Dennis Nordman's Pinball Machines, Ranked Worst to Best

Dennis Nordman is a legendary pinball designer who knows how to have a good time. Whether he’s partying with Animals and Monsters, racing cars and dirtbikes, or just chowing down on some tasty melons, his pinball designs reflect a sense of humor and innovation that is singular within the pinball industry. From his early days with Bally and then Stern to recent years serving as a designer-for-hire for a wide array of pinball manufacturers, Nordman has an impressive list of games under his belt. Frequently inventive, often underrated, and not always entirely successful, he’s never been one to play it safe with his designs. Instead, his games often feature totally original playfield layouts, plenty of custom molded plastic decorations, and he’s even been known to experiment with unique controls instead of standard flipper buttons!

With the buzz at TPF this year surrounding his upcoming game Yukon Yeti by Turner Pinball, Dennis Nordman’s name has been everywhere lately. Yukon Yeti is meant to be a “spiritual successor” to Nordman’s classic White Water (spoiler), but how does the rest of his oeuvre stack up? Let’s take a dive into the weird and wacky world of the original Party Animal!

Before we get to the games, let’s establish some Nordman signature design elements to look out for:

Going for a Spin: Wheels of both Fortune and spider make an appearance, as well as plenty of whirlpools, ball locks, and even just a racecar on a stick. Nordman seems to enjoy all things centrifugal.
Breaking the Mold: Plenty of designers seem content with flat printed plastics to decorate their machines, but Nordman likes to bring the art in his games into the third dimension. Look for lots of 3D molded plastics to bring his worlds-under-glass to life.
Get Your Fill: Many of Nordman’s designs feature a meter on the playfield for the player to fill as they play. Perhaps inspired by bonus ladders on classic EM machines, each one has its own wacky twist. Whether it’s a Dude-O-Meter, Stiff-O-Meter, Rock-It-Meter, or any of the others, they give the player a sense of progression and ever-increasing rewards as they keep the ball in play.
Custom Cabinetry: Nordman didn’t always get the chance to create special cabinets for his games, but when he did he took full advantage. From the twin-stick controls of Demolition man, to the transforming tank cabinet of Galactic Tank Force, to the custom-designed melon crates for Whoa Nellie, it seems like he enjoys designing the outside of the games just as much as the inside.

Note, in this piece, we’ll only be looking at Nordman’s major releases as a game designer.

#16 Party Animal (Bally, 1987)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Pat McMahon
Software: Rehman Merchant

While Party Animal may not top anybody’s list of best pinball machines, a Nordman list wouldn’t be complete without the first entry in his iconic “Party” series. If nothing else, this game is a time capsule of the 1980’s, with its funky styling straight out of an episode of Saved by the Bell. While the sound design is pretty cringeworthy and the layout isn’t the most inventive we’ve seen from Nordman, there are some early hints of brilliance here that signal greater things to come. In particular, the split ramps coming off the upper flipper bear a striking resemblance to a layout we will see much later on this list…

#15 Special Force (Bally, 1986)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Tony Ramunni
Software: Rehman Merchant

One of Nordman’s earliest games, Special Force is packed with cool features and some of what would become his signature design elements. The theme places the player in the shoes of an American GI fighting their way through a combat zone set in an ostensibly generic jungle that is clearly Vietnam. The beginning of each ball is incredibly atmospheric - the game is dark and silent with the exception of chirping crickets and croaking frogs. Plunging the ball will sneak it behind enemy lines, and once it makes contact, chaos erupts as each switch hit triggers gunfire and explosions. Nordman has talked about how he was heavily influenced by Rambo, which had just been released, so the theme of this game was definitely a product of its era.

Theme aside, this game does a lot of cool things. Rockets can be collected and then fired to knock down drop-targets automatically without the ball even hitting them. Launching the ball up the helicopter ramp rapidly sets off the pop-bumpers to simulate machine gun fire, which sounds surprisingly realistic. And of course, there are some signature Nordman elements here - molded plastics are everywhere, from the top of the pop bumpers to emulate jungle huts, to the side-ramp terrain, to stacked layers of green treetops simulating a lush forest that makes it feel like the ball is lost in the jungle. There is a ramp that leads to a whirlpool, an element that would show up in multiple Nordman games. Overall, it’s a slick-looking game with innovative features, but it’s a little clunky to shoot.

