Here's a clip of Cale and Rachel talking about how well the game is doing on their award-winning Electric Bat Podcast:
Here's the full episode as well for anyone who wants to check it out:
On Thursday, Zen Studios is scheduled to reveal the final two tables of its three machine Williams Pinball Volume 9 pack for the Pinball FX Platform. It has already announced that the first table in the pack is the 1986 Williams game Pin-Bot. Earlier today it dropped clues for the other two tables on social media. One of them certainly seems like it will be the 1995 Bally Game Who Dunnit. The question is, what is the second? Is it the 1988 Williams Game Taxi. Or perhaps the 1986 Williams pin High Speed? We'll find out soon.
Last week I wrote here about this year's iconic Pinburgh pinball tournament. Over the weekend I tuned into the great Foxcities Twitch stream of the event. Not surprisingly, the current #1 player in the world - Jason Zahler, did it again, winning the Main Event for his fourth major tournament win. Look at the size of that trophy! Congratulations Jason.
The 2025 Women's International Pinball Tournament (WIPT) was also held at the event last weekend. Congratulations to Kat Lake on the victory!
Late last week, Stern Pinball released its second major code update in its continued revamping of John Wick. The latest code, Versionm 0.96, contains a massive list of changes and improvements for the machine:
"This code "The Excommunicado Release" contains game enhancements, additional polish, game adjustments, and bug fixes including:- Added a Faction Perk Award for completing the "Task a Crew" job. It works as follows:
"ADD-A-BALL" - Complete the "Task a Crew" job to qualify "Add-A-Ball" via the lockdown bar button during any Multiball and post MB Grace periods. This can only be used once per ball.
Note: "Add-A-Ball" is not available while the Multiball ball savers are maintaining
balls on the playfield. The lockdown bar button/lamp will illuminate "Gold" when
"Add-A-Ball" is available.
Note: This replaces the previous "Add-A-Ball" rule that was qualified via the
ramp targets during any multiball.
- Added a new Swipe-A-Ball rule. This rule allows the player to "unlock" any
Red Circle locked balls they have accumulated prior to starting
Deconsecrated Multiball. Release the locked ball(s) by pressing the lockdown bar
button during any multiball event (the lime green button indicates that Swipe-A-Ball
is available).
- Note: Progress towards starting Deconsecrated Multiball increases in difficulty
upon each Swipe-A-Ball use.
- Added a Swipe-A-Ball rule adjustment. Default setting = "Any Locked Ball".
Settings are:
"Off" - The rule is disabled.
"Physically Locked Balls" - Only balls physically locked in the Red Circle Lock
by the player are added into play.
"Any Locked Balls" - Any balls locked (either in the Red Circle Lock or trough)
by the player are added into play.
"Physically Locked Balls + Stealing" - Only balls physically locked in the
Red Circle Lock by any player are added into play.
"Any Locked Balls + Stealing" - Any balls physically locked in the Red Circle Lock
by any player, or balls in the trough are added into play.
Note: A Ball Saver starts at the beginning of Swipe-A-Ball that will save any
earned locked balls.
- Added "Swipe-A-Ball" speech.
- Added logic to determine when the "Add-A-Ball" and "Swipe-A-Ball" awards are available.
1) Add-A-Ball - is disallowed if the FACTION Perk "Multiball Extend" is available
and hasn't been used yet on that ball. Once the player uses the "Multiball Extend" perk on that ball, "Add-A-Ball" will be available the next time a player plays a multiball.
2) Swipe-A-Ball - is disallowed if the FACTION Perks "Add-A-Ball" and/or "Multiball Extend" are available and haven't been used yet on that ball. Once the player uses the "Add-A-Ball" or "Multiball Extend" Perk on that ball, "Swipe-A-Ball" will be available the next time a player plays a multiball,
Note: "Multiball Extend", "Add-A-Ball", and "Swipe-A-Ball" can't be used in the same multiball session.
- Added logic that changes the way the lockdown bar button lamp/awards are cycled/illuminated.
Previously available awards would be illuminated on the lockdown bar button one at a time and were collected by pressing the lockdown bar button. Now the game uses a short press, long press scheme to process available awards. Now, with the addition of "Add-A-Ball" as an available award via the lockdown bar button, pressing and holding down the lockdown bar button (i.e. long press) will award Add-A-Ball. Quickly pressing the lockdown bar button (i.e. short press) will award "Lights Out" and/or the "Motion Sensor".
To differentiate awards, long press awards are illuminated solid while short press
awards blink. Oftentimes it is necessary to use "Add-A-Ball" at critical points in the game while balls are draining. With this new scheme players can quickly resurrect their
Multiballs with the press of 1 button.
- Changed the rule(s) that advance/light Excommunicado Multiball. Now, shots to the
Dance Floor advance the "Dance Floor" lights. Shoot the Dance Floor enough times to light "Max Level" at the Dance Floor. Once lit, shoot the Dance Floor again to start
Excommunicado Multiball.
