Guys Dolls

Guys Dolls, designed by Wayne Neyens and manufactured by Gottlieb in May 1953, is a single-player electro-mechanical pinball machine with artwork by the celebrated Roy Parker. Its theme draws on the hit Broadway musical 'Guys and Dolls', which had opened in 1950 (based on a short story by Damon Runyon) and ran for 1,200 performances. Gottlieb produced a confirmed 1,500 units.

The playfield offers four pop bumpers, two kick-out holes, and five outlanes, but its signature gimmick is the "Six High Powered Pop-up Posts" at the bottom of the playfield: pressing either flipper button on the sides of the cabinet fires all six posts in unison, propelling the ball back upward for a thrilling, unpredictable save.

The pop-up posts also come with a candid piece of history. The posts were initially made of acetate rather than a sturdier Zytel nylon resin and broke easily once games reached operation; designer Wayne Neyens later said he always felt he should apologize for the design, as operators had to return their games to distributors or to Gottlieb to have the posts replaced with the stronger material. Flaws and all, Guys Dolls remains a charming and distinctive entry in Gottlieb's early-1950s catalog.