Williams · 1992 · Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)

Fish Tales

Name: Fish Tales
Brand: Williams

Design: Mark Ritchie · Art: Pat McMahon

Fish Tales is about catching fish and lying about how big they were. Mark Ritchie designed it in 1992 after a fishing trip on Lake Michigan with Python Anghelo and Pat McMahon, and McMahon painted himself into the backglass as the fisherman. The boat in the middle carries two criss-crossing ramps, the reel beside it locks balls, and you launch with a button in a fishing-rod handle. After a catch you shoot the spinner to stretch the truth, up to five times. The flippers are the odd part. A distributor wanted the game harder, so Williams fitted lightning-bolt flippers about 1/8 inch shorter than standard, on every game. Ritchie later called that a huge mistake. With 13,640 made, it's among Williams' 20 most produced games.

Original 1992 Williams gameGames fitted with Cardona Pinball's Ultimate Fishing Challenge kit (2026)

Spec at a glance

Maker: Williams
Era: Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)
Theme: Original themes
Year: 1992
Players: 4
Made: Williams, October 1992 (model 50005)
Design: Mark Ritchie, software by Mark Penacho
Art: Pat McMahon
System: Williams WPC-089 with Fliptronics II
Display: Dot-matrix (DMD)
Production: 13,640
Layout: 2 short flippers, criss-cross ramps, rotary reel lock, fish topper
Also listed as: FT, Williams Fish Tales

Bench check

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries: Fish Tales keeps its batteries on the WPC-089 CPU, with a Fliptronics II board alongside, and a leak drips onto the switch matrix, so ask to see the CPU. It's also one of the games with an interceptor harness, and the inline Z-connector between the driver and CPU boards can loosen or oxidize.
Display: Ask for a photo of the display test on the plasma DMD. Faded dots are age, while sparkles, clouds or ghosting mean the voltages are high.
Playfield: Ask for raking-light photos of the flipper area, inlanes and the captive-ball channel between the ramp entrances. Worn paint shows as dull patches.
Toys and mechs: The reel beside the boat locks balls and rotates for the next one, with a catapult next to it, and the caster's club upkicker feeds it along a wireform. Up top, the topper fish thrashes its tail. Ask for a video of a ball locking, the reel turning and the fish moving.
Cabinet and art: Pat McMahon painted himself as the fisherman in the backglass, with Mark Ritchie in the small boat. Jerry Pinsler sculpted the topper fish, so check it's on the game and moves.
Moving it: Pad or remove the topper fish before the move. After that it's legs off and onto a dolly with a helper.
Parts and code: Game code goes to L-5 and sound to L-1, and the manual has amendments. The original flippers have a lightning bolt molded in and are about 1/8 inch short, so plain standard bats mean someone swapped them. Cardona Pinball released the Fish Tales: Ultimate Fishing Challenge upgrade kit in 2026.

Should come with it

Moving fish topper
Lightning-bolt short flippers

Check the listing photos against these lists, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. A missing toy, glass or key should come off the price.

What to check

Battery damage on the CPU and a reel lock or topper fish that's stopped moving are the usual. Check the flippers are the original short lightning-bolt bats.

01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board around the battery holder. You want clean traces with no crust.
02Reel: Ask for a video of a ball locking in the reel. The reel should turn to take the next ball.
03Topper: Ask for a video of the topper fish in attract mode or a game. Its tail should thrash.
04Flippers: Look at the flippers in the photos. Originals have a lightning bolt molded in.
05Launch: Ask the seller to launch a ball with the rod handle. The autoplunger should fire on the button.
06Display: Ask for a photo of the DMD during display test. Every dot should light evenly with no sparkles.
07Playfield: Ask for raking-light photos of the flipper area and inlanes. Worn paint shows as dull patches.

Buying your first one? Red flags in a pinball listing covers the photos and videos to ask for, and the battery corrosion guide shows what leaking batteries do to an old CPU board.

Find one on eBay

We haven’t been through this game’s listings yet. Search eBay and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a video of a full game, a photo of the CPU board and photos of the playfield in good light, and ask what’s been replaced. Pass on any seller who won’t answer.

Search “Fish Tales pinball” on eBay ↗eBay search

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Maker

Era

Theme

Read

Fish Tales

Design: Mark Ritchie · Art: Pat McMahon

Original 1992 Williams gameGames fitted with Cardona Pinball's Ultimate Fishing Challenge kit (2026)

Spec at a glance

Maker

Williams

Era

Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)

Theme

Original themes

Year

1992

Players

Made

Williams, October 1992 (model 50005)

Design

Mark Ritchie, software by Mark Penacho

Art

Pat McMahon

System

Williams WPC-089 with Fliptronics II

Display

Dot-matrix (DMD)

Production

13,640

Layout

2 short flippers, criss-cross ramps, rotary reel lock, fish topper

Also listed as

FT, Williams Fish Tales

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries

Fish Tales keeps its batteries on the WPC-089 CPU, with a Fliptronics II board alongside, and a leak drips onto the switch matrix, so ask to see the CPU. It's also one of the games with an interceptor harness, and the inline Z-connector between the driver and CPU boards can loosen or oxidize.

Display

Ask for a photo of the display test on the plasma DMD. Faded dots are age, while sparkles, clouds or ghosting mean the voltages are high.

Playfield

Ask for raking-light photos of the flipper area, inlanes and the captive-ball channel between the ramp entrances. Worn paint shows as dull patches.

Toys and mechs

The reel beside the boat locks balls and rotates for the next one, with a catapult next to it, and the caster's club upkicker feeds it along a wireform. Up top, the topper fish thrashes its tail. Ask for a video of a ball locking, the reel turning and the fish moving.

Cabinet and art

Pat McMahon painted himself as the fisherman in the backglass, with Mark Ritchie in the small boat. Jerry Pinsler sculpted the topper fish, so check it's on the game and moves.

Moving it

Pad or remove the topper fish before the move. After that it's legs off and onto a dolly with a helper.

Parts and code

Game code goes to L-5 and sound to L-1, and the manual has amendments. The original flippers have a lightning bolt molded in and are about 1/8 inch short, so plain standard bats mean someone swapped them. Cardona Pinball released the Fish Tales: Ultimate Fishing Challenge upgrade kit in 2026.

Should come with it

Moving fish topper

Lightning-bolt short flippers

Check the listing photos against these lists, and ask the seller about anything you can’t see. A missing toy, glass or key should come off the price.

What to check

Battery damage on the CPU and a reel lock or topper fish that's stopped moving are the usual. Check the flippers are the original short lightning-bolt bats.

01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board around the battery holder. You want clean traces with no crust.

02Reel: Ask for a video of a ball locking in the reel. The reel should turn to take the next ball.

03Topper: Ask for a video of the topper fish in attract mode or a game. Its tail should thrash.

04Flippers: Look at the flippers in the photos. Originals have a lightning bolt molded in.

05Launch: Ask the seller to launch a ball with the rod handle. The autoplunger should fire on the button.

06Display: Ask for a photo of the DMD during display test. Every dot should light evenly with no sparkles.

07Playfield: Ask for raking-light photos of the flipper area and inlanes. Worn paint shows as dull patches.

Buying your first one? Red flags in a pinball listing covers the photos and videos to ask for, and the battery corrosion guide shows what leaking batteries do to an old CPU board.

Find one on eBay

Fish Tales

Spec at a glance

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

What to check

Find one on eBay

Compare with

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The Getaway: High Speed II

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Fish Tales

Spec at a glance

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

What to check

Find one on eBay

Compare with

White Water

The Getaway: High Speed II

No Good Gofers

Keep exploring