Arepachi - Jan Ball by Shinko
Hello, I just registered last week in search of some information on a pachinko type game I have and found exactly what I was looking for (thank you Eddie!). It turns out to be a Jan Ball Arepachi. I've attached some photos and included a description of its operation below.
Operation:
Jan Ball works on coins and pays out coins. When a coin is inserted, 22 balls drop from the chutes and roll down to a holding area behind a clear window (reminds me of skeeball). You can change the number of balls to increase or decrease the difficulty.
The 4x4 matrix of numbered lights in the middle of the field represents the numbered chutes on the bottom of the field. The order and number of lights collected determines the number of coins paid out. Unlike bingo it seems to pay out in circles rather than lines (the center four numbers pays out one coin, the outer ring minus the corners pays out 2 coins, add the center four and the payout is 3, the corners pay one coin and the diagonals pay one coin) to a maximum of 7 coins. I'm not sure if it's paying out correctly since I don't read Japanese. It would be great if someone could translate the instruction card (see photo). The four left and four right lights on top of the field (red markings below) represent the columns and rows lit but do not seem to affect the payout. The “1”, “2”, “3” lights in the upper center of the field light when you’ve hit a winning combination and represent the number of coins that will be paid out.
Each chute leads to a number on the matrix except the ends which return the ball to the shooter, and the highest chute in the very center which leads to a crown (I don't know what this one does). The chutes can hold a number of balls, so the easy chutes tend to fill up, though I've never filled one to overflowing.
The four pockets, two to the right and two to the left of the matrix collect four of the most difficult numbers. The one above (“B”) acts as a joker. After you've finished all 22 balls, if you've collected this joker (the upper left green plastic lights), there are four yellow buttons representing the hardest to get numbers (the same ones that are on the pockets). If you need one of them to get a payout you can press the appropriate button (the upper left red plastic lights, green goes off). There is also a black payout button that you press when you are finished that causes the machine to check for and payout any wins (inserting another coin does the same thing). The upper right green plastic lights after the machine has finished checking and a win has been awarded.
The coin mechanism is pretty simple. When a coin is inserted it goes into the tube that is used to payout. When this tube is full, following coins just skim over the top and drop into a metal box.
I also made a couple of reversible modifications. One, I added a lighted power switch to the left side of the machine. Two, I added a free play circuit that starts a game but disables the coin payout when a blue switch that was added to the lower left side is pressed (the switch can just be seen in the photo). The circuit also turns off the front panel green Jan Ball light when you are playing for free. Inserting a coin starts the game as original and turns the Jan Ball light on.
Thanks for taking a look!
Jim
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