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This game by Gottlieb is a very challenging design. It was invented by Ed Krynski and artwork was drawn by Gordon Morrison. This game has 10 drop targets lined up the left side of the playfield. If one target is hit, one scores 500 points. If, however, you’re skillful enough to hit a blue and white target at the same time, 5,000 points are awarded. Completing the sequence 1-9 lights the special at the bottom left rollover as well as lights the drop targets to score a special if all the targets are dropped. The player had to be wary when trying to freeze the ball on the right flipper, as one could lose the ball up the right guide rail (which has an opening in it the size of a ball). This playfield design was used a few times by Gottlieb, as it was a successful design (games like Gottlieb 300, for example, a bowling themed game). Scoring games by core were another option.Gottlieb hatched this add-a-ball machine from the skunkworks in April of the year, designed by Ed Krynski and artwork by Gordon Morison. This single-player machine has a bowling theme and only 715 units were produced at that time. The replay version of the game was called King Pin and many more of these machines were produced. The theme of this game is the drop target completion. By carefully aiming the four inherent flippers on board the playfield, one must try to complete the horizontal row of targets. Doing so will reset the targets and the wow feature activates, giving you a shot at the accomplishment of winning extra balls. Score is another way to pop free balls. The ten drop targets are not so easy to complete and the wow feature advances when you roll over the star rollover. This game is challenging, but a beginner can have ample fun with the machine.November marks the month of this game’s release. Design was one of Ed Krynski’s and art package was penned by Gordon Morison. This game had an add-a-ball version called Gold Strike as well as a re-released solid-state version. Gottlieb also duplicated this game design in Target Alpha (in the museum) and Canada Dry. 2,875 units were produced. If you like drop targets, this is your game. A battery of 10 drop targets are in the top of the playfield and a battery of 5 on the right mid-center. Four flippers are present for aiming at your foe. If you’re skillful enough to complete all the targets, a replay is awarded, 5,000 points are added, and a special lights up to score a replay if hit. If you drain your ball, the targets reset. An advancing light under the drop targets awards 5,000 points instead of the usual 500 points if you hit the drop target when it’s up and appropriately lit. Rollovers score 5,000 points when lit. Score awards replays also as well as matching.This game is considered to be the #3 game of the ’70s. It was released in June, designed by Greg Kmiec and art by Dave Christiansen. It had a production run of 16,200 units, a record to that date for production by Bally. The game has a rock star tie in the form of Elton John, who was at his peak back then. The movie “Tommy” was also an influence for the game’s graphics. The triple flipper arrangement of the game made for fast action on the playfield. A bonus feature is present, a 5-bank drop target that when hit, advances through extra ball and then special. A free ball gate, when activated, extends the ball’s life. This game is one of the last most collectible electromechanical-era games produced. It was the complementary game to Bally’s Wizard pinball which, again, found its theme based on the “Tommy” movie by The Who. Celebrity tie-ins were found to be big sellers.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.The game before you is extremely rare with only 278 screwed together at the Chicago Gottlieb factory. This one-player electromechanical add-a-ball game was designed by John Osbourne with art by Gordon Morison. A replay version was also designed by the name of Blue Note. The object of this machine is to complete all the notes down the left side of the playfield. Doing so activates the classic “wow” feature which, when hit, awards one free ball. A reset is in your future once your current ball drains. Score is another way to achieve longer play by winning extra balls. The spinner in the middle of the playfield awards big points when 1,000 points is lit; each spin of the target awards 1,000 points plus number of revolutions spun. A nice retro art package completes this rare machine.Defender is an arcade video game developed and released by Williams Electronics in 1980. A shooting game featuring two-dimensional (2D) graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; Defender was Jarvis’ first video game project, and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids. Defender is a two-dimensional side-scrolling shooting game set on the surface of an unnamed planet. The player controls a space ship as it navigates the terrain, flying either to the left or right. A joystick controls the ship’s elevation, and five buttons control its horizontal direction and weapons. The object is to destroy alien invaders, while protecting astronauts on the landscape from abduction. Humans that are successfully abducted return as mutants that attack the ship. Defeating the aliens allows the player to progress to the next level. Failing to protect the astronauts, however, causes the planet to explode and the level to become populated with mutants. Surviving the waves of mutants results in the restoration of the planet. Players are allotted three chances (lives) to progress through the game and are able to earn more by reaching certain scoring benchmarks. A life is lost if the ship comes into contact with an enemy or its projectiles. After exhausting all lives, the game ends. Defender is an arcade video game developed and released by Williams Electronics in 1980. A shooting game featuring two-dimensional (2D) graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; Defender was Jarvis’ first video game project and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids. Defender was one of the most important titles of the Golden Age of Arcade Games, selling over 55,000 units to become the company’s best selling game and one of the highest-grossing