Silverball guide · Fish Tales
The jackpot remembers you
Fish Tales looks like a friendly machine about catching a big one. Its scoring escalates across the whole game, and one missed hurry-up can stall it completely.
UK Machine Record
Fish Tales
Williams · 1992 · at 8 UK venues.
8
UK venues
8
machines mapped
#23
most-located of 246
1992
released
Dot matrix4 playersSolid state
DesignMark Ritchie
ArtPat McMahon
SoftwareMark Penacho
About
Fish Tales is classic Williams at its most approachable: a fishing theme, a bright playfield and a layout that gets straight to the point. John Trudeau designed the game around catching fish, with the central Fish Finder, ramps and multiball features building towards the ultimate catch.
The game is deceptively simple. The major shots are easy to understand, but consistently making them while keeping control of the ball is what separates a good game from a great one. The layout has a satisfying rhythm once you start linking the ramps together.
There is plenty of depth underneath the fishing jokes, but Fish Tales never loses its central idea. Get the ramps flowing before you worry about catching the Big One.
Written by Silverball
Collector · casual
Your rating
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Your score · casual
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The playfield
What you’re looking at · 4
- The reel
The oversized fishing reel down the left side, wound with real line. It is the machine's signature toy, and the thing people picture when somebody says Fish Tales.
- The boat
The wooden boat sitting dead centre, tilted up towards you. Three of the game's shots belong to it: the ramp either side, and the captive ball trapped in the middle of it.
- The stringers
The row of four big fish under the boat. Light all four and the feeding frenzy starts, which is exactly what the sign next to them is telling you.
- The tackle box
The open box across the bottom of the playfield, its three compartments marked tropical, fresh water and deep sea. Jackpots advance it, and filling it is what puts the super jackpot on.
Written by Silverball
The playfield
Strategy tips · 12
Strategy tips written by players on PinTips , not by Silverball. Best-voted first.
Top tipMultiball 11 votes
Lock balls in Caster's Club on the right side. During multiball put a ball back in Caster's Club to light jackpot on left orbit.
General9 tips
- General
Alternate the center ramps. Six ramps lights Monster Fish, a hurry-up on the left orbit. Monster Fish gets bigger each time.
- General
Light "Tale" by hitting fish stand-ups. Collect at the left orbit. 4 tales starts a valuable 30 second "Feeding Frenzy"; can be worth 45M.
- General
High scoring strategy is to go for Super Jackpots, alternate strategy is Monster Fish. Always go for the MF hurryup since it increases.
- General
Flippers can be used for video mode instead of gun. Seems faster. Shoot boats and people. Hit enough & there's an EB waiting for you.
- General
Always shoot the 6th shot for Monster Fish from the left flipper to feed the right. Don't waste time passing the ball to hit the hurryup.
- General
Left inlane to right orbit advances lit captive ball awards. Shoot captive ball to collect awards.
- General
The Extra Ball target (when lit) is much easier to hit with a quick backhand from the right flipper vs. shooting from the left flipper
- General
Sometimes the boat shots can be backhanded. Sometimes you'd U-Turn it whether you meant to or not.
- General
Maybe I don't know do you activate it from a tournament
Multiball1 tip
- Multiball
To light Super Jackpots score 3 jackpots (Caster Club then left orbit within 15s). This lights captive ball for 100M+ Supers until MB ends.
Secrets & easter eggs1 tip
- Secrets & easter eggs
Press the start button 3 times when the skeleton fish is on the display for a 10 point fishbone "bonus"
Tips belong to the players who wrote them. Read them all, vote, or add your own on PinTips, a Match Play project.
A closer look
Close-ups of the Fish Tales playfield, with our note on what each one is showing you.
A clear ramp crossing above the lane, a fish moulding either side of it.
Three TALE TOLD arrows up the middle of the playfield.
Two red pop bumper caps in the riverbank artwork.
Ball guides sweeping past the jackpot arrow.
Photographs via the Internet Pinball Database. The captions are ours.
Community tutorials on YouTube, not made by Silverball.
Videos from YouTube, curated from channels we rate. They belong to their creators, who aren’t affiliated with Silverball; links open on YouTube so the view counts for them. A creator who’d rather not be listed can get in touch and we’ll remove it.
The original flyer
How Fish Tales was sold to operators — Williams, 1992. The back is the feature list the manufacturer led with, which is a fair record of what the machine was meant to be famous for.
Flyer scan via the Internet Pinball Database. The artwork is Williams’s.
Nobody we follow has reviewed this one
Same short list of channels as the tutorials. A machine with no review here has not been passed over — it simply hasn’t been covered by anyone we list.
Where a machine sits is Pinball Map’s work, not ours, find Fish Tales near you on their map. Ratings, tips and tournament results here are ours.