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Black Knight


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Black Knight / IPD No. 310 / November, 1980 / 4 Players
 
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Average Fun Rating: [ 8 stars - Click for comments ]    8.0/10  (179 ratings/127 comments)        [ Add Your Rating! ]
Manufacturer: Williams Electronics, Incorporated (1967-1985) [Trade Name: Williams]
Date Of Manufacture: November, 1980
Model Number: 500
Common Abbreviations: BK
MPU: Williams System 7
Type: Solid State Electronic (SS) [?]
Production: 13,075 units   (confirmed)
Serial Number Database:View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net)  (External site)
Theme: Historical - Knights
Notable Features: Flippers (4), Pop bumper (1), Slingshots (2), 3-bank drop targets (4), Kick-out holes (2), Spinning target (1). Magna-Save on both inlanes. Split-level playfield with 3 ramps. Left horseshoe lane. Bonus Ball, 2- or 3-ball Multiball.

Actual measured weight: 254 lbs (includes legs).

Design by: Steve Ritchie
Art by: Tony Ramunni
Sound by: John Kotlarik
Software by: Larry DeMar
Notes: For several Williams games (especially before 1987), Speech Processing was a separate task than Software Programming and may have been done by a different person than whom we list as having done the Software. Paul Dussault did the English Speech Processing for this game.

Black Knight' introduced 'Magna-Save' and the Bonus Ball concept where the player with the highest score won additional seconds of free play. Magna-Save was a feature where a user could press a button on either side and magnets would prevent the ball from draining via that outlane. It would stop and hold the ball and drop it into the inlane. The user had to perform some task to re-enable magnasave.

Steve Ritchie confirmed his voice was used on this game.

Comments from designer Steve Ritchie:

Black Knight was the first game ever to employ faceted inserts (the transparent inlaid plastic windows) in the playfield. My design was a simple eight-sided "Jewel Look", but insert texturing progressed from there to many different designs, finally settling on refracting radial lines originating at the center of round and rectangular inserts and from points of arrows and lightning bolts, etc.


In the beginning of the production run, the transformer was located in the backbox, and the game used power supply board part# D-7999, with a stand-alone General Illumination Relay mounted to the backbox floor. During production, the transformer was moved to the lower cabinet and the G.I. Relay was then mounted on a new power supply board, part# D-8345.

Pictured in this listing are the inside backboxes of games having System 7 boards in them, except for the power supply board which is System 6. The serial number of one of them is 460804 and the playfield has "Dec 2 1980" on it. Games identified with System 6 boards are not restricted to Early Production, based on their cabinet serial numbers.

From France, we have a picture of the inside lower cabinet for an Early Production game having serial number 458205 and the owner states it has a regular System 6 Power board. This picture shows a board upon which rests the line filter and the main power fuse. The transformer, normally found on this board in later games in the production run, is located in the backbox.

Also pictured in this listing is a Pre-Production backglass owned for many years by Steve Ritchie. The knight's armor is a teal color, not gray like in production glasses. Only one was made. The current owner states this glass is a lot thinner than regular backglasses, and that artist Tony Ramunni's signature on it is different.

Also pictured in this listing is a stripped playfield from the game with serial number 457797. Three of the four slots cut into this playfield for the drop target banks also have a cutout to support a vertical rebound switch. The switch can be seen in the flyer game if one looks carefully at the center drop bank. We do not know how many production games had these switches. Games that do not have switches might still have the playfield cutouts. Other games might not even have the cut outs. Steve Ritchie explains:

The switch was removed because it never really got a chance to be hit much. The timers would reset the banks, so they weren't exposed often enough to justify the cost of keeping them.


'Black Knight' was the first solid state game with a multi-level playfield. Examples of earlier games with multi-level playfields are Fisher & Coe Manufacturing Company's 1933 'Grand Central' and Chicago Vending Company's 1934 'Three Point'.