#14 Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons (WhizBang, 2012)

Manufacturer: WhizBang Pinball
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Greg Freres
Software: Mark Weyna

When the best feature of a pinball machine is the cabinet design, you know you’re in for a rough time. This game has a weird and rocky history, originally built from converted Gottlieb games by a small startup called WhizBang, which Dennis Nordman started with artist and frequent collaborator Greg Freres. Whoa Nellie takes one tacky joke - melons can mean boobs! - and stretches it waaaay too far. Double entendres abound, and they get old about as soon as you see the first one. Theme aside, the concept is an interesting idea in theory - construct a game with modern sound and tech but looks and feels like a classic electromechanical pinball machine, complete with score reels and little mini-flippers. The problem is, even if Whoa Nellie was actually from the 1960s, it wouldn’t be one of the better EM games of that era.

The concept of designing a modern game with EM elements would be explored much better years later, but as for Whoa Nellie, it’s just very plain. The playfield features a big cluster of pop bumpers, a few rollover and standup targets, a scoop… and that’s about all there is to it. It seems like most of the effort went into designing the cabinet for this game, which, to be fair, is quite impressive. It’s a work of art, really, with its rustic wooden sides and painted details that make the game look like two crates full of melons stacked one on top of the other. Still, the lackluster gameplay and divisive theme keeps this one near the bottom of the list for me. I prefer this game in the form of one of the later re-themes like Primus or even PBR Can Crusher, but since those share the same playfield layout, I don’t love playing them either. The game has its fans, for sure, but I’m not one of them.

#13 Wheel of Fortune (Stern, 2007)

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball, Inc.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Kevin O'Connor, Margaret Hudson
Software: Keith P. Johnson, Lonnie D. Ropp

Playing Wheel of Fortune feels like you’re watching an episode of the TV show rather than participating in it, which really strips the player agency from the game. Some of the other design choices don’t really work either - the double-lane center drain makes standard flipper techniques like slap saves and guarding less effective, and when combined with the wide open outlanes the game just feels like a drainfest. Sure, it’s pretty generous with the “free spins” to try to save an outlane drain, but they always seem to end up on the wrong lane when you need one. Most relevant to this list, I just don’t see the typical Nordman sense of humor and inventiveness in this design. The spinning wheel mech is impressive - Nordman loves things that spin - and the game is competently arranged, but it ends up feeling uninspiring and pretty low on the list of Sterns from this era, and low on this list as well.

#12 Blackwater 100 (Bally, 1988)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Tony Ramunni
Software: Neil Falconer

Now here’s the wild and innovative Nordman we know and love! Blackwater 100 is probably a little too weird for its own good, but what a ride it is. Born out of Nordman’s love for off-road motocross, this game really makes you feel like you’re racing motorbikes through the swamp, complete with unexpected twists, turns, and of course, plenty of wipeouts. Blackwater 100 is unusual right out of the gate - every ball starts as a 3-ball multi-ball! You plunge 3 balls into a starting line lock, which then immediately dumps them all at once as you struggle to survive. The unconventional design doesn’t stop there, of course - the playfield itself is split into an upper and lower section, and there’s even a third mini-playfield complete with a flipper on the game’s apron. Good luck trying to control 3 balls across 3 playfields at the same time in this game. It’s intense, it’s fast - it’s total pinball chaos. We also have Nordman’s signature molded plastics all over the playfield that make the whole thing look like a muddy, swampy mess.

I wouldn’t call Blackwater 100 a beautiful game, but the art is awesome and chaotic, and it matches the gameplay perfectly. This might be Nordman’s most unconventional playfield, and while it’s probably a good thing that he dialed it back on future games, I’m glad we have one completely unapologetic design like this. Blackwater 100 is not balanced, it’s not flowy, but it’s definitely one of the most inventive and unusual games out there.

#11 Party Zone (Bally, 1991)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Greg Freres
Software: Jim Strompolis

The fourth and final (for now) of Nordman’s party-themed games, this game makes me think I’ve been going to the wrong parties. Party Zone serves as a culmination of and tribute to the games that came before, with references to the characters from Party Animal, Elvira and the Party Monsters, and even Dr. Dude himself. The whole thing is set in a weird cosmic space bar patronized by football players, a dancing crash-test dummy, and a robot “comedian” that chatters gibberish. Meanwhile, the action on the playfield is narrated by a spaceship-piloting aerial ace named Captain B. Zarre, whose mechanical talking head follows the ball as it hits features around the playfield, its mouth flapping as he makes callouts. What does any of that have to do with partying? Only Dennis Nordman knows.

There’s a delightful flavor of retro randomness and humor on full display in Party Zone, and it’s one of the things Nordman does best. Another classic Nordman-ism that appears here is an incremental meter that fills up as the player makes progress, in this case, called the Rock-It-Meter. There are plenty of looping ramps, including one that goes into and out of the back wall of the machine, and an interesting cross-playfield orbit that feels like the first half of the Deadpool Katana shot, but the layout plays it pretty safe overall. Party Zone definitely feels like a 90s classic, but with simple shots and shallow code, it doesn’t rise to the level of the era's best.

