After I sold my Bally Kings of Steel, I continued to look for another one, or a similar replacement. I was looking for a true game of skill, rather than a game using a Dot Matrix Display, toys, and bent on selling me licensed characters or products.
There’s nothing wrong with playfield toys or licensed products, but sometimes those games spend more time trying to work the licensed product or gimmick into the game rather than making a good game.
There were many choices, but Jokerz! was the one I chose.
It is like a spiritual successor to Kings of Steel. In fact, the colors and themes are quite similar, just with more modern gameplay... and multiball. Then again Kings of Steel was, as Greg Kmiec stated, a spiritual successor to classic EM card game pinballs.
This is one of those few games that really benefits from being gently converted to LED lighting. Just the general illumination done up in frosted blue and warm white, and a handful of strategically placed ones selected by color and warmth for behind the backglass. If done properly, it looks amazing on this machine!
But it also looks good with normal bulbs!
The rules are easy to understand… and it’s a playing card theme, (that was for a certain person online who couldn’t figure that out).
What?
A game where anyone can step up and play and know what they are doing and why?
Whooaaahhhh! They don’t make those anymore!
The difficulty and challenge lies in making perfect shots and the randomness of the ball as it bounces around, and bouncing is what the ball does best!
There are some people who only come to Pinside to complain and give this game, and others, poor ratings and reviews. “Duh, there’s nothing special here, it’s repetitive boring and and too easy.”
If you can’t find anything positive to say, please get out of the hobby. I can understand if you simply don’t like the game, but maybe the games don’t like you either.
Wouldn’t it be neat if pinball machines could write reviews on their players? We’d all be in trouble!
Constructive criticism is welcome but complaining because it beat the stuffing out of you and proved that you suck at pinball doesn’t mean it’s a completely bad game. It just means you aren’t very good at pinball, so get better and prove it wrong!
Because this is a review, let’s talk about those features this machine allegedly doesn’t have.
Three sets of drop targets in three locations. Knock them down enough and that starts the “Million”mode.
A spinner lane with a capture hole. This starts the backbox “Draw Poker” feature, and also collects a special, if you can earn one.
The small multi lane upper playfield, which is accessed by the shooter lane and two ramps on either side. The lanes are changed using the flippers. Light one to collect a card, collect all the cards here or using the spot the card lane on the upper left of the regular playfield. I swear that the ball somehow knows which lanes are lit on the upper playfield and tries to go down the one you don’t want! I have seen the ball following the already lit lanes all the way across, then going in before you can change lanes again. Up at the top below the mini playfield are the BET lanes, spell BET to increase your bonus multiplier and earn bells which lead to an extra ball light on the outlanes. All these feature lights can be changed with the flippers.
Then there’s the all important center target and raiseable ramp. Hit the center target to raise the ramp. Lock a ball up the ramp. The ramp drops. Raise the ramp again and lock the second ball for “Woooaaaahhh! Jokerz Wild!” Multiball mode. Easy setting: hit the center ramp four times to collect the progressive jackpot. Hard mode: raise the ramp each time to be able to shoot the ramp again.
The last feature I want to mention is “Double your Score!” On the last ball you have the opportunity to shoot the left and right ramps to double your entire score. Not as easy as it sounds as you can shoot those ramps all day long but knowing you have to do it in the time limit can Psych you out!
Sounds pretty boring and dull doesn’t it?
The theme is also confusing to those negative reviewers, gotta have a working brain cell to figure it out I guess. Mischievous Jokerz! are messing with the game of cards, played by the King, Queen, Jack… oh why am I explaining this??? It really isn’t that obvious? What do you think Bad Cats is about? Pigeons???
Okay, It’s not like the popular top ten machines on the list that do all the work and only require you to slap the buttons like mad once in a while and yell “SHINY BALL GO BOING!” to get a decent score. Every shot matters in Jokerz! and nudging or bumping the machine to the point of almost getting a tilt may be necessary for the less than average player. This is where I say in a stuck up voice “Hmmm, I NEVER feel the need to nudge! How positively Neanderthal of you!”
But I do lose the ball a lot.
Jokerz! is still a cheap machine to own, as it’s relatively common and overlooked by most resellers, toy collectors, and investors.
I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a perfect combination of classic EM pinball themes with the best of the 1980’s pinball in one machine.
Did I mention Barry Oursler, Python Anghelo, Joe Joos Jr., and the incredible and somewhat unpronounceable Bill Pfutzenreuter?
Stick this between your Medieval madness and Addams Family and it will be ignored. But while the castle is being knocked down for the umpteenth time and Thing is taking another ball, the person on Jokerz! will be playing their eleventh game just hoping to break four million points this time.
I hope it’s on freeplay!