Williams’ Monster Bash, released in 1998 and designed by George Gomez, is one of the most universally adored pinball machines ever made — a brilliant comic premise executed flawlessly. The Universal monsters — Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Bride, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon — have laid down their torches and picked up instruments to form a band, and your job is to get them all to rock. A pivoting Frankenstein on an operating table and a Dracula that glides across the playfield bring the ghouls to mechanical life.

The gameplay is as charming as the concept. You wake and engage each of the six monsters, collecting their instruments, and starting all six lights the Monster Bash mini-wizard mode at the scoop. The ultimate goal is Monsters of Rock, the show-stopping wizard mode reached by collecting every instrument. Frankenstein is your gateway to multiball — bash him and hit the ramp — and the savvy play is to layer other monsters onto Frank to freeze their timers while you gather instruments. Six shots to the center spinner light Mosh Pit Multiball, where the spinner can add two more balls. The deepest scoring comes from gathering all six instruments while keeping the monster timers alive, so disciplined players bring fresh monsters into Frankenstein multiball rather than burning them one at a time.

There’s clever depth and personality everywhere, from the “Phantom Flip” feature where the game flips for you, to the scoop’s smart bombs (hit the launch button during modes for free monster hits), to a hidden “Lyman’s Lament” mode unlocked by a secret flipper combo — a tribute to legendary programmer Lyman Sheats. Funny, fast, and impeccably balanced, Monster Bash is Gomez at the absolute peak of his craft — a graveyard smash that ranks among the greatest tables of all time, and a grail for any collection.