Hi, here's a list of the most popular classics Williams. If your fan of this era, what is your top 5 Williams ?
What is your Williams dream lineup ?

1979
Flash
Stellar Wars
Time Warp
Gorgar
Laser Ball

1980
Firepower
Black Out
Scorpion
Alien Poker
Black Knight

1981
Jungle Lord
Pharaoh
Solar Fire
Barracora

1982
Cosmic Gunfight
Warlok
Defender
Time Fantasy
Joust
Firepower II

Personnaly i would like to have them all !!!
Hard to choose but my top 5 dream Williams lineup is
1-Black Kinght
2-Firepower
3-Cosmic Gunfight
4-Solar Fire
5-Stellar Wars (special nostalgia choice  )

ps: les choix peuvent changer sans préavis ou avertissement  

Tough call. A lot of great games, I would like to play all of them again. But some sound similar and would be kind of redundant in the same collection. My choices:

1. Firepower
2. Flash
3. Pharaoh
4. Time Fantasy
5. Cosmic Gunfight or Firepower II

I noticed you didn't list Algar...

Yes, i skip few pins or very low runs but if someone feel that a missing pin fit his top 5 just include it  

1 - Firepower
2 - Black Knight
3 - Pharaoh
4 - Alien Poker
5 - Flash

I have to admit, my choices are probably more born from nostalgia rather than playability. I played all 5 of these to death back when they were new, the others not so much.

pharaoh
firepower
black knight
cosmic gunfight
solar fire (I know of a GREAT one for sale locally if you want Hal!)

Such a great era for pins. Here are the favourites...

1- Flash
2- Black Knight
3- Barracora
4- Warlok
5- Defender

Of course if I had room I would take at least 3 more.

I don't get BK....  why is this pin so popular?  I find it boring for the most part compared to other games around the same time.  It is such a collector's piece, and so popular though, and I just don't see why with this pin.  I looks great, but I find the play rather boring compared to the others I have played.

Quoted from Mrhide

solar fire (I know of a GREAT one for sale locally if you want Hal!)

I guess this is what happens with low production games, nobody ever played them so they are not very interresting to most people.

BK on another hand was everywhere back then, so most people probably seen or played one in their life.

This has to be the reason why it is so popular (to answer Atomicboy's question), because people remember it and the nostalgia factor kicks in.

Quoted from Atomicboy

I don't get BK....  why is this pin so popular?  I find it boring for the most part compared to other games around the same time.  It is such a collector's piece, and so popular though, and I just don't see why with this pin.  I looks great, but I find the play rather boring compared to the others I have played.

It's a personal choice. Each person can tell you why he like it for his own reason.
Perso it is my first choice for very fast gameplay, great sounds and background sound, fun magnasave to use, great challenge to keep multiball going because you must check 2 pairs of flippers (the longer you keep the balls on top playfield the better it is)  and check the outholes to activate the magnasave when necessary. You must have eyes everywhere and KEEP the ball on the upper playfield, try to get the first extra-ball and try harder to get the second extra-ball

this is mine...

you make me dream Hal...



Firepower
Black Out
Gorgar
Alien Poker
Black Knight

Quoted from Mrhide

pharaoh
firepower
black knight
cosmic gunfight
solar fire (I know of a GREAT one for sale locally if you want Hal!)

J'ai hésiter beaucoup entre Solar Fire, Pharaoh, Barracora et Jungle Lord pour mon 4ième choix. Franchement je pourrais facilement changer les 2 derniers choix de cette liste avec beaucoup d'autre titre. Mais il est clair que Black Knight, Firepower et Cosmic Gunfight sont des choix beaucoup plus certain   Il y a aussi ton offre de jungle Lord qui me travaille depuis un bout.
Je vais avoir des choix et compromis a faire car j'ai atteint pas mal la limite physique des games acceptable chez-moi  

In no particular order...

Flash
Alien Poker
Scorpion
Firepower
Blackout

Any Williams with those stupid drop target countdowns is blacklisted for me. It just gets way too much on my nerves.

Taxi
Funhouse
pinbot
whirlwind
high speed

Quoted from tiger_31

Taxi
Funhouse
pinbot
whirlwind
high speed

Mauvaise époque / wrong era

Quoted from tiger_31

Taxi
Funhouse
pinbot
whirlwind
high speed

Use the choice between 1979-1982 in the list at the top of the page  

Those pins are different style, different era. There's a radical change after 1982 in Williams pins design when Space Shuttle hit the market.

I think Barracora is the best of all of them. Many of you probably haven't had a chance to play a good example of one. Mine is super fast and requires a lot of strategy to score well. Also, the art is standout.
A good game will last long almost like a newer Stern and you can save the ball from SDTM if you are
a good player. Also an impressive ruleset for its time.
Starlight is a good one too.

