Big Together

Big Together, manufactured by Sega Enterprises in 1976, is an early solid-state electronic (SS) pinball machine from the Japanese manufacturer, reflecting Sega's push into electronic pinball technology during the mid-1970s, when electromechanical games still dominated the market elsewhere.

The gameplay on Big Together is characterized by its intricate playfield layout, featuring a 5-bank of drop targets, a kick-out hole, an aerial spinning disk, a horseshoe lane, and left/outlane ball-diverting gates. A standout feature is the aerial spinning disk mounted on a post above the playfield, whose motion players can reverse by pressing both flipper buttons simultaneously — the disk contacts the top of the ball as it passes beneath. Three of the four rollovers in the long left drop lane are oriented vertically rather than at the usual angle, scoring only when the ball rolls over them from above rather than when kicked up from below.

Notably, Big Together's drop targets are not memorized by the game's CPU and reset with every ball, a quirk distinguishing it from many contemporaries. While little is documented about its original theme or design inspiration, Big Together remains an interesting example of Sega's mid-1970s pinball engineering and mechanical creativity.