What table was this 2?

[Crawley]

Inspired by Lostboys thread where he's looking for a particular table he played as a kid. I had a memory of a pinball table I played that stuck with me but I can't find the table I remember on the Internet Pinball Database.

This was about 25-30 years ago we were on a family trip somewhere and at a Howard Johnson's there was a pinball machine an operator had just finished fixing. He gave me a quarter to test it. I recall it was a space theme and I think there were planets on the table. But the one thing that stood out to me was that at one point the ball got "pulled in" to a center section on the table and unexpectantly started doing a clockwise revolution spin for awhile then the ball shot out - like there was a magnet under the table. I remember it freaking me out as I wasn't expecting it and how neat that effect was.

I know most are going to say Orbiter 1, which may be correct, but my memory recalls there being drawings of planets on the playfield. Are there any other tables from the late 70's or early 80's that had that similar mechanic where the ball might do that clockwise spin? It may be my memory is combining the backglass and the table experience of Orbiter together but it just doesn't mesh with my memory of the table so trying to find out if there are any other possibilities.

Thanks!

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

TIME ZONE?
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?gid=2569

 

[chucktee]

Your mystery table DEFINETLY isn't Orbitor 1; the unique plastic molded playfield would be a dead giveaway. I want to say that it might be Williams Pinbot (it has the planets of the solar system on the playfield) but that game is well known and your memory of it spinning the ball around(?) possibly with a magnet removes it for consideration. But Pinbot remains my best guess for you. UPDATE: Almost forgot about Stern's Galaxy-maybe that weird plunger shot looked like the swirling ball action you remember?!?

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

There is no magnet under Pinbot's playfield.

You might try exploring the lesser-known manufacturers of the early 80s, Zaccaria being first among them. There were a number of foreign companies trying to get in the game back then. While none of them succeeded, some of them did attempt some innovation and might have created a space-themed machine with an under-playfield magnet.

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

Space Station? There's a hole at the upper playfield that often makes the ball swirl around (no magnet though), there's planets on it, there is a "space station" diverter that spins. Hope this helps

 

[Crawley]

I don't think it was Space Station. I actually played that recently and I didn't have any immediate retro memories.

I've looked up a large number of tables from the 70s and 80s since I posted this and none of them match what's in my memory. Basically the only table that matches the circling behavior I described is Orbiter 1.

So I have a feeling my memory on this table is blurred and I may be combining two tables together. Those tables were likely Sterns "Galaxy", which has the closest playfield look to my memory, and Sterns "Orbiter 1" which has the right physics. I'm thinking I may have just finishing playing Orbiter 1 and the an operator let me play a free game of Galaxy - or vice versa. Somehow I just combined my experiences together. The date range is just right for playing both those tables.

I'm still open for suggestions but I don't think any tables from this era do that circling behavior.