This Week in Pinball· 8 min read
Pirates of the Caribbean Deep Dive – Likes, Dislikes, Code, Features
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What a reveal from Jersey Jack Pinball! JJP showed off their newest pinball machine, Pirates of the Caribbean, and it is packed with features. Before getting into the pinball machine, a special thanks to Kevin and Nick with Buffalo Pinball (check them out on Twitch, Facebook, Twitter), Zach and Greg with Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show (YouTube, Twitch, Facebook), Steve Bowden (funwithbonus.com), and Pinsiders cavalier88z24 and abelelectronics for photos and videos. Check out their links for more content!
For the full reveal from Jersey Jack Pinball, view Buffalo Pinball’s full stream here.
Below is an in-depth Overview of the machine, and Five Likes and Five Dislikes on Jersey Jack’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Thoughts are based on the Buffalo Pinball stream and conversations with people at Expo. (Note: It was a little difficult to hear the music on the stream. There also aren’t a ton of movie clips added to the animations, but those will likely be added in later.)
Pirates of the Caribbean is a wide body machine, and there are three editions: Standard Edition ($8,500), Limited Edition ($9,500), and Collector’s Edition ($12,500). For a full list of differences between the different models, click here. There are NO gameplay differences between editions. The machines are expected to ship in the first quarter of 2018.
Wow. Where to start! The code was about 20-30% done at Expo, but this game is going to be incredibly deep when finished. Here are some of the basics along with some explanations by designer Eric Meunier:
Everyone was excited to see what Eric Meunier would come up with for his first design, and he did not disappoint. With 17 ball paths and 27 targets, there is a lot to shoot for on this machine. Watch Steve hit the whirlpool shot here, and watch Nick hit the “behind the flipper” shot here. For a wide body machine, it looked to play fast and people TWIP have talked to have said as much. Having the upper left flipper towards the middle of the playfield instead of on the edge helps it not play like a “typical” wide body. Check out Steve Bowden hitting the loop shot EIGHT times in a row!
There are many interesting design aspects, including the unusual outlanes. The right outlane has an Escape the Hangman hole where you can save your ball if you nudge correctly or get a lucky ricochet. Check out Eric trying to save his ball here, and watch this ball take a lucky bounce and save itself.
There is an upper playfield pirate ship that not only rocks back forth like it is on the ocean, but also has a freaking cannon that you can load your pinball into and SHOOT at another (enemy) ship to try to sink it. There is a physical ball lock in a chest that opens and closes. There are spinning discs on the playfield, a whirlpool ramp, magnets, a display on the apron, and on and on. This thing is packed! Check out a few videos from the Buffalo Pinball stream here:
As seen in the Rules and Code section above, there is a LOT to do in this game.
A machine with a lot to do can be intimidating to people new to pinball or those that haven’t played the machine before. Pirates of the Caribbean does a great job calling out instructions on what to shoot. Combine that with the display right below the flippers that is showing the best shot to hit at all times, along with the 27″ display in the backbox that also gives instructions, and that should be extremely helpful to the players of any experience.
Not only is the machine packed with toys and features, but there is a lot of attention in the details of this machine. The toys don’t look cheap and have a lot of neat design characteristics. For the first time you can keep track of your tilt warnings right on the playfield. (Watch Eric tilt in this video.) The whole machine is full of RGB lights, which is just something we expect now from Jersey Jack Pinball games, but shouldn’t go unsaid. Simply put, it is a quality machine.
Along with the upper playfield, the spinning discs are going to be a popular and very fun feature, and something people will remember about this game after they walk away. Check out this fun and chaotic clip with Nick trying to keep his ball alive as the discs mess with the direction of the ball. Overall the discs will cause a lot of fun and laughter. However, the randomness close to the flippers could end up being a cause of frustration in some cases, particularly if it is in tournament play (see clip).
Needing to use the action button to collect gold could potentially get a little tiresome.
This is definitely subjective and you can tell a lot of time and effort went into the art package. However, Johnny Depp’s face directly in the middle of the playfield is a bit much. Of course, you never know what went on behind the scenes what requirements the license demanded.
While the upper playfield is incredibly unique and looks like a lot of fun, it may cause the game to not feel as “flowy” as some pinheads like.
The Pirates of the Caribbean movies overall are entertaining, and pirates in general are a great pinball theme (again, subjective). The theme in this case is just ok, could be better but could definitely be worse.
Disclaimer: All opinions are subject to change because I’m fickle with pinball machines the more I play them 🙂
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