Funhouse Pinball To Return With An Official Remake

Ask any long time pinball player about their favorite games, and chances are that Funhouse by Williams will come up at some point. Designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar, it was released right as pinball was starting to climb towards its lofty heights in the 90s. Given that it has been 34 years, its time for a refresher, which is what we are getting from a new company out of Italy called Pedretti Pinball. Let’s take a look.

The Funhouse Remake

If you’re new to the scene, no, this is not the first time a remake of a beloved classic has been done. Chicago Gaming has been particularly fond of remakes, including Medieval Madness, Attack From Mars, and Monster Bash. Funhouse is one I’ve heard that fans have wanted for a long time, as it was highly influential in shaping the future of pinball, thanks to its toys, mechanics, and overall “personality.”

I’ll let the press release explain more about this remake:

Inspired by the original 1990 classic, Funhouse Remake combines the gameplay of the original machine with updated technology and reimagined artwork, creating an unforgettable pinball experience for players. Funhouse Remake pinball machines are available in two models: Classic Edition (CE) and Midnight Limited Edition (LE).

Both models include a 21.5″ XL LCD Display, playfield 4″ LCD mini display, fully integrated RGB lightshows, and RGB target lights.

This is Pedretti’s first game so one might be wondering about the quality – the jury is going to be out on that for a while, but they are working with Planetary Pinball Supply on the parts. PPS also assisted on the Chicago remakes and I didn’t hear any complaints there.

Funhouse – The Cabinets

First, let’s take a quick look at the cabinets. I like the Midnight LE over the Classic, but I’m sure plenty will have the preference on the latter. I’ve never owned a Funhouse so I suppose I don’t have any emotional attachment to it in that regard – but when it comes to playing it, I’ve only done so once or twice and won’t be able to comment on whether or not it “feels” right.

That is more of a collector sentiment though – from an operator perspective, would I put one of these in my space? I wouldn’t say no if my budget was in a good place. The reason why is that The Addams Family from 1992 still regularly kicks the crap out of my brand new Sterns. Even maintenance wise it isn’t a huge difference, despite the game being ancient by today’s tech standards. So would Funhouse do the same thing? I’m not sure, but just because it’s based on an old design doesn’t mean that it stands no chance.

Anyone else getting CarnEvil vibes from this art?

Funhouse – The Changes

With two models on tap, you are probably curious about what the difference is. As far as layout and major features go – nothing. Both have the Rudy animatronic head and everything else you would expect. The backbox does use a 21.5″ ultrawide LCD instead of an XLED display; then there is one new component that replaces an original piece – a 4″ vertically oriented display on the playfield. This replaces the sign that sat to the left of Rudy’s head and had six indicator lights for certain bonuses/modes. I can’t imagine this change will bother fans (unless it was a component that ends up failing a lot).

The LE version, in addition to a different art package, art blades, a shaker motor, etc., also has Rudy’s eyes light up. While that has been done on the modding circuit, it’s cool to see it get official support.

For all the differences between the two games though, here’s a handy chart:

For distributors, I had to scour through the Funhouse Remake thread on Pinside to find Pinball Star and Pinball Traders as US distributors. I’m sure others will pop up too.

H/T to PinballNews.com and Knapp Arcade, both of which have more details if you are interested.

What do you think about this one?