STERN Pinball's hotly anticipated first pinball machine release of 2019 is finally here! Unveiled for the first time at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), STERN Pinball's The Munsters Pinball Machine was unveilled to event-goers who were invited to play the game for the first time ever.
The Munsters is an instantly recognisable sitcom that took American television by storm in 1964, poking fun at the traditional sitcom format with its cast of macabre characters. The Munsters followed the lives of the towering Herman Munster, his wife Lily, the eccentric Grandpa, their werewolf son Eddie and beautiful niece Marilyn at their residence of 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
The Munsters Pinball Machine is a madcap adventure around the Munster's lives, full of ghoulish delights and surprises. The game was designed by one of STERN Pinball's veteran designers - John Borg. John Borg has been designing games for over 25 years, starting with the original and iconic Data East Star Wars, and more recently Guardians of the Galaxy. Heading the game's software is another industry veteran - Dwight Sullivan, who similar to John Borg has over 25 years of experience writing software for pinball machines.
Like all of STERN's recent pinball machine releases, The Munsters is available in three different version - A Pro version, a Premium version and a Limited Edition (LE) version. Here's the details on each:
The Munsters Pro Pinball Machine
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| The Munsters Pro Pinball Machine |
Playfield |
The Munsters Pro is the perfect entry level option for some great Munsters fun. The game features a fun, fan-shaped layout that's packed to the corners with features and surprises. A lane on the far left features The Munster's family car - The Dragula, and the left ramp contains Eddie's pet dragon Spot, who will pop out from under the ramp to surprise players.
Herman Munster himself is the game's main bash toy, complete with a dedicated magnet to catch the player's pinballs for numerous modes. Another very interesting feature is the very unique Marilyn ramp on the right of the playfield, that loops over the top before returning to the player, similar to games like Pirates of the Caribbean and even Data East's Tales From The Crypt.
The Munsters Pro features the same brilliant high-definition score display in the backbox, replacing the standard D.M.D display.
The Munsters Pro Pinball Machine can be pre-ordered here.
The Munsters Premium Pinball Machine
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| The Munsters Premium Pinball Machine |
Playfield |
The Munsters Premium Pinball Machine takes everything seen on the Pro playfield, and takes it to 11.
The playfield now includes an extended set of rules and features, most notable in the shape of Grandpa's Laboratory Under-Playfield. Reminiscent of games like Haunted House, AC/DC and even Family Guy, This under-playfield features two miniature flippers, a ramp, a mini-wireform and even multiball modes! The game includes 2 additional flipper buttons to control this under-playfield.
The machine even includes an awesome unique black and white art package, replicating the monochromatic appearance of the show.
The Munsters Premium Pinball Machine can be pre-ordered here.
The Munsters Limited Edition (LE) Pinball Machine
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| The Munsters Limited Edition (LE) Pinball Machine |
Playfield Design |
The Munsters Limited Edition (LE) is the ultimate experience for any pinball lover or Munsters fan. The Munsters LE playfield features the same decked-out playfield from the Premium playfield (including the Grandpa's Laboratory under-playfield), but restores the beautiful colours seen in the Pro version. In addition, players can enjoy a huge number of additional extras and goodies.
Limited to only 500 machines worldwide, the game is adorned in a completely unique cabinet design, complete with powder coated side armour and gold coloured legs. The playfield includes a pair of themed art blades to make the entire playfield stand out over the other two versions.
The machine even includes a factory-fitted shaker motor, is stamped with the game's unique number, and includes signatures from Gary Stern and John Borg on a certificate of authenticity and playfield respectively.
STERN Pinball's Limited Edition pinball machines never stick around for long, and often sell out in a matter of weeks from announcement.
The Munsters Limited Edition (LE) Pinball Machine can be Pre-Ordered Here.
We hope that you enjoyed our round up of The Munsters Pinball Machine by STERN Pinball! The game is due to land in the UK soon, and we will be on hand to show you all the latest when it comes to unboxing and trying the game out for ourselves. Will you be grabbing any of the games shown above? Let us know!