Gold Strike

The Gold Strike pinball machine, designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison, was manufactured by Gottlieb in November 1975 in a confirmed run of 691 units. It is the Add-A-Ball version of one of Gottlieb's most celebrated playfield designs: the same layout was sold as the replay game 'El Dorado', the Italian export 'Lucky Strike', the 4-player 'Target Alpha', the France-only 'Canada Dry', and the 2-player 'Solar City' - and it was later revived as Premier's 1984 'El Dorado City of Gold'.

Gold Strike boasts a formidable target-shooting layout: four flippers, two pop bumpers, two slingshots, a 10-bank of drop targets, a 5-bank of drop targets, and two standup targets. Fifteen drop targets across the back of the playfield give the game its relentless, satisfying rhythm, and the maximum displayed score of 199,990 points sets a stiff challenge for experienced players. The game is housed in Gottlieb's classic wedge-head cabinet style.

The Western gold-prospecting theme is rendered in Gordon Morison's artwork, and the three-chime sound package provides the era's signature electromechanical soundtrack. As a single-player Add-A-Ball edition of the famed El Dorado layout, Gold Strike is a prized variant for collectors of 1970s Gottlieb games.