I’m really enjoying Fireball and El Dorado and look forward to future EM’s. It seems unlikely that they’ll ever come in the numbers approaching the SS and DMD games, and so it is even more difficult to get some sort of concensus from polls or otherwise on the best ones to make.
I had previously tried to think of the top five or ten EM’s (mostly Gottlieb’s) that I would want but that seems unrealistic. Putting aside my top choices in some case my goal was to come up with the minimal set of Gottlieb’s to cover various types of play. This list may not include everyone’s number one choice, but hopefully is representative of GTB EM’s and falls within most people’s top few choices to get the most well rounded combination. I’m sticking with Gottlieb as I am very familiar with the history and play of their games, and have limited knowledge of Bally and Williams EM’s (or the others, for that matter). Fireball was one I’d played and would advocate, and I’m glad we now have it. So this is more an exercise in trying to come up with the smallest list to represent the greatest variety of Gottlieb EM's both in terms of playstyle and popularity.
The Gottlieb EM minimalist set of tables:
Four Tables:
Royal Flush: El Dorado is a great game with lots of drop targets, and while I don’t think it’s a good idea to have all these selections be drop target games, Royal Flush is a great game, balanced for competition, and should be represented. Royal Flush (along with El Dorado) cover the drop target fix, and so I leave out 2001/Dimension and some others to ensure different styles.
Atlantis: In my mind, I always go back and forth on whether I would choose this or Centigrade 37 if I had to choose one over the other. I settled on Atlantis because not only is it a great game, it was another produced in various incarnations (before as Lawman/Sheriff) and provides a different style of play with no return lanes. There are so many good choices in the 70’s (Abra Cadabra, Fast Draw, Surf Champ, etc.) but since we can’t have them all, I would use Atlantis and Spirit of 76 to cover these various playfields, though it is an imperfect solution.
Kings and Queens OR Sing Along/Melody: A roll-over classic would be a good complement to the 70’s drop target styles, and Kings and Queens is a great player and iconic. Both it and Sing Along/Melody have the four kicker hole feature. I think K&Q is the more classic game, but some might argue the other is a better player. However, in that case, I’m not sure whether the replay (Sing Along) or AAB (Melody) would be the superior choice.
Slick Chick: A bumper based game. I love the play on this one and it’s different from other pinball. The gobble hole is good to have represented on at least one game and is balanced by the lack of outlanes. The ruleset is clever and challenging and supposedly one of David Gottlieb’s favorites. Some might argue for Gigi if talking about bumper based games. Ones mileage might vary, but I found that I always want to go back and play Slick Chick again but while I think Gigi is very cool and clever, after you explore the initial novelty of it, it doesn’t just draw you back in as much. I love 60’s Gottliebs and there are many other great choices (Crosstown, North Star, World Fair, Ice Show, etc.) but for early to mid 60’s, I think Slick Chick is the best choice. Some have said that the playfield of Sing Along/Melody is kind of a combination of Kings and Queens and Crosstown/Subway, which might be another point in its favor).
Those would be my choices for top four, with a fifth being Spirit of 76 which would cover a number of tables from the mid to late 70’s that have no slings and instead the four in-lanes and a slightly slower pace of play (though a tough choice among many good options). I would love to see Majorettes (an add-a-ball game never made as a replay) but am probably in the minority on that one as it is too different) and so I tried to make a small list that may not have everyone’s (nor my) number one choices, but hopefully falls into the majority’s top five choices when it comes to Gottlieb EM’s.
I had previously tried to think of the top five or ten EM’s (mostly Gottlieb’s) that I would want but that seems unrealistic. Putting aside my top choices in some case my goal was to come up with the minimal set of Gottlieb’s to cover various types of play. This list may not include everyone’s number one choice, but hopefully is representative of GTB EM’s and falls within most people’s top few choices to get the most well rounded combination. I’m sticking with Gottlieb as I am very familiar with the history and play of their games, and have limited knowledge of Bally and Williams EM’s (or the others, for that matter). Fireball was one I’d played and would advocate, and I’m glad we now have it. So this is more an exercise in trying to come up with the smallest list to represent the greatest variety of Gottlieb EM's both in terms of playstyle and popularity.
The Gottlieb EM minimalist set of tables:
Four Tables:
Royal Flush: El Dorado is a great game with lots of drop targets, and while I don’t think it’s a good idea to have all these selections be drop target games, Royal Flush is a great game, balanced for competition, and should be represented. Royal Flush (along with El Dorado) cover the drop target fix, and so I leave out 2001/Dimension and some others to ensure different styles.
Atlantis: In my mind, I always go back and forth on whether I would choose this or Centigrade 37 if I had to choose one over the other. I settled on Atlantis because not only is it a great game, it was another produced in various incarnations (before as Lawman/Sheriff) and provides a different style of play with no return lanes. There are so many good choices in the 70’s (Abra Cadabra, Fast Draw, Surf Champ, etc.) but since we can’t have them all, I would use Atlantis and Spirit of 76 to cover these various playfields, though it is an imperfect solution.
Kings and Queens OR Sing Along/Melody: A roll-over classic would be a good complement to the 70’s drop target styles, and Kings and Queens is a great player and iconic. Both it and Sing Along/Melody have the four kicker hole feature. I think K&Q is the more classic game, but some might argue the other is a better player. However, in that case, I’m not sure whether the replay (Sing Along) or AAB (Melody) would be the superior choice.
Slick Chick: A bumper based game. I love the play on this one and it’s different from other pinball. The gobble hole is good to have represented on at least one game and is balanced by the lack of outlanes. The ruleset is clever and challenging and supposedly one of David Gottlieb’s favorites. Some might argue for Gigi if talking about bumper based games. Ones mileage might vary, but I found that I always want to go back and play Slick Chick again but while I think Gigi is very cool and clever, after you explore the initial novelty of it, it doesn’t just draw you back in as much. I love 60’s Gottliebs and there are many other great choices (Crosstown, North Star, World Fair, Ice Show, etc.) but for early to mid 60’s, I think Slick Chick is the best choice. Some have said that the playfield of Sing Along/Melody is kind of a combination of Kings and Queens and Crosstown/Subway, which might be another point in its favor).
Those would be my choices for top four, with a fifth being Spirit of 76 which would cover a number of tables from the mid to late 70’s that have no slings and instead the four in-lanes and a slightly slower pace of play (though a tough choice among many good options). I would love to see Majorettes (an add-a-ball game never made as a replay) but am probably in the minority on that one as it is too different) and so I tried to make a small list that may not have everyone’s (nor my) number one choices, but hopefully falls into the majority’s top five choices when it comes to Gottlieb EM’s.
