ample challenge, while four star rollovers offer varying rewards. A 5-bank drop target introduces an element of complexity to the game, requiring players to strategize their shots effectively. Dual inlanes on both left and right sides enhance gameplay dynamics, while sound is provided by three simple chimes; the game has no slingshots.

The playfield, backglass, and plastics were manufactured in Italy by Baldazzi, with the parts made by RMG, while the artwork came from Mike Martinelli's Pinball Shop, a graphic studio Martinelli owned at the time; his signature appears on both the backglass and playfield. Unfortunately, no information is available regarding a specific designer, and little is documented about how the game's fictional-characters/world-places theme ties to the Ben Hur name beyond the shared title with Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, which has been adapted into film several times. The Ben Hur remains a fascinating example of licensed copying and craftsmanship in late-1970s European pinball.