Haggle in the marketplace — Bally’s Bazaar is an electromechanical single-player wrapped in an exotic world-places theme, evoking the bustling stalls of a faraway market, designed by the prolific Ted Zale with art by George Molentin. With reel scoring and a confirmed run of 2,925, it’s a handsome woodrail-era piece with a genuinely distinctive feature at its heart.
The layout’s calling card is a pair of zipper flippers, that clever mechanism that closes the flippers together to reduce the drain gap, demanding real strategy and control. Rounding out the field are three pop bumpers, a generous six mushroom bumpers, a pair of slingshots, an upper ball return gate, and a skill shot from the shooter lane. That hearty helping of mushroom and pop bumpers promises a wildly bouncy, unpredictable ball, while the zipper flippers give the game its distinctive tactical edge — a player must manage that closing gap carefully. The shooter-lane skill shot rewards an accurate plunge, giving a sharp player a strong start.
Bazaar is a fine example of Ted Zale’s electromechanical craft and Molentin’s artwork, pairing an exotic marketplace theme with a genuinely distinctive zipper-flipper layout. Those zipper flippers make ball control a real skill, rewarding a player who learns to work the closing gap, while that field of mushroom bumpers keeps the ball bouncing with vintage energy. For the collector who loves the golden age of EM pinball and its clever mechanical wrinkles, it’s a rewarding find. Master those zipper flippers, ride the field of bumpers, and nail the skill shot. Some machines stand out for a distinctive mechanism, and this Zale marketplace classic offers a genuinely tactical game. Haggle for a high score and drop a coin.