Safecracker

szycag · Aug 8, 2012

This might be my favorite Pat Lawlor table actually, I had a chance to play it at the National Pinball Museum in Baltimore. I know it would be incredibly popular, maybe even more than Addams Family and stuff, if it wasn't so incredibly rare!

I imagine it will be tough for Farsight to procure this table, but at least there's no licensing to worry about, and it's just too unique to not be immortalized in video game form. I'm just in love with how this table looks and the slimmer setup. I also love timed modes in games and that's what would keep me coming back to this table, trying to beat the clock. I wonder how the token distribution would be handled, maybe one my Xbox avatar can carry around? I'm wondering how many of you NEED this table in TPA as badly as I do, to me it seems like a must.

Richard B · Aug 8, 2012

1,148 units is scarce, but not Pinball Circus scarce. They made more of this than they made of Cactus Canyon, which, we believe, FS has been looking to procure. One thing Safe Cracker has going against it is the non-standard size of the table. That might prove to be difficult to pull off, especially since the physics on standard tables hasn't been nailed yet.

mmmagnetic · Aug 9, 2012

I'm always up for more Lawlor tables, and the time aspect sounds interesting.

However, how fun is the non-pinball part? Is it luck-based? I'm not really seeing how it works, I'm very eager to play the pinball part, but I wonder if the other half is as engaging as well.

(btw, I'm Frederik on the shmups forum

)

szycag · Aug 9, 2012

Hey Frederik. I've been slowly migrating over here from shmups lately, can't get enough pinball!

You "roll dice" to get further on the board game part. So maybe a little luck based. This video explains the gameplay a bit better. I didn't really think of it like half pinball, half something else when I was playing it, it's just different.

mmmagnetic · Aug 9, 2012

Great video, and wow, the flippers are indeed tiny! Looks like a very fun concept, and definitely a machine that should come to TPA in the future. Looks a lot faster than standard-sized tables. "The Cellar" makes it pretty obvious it's a Lawlor table

A shame it never took off, it's a much better concept than the Pinball 2000 machines in my opinion... Imagine this idea combined with the brand power of something like Pokemon or these gashapon thingies! The multiball when you put the token back is also a very cool idea; I love the whole concept of actually winning something instead of pure scoring. It's a bit tragic that Lawlor and all the other designers couldn't stop pinball from falling off the cliff... but at least now we can enjoy and rediscover these machines digitally, if nothing else!

Kolchak357 · Aug 9, 2012

I'm going to an arcade tomorrow that has one. I'm hoping it is in working order, as I've never played it.

Animator_pin_fan · Aug 10, 2012

This is quite a fun game. I really like the time based gameplay. And it would be very cool in they integrated virtual reward coins too!
I too hope this makes it's way to TPA

bavelb · Aug 10, 2012

That looks like a fun original game. They have the hardware for it emulated already so I'm hoping this comes out at some point.

Richard B · Aug 10, 2012

bavelb said:
That looks like a fun original game. They have the hardware for it emulated already so I'm hoping this comes out at some point.

With only 1,148 units made, it's going to be hard to get a hold of one of these. This is a possible alternate to CC as the 11k mystery table.

szycag · Aug 11, 2012

There are two Safecracker machines on Ebay right now, one is about $6000 and the other $7000. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought? Medieval Madness on there runs twice that easily.

SKILL_SHOT · Aug 11, 2012

How much for the TOKEN collection complete?
Probablly easy to duplicate since it wasn't minted.

Kolchak357 · Aug 11, 2012

Just came back from Pinball Parlour in Earlington, PA. Safecracker was up and running. I played a couple games. I think it would take many more to get the hang of that table. It's so different from anything else. The timing system, police bribes, not to mention those tiny flippers really make this stand out from the other tables. Would be a blast if they could find a way to bring this to TPA.

mmmagnetic · Aug 11, 2012

Sounds good! As much as I´d love to get as many of the top ranking tables on TPA, I´m also just as excited for these lesser known and experimental tables.

shutyertrap · Aug 12, 2012

I like to think of this table as 'Monopoly' without the license. It's a fun table, but you gotta treat it like a redemption game. It's built to force you to play short games, no marathons. If it ever gets the TPA treatment, I foresee many a thrown controller, cause it can really make your blood boil.

jaredmorgs · Aug 16, 2012

szycag said:
Hey Frederik. I've been slowly migrating over here from shmups lately, can't get enough pinball!

You "roll dice" to get further on the board game part. So maybe a little luck based. This video explains the gameplay a bit better. I didn't really think of it like half pinball, half something else when I was playing it, it's just different.

From memory, the operator menu allows you to make the dice rolls "random" or "sequential".

jaredmorgs · Aug 16, 2012

SKILL_SHOT said:
How much for the TOKEN collection complete?
Probablly easy to duplicate since it wasn't minted.

I've got about 9 unique individual tokens, including the elusive silver token. (one per tube)

jaredmorgs · Sep 11, 2012

Chris Bucci has *all* the production tokens. If Farsight ever decides to immortalise Safe Cracker, he would be the person to contact to get hi-res scans of the original tokens.

Please do make this game, Farsight. It is unique and rare enough to be a candidate for preservation.

shutyertrap · Sep 11, 2012

jaredmorgs said:
Chris Bucci has *all* the production tokens.

I hate this guy so much because he doesn't live near me and we aren't friends! Seriously, you watch the vid of his pinball parties? I'd be over at his house constantly!

pmonline111 · Mar 5, 2013

One of my favorite tables I still have about a dozen tokens... it was in an arcade near my house. It stood next to Fun House...
Good times.

Clawhammer · Mar 5, 2013

Safecracker is fun. I'd played it here and there at conventions, and when one showed up on location near me, I ran to it at fast as I could. After dumping plenty of money in it, I still find myself drawn towards conventional machines nine times out of ten. It's unique, but doesn't have the it factor for me. Nonetheless, it's an interesting Lawlor piece, and I'd love to see it TPA. It does, however, provide a plethora of technical challenges for FS (smaller playfield with different physics, different high score boards for regular play/assault the vault, integration of backbox with playfield, etc).

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