A Classic Comeback

Shufflealley.com bows an updated version of the popular shuffle bowler games of yesteryear

The opening riffs to George Thorogood's rock classic "Bad to the Bone" ­­ da dada dada ­­ are now etched in the collective unconscious of bargoers everywhere. Who hasn't seen that guy at the corner stool trade in his beer for an air guitar when those notes come booming out of the jukebox?

Now, imagine what will happen when those same guitar licks begin to emanate from the old shuffle bowler in the corner. What's that? Well, it's not your grandfather's shuffle alley game anymore, declares veteran trade member Jack Guarnieri, founder of Shufflealley.com and creator of the six-player Parker Bohn III Pro Bowler.

Guarnieri, along with partners Betson Enterprises and lead game engineer Joe Balcer, have succeeded in taking the classic shuffle bowler concept and bringing it into the new century with a complete redesign including a 27" flat screen color monitor, a high-profile license and the ability to network the PC-based units for online tournament play in the near future.

Bohn's likeness is featured on the game cabinet. The popular lefty bowler holds 29 titles and is fourth on the all-time pro players list. He is the two-time and current PBA Player of the Year and a member of the PBA Hall of Fame. He's also featured on video providing instruction on how to play the game as well as commentary on the player's performance.

As mentioned earlier, the game also features its theme song "Bad to the Bone" as a perfect way to attract on-premise attention. That's the same song ESPN plays when Parker is on tour and featured on television.

The game has been in development for much of the past year, but Jack says he had the idea for updating this classic two years ago after looking at research that suggested there might be as many as 10,000 older shuffle alley games still on location.

"I couldn't believe there were that many out there 10 years after the last new game was built (by Williams) and from what we can tell, they are earning comparable to newer pin games," said Jack, who also champions flipper sales with his popular website PinballSales.com. "The great thing about this game is that I don't have to explain it to anybody. Players and operators are going to walk up to this game and be immediately familiar."

As part of his research, Guarnieri said he registered the URL Shufflealley.com, which will serve as a clearinghouse for information regarding the new game and related promotions as well as player registration for online play in the future. Guarnieri has patents pending for the game design and mechanics.

Early last year Guarnieri teamed up with Betson Enterprises and Joe Balcer, an established pinball designer who was doing design work and consulting on his own. Since then, they opened a design office in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill., and began building a prototype. Much of the work has been done by Balcer in conjunction with a team of consultants, contract artists and computer programmers.

"It's amazing. This is a start-up product done with minimal staff in under a year," declared Joe. "It's truly unique. We have been able to hold costs down because we have not had to bring all of this expertise full- time in house. It's a whole new world, and there are people who have worked on this project that I have never met in person and wouldn't recognize if they walked in the front door."

The game, which comes in eight and six foot configurations, has been upgraded on many fronts. The core processor is scaleable and works with a customized I/O board. Software can be upgraded via CD-ROM with plans for networking options in the future. Balcer has also completely redesigned the old-fashioned pin mech, eliminating wire forms and switch resets and thus the ability to cheat the game, reducing maintenance requirements almost completely and allowing for customized resets and dancing pins. The game also features a high-end sound system.

"If you played the old puck bowler games, you will find this much smoother and less inhibited because of the way we have redesigned the playing surface," noted Joe. "The puck really hugs the surface as it slides along, giving much more feel and control to the player."

PB3 Pro Bowler will feature three initial games including traditional Bowling; Mulligan offering players the chance to buy a do-over and 3-6-9; a great Pro-AM handicapping game that ensures strikes on those particular frames. Game options include a redemption version either with ticket printer or thermal receipt printer, and Guarnieri said they are also planning a Cosmic black light version aimed at the FEC market.

Suggested pricing is two games for a dollar, although pricing will be operator-selectable. The game features two coin slots and an optional DBA. The game can accommodate as many as six players at one time, making it perfect for team competition. "Our ultimate goal with this game is to support online league and tournament play," said Jack, who also told RePlay that Betson Enterprises will serve as a master distributor of the product commercially and PinballSales.com will serve as the master distributor for home sales of the game.

Parker Bohn III Pro Bowler will be formally introduced to the trade this month at the Amusement Showcase International convention. Testing on the game began early in February, and production models will be available within 30 days after the Las Vegas show.

For more information, contact Shufflealley.com, 1915 Swarthmore Ave., Lakewood, NJ 08701; 800/318-5225; website shufflealley.com.

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