Quoted from wbradley

I think Barracora is the best of all of them. Many of you probably haven't had a chance to play a good example of one. Mine is super fast and requires a lot of strategy to score well. Also, the art is standout.
A good game will last long almost like a newer Stern and you can save the ball from SDTM if you are
a good player. Also an impressive ruleset for its time.
Starlight is a good one too.

When those pins are in TOP shape they are all great to play in my opinion and Barracora is one of the very nice example of the amazing art from this era. People are used to play them with lot of wear, bad flippers, bad lightning, bad pop bumpers because the weak power suply and etc .... and it give a false impression after many years.

firepower
black knight
cosmic gunfight
jungle lord
defender ( i love the sounds, saw the video, never tried it but i'm sure i'd love the game)

Pharaoh
Gorgar
Black knight
Alien Poker
Flash

I like the game with magnet....
Black Knight
Jungle Lord
Solar Fire
Pharaoh
Firepower
but some I did not try!.....

Quoted from HAL-9OOO

Use the choice between 1979-1982 in the list at the top of the page  

Those pins are different style, different era. There's a radical change after 1982 in Williams pins design when Space Shuttle hit the market.

Désolé j'avais pas remarqué pour les dates , mais je ne peux faire aucun autre choix puisque je n'ai pas vraiment jouer les games de cette époque  

Hard for me to tell, I didn't like the sound of the williams of the era and I just played 8 or 10 so I'm limited in my choice

1-Pharaoh (not the game play, but after seeing the one of Mr.Hide, I find it one of the best looking pinball even made)
2- Firepower
3- Barracora
4- Solar Fire
5-  I can't think of any other machines in the list I liked to own so this spot is free. Possible candidate Gorgar, Jungle Lord and Alien Poker if I play them someday.

Quoted from Atomicboy

I don't get BK....  why is this pin so popular?  I find it boring for the most part compared to other games around the same time.  It is such a collector's piece, and so popular though, and I just don't see why with this pin.  I looks great, but I find the play rather boring compared to the others I have played.

You're 36, you're not supposed to get it... it's a little 40+ secret.  

But as others have identified, it was a "first" since it had all the bells and whistles of the time AND it was accessible since there were so many.  Four flippers, two levels, magnasave, timed targets, that rapidly increasing beat increases your adrenaline, multi-ball, colour scheme was dark and complelling, mirrored backglass, and a voice taunting you... at the time there was nothing to compare (or at least only in parts).

Of the era (1976 - 1985 Solid State Williams) I am a fan of:

Firepower (used to own one)
Gorgar
Black Knight (own one, and a BK2K too) / Jungle Lord
Flash
Space Shuttle

These were the ones I played at the time they were out (in '76 I was 12), I had access to my uncle's amusements distribution showroom AND they just so happen to have had the biggest production runs as well.

Quoted from websherpa

But as others have identified, it was a "first" since it had all the bells and whistles of the time AND it was accessible since there were so many.  Four flippers, two levels, magnasave, timed targets, that rapidly increasing beat increases your adrenaline, multi-ball, colour scheme was dark and complelling, mirrored backglass, and a voice taunting you... at the time there was nothing to compare (or at least only in parts).

Flash Gordon. IMHO, better playfield layout. Bonus feature for targets equals the timed targets on BK, but less annoying sound-wise. Yes, theme was so-so and no multiball or magnasave or bell (how innovative...), but it did have a strobe, better voice (come on... BK voice quality SUCKS... only the laugh is decent).

All a matter of opinion I guess. BK never did it for me. Maybe because most BKs I tried played like mess with weak-a** flippers that couldn't even get the ball up the ramp.

black out
black out
black out
black out
black out

Condition green!

If someone has one for sale, let me know!

Personally for me now, even though both Black Knight and Xenon have a place in my nostalgic heart.... meh for gameplay (I play one or two and unless I'm truly trying to recapture the "memory" I won't touch for another month.)  I don't think I tried Flash Gordon for some reason.

For Me

Black Knight
Black Out
Barracorra
Fire Power
Solar Fire

honourable mention to Pharroh and Gorgar

Quoted from Sparky

Flash Gordon. IMHO, better playfield layout. Bonus feature for targets equals the timed targets on BK, but less annoying sound-wise. Yes, theme was so-so and no multiball or magnasave or bell (how innovative...), but it did have a strobe, better voice (come on... BK voice quality SUCKS... only the laugh is decent).

All a matter of opinion I guess. BK never did it for me. Maybe because most BKs I tried played like mess with weak-a** flippers that couldn't even get the ball up the ramp.

Yes, i always said that pins with a weaks flipper didn't give good impression. Mine have strong flippers as new condition and no problemo to shoot the left ramp, lot more fun than the usual BK with weak flippers.