Williams

Space Odyssey

Pinside Rating

This game received 29 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.840 _/10

7.84

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #122 in the Pinside EM Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.794

Artwork: 8.168

Sounds/Music: 2.647

Other Aspects: 7.867

Pinside staff rating

None of the Pinside.com staff have rated this game. Sorry, no rating from us.

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Found 14 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 14 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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5.773/10

3 months ago

WHB

Rudedog1961

Pinside+ Frequent

<1y 41,150 7 45 3

Not my favorite game in the collection the only one good skill shot the other skill shot is more of a accidents. But not a bad game overall

7.029/10

3 years ago

SYD

Onwallst

Pinside member

Denver, CO

8y 82,550 655 95

One of my favorite EM games. Great layout. Great art work!

7.333/10

3 years ago

JST

Pinheadpreacher

Pinside member

Evansville, IN

3y 28,050 14 7 8

On the positive side, this game is different and has a couple of unique features. The loop at the top right is nice and the kickers besides the flippers are unique. However, the kickers can get repetitive and boring and using them really slows the game down. You can only do a dead-trap which does take more skill and makes setting up other shots more difficult. Ultimately, not enough shots to make me want to keep coming back. I own one and my sides are real drain monsters.

Pinheadpreacher currently owns this game.

8.243/10

3 years ago

JSH

John-H

Pinside member

Norman, OK

4y 38,150 19 10 37

I've been a little hard on this game in the past for it being on the easy side. That hasn't changed, but my perspective has, based on a certain second opinion.

I do remember being a kiddo and putting a quarter into Firepower and Black Knight (the first pinball games I remember playing) - and Sorcerer, a few years later - and watching that quarter last all of 30 seconds. So much for that! My valuable quarters all went to Pac-Man and such instead. I grew up thinking pinball is for grown-ups, which of course it largely is.

But now...
*Wife approval* "This might be my favorite! It has all these things to do!"

And she's right. And it's not like I'm some tournament wizard anyway. Yes I prefer the more difficult games. The wife likes them too, but it's nice to actually be able to play! And that moving target really has her hypnotized.

Space Odyssey is easy enough where it's hard to see how it possibly could have been profitable on location, but its sales numbers (along with Space Mission) say it must have been worth it. *edit* Increase the angle a bit, new rubbers, try not to abuse the kickout holes and it presents a good challenge.

And yes the historical backglass is neat. Fun game.

John-H edited previous rating on April 13, 2021.
John-H currently owns this game.

7.003/10

3 years ago

RAD

DumbRecords

Pinside member

Springfield, IL

6y 49,400 14 8 29

I love sci-fi themes so I'm a bit biased on this one. I had fun with mine, just not enough to keep forever as I'm more into solid state games. Once I needed space, this had to go. I like the swinging target, a good gimmick for an em game as well as the kickers near the flippers. I got the game because liked the art and the uniqueness of the design and it didn't disappoint. I know this game is easy to play which is good for me as I want games that casual gamers and kids can enjoy and I would recommend this for that. Of course it's usually only good for a couple games before moving on to something else. I also like how great the backglass looks and it's actually based on space non-fiction to boot!

DumbRecords has owned this game in the past.

7.508/10

4 years ago

CAH

ReadyPO

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 197K 5,927 129

Space Mission/Space Odyssey is a two pop bumper game with some good features including a pretty good spinner to rip while returning the ball to the top of the field, a swinging target that will often lead to a drain if not careful, kick outs behind each flipper and an advance bonus horseshoe. The art is pretty nice though the playfield has more of a 1950s science fiction vibe that the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission the pin is designed around. BG is quite nice and integrates the theme well, as does the cabinet.

8.163/10

5 years ago

KOJ

koji

Pinside member

Surrey, BC

6y 112K 2,662 14 65

Love playing this one again and again. 2 Players is always nice in an em ("More fun to compete")

Great theme and art package. You have to love the backglass!

