Internet  Pinball Database

Rock Star's entry in the IPD

Flyer

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Manual

Schematic

ROM images

n/a

WAV files

naah, we have chimes and bells!

Rule sheet

Repair tips

S/I card scans

Repro parts

Rock Star auctions on eBay

I got this one from a collector in Ohio, who advertised it on the Mr. Pinball classifieds.  It's got a perfect backglass and a near-perfect cabinet.  There's hardly any playfield wear, and other than some flickery bulbs, it's working 100%.

I'm working on collecting all of the Gottlieb 70's and late 60's add-a-ball games, and this one is a prize.  It's the last add-a-ball made by Gottlieb, and they made fewer than 300 of them.  They were supposedly made for the Italian market, but this game shows no sign of ever leaving the country.   The coin slot is set for two plays per quarter, so this was probably the initial setup.

I find this fun and challenging to play, although it's nowhere as fast or complex as games even half as old, let alone current ones.  After you get used to the slightly offset flippers, you can strategize on how to make points.  Even though the layout is fairly simple, there are at least three ways to rack up the points.  The most obvious is getting the column of targets on the left side.  After they are complete one of the targets is lit for a "WOW" (an add-a-ball).   This WOW will stay lit until the cycling target is hit, and you'll want to hit it as soon as possible not only for the extra ball but to reset the targets for higher scoring.  Completing the A-B-C rollover sequence lights the WOW at the kick-out hole on the right.  Once it's lit it remains lit for the current ball and then the rollovers are reset.  Hitting the kick-out is not hard, and when it ejects it feeds you the ball pretty easily.  This makes it fun to try to light the WOW and thwack it in a few times in a row.  Another way to make lots of points is to cycle the right spinner until the left spinner score is 1000 and then go for a power shot through the left spinner.  You can easily top 10,000 per shot, and the center pop bumper is good for 1000 points, too.  My praise goes to the designers of these EM machines to get so much playability out of a handful of relays and stepper motors.  OK, maybe two handfuls...