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Solids N Stripes


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Solids N Stripes / IPD No. 2240 / February 16, 1971 / 2 Players
 
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Average Fun Rating: [ 6 stars - Click for comments ]    6.3/10  (17 ratings/15 comments)        [ Add Your Rating! ]
Manufacturer: Williams Electronics, Incorporated (1967-1985) [Trade Name: Williams]
Date Of Manufacture: February 16, 1971
Model Number: 391
Type: Electro-mechanical (EM) [?]
Serial Number Database:View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net)  (External site)
Theme: Billiards
Notable Features: Flippers (2), Pop bumpers (5), Kick-out holes (6), Standup targets (2), Center up-post. Kick-out holes light billiard balls on backglass which is a ball-to-ball carry-over feature.
Design by: Norm Clark
Art by: Christian Marche
Notes: The 1988 book Pinball The Lure of the Silver Ball stated that a "split bank" was invented by Norm Clark for the 2-player Williams' 1966 '8 Ball' and reused again on the 2-player 'Solids N Stripes', the purpose being to individually track on the backglass the billiard balls earned by each player, by lighting them, and to allow these earned billiard balls to carry-over from ball to ball for each player instead of resetting at the start of every ball. However, '8 Ball' did not use relay banks for this function, instead using dual stepper units. 'Solids N Stripes' is the first game to employ Clark's "split bank" method of ball-to-ball carry-over for multi-player games, actually just two separate relay banks, each reset by its own reset coil.

One bank is for billiard balls 1 to 7 (first player) and the other bank is for 9 to 15 (second player). The Player Relay selects to be active only the bank associated for the player being served and thus "splits" the duty cycle of these banks. For one-player operation, the second bank remains inactive for the entire play.

The billiard balls do not have to be earned in numerical sequence. When a player earns all seven billiard balls for that player, the 8-ball pocket lights to award an extra ball for that player. When an extra ball is played, only then does the relay bank for that player reset, turning off the seven lighted billiard balls to allow the player to earn them again.

On '8 Ball', the billiard balls have to be earned in numerical sequence so it made sense for that game to use for each player a sequential mechanism such as a stepper unit with reset coil. Because the billiard balls on 'Solids N Stripes' can be earned in any random order, it makes sense to use a relay bank which will track them in any order in which they are earned. The two relay banks were mounted under the upper portion of the playfield and, with their associated relays, reportedly made the playfield unusually heavy to remove from the game.

Photos in: Arcade TreasuresExternal Link, page 88
The Pinball Compendium 1970-1981External Link, page 28
The Pinball Compendium Electro-mechanical Era, page 184
Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book S-Z
Documentation: 15 MB PDF Instruction Manual [Williams Electronics, Inc.]
Images:
(click to zoom)
Image # 2129: Solids N Stripes Backglass
Backglass

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Image # 2130: Solids N Stripes Overall view
Overall view

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Image # 2132: Solids N Stripes Playfield
Playfield

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[Russ Jensen]
Image # 4337: Solids N Stripes Flyer
Flyer

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Image # 14250: Solids N Stripes Backglass
Backglass

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Image # 14251: Solids N Stripes Playfield
Playfield

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Image # 14252: Solids N Stripes Cabinet - Left
Cabinet - Left

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Image # 14253: Solids N Stripes Cabinet - Right
Cabinet - Right

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Image # 14254: Solids N Stripes Cabinet - Front
Cabinet - Front

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Image # 40829: Solids N Stripes Backglass - Detail
Backglass - Detail

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Image # 40830: Solids N Stripes Lower Playfield
Lower Playfield

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Image # 69576: Solids N Stripes Illuminated Backglass - Earned Balls
Illuminated Backglass - Earned Balls

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[Guy Cave]
Image # 69577: Solids N Stripes Under Playfield 
(There are two relay banks to individually track the balls spotted on the backglass for each player.)
Under Playfield*

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[Guy Cave]
 

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