Pretty sure this one has improved my pinball skills, lots of opportunity for bounce passes, and time to think and execute a strategy. Hard to make spinner shot, which scores well and provides and opportunity for an extra ball.

This is a relatively fast playing game, but on a good ball, a player can rack up an incredible double bonus, which will just keep on counting. Very challenging to try to roll the score after the 100k is lit. Options for 3 and 5 ball play.

I guess my only complaints would be a bit of randomness with the target bonus, and the williams chimes of this era, which take a lot of coaxing to get a nice ring to them.

koji has owned this game in the past.

8.338/10

6 years ago

CRG

UofG2000

Inactive member

Guelph, ON

9y 45,150 87 6 20

Picked up as a project, and love the space theme and fact that it was a historical event. The playfield is packed with cool features for an EM, swinging target, kickouts, spinner and horseshoe.

UofG2000 has owned this game in the past.

7.115/10

6 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

7y 185K 13,231 70

I like the game as it comes with a full tool box, as another poster stated short of a drop target or two it has pretty much all you can cram on a EM playfield and surprisingly it doesn't feel crowded.. The game has decent flow, a lot of the shots are not "auto drains" and there is some interesting dynamics going on down at the flippers. There will be no cradling with the flippers here!

Complaints: I wish the flippers were a touch more powerful, the pops are DC after all and I wish the playfield art was as nice as the backglass art. The chimes are typical Williams clankers that even after fiddling with them for some time sound rough. Sold to a friend of mine, didn't make the long term cut. One of the better William's examples in this time period though. I wish I could give it higher marks but it is what it is.

gdonovan edited previous rating on July 26, 2022.

7.662/10

7 years ago

RAS

Rasavage

Pinside member

Tallahassee, FL

7y 49,550 288 7 22

Cool theme and art. The kick outs, including those in lieu of slings, are a lot of fun , as well as the swinging target. Great value for money.

6.819/10

8 years ago

D L

charliebrown2417

Pinside member

Kent, OH

8y 54,400 136 5 352

A classic game with a lot of cool shots but I get bored with it.

charliebrown2417 edited previous rating on September 14, 2015.

8.069/10

8 years ago

WAM

Aicfuel

Pinside member

9y 26,400 8 3 16

One of the best late EM machines made. There is a lot happening on this machine. Williams spared no expenses creating this one. I'm lucky enough to have purchased one recently after searching for one for a bit. One of the best things about this machine is the many "easy shots" that help rack up points quickly.

Aicfuel has owned this game in the past.

8.733/10

11 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,456 51 1011

I remember playing this game as a kid. It was a good game then and it is a good game now.

Pros:
The slings keep the ball away from the flippers. See my review on Lucky strike about this in combination with the saucers on the side of the pf. The sucker shot is the swinging target. Classic risk vs. reward strategy. Personally, I like to light the spinner and get that baby turning. Christian Marche is remembered for the pointy people, but this package is another masterpiece in a style that he is not as well remembered for. Light and rip the spinner!

Cons:
It can be a repetitive and there are some lulls in the scoring that require you to wait for a certain target to be hit to advance the center scoring to the next desires position.

Takeaway:
A good game built on classic design and rulesets. This game must be supplied with fresh rubber sets to keep it challenging. Considering this game came out in 1976... it was and still is fun-fun-fun!

Caucasian2Step has owned this game in the past.

5.798/10

11 years ago

JLM

jlm33

Pinside member

Villejuif

11y 152K 5,892 7 169

I wanted this machine because of its backglass and its theme - the Apollo Soyuz encounter. At that time (1975 - a year before the pin) this US-USRR common space project was a nice break during the cold war.
I regret the cabinet art, and not seeing the official logo of the mission. Besides that, the game is nice. The side kick out holes strongly affect game play and strategy - you may love or hate it... or both...
Controlling the ball is really very, very difficult because of these holes. My marks are (way) down accordingly.

jlm33 edited previous rating on April 06, 2014.

1

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