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Gottlieb Appreciation Thread

MajesticPinball

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I’m going against the grain of the group with this one but I love gottlieb machines. I will agree that in the Premier days the machines were not up to the same standard as Bally/Williams - gameplay and layout wise at least. Yet i love the qwirky side to their games. I contemplated getting rid of my Stargate a little while back and I’m so glad i didnt as its one of my favourite machines, its such a refreshing game to play after a long stint on a Bally or Williams machine. So, with that being said... its time for some Gottlieb love. Whats your favourite Gottlieb machine?
 
I think you will find there is quite a bit of love for a Gottlieb. I've 6 myself, favourite out of them would be TX.

@JMP is the current connoisseur of all things Gottlieb. @Poibug is also an aficionado.
 
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Add me to the GTB appreciation thread:)

Pinball magazine number 5 has a massive interview with Wayne Neyens ( possibly the best designer of all time? ).

His games from 1950 - 1955 were in a class of their own.

I love 'Lovely Lucy' 1954 - even though it is one of the least skill based, due to the record amount of gobble holes!

IMG_9670.JPGLL10.jpg
 
I am in. I have an Excalibur and I'd love to have that really nice HH someone is selling on here. I agree: I like how they play differently from a bally/wms
 
There are many nice alphanumeric Gottliebs such as Genesis and Goldwings.

I also like Raven - though I might be in a minority there - but the best (well, the funniest anyway) a/n in my view is Class of 1812, the 1812 Overture with chickens always raises a smile :D
 
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I prefer their 80's games most i think, Spirit being possibly my favourite. The DMD games are not so great, Statgate is decent but not when compared to other games of the same era IMO.

Not the coolest pin of all time, but i do miss my Surf & Safari, was just fun to play!
 
I’ve got a Robo-War which is one of my favourite pins of all time from any manufacturer :) TX Sector and Goldwings are also really cool and I’d love to get a Black Hole!
 
I have never owned a Gottlieb (save my Genie which is still in bits) and only played them a few times at shows and league meetings

The highpoint for me are the late EMs of the mid to late 70s (Joker Poker etc) and the early SS titles from the late 70s to early 80s (Haunted House, Spirit etc)
 
I used to own a gold wings. Loved that. One of my grails is a haunted house. No issues with Gottlieb here. Oh and cactus jacks ? is pure fun.
 
I’ve got to agree with TX-Sector, worlds worst backglass but its a great game and the music is fantastic!

@DRD I have a big soft spot for the EM wedgehead machines, the design and artwork on most of them is stunning and theyre like just like a screenshot of the 60s.

@Poibug its the rules, you have to choose one! :p
 
Very jealous of the TX Sector and Robo wars owners on here - two games I would love to own one day. That music just reminds me of being a kid playing computer games in the 80s.
 
Gottlieb are crap and I'd never own one. apart from the ones below that have come and gone over 30 years lol The ones i have now are very selective such as Genesis and Black Hole and luckily Courtney and my friend Jon tick off the others I like such as Haunted House Pink Panther Stargate and Class 1812.

to be fair Gottlieb were king of the EM but lost their way when solid state came in - most of the early games are just EM layouts with digital displays. Williams and Bally innovated and Gottlieb tried to catch up with Black Hole and Haunted House but it was too late. most of the dot matrix games are awful. We got in Waterworld to see how BAD it really was and were not contradicted

Newbies tend to avoid them which is great as you can pick up a solid working game cheaper.

Arena*Barb Wire*Big House*Big Hurt*Black Hole*Buck Rogers*Buckaroo*Cactus Jacks*Caveman*Class of 1812*Charlies Angels*Cleopatra*Countdown*Cue Ball Wizard*Diamond Lady*Devil's Dare*Eye of the Tiger*Flying Circus*Force 2*Genesis*Gladiators*Gold Wings*Haunted House*James Bond 007*Kingpin*Lights Camera Action*Mario Andretti*Mars God of War*Monte Carlo*Nightmare On Elm Street*Operation Thunder*Pink Panther*Raven*Rescue 911*Rock*Rocky*Roller Disco*Sinbad*Spirit*Spring Break*Stargate*Straight Flush*Street Fighter II*Super Mario Bros.*Surf 'n Safari*Tee'd Off*The Amazing Spider-Man*The Incredible Hulk*Time Line*Torch*Totem*TX Sector*Victory*Waterworld*

