Fruit Machine Chat

I had a quick look at this today.

Quite diverting in a mildly fun way, but I doubt it's all that profitable, but then if you can remember all the balls?!?

Basically, you move up a modified league table/cash ladder by correctly 'spotting the ball', you have x dabs at the start and need to get at least one dab within range of the ball. All dabs in range carry through, off the target dabs are lost. So the more liberal you dab, the less dabs you'll have the next round.

The first round is really easy and starts with a group of cub scouts all chasing the ball around the pitch. You may like to try just a couple of dabs, and they'll probably be in range.

Then it's the bonus dab game where you earn bonus dabs by touching the correct patterned footballs. This is like Super Mario Bros mini games. Spotitng Luigi, except it's not Luigi it's a football with black stars on it.

As you ascend the league you earn bonii. 50/50 blaps out two quadrants of the screen which DO NOT contain the ball.


Cor, if you could remember all the pictures, cor. I bet there must be spoiler pictures. Must be. Tons of pictures of the same match where they can change the ball about at will. One where he looks over there, goalie is looking there, he is jumping up and about to head it but it's actually all the f'ing waty over there and why is the linesman staring at that? Modifications, overimposimificaciously cheatiliciousness perhaps? Who knows. Otherwise it could just be humptied by knowing all the pictures. Maybe easier Fred than Dom, but then it could just remove itself after a period of 'skillful' play as I believe some of these games do do do Ron.


What was I doing playing this shibblewibble? Well I had had had had had a fanbabulousiciuous day on the hootmachines and was about heee humpf and humfety hoo hounds up, so I was diverting myself piles waiting for the dials.

I also played Jigsaw. Too hard for me, too hard man. You gotta do a jigsaw innit, but it's too quick. Bullseye kept paying out a quid. I tried five rounds on Big Reds which is a real skill persons game. A REAL GAME OF SKILL. I made about 48p over four games which is MEGA IMPRESSIVE. I felt so skillful I was almost tempted to try super skillball bingo. Bloop.

I would have stopped to empty the Itbox by repeatedly playing Big Reds, but that machine was free, so I jumped on.

I've never actually played it... I could imagine how difficult it would be with an uncalibrated machine.

Similarly, I'm sure that Spot-the-Ball competitions which used to run in all the newspapers didn't actually use a photo of the ball - they just had a committee who decided where the ball would be.

Of course, I could be talking utter gubbins. It wouldn't be the first time.

Cardinal Sin wrote:Similarly, I'm sure that Spot-the-Ball competitions which used to run in all the newspapers didn't actually use a photo of the ball - they just had a committee who decided where the ball would be.

That's how I remember it, but age might be playing tricks.

I'm pretty sure that's right re. newspaper spot the ball comps as well. I played the ItBox version once then decided to steer well clear - not my cup of tea at all.

I know that if you look at the pictures closely enough you can see where the ball has been removed. Didnt like the version that was out a couple of years ago but i quite liked this one.

JG wrote:bonii

That's my favourite new word possibly ever and I must now find a way to include it my everyday conversations!

Nil Satis wrote:

JG wrote:bonii

That's my favourite new word possibly ever and I must now find a way to include it my everyday conversations!

American college bowl quiz players use boni as the plural of bonus which sounds slightly more accurate cod-Latin to me...

grecian wrote:slightly more accurate cod-Latin

Come on, don't carp. There's a plaice for 'bonii' surely.

Nil Satis wrote:There's a plaice for 'bonii' surely.

Cod knows if you're right.

roberto la vigna wrote:

Nil Satis wrote:There's a plaice for 'bonii' surely.

Cod knows if you're right.

sounds a bit fishy to me

A coin operated Spot the Ball was made first by a company called RARE, and was shown at the ATE about 15 years ago. Was classified as an SWP, but then after some debating at the show was changed to AWP. I believe they generated a ball but this was the computer. My information is that for it to be classified as Skill, it has to be were a committee of experts determine where the ball is on a picture and not where that ball actually is. It was thrashed out in the courts in the sixties I was told, apparently was a big case, News of the World and some others involved. It was declared by the courts that the balls position is that where a panel experts decide the position.
Littlewoods use some old Liverpool players, Ian Callaghan is the chairman and they meet and decide where the balls would most likely be.

This may be apocryphal, but in the 80s I seem to recall the Manchester Evening News spot the Ball comp rolled over so often and got so massive (50k+) that one bloke employed scientific methodology ie hundreds of photocopies and laser technology to pinpoint every possible position of the ball on the picture. Then he sent all the entries in.

He didn't win.

That's because it was 'crazy football' and the ball had rolled into a pipe within a windmill behind the goalposts. They knew no one would spot it there and they were right, until a freak gust of wind blew it out the referee's trousers one August morning and everyone texted in to win the £50,000 prize+interest.

The Manchester Evening News went bust as a result and consequently there was never any more news from Manchester. Even to this day 94% of Mancunians have their local paper flown in from Birmingham.

JG LOL

they used to sell a "system" for spot the ball, it was a rubber stamp with hundred of x's on it ,rofl