Crank up the amps — Alvin G. and Company’s Al’s Garage Band goes on a World Tour is a music-themed solid-state four-player from the plucky family firm founded by the Gottlieb family, and it’s a genuinely fun rock-and-roll romp with a DMD display and real personality. Conceived by Michael Gottlieb and designed by Jerry Armstrong with a Kyle Johnson soundtrack, this confirmed run of 1,000 puts a scarce, characterful machine on the floor.
The strategy is built around the band and the tour. Spell ROCKROLL via the ramps to earn a temporary two-times or three-times playfield, and note that those ramps also score an escalating one-to-five million that resets after each ball, rewarding a player who works them hard early. For multiball, hit the three band members on the center-left standups to light the lock at the right ramp or CD ramp, repeating until multiball starts, with jackpots scored at the CD ramp. Spelling T-O-U-R lights the kickback at the left outlane for insurance, while completing M-I-X on the upper playfield advances your bonus multiplier and lights a video mode at the right ramp. There’s a satisfying rhythm to building the band, hitting the tour, and stacking the multiplier.
Al’s Garage Band is a terrific showcase of Alvin G. and Company’s inventive, underdog spirit, pairing a fun garage-rock theme with a genuinely engaging ruleset and that early-DMD presentation. The music theme suits its energetic playfield, and the ROCKROLL multiplier gives a strategic player something to chase. For the collector who loves the scarce, offbeat machines from pinball’s smaller houses, it’s a real find. Spell ROCKROLL, build your band, ride the multiball, and take the show on the road. It’s garage-band pinball with heart, and it rocks. Hit the road, Al.