- Now the Excommunicado Multiball start phase allows the locking of 4 balls in the Dance Floor via the VIP Pop Bumper Entrance Switch.
- Added Excommunicado Multiball Ready Speech.
- Added new sound FX for Excommunicado Multiball Ready/Start.
- Added new sound FX for Add-A-Ball, Swipe_a_Ball.
- Added a new Ticking sound FX.
- Added logic for Excommunicao Multiball to start via the VIP Pop Bumper Entrance Switch.
- Added logic for the Excommunicado Clock pop-up display effect to co-exist with the
Dance Floor pop-up display effect.
- Fixed a bug where Excommunicado Multiball would not start immediately upon making the "VIP Pop Enter" entrance switch when Excommunicado Multiball was "Ready".
- Now the Top Sling/Pop Bumper are momentarily disabled at the start of Excommunicado Multball.
- Fixed a bug where the Excommunicado Multiball "Jackpot Grows" display score didn't grow the jackpot by that actual amount/score.
- Now the Excommunicado Multiball "Jackpot Phase" shot arrows are illuminated immediately at the expiration of the "Build Phase" timer.
- Added a "Excommunicado Multiball Ready" Display Effect.
- Added logic to disallow "Lights Out" from starting during the Adversary
"Continue or Collect" display effect presentation.
- Added a new Excommunicado Multiball Start Display Effect.
- Fixed a bug where the "WINSTON" letter collect rule wasn't getting progressively harder to complete if "Swipe-A-Ball" was used to steal any Red Circle Locked balls.
- Now, at the start of Game Over, the Drop Target will temporarily be lowered to the down position to release any locked balls (if necessary).
- Now the "VIP Pop Enter" switch contributes towards the progress of starting
Excommunicado Multiball.
- Now the number of balls locked during the "Build Phase" of Excommunicado Multiball contributes to the Super Jackpot Score Award.
- Added Super Jackpot Grows display/sound/lamp effects to Excommunicado Multiball. (LE Only)
- Now balls sitting in the Shooter Lane will pause the Ball Search Timer during
Excommunicado Multiball.
- Now the "Dance Club" and Spot Light lamps strobe faster when Excommunicado Multiball is ready to start.
- Added a Dance Floor Ready Lightshow.
- Removed unused adjustment(s).
- Added a Excommunicado Multiball difficulty adjustment.
- Change the difficulty of the Winston Letters Collet rule,, i.e. difficulty = Medium
- Now the Excommunicado MB Super JP Base is 5M.
- Added the Left Eject Flasher to the "Adversary Battle Ready" background lamp effect.
- Changed the color of the shot arrows in Excommunicado Multiball.
- Added logic for the Pops/Slings to add to ALL valid playfield rules.
- Now Ball Search will actuate the Pop Bumper.
- Now Ball Search will actuate the Drop Target (LE/Premium ONLY).
- Now Tilting will lower the Drop Target (LE/Premium Only).
- Now forcing a Game Over via holding the left flipper and start button for 2 seconds
will also lower the Drop Target. (LE/Premium)
- Now balls sitting in the shooter lane will pause the Lock Timer during Excommunicado Multiball.
- Added logic for coils to fire in sequence instead of at the same time during Ball Search.
- Now the "Build Phase" of Excommunicado Multiball ends when you drain a ball.
- Previously the enemy rule would force any/all lit shot arrows to be "Solid" if an enemy was lit at that shot. Now the enemy rule now longer affects any lit arrow shots.
- Changed how shot arrows blink during Excommunicado Multiball.
- Changed the shot sequence during the "Jackpot Phase" of Excommunicado Multiball.
- Changed the score values of the Dance Floor switches during the "Build Phase" of
Excommunicado Multiball.
- Now the Excommunicado Multiball background display effect shows the Jackpot Value and Time Remaining during the Jackpot Build phase of Excommunicado Multiball.
- Combined ShowJobsAward and ShowJobsAwardX to handle both multiplied and
non multiplied Job Titles.
- Fixed a bug where, in competition mode, the jobs were randomized and
did not have a set/standard faction associated with each job."
Game of the Day
A 1989 International Comcepts Night Moves cocktail pinball machine with very aggressive LED GI lighting lol.
I don’t know how many units of this game were made, but it wasn’t a ton because you don’t see them in working condition very often. It was actually manufactured by Gottlieb Premier under contract by International Concepts. The theme for this game is gloriously cheesy. People who achieve high scores show up on a list of top “Night Movers.”
The woman who modeled for the game’s flyer also appeared on the backglass of Gottlieb Premier’s 1988 game Diamond Lady.
As seen at the Delaware Pinball Collective. Flyer courtesy of IPDB.
