I think Whitewater is the game that I've pumped most money into. As a novice punter we liked it because it was easy to get into, funny, had a few great toys, and there seemed to be one wherever we went - pub, arcade, even on holiday in Tenerife. We got quite good at it too and saw many of the later features like 'Camera Craze' and 'Wet Willies' so were able to have quite long games.

When I started collecting pins - Whitewater was a 'must have' for my games room...

Ludicrous really - to base a pinball game on whitewater rafting and to add Bigfoot who's never even seen a raft let alone a pinball. But when you think of it like that, making a pinball about a dummy at a funfair, a spooky family, fishing, or even wrecking roads are weird ideas too - what's important is how well the theme is integrated into the gameplay. Whitewater does this sublimely....

The basic idea in Whitewater is to advance your raft to Wet Willies, avoiding all the hazards on the way. The playfield depicts a windy river, down which you travel - the playfield is packed full of shots which make up the various river hazards and include a waterfall, a whirlpool, a dead-end, rapids, and Bigfoot himself wielding a large log.

Whitewater also has one of the craziest ramps ever conceived - all the way along the left hand side of the playfield is a long straight ramp that zig-zags three times ending in a spiral whirlool. This is the jackpot ramp and achievable from the top playfield flipper. On a well-maintained game you'll get a loud ball-against-glass crack when making this ramp as the ball almost leaps off the peaks. This is a well-placed jackpot shot as making it means taking your eyes off the main playfield flippers.

Another striking feature of Whitewater is the funky music score by Chris Granner....the music starts relaxed and playful like a leisurely day on a tranquil stream, then as you progress along the river and the water gets whiter and wilder and the hazards get tougher, the music gradually and imperceptably increases in urgency...matching the mood and increasing the adrenalin. The 'WHITEWATER' scream and loud water sounds top this off into one of the best sound packages of any game in my opinion. Another favourite is the excellent ditty accompanying the High Score entry - this has often had me pumping up the wolume and mooching up and down my kitchen!

The styling of the game is unusual and well done to suit the theme - the playfield is surrounded by plastic cliffs making the whole thing look like a river canyon and the ramps are all made out to look like bubbling rivers.

Whitewater has got to be one of the funniest games around - the modes like 'Camera Craze' where on making each shot Bigfoot takes a photo of himself pulling a different face or 'Bigfoot Hotfoot' where you set light to Bigfoot's toe so he jumps up and down in pain - taking his hands off his log and allowing you to make Bigfoot Cave shots for big points. The sound and mechanics join in the fun too - Bigfoot frequently laughs at you and can look over his shoulder to grin at you too.

Dotted around this page are pictures of my own Whitewater which although not perfect is the best I've found so far - it seems most Whitewaters were played to death in arcades and like most pinballs - not very well looked after. Mine has all plastics complete, topper present and most importantly - it's all working and plays like a dream. Click on the pictures for a larger image.