The Party Zone
 front of flyer | |
| Manufacturer | Midway |
|---|---|
| Release date | August 1991 |
| System | Williams WPC (Dot Matrix) |
| Players | 1-4 |
| Design | Dennis Nordman |
| Programming | Jim Strompolis |
| Artwork | Greg Freres |
| Mechanics | Zaofia Bil, Win Schilling |
| Music | Dan Forden |
| Sound | Dan Forden |
| Production run | 3,862 |
The Party Zone is a solid-state pinball machine released in 1991 by Midway (under Bally) designed by Dennis Nordman and programmed by Jim Strompolis. It is in a single playfield format and features Captain B. Zarre with characters from previous pinball machines. It is the second pinball machine released after the Bally-Midway division was sold to Williams, but still operated under the "Bally" name.
Design
[edit]The music request evolved from the jukebox on Party Animal. The designer decided to reutilize the idea because of the better sound hardware in this machine.[1]
Heritage
[edit]The backglass as well as the playfield contain characters from previous games (who all meet up on this game at the Cosmic Cottage):[3]
- The Party Animal from Bally Midway's 1987 Party Animal
- The Party Monsters from Midway's 1989 Elvira and the Party Monsters
- The Party Dude from Midway's 1990 Dr. Dude And His Excellent Ray
- Beside the skeleton in the group of Party Monsters, a Trog caveman, from the 1990 Midway arcade game Trog, can be seen.
Gameplay
[edit]Reception
[edit]Digital version
[edit]This game was released by FarSight Studios as a licensed table for The Pinball Arcade in season four, and was delisted on June 30, 2018 due to the loss of the Williams license.[7]
The Party Zone released for Pinball FX3 released on December 4, 2018, and included optional animations. A remastered version released for Pinball FX on March 31, 2022; and a VR version released for Pinball FX VR on May 15, 2025 which included an animated Captain B. Zarre next to the machine.[8] The songs "Come Fly with Me", "Purple Haze", and "Feelings" were excluded due to licensing issues. Only "Pinball Wizard" remained intact.
References
[edit]- ↑ Shalhoub, Michael (2012). The pinball compendium, 1982 to present (Rev. and expanded 2nd ed.). Atglen, Pa: Schiffer Pub. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7643-4107-6.
- ↑ Joosten, Jonathan (2013). "The Dennis Nordman and Greg Freres Interview". Pinball Magazine. No. 2. pp. 54–57. ISBN 978-90-816266-2-0.
- ↑ http://pinside.com/pinball/archive/party-zone/details "Trivia"
- ↑ "What's New". Play Meter. Vol. 17, no. 13. December 1991. p. 132.
- ↑ The Party Zone operations manual (PDF). Midway Manufacturing Company. August 1991.
- ↑ Yager, Tom (November 1991). "Into the ozone with Party Zone". Play Meter. Vol. 17, no. 12. pp. 78–84.
- ↑ Lawson, Aurich (2018-05-08). "The Pinball Arcade is losing its classic tables; grab them while you can". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ↑ "9 tables have arrived in Pinball FX VR!". Zen Studios. 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
External links
[edit]- The Party Zone at the Internet Pinball Database
