Gulfstream

Gulfstream is a single-player electro-mechanical pinball machine designed by Norm Clark and released by Williams in October 1972, with backglass and playfield art by Christian Marche. Carrying a water sports theme, it had a confirmed production run of 4,175 units and was convertible between replay and add-a-ball operation; its add-a-ball companion was Williams' 1973 'Tropic Fun'.

The playfield offers two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, three standup targets, three rollover buttons, and two kick-out holes. The central attraction is the Magic Square in the center playfield: making all four corners of the square before completing any three-in-a-line is operator-adjustable to award one, two, or three replays (or the same number of extra balls in add-a-ball mode). Scoring tops out at a displayed 199,990 points, accompanied by three chimes and a knocker.

Under the hood, this one-player game used a "split bank" of relays to track two separate playfield objectives — the 1-9 numbers and the S-P-E-C-I-A-L rollovers — a mechanism Williams had also used in two-player games such as 1971's 'Solids N Stripes'. Gulfstream and 'Tropic Fun' were also the first Williams games to use the company's "gear" style of pop bumper cap, a small but distinctive production detail.