It has been a while since we last mentioned Houdini: Master Of Mystery pinball – October of last year in fact. While a bit of time has passed, development on the game continued apace, with newcomer American Pinball guiding this one through a tumultuous creation. Originally created by John Popdiuk, American enlisted veteran designer Joe Balcer to re-make the table to different game that we see now.
As it turns out, the game launched this October but for whatever reason I missed that. So in a better late than never post, you can now grab Houdini: Master Of Mystery for your home collection or your location. The game has appeared at events like Pinball Expo; I am not aware of it having been to IAAPA 2017. For one public location where you can find and play it, there is Level 257 in IL. You can read a review of the game as played at that location over at This Week In Pinball.
You can also check it out in video right here:
From everything I have read and seen so far, impressions seem to be positive as the game captures the feel of a magician on stage. As the review above pointed out, there are a few bugs or design choices not everyone may like (such as a single ramp) but the pros look to outweigh the cons. It integrates various aspects of Houdini’s life, not just his shows, all dealing with mystery and magic. I always appreciate seeing things like Straight Jacket multiball where the flippers can be reversed and inverted. Also making it feel like you are performing on the stage with curtains closing when a ball drains or the crowd booing is a really nice touch.
That all said, one has to play it to really make a final judgment. If you have had the chance so far, what did you think about it?
