Williams’ Bad Cats, released in 1989 and designed by Barry Oursler, is a gleefully mischievous comedy machine about a gang of troublemaking felines wreaking havoc — complete with a backglass animation of a woman swatting a cat with a broom. With twin drop-target banks, a spinning Mystery Wheel set into the playfield, and a linear “vari-target” that functions like Gottlieb’s variable-value targets, it’s a charming, fast-playing late-80s table bursting with cartoon personality.
The scoring rewards a player who learns its quirky shots. The big-money play involves the Tiger Ramp on the left — on the last ball of a three-ball game, shooting it five times consecutively earns a huge 20-million shot. The fishbowl is another repeatable target, with five hits earning an extra ball on many machines, and the vari-target in the back builds the “fish bone-us” up to 500K when maxed out. There’s a lucrative combo to learn, too: the right inlane rollover makes the saucer collect worth 10X — a full five million — and it’s repeatable for a player with the touch.
Funny, fast, and full of feline chaos, Bad Cats is a delightful and underrated Oursler machine — its Mystery Wheel, fishbowl, and Tiger Ramp give it a playful character all its own. For collectors who love a comedic theme and a table packed with rewarding, slightly oddball shots, it’s an entertaining and charming classic. Let the bad cats loose and chase that 20-million Tiger Ramp.