Photos in: Chicago Tribune December 31, 1989, pp. Sect. 10, p. 14-19.
Times Educational Supplement 3861, June 29, 1990, pp. 25.
The Complete Pinball BookExternal Link, pages 216-217,
Arcade TreasuresExternal Link, page 114
Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book A-F
Pinball Machines (Eiden-Lukas)External Link, pages 28 and 110
Pinball The Lure of the Silverball, page 8
Pinball PerspectivesExternal Link, page 211
Rule Sheets: Black Knight Rulesheet, by Ray Johnson  
ROMs: 71 KB ZIP French Speech Romset [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
  281 KB ZIP Game ROMset Rev 2 [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
  29 KB ZIP ROM L-4 [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
Documentation: 21 MB PDF English Manual (with paginated schematics, some are in halves) [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
  25 MB PDF Schematic Diagrams (paginated) [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
Files: 3 MB PDF A-8762 Microswitch Retrofit Kit [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
  1 MB PDF Instruction Booklet [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
Images:
(click to zoom)
Image # 298: Black Knight Playfield
Playfield

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Image # 299: Black Knight Full View
Full View

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Image # 5879: Black Knight Flyer, Front
Flyer, Front

875x1154
[Russ Jensen]
Image # 5880: Black Knight Flyer, Pg 2
Flyer, Pg 2

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[Russ Jensen]
Image # 5881: Black Knight Flyer, Pg 3
Flyer, Pg 3

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[Russ Jensen]
Image # 5882: Black Knight Flyer, Pg 4
Flyer, Pg 4

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[Russ Jensen]
Image # 5883: Black Knight Flyer, Pg 5
Flyer, Pg 5

875x1160
[Russ Jensen]
Image # 5884: Black Knight Flyer, Back
Flyer, Back

875x1144
[Russ Jensen]
Image # 11838: Black Knight Lower Playfield
Lower Playfield

640x480
 
Image # 11839: Black Knight Upper Playfield
Upper Playfield

640x480
 
Image # 15997: Black Knight Backglass
Backglass

565x480
[John Yates]
Image # 15998: Black Knight Illuminated Playfield
Illuminated Playfield

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[John Yates]
Image # 15999: Black Knight Illuminated Ball View
Illuminated Ball View

640x480
[John Yates]
Image # 16000: Black Knight Cabinet - Left
Cabinet - Left

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[John Yates]
Image # 16001: Black Knight Cabinet - Right
Cabinet - Right

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[John Yates]
Image # 16002: Black Knight Cabinet - Front
Cabinet - Front

640x480
[John Yates]
Image # 16003: Black Knight Under Playfield
Under Playfield

480x640
[John Yates]
Image # 16004: Black Knight Inside Cabinet
Inside Cabinet

480x640
[John Yates]
Image # 16005: Black Knight Inside Front Door
Inside Front Door

640x480
[John Yates]
Image # 16006: Black Knight Inside Backbox
Inside Backbox

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[John Yates]
Image # 16007: Black Knight Backglass - Reverse
Backglass - Reverse

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[John Yates]
Image # 16008: Black Knight Behind Backglass
Behind Backglass

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[John Yates]
Image # 16009: Black Knight Illuminated Front View
Illuminated Front View

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[John Yates]
Image # 26688: Black Knight Front View
Front View

1024x1543
[Chris Lyon]
Image # 26689: Black Knight Playfield
Playfield

1024x680
[Chris Lyon]
Image # 26690: Black Knight Upper Playfield
Upper Playfield

1024x680
[Chris Lyon]
Image # 26691: Black Knight Lower Playfield
Lower Playfield

1024x680
[Chris Lyon]
Image # 26692: Black Knight Backglass
Backglass

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[Chris Lyon]
Image # 26693: Black Knight Upper Playfield
Upper Playfield

1024x680
[Chris Lyon]
Image # 26694: Black Knight Middle Playfield
Middle Playfield

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[Chris Lyon]
Image # 30431: Black Knight Instruction Card
Instruction Card

640x480
[John Gray]
Image # 30432: Black Knight Instruction Card
Instruction Card

