Time Tunnel

This was the original version of Space Time. Just one problem: there was a “Time Tunnel” TV show I watched in the 1960’s, and Bally didn’t check first for licensing rights. Oops\! Bally had to rename the game. Along the way, they made a few changes before starting production on the revised model.

The primary differences between this and Space Time / Time Zone are the absence of the center post between the flippers and having only one pair of bumpers up top. The tunnel in Time Tunnel was positioned in the center of the playfield between where the lower bumpers are now, rather than underneath the playfield just above the flippers.

The skill shot is the collect tunnel lane at the top, but you need to time your plunge so that the tunnel is lit for 5000 when you collect it. The tunnel cycles through values of 1000 to 5000 [look down at the tunnel, you’ll see it], stopping when the ball hits the “stop tunnel” switch near the top of the plunger lane. You can try to soft plunge just up to the stop switch first, then go for the collect plunge after that, but I’ve found it’s harder to accurately time a soft plunge than the near-full plunge that gets the center collect lane. If you do the one-step near-full plunge, line up the plunger on the right spot on the plunge markers first, then time your release while watching the tunnel lights cycling below.

Once the ball is in play, your goal is simple: collect tunnel value so long as the value is 3000 or more. If the tunnel is on 1000 or 2000, you’re usually better off shooting the ball up and hoping to get it either through the gate (if open), into the “collect tunnel” chute on the left [which shoots the ball back up top], or up top towards the “start tunnel” saucers to change it. If your plunge fell into one of the start tunnel saucers, or the ball got there after rattling around in the bumpers, the tunnel value will stop again when you hit the center target or when the ball goes into the collect tunnel pocket on the left side.

The lack of a center post dramatically changes how the game plays. Whereas on Space Time you want to raise the post, get the ball to settle between it and a flipper, and repeatedly shoot the center collect tunnel stand-up target, that’s not possible here. For one thing, shooting that center collect stand-up with no center post means a high risk of a center drain\! The machine is now more of a flow game where the best strategy is probably UTAD. Your safest chance of collecting the tunnel is now through random bounces into either the top saucer or either side chute.

The two gates are more useful here than on Space Time, too, since they score both points and collect tunnel; shoot or nudge the ball through them whenever you can. Each of the two top saucers opens one of the gates.

While you can use the two “start tunnel” stand-up targets to the side of the center collect target to change the tunnel value, the rebounds off of those targets can be really risky, so I’d avoid them.

When you compare Time Tunnel with Space Time / Time Zone, you find that the addition of the center post makes the game much more skill-based. In this case, Bally’s error was a fortunate thing since it led to the creation of a better game.

If you run across a Time Tunnel machine, please let me know where it is\!