History Pinball / VacationAmerica

* SpiritualLicensee: Deliberately invoked with some very strong parallels to ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation''.

At the start of the TurnOfTheMillennium, Doug Duba of Churchill Cabinet[[note]]a company that makes cabinets for arcade games, pinball machines, foosball and air hockey tables, and other such games[[/note]] noticed an interesting phenomenon -- their consumer customers, many of whom collected vintage {{Pinball}} machines, were asking about the feasibility of making an original pinball game inexpensively priced for the home market. His interest piqued, Duba contacted his industry sources about creating an [[PhysicalPinballTables arcade-caliber pinball table]] that could be sold for substantially less than a commercial machine, yet hold it's own in quality and player appeal.

* SpiritualLicensee: Deliberately invoked with some very strong parallels to ''Main/NationalLampoonsVacation''.

The result of this effort was '''Vacation America,''' a PhysicalPinballTable released in 2003 by Duba's Chicago Gaming. Designed by arcade veterans Creator/JohnTrudeau and Steve Kordek, and illustrated by Creator/PaulFaris, this is a game about [[RoadTripPlot a family traveling across the United States.]] Pile everyone into the station wagon, then drive through the Super Loop to go from the Florida Everglades and Washington D.C. to Mount Rushmore, San Antonio, the Grand Canyon, and Hollywood. Consult the Map to increase the score multiplier, complete the routes to start multiball, then spell VACATION for a chance at an extra ball.

At the start of TheTwoThousands, Doug Duba of Churchill Cabinet[[note]]a company that makes cabinets for arcade games, pinball machines, foosball and air hockey tables, and other such games[[/note]] noticed an interesting phenomenon -- their consumer customers, many of whom collected vintage {{Pinball}} machines, were asking about the feasibility of making an original pinball game inexpensively priced for the home market. His interest piqued, Duba contacted his industry sources about creating an [[PhysicalPinballTables arcade-caliber pinball table]] that could be sold for substantially less than a commercial machine, yet hold it's own in quality and player appeal.

->"Are we there yet?"

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation The Griswolds]] present the worst pinball game ever made?]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The worst pinball game ever made?]]

Among pinheads, ''Vacation America'' has become a game of [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible legendary awfulness and derision,]] and has the ignoble distinction of being the lowest-rated game on the Internet Pinball Database. With a retail price of $3,000, only around five hundred machines were sold, and the joke is that the people who actually own one would never admit to it in public...

The result of this effort was '''Vacation America,''' a PhysicalPinballTable released in 2003 by Duba's Chicago Gaming. Designed by arcade veterans Creator/JohnTrudeau and Steve Kordek, and illustrated by Creator/PaulFaris, this is a game about [[RoadTripPlot a family traveling across the United States.]] Pile everyone into the station wagon, then drive through the Super Loop to go from the Florida Everglades and Washington D.C. to places including Mount Rushmore, San Antonio, the Grand Canyon, and Hollywood. Consult the Map to increase the score multiplier, complete the routes to start multiball, then spell VACATION for a chance at an extra ball.

* WorldTour: The game limits its destination to the continental United States, but otherwise plays this trope straight.

* OutsideRide: The sides of the cabinet shows one of the kids hanging onto a rope as the family wagon drives off.

As a home-use game, ''Vacation America'' features several technical innovations to reduce costs and improve reliability. The playfield hardware is mounted on three large circuit boards to reduce wiring and labor costs, conventional rollover switches are replaced with maintenance-free infrared optical switches, and most components can be replaced by removing not more than four screws and a plug. Servicing the game required no more skill than installing a sound card into a personal computer, and the narrow cabinet is easy to move around the home.

Unfortunately, the only thing easier than maintaining ''Vacation America'' is actually playing it. Although the playfield has some moderately challenging shots, the extremely simple rules quickly bored most players. The game only supports one player and doesn't keep track of high scores, removing any sense of competition, and it's far too easy to repeatedly earn extra balls and keep playing indefinitely.

Among pinheads, ''Vacation America'' has become a game of [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible legendary awfulness and derision.]] With a retail price of $3,000, only around five hundred machines were sold, and the joke is that the people who actually own one would never admit to it in public...

Among pinheads today, ''Vacation America'' has become a game of [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible legendary awfulness and derision.]] With a retail price of $3,000, only around five hundred machines were sold, and the joke is that the people who actually own one would never admit to it in public...

The result of this effort was '''Vacation America,''' a PhysicalPinballTable released in 2003 by Chicago Gaming. Designed by arcade veterans Creator/JohnTrudeau and Steve Kordek, and illustrated by Creator/PaulFaris, this is a game about [[RoadTripPlot a family traveling across the United States.]] Pile everyone into the station wagon, then drive through the Super Loop to go from the Florida Everglades and Washington D.C. to places including Mount Rushmore, San Antonio, the Grand Canyon, and Hollywood. Consult the Map to increase the score multiplier, complete the routes to start multiball, then spell VACATION for a chance at an extra ball.

At the start of TheTwoThousands, Doug Duba of Churchill Cabinet[[note]]a company that makes cabinets for arcade games, pinball machines, foosball and air hockey tables, and other such games[[/note]] noticed an interesting phenomenon -- their consumer customers, many of whom collected vintage {{Pinball}} machines, were asking about the feasibility of making an original pinball game inexpensively priced for the home market. His interest piqued, Duba contacted his industry sources about making an [[PhysicalPinballTables arcade-caliber pinball table]] that could be sold for substantially less than a commercial machine, yet hold it's own in quality and player appeal.

* EiffelTowerEffect: Landmarks featured include the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Capitol Building, a Space Shuttle launch,

* RoadTripPlot

Among pinheads today, ''Vacation America'' has become a game of [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible legendary awfulness and derision.]] With a retail price of $3,000, only around five hundred machines were sold, and the joke is that the people who own one would never admit it in public...

As a home-use game, ''Vacation America'' features several technical innovations to reduce costs and improve reliability. The playfield hardware is mounted on three large circuit boards (to reduce wiring and labor), conventional rollover switches are replaced with maintenance-free infrared optical switches, and most components can be replaced by removing not more than four screws and a plug. Servicing the game required no more skill than installing a sound card into a personal computer, and the narrow cabinet is easy to move around the home.