Bally · 1993 · Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)

Twilight Zone

Name: Twilight Zone
Brand: Bally

Design: Pat Lawlor, Larry DeMar, Ted Estes · Art: John Youssi

After The Addams Family, Midway gave Pat Lawlor free rein, and he spent 16 months on Twilight Zone. He called it a game with flippers that aren't flippers, pinballs that aren't pinballs and a clock that's not a clock. That means magnets that flip the ball on the Powerfield, a white ceramic Powerball the magnets can't hold, and a real analog clock that times modes. A working gumball machine dispenses balls too. It was the first SuperPin widebody, and Tim Kitzrow voices Rod Serling. The music reworks Golden Earring's song, and the band's George Kooymans took a machine as payment. Larry DeMar and Ted Estes did the code. Estes also wrote a 9.4H home ROM with a practice wizard mode and a pause.

Production game with two spiral magnetsGames with the third magnet retrofittedGames running the 9.4H home ROM

Spec at a glance

Maker: Bally
Era: Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)
Theme: TV licenses
Year: 1993
Players: 4
Made: Midway, sold as Bally, April 1993
Design: Pat Lawlor, Larry DeMar and Ted Estes
Art: John Youssi
System: Williams WPC with Fliptronics II, pre-DCS sound board
Display: Dot matrix (DMD)
Production: 15,235
Cabinet: Widebody, the first of the SuperPin line
Also listed as: TZ pinball, Twilight Zone Bally

Bench check

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries: TZ runs on WPC boards with the AA batteries on the CPU board, where leaking alkalines corrode the switch matrix. Ask for a photo of the CPU board and battery holder. A clean board or a remote battery holder is what you want. Slow animations on TZ come from a defect in the pre-DCS sound board.
Display: The plasma dot-matrix display will outgas eventually, and that puts extra strain on the power supply. Patchy or glowing dots in the photos mean a new panel, and any standard 128x32 one fits.
Playfield: Ask for straight-down photos of the flipper area, the inlanes and the door panel inserts in the middle. Look for worn paint, lifted inserts and cracks around the mini-playfield.
Toys and mechs: The gumball machine holds three balls and dispenses them during play, and the clock is a working 12-hour analog clock that times modes. The Powerball is a white ceramic ball, 20% lighter than steel, that the magnets don't grab. The clock uses special optos, and an H22B2 is the usual substitute, with a slightly smaller gap. Ask for a video of the clock running, the gumball machine dispensing and the Powerfield magnets flipping the ball.
Cabinet and art: Twilight Zone was the first SuperPin widebody, so it's wider than a standard WPC game and needs more room. Williams printed a blacklight-only serial number on playfields to track where distributors sold games. Factory games shipped with the third spiral magnet removed, and there are instructions for fitting it back.
Moving it: The widebody cabinet is wider than most games, so measure doors and turns before you buy. For the move, lower the backbox onto padding first, since Williams says never to move a WPC game with it up.
Parts and code: Game ROMs run from L-2 to 9.2, plus Ted Estes's 9.4H home ROM, which adds a Lost in the Zone practice round, a pause and support for the third magnet. Check the Powerball is the white ceramic one, not a steel ball.

Should come with it

White ceramic Powerball
Coin door keys
Manual

Hard to find if missing

Clock optos (QVE11233.0086, H22B2 is the usual substitute)

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 leakage on the CPU board and a tired display are the age jobs. The clock, gumball machine and Powerfield are the mechanisms to see working, and the clock optos are special parts.

01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board around the batteries. It should be free of crust and green traces.
02Clock: Ask for a video of the clock running in attract mode. The hands should move smoothly and stop on time.
03Gumball machine: Ask for a video of the gumball machine loading and dispensing a ball. It should feed without jamming.
04Powerball: Ask for a photo of the balls. One should be the white ceramic Powerball.
05Powerfield: Ask for a video of the mini-playfield with the flipper buttons pressed. The magnets should kick the ball.
06Display: Look at the lit display in the photos. The dots should glow evenly.
07Playfield: Ask for straight-down photos in good light. Look for worn paint at the flippers and the door panel inserts.
08Space: Measure your doorways before you commit. The widebody cabinet is wider than a standard game.

