Funhouse

Photo of the Fun House backglass as described in the post.

Funhouse, Williams, 1990. This game is so evil I wrote a short story about it.

The conceit is a funhouse at a carnival. There’s a hot dog cart and a mirror maze and a trap door, but the primary feature is a giant ventriloquist dummy head named Rudy that talks to you throughout the game.

He’s creepy normally especially if you’ve watched the ventriloquist episode of Twilight Zone, but at one location I play at his eye is upside-down and he goes from creepy to cursed.

A photo of Rudy's head with the upside-down eye looking super especially creepy especially if ventriloquist dummies creep you out to begin with

The backglass is… a thing. Rudy as a giant head with giant hands nearby holding doorways into the funhouse looks like he’s sitting on the stage of a 1940s dance stage. A large crowd is in the foreground surrounding the stage. Some scary posters are to the left. Beyond the first horizon in both directions are circus tents, balloons, etc.

The building behind the creepy head has lots of people riding slides around building edges as if the funhouse was also a water floom.

In the right foreground, Rudy stands with a very large clock slung around him, and the sign for a ticket booth declares that the funhouse closes at 12 (an integral part of the game play).

Cyclone

Photo of the Cyclone backglass as described in the post

Cyclone, Williams, 1988.

Remember Comet? This is the sequel, which means more weirdness. Now the backboard includes not only the scoreboard but also a spinning Mystery Wheel that spins to show you what you’ve won for the mystery shot, and a “test your strength”-like display on the far left for the current value of the jackpot.

Oh, and another rollercoaster of imminent death, this time with caricatures of Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the front seats. She’s wearing a “say no to drugs” tee and he’s wearing a suit. There’s a bunch of others on the rollercoaster including a punk and a couple of kids. And the rollercoaster has a murderous face. And it’s spiraling out of the word Comet through some loops in the fireworks and up to the front.

And a creepy clown with a large duck or small goose standing on his foot. Because why not.

Comet

Photo of the Comet backglass as described in the post

Comet. Williams, 1985, and it looks it. Quasi-photo-realistic people screaming in a washed-out rollercoaster car, and you only realize after a moment of looking that they’re somewhat upside-down, because the fairgrounds are turned 270 degrees and tucked in the top right corner. Also, there are fireworks *below* the rollercoaster car. And an evil toothy grin on the car’s front.

I don’t know where this track goes, but I suspect it is to their doom.

Oh and check out this stuck ball I managed to get while playing. Damn rollercoasters, always stopping in the middle of the track.

long view of a pinball stuck in the middle of a curve on a ramp
zoomed in side view of a pinball stuck in the middle of a curve on a ramp