The Simpsons

Bench check

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries

Data East CPU boards hold three AA batteries, and leaky alkalines are the number one killer of pinball boards. In a CPU board photo, good looks like the batteries moved to a remote holder below the boards, or a lithium coin cell or memory capacitor, and no corrosion under the 6808 socket.

Display

This is an alphanumeric game with two 16-digit displays on a 520-5030-00 board. It was Data East's last before dot-matrix, because the company's president feared the DMD wouldn't be ready in time. Aftermarket alphanumeric displays plug straight into the original board, so a dim set is fixable. Ask for a video so you can read every character.

Playfield

The pop bumpers are styled as nuclear cooling towers, and targets show the family and their favorite foods. In a straight-down photo, look for worn paint at the flippers, inlanes and the 5-bank of drop targets.

Toys and mechs

There are two vertical up-kickers, a 5-bank and a 3-bank of drop targets, a kick-out hole and a three-ball multiball. Ask for a video of a game reaching multiball. The up-kickers should send balls up in one kick.

Cabinet and art

The art was drawn by hand in pencil and carries the Simpsons characters. Look at the backglass and cabinet sides in the photos. Fading and worn edges show how it was stored.

Moving it

It's a standard-body Data East game, so the legs and backbox come off for the move. Make sure the backbox key travels with it.

Parts and code

Data East games burn connectors, especially 2F2 at the bottom of the cabinet and CN1 on the power supply, and a leaking capacitor at C2 kills the 5 V supply. Ask whether the power supply has been rebuilt. Fresh connectors and capacitors are a plus.

Should come with it

• Backglass
• Coin door keys and backbox key
• Manual and schematics

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.