Bally’s Skateball, released in 1980 and designed by Claude Fernandez, rolls with the skateboarding craze of its day on a fast four-flipper playfield. A distinctive shooter lane directs the ball clear across the middle of the table to reach the top, feeding a layout packed with drop-target banks — a five-bank and a pair of three-banks — and a lively spinner that keeps the points flowing.

The scoring is a tidy build-and-collect loop centered on the SKATE drops. Knock down the “SKATE” targets, then cash in big points at the right saucer — but here’s a key wrinkle: avoid completing SKATE beyond twice, or the saucer value resets. Shooting the three flashing drop targets on the upper left lights the right hole for a bonus collect, while the spinner builds your bonus and feeds the upper lanes for multipliers. A small detail rewards the attentive: rolling through a lit lane gives two bonus advances instead of one, ideal once your multiplier is maxed.

Quick, energetic, and dripping with early-80s skate-culture cool, Skateball is an enjoyable and slightly offbeat Bally machine. For collectors who like a fast spinner-and-drops game with a fun period theme, it’s a likeable solid-state ride that captures the freewheeling spirit of the half-pipe.