Medieval Madness

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Medieval Madness

Manufacturer	Williams
System	Williams WPC-95
Designer	Brian Eddy - Game Designer Lyman Sheats - Programmer Dan Forden - Music/Sound
Release Date	June 1997
Production Run	4,016

Medieval Madness is a Williams pinball machine released in June 1997. Designed by Brian Eddy and programmed by Lyman Sheats, Medieval Madness (often abbreviated MM in the pinball collecting community) had a production run of 4,016 units. It was an immediate critical and popular success, earning well on location and achieving widespread popularity among collectors. Demand for the machine soon outstripped supply significantly, and as of 2005 Medieval Madness machines often sell for prices well in excess of $5,000, sometimes much higher if in pristine condition. (When purchased new in 1997, the machine cost approximately $3,000.)

[edit] Gameplay

The centerpiece of the playfield is an animated castle with a solenoid-controlled portcullis and motorized drawbridge. One of the game's primary objectives is to "destroy" six castles by hitting the castle's entryway with the pinball. A specific number of hits will lower the drawbridge, exposing the portcullis; additional hits will cause the portcullis to rise, and shooting the ball into the castle entrance generates an explosion effect on the dot matrix display, a lightshow, and a sizable award of points. Medieval Madness also features two Trolls, animated toys that are normally concealed below the playfield, but can pop up during certain gameplay modes to become targets. Other objectives can be scored by shooting the left and right ramps, the left and right orbits, and the catapult toy in the lower left corner of the playfield. The game's ramps introduced a patented feature that would prevent a failed ramp shot from draining straight down the middle between the flippers. [1]