#10 Lexy Lightspeed: Escape from Earth (Multimorphic, 2017)

Manufacturer: Multimorphic
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Jackson Gee, Rory Cernuda, Scott Gullicks
Software: BJ Wilson, Gerry Stellenberg, Michael Ocean

When it came time for Multimorphic to produce a flagship game for the release of their P3 platform, they tapped Dennis Nordman to kick things off with a bang. The result was Lexy Lightspeed: Escape from Earth, a fun game that makes good use of the P3’s features but is clearly early in the platform’s lifecycle. Physically, it’s pretty sparse, with a single-level playfield and much of the real estate taken up by stand-up targets below a screen. On the plus side, the code is deep, and it utilizes the playfield screen and other P3 capabilities to create a fairly robust pinball experience. There are plenty of modes, multiballs, and robust game progression to keep you playing despite the simple layout.

In typical Nordman fashion, there is an outside-the-box design element that pushes the envelope: a UFO saucer that also serves as a physical 8-ball lock, which I believe is the largest physical ball lock in pinball. The game also leans heavily on Nordman’s sense of humor, with a cast of kooky characters that keeps it light-hearted and entertaining. Lexy Lightspeed is an underrated game that has been completely overshadowed by pretty much every other P3 module released since. It certainly wouldn’t be my first choice of P3 module, but if I were buying a P3 collection second-hand, I would be happy if it were included.

#9 Indianapolis 500 (Bally, 1995)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Dan Hughes, Paul Barker
Software: Craig Sylla, Mike Boon

Maybe one of the most overlooked pinball machines of the mid-90s, Indianapolis 500 was released among a murderer’s row of all-time classic Bally games, with Addams Family and Theater of Magic before it and Attack from Mars and Elvira Scared Stiff after. While this game doesn’t reach those lofty heights, it’s perfectly good in its own right. Blending elements of Elvira and the Party Monsters with a little bit of The Getaway, Indy 500 is fast and flowy, almost like Nordman was taking a page out of Steve Ritchie’s playbook.

It also features not one but TWO of Nordman’s signature spinning chamber mechs! One is a super cool “Turbo Lock” that locks multiple balls, then turns into a centrifuge, spinning and launching them at incredible speed into a looping wireform and onto the playfield. The other one is… a Hot Wheels car on a stick that spins around occasionally. I’m not sure if it adds much to the experience, but hey, two spinning chambers are better than one, right? The rest of the playfield design is solid, and there’s enough depth to keep players coming back.

#8 Pirates of the Caribbean (Stern, 2006)

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball, Inc.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Kevin O'Connor
Software: Lonnie D. Ropp, Dwight Sullivan

I went into this game with low expectations after one look at the bland playfield art and having previously played Stern’s sad Indiana Jones game from the same era. However, a few quarters later, the layout and gameplay really won me over. The code is deep with a bunch of modes and goals, and there are some cool shots hidden among a maze of clear plastic. The sinking-ship mech is particularly impressive, and the split upper playfield makes the start of each ball a little different with each plunge. While the array of stand-up targets between every shot can make the game feel a little clunky, once you get the shots dialed in, it’s flowy and satisfying. This was certainly not Stern’s brightest era, but Nordman demonstrated that good games were still being made.

#7 Galactic Tank Force (American Pinball, 2023)

Manufacturer: American Pinball
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Christopher Franchi
Software: Joe Schober

For my money, Galactic Tank Force was American Pinball at its peak. You can debate whether taking a chance on producing a pinball machine with an original theme based on dairy cows in space was a smart business decision, but it’s clear that every member of the AP team poured their heart and soul into this game. Nordman’s wacky sensibilities and humor were a perfect fit for a game as playful as Galactic Tank Force. From the high production values on the art, sound, and video assets to the completely ridiculous convertible tank cabinet, it’s clear that this game was a big deal to AP. The looping, intricate ramp work on the upper half of this game is all Nordman, and there are fun details like the swinging UFO target with a dangling cow that bring the playfield to life.

Although the game's launch was rocky and sales were slow, I think public opinion is turning around on Galactic Tank Force. It’s an underrated gem that is starting to earn the respect it deserves, and with the recent changes at American Pinball and a promise to address quality concerns and produce improved versions of this game, people seem more excited than ever to check out Nordman’s oft-overlooked gem.

