Laser Cue

Laser Cue, designed by Edward Tomaszewski with artwork by Pam Erickson, was released by Williams Electronics in February 1984. Running on the Williams System 7 platform with a confirmed production of 2,800 units, it is a solid mid-1980s entry in the Williams catalog with an unusual mashup of themes: billiards filtered through an outer-space fantasy lens.

The four-player game gives players plenty to shoot at: four flippers, three pop bumpers, a slingshot, ten standup targets, a five-bank of drop targets, and a spinning target. The flyer trumpeted a novel guarantee: 'For the first time ever, a minimum of 25 seconds is guaranteed for extra ball play!' In practice this applied to extra balls, any extra ball drained during its first 25 seconds was automatically returned to the shooter, and operators could adjust the timer between 15 and 40 seconds.

The game has a curious development history. It was originally named 'World Hockey', and a prototype version reportedly had all its playfield inserts marked as playing cards instead of billiard balls, with the accompanying manual referring to those cards. The final billiards-in-space treatment, rendered by Erickson, is what shipped, making Laser Cue a distinctive footnote in Williams' System 7 era.