Orbit

The Gottlieb Orbit, released in December 1971, is a four-player electro-mechanical pinball machine with an outer-space theme, designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison. A two-player version of the same game, released the following year as "Outer Space," shared its rules and layout.

Orbit's playfield features two flippers, three pop bumpers, a slingshot, three standup targets, a vari-target, and a spinning target, giving players a variety of shots to combine for an end-of-ball bonus. The vari-target rewards precise aim with higher scoring, while the spinning target adds an element of unpredictability to each shot.

The game's colorful space-themed art and mechanically driven gameplay are typical of Gottlieb's output in the early 1970s, a period when the company was still producing electro-mechanical machines exclusively (Gottlieb wouldn't move to solid-state pinball until later in the decade). Orbit remains a solid, collectible example of Gottlieb's EM-era design work from designer Ed Krynski.