Lucky Strike

Lucky Strike, designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison, was released by Gottlieb in November 1975 as a single-player add-a-ball game with a Western theme. It belongs to one of the most widely reused playfield designs in Gottlieb history: the same layout appeared as the replay game 'El Dorado', the add-a-ball 'Gold Strike', this Italian-market add-a-ball 'Lucky Strike', the four-player 'Target Alpha', the France-only 'Canada Dry', and the two-player 'Solar City', and it was revived again in 1984 as Premier's 'El Dorado City of Gold'. Production of Lucky Strike is confirmed at 1,015 units.

The drop-target-heavy layout is the star of the show. Four flippers, two pop bumpers, and two slingshots support an imposing 10-bank of drop targets plus a separate 5-bank and two standup targets, giving players fifteen drop targets to clear. The maximum displayed point score is 1,999,990 points, and the sound comes from three chimes housed in the classic Gottlieb wedge head cabinet.

Morison's Western frontier artwork suits the gunslinging target practice at the heart of the design, and the layout's enduring popularity across so many editions speaks for itself. For players who love pure drop-target shooting, Lucky Strike and its siblings remain among the most satisfying electro-mechanical games Gottlieb ever built.