Brunswick / Briarwood

1 Introduction

Brunswick, the large American manufacturer of bowling equipment, had already been making some coin operated amusement equipment such as Air Hockey. In 1976 they decided to venture into the new and growing home pinball machine market. At first they used their Briarwood name on the machines, but as sales started to increase, they switched to using their Brunswick name for better brand recognition. Brunswick made several home pinball machine models between 1976 and 1980 not only under their own name but also for the Henry W.T. Mali & Company (world famous make of pool table cloth and billiard supplies).

2 Games

• Alive, October 1978, model 55-860224-2, four players
• Aspen, two production runs, October 1977 (55-860200-2) and 1979 (55-860228-2), four players
• Circus, 1980, four players, model 200-40-000 (in a red cabinet) do not confuse with the single player version as they are different
• Circus, 1980, single player, yellow cabinet, do not confuse with the four player version
• Cosmic Pinball, August 1977, single player, made in both EM and SS versions
• Demolition Classic, 1979, single player, woodgrain cabinet
• Rodeo, 1979, single player, model 55-880196-5
• Skate King, 1977, single player, yellow cabinet, model 55-860196-2
• Super Star, 1976, single player, made in both EM and SS versions, 55-860195-21 (SS version), 55-860160-002 (EM version)

Made for Henry W.T. Mali and Company:

• Diamond Jim, 1977, single player, model # 101, yellow cabinet, list price $395 in 1977
• Big Rig, 1977, single player, electromechanical, model # 102, white cabinet
• Snow Bird, 1977, single player, model # 103
• Hotdogger, 1977, single player, model # 104
• Wheeler Dealer, 1977, single player, model # 105, white cabinet
• Space Galaxy, 1977, single player, model number unknown

3 Technical Info

The Briarwood/Brunswick/Mali home pinball machines were covered by the now expired patent number 4109916 in which one coil mechanically operates two devices. In this case it is the slingshots and pop bumpers.

Skate King schematic. File:Skate King schematic.pdf

Aspen model 55-860200-2 manual (with chimebox). File:Aspen-US Version.pdf

Aspen model 55-860228-2 manual (with electronic sounds). File:Brunswick-ASPEN-HomePinball.pdf

Alive general schematic. File:Alive schematic.pdf

Alive switch matrix chart. File:Alive sw matrix.pdf

Aspen 55-860200-2 general schematic. File:Aspen general schematic.pdf

Aspen 55-860200-2 switch matrix chart. File:Aspen switch matrix.pdf

Coils (28 volt dc):

• 55-860235-000 or 55-101725 Flipper coil with diode and sleeve
• 55-860237-000 or 55-101897 Ball Return coil with diode and sleeve
• 55-860236-000 or 55-101741 Slingshot/pop bumper coil with diode and sleeve

Marco Specialties stocks brand new Brunswick coils.

4 Problems and Solutions

4.1 Power Problems

The power supply assembly of Aspen, Alive, and the 4 player Circus contains power transformer, 4 circuit breakers, 2 bridge rectifiers (one powers the solenoids, the other powers the gameboard and lights), and a 24VDC relay that cuts off power to the solenoids.

4.7 Flipper Problems

The flipper assemblies are classic Stern Generation 1 units with a Brunswick 55-101725 flipper coil installed.

4.9 Slingshot Problems

The slingshot kicker coil bracket is a Williams "Z" bracket.