This extremely rare game was the last single-player game made by the Gottlieb company. Only 211 units were fabricated in December of the year with artwork attributed to Gordon Morison and design work by John Buras. The concept of this interesting art package of a machine is cards with ten targets to shoot to try and gain the appropriate poker hands needed to achieve big bonuses of score. Four roll-overs at the top of the play field activate the four card suits. Completing the 10 targets in the target banks with the same ball lights up the extra ball option. A kick-out hole lights for special if you complete all four hands. This high-scoring game is bizarrely unique in cosmetics and rarely seen outside of the collectors’ domain. This machine also only has electronic sounds versus speech as limited speech arrived on the scene with the game “Gorgar”, which is also in the museum.
Look no further! If you’re searching for the rarest of the rare, here for your perusal is not one but two examples of this Gottlieb aberration. Supposedly only 125 were made of this game and most were sold overseas. Ed Krynski and Gordon Morison again teamed up to art and design the game. This game represents one of the last electromechanical “wedgehead” games ever built near the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s also a single-player game and one of the last. The object of the game is not really boxing in the true sense but hitting enough targets to advance the central advance display up to the top of the rack. This will ignite the special lights for a free game. The color-coordinated advance inserts on the play field correspond to the light-up features on the play field and, if you advance the light sequence accordingly, those features light up for the brief time the advance mechanism stays on that light. Score is the easiest way to win a replay.
This game had a very limited production run of 350 units and was the last four-player electromechanical game made. It was designed by Allen Edwall with artwork by Gordon Morison. The more popular solid-state version of the game had a run of 7,600 units. The game was based on the television series by the same name. Hitting the c-h-i-c roll-overs advances the bonus multiplier value and randomly lights the special. Two sets of drop targets are incorporated into the game. Hitting these targets advances the bonus at the end of the ball and an extra ball may be awarded when the targets are again completed. If a score rolls over the 100,000-point mark, a light lights up on the backglass to show 100,000 points were made. This was done to save on the expense of adding another score reel to the game. Up to a value of four times the bonus value may be scored if the appropriate combination of targets are hit during game play.
Here’s a pinball one rarely saw in any arcades down the Jersey Shore or for that matter, anywhere. This add-a-ball game was conjured up in March of the year with 650 games being put together. The team of Ed Krynski and Gordon Morison did their magic to design and decorate the machine. A replay made was also made called “Abra-ca-dabra.” This machine incorporates 10 drop targets in its design. This game is interesting as its design included a roving “star” target light which would ignite randomly when the numbers one to six were made. Hitting the lit target would award an extra ball. This feature is reset if the ball goes down the side return drain lanes and 5,000 points is awarded. If all targets are hit, the center target lights for extra balls. Everything resets upon the balls drain. Finally, beating the high score awards extra balls. Up to 10 balls maximum could be won per game. A shooter’s game par excellence.
This four-player machine was released in August of the year with 1,070 units fabricated. A two-player version was also made called “Surfer.” The team of Ed Krynski and Gordon Morison did their magic to create this surfing-themed game. The object of this game is to roll over the five star roll-overs in the center of the play field. This increases the value of the upper-right kick-out hole by 100 points per rollover. If you’re skillful enough to drop all five upper-left drop targets as well as roll over those five star targets, the drop targets reset, score 5,000 points and the extra ball and specials light up on the outer drain lanes. A double bonus on drain is a possibility if activated by play field targets as well as a triple bonus on the last ball. Increasing the central bonus lights awards a bigger jackpot of points when the ball drains. The layout of this asymmetrical play field was typical of the Gottlieb machine of this era.
This one-player add-a-ball machine was hatched in June of the year. Ed Krynski designed the game with Gordon Morison adding his hand in penning the artwork. Only 1,150 games were made. A replay version was also made and went by the name “Buccaneer.” The goal in this mechanical machine is to complete all 11 numbers in any sequence. Doing this is not as easy as it seems, as not only are the roll-overs and targets going to spot the numbers, but the spinner in the middle of the game, once spun, randomly spots the number it finally stops on. If you’re skillful enough to complete all 11 numbers, three wow lights ignite which, if scored, award free balls for extended play. Score is another way to gain free balls. No match unit here as this was considered taboo in some areas of the world as well as the winning of replays. Some locales felt this was a form of gambling. This is why the add-a-ball concept was invented by Gottlieb in the ’60s.
This April release came in a two-player version also in the museum called “Card Whiz.” 12,250 games were created in this sizable run of machines. Ed Krynski designed the machine with Gordon Morison penning the artwork for the game. A very popular game in its day, the main ingredient of the play field is the battery of nine drop targets set at an angle. The object here is to complete the drop targets to complete the five card combinations represented on the front play field. Completing a combo illuminates the light in the bonus column of combos and at the end of the ball, a “scan” bonus would score the appropriate number of points to the player currently up. The drop targets reset after each ball unless an extra ball is scored via the free ball gate. A double scan of the bonus lights on the last ball. Another feature to shoot for is the three colored card sequence. These light a special on the kick-out hole.
This April release came in a four-player version, also in the museum called “Royal Flush.” 12,250 games were created in this sizable run of machines. Ed Krynski designed the machine with Gordon Morison penning the artwork for the game. A very popular game in its day, the main ingredient of the play field is the battery of nine drop targets set at an angle. The object here is to complete the drop targets to complete the five card combinations represented on the front play field. Completing a combo illuminates the light in the bonus column of combos and at the end of the ball, a “scan” bonus would score the appropriate number of points to the player currently up. The drop targets reset after each ball unless an extra ball is scored via the free ball gate. A double scan of the bonus lights on the last ball. Another feature to shoot for is the three colored card sequence. These light a special on the kick-out hole.
This great game is pretty high up in the collectors’ list of best games of this era. Ed Krynski designed this machine with Gordon Morison’s artistic capabilities. 4,975 games were boxed. The four-player version of this game was called “Jack-in-the-Box.” The combination of the wide-open play field and four flippers make this game a flipper’s paradise. The main focus of the play field is the battery of 10 drop targets. The goal here is to complete hitting all the targets while the active ball is in play. If you lose the ball before this feat, the targets reset. An alternating relay in the machine changes the award for completing the drop targets from an extra ball to a special when the last target is dropped. This also awards 500 points to your score and the targets reset. An end-of-ball bonus is also awarded depending how many targets are hit when the ball drains as well as a 10x bonus potential via kick-out hole.
This great game is pretty high up in the collectors’ list of best games of this era. Ed Krynski designed this machine with Gordon Morison’s artistic capabilities. 4,975 games were boxed. The two-player version of this game was called “Jumping Jack.” The combination of the wide open play field and four flippers make this game a flipper’s paradise. The main focus of the play field is the battery of 10 drop targets. The goal here is to complete hitting all the targets while the active ball is in play. If you lose the ball before this feat, the targets reset. An alternating relay in the machine changes the award for completing the drop targets from an extra ball to a special when the last target is dropped. This also awards 500 points to your score and the targets reset. An end-of-ball bonus is also awarded depending how many targets are hit when the ball drains as well as a 10x bonus potential via kick-out hole.
