Addams Family, The Pinball Mods

The Addams Family is a pinball machine from March 1992, manufactured by Bally Manufacturing Co. and designed by Pat Lawlor. Addams Family was at the time, and remains to this day, the most commercially successful pinball machine, selling 20,270 units, 40 more than Bally’s Eight Ball which had held that position since 1977. 1,000 more were to follow later in a special Edition. Based on the movie of the same name, released in 1991, the Addams Family Pinball features custom speech by the movie’s actors Anjelica Huston and Raúl Juliá.

The game features a four flipper layout including numerous Lawlor staples, such as the shot through the bumpers, and the upper-flipper ramp shot. The game has many uniquely notable features including an animatronic hand with a built in magnet that will grab and lock pinballs for multiball, as well as a computer controlled mini flipper that, using artificial intelligence programming, learns to shoot a tricky cross-playfield shot with remarkable consistency. This game is also frequently credited with popularizing the “wizard mode” (despite not being the first game to have one). A true success for Bally/Williams, Addams Family holds an important place in pinball history, and well deserves its sought after status.