Tales of the Arabian Nights (pinball)
| Manufacturer | Williams |
|---|---|
| Release date | May 1996 |
| Design | John Popadiuk |
| Programming | Louis Koziarz |
| Artwork | Pat McMahon |
| Mechanics | Jack Skalon, Ernie Pizarro, Joe Loveday |
| Music | Dave Zabriskie |
| Sound | Dave Zabriskie |
| Production run | 3,128 units |
Tales of the Arabian Nights is a 1996 pinball machine produced by Williams. The game is based on the stories of One Thousand and One Nights and features a blue jinnwho has trapped a princess.
Design and layout
The game uses a vertical magnet diverter that grabs the ball and hurls it back at the player for more suspense as an industry first. The game includes spikes that rise up and save the ball when the shooting stars are summoned.[1][2]
Gameplay
Players can experience seven Tales of the Arabian Nights that includes a travel around the ancient city of Baghdad, flying with the magic carpet and battling the evil genie. Rubbing the magic lamp conjure good genies that help to rescue the princess. As with other mid-1990s Williams machines this is designed for the novice as well as experienced player, with the lamp positioned so beginners will hit it and still experience part of the game.[3]
After attempting a skillshot players start tales by spinning this lamp and hitting the genie. The tales are "The Tale of Sinbad and the Cyclops", "The Tale of Sinbad and the Rocs", "The Tale of Ali Baba", "The Tale of the Forty Thieves", "The Tale of the Flying Horse", "The Tale of Sheherazade", and "The Tale of the Great Camel Race".
Reception
In a 2022 retro review, Pinball Mag[5]
Digital versions
The first digital version of this table was in the 2001 computer game Williams Pinball Classics.[6]
It released for Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection on several systems between 2008 and 2011. The same developer released the table in season one of The Pinball Arcade in 2012, and it was available until June 30, 2018, when all Williams tables were removed due to licensing issues.[7]
The table was released for Pinball FX3 as part of Williams volume 5 on December 10, 2019.[8] A remastered version released for Pinball FX on May 26, 2022
It was also released in several mobile games, including Zen Studios Williams Pinball mobile app for iOS and Android
The Forgotten Tales
In 2022 an upgrade kit was released in small numbers which included a new CPU running software rewritten in Python and expanding the game from 7 to 14 tales. It includes new multiball modes which require an auto-plunger instead of the original manual plunger.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Williams: Tales of the Arabian Nights".
- ^ Shalhoub, Michael (2012). The pinball compendium: 1982 to present. Atglen, Pa: Schiffer Publishing. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-0-7643-4107-6.
- ^ "What's New". Play Meter. Vol. 22, no. 10. September 1996. p. 179.
- ^ Tales of the Arabian Nights operations manual (PDF). Williams Electronics Games. May 1996.
- ^ Nick_O (2022-04-05). "Tales of the Arabian Nights pinball machine | Williams | Review". Pinball Mag. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
- ^ Dulin, Ron (October 29, 2003). "Williams Pinball Classics Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ Lawson, Aurich (2018-05-08). "The Pinball Arcade is losing its classic tables; grab them while you can". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ Musgrave, Shaun (2019-12-12). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: 'Williams Pinball: Volume 5' Review, 'Jamestown+' and Today's Other New Releases, the Latest Sales, and More". TouchArcade. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ Vain, Syl (2022-03-27). "TOTAN 2.0 | Interview with the designer". Pinball Mag. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
External links
- Tales of the Arabian Nights at the Internet Pinball Database
- Pinball.org Tales of the Arabian Nights rule sheet