Williams’ Space Station, released in 1987 and designed by Barry Oursler, is the orbital sequel to the studio’s pinball-saving hit Space Shuttle, sending players into a fast, multiball-driven future among the stars. A wall of fifteen standup targets, twin vertical up-kickers, and a mini-playfield give the table plenty to shoot at, with the general illumination shifting from white to green when multiball erupts — a neat visual cue that the action has gone zero-gravity.
The scoring centers on locking balls and stacking jackpots. You lock two balls via the left orbit or right ramp, then release them to start a three-ball multiball, re-locking during play for jackpots. A clever wrinkle rewards restraint: completing only two of the three top lanes means it takes just one lane to relight your locks back in single-ball play. Spelling SHUTTLE or STATION relights the kickback and pays its award, while the USA lanes build a Stop ‘n’ Score multiplier that can become genuinely valuable.
There’s a unique twist at the finish, too — a timed “Bonus Ball” awarded to qualifying players after the last ball, separate from any extra ball, and getting to multiball at least once during your game extends that bonus-ball timer. Quick, strategic, and packed with targets, Space Station is a strong example of Oursler’s late-80s craft — an underrated space-race shooter that rewards a player who learns to keep the locks lit and the jackpots flowing.