Explorer

The Explorer, manufactured by Sega Enterprises of Tokyo in 1972, is an electro-mechanical two-player pinball machine with an outer space exploration theme. It stands as a representative example of Japanese pinball production during Sega's 1971-1979 run in the market - and its dating has its own small story: the game was long listed as 1974, until a machine surfaced bearing an inspection sticker clearly dated 1972.

The Explorer boasts an unusually rich feature set for an EM game, including two flippers, three pop bumpers, a spinning bumper in the lower left playfield that rotates clockwise, two slingshots, standup targets, a kick-out hole, a drop target, a left outlane kickback, an upper left kicker lane, an up-post between the flippers, and 2-ball multiball. A top rebound gate opens and closes during play, and the drop target guards a free ball lane leading to the shooter alley. The lower cabinet even contains a relay tester for trouble-shooting - a thoughtful touch for operators.

The maximum displayed score is 99,990 points per player, the replay wheel tops out at 25, and the sound package is classic EM: a bell and a knocker. With multiball and a kickback on an early-1970s electro-mechanical platform, the Explorer offers a surprisingly modern-feeling feature list wrapped in vintage hardware.