Favorite Black Hole worst based on its vintage Waterworld Guilty pleasure Cactus Jacks
 
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In order.... (1) Robowar (2) TX Sector (3) Excalibur (4) Alien Star (5) Hollywood Heat (6) Victory (7) Monte Carlo (8) Raven (9) Arena, all of which I own.... also like Rock and have previously owned and sold Hot Shots, Diamond Lady, Spring Break. Part own Deadly Weapon (not so keen) and been through a few later ones; Stargate, 1812, Freddy etc but not so keen due to sound quality. The 80B's sound great and I love the translights too !! :p

Poibug caused it all... only one left I want is Bounty Hunter, although have enjoyed Car Hop, Vegas & Hoops which are pretty hard to find.
 
Always fancied a Hollywood Heat. Even the King himself Steve Ritchie highly rates it.

key here is to try games for yourself not to follow the herd. Gottliebs of all ages are well built and solid. Cant say that for Data East or those Bally 6803 chip board horrors
 
I love the look of Hollywood Heat, never seen one in the wild so would love to give it a go one day. The only Gottlieb I've ever owned is Stargate and it's built like a tank and the system 3 boardset is brilliant. Played many Gottlieb machines as a kid I have fond memories of the Super Mario Brothers machine. Back then I didn't care if the game had good rules or "flow" I just remember having a great time flipping away.

I've been seriously considering parting with some of my games and swapping over to more Gottlieb machines. I'm semi on the hunt for a Tee'd off so if anyone gets any leads let me know ?
 
Worst cab ever has got to be Bad Girls surely? Can imagine this in a tacky 80s cocktail bar back in the day.
badgirls.png
 
Although I have never played any in real life, the pinball arcade gotts are some of my favourite to play on.
Victory, Tee'd off and Cactus Jack are just great fun.
Gladiators is a great four flipper game that can be had for about 1k.

The system 3 games seem to be bullet proof too which makes up for the less than great music.

I hope to have a few Gottliebs one day so I'm happy that people hate them because other people say they are crap haha.


What type of price is a TX Sector nowadays?
 
Only ever owned one - stargate

Wanted to love it but it never really clicked. Can’t ever see me owning another unless it was dirt cheap

Now SEGA games are great ?
 
Although I have never played any in real life, the pinball arcade gotts are some of my favourite to play on.
Victory, Tee'd off and Cactus Jack are just great fun.
Gladiators is a great four flipper game that can be had for about 1k.

The system 3 games seem to be bullet proof too which makes up for the less than great music.

I hope to have a few Gottliebs one day so I'm happy that people hate them because other people say they are crap haha.


What type of price is a TX Sector nowadays?



There are,to our knowledge only 4 txs in the UK, and all are cos of me?all imports so you'll have to go that route as all the aforementioned four ain't going anywhere
 
Oh i forgot I also had a frank Thomas Big Hurt. That’s was good fun too. The only theme I’m arriving at every time I think about the Gotts I’ve owned and played is...... fun.

But Grizz is right. They are fugly.
 
All 80b games are great (the alphanumeric era for those that don't know what 80b means). The layouts, the flasher usage, the music, the 20 digit alphanumeric display. They are some of the best games from the mid 80s. Forget the williams bias that seems to retrospectively get added. Mid 80s williams games were not that great. When we had a Gold Wings (Gottlieb 1986) next to a Space Shuttle (Williams 1984/5) and a Kings of Steel (Bally 1984/5) when we were kids at home, the Gold Wings got played every day, the others didnt!!

My favourite - Gold Wings. As most people will know i've had quite a few of them and made a really nice one from about 4 different ones over a few years.

Also, I've dedicated alot of my recent life to making replacement hardware boards for this era and have helped to save alot of these games from the scrap yard/part out machine. Long live 80b :)
 
There are,to our knowledge only 4 txs in the UK, and all are cos of me?all imports so you'll have to go that route as all the aforementioned four ain't going anywhere
That's my hopes of getting a TX... TX... TX out the window then!
 
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