‘Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.’ 

So said the legendary Evel Knievel, who was less well known for his armchair philosophy than he was for his stunts but did manage to deliver a few pearls of wisdom in his quieter moments. (Specialist subject: 'the bleedin' obvious', we must assume) After all, what else are you going to do when you’re flat on your back in a hospital bed for months on end with nothing to do but ponder the meaning of life?  

Thankfully Evel’s daring exploits inspired Bally to create this terrific pinball table, which was conceived in 1976 and hit the production line in ’77. With a design by Gary Gayton and superb artwork by Paul Faris it was destined to be a success, and like the character on whom it was based, the table did indeed ‘take off’, selling out the entire production run of 14,000 units. 

A quick trawl though the owners and users forums suggests that although this wasn’t the fastest or most sophisticated table ever, it had a compulsive quality that kept people coming back for more. The comment ‘played it death’ appears more than a few times! Faris’s artwork for the back glass also wins much praise, but to fully appreciate his efforts you’d need to set aside any politically correct concerns about the depiction of large chested women in tight tee shirts. I think we can say that this table was very much ‘of its time’ and leave it at that.

Like all our ’70’s pinballs, this table has been completely refurbished and is in full working order, unlike the great man himself. Perhaps we should give him the final word:

‘I decided to fly through the air and live in the sunlight and enjoy life as much as I could’  - Evel Knievel

Allow us to explain how and why we go to such extreme lengths when repairing and restoring vintage games.

Over the years we are fortunate enough to have gathered together a select few individuals whose enthusiasm for jukeboxes, pinball machines and vintage arcade games ensures that they are never less than 100% committed to the task in hand. They quite simply love breathing new life into old circuitry and want to see as many of these classic pieces preserved for future generations as possible.

Not for them the perfunctory checklists and proverbial ‘tyre kicking’ which pass for an inspection at other dealers but instead an unflinching determination to get to grips with the detail. This usually begins with a thorough strip down of the machine and a forensic examination of the internal workings. They’ll be aware of the particular quirks and foibles of any given piece and instead of just replacing failed parts they’ll always go the extra mile, swapping out components which are likely to fail in the near future. 

An obvious comparison would be between a classic car which remains on show in a garage and one that you can actually enjoy driving. 

Rare though many of these machines are, rarer still are the examples which have been properly restored or can truthfully be said to be in full working order. It goes without saying that when unrestored machines come up for sale online or at auction, they’ll often be priced rather lower than the machines sold by The Games Room Company, and the point we wish to get across above all others is that there’s a reason for this. 

In this business The Games Room Company’s reputation is second to none, and as it’s been hard won over the years it’s something we never take for granted. Every machine that goes off to a customer, be they corporate or private, is a potential advertisement for the business and if we didn’t do our job properly then we wouldn’t have the high number of loyal, returning customers that we do.

We’re justly proud of our One Year Parts and Labour Warranty, which extends to on-site visits so if your machine does require some attention, you won’t necessarily have to endure the pain of separation.

We’ve always recognised that with specialised products such as these the after sales service is just as important as the initial sale. It takes a long time to build a reputation and over the years our commitment has won us not just the loyalty of our clients but also the trust of the last remaining American Jukebox manufacturer, Rockola, who in 2014 appointed us as their Exclusive British dealer.

The Games Room Company is one of the oldest pinball dealers in the country. Our founder, Reginald Waldersmith, played his first pinball game in 1960, and described it without irony as being “flipping excellent”. We’ve been selling pinball machines since 1962, so know a thing or two about our products! Our showroom will gladly assist you on any questions you may have before or after you purchase any Games Room Company equipment.