Red & Ted's Road Show /No. 1972/
Williams Electronic Games, Inc., a subsidiary of
WMS Industries, Inc., October 1994, 4 players
Model number: 50024
Design: Pat Lawlor
Art: John Youssi
Software: Dwight Sullivan, Ted Estes
Sound: Chris Granner
Music: Chris Granner
Features: Talking Heads, Shaker motor below playfield, two manual
plungers,
country music star
Carlene Carter as the voice of Red.
It's a big country...Someone's gotta tear it up! This is one of the catch lines in the promo flyers for Red & Ted's Road Show. This
wide body pinball game is the latest from designer Pat Lawlor since he did
Twilight Zone.
Playfield Layout
Flippers: 4 of them. Two centered above the
drain, a third located above the left
outlane. This one is a small flipper. The fourth flipper is located below the
lock at the upper left playfield.
Rollover lanes: 5 lanes. Two outlanes which lead to the drain and three inlanes (one on the left and two on the right). It's a Lawlor signature to have two inlanes on one side of the playfield.
Standup targets: 12 targets. Three located on Ted's
bulldozer blade, three
Blast Zone targets located above the right inlanes, and the
Magic Standup located above the left inlane. Five
radio targets are also present. These are active during Change the Station and Radio Riot
Bumpers: Three, located below the right ramp. A ramp shot goes through the bumpers and is difficult to pull off. Bumpers add to the Blast Value.
Loops: Two, left loop which feeds the ball to the small flipper and sets up a shot at the Blast Zone. A right loop that goes between Red and Ted and feeds into the bumpers.
Spinner: One, leading into the lock. Value starts at 1K per spin and goes up to 1M per spin.
Ramps: Two. Left Ramp feeds to a diverter. The ball can be diverted to either inlane to set up a shot up either ramp to increase the bonus
multiplier. If Flying Rocks is lit, the ball will be diverted to the left plunger lane. The right lane also feeds to a diverter. If the gate is open, the ball will go to the left inlane, otherwise it will go to the Right inlane.
Sinkholes: Three, One located above the lower right flipper, one behind the Blast Zone (can be accessed via a hit off of the left
slingshot or a
Skill Shot from the right plunger lane, and the lock located at the upper left corner.
Left Plunger Lane: Used during Flying Rocks. Balls plunged from here can go to either the small flipper, or to the right inlane. One of several awards can be earned here.
Objective
The objective of the game is to tour the
USA, causing as much
mayhem as possible. My favorite parts of the game are the modes which feature a
disgruntled cabbie who is
hell-bent on keeping Red and Ted in order. Red and Ted in turn try to wreck his cab. Your progress is tracked via a
map of the US in the center of the playfield. Cities are lit by accumulating
miles by making various shots. A play mode corresponding to the currently lit city will start if Start City is lit at the center sinkhole.
The ultimate goal in this game is to reach the West Coast. There is where you can start the Cities where the big points are earned and begin Super Payday. Super Payday can be lit by locking one ball in the Lock, another in the Start City sinkhole (or by making a Skill Shot). Your reward: Everything is lit for BIG POINTS!
Easter Eggs
Construction Mania: If you are awarded a souvenir shop visit, hit both flipper buttons if the sign outside Bob's Souvenir Shop reads "Uranium Ore: $3 a chunk". This will start Construction Mania, which is a timed mode where all targets score 3M for 20 seconds.
Strategies
Go for souvenirs: Easiest way to build your
end of ball bonus. As you tour the US, you may recieve 10M per souvenir associated with that city. Not to mention that all the
miles,
blasts, and
cities all add to your bonus. Sweetest part about this is that the final total is then multiplied by the Multiplier value before it's added to your score.
Go for the ramps: Bonus Multipliers, 'nuff said