Why Close Encounters Pinball Is the Ultimate 80s Movie Game
1🕹 Game Name: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
📛 Alternate Names: Atari Close Encounters
📅 Release Date: September 1983
🔫 Genre: Pinball
👨 🏻 💻 Developers: Atari, Inc.
👨 🏻 💻 Publishers: Atari, Inc.
🔢 Max Players: 4 (alternating)
⁉ Cooperative: No
Game Overview
🕹 Game Introduction:
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind replicates the Spielberg film’s UFO chase, featuring saucer-shaped pop bumpers and special “Devil’s Tower” toy.
🕹 Game Description:
Lavish art depicts Richard Dreyfuss gazing at a UFO above Devil’s Tower. The centerpiece is a rotating saucer that hoists the ball before dropping it at random—mimicking the movie’s climactic moment.
🎴 Game Play:
👉 🏻 Shoot UFO saucer spots to spin the saucer and capture the ball; if timed perfectly, it drops directly onto upper flipper for bonus.
👉 🏻 Hit left/right ramps to score “Communication Sequence” shots; completing sequence triggers a blinking tower light.
👉 🏻 Lock ball into Devil’s Tower toy three times to start three-ball multi-ball; each additional lock adds another ball.
👉 🏻 Shoot standup targets labeled “Roy,” “Claude,” “Devil,” “Tower” in order to advance “Language” mode—open for huge point awards.
📕 Background & History:
Atari’s CE3K was designed by Mark Ritchie, aiming to capture the film’s mystery. It was one of the first to use a large mechanical saucer that physically moved the ball, an engineering marvel in 1983.
🐣 Cheats, Tricks, Bugs, and Easter Eggs:
👉 🏻 Saucer Lock Glitch: hitting the left ramp exactly as saucer is closing sometimes traps ball on lip—earning free re-shots until tilt.
👉 🏻 Completing “Language” sequence twice in succession resets tower lights glitchily, awarding an unintentional extra free ball.
🐱 💻 Hacks:
👉 🏻 ROM modders replace the barking dog sample (from film) with custom sound bites, creating unique “alien communications.”
🎉 Trivia:
👉 🏻 The rotating saucer mechanism was repurposed in later Bally tables due to its reliability.
👉 🏻 High score mode displays Morse code beeps referencing the film’s musical motif.
Lonster’s Review
👓 The UFO saucer toy is a showstopper—those mid-game captures feel cinematic. Combined with rich artwork, CE3K is a masterpiece.
Legacy
🌟 One of the first licensed film pinballs to blend complex mechanics with thematic elements—set a high bar for movie tie-ins.
Cultural Impact
✨ It fueled sci-fi pinball mania in the early ’80s; operators often placed it alongside “Star Wars” video cabinets for synergy.
Lonster’s Final Thoughts
💭 Close Encounters is a bucket-list pinball—innovative, immersive, and still thrilling to chase the saucer scoop.
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