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 “Twilight Zone pinball” on eBay ↗eBay search

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Maker

Era

Theme

Read

Twilight Zone

Design: Pat Lawlor, Larry DeMar, Ted Estes · Art: John Youssi

Production game with two spiral magnetsGames with the third magnet retrofittedGames running the 9.4H home ROM

Spec at a glance

Maker

Bally

Era

Dot-matrix era (1991 to 1999)

Theme

TV licenses

Year

1993

Players

Made

Midway, sold as Bally, April 1993

Design

Pat Lawlor, Larry DeMar and Ted Estes

Art

John Youssi

System

Williams WPC with Fliptronics II, pre-DCS sound board

Display

Dot matrix (DMD)

Production

15,235

Cabinet

Widebody, the first of the SuperPin line

Also listed as

TZ pinball, Twilight Zone Bally

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

Boards and batteries

TZ runs on WPC boards with the AA batteries on the CPU board, where leaking alkalines corrode the switch matrix. Ask for a photo of the CPU board and battery holder. A clean board or a remote battery holder is what you want. Slow animations on TZ come from a defect in the pre-DCS sound board.

Display

The plasma dot-matrix display will outgas eventually, and that puts extra strain on the power supply. Patchy or glowing dots in the photos mean a new panel, and any standard 128x32 one fits.

Playfield

Ask for straight-down photos of the flipper area, the inlanes and the door panel inserts in the middle. Look for worn paint, lifted inserts and cracks around the mini-playfield.

Toys and mechs

The gumball machine holds three balls and dispenses them during play, and the clock is a working 12-hour analog clock that times modes. The Powerball is a white ceramic ball, 20% lighter than steel, that the magnets don't grab. The clock uses special optos, and an H22B2 is the usual substitute, with a slightly smaller gap. Ask for a video of the clock running, the gumball machine dispensing and the Powerfield magnets flipping the ball.

Cabinet and art

Twilight Zone was the first SuperPin widebody, so it's wider than a standard WPC game and needs more room. Williams printed a blacklight-only serial number on playfields to track where distributors sold games. Factory games shipped with the third spiral magnet removed, and there are instructions for fitting it back.

Moving it

The widebody cabinet is wider than most games, so measure doors and turns before you buy. For the move, lower the backbox onto padding first, since Williams says never to move a WPC game with it up.

Parts and code

Game ROMs run from L-2 to 9.2, plus Ted Estes's 9.4H home ROM, which adds a Lost in the Zone practice round, a pause and support for the third magnet. Check the Powerball is the white ceramic one, not a steel ball.

Should come with it

White ceramic Powerball

Coin door keys

Manual

Hard to find if missing

Clock optos (QVE11233.0086, H22B2 is the usual substitute)

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 leakage on the CPU board and a tired display are the age jobs. The clock, gumball machine and Powerfield are the mechanisms to see working, and the clock optos are special parts.

01Batteries: Ask for a photo of the CPU board around the batteries. It should be free of crust and green traces.

02Clock: Ask for a video of the clock running in attract mode. The hands should move smoothly and stop on time.

03Gumball machine: Ask for a video of the gumball machine loading and dispensing a ball. It should feed without jamming.

04Powerball: Ask for a photo of the balls. One should be the white ceramic Powerball.

05Powerfield: Ask for a video of the mini-playfield with the flipper buttons pressed. The magnets should kick the ball.

06Display: Look at the lit display in the photos. The dots should glow evenly.

07Playfield: Ask for straight-down photos in good light. Look for worn paint at the flippers and the door panel inserts.

08Space: Measure your doorways before you commit. The widebody cabinet is wider than a standard game.

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

Twilight Zone

Spec at a glance

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

What to check

Find one on eBay

Compare with

The Addams Family

Star Trek: Next Generation

Attack from Mars

Medieval Madness

Keep exploring

Twilight Zone

Spec at a glance

Boards, playfield, toys and the trip home

What to check

Find one on eBay

Compare with

The Addams Family

Star Trek: Next Generation

Attack from Mars

Medieval Madness

Keep exploring