640x480
[John Gray]
Image # 33830: Black Knight Cabinet - left
Cabinet - left

1024x768
[Jim May]
Image # 33831: Black Knight Cabinet - Front
Cabinet - Front

918x768
[Jim May]
Image # 36425: Black Knight Playfield
Playfield

1024x768
[Fernando Capurro]
Image # 36426: Black Knight Upper Playfield
Upper Playfield

1024x768
[Fernando Capurro]
Image # 36427: Black Knight Playfield
Playfield

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[Fernando Capurro]
Image # 38128: Black Knight Spinner
Spinner

906x762
 
Image # 39505: Black Knight Inside Backbox - Transformer and System 6 Power Board 
(This game was produced before the switch from System 6 to System 7 power supply and transformer. Serial number 460804.)
Inside Backbox - Transformer and System 6 Power Board*

1024x768
[Philippe Thibault]
Image # 42529: Black Knight Autographed Pre-Production Backglass
Autographed Pre-Production Backglass

1200x1006
[Martin Wiest]
Image # 42895: Black Knight Early Production - Inside Cabinet 
(The line filter and the main power fuse are mounted on the lower board. The transformer is in the backbox. Serial number 458205.)
Early Production - Inside Cabinet*

960x1280
 
Image # 45197: Black Knight Backglass
Backglass

1024x902
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 47998: Black Knight Stripped Playfield
Stripped Playfield

1200x2129
[Brian Lee]
Image # 53900: Black Knight Illuminated Backglass
Illuminated Backglass

1024x768
[Maxime Racette]
Image # 60271: Black Knight Stripped Playfield with Switch Cutouts 
(This game has the cutouts but not the switches. Serial number 457797.)
Stripped Playfield with Switch Cutouts*

1089x1600
[Mark Tibbetts]
Image # 60272: Black Knight Stripped Upper Playfield with Switch Cutout 
(This game has the cutouts but not the switches. Serial number 457797.)
Stripped Upper Playfield with Switch Cutout*

1200x900
[Mark Tibbetts]
Image # 60273: Black Knight Stripped Center Playfield with Switch Cutouts 
(This game has the cutouts but not the switches. Serial number 457797.)
Stripped Center Playfield with Switch Cutouts*

1152x900
[Mark Tibbetts]
Image # 66706: Black Knight Playfield - Detail
Playfield - Detail

1200x1567
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 66707: Black Knight Cabinet - Front View
Cabinet - Front View

894x1600
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 78736: Black Knight Illuminated Playfield 
(Serial number 461497.)
Illuminated Playfield*

620x1200
[Jim Wildgen]
Image # 78737: Black Knight Inside Backbox - Transformer and System 6 Power Board 
(This game was produced before the switch from System 6 to System 7 power supply and transformer. Serial number 461497.)
Inside Backbox - Transformer and System 6 Power Board*

1200x1111
[Jim Wildgen]
Image # 78738: Black Knight Backglass
Backglass

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[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 78739: Black Knight Illuminated Backglass
Illuminated Backglass

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[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 78740: Black Knight Illuminated Backbox Insert
Illuminated Backbox Insert

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[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 78741: Black Knight Under Playfield
Under Playfield

928x1600
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 79013: Black Knight Inside Backbox - System 6 Power Board 
(This game was produced before the switch from System 6 to System 7 power supply and transformer. Serial number 461497.)
Inside Backbox - System 6 Power Board*

1200x699
[Jim Wildgen]
Image # 81329: Black Knight Cabinet - Bottom - Factory Plywood
Cabinet - Bottom - Factory Plywood

1200x1600
[Lenny Esposito]
Image # 81330: Black Knight Cabinet - Bottom - Factory Plywood
Cabinet - Bottom - Factory Plywood

1200x1600
[Lenny Esposito]
Image # 81331: Black Knight Cabinet - Bottom - Factory Plywood
Cabinet - Bottom - Factory Plywood

1200x584
[Lenny Esposito]
 

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