Aristocrat Bonus bandits

[badpenny]

BP you are suffering I feel as you mentioned this 7 years ago, as Aristomatic has two of them as per thread below....., also you had forgotten in 2012 so reminded you then never seen one myself

Ye gods and buckets of blood Tom, I don't remember either of those previous posts. Interestingly though I am consistent about how long ago it was.
I guess it's time for me to fit a full length mirror by the front door so I can check myself over before leaving the house, I've already stopped myself once from leaving with a saucer and cup of tea in my hand.
Still I do know where I get it from, aged around 16 I was walking home from school in the rain when I met my Mother walking towards me hunched over trying to keep dry while holding a broom above her head. "I'm just off down the shops" She called across to me "I forgot to get butter." She added.
"I do not know you, strange woman whom I have never spoken to before" I replied scurrying off home hoping none of my mates had witnessed the pantomime that is my life.

Anyhoo, thanks for keeping an eye on me Tom, I know you like Aristocrats so I must tell you one day about the row of Arcadian Bonus bandits I once saw at a Steam Fair twenty years ago. Remind me some time.

BP

[aristomatic]

I sold one of my Aristocrat Bonus machines. Still have one. They were/are both Arcadians. The bonus feature was also fitted in a Grosvenor cabinet format for the Scandinavian market too. I bought one complete and then bought probably five or six incomplete ones to complete the other one.

As with Mills machines, the bonus feature was removed and award cards replaced with standard. The top box for Bonus Arcadians is deeper than non-bonus models to accommodate all the hardware. I still have some original bonus award cards too.

[coppinpr]

The Horse Head BONUS switched to the second set of symbols for the fourth and tenth losing spin.

Mills made a selection of set switching cams for the Futurity mech (which is what the early BONUS mech is). These ranged from 5 and 5 (every other pull) through 8 and 2 (as you mention).The idea was the operator could set up with a better payout cam for a week or two to get the punter interested, then switch to a poor payout cam to rake in the money (no wonder it was called the cheat mech). On the Futurity this worked well for the operator as the odds of a winner dropped to 0.23% on set 2 from 64% on set one. The BONUS however is based on a different principle, and the cheat mech didn't suit it as the cheat function wasn't required. No one knows why Mills used the 10 stop Futurity cheat mech in the early BONUS. They already had 20 stop mechs in operation. Perhaps just to test out the popularity of the BONUS with existing parts.

[aristomatic]

Dave from coinop forum recently posted another video, this time on the 10 stop version of the Horsehead Bonus. The video covers most discussed above. He has previously posted video on the 20 stop version too I think. Always easier to understand points when you can actually see it in action.



Whilst I wouldn't chop a Horsehead or Hitop Bonus, you could quite easily change the letters to personalise an electric Bonus machine to spell out anything of course.

[liquorbox]

Some nice machines in that video.