Pinball Circus

James Loflin states five sets of prototype playfields were completed for this new pinball machine design. We know that two complete prototype machines were made. One had belonged to Steve Kordek and is now in the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. The other one is in a private collection. There was knowledge circulating of a Pinball Circus that had shipped to Germany, suggesting three games were made. We asked Ken Fedesna, former Executive VP/General Manager over Williams/Bally/Midway from 1988 until their close of pinball production in 1999, if he could clarify how many were made. He replies:I looked through my Operation Meeting notes from 1992, 1993, and 1994 concerning Pinball Circus, and found that we only built 2 Engineering prototypes total. One was sent to test in Germany, but it was returned. Not sure whether it is the one Steve Kordek had that is now in Vegas, or the other one, but my notes clearly indicate that only 2 were ever built. An earlier all-mechanical game with a 3-dimensional playfield is Keystone Engineering Company's 1933 'Kicko Aristocrat'.