arcade games ever. Praise among critics focused on the game’s audio-visuals and gameplay. It is frequently listed as one of Jarvis’ best contributions to the video game industry as well as one of the most difficult video games. Defender was ported to numerous platforms, inspired the development of other games, and was followed by sequels and many imitations. Defender is a two-dimensional side-scrolling shooting game set on the surface of an unnamed planet. The player controls a space ship as it navigates the terrain, flying either to the left or right. A joystick controls the ship’s elevation, and five buttons control its horizontal direction and weapons. The object is to destroy alien invaders while protecting astronauts on the landscape from abduction. Humans who are successfully abducted return as mutants that attack the ship. Defeating the aliens allows the player to progress to the next level. Failing to protect the astronauts, however, causes the planet to explode and the level to become populated with mutants. Surviving the waves of mutants results in the restoration of the planet. Players are allotted three chances (lives) to progress through the game and are able to earn more by reaching certain scoring benchmarks. A life is lost if the ship comes into contact with an enemy or its projectiles. After exhausting all lives, the game end.This very collectible game of the ‘70s was another in a series of celebrity-themed tie-in games Bally found license to produce. 17,000 units were made, a sizable number for the day. A prototype speaking version of this game was made ahead of its time but failed to be marketed. The object of the game is to spell out the name KISS. If you complete four times, a super bonus is awarded. Do it again and a colossal bonus is awarded. A third time awards a replay and a ton of points…which can be doubled if the 2x value drop targets are completed. The A, B, C, and D targets also can award extra balls and specials. The left drop targets award the KISS line when completed. All in all, an exciting game with great graphics but no speech. Talking pinballs finally made the scene with the release of Gorgar (in the museum). Replays are also awarded by score or matching. Matching is the process by which the last two numbers of your score match the generated number produced by the game.Yet another legendary, genre-defining game – in an era replete with genre-defining classics - in which a single player takes control of a ship trapped in the middle of an asteroid field. A number of large, slow-moving asteroids drift randomly around the play area and must be shot by the player. When shot, the asteroids will break into a number of smaller pieces, which must also be shot until, eventually, all of the asteroids and fragments will be destroyed and the next wave begins. Asteroids introduced real-world physics to video games for the first time, with speed and inertia all adding to the player’s problems. As well as the inertia of the player’s ship – forcing the player to allow for the ship slowing down and speeding up whenever the thrust button was utilized – shot asteroids would often send fragments flying in seemingly random directions, and at varying and unpredictable speeds. As well as the ever-present asteroids, alien saucers also make a regular appearance. These move diagonally around the screen, firing at the player’s ship and must be quickly destroyed.This game was a breakthru game. It is the first-ever talking pinball machine. Games of this era had synthesized sound, but this game spoke. The speech wasn’t very clear or very wordy, as memory chips of this era couldn’t hold too much information compared to today’s games, but it was a sensation for Williams. The production run for the game was 14,000 units. It was designed by Barry Oursler with art by Constantino Mitchell. The top three rollover lanes would, if completed give up two, then three times bonus. The snake pit in the upper-left playfield has a magnet under it, which captures the ball for bonuses and Gorgar’s chance to use his seven-word vocabulary. Spelling out the word “Gorgar” makes the monster say his name and increases bonus values. This game also incorporates the background noise made famous in the Williams game Flash (in the museum). This time the background sound is of a heartbeat. It gets faster and faster as you advance.Mata Hari was released in April of the year and designed by Jim Patla with artwork accolades going to Dave Christiansen. 16,200 of these machines were produced in the new solid-state format (as seen in the museum) as well as bunch of electromechanical machines (170, to be exact) to keep the non-computer savvy operators happy and buying machines they knew how to fix. This machine before you is one of the finest examples of this ultra-rare mechanical format. Like the solid-state version, the center kickout hole scores 3,000 points and each successful shot in the hole advances the bonus multiplier. The A and B skill shots advance the horizontal sequence of increasing values in the center of the playfield. 50,000 points are awarded when a battery of drop targets is hit. If both batteries are knocked down, the drop targets reset and hitting all again awards the replay. Score is another replay option.This solid-state game was very popular when it was released and has a lot of smooth shots to complete. It was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Paul Faris. Production run was 18,250 units. This pre-speaking pinball has Hugh Hefner on its backglass with Bunny Sondra Theodore posing. At the top of the game are four rollover lanes, which advance when hit to a special and advance the bonuses and grotto award. Hitting the five Bunny targets also advance a feature to win extra balls and specials. A unique kickback lane advances with every entrance into it. A five-pack of drop targets also advance certain features on the game. If 20,000 points are made on the bonus system, this point count is carried over to all remaining balls and then some. The nicest shot on the game is going up the right side from the flipper and looping the ball into the grotto. The sound originates from the old TV show “Playboy After Dark.”
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