Gladiators

Gladiators, designed by Jon Norris and produced by Premier Technology (under the Gottlieb trade name) in November 1993, is a solid-state pinball machine on the Gottlieb System 3 platform, with a confirmed production run of 1,995 units. The game features four flippers with a clever control scheme: a light press on the flipper buttons activates only the lower flippers, while a heavy press activates both the lower and upper flippers. Two ramps, multiball, and a shaker motor round out the feature set.

Gladiators' signature shot is "The Catapult," a moving rail ramp that must be shot with skill and timing to drop the ball into the Catapult Hole for 50,000,000 points. The game also has an unusual buy-in rule: buying in requires inserting coins, and the machine will not accept pressing off existing credits. Artwork is by Constantino Mitchell, Jeanine Mitchell, and David Moore, with dot-matrix animation by Rand Paulin.

The theme casts the player as a gladiator who must complete six pyramid battle rounds before facing a three-headed dragon in the climactic "Beasts Challenge" round. Rounds can be played in two-ball multiball or on a timer, and can be entered from the plunger skill shot, a mystery award, or the "Begin Pyramid Round" hole. Its unusual mechanisms and layered round structure make it an intriguing find for pinball enthusiasts and collectors.