Family Guy

The Family Guy pinball machine, designed by Pat Lawlor and released by Stern Pinball in 2007, brought the irreverent animated sitcom to the pinball floor. It was far from the first licensed cartoon-themed pinball machine -- titles like Sega's South Park (1999) and Stern's own The Simpsons Pinball Party (2003) had already established cartoon licenses as a viable pinball category -- but Family Guy stands out for its especially elaborate toy package and mini-playfield engineering.

The game features five flippers, three pop bumpers, nine standup targets, a 4-bank drop target, a solitary drop target, two captive balls, two Newton balls, a spinning target, and an up-post between the flippers, all built around a dedicated mini-playfield and multiball modes. Character figures of Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Brian appear on the machine, with Stewie's figure rotating to face his own small pinball machine within the mini-playfield and Meg's figure bobbing up and down. Engineer Chip Curtis of Pat Lawlor Design designed much of the mini-playfield's lamp effects and electronics, aiming to showcase what LED lighting could do at a time when LEDs were still uncommon in pinball.

Artwork was handled by John Youssi and Margaret Hudson, with music and sound by David Thiel. The cabinet measures 55 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 75 1/2 inches high, and weighs 250 pounds. Family Guy remains a distinctive entry in Stern's mid-2000s licensed lineup, remembered as much for its ambitious mini-playfield engineering as for its cartoon pedigree.