Jokerz! (1988, Williams)

How do you turn a kid into a pinball player?

Ya bring home their favorite machine!

Jokerz! is my second game from Williams, but my first with an alpha-numeric display. By 1988, games could not only talk in regular sounding voices (rather than the robotic “speech” of Alien Poker), but also display messages and simple ASCII character animation, either to direct the player where to shoot, or as reward for the player achieving something. It’s a big leap forward over the basic 7 digit numeric displays of the early 80s, and adds a lot to the overall appeal of the game. (i.e. even non pinball players notice it)

Also by this time, pretty much every machine had some sort of notable feature(s) that distinguished it from others. For Jokerz!, the ramps leading to the upper level playfield certainly add something. As does the drawbridge ramp in the middle of the playfield that raises and lowers and leads to a 2 ball lock. But what really sets it apart is the Draw Poker animation built into the backbox – when the player hits the Draw Poker target on the playfield, the game holds the ball while a quick game of 5 card draw is played in the backglass. Very unique, and pretty darn cool! Oh, and that ball lock… lock two balls to start Jokerz Wild Multiball! Ya know, in case you were bored trying to keep the one ball out of the drain.

So what does this have to do with turning a kid into a pinball player? This was the first year Naomi went with me to the Texas Pinball Festival, and while there, she got to see/play the huge assortment of machines from the 70s all the way up to 2014. And her favorite game, the one she told Jenny about when we got home, and the one she talked about for days afterward? Jokerz! This very machine actually. So when I happened to contact the owner about buying a different machine from him and he mentioned that this one was also for sale… well, it’s time to brainwash the kid!

Click here for more information about Jokerz!