Game on-1978 Atari Space Riders Pinball.

pict via: xmission

Via: the lawleys

"I was over at an acquaintance's house one day and saw that he had a pinball machine in his basement. I thought that was pretty cool. His little kids were playing it, and I could see that it had a number of things wrong with it, such as flippers that didn't work, broken bumpers, etc. I didn't even take note of the name of it or anything.

One day I find out they are moving. I asked what the plan was for the pinball machine. I was told that it was now in the garage, as it was almost totally unplayable. After offering to buy it from him he said I could just have it. I didn't feel this was fair, so I gave him $25-Canadian.

I obviously came to realize it was an Atari Space Riders. One thing that impressed me right away was the manufacturer. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Atari. I was a huge Atari 800/600xl fan, and at one time owned a lot of Atari 8-bit computer stuff.

I never really knew much of Atari's pinball history though. However, after tinkering with my Space Riders, I started having flashbacks of this machine. I now recall having played it many times at a campground not far from where I grew up in Penticton, BC, Canada.

What makes Space Riders unique is that it has no electronics, not even scoring, in the head. The scoring is displayed near the bottom of the main box, just above the left flipper button. The backglass is just one big lit up mirrored picture of a guy and his girl on a motorbike. Actually the flyer calls it a "super motocross theme"."

Above: the groovy art for the Space Riders owners manual-Via: quarter arcade