Ep. 6 — World Cup Soccer (Bally, 1994)

In February 1994, Bally released World Cup Soccer just months before the United States hosted its first-ever World Cup — a FIFA-licensed game right down to the tournament’s mascot, Striker the dog. Designed by John Popadiuk and Defender co-creator Larry DeMar, this episode of The Skill Shot steps up to the machine built around one perfect hook: a soccer goal guarded by a sliding, articulating goalie, backed by a giant spinning rubber ball and a Magna-Save that turns your outlane into a net you have to defend.

The verdict: An 82 is a B, and it’s a game built to be loved by everyone in the room — the goal-and-goalie shot needs no rulebook, the FIFA license is worn proudly through Striker, the city tour, and Tim Kitzrow’s NBA Jam-style callouts, and there’s even a buried Mortal Kombat cameo for the diehards. It won’t out-code the DMD-era heavyweights, but it doesn’t need to; Pinside still ranks it in the Top 100 three decades later. Expect to pay around $4,800 for a clean player, with World Cup demand likely to push that higher. An easy add for anyone standing in the soccer-and-pinball Venn diagram.

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