Step right up to the big top — Stern Electronics’ 1981 Split Second is a circus-and-carnival solid-state four-player with a genuinely ambitious feature set for its era, most notably a split-level playfield served by a springboard wireform that delivers the ball from a mini-playfield to the main field. Designed by none other than Harry Williams, the founding father of the industry, with art by Doug Watson and Gerry Simkus, it packs speech and a three-ball multiball into its carnival package.
The layout is a busy, feature-rich spread: four flippers, two pop bumpers, a pair of slingshots, five standups, two kick-out holes, a five-bank of drops, two three-bank drop arrays, a spinning target, a horseshoe lane, a star rollover, a free ball return lane, dual inlanes on both sides, and that eye-catching split-level design with its springboard wireform. That combination of multiple drop banks, a horseshoe, a spinner, and the multi-level play gives a player an enormous amount to work through, while the three-ball multiball provides the big-scoring excitement. It’s an ambitious, mechanically adventurous machine for 1981.
Split Second is a fascinating late-career Harry Williams design, the industry’s founding genius still pushing the boundaries decades into his remarkable career with multi-level play, multiball, and speech. That split-level playfield and springboard wireform give it real mechanical spectacle, and the carnival theme suits its energetic, feature-packed layout. For the collector who loves ambitious early-’80s design and a piece of history from a true legend, it’s a wonderful find. Ride the springboard to the upper level, clear those drop banks, and chase the multiball. It’s big-top pinball from the man who helped invent the whole game. Step right up.