#6 Dr. Dude (Bally, 1990)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Greg Freres
Software: Bill Pfutzenreuter

Certainly, the most iconic of Nordman’s Party games, Dr. Dude has become something of a mascot for this era of pinball. Released at the turn of the 1990s and plastered with comic-style art and text, this game features pretty much every cliche you can think of crammed into one machine. Also crammed into this machine is a prime example of one of Nordman’s iconic spinning chambers, the Molecular Mixmaster, which takes center stage. The Mixmaster has coils of wire running to different “Personality Attributes” all around the playfield, such as the Gift of Gab and a Magnetic Personality. The story of the game has you taking the role of a humble nerd (big stretch, I know) and employing Dr. Dude’s machinery to upgrade your coolness up the Dude-O-Meter. Nordman loves his meters! The goals here are simple, but the gameplay is addictive once you learn the loop - complete the attribute shots, spin in the Mixmaster, and then hit the ray. Do it enough, and you can even activate the “Gazillion Point Shot,” which is a bit of a misnomer; it’s really just a base number multiplied by the number of jackpots you hit in the Mixmaster, but the value can get high.

For all the wackiness and fairly simple layout, it’s an addictive and satisfying game that oozes with late 80s/early 90s charm and nostalgia.

‍#5 Elvira and the Party Monsters (Bally, 1989)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Greg Freres
Software: Mark Penacho

Party Monsters serves double duty as a classic Nordman Elvira AND party-themed game, and it’s also the oldest in his Elvira trilogy. It’s a pretty straightforward layout, with satisfying dual criss-crossing ramps, although the right-side one dumps into a VUK, which interrupts the flow a bit. There’s a menacing molded plastic skull over the lock shot, a pop-open BBQ lid that reveals some vampire coffins, and some bouncing “Boogie Men” that round out the monster party theme. The rules are surprisingly deep for a late-80s game, and there are plenty of goals to progress through as you work on lighting features and locking balls. Or you can do what the degenerate tournament players do and jam on the left ramp all day to light Elvira letters and activate the 3-million-point shot repeatedly. However you choose to play, you’re going to have a good time.

Nordman’s sense of humor and design sensibilities were a perfect fit for an Elvira pinball machine, and it was enough of a hit to make Elvira herself a pinball icon. As you can surely tell by now, there is more Elvira to come on this list, and this iconic game was just the beginning.

#4 Demolition Man (Williams, 1994)

Manufacturer: Williams Electronic Games, Inc.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Doug Watson, Linda Deal
Software: Bill Grupp, Ted Estes

What happens when you give Dennis Nordman a major movie license, a widebody playfield to design, and a seemingly unlimited budget? You get one of the most ambitious and innovative pinball machines of the 90s! Before you even drop quarters into this game, you can tell you’re in for something special: two joystick grips sit straight up on either side of the cabinet, allowing the player to control the flippers as if they are piloting some kind of futuristic mech. There are thumb buttons on top of the grips that can be pressed at the right time to activate special bonuses. The playfield is completely packed with sprawling ramps, wireforms, unusual targets, and the whole thing is topped off with the towering “Cryo Claw” that magnetically picks up the ball. The claw rotates and dangles the ball above an array of awards, which the player can select by pressing both flipper buttons to drop it at the right moment. Other wild design choices include a retinal-scan target that launches a “captive eyeball” instead of a standard pinball, and another captive target that launches a toy car into another to trigger a chain reaction of destruction.

The packed widebody playfield sports no less than 10 shots to aim for, including an orbit that feeds to an upper flipper for a few cross-body shots, and the flow is incredible. The rules and code feature a ton of modes, multiballs, and awards to progress through, so this game can play pretty long. I’ll admit that the playfield is busy enough that I never quite figured out where each shot was going to go, but I had a blast just hitting shots and watching the chaos ensue. The production values are top-notch, with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes both providing callouts, and combined with the movie-accurate music and art package, the whole thing is executed to perfection. When it comes to 90s action movie pinball, it doesn’t get much better than Demolition Man.

#3 Elvira’s House of Horrors (Stern, 2019)

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball, Inc.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Greg Freres
Software: Lyman F. Sheats Jr.

The newest release in the Elvira trilogy, Elvira’s House of Horrors, sees Stern taking a swing at the classic collaboration between Dennis Nordman and the Mistress of the Dark. Compared to much of Nordman’s work, House of Horrors seems unusual, forgoing his typical sprawling ramps and multi-tiered playfields for a fairly straightforward fan layout. However, this understated design packs a number of innovative mechs and an impressive, spooky mansion that features as many tricks as treats. The art and sound package is impressive, with a huge amount of custom-recorded video clips featuring Elvira herself. The playfield features a classic Nordman incremental meter to fill up, a trunk that opens to lock balls, a convertible mausoleum that serves as both a bash toy and a scoop, and plenty of satisfying ramps. The star of the show is the titular haunted house, which starts with a ramp that can lift up to send balls into the basement, a ball lock guarded by a drop target, a spinning top that shows the current mode, and even a projector that shines a grinning skull onto the playfield. It’s an impressive piece of engineering, and really gives the game a defining feature.

While I don’t think House of Horrors is the best Elvira game, it’s definitely worthy of a high ranking. It’s a flowy shooter with satisfying shots, cool mechs, and tons of personality, plus all the creepy and campy humor you have come to expect from both Elvira and Nordman. Fans looking for a modern pinball machine full of video clips of Elvira herself will be keeping this one bolted to the floor.

#2 Scared Stiff (Bally, 1996)

Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Co.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman, Mark Weyna
Artwork: Greg Freres
Software: Cameron Silver, Mike Boon

Scared Stiff was the second Elvira game chronologically, but it stands out as the best of the trilogy. Nordman’s knack for humor and love of innuendo pair perfectly with Elvira’s own brand of risqué comedy, resulting in a classic game aimed squarely at an adult audience. In addition to the jokes, a number of Nordman signatures make an appearance here, including criss-crossing ramps, an incremental “Stiff-O-Meter,” and molded plastic sculpts that bring the creepy world of Elvira to life in this game. In particular, a molded skeletal snake winds up one of the ramps, dominating the playfield. Scared Stiff is packed with features like a coffin that pops open, a creepy crate that serves as both a bash toy and ball lock, frog targets all around the playfield that pop up with smacked, and a rotating prize wheel on the backglass that you can earn spins on.

Cool features and fun toys are great, but what’s more important is that the game is fun to play and feels good to shoot, and Scared Stiff delivers on both points flawlessly. Progressing through the modes is a challenge, collecting the Dead Heads and filling up the Stiff-O-Meter provides a lot of depth, and earning prizes on the spinning wheel continually rewards good gameplay. There’s really nothing bad I can say about this game, and the pinball community seems to agree, often citing Scared Stiff as a favorite among players and collectors alike.

#1 White Water (Williams, 1993)

Manufacturer: Williams Electronic Games, Inc.
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: John Youssi
Software: Mike Boon

The top spot really couldn’t be anything other than White Water. This legendary Williams game is not just considered one of Nordman’s best, or one of the best games of the era; it’s often cited as one of the greatest pinball machines of all time, and it’s easy to see why. So many of Nordman’s signature design elements are on full display here: molded plastics that create an immersive world under glass, an upper flipper split shot starts every ball with a challenge, a whirlpool fed from a diverter controlled by Bigfoot himself, and one of the most iconic roller coaster ramps in pinball that sends the ball smacking into the glass every time it takes the ride. Snappy Williams' gameplay makes it a joy to shoot, and mastering the dangerous ball lock, the upper-flipper shots, and the lightning-fast ball feeds on the lower playfield makes this game a challenge even for skilled players.

The design elements packed into White Water are wonderful, but what really elevates the game to legendary status is how well the pieces integrate. From the first plunge into the split upper flipper shot to the increasingly difficult raft progression, and the challenging multiball that has you managing lower and upper flippers simultaneously, White Water has an addictive and demanding gameplay loop that can keep players engaged for hours. It’s a masterpiece from a designer who knows how to put all the elements together to make a game that’s more than the sum of its parts.

#TBD Yukon Yeti (Turner Pinball, 2026)

Manufacturer: Turner Pinball
Game Design: Dennis Nordman
Artwork: Brad Duke
Software: Matthew Brozusky, Chris Turner

Nordman is back with Yukon Yeti, teaming up with Turner Pinball to bring his vision of a successor to his masterpiece, White Water, to market. Initial reports from people who got their hands on the game at TPF seem positive, with particular praise for how well it flows, the satisfying shots, and the awesome ball-lock mech. We get plenty of Nordman signature design elements in Yukon Yeti: multiple split shots off of two separate upper flippers, molded plastic decorations, and a big rolling ramp that calls back to the original. We also get a major mechanical innovation: a stair-stepping ball lock that triggers an avalanche multiball. But the question remains: where will Yukon Yeti stand among Nordman’s best games? How will it compare to the timeless White Water? And most importantly: where will it end up on this list? Time will tell, but with Turner only planning to make 500 of them, it might be a hard game to find on location. I know I’m really looking forward to diving into it whenever I get the opportunity.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!

Every Dennis Nordman Pinball Machine, Ranked