Send in the clown — Williams’ Bo Bo is an electromechanical single-player wrapped in a circus-and-carnival theme built around a cheerful clown, designed by the legendary Steve Kordek with art by George Molentin. With reel scoring and a scarce confirmed run of just 400, it’s an uncommon and charming woodrail-era piece from a genuine master of the craft.
The layout is elegantly focused in the classic EM tradition: two flippers, three pop bumpers, three passive bumpers, and a pair of slingshots. It’s a lean, bumper-driven design, and that combination of pop and passive bumpers is the heart of the game — those six bumpers promise a wildly bouncy, unpredictable ball that caroms across the playfield, demanding active nudging and quick reflexes to keep in play. There are no drop banks or spinners here, just the pure, chiming pleasures of the bumpers and the challenge of keeping the ball alive, the kind of stripped-down, elemental design that captures the essential fun of the electromechanical age, all wrapped in the cheerful clown theme.
Bo Bo is a fine example of Steve Kordek’s design craft and Molentin’s artwork, pairing a joyful carnival-clown theme with a lean, bumper-focused playfield. Kordek was a genuine legend whose innovations echoed across decades of pinball history, and with only 400 built this is a scarce find for the collector who prizes rarity and the golden age of EM pinball. For anyone who loves the foundational figures of the craft, it’s a rewarding pursuit. Ride that busy field of bumpers, keep the ball alive, and share a laugh with Bo Bo the clown. Sometimes the simplest, most elemental machines are the most charming, and this scarce Kordek gem is one of them. Send in the clown and drop a coin.