"Cowboy" and "Big Flipper" are electro-mechanical pinball machines released by Chicago Coin in January 1970, sharing identical playfield designs but featuring distinct backglass artwork and player configurations.
"Cowboy" is a four-player game with a Western theme, notable for its oversized 5-inch flippers, which Chicago Coin marketed as "Texas Sized" to enhance player control and action.
"Big Flipper," the two-player counterpart, also incorporates these jumbo flippers, along with four pop bumpers, two slingshots, and a center up-post referred to as the "Ball Saver."
Both machines were designed by Jerry Koci, with artwork attributed to Louis Raynaud.
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Quickie Version:
UTAD.
Go-to Flipper:
Balanced
Risk Index:
Very High
Full Rules:
Bigger is not always better. In this case, bigger is about as bad as it gets. The oversized flippers make shooting far less accurate and narrow in range than normal. Score-wise, it’s all about building up the bonus score with the A-B-C top lanes and the two side standup targets, and also getting the ball to drop in the center saucer to collect it. Bonus value collected at the saucer stays at the current value. When the bonus is at 500 and you get another bonus advance, you score 100 for the lane or target plus 1000 points for rolling over the bonus value, which then resets to zero. Bonus saucer value is preserved from ball to ball AND from game to game, making it a bad tournament choice - - if you start a game with the 500 lit, your first top lane advance scores 1100 total, while if you start with it at zero, you just score 100. Drain down either side to collect the current bonus score; center drains score nothing. Clearly marked rollover buttons on the lower playfield control the ball saver post between the flippers. Use the center post when it’s up. Most shots on the flipper are fairly late, i.e. close to the tip. Probably the lamest game I’ve ever played.
via Bob's Guide
