Happy Birthday For Amusement Only! In this episode, I discuss how to try bingo pinball on your own computer.
A big thank you to my wife for illustrating the Episode 365 artwork!
A fellow named Joop in the Netherlands has been developing bingo emulators, and releasing on the web for Windows and Mac OS X. His simulations are fantastic! Go check them out and try them for yourself. If you have any questions about how to play, feel free to ask me at foramusementonlypodcast@gmail.com and I'll be happy to explain.
Download here: http://www.bingo.joopriem.nl/
A person on the Bally Bingos in Britain forums has been using Joop's emulator and putting it into a physical cabinet - pretty cool!
http://ballybingo.fff.yuku.com/topic/531/Bingo-simulation-programs-for-Windows-and-Mac#.Vtoq0FMrKYW
Lastly, I've been working on a bingo emulator, fully programmed to change between Bally bingos. I will be using a lower cabinet from a real bingo. This will include the lifter hardware, shutter hardware, trough, tilt, etc. I will use an empty backbox, fit an LCD monitor in the back, and use a computer to both drive and keep track of the game state, and drive the monitor. Playfields will be swappable to allow for multiple games with different playfield features! The vast majority of the games will be playable with any 25 hole playfield.
I will eventually release the code for the world to critique, but keep in mind that I am not a skilled programmer (in my own mind, at least). I am using the P-ROC framework due to familiarity with the Python programming language, and the ability of the P-ROC hardware to drive high power motors such as the ball lifter.
I'm very excited about the potential for this system, and am looking forward to all the learning I have ahead of me, understanding the reflex and mixer documentation for each game! I've started with Night Club, but then dropped back to Coney Island as it is much simpler